This was emailed to me by Marty Cooperman who takes his Quetico 17 out on Lake Erie all the time.
I'm thinking that Marty is a pretty good paddler (but a maybe little crazy). He sure does use his Quetico 17
and is still alive to tell about it!  Here's his story:

Edie and I took 2 friends in another canoe out in a protected bay adjacent
to Lake Erie (Erie, Pa) to see bird and duck migration. We saw 6 ducks for
our efforts. Crossing the 4 x 2 mile bay on the way out we had 15 knot
winds broadside which was okay. On the way back we had 20 knot winds and 2,
maybe 2-1/2 foot waves very close together in this shallow bay, but this
time we were trying to angle back into them to get back to the launch area.

Canoes seem to want to stay broadside to the waves, at least my friend's
Wenonah Odyssey and the Quetico 17 did. I've experienced this before. Both
canoes were being pushed sideways towards a metal bulkhead forming the
entrance to Lake Erie. 

My friend is an experienced canoeist, but having suffered leukemia several
years ago has not regained all of his original strength. The woman with him
wasn't a very good paddler. We stayed with them for about 20 minutes but
all they seemed to be able to do was drift along towards that breakwall
making as much progress sideways as forwards. 
We were doing about the same staying with them.
We finally yelled for them to hold themselves against the breakwall while
we paddled back to the launch ramp about 2-1/2 miles away. We couldn't
figure out what else to do to help them. Edie and I could barely hear each
other over the wind and waves.

I was unsure if we'd be able to paddle effectively since I was unable to
hold us into the wind with Edie paddling opposite me. We finally gave up
traditional paddling protocol and did sweep strokes on one side, got
ourselves into the wind and proceeded onwards at perhaps 1 mile/hour with
waves and spray coming over the bow regularly. We needed corrective strokes
every few minutes but Edie got the hang of it fast and switched sides quickly.

I had just purchased and installed one of Dan Cooke's canoe covers and had
snapped it on before the return trip just to test it out. It got a good
testing, and after 2 hour's paddling in those waves we had perhaps a quart
of water below. Not bad. 

My friends in the other canoe managed to call for rescue via cell phone. A
paddling enthusiast on the park above the breakwall saw them, realized they
were in trouble, and grabbed a paddle to hold them steady until rescue
arrived.  Eventually the Coast Guard helped hold the boat while the fire
department got an improvised ladder down over the bulkhead, pulling them up
to safety, their canoe following them. It'll take some sanding and
varnishing to restore the wood gunwale but that's about all. 

We could have made a rescue call but in the confusion thought the cell
phone was buried in our gear under the canoe cover. It was in Edie's pocket
all along. We'll have to remember to keep it handy in the future. I don't
know if there was anything we could have done for them had we stayed along
side except offer the dubious reassurance that someone else was in the same
fix as they. There was no hope of us towing them. 

The Coast Guard boat heard we were out there and eventually located us
paddling half way back to the launch ramp. They were none too pleased to
see us. By that time we had worked the paddling out, knew there was no
swamping with the canoe cover and certainly no chance of capsize. We'd been
out in bigger waves in Lake Erie but lesser wind. 

We managed to calm them down and told them we were doing fine and thanked
them for their concern. They didn't believe us and hung off about 3/4 of a
mile watching us, I'm sure, through their binoculars. They did manage to
yell to us before leaving that our friends were rescued and safe and
getting a lift back to their car. That was a great relief as most of our
concern was not for us but for them.

They came back about 1/2 hour later in a much better mood, this time
realizing that we were doing fine. They told us they were heading back to
base and we again thanked them. They seemed impressed with the canoe cover.
I guess that convinced them we were not just another couple of turkeys
who'd screwed up.

We had a great time, learning lots about dealing with higher winds, waves
and how the canoe cover works. We've got a few alterations to make to it,
mostly suspender type straps over one shoulder to keep the spray skirt from
slipping down and creating a place for water to pool and pulling it down
further. Edie was constantly getting soaked, and stopping to yank on the
spray skirt to get the water off. 

I don't remember being scared. It helped to have been out in Lake Erie
before. Mostly we were worried and guilty about having left our friends. It
was a good lesson in what another boat can't offer in the way of
assistance, and how illusory is the notion of safety in numbers.

Our friends arrived at the launch ramp a few minutes after we did, having
retrieved their boat. They seemed to be fine and not too upset. I credit
them with keeping cool heads.

I wonder if what you wrote about the Wenonah canoes being unable to turn
into the wind was what made the difference between our experience and
theirs. It's easy to think Edie and I are such fine paddlers that our
superior strength and experience got us back under our own power. But my
friend is a much more experienced paddler than I am and I'm not sure there
was that much of a difference in strength or technique between Edie and the
other bow paddler. Maybe our canoe was just a better craft in those
conditions. 

We aren't about to call it a season anytime soon, so we may have to include
an ice axe along with the paddles.

Thanks,
Marty Cooperman
Edie Antl

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