15 Nov 2017; Lafayette - Houston, TX
15 Nov 17 After a leisurely breakfast with our friends in Lafayette, we were on the road again by 10:45. We made it into Houston by 14:00, unloaded the truck and returned it to Budget. Except for a few winter maintenance chores on some of the stuff we removed from the boat, we are back on solid land...
14 Nov 2017; Mobile - Lafayette, LA
14 Nov 17 I had an 08:00 appointment with the Turner Marine yard manager to discuss the details of the installation of the new wash down pump, so we were up early again to check out of the hotel and get back to the yard one last time. Everything that could be done was complete by 10:00 and we headed...
10 - 13 Nov 2017; Three Rivers - Turner Marine, Mobile, AL
10 Nov 17 Last day on the water in this boat in the eastern US. We were up early again to make a good start toward Mobile Bay. The weather is still cold (42F), but it was clear as a bell all day. We had the anchor up by 06:30 and motored out into the stream, amidst the “smoke on the water” of the ea...
9 Nov 2017; Bashi - Three Rivers
9 Nov 17 We listened to the owls until late into the night, at least until the rain started around 03:00 and drowned out all other sound. The alarm went off at 06:00 and we got up to a cold (50F), rainy morning. We let go our shore, released the rafting lines, hauled in the anchor and were off down...
8 Nov 2017; Demopolis - Bashi Creek
8 Nov 17 I had promised the other Loopers that I would get up and check out the tactical situation at 05:45, so I did. After I confirmed that all was go with the Demopolis lockmaster, I broadcast a “go” signal to the daily armada via the VHF and we were off shortly after 06:00. Altogether, there wer...
5 - 7 Nov 2017; Sumpter - Demopolis
5 Nov 17 I got up at 05:30 to check out the tactical situation on the chart plotter: no AIS targets (i.e., tows) were in sight, so we got the anchor up at 06:00 and took off in a pretty heavy fog. Along with “Caribbean Soul”, we felt our way through the fog to the Heflin Lock, which was waiting for...
4 Nov 2017; Pickensville - Sumter Recreational Area
4 Nov 17 We were up again at the crack of 08:00, awaking to a lovely, warm day; quite a change from last night - a thunderstorm blew through about 00:30 with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. John and Laurie slept through the whole thing. A review of the tactical situation on the chart plotter at 0...
3 Nov 2017; Columbus - Pickensville
3 Nov 17 After last night’s mini-party, not to mention the very short night the night before, we all slept in until 08:30. Then, after a leisurely breakfast, we took the courtesy car into town, did a bit of shopping and had a look round historic Columbus, home of Tennessee Williams and several ante-...
2 Nov 2017; Midway - Columbus Marina
2 Nov 17 We were all up before sunrise to head down the Tenn-Tom; we are shooting for Columbus today. “Beluga Rey”, from Whittier, AK, accompanied us through the first 3 locks and was waiting for us at Columbus Marina. When I called the Fulton Lock (25’ drop) at 07:00, he advised that he was just ab...
29 Oct - 1 Nov 2017; Bay Springs - Midway Marina
29 Oct 17 We were up before 08:00 to be ready for an 08:30 start, but when I called the Whitten Lock lock master, he advised there was a tow in the lake that would be going through before us, so it was going to be a while. It was COLD (38F) again this morning, so we sat inside the nicely heated cabi...
27 Oct 2017; Florence - Grand Harbor Marina
27 Oct 17 We were up relatively early to take advantage of the courtesy car for a shopping run. While we were out, we decided to do a quick tour of the Muscle Shoals Recording studio, home of “The Swampers” and producer of more hit records than any other studio in the country. It was pretty amazing...
28 Oct 2017; Grand Harbor - Bay Springs Marina, MS
28 Oct 17 We have gone straight from Indian Summer to winter. It got down to 33F last night and we were rudely reminded that this boat lacks insulation of any kind. At least the water temperature is still a balmy 69F, which keeps the wetted part of the hull relatively temperate. We slept in after la...
26 Oct 2017; Decatur - Florence, AL
26 Oct 17 Fall is well advanced around here; it was 45F this morning, but clear and calm. The leaves are finally starting to show some indications that the fall change is imminent. We got up and underway with “Islandia” before 09:00, cleared the Southern Railway lift bridge and were off downriver to...
24 - 25 Oct 2017; Joe Wheeler - Decatur, AL
24 Oct 17 The wind went around to the west during the night and it has cleared up completely, but the temp only got down to the low 50s. We rolled out about 7:30; I think we are finally caught up on sleep. We finally pulled away from the dock about 9:30, went for a pump-out and a fuel-up, then motor...
22 - 23 Oct 2017; Florence - Joe Wheeler S.P.
22 Oct 17 The Wilson Lock is 3 miles upstream from Florence Harbor Marina, but because they are working on it during the period 06:00 to 18:00 everyday, we had to be away from the dock by 05:00 to catch the last lock-through of the day (this made for a short night after last night’s ball game). They...
19 - 21 Oct 2017; Rock Piles - Florence, AL
19 Oct 17 It was 43F when we got up this morning, with a light ground fog. But, we wanted to make it to Florence by noonish, so we got under way by 09:00. The wind was very light from the south, so the lake was smooth and it warmed up rapidly to the mid-70s by noon. We were tied off at Florence Harb...
18 Oct 2017; Grand Harbor - Rock Piles
18 Oct 17 It was cold outside, so we all slept in until in warmed up a bit. Then, we generally lazed around the boat, filled up with water, and made one last run to the grocery store before pulling out of the marina at 11:30. It was a relatively short run to our anchorage at Rock Piles, where we dro...
17 Oct 2017; Wolf I. - Grand Harbor Marina
17 Oct 17 We wanted to get an early start today to make it to the marina in time to go see Shiloh Battlefield, so we were up at 06:30. Unfortunately, the cold temperature (46F) brought an early morning ground fog so thick we could not see “Islandia”, which was anchored 140 ft away. So, we waited til...
16 Oct 2017; Double I. - Wolf Island
16 Oct 17 We all slept in a bit, but got going just after 09:00. The run to Wolf Island anchorage was unremarkable. We anchored just in front of “Islandia” in 15 ft of water and 2 kn of current. The weather was fine and the water temp a balmy 75 F, so Matt and I went for a swim. Fortunately, I had t...
15 Oct 2017; Rockport - Double Island
15 Oct 17 We all slept in a bit to let Matt and Julia recover from their flight, but we finally got going about 10:00. The weather was still fine and cool, with partly cloudy skies, but the front is getting close. Rain and a stiff northerly wind were in the forecast for this evening, so, as we were...
14 Oct 2017; Pebble Isle - Rockport Landing anchorage
14 Oct 17 The alarm woke us up at 06:30 and we hit the road by 07:30, after a quick breakfast. Siri advised that the trip duration was 1:35, but it took us two hours to make it, so we were a few minutes late collecting Matt and Julia, who had flown overnight from Vancouver. It was great to see Matt...
12 - 13 Oct 2017; Standing Rock Creek - Pebble Isle Marina, TN
12 Oct 17 We slept in and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast after last night’s reunion party. The back of the boat was practically covered by sticky, tar-like blobs of some kind of bug-poop. Never saw anything like it, but it was deuced hard to clean off. By 10:00 we were once again headed up-river to P...
11 Oct 2017; Rhodes - Standing Rock Creek, TN
11 Oct 17 Today is our 37th anniversary. We decided what we wanted as a present was to be anchored at Rhodes Bay and have the luxury of sleeping in a bit. Lucky us - we got exactly what we wanted. Plus, it cooled off dramatically in the night and was only 54F when we woke up. We pulled out of Rhodes...
10 Oct 2017; Green Turtle - Rhodes Bay, OH
10 Oct 17 We were a bit slow getting up this morning, after our long telecom with John and Laurie. After breakfast, I determined that the sump pump for the aft A-C was kaput, so I went up to the boat store to see if they had one, and miraculously, they did - stroke of luck that. As I went to pay fo...
7 - 9 Oct 2017; Cumberland Towhead - Green Turtle Bay, KY
7 Oct 17 Another pleasant night at anchor; cool and quiet, although we did rock a bit from the occasional distant barge wake and the wind hitting us broadside (since the current was holding us the other way). We awoke without mechanical assistance at 07:00 and were underway before 08:00 under overca...
6 Oct 2017; Bean Branch - Cumberland Towhead, KY
6 Oct 17 It was a lovely night at anchor; cool, quiet and calm. We snuffed the alarm at 06:30, but got up at 07:00 anyway, and were underway by 08:00. It took about 2 hours to get up to Lock 52, where we had to wait for another 1.5 hours. This time, however, the lockmaster was kind enough to actuall...
5 Oct 2017; Little River, MO - Bean Branch Anchorage, KY
5 Oct 17 Another long day; who is planning this trip out anyway?!? We woke up, without the alarm, about 06:30 and were moving about. Since we were up, we decided to get moving about 07:30. As we pulled back out into the stream, we were off like a shot with 3 kn of current behind us all 45 miles to t...
4 Oct 2017; Hoppies - Little River Diversion Canal, MO
4 Oct 17 Man, what a long day this was. We hit the deck at 06:00 and pulled away from Hoppies dock at 06:43, in the pre-dawn first-light. The original target of Kaskaskia Lock (at the entry to the Kaskaskia River) was reached at 10:25, thanks to 2.5 - 3.0 knots of favorable current. The forecast for...
3 Oct 2017; Alton, IL - Hoppies Marine, MO
3 Oct 17 It was another early wake-up call at 06:00. Unfortunately, when I called the Melvin Price Lock at 06:30, they advised that the lock, which is only 1.3 miles (or about 10 minutes) away, would be down for maintenance until 08:00. We got there at 08:00 and had to wait another hour before we fi...
1 - 2 Oct 2017; Grafton - Alton, IL
1 Oct 17 We slept in again this morning as we only have a short run to Alton Marina, Alton, IL. Before we pulled out of Grafton, we did the monthly boat chores (exercised all thru-hull valves, cleaned all of the bilge, freshwater and shower pump screens, upended the fire extinguishers and cleaned al...
30 Sep 2017; Florence Br. - Grafton, IL
30 Sep 17 I forgot that the alarm was not set for Saturday, so we slept in until 07:00. Nevertheless, we got the anchor up and were underway before 07:30, with breakfast on the road. It was a rather uneventful day (i.e., no locks, hurray!!), but at 09:42, we reached the western-most point on the Ame...
29 Sep 2017; Quiver I. - Florence Bridge, IL
29 Sep 17 We were up at 06:00 again - another long day and one more lock to get through. The anchor was aweigh by 07:00 and we crept back out of the narrow, shallow channel through the heavy mist “smoke on the water”. The first four hours were uneventful - only one bridge. At 11:00 we passed the “Ch...
28 Sep 2017; Peoria - Quiver Island, IL
28 Sep 17 We were up again before sunrise and pulled away from the dock a few minutes before 07:00. We could have hung out in Peoria for a while, but decided we would push on with the trip, to give ourselves a bit more leisure in the Tennessee Lakes. The temperature is still quite low - it got down...
27 Sep 2017; Ottawa - Peoria, IL
27 Sep 17 It was quiet at the dock last night, although we did have the air-conditioner on all night to dampen out the noise from the road above. The alarm went off at 06:00 and we were underway by 06:45. There was a layer of sand and dust (from the road overhead?) covering the boat this morning, bu...
25 - 26 Sep 2017; Joliet - Ottawa, IL
25 Sep 17 Since there are 3 locks on the day’s route, we were up even earlier; the alarm went off at 06:00 and we leapt into action. A call to the master of the Brandon Road Lock, just two miles down the river, indicated that he was locking through a tow at the time and we would not be able to get i...
24 Sep 2017; Chicago - Joliet, IL
24 Sep 17 I was anxious about this next, new phase of our journey, and so was awake for a couple of hours during the night. Nevertheless, we were up at 06:30, in time to see the sun just start to peak over the Lake Michigan horizon. After a quick breakfast, we were off, first to the Monroe Harbor p...
21 - 23 Sep 2017; Calumet - Chicago, IL
21 Sep 17 The boat yard was up and active at 07:00, so we got up, too; not to mention the fact that the trains next door and road bridge overhead kept the noise level at 75 - 85 dB and made sleep essentially impossible. The mast was un-stepped by 08:40. Then, we spent 2.5 hours removing wind instrum...
20 Sep 2017; Evanston - Calumet, IL
20 Sep 17 It was cool last night, so we slept well. The alarm went off at 07:00 and we leapt into action. The dock lines were let go by 08:30 and we motored into a SE 13 headwind, through the Chicago inner harbor and then on down to Calumet. We entered the Calumet River upbound at 11:00, passed unde...
19 Sep 2017; Waukegan - Evanston, IL
19 Sep 17 We awoke to very light rain, but got up and got ready to go anyway. We pulled away from the dock at 08:30. The wind was very light, so we motored all the way to Evanston (north side of Chicago) with the main up to minimize the roll. It was hazy, so we could not see the Chicago skyline unti...
18 Sep 2017; Racine, WI - Waukegan, IL
18 Sep 17 Fall is in the air; no air conditioner last night and we were piling on the blankets before dawn. It was cool and clear at daybreak and the forecast light NE wind was there as predicted. We got going by 09:30 and had a gentle motor-sail to Waukegan, IL; another state line crossed. The Chic...
16 - 17 Sep 2017; Milwaukee - Racine, WI
16 Sep 17 We are on the move again. We rolled out of the rack about 08:00 and after a light breakfast, let go the dock lines and motored out of the Milwaukee Yacht Club just before 10:00. The wind was in the SSE at about 9 knots, but we got the sails up immediately and tacked south inside the breakw...
1 - 15 Sep 2017; Port Washington - Milwaukee, WI
1 Sep 17 The alarm went off at 07:00, so we rolled out to get ready for the run to Milwaukee. It was rough as hell outside the harbor early, so we delayed our departure to see if things would lie down a bit after noon. The rest of the morning was spent doing laundry, buying replacement gear cables f...
30 - 31 Aug 2017; Sheboygan - Port Washington, WI
30 Aug 17 We were up early again; not too surprising as I went to bed about 20:30 last night. We are both on edge because of the aftermath of TS Harvey in Houston; more of our friends are flooding out as the waters continue to rise. We have already loaned out both of our cars and our house is rapidl...
29 Aug 2017; Manitowoc - Sheboygan, WI
29 Aug 17 I was awakened before 06:00 by a phone call from my brother in Houston, advising me that they had water in their house from the flooding San Jacinto River. They were eventually evacuated by boat and are alright now, but will have a long road to recovery. We could never get back to sleep af...
26 - 27 Aug 2017; Luddington, MI - Manitowoc, WI
26 Aug 17 We both woke up early this morning to be ready for an early start across Lake Michigan. The forecast still looked good, so we got underway at 08:00. The “Badger” was about an hour behind us and caught us up at 10:00, giving us a one-whistle pass about 1/4 mile to starboard. The wind was SE...
25 Aug 2017; Manistee - Luddington, MI
25 Aug 17 There is a fishing tournament in Manistee this weekend and about 30 of the participating boats are staying at our marina; they all got up and headed out to fish starting at 04:30, so for the next 45 minutes or so, it was one engine after another slipping past us down the river. When we fin...
24 Aug 2017; Arcadia - Manistee, MI
24 Aug 17 We slept like logs last night on an absolutely still and silent boat - what a pleasant change from the two previous nights. It was cool (50F) when we got up, but calm and only partly cloudy. After a leisurely breakfast and another chat with our boat neighbor, we had the anchor aweigh by ab...
23 Aug 2017; Frankfort - Arcadia Harbor, MI
23 Aug 17 It was rock and rolly at the dock last night, so we were serenaded by the sound of griping dock lines all night long; and it was a LONG night. The wind is NW 13-18 today, so we decided to get out of Frankfort Harbor as soon as we finished a few chores. We finally got away from the dock at...
21 - 22 Aug 2017; Leland - Frankfort, MI
21 Aug 17 The wind got up a bit during the night and blew straight into the harbor mouth, so we rolled around a bit at the dock. However, by the time we got up at 07:00, it had calmed down to S5, as predicted. So, we decided to move on a bit south to Frankfort, to keep ahead of the curve. We were ke...
20 Aug 2017; Suttons Bay - Leland Harbor, MI
20 Aug 17 Dawn broke and we got up. We pulled out of Sutton’s Bay before 08:00 - early for us and motor-sailed north with SSW9 wind behind us for the first 16 miles or so. Then, as we turned past the northern corner of the Leelanau Peninsula, the wind was on the nose for the rest of the trip. The do...
19 Aug 2017; Charlevoix - Suttons Bay, MI
19 Aug 17 The wind gusted up several times during the night and every time it did, I thought “we are not going anywhere in the morning”. But, when we got up, the wind was W7, I walked out to look at Lake Michigan and there were no whitecaps, so we decided to get going, after a quick run for showers,...
16 - 18 Aug 2017; Petoskey - Charlevoix, MI
16 Aug 17 We slept in a bit, but awoke to a gorgeous morning. After breakfast, we walked back up into town for a cup of coffee and a look round. We finally got back to the boat about noon and shortly pulled out of Petoskey Marina. The wind was E7, so as soon as we were out of the marina, we killed t...
15 Aug 2017; Beaver I. - Petoskey, MI
15 Aug 17 It was a quiet, cool night in Saint James Harbor, so we slept well. The engine was on and the lines were slipped just after 09:00. Winds were light from the N, so we motor-sailed all the way across to the mainland. Considering it was such a beautiful day, there were surprisingly few pleasu...
14 Aug 2017; St. Ignace - Beaver Island, MI
14 Aug 17 The alarm woke us up at 07:00 and we reluctantly got up and got going, as the weather was fine, although a bit cool (what else is new). We pulled away from the dock at 09:00 and motored out into flat calm conditions and almost immediately under the Mackinac Bridge (very cool, for a civil e...
12 - 13 /aug 2017; Government Bay - St. Ignace, MI
12 Aug 17 It was cool and cloudy with light, intermittent showers when we woke up, so it was a struggle to get out of bed. We finally got under way at 09:30. After motoring south out of Government Bay, the N wind was fair for sailing west along the coast, so we killed the engine and sailed - ah, bli...
11 Aug 2017; Drummond I. - Government Bay, MI
11 Aug 17 We were a bit slow getting up this morning after last night’s cordials. And it was a bit hard to get away from the dock, as there were more stories to swap between us, “Prince Arthur” and “Ra”. It is cloudy today, so “Ra” is having trouble charging up enough to get away. We will look for t...
10 Aug 2017; E. Grant I., ON - Drummond Island, MI
10 Aug 17 We were a bit slow getting up this morning, after last night’s “contraband reduction” efforts, but we had the anchor up by 09:00 and motored out of our last Canadian anchorage of the year. The winds were light all day long, so we motored all the way, although we did have a sail up as well...
9 Aug 2017; John Harbour - E. Grant Island, ON
9 Aug 17 After a good nights sleep, we were up just after 07:00, had breakfast and weighed anchor at 08:30. Although the wind was E5, we motored for the first hour as we worked through the islands, rocks, reefs and shoals until we were south of Whitcher I. By then, the wind was up to E9, so we hoist...
8 Aug 2017; Fox Harbour - John Harbour, ON
8 Aug 17 We bid a fond farewell to Pierre and Suzanne on “Encore” this morning. Just after 09:30, we had the hook up as well and headed west into a 8-10 knot westerly wind and motored all the way through Little Detroit and Whalesback Channel to John Harbour, where we anchored at 12:45. After lunch,...
7 Aug 2017; Little Current - Fox Harbour, ON
7 Aug 17 Cinnamon buns beckoned from Loco Beanz, so I got up before 08:00 and got there in time to grab one of the last ones. As soon as I got back to the boat, we fired up the iron genny and motored over to Little Wally’s to pump out and fuel up. We were underway just after 09:00, headed west. By 1...
6 Aug 2017; Deadend Bay - Little Current, ON
6 Aug 17 We were up at the crack of dawn, or 8:30, if you like. After a hasty breakfast, we broke out the anchor and motored to Little Current, arriving at 13:00. Then it was a mad dash to do the laundry, grab a sandwich, watch the start of the Astros v Toronto game, shop for groceries and alcohol,...
4 -5 Aug 2017; Leroy Cove - Dead End Bay, ON
4 Aug 17 We had a quiet night at Leroy Cove, but deemed it not such a great place for the NW half-gale predicted tonight, so we resolved to move to either McBean Harbour or, if it is full, Logan Bay on Clapperton Island. The “Well-Favored Passage” said it was possible for an adventurous sailor to ta...
3 Aug 2017; Benjamins - Leroy Cove, ON
3 Aug 17 The wind got up from the east (from which we had less shelter) overnight, so it was a bit lumpy in the anchorage by morning. We did not get out of bed until 08:20. The forecast was for E 10 - 15 all day, so we decided to get going toward Fox Harbor. The anchor was aweigh by 09:40 and motore...
1 -2 Aug 2017; Gore Bay - Benjamin Islands, ON
1 Aug 17 We actually had the air conditioner on last night; it was hot and windless in the marina. We were up at 07:30 and enjoyed breakfast in the solarium. The Admiral made another quick run up to the grocery store and I washed the boat down, again, and got it ready to go. We pulled away from the...
31 Jul 2017; Turnbull - Gore Bay, ON
31 Jul 17 “Islandia” and “Vahevala” were both up and away before 08:00, but we did not get the hook up until just after 09:00. We decided to head into Gore Bay to reprovision, pump out and fuel up. We were tied up at the Gore Bay Marina just after noon. Turns out the grocery store is not as well sto...
30 Jul 2017; Beardrop - Turnbull Island, ON
30 Jul 17 Another beautiful day in paradise. Dawn broke cool, but clear and nearly calm, W-5. The anchor was aweigh just before 10:00 and we motored the short distance to Turnbull Island, where we anchored at 11:15. After lunch, we rowed over to Turnbull Island and walked to the other side of the is...
29 Jul 2017; Hotham - Beardrop Harbour, ON
29 Jul 17 It was a beautiful, clear dawn after a cool, clear night. We were up early (for us, anyway) and had the anchor aweigh by 09:00. After clearing Oak Point and departing Hotham Bay, we turned west into McBean Channel, headed through Little Detroit and into Whalesback Channel. At the west end...
28 Jul 2017; Clapperton Harbour - Hotham Island Bay, ON
28 Jul 17 It was cool and partly cloudy when we awoke about 07:30. We had the anchor up just after 09:00 and motored out of Clapperton Harbour, west around Clapperton Island, north between Hook and South Benjamin Islands, then between Eagle and Fox Islands, and north of Gilmour Point on Frechete Isl...
27 Jul 2017; Amendroz I - Clapperton Harbour, ON
27 Jul 17 For a change, the dawn broke clear and calm - absolutely gorgeous. We were up early and had the hook up by 08:00 and, after saying goodbye to “Soul Mate” and “Swallow”, we departed in company with “Islandia” en route for Kagawong, on Manitoulin Island. We tied up to the town dock for a cou...
25 - 26 Jul 2017; Little Current - Amendroz Island, ON
25 Jul 17 The alarm went off at 07:00, so we got up about 08:00 and were ready to leave the dock at 09:15. There was no breeze but the 1.5 kn of current pushing us off the dock made for an interesting departure. After pumping out the HTs, we headed west, motoring all the way in a very light (i.e., l...
23 - 24 Jul 2017; Heywood Back Bay - Little Current, ON
23 Jul 17 We rolled out of bed just before 08:00 and were immediately hailed by “Islandia”, who were ready to go to catch the 09:00 bridge opening at Little Current; we advised them to proceed and we would be along directly. The anchor was up by 08:40 and we motor-sailed to Little Current with 11 kn...
22 Jul 2017; The Pool - Heywood Back Bay
22 Jul 17 Blissful, pleasant quiet night in The Pool. We were up and moving by 09:00, but it took 30 minutes to get the anchor up and cleaned off; we pulled up about 50 pounds of weed, which was all wrapped around the chain and anchor. We finally had to cut it off with a knife. The exit trip out of...
21 Jul 17; Covered Portage Cove - The Pool
21 Jul 17 Another beautiful day in paradise; the day dawned clear and warm with a light westerly breeze. We hauled the anchor and got underway just after 09:00 and headed SW down Killarney Bay, south of Badgeley Island, leaving Badgeley Point to starboard as we turned north up into Frazer Bay. Then,...
20 Jul 2017; Killarney - Covered Portage Cove, ON
20 Jul 17 About 3:00 in the morning, I woke up with the sudden thought that heating up the raw water hose might make it soft enough and/or expand it such that I could work it on (don’t know why I did not think of this yesterday during the heat of the battle). After we finally got up at 07:30, I borr...
19 Jul 2017; Turning I. - Killarney, ON
19 Jul 17 We were up at 07:30 to get ready for the short run to Killarney. The anchor was aweigh by 09:15, and we motored the short run to Killarney, arriving at Killarney Mountain Lodge marina at 10:20. The Admiral went straight to the grocery (well, convenience) store and I went to Killarney Auto...
18 Jul 2017; Devil Door Rapids - Turning Island, ON
18 Jun 17 No Aurora again last night, even though it was crystal clear. Mosquitos woke me at 5:30, and by the time I had hunted them down and eliminated the threat, I was a long time getting back to sleep. We finally got moving just before 08:00 and were sitting in the cockpit enjoying breakfast whe...
17 Jul 2017; Flower Pot - Devil Door Rapids
17 Jul 17 We slept in till 08:00, having looked a couple times during the night for the Aurora, but it clouded up after midnight and we could not see anything. The weather was beautiful and clear this morning, with a very light NE wind. We finally got the anchor up just after 10:00 and headed out of...
16 Jul 2017; Byng Inlet - Flower Pot
16 Jul 17 It rained again last night and was cool and windy when we awoke, with intermittent rain continuing. We had to wait for a stink-pot moored behind us to go before we could get out of the slip, but we finally got underway at about 10:30, after a quick stop to pump out the HTs. We motored all...
14 - 15 Jul 2017; Stairs - Byng Inlet, ON
14 Jul 17 Happy Bastille Day. Vive la France!! It rained a bunch during the night and the wind stayed steady at E 7-15, but the anchor did not budge an inch. We finally struggled out of bed at 08:30 and got ready to go. The anchor was aweigh before 10:00, just as it started to rain again. We rejoine...
13 Jul 2017; Snug Harbour - Stairs and Maskinonge Bay, ON
13 Jul 17 We slept in till 09:00. It was overcast and cool, with a light easterly wind when we got up. After checking the forecast (E 9-15 all day), we decided to push on a bit north and said goodbye to Scott and Sylvie on “Naut Home” just after 11:00. We motored for the first hour or so and then, a...
11 - 12 Jul 2017; Parry Sound - Snug Harbour, ON
11 Jul 17 We woke to a cool, overcast morning. After breakfast, we walked up to town, trying to find a replacement memory chip for the Sony camera. We ended up walking all the way to Walmart - about 1.5 miles, one way - in the search, but came up empty-handed. Upon returning to the boat, I rowed bac...
10 Jul 17; Goose Neck Bay - Parry Sound, ON
10 Jul 17 The rains were with us again last night, but it was finished by the time we got up at 08:00. The anchor was aweigh and we were on the move to Parry Sound by 10:30. We took very the twisty/turny small boat channel east of Bernyk Island, through the Devils Elbow, Seven Mile Narrows, Five Mil...
9 Jul 2017; Ruddy I. - Goose Neck Bay, ON
9 Jul 17 It rained a goodly portion of the night, although it was not heavy and there was no wind. The rain continued intermittently through breakfast. It finally cleared up a bit just before 11:00, so we decided to move over to Pare Island, about 1.5 miles away as the crow flies, but 8 or 9 miles b...
8 Jul 2017; Gilman Bay - Ruddy Island, ON
8 Jul 17 A thunderstorm rolled through last night about 11:30, after we went to bed. But the anchor held and we were soon fast asleep. We awoke to a beautiful, clear day, although a bit cooler than the last few days. We had a long debate as to whether to stay at Gilman Bay or move on to another anch...
7 Jul 2017; Starvation Bay - Gilman Bay, ON
7 Jul 17 We slept in again until well past 08:00; such decadence. We were under way by 09:30 and back headed north-bound on the small craft channel by 10:00. Just half an hour later, passing San Souci, we turned to starboard at Laundry Bay and headed up into the Moon River Area, where there are doze...
6 Jul 2017; N. Go Home Bay - Starvation Bay, ON
6 Jul 17 Although we were in bed early last night, we slept in until well past 08:00; shocking sloth, but that is the cruising life. We lazed around in the morning and finally decided to motor a couple of miles over to Indian Harbour. We anchored there for lunch and did some forward planning. As we...
5 Jul 17; Wingfield Basin - North Go Home Bay, ON
5 Jul 17 OMG, another glorious day in paradise. We had a wonderful, uninterrupted night in Wingfield Basin, except for the 2 or 3 dozen mosquitos that kept up an intermittent harassing attack on us all through the night. We held our own and they suffered horrendous casualties, but they took a tremen...
4 Jul 2017; Tobermory - Wingfield Basin, ON
4 Jul 17 Happy anniversary USA!! Hope we can make it through another 241 years. Anyway, we slept in till 08:30, then slowly got ourselves moving. It was a beautiful day in paradise, so we finally got under way just before 10:30. After topping up the fuel tank and emptying the HTs (holding tanks), we...
2 - 3 Jul 2017; Kincardine - Tobermory, ON
2 Jul 17 The target for today is Tobermory, 67 N-m distant, the wind is fair, though light, so we were up early and away from the dock by 06:45. Outside the harbor, we tried again to swing the compass (to get the apparent heading to line up with the COG), but without success, as it was a bit lumpy w...
30 Jun - 1 Jul 2017; Bayfield - Kincardine, ON
30 Jun 17 We were awakened just after 06:00, as our neighbors made their preparations for their early departure to Port Elgin. But, once awakened, we could not get back to sleep, so we were up well before 07:00. Dock lines were slipped by 07:45 and we nosed out of Bayfield into beautiful Lake Huron....
28 - 29 Jun 2017; Port Huron, MI - Bayfield, ON
28 Jun 17 Dawn was clear and cool and the wind was fair for Bayfield, ON, so we leaped out of bed for an 08:00 departure. After stemming the stream at the head of the St. Clair River (where all of Lake Huron starts its run to Lake Erie), we headed out into great Lake Huron for a 48 N-m run. The wate...
27 Jun 2017; Detroit - Port Huron, MI
27 Jun 17 With a 9 or 10 hour journey looming, we were up at 07:00 and away from the dock (after a quick pump-out) by 08:00. The wind was fair for our crossing of Lake St. Clair, so we had the jib up almost immediately. As soon as the wind was up to W15, we cut the engine and sailed all the way acro...
20 - 26 Jun 2017; Grosse Ile - Detroit, MI
20 Jun 17 We were up early for our long, foul-current slog up the Detroit River. We got going about 08:00. About a mile out of the YC, while we were still motoring over to the shipping lane and the Detroit River, I noticed that the helm was reacting strangely, like there was a lot of weather helm, e...
19 Jun 2017; Middle Bass I. - Grosse Ile, MI
19 Jun 17 Happy Juneteenth. Our dock neighbors woke us up pulling out at 06:30, but we gamely went back to sleep for another hour and a half. We finally rolled out about 08:00 and were underway by 09:00. We motored around the south end of Middle Bass Island, then turned NW toward the south end of th...
17 - 18 Jun 2017; Huron - Middle Bass Island SP, OH
17 Jun 17 In spite of last night’s rain, it was warm, so we had the A/C on all night. After a leisurely breakfast, we spent an hour washing some of the Erie Canal scum off the topsides on the port side (next to the dock). About 11:00, we got underway. The SSW wind served well for our NW course to Mi...
16 Jun 17; Cleveland - Huron, OH
16 Jun 17 Time to move again; we slipped the mooring lines at 08:30 and headed back into Lake Erie. As it is Friday, I started calling ahead looking for a reservation for the night. We finally found an opening at Huron Boat Basin in Huron, OH, arriving about 14:30. On the way, I ran over a couple of...
14 - 15 Jun 2017; Ashtabula - Cleveland, OH
14 Jun 17 The forecast for today is NE and ENE all day long (i.e., behind us), so we were up early to take advantage of the tail winds and head to Cleveland. We were up early again, made the 06:30 opening of the bascule bridge and were soon out on Lake Erie headed WSW at 7.5 kn. The wind was not hig...
13 Jun 2017; Erie, PA - Ashtabula, OH
13 Jun 17 Finally, a decent day to head west; the wind started out from the SSW, but was very light, generally under 10 knots, so it was nice and smooth on the lake, although we got the anchor up at 06:10 to get down the lake before it could get too choppy (just in case the forecast was wrong). We d...
10 - 12 Jun 2017; Dunkirk, NY - Erie, PA
10 Jun 17 Once again, we were up at the 06:00 alarm to beat the Lake Erie SW-erlies. We were away from the dock before 07:00 and the early wind was from the SSW at 5-10 - i.e., off the south shore of the lake - so it was not rough to begin with. But at 08:30 sharp the wind shifted to SW and jumped u...
9 Jun 2017; Buffalo - Dunkirk, NY
9 Jun 17 Up at the stroke of 06:00, to a beautiful, clear, warm day. We slipped the dock lines at 07:00 and were off to Dunkirk before the wind got up. It was on the nose all morning - SW 8 - 12 - so we motored the whole way, with a bit of main out for stability. By the time we turned into Dunkirk,...
4 - 8 Jun 2017; Lockport - Buffalo, NY
4 Jun 17 We had a bit of rain in the early hours, so it was tough to get out of bed, but we finally got underway just after 09:00. We had light rain most of the morning, but at least we did not have to fool with a lock until we got to the Black Rock Canal in Buffalo, by which time it had stopped rai...
3 Jun 2017; Medina - Lockport, NY
3 Jun 17 We had a very restful night alone on the dock and finally crawled out about 08:00. We were underway by 09:30 and passed uneventfully under 5 more lift bridges and finally, the last two locks of the Erie Canal - Locks 34 and 35; these two locks lifted us 50 ft to the top of the Niagara Escar...
2 Jun 2017; Holley - Medina, NY
2 Jun 17 It’s so quiet in Holley that we slept in till 08:00. It is a beautiful, clear (although cool and a bit windy) day, for a change. The bridge-keeper strolled down for a chat about 09:00, there being nothing else for him to do. We finally got moving about 09:40; no locks today, but we went thr...
1 Jun 2017; Pittsford - Holley, NY
1 Jun 17 We heard late last evening that the last beer vat is scheduled to come through Pittsford between 09:00 and 10:00, so we got up early to get ahead of them (they apparently tie up the locks for an hour each and then travel slowly, with limited opportunities to pass. First, though, I had to ru...
31 May 2017; Lyons - Pittsford, NY
31 May 17 Finally, a warm, clear day to wake up to. After breakfast, I fiddled with the Auto-helm for a while and had an inconsequential phone call with Raymarine, who are convinced there is something in proximity to the flux-gate compass that is causing the problem; we cleared everything out of the...
27 - 30 May 2017; Ithaca - Lyons, NY
27 May 17 This is our first “lay day” of the 2017 expedition and man, does it feel good. We like it here so much that we have rented a car and extended our stay to 4 nights, including last night. After a leisurely breakfast, we picked up the rental car (a Ford Fusion Hybrid; I’m impressed by its per...
26 May 2017; Springport Cove - Ithaca, NY
26 May 17 The weather has improved marginally, although it is still overcast. The wind had shifted around to the north and got up a bit by the time we got out of bed. We weighed anchor at 08:00 and headed south down Cayuga Lake toward Ithaca, NY. Otto, for whatever reason, is behaving well again tod...
25 May 2017; Baldwinsville - Springport Cove, NY
25 May 17 It started to rain just as we awoke at 07:00, so we decided to get underway - might as well be moving as sitting still in the rain. The rain continued all the way to Cayuga Lake and on into the afternoon after we anchored. We entered the Cayuga - Seneca Canal just after noon and transited...
24 May 2017; Brewerton - Baldwinsville, NY
24 May 17 The day dawned bright and clear, although still a bit chilly early on. Ashley and Steve did not make it in last night, but came around the boat for brunch and a nice visit late mid-morning. We had a good long chat, then they hit the road for Maine, still 9 hours away, and, just after noon,...
23 May 2017; Rome - Brewerton, NY
23 May 17 Clear and cold at sunrise, we leapt out of bed at 07:00 and were underway by 07:30. Got through Locks 21 and 22, going downhill now, without incident and jumped straight across Oneida Lake, to Ess-Kay Marina in Brewerton, where we tied up just after 13:00. On the way across the lake, we to...
22 May 2017; Little Falls - Rome, NY
22 May 17 It was cold again last night and only 49 F when we got up about 07:00. We were underway at 08:30. It started to rain about the time we pulled away from the dock and rained off and on for most of the day. Lock 18 was no problem, but the lockmaster advised that Lock 19 was suffering “issues”...
21 May 2017; Amsterdam - Little Falls, NY
21 May 17 We slept in till 08:45, surprising considering all the train noise from the adjacent tracks. “Northern Light” was already gone and we were shortly passed by a couple of flotillas of power boats heading both east and west, all of whom (except the sole Canadian boat in the group) waked us ho...
20 May 2017; Schenectady - Amsterdam, NY
20 May 17 We got up about 08:00 and took advantage of the SYC showers, then pushed off just after 10:00. It was much cooler this morning with a bit of high overcast, but not much wind. Locks 8, 9 and 10 were tackled without incident, but at Lock 10, the keeper advised us that Lock 12 was having mech...
19 May 2017; Houghtaling I. - Schenectady, NY
19 May 17 Well, that was a wild night. Although we did not get the predicted 50 kn gusts, or anything near it, we did have a world-class lightning storm. We sat up in the cockpit watching the show until we had a couple of ground strikes within half a mile; then it was time to go below and hide all t...
18 May 2017; Kingston - Houghtaling Island, NY
18 May 17 Another day in paradise. We were up early, having slept well again. After breakfast, we stopped by Hannaford’s for one last grocery top-up and then turned in the rental car. We were away from the dock by 10:20 and pulled into the stream - i.e., against the ebb current on the Hudson River -...
9 - 17 May 2017; Houston to Kingston, NY
9 May 17 It is time to hit the road - or water - again, after our long winter break. We were busy this winter, but the highlight was the marriage of our son Dan to his lovely (now) wife Emily; we sure hope to see them out on the boat some day. This year, we will start out with a visit to our daughte...