3^rd Annual Pendleton Memorial HoverIn at Muscoda – Doug Birlingmair, Elkhorn, Wi.

Well, another Muscoda HoverIn has come and gone.  Attendance was slightly down (18 craft  vs 25 last year), the Wisconsin River was WAY down (a new record low water level was set Sunday morning, 7/29), and for the first half of the weekend, the humidity was way UP!  But that can’t stop dedicated hovercrafters from enjoying themselves.

I pulled in Friday about noon.  Gerry Glomski was already there with his “Yellow Jacket” hovercraft.  Gerry was the crafter that participated in the rescue of the “500 pound man” on the St. Croix river a week earlier, so there was a lot of talk about that.  Gerry being the modest guy he is, waited until Saturday afternoon before pulling out copies of newpaper articles……

I met David Bouchet, in from North Dakota.  He is a friend of Scott Jingra, from the Green Bay/Oshkosh area of Wisconsin.  Scott had his big UH-16 enclosed cabin, while David brought his own design – a 20 foot enclosed craft.   Both performed great.

It was really humid Friday, so the atmosphere was pretty laid back.  Everyone made a couple runs, but no extended cruises.  Friday was the usual Fish Fry at Ernie’s in town.

Saturday brought more hovers to the gathering.  Some went on extended cruises, some went fishing, some went out and found ways to tear their skirt (that would be me).  A few of us just parked lawn chairs near the ramp and enjoyed the scenery.  It was the most relaxed HoverIn I’ve been to in a long time.

Just about the time we were going to start preparing for the evening BBQ potluck, the Muscoda Fire Department barreled up to the ramp and asked if we had any hovers ready to go out.  Seems a canoe had overturned about seven miles upriver and the water was too low for a rescue boat.  Within 90 seconds, we had one of the firefighters with a radio in Dave Janni’s Starcruiser and heading upriver.  Dave pushed his craft hard and was on-scene in no time.  Meanwhile, Ken Roberts and Dave LaCombe followed in Ken’s UH-18SP to provide any needed backup. 

Well, the canoer walked out of the river and was on a boat ramp when Dave Janni arrived, so it was a non-rescue.  But I had a chance to chat with the Fire Chief at the Muscoda ramp, and he was very appreciative that we were around.  From now on, I will be supplying the Muscoda Fire Department with a schedule of the Muscoda HoverIn’s, so they know in advance when we are around. 

The BBQ Potluck was great as always, with tons of food and lot’s of good conversation.  Thanks go to Dave LaCombe for bringing his gas grill and assisting with the cooking.  Terrie Jensen, as always, did a great job helping set up and tear down. 

The bonfire at Terry Tousignant’s campsite was great fun with Terry playing guitar and the rest of us helping with the lyrics.  Ken Roberts and Ben Tilson provided hilarious “comic relief” and kept the rest of us in stitches!

Sunday morning was foggy, and the river was as low as anyone had ever seen.  A few folks went out cruising after the fog burned off, but most started packing up for the trip home.  Ben Tilson had a short on his lift engine, and was going to leave it on the trailer, but with a little help we got it running and he decided to do some cruising.  I headed out about noon after thanking people for coming and reminding them “not to be a stranger”.   And another Muscoda HoverIn (unfortunately) came to an end.