They're Home!

It was a familiar refrain overheard at the Stuemer homecoming on Petrie Island on Sunday: "What are we going to do on Saturday mornings?" No more fights over who gets the dispatch first, no more losing ourselves in Diane Stuemer's words. It's been a Saturday morning ritual for hundreds of Citizen readers and now that Northern Magic has completed her ‘round-the- world' journey, the "dispatch" fans are bracing themselves for the inevitable withdrawal.

The atmosphere on Petrie Island was one of excitement and anticipation. The Stuemers were finally coming home! We were finally going to meet them and see the beautiful Northern Magic, about which we had heard and read so much.

The People

Some people had shown up here on Petrie Island before 09:00, staking out a spot from which to view the Stuemers' arrival. Many have been following the family's voyage right from the start while others had heard about it and gotten on board later in the journey. All had basically the same thing to say: they envied the Stuemers for their courage to live their dream.

Laurent Gervais, who has worked on Petrie Island for 40 years, was here when the Stuemers left four years ago. He thought, like many of us, that they were perhaps a little crazy! Now, he's here with his family sharing in their homecoming. Although he thinks they are probably still a little crazy, he also thinks that they are very brave.

Two young ladies, Justine and Jennifer, say that what the Stuemers did was ‘good' although they would be a little scared and so wouldn't want to do it themselves. Another young man, Andreas, thought that he would only go halfway around the world!

Many people were fascinated that five people could live together in such small quarters for four years! Others admitted that they had laughed with them, cried with them, been scared for them, and prayed for them. They envied them their closeness as a family and wondered how they were going to adjust to ‘the real world' now that they were back.

Some thought it wasn't fair of the Stuemers to expose their boys to the dangers of travelling around the world in a sailboat. Others pointed out that the boys would receive an education like no other and that any potential danger was minimal. After all, it was dangerous just crossing the street to go to school.

The Stuemers had many faithful readers during their voyage. Bill Taggart and Sue Laframboise, Joan, Keith and Marilyn Stanton, Pat and Ernie Moore, Marilyn and Conrad, Gilles Dubé and Jacques Delangy, have been following the Stuemers since the beginning. They are but a few of the Citizen's readers who will miss the weekly dispatches about Northern Magic's amazing journey. They are not alone in the wish that Diane will continue with her dispatches letting us know how they are adjusting to the ‘real world'.

One man told me that the Stuemers journey was more fun than a roller coaster! They may have started out wanting to enrich their lives and their children's lives, but they ended up enriching ours.

Diane's Parents

When I spoke with Diane's parents, Frank and Jeanette King, I asked what their first reaction was when Diane told them what they planned to do. "Disbelief", said Jeanette. "I thought they were kidding", said Frank. But after the initial shock wore off, they both said they had to pitch in and help make it possible, and to help them make it as safe as possible. They purchased a satellite communications system so they could be in daily contact and know where they were at all times. While this gave them some measure of comfort, Jeanette admitted that she didn't have an easy night's sleep until after they had safely crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Frank said they tried to help as much as they could with equipment. I'm sure you all remember the first year's saga of the functioning/non-functioning auto-pilot! Finally, the Stuemers removed it and replaced it with another. I asked Frank if things had ever been settled with the company and he informed me that, while the company was now out of business (surprise?), he had managed to get most of his money back.

Jeanette and Frank both agree these past four years have been a wonderful gift for the boys, Michael, Jonathan, and Christopher, teaching them more in four years than most kids learn in a lifetime. And while it will be something of an adjustment for them to return to their lives here in Ottawa, they are flexible and able to adapt to any situation that comes their way.

The Boys

I spoke to the boys when they arrived, asking them what their favourite part of their trip was. For Michael it was having his friend visit in Grand Cayman and swimming with the stingrays there. Jonathan liked Borneo and Christopher said that the gibbons were best. Jonathan admitted that he wasn't too happy to be going back to school! And when I asked Christopher what it felt like to be home he said, "The boat IS home!" They all admitted to being somewhat overwhelmed by all the activity surrounding their homecoming.

The Homecoming

Diane King did a fabulous job with the organization of the homecoming. Along with husband Paul Couch, they have been the force behind Northern Magic's web site, www.northernmagic.com. Thanks to Diane, and the City of Ottawa, and all the volunteers, the Stuemers' homecoming was a huge success.

The Honourable Don Boudria welcomed the Stuemers back with a Canadian flag which had flown on the Peace Tower. When I spoke to Mr. Boudria earlier, he said that, thanks to the Stuemers, an ordinary family who achieved an extraordinary accomplishment, there would be many more ‘round to its'. That is, more people would be getting around to their dreams instead of just dreaming about them.

Phil McNeely, Councillor for Cumberland Ward, welcomed the Stuemers back to the new City of Ottawa and presented them with T-shirts. Scott Anderson, Editor for the Citizen, congratulated Diane for never missing a deadline and presented her with a framed page from her first dispatch.

Joel Lapalme, the Manager of the Hershey Shoppe in Smith Falls presented the children with gift baskets of junk food (as he put it)!. For Herbert there was a case of gummy bears, and for Diane, a 25-pound Hershey Kiss (it's a good thing that wasn't on board when they were navigating the shallow waters outside of Montreal)!

Herbert and Diane then took to the microphone and thanked everyone for their support and encouragement. They were especially touched by the money raised to help their Africa project, Hamisi and Boniface, and their Borneo project, Friends of the National Park. Many thousands of dollars have been raised to send kids to school in Africa and to feed the park rangers and veterinarians in Borneo who look out for the gibbons and orangutans. It was quite obvious that they were completely overwhelmed by the welcome they received.

We finished things off with my sister and I leading in the singing of ‘The Voyage of Northern Magic', set to the tune from Gilligan's Island. I think everyone enjoyed it!

None of this fabulous homecoming could have been done without the volunteers. Many ordinary people helped direct traffic, sell tickets, serve food, accept donations, sell T- shirts, and help others sign the guest book. Karen Hooper sold out of her ‘Armchair Sailor' t- shirts with the great logo, and had to start taking orders for more!

All the food - 1,000 hot dogs and buns, over 100 dozen cobs of corn, 50 cases of soft drinks, 20 cases of water, 25 lbs of butter, assorted pickles, ketchup, mustard, relish, napkins, straws, etc. - was donated by Pierre and Mario's Independent Grocers on Orleans Boulevard. They even donated the barbeque to cook the food, cooked up and served by the Orleans Lion's Club who were more than happy to come out and help.

The Beavertails company was there as well, donating all the tails they could, and accepting donations which were going directly to the Hamisi and Boniface project and the Friends of the National Parks project. If the queue was any indication, they must have collected an impressive amount!

Hershey's Kissmobile drove all the way up from Hershey Pennsylvania to help us celebrate and distributed over 4,000 kisses to all who were in attendance.

Through the donation box, the barbeque, and the sale of Beaver Tails and Armchair T-shirts, more than $10,000 was raised to support the Stuemers' projects.

Thank You

I, like many of you, will miss Diane's dispatches. I cried and laughed and prayed. I was immensely relieved when they arrived safely in Canso, Nova Scotia. Northern Magic and her crew seemed to always be right there, on the edge of my consciousness, wondering how they were doing. We all lived vicariously through their adventures. They brought us inside and included us in the intimacy of their family. They brought the world to us in all its richness and beauty, and in all its poverty and ugliness, reminding us how really fortunate we are to be Canadians.

Diane, Herbert, Michael, Jonathan and Christopher, you have touched us in a way that can't really be explained. Thank you for sharing your lives with us these past four years. Thank you for opening our eyes and our hearts. Thank you for showing us that we each have the courage to live our dreams. Thank you.

Jo-Ann Tremblay (with notes from Danielle Tremblay)