It was a quiet Sunday morning, August 15, 2016, and a thin fog, lit only by the dim glow of dawn, was lingering over the glassy water of Wisconsin’s St. Croix River. The sun had not yet risen and the only sounds were birds singing in the wooded valley and the whisper of the river. The sun began to lighten the sky as it came above the tall cliffs looming over the river, and its first rays caused the fog to slowly dissipate and reveal bright green trees. My life partner Kyle Hawkins and I had gathered with his parents and mine and his sister at the river’s edge to launch SØLVI, the 20′ faering we’d built in a shed in my parents' side yard.Holding the painter, I waded up to my knees while gliding the boat off the trailer. After we said our goodbyes I hopped aboard, took my position at the oars and Kyle shoved us off. We drifted while waving goodbye to our families, then rowed until they were just specks on the shoreline. Ahead was a long river of unknowns—a journey under oars and sail from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.We rowed SØLVI downstream together. The water's surface was calm and blue, reflecting the luscious green of trees thick with leaves on the shorelines, yet we were enjoying our new boat as much as the landscape. Building it had consumed hundreds of Western red cedar strips and 1,400 hours of work over three months, and now the endless hours of sanding were paying off as the wood glowed in the midday sun, the varnish glistening, color radiating from each strip.
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Wonderful adventure and well told. Thanks for sharing.
I grew up on the Upper Mississippi around La Crosse, Wisconsin. The river still has a strong pull for me. Great trip!
This is a great story reminds me of one of my favourite books, The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow, by A. J. Mckinnon. Just goes to show you don’t have to cross oceans in big boats to have fantastic adventures. I’m inspired
Great story, well written. The tandem bike for the last 500 miles was final proof of good seamanship!
What an inspiration. Reading these wonderful stories has inspired me to undertake a decent adventure rowing across the notorious Bass strait between Wilson’s promontory and Tasmania in Australia. I am an old fella now, pretty fit at 76, and will have to behave like the old bull. I notice previous adventurers have gone on a date whereas I will be going on the weather. I have a spare dory, any takers. My nephew seems to think the dory less seaworthy than a kayak. Read “Bad Timing” and make up your own mind. Johnny Gaco
Design of sailing boat developed on the east coast of Scotland, used by Scottish fishermen from the 1850s until well into the 20th century. These boats were mainly used to fish for herring using drift nets, and were known as herring drifters. Varied in design, they can be categorised by their vertical stem and stern, their long straight keel and wide beam.
Thank you so much for this wonderful article. What a great trip you had.
Thank you. Enjoyable and inspiring story. It makes my wonder if there’s a kit or plans for a “fast” row boat and sail that has a cabin for two.
Thoroughly enjoyed accompanying you all on your adventure. Thanks for sharing. I’m aging out of long voyages, but adventures like yours prompt fun day paddles, small boat sails, and have us building a small 12′ row-and-sail lugger for the future. Play safe.
You ruined the entire article with “hotspots and emails.” Seriously?
How does this ruin it? It’s 2023. People have lives to maintain, even if they are away adventuring. ?
An inspiring account written by a thoughtful, gifted writer. Great prose!
If you haven’t already read it, you would enjoy Rinker Buck’s “Life on the Mississippi.” He made much the same voyage on a flatboat (30′ or so), equipped with an outboard, but often relying on the river to carry them along (he usually had a crew of 2 or 3 others with him).
Your experience with the dagger board and the wing dam reminded me why I prefer centerboards, even though I agree they have their drawbacks too. But then I think about any number of small (and occasionally large) boats by Phil Bolger that use lee boards, which are another way to control leeway, and also have their own set of problems. Might have been worth considering. Though you’d have to design your own, their flexibility in installion would make this reasonably doable. Even L. Francis Herreshof used them in his “Meadowlark.”
I enjoyed reading your account. I have some river miles on the St Croix and Mississippi myself. I cruised both in a 13’6″ tiny wooden runabout and camped out on the various islands often though its been 50 years since then. Thank you the trip down memory lane.
Dave