Riding the Pelican Breeze

Published 12:00 am Friday, August 11, 2006

Eleven people, including me, set sail for a two-hour tour on the double-decker pontoon Pelican Breeze, and not only was there no shipwreck, but no coconuts were involved at any point during the tour.

Even if we had gotten into a wreck, it wouldn’t have mattered much.

&8220;I wouldn’t worry about drowning, because the average depth when the lake is full of water is 3 1/2 feet,&8221; said the Pelican Breeze’s captain, Roger Boughton. &8220;So if we sink, just go up top and wait for someone to get you. Or just walk home!&8221;

Email newsletter signup

While the boat trundled along, engine quietly humming, Boughton narrated the tour with facts about 2,654-acre Albert Lea Lake and its history.

&8220;The deepest part of the lake was right where we were docked, which is 12 feet, and that’s because it was dredged many years ago,&8221; Boughton said.

Though it is a very shallow lake, carved out long ago by a slowly migrating glacier, Boughton emphasized throughout the tour that Albert Lea Lake is a jewel of a lake.

&8220;It’s a wonderful wildlife lake because there’s very few homes on the lake. The state and the county own the majority of the land around the lake,&8221; Boughton said.

The Myre-Big Island State Park forms a pristine shoreline on one side of the lake, and pelicans, cormorants and ducks like to nest all along the lake, finding shelter in the trees and underbrush along the shore.

The pelicans are called bachelors because none of the 50 to 70 birds have mates. They nest all over the lake and head south &045; probably to Louisiana &045; for the winter. The birds have a wingspan of six or seven feet and eat their weight in fish every single day, Boughton said.

The Pelican Breeze is in its ninth season of tours, and takes about 2,200 people around the lake every year.

The boat paused in its forward progress only once, when weeds clogged the propeller, causing a squealing noise. Boughton immediately turned the machinery off and his first mate pushed the weeds off the prop with an ordinary household broom.

Boughton made sure to point out New York Point, where an advertisement in New York once claimed there were enough ducks that hunters could walk across the lake on the ducks’ back. The advertisement attracted hundreds of hunters from New York.

The boat’s forward motion made for a steady breeze and comfortable conditions, and Boughton was sure to leave plenty of pauses in the narration for guests to chat.

&8220;It’s nice,&8221; said Steve Twait of Indianapolis. He and his family had come to Albert Lea to visit family, and decided to take a tour of the lake on the Pelican Breeze. &8220;The only lakes like this we would have would be reservoirs. The fact that this is actually a natural lake is interesting.&8221;

Boughton, for his part, likes captaining the Breeze.

&8220;I love the water, and I enjoy the people. We have some very interesting people that come aboard for a cruise,&8221; Boughton said. &8220;And I’m amazed at how many Albert Lea people really do not know much about the lake, but it’s really a wonderful resource for the community.&8221;

The Convention & Visitors Bureau originally bought the Pelican Breeze, but turned it over to a nonprofit group of citizens interested in Albert Lea Lake and who wanted to have the tour as a local attraction. During its first year, the Pelican Breeze ran aground a couple of times while its captains investigated where it could go on the shallow lake.

&8220;We found some places you just can’t get to,&8221; Boughton said. &8220;If you do, you’re going to have to get out and push.&8221;