MICHIGAN CITY | "Never too old for a new adventure," 77-year-old Henrietta Gast said Friday afternoon as she headed out onto the swells of Lake Michigan.
"Hi, Chicago," called her friend Elma Epple as their ship cleared the breakwaters and the Windy City came into view across Lake Michigan.
The Michigan City women and their friend Janice Gonzales of New Buffalo, Mich., were among 50 guest sailors aboard the re-created 19th century Great Lakes schooner S/V Denis Sullivan.
The tall ship's visit was the kickoff to Coast Week 2008, the annual initiative to promote the natural, historic and cultural resources of Indiana's coastline.
The three friends whooped and laughed as 3- to 4-foot swells rolled the 137-foot, three-masted ship.
"This is it. When you're alive you might as well live it," said Gast, her hand held tight to a cane and her hair wrapped in a scarf against the lake wind.
Launched in 2000, the Wisconsin-based Sullivan is named after a prominent 19th century Great Lakes sailor and businessman.
About 150 years ago, fast schooners like the Sullivan did the job of today's 18-wheelers, transporting loads of grain, iron ore, coal and lumber between cities like Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. They were cheap, easy to build and easy to man. Though built to last 25 years, the ships often met a quicker end. The average life was seven years, due to captains' tendency to overload the ships or set out too late in the season.
Sisters Grace and Olivia Dybing, of LaPorte, took their places in the crew line to haul up the sails. They also took a turn at the helm.
"It kicks," Grace, 10, said of the captain's wheel.
Olivia, 7, pronounced the sail "awesome."
For longtime Dunes advocate Charlotte Read, of Chesterton, the sail brought a wide-angle view and fresh perspective to beloved landscapes.
"It's a spectacular view of the shoreline you just can't get any other way," Read said.
"We live so close to this lake -- we never get out on it," Gast said. "We don't realize how lucky we are."
The ship's visit continues with an open deck tour today and public sails with limited availability today and Sunday.
