Water Warriors cruise by shore
The annual five-day, 450-mile personal watercraft endurance run is under way along the sunrise shore of Lake Huron to raise donations for the Michigan Special Olympics. The Water Warriors rally began in 1991 by Ken Baker of Algonac, who, as a member of the cold weather snowmobile group known as Wertz Warriors, was looking for a way to extend the idea and raise more money for Special Olympics. Since that time, the loosely organized group of male and female rough riders has raised more than $1million for Special Olympics.
Ken, his wife Joan and grandson Alex run one of the support boats. This year, they were cruising in their brand-spanking new 50-foot, 42,000 pound, Sun Seeker powered by a 710 horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine. The choice of engine was a natural for Ken who owns and operates his own excavating business. The name of the craft is likewise appropriate: “Pay Dirt.” The navigation gear is top of the line with GPS, radar and autopilot running the craft like it was the Starship Enterprise.
“That’s important to me,” says Jim, “Because one year the fog was so thick around Rogers City, I ended up over in front of Calcite, looking for the rest of the guys.” He added, “They would have never let me forget that one, except for the fact that, sooner or later, someone else makes a similar move and the razzing starts on them.”
TWO VETERAN riders from Presque Isle County are Elmer Schleben of Rogers City and Rick DuLac of Grand Lake. These two hearty sportsmen have been plying the waves of Lake Huron for seven and eight years, respectively. The first leg of the trip on Monday was from Mackinaw City to Alpena and covered a distance of 114 miles of open water travel. The group of about 40 personal watercraft, which can reach speeds of up to 80 mph, and their support boats arrived in Rogers City ahead of schedule as the weat
EACH RIDER provides his or her own personal watercraft and pays for food and hotel costs. The only expense taken out of the funds raised by the rally is for fuel. The group has enlisted the support of the Formula Boats in recent years that has resulted in a sizable increase in the amount of money raised for the Special Olympics. Instrumental in this effort has been Formula Director of Sponsor Promotions, Vic Spellberg. He can be reached at Thunderbird Products 1-800-736-7685 or on the Internet at spellberg@formulaboats.com for more information about sponsorship.
The Michigan Special Olympics is a non-profit program and has been in operation since 1969. The idea is to provide physical education and recreational programs for individuals with mental impairments. The program receives no state or federal funding, operating solely on donations of time, materials and funding from individuals, businesses and various organizations around the state.