Jack and Pia's Next Great Adventure

Carolina Beach, NC

2011-11-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

For those that have followed us on our blog, I apologize that I did not do an update when we completed our trip more that a month ago. I would like to say it is because I have been so busy that I didn't have the time but, truth is, it is more due to being lazy. However, as late as I am, I wanted to close this adventure with a couple of pictures of "Knot Busy" new home in Carolina Beach, NC at Federal Point Yacht Club. By the numbers, our latest adventure recap is as follows since leaving Bayfield, Wisconsin in June:

2377 Statute miles
292   engine hours - almost a third of the total hours that are on the engines now
1215 Gallons of Diesel
78     Locks in Canada and the Erie Canal
97     Days on the water
52     Days we stayed in marinas
23     Days in free docks/Lock walls/town docks
22     Days on anchor - mostly in Canada (we miss these days the most)
1      Hurricane - we rode Irene out on The Hudson River. Don't want to do that again
1      Blown head gasket - the only mechanical issue on the whole trip
???? Bottles of wine - maybe our greatest expense LOL

Our plans are to spend the winter making frequent trips to the coast to complete our "punch list" of projects on "Knot Busy" as we prepare her for more long term cruising in the future. For now, we are enjoying our "floating condo" on the coast.

"Knot Busy" in her new slip at Carolina Beach

Gathering at Federal Point Yacht Club on our return home

Almost Home

2011-09-17T21:31:00.000-04:00

As we post this update, we are in Washington, NC, less than 200 miles from our "semi" permanent home for "Knot Busy" in Carolina Beach, NC. Although we had intentions of traveling to Charleston for our home port, we were very fortunate to find a temporary slip at the Federal Yacht Club at Carolina Beach as we look for a more permanent mooring closer to Charleston.

When we last posted, we were at the Statue of Liberty, anchored and waiting for our friends John and Sue Winter aboard "Just Relax" for our trip down the east coast to the Carolinas. Over the last few weeks we have traveled the ICW through New Jersey after a bumpy ride on the Atlantic, anchored in Atlantic City, traveled up the Delaware River to the Chesapeake where it rained for days (everything wet and waterlogged). We spent 2 days in Annapolis, Md before continuing down the Chesapeake to Norfolk/Portsmouth before entering the Dismal Swamp and arriving in Elizabeth City, NC. From Elizabeth City we traveled through the Alligator River to the Pamlico River and have spent the weekend in Washington. We really look forward to spending more time cruising the many towns and waterways of Eastern NC in the near future.

Next weekend, weather permitting, we will arrive in Carolina Beach and will be met by our former "crew members" Ed and Faith Long and Mike and Lynne Albert who will travel to the coast to welcome us home. Although we will be happy to complete this final leg of our journey and returning home, we also look forward to our next journey - wherever that may be.

Please enjoy the selected pictures for our latest travels:

Pia and Lucas "spooning" on the bow

John and Sue on "Just Relax"
arriving at our anchorage behind
"Lady Liberty"

Arrival in Atlantic City

View of Atlantic City at night from our anchorage

Lucas 1st Birthday "cake"

"Just Relax" and "Knot Busy" in Ego Alley
at Annapolis

USS Cole as we entered Norfolk on 9/11

In The Dismal Swamp
sign reads "Welcome to North Carolina"

Restaurant in Washington, NC

We passed this house a few times in
Washington with a dog on the roof.
Lucas was amazed.

2011-09-01T16:33:00.001-04:00

Our last posting began with the statement "it has been an uneventful few weeks...". The last week or so since our last posting has been just the opposite. We were joined in Schenectady on August 20th by friends from home - Mike and Lynne Albert - to make the final 6 locks on the Erie Canal, travel down the Hudson River to New York City. We departed Schenectady on Sunday morning, traveled through a huge thunderstorm (while in a lock) and arrived in Waterford, NY that evening. Mike and Lynne had never done locks before and were fascinated with the procedure as well as the amount of work involved in holding the boat in the lock while water churns below the boat. I do believe they left with an appreciation of the process.

While in Waterford, we first heard of a potential Hurricane named Irene that may make it's way up the coast in the next few days. We continued our trip down the Hudson aware that we could make changes in travel plans as the storm approached. As we now know, Hurricane Irene did make its way up the east coast after hitting eastern NC and was headed directly into NYC. Unfortunately, Mike and Lynne were forced to depart early as we needed to find a safe harbor to ride out the storm. They both thoroughly enjoyed the time they were on the water and felt that this was a unique experience for both of them. I have no doubt this shortened trip only served to strengthen their committment to coastal boating in the near future.

We were successful in securing a slip in Haverstraw Marina 30 miles north of NYC where we stayed until the storm passed. A lot of wind and rain with a lot of rocking in the marina but we made it safely. All of us agreed that we don't want to do that again!

With a few days delay due to Irene, we arrived in NY on Tuesday, stayed at a marina one night and traveled a short distance on Wednesday to anchor behind The Statue of Liberty. Here we met up with John and Sue Winter aboard "Just Relax" - friends and boating partners from The Lake Norman area - who we will travel with the rest of our journey to the Carolinas. We traveled with John and Sue when we began The Great Loop and look forward to spending time with them again.

Our plans are still to be somewhere in the Carolinas at the end of September and find a semi permanent home for "Knot Busy" for the winter. We will continue to keep you informed of our travels through The Chesapeake and into eastern NC and hope Irene was the last storm of this season. Hope you enjoy the pictures of our travels down the Hudson with Mike and Lynne.

West Point on the Hudson

The navigator and his assistant Pia reviewing charts

Lighthouse on the Hudson River

Entrance to Catskill Marina
None of the marinas in Catskill made it through the storm

Lucas posing with one of the decorated
Cats in Catskill

Celebrating Pia's birthday with Mike and Lynne

Lucas has developed a technique to
climb the stairs to the bridge

Calm before the storm?

Flooded marina after the storm
Water rose almost 10 feet

Sunset while on anchor in Haverstraw Bay
One day after the storm

Pia navigating The Hudson with NYC skyline in view

2011-08-20T12:36:00.000-04:00

It has been uneventful (that's a good thing) last few weeks as we departed Peterborough on the Trent-Severn Waterway, made our way to the end of the waterway to Trenton, Ontario and waited for a good weather day to cross Lake Ontario. We have all enjoyed our time in Canada - the scenery was magnificent and the people were equally as grand. Fond memories as we hope to return in the future to explore this beautiful country again. Fortunately, we only had to wait one extra day for calm winds in Trenton and made the 80 mile trip across the lake to Oswego, NY - back into the US - on August 13th. It was another long day on the water but we enjoyed the calm seas.

We entered the Oswego Canal - a 23 mile/8 lock waterway that connects Lake Ontario to the Erie Canal. When we were on The Loop, we did not take the Erie Canal so this was a new adventure for us. The Erie Canal stretches from Waterford, NY on the Hudson River to Lake Erie in Buffalo - a total of 363 miles and 35 locks. We intercepted the Erie off of the Oswego Canal - 160 miles west of The Hudson River - and began our trip East. Although the Erie was originally created as a shipping canal connecting NY to the Great Lakes, today the majority of boat traffic is pleasure craft. Along the way, most every town on the canal has free public docks for boats to tie up for the night, many with electric hookup. We took advantage of these opportunities and spent a night in Oswego, Phoenix, Sylvan Beach, Utica, Canajoharie, and Schenectady, NY where we are now awaiting the arrival of Mike and Lynne - more friends from NC - to travel with us the remaining few miles of the Erie, down the Hudson River to NYC.

Tug used on the Trent for maintenance

Lighthouse as we departed Canada to cross Lake Ontario

We met this guy in Phoenix, NY. He built this vessel himself from plywood and now lives aboard. It took him 9 years to build, launched her last October and spent the winter in Florida. Quite an accomplishment.

Erie Canal early in the AM

We encountered this dredge across the canal one morning and had to wait as they moved her to one side so we could pass.

Typical view along the Erie Canal

This was our 200th lock counting the locks we passed on The Loop. Can't wait until we get beyond all the locks!

Deer along the Erie Canal

2011-08-07T21:12:00.000-04:00

It has been a few weeks since our last posting because we have had limited Internet coverage and because we have really been busy - in spite of traveling on Knot Busy! A lot has happened since we left Killarney for the Georgian Bay and The Trent Severn Waterway.

The first two pictures below were taken in Killarney before we entered Georgian Bay - the first of us tied to the dock and the second of the local LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). As do a lot of towns in Canadian waters, Killarney really caters to boaters, even having a dock at the LCBO for boaters to tie to while shopping! Not sure if this is really a convenience?

Killarney with Sportsman in background

Dock at the LCBO

In order to keep this posting brief so we can include more pictures, let me recap what has happened in the last couple of weeks, some which is captured in the pictures below:

* We departed Killarney on July 18th, traveled about half way down Georgian Bay, arriving at Pointe Au Barrel inlet on the small craft route the same day. We anchored in Hopewell Bay for two nights.

* On the 20th, in heavy fog, we traveled from Hopewell Bay to Perry Sound Marina, staying two nights for some reprovisioning and sightseeing in this small waterfront village (home of the Bobby Orr Museum)

* Our plans were to be in Penatang on the south end of Georgian Bay for a Looper Gathering on the 26th - 28th of July. We departed Perry Sound on the 22nd, spent one night on anchor in Port Rawson Bay, and arrived in Penatang on the 23rd in time for the gathering on the 26th and the arrival of some friends from Charlotte on the 30th.

Pointe Au Barrel Lighthouse
(notice the barrel on the left point)

Anchorage in Hopewell Bay

* Our week in Penatang was busy with more reprovisoning, a few maintenance items on the boat, attending the Looper Gathering, and preparing for our first guests on "Knot Busy".

* On Saturday, July 30th, we drove to Toronto in a borrowed car to pick up friends and fellow boaters Ed and Faith Long from home and departed Sunday, leaving Georgian Bay to enter the Trent Severn Waterway.

* With Ed and Faith aboard, the next 6 days we traveled from Port Severn at the beginning of the Trent Savern Waterwayh to Peterborough, a distance of 140 miles and 20+ locks.

* Unfortunately, while approaching Fenlon Falls on The Trent, we experienced our first mechanical challenge on the trip and, with Ed and Faith's help, traveled the last 60 miles/10 locks on one engine - quite a challenge on a 45' vessel. However, with the help of "the crew" we were able to get to Peterborough and a diesel mechanic was able to fix the issue.

* On Saturday, August 6, Jack remained in Peterborough with the mechanic and Pia drove Ed and Faith to Toronto for their return flight to Charlotte. While in Toronto Pia also was able to visit her daughter and family for the weekend. We really enjoyed our the time we spent with Ed and Faith and look forward to seeing them soon when we arrive in Charleston.

* We will leave Peterborough on the 8th and should be at the end of the Trent Severn in a couple of days prepared to cross Lake Ontario for re-entry into the US and the Oswego Canal by the next weekend. At the end of the Erie Canal, we will be joined by more friends from home for our trip down the Hudson River to NYC. As we return to the US and better wi-fi coverage, we hope to provide blog updates more frequently.

Inukchuk leading the way on an island

Small channel leading to anchorage in
Port Rawson Bay (very narrow)

Port Rawson Bay anchorage

Ed and Faith locking thru on the Trent

"The Crew" at Peterborough Lift Lock

Big Chute Railway Lock

The entire Crew

Ed and Faith at Peterbourgh Lift Lock

Little Current to Killarney

2011-07-17T18:23:00.000-04:00

Lucas on the dingy with ears in the wind

From Little Current to Killarney is 23 miles on the water - it took us 6 days to make the trip because of the great scenery and anchorages in the area. Unfortunately, before departing Little Current on Monday, we awoke to a very sick puppy! Lucas ate something on one of the islands in the Benjamins and was feeling a little "under the weather" for a few days. Whatever it was got the better of him and before leaving Little Current on Monday morning, we spent a lot of time cleaning his bed, floor, the walls, etc. (I am sure you get the picture). Good news - Lucas is now back to normal.

From Little Current, we traveled to Mary Anne Cove in Baie Fine, a fiord created by glaciers during the last ice age, made of white quartz rock. We anchored in the cove in a driving rain and were able to anchor and tie to shore with the help of one of the other boaters. After the rain passed, the next few days were spectacular. When we think we have seen the best anchorage on the trip, we find another that we like even more.

Overlooking Little Current

Lucas felt as bad as this picture looks

After 3 days in Mary Anne Cove, on Thursday, we traveled to another cove not too far to Covered Portage, another beautiful cove surround by 400 feet high white quartz. We actually hiked to the top of one of the rocks and took a few of the pictures below. Another great anchorage! Again we stayed for 3 days.

On Sunday morning we moved to Killarney and are currently at the Sportsman Inn Marina for reprovisions and chores. Killarney is our last stop before entering Georgian Bay, our last leg of this part of our journey. We will be in Midlands on the south end of Georgian Bay next weekend to attend a Looper Gathering and to wait on friends from home that will join us for a week of travels on The Trent-Severn Waterway.

Baie Fine

Anchorage in Mary Anne Cove

Anchored in Mary Anne Cove

Sunset in Mary Anne Cove

View of Knot Busy from the top of the rock
in Covered Portage

It is a long way down

Crossing the North Channel to Georgian Bay

2011-07-10T08:35:00.000-04:00

The weather has finally decided to cooperate! We departed Thessalon on Monday en route to Meldrum Bay. Before departing the marina, to our pleasant surprise, we spotted a moose swimming in front of the break wall trying to get to a small island. He had a tough time climbing out on the rocks and continued to swim until we lost him in the early morning haze. Assuming he made it.

Bullwinkle in the water

Meldrum Bay Marina, etc

At the B&B looking at our
boat at anchor

In 2009, while doing the Great Loop, we were "stuck" in Meldrum Bay on the North Channel for 4 days due to strong westerly winds. Meldrum Bay consists of a small marina with shabby docks, a Bed and Breakfast with a great restaurant, and a country store that has one of every item on the shelf. We were marooned here with 6 or 7 other boats but we made the best of it due in large part to the other boaters. Because of the fond memories we had of this less than ideal experience, we decided we had to make the journey into the Bay just for a revisit. We anchored outside the marina and took the dingy to shore. Not a lot has changed although the "marina" office has been condemned and a new office has been built on the shore. The B&B and the general store are pretty much unchanged although the store has a new owner and now has 2 of everything on the shelves. Better than last time, we only stayed one night, departing early on Monday for an anchorage that we missed on our last trip.

The Benjamin Islands are part of many islands that make up the northern shore of the North Channel. Most of these islands are make of pink granite rock carved in the ice age and created by mother nature that is now officially declared a National Beauty Spot by Canada. Obviously, because of the granite rocks, we needed to be very careful as we made our way to a cove separating north and south Benjamins. It is really hard to describe how picturesque this setting is and the pictures below will only depict part of the beauty. We came for one night and stayed four!

We reluctantly left our anchorage for Little Current on Manuitoulin Island - a small community that caters to the boating community. We will re provision - get our land legs back - and depart for more anchorages west of here before arriving in Killarny at the beginning of the Georgian Bay next weekend.

Sunset in the cove

Lucas likes to sit on the bow of the dingy while riding

Notice the boat tied to the granite

Mother nature at work

Overlooking the anchorage from the top of the rock

Knot Busy on anchor - rock in background
is where we took previous picture

Sunset

Flora on top of granite

One of the many granite islands

Sault Ste Marie to The North Channel

2011-07-02T22:05:00.000-04:00

On Anchor off St Joseph Channel

Lucas' first dingy ride

The weather continues to offer challenges! We crossed St Mary's River to the Canadian side, checked into customs and the marina at Sault Ste Marie. We fully anticipated the winds to increase but we had no idea how cold the wind would be!!! We were here for two nights and on the 2nd night, the temperature was in the low 40's, strong winds, and rain. Fortunately, the front passed and we departed The Soo on Wednesday morning in sunny (finally) weather. Our first stop was an anchorage on the St Joseph's channel - we intended to stay one night but the surroundings were so great, we stayed here for two nights! A truly wonderful setting for our first time on anchor with Knot Busy.

One of many lighthouses intended
to warn of ROCKS!

Looks like an outhouse?

We arrived in Thessalon, Ontario on July 1st for Canada Day. We walked to the local park for an afternoon of festivities and celebration of Canada Independence Day. When we depart here on Sunday, we will be in "familiar" territory as we travel into areas that we were in when we did The Great Loop. Our first stop will be in Meldrum Bay where we, along with 10 other Loopers, were trapped for 4 days because of strong winds. We should be in Little Current by next weekend - another stop we made in 2009.

Locals were really into Canada Day

Pia dressed in Red and White for Canada Day
eating cotton candy

We Made it off Lake Superior

2011-06-28T21:25:00.000-04:00

Our last few days on Lake Superior could not have been better! We departed Marquette on Saturday morning in route to Munising, Michigan - a short trip of 45 miles. The weather was warm and the seas were calm for our journey. Munising, population 0f 1500, is the last stop we can make before departing Lake Superior. When we arrived, we were surprised that this was the day for the annual Munising Bay Arts Festival. Festivities included local arts/crafts along with local performers and bands performing in the pavilion. Good time had by all!

Local kid band performing for the locals!
Practice, practice, practice

We also had the distinct honor of being invited to one of the most memorial events we have experienced since being on any of our trips! One of the local ladies - in her late 80's - was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and has very limited time remaining. As one of her final wishes, she asked all her friends and family to come in assigned costumes and perform a play she had written about a local folklore of the surrounding islands. She wanted to see her play acted out on stage. In the picture below she is the older lady on the left with white top and black hat. Everyone, including her, had a great evening and all seemed to have a lot of fun - including us.

The Last Act

Sunrise as we departed Munising

East Channel Lighthouse

We knew the following day would be long - over 130 miles to Sault Ste Marie - but the weather was perfect and the views of the Painted Rocks National Lakeshore as we departed Munising were great. These naturally carved rocks were created by the wind, water, and ice of Lake Superior and is a 37 mile long masterpiece of color and rock formations. The pictures we took do not do the view justice. You almost have to see them to appreciate the beauty.

Miners Castle

Lovers Leap

The remainder of the day and the trip was uneventful. When we finally rounded Whitefish Point we still had another 50 or so miles before leaving Lake Superior. Whitefish Point was made famous in the Gordon Lightfoot ballad about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald some 30 years ago. This was the point that the Captain was trying to reach before being hit by a 50 foot wave. We actually followed the same shipping channel as the Fitzgerald but, fortunately, did not see any waves.(After departing Lake Superior we downloaded "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on the IPod and listened to the lyrics)

Lighthouse at Whitefish Point

After 13 hours on the water, we finally arrived in Sault Ste Marie, locked through the Canadian side of the locks, and docked at a marina on the American side of St Mary's River. We refueled and departed on Monday morning for the half mile trip across the river to the Canadian side. We cleared customs and plan to stay here for a few days before departing for the North Channel. We don't anticipate having any Internet access over the next week or so so will try to do another posting before we arrive in Georgian Bay. We will try to update as soon as possible and anticipate great pictures of this section of the trip.

Good Bye Lake Superior

View from St Mary's River
as we approached The Soo

Marquette, Michigan

2011-06-23T15:06:00.000-04:00

House/barn near the lower
entry to Lake Superior

Light House marking entrance
to lower Keweenaw Waterway

For all our southern friends and family - you would not believe how cool it gets in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in June. Brrrrrr!

We traveled from Houghton to Marquette on Sunday, a trip of 85 miles.
The weather was cool, cloudy, but the winds were calm. Although the sun never broke through the clouds, we were able to view some spectacular sights along the way. All in all, a great trip.

Huron Island Lighthouse

The only other vessel we spotted on the trip
to Marquette

THIS is the first day of summer?

Thankful for auto-pilot

Today, June 22 (the 2nd full day of summer) it is 50 degrees, a little breezy, and has been raining all day. However, we both had a number of "projects" to do on the boat to keep us busy and were still able to walk into town to do some shopping and sightseeing between rain intervals. We had actually forgotten how much fun we had exploring new surroundings especially when the weather forces you to stay in one place longer than expected. We got the bikes out and, in spite of the misty rain, took Lucas to see some sights.

Lucas is not spoiled!

We both got a good workout

Not much of a Yacht Club
(Note 3 grills on left side and dink on right)

Because of the unseasonal cool weather, along with rain and wind, we have decided to stay in Marquette until Saturday, travel 45 miles to a marina in Munising (which is surrounded by Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore), then leave Sunday for a long day of travel and lock through the Sault Ste. Marie locks into the St. Mary's River and Canada. The weather is predicted to return to normal starting this weekend with highs in the mid 70's and clear skies allowing us to see many of the picturesque shorelines between here and the locks. We are looking forward to putting our fleece sweaters and rain gear away for awhile.

Knot Busy in Marquette

Departing Pikes Bay Marina

2011-06-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

Lighthouse on Raspberry Island in the Apostle Islands

Hole in the Wall on Oak Island

We have been at Pikes Bay awhile - last fall when we bought the boat and this year as we prepared her for out trip. We have come to appreciate the surroundings and the people and realize why these folks consider this paradise. We have met some great boaters and the entire staff at the marina have been very helpful to us "southerners". Jon and Gloria Gottshalk, previous owners of our vessel, have become friends that we hope to see again. I worked very close with Paul the mechanic the last few weeks, learning a lot about the boat while we installed an inverter/charger, fuel flow meters, impellers, changed oil, etc. and talked a lot of NFL football.

View as we departed with
Madeline Island on the Port

Departing Pikes Bay Marina

Our original plans were to depart Pikes Bay Marina in Bayfield on Thursday, June 16th, but Lake Superior fog forced us to postpone our departure a day. We were able to depart on Friday the 17th in light/patchy fog but the water was calm and we encountered on/off fog most of the day. Our destination was 75 miles east on the lake to Ontonagon Marina on the Ontonagon River. The south side of Lake Superior is mostly Indian Reservation and National Parks so it is very sparsely populated. We were looking forward to seeing the high cliffs and natural forests but unfortunately, the fog prevented us from seeing much but an occasional view as the fog would lift. Our travel speed of 8 - 10 MPH put us at our destination late afternoon. We were pre-warned that this marina was small, old, and shallow and it truly lives up to reputation. The channel buoys marking the entrance to the marina were <20 feet apart and our beam is 15 feet - a tight fit with 4 - 5 feet depth. We were churning the bottom! After tying up in a slip, I registered with the harbor master and was told we were the first transient boaters of this season. Can't imagine why!!

The Captain on the Bridge
(who had nothing to do with the seat covers)

Porcupine Mountains

Early Saturday morning we checked the weather on multiple web sites and received mixed results. One site predicted 10 MPH winds, sunny day. Another predicted winds 15 - 20 MPH with gusts up to 30 MPH. Guess which was correct. We departed early for the 55 mile trip, continuing east on Lake Superior. The first hour or so was great until the winds increased and the water became more and more choppy. Although "Knot Busy" is able to handle these conditions without much problem, it does make for an uncomfortable day. However, we arrived in Houghton, Michigan on the Keweenaw Waterway early afternoon. Our intention was to stay for one night but, because of deteriorating weather, we will stay at least one more day. The weather today, Sunday, June 19th is 53 degrees, strong winds, and raining! Hard to believe that friends and family in NC are complaining about the heat, we are both dressed in layers including rain gear. The Houghton/Hancock region is an industrial/former mining community that was settled by Finns when copper mining was strong on Lake Superior. As we traveled here, many of the homes on the waterway proudly displayed American and Finnish flags. Many of the street names and store names are Finnish - Pia is feeling at home here.

Not by plan but we arrived in Houghton on the annual celebration of the connecting bridge between Houghton and Hancock. There were many activities along the waterway and a fireworks display on Saturday evening in spite of the weather. We have no doubt that the weather will improve soon as we continue our travels east out of Lake Superior to the North Channel and Georgian Bay.

Houghton Skyline from the water

Much celebrated lift bridge

Fireworks on Saturday evening
in Houghton

Pia and Lucas on a rainy cold day

Our New Adventures on "Knot Busy" as we travel from Lake Superior to NC

2011-06-14T20:40:00.003-04:00

Gold Loopers

"For the foreseeable future, we will be back in Cornelius with long overdue chores at home as well as preparing "Still Busy" for lake life.

We look forward to our next adventure on the water and are already planning this event. Stay tuned!!!

Lucas - our new "Deck Paw"

Lucas asleep on watch

The quote above is from our last blog submission in April 2010 as we completed The Great Loop in Charleston. When we posted this comment, we really had no idea what our next adventure on the water would be nor how many "long overdue chores" we had at home to complete. So 14 months after completing our trip of a lifetime, we are off again on our "new to us" boat. In August 2010, we made a trip to Lake Superior and purchased a 1990 45' Californian that we have renamed "Knot Busy". She is a fresh water boat that has spent most of her travels on the Ohio River, St. Croix River in Minneapolis, and Lake Superior. After spending a few weeks aboard her last fall, we put her in winter storage with plans to return this year to make the voyage from here to the Carolina coast. On May 26 after 9 months in storage, we relaunched "Knot Busy" and moved her to Pikes Bay Marina in Bayfield, Wisconsin. The last few weeks have been devoted to redecorating the interior (Pia has had 9 months to plan) as well as some needed mechanical updates, we are about to begin our voyage. Our plans are to depart Bayfield in the next week or so, travel 5 - 6 days across Lake Superior into Lake Huron, North Channel, Georgian Bay, Trent-Severn waterway, Lake Ontario, Erie Canal, Hudson River, and then down the eastern seaboard home. Our trip should take about 4 months and we will spend most of our travel time in Canada revisiting some sites we were saw on The Loop as well as exploring new sites.

We look forward to keeping you updated on our travels and hope you will take the time to make comments on the blog as you see appropriate. We will attempt to include as many pictures as possible so you can share in our adventure and both of us will also provide pictures updates on Facebook.

"Knot Busy" in storage

Just as she was relaunched after 9 months inside

Renaming Ceremony

Aft Deck

Salon

Crossing our wake in Charleston - WE DID IT!!!

2010-05-03T11:22:00.004-04:00

We had a very enjoyable and charming few days in Beaufort, SC before beginning our final few days on the trip. We departed Beaufort on March 9th for an anchorage 30 miles south of Charleston. It is appropriate that the last night of our journey was on anchor in a very secluded spot just off the intracoastal waterway. This first picture was made in the early evening as the sun was setting and we were sitting on the aft deck reflecting on all we have seen and experienced in the last year. We have been fortunate to have seen many, many peaceful settings like this!

We departed early the next morning for our final 30 miles on the most incredible journey we have ever experienced. For the final 3 hours as we approached Charleston, Pia read recaps of some of the adventures captured in our daily journal and ship's log. We will be happy to be home but will miss the challenges and rewards of being on the water.

When we departed in April 09 from Charleston City Marina, we stopped for a moment to look at the bridge from Charleston to James Island (from the Charleston side) and wonder how it would feel to approach it from the other side when we complete the loop. This next picture is the bridge coming through the Wapoo Cut approaching Charleston, about to cross our wake. The other picture is us actually crossing our wake on the Ashley River as we approached the marina. Quite an emotional experience for both of us. WE DID IT! (the boat still floats, we have money in the checking account, and we are still married!)

At 11:00 AM on April 10th, 51 weeks after departing, Jack and Pia aboard "Still Busy" crossed our wake to complete The Great Loop. We have traveled over 6000 miles, 2 countries, 17 states, 2 provinces, 140+ locks, and almost 40 waterways/rivers/canals/lakes/oceans etc. As we pulled into the face dock at the Charleston City Marina, we were greeted by the same group of friends, holding a welcome home banner, that were in Charleston in 2009 to visit us before our departure. Jack also hoisted our America's Great Loop Cruising Association GOLD BURGEE that we earned by completing this adventure.

Most of our fondest memories of this journey are of the great people we met along the way, many that we are still in contact with and will hopefully travel with in the future. Seeing "The Crew" from Lake Norman with this banner as we approached the dock was equally great as they were here to help celebrate our success. Coming home would not have been the same without them here.

We continued our celebration with The Crew on Saturday afternoon followed by dinner at their rented house on Wild Dunes Saturday evening. On Sunday, Brent, Tara, Garrett, and Grace joined us for the trip from the marina to the boatyard where "Still Busy" will be loaded on a truck for her return to Lake Norman. After dinner with Brent and family, we spent Sunday evening preparing "Still Busy" to be lifted out of the water on Monday morning. We are not only pleased that she made the journey without a major malfunction but the bottom and props were in excellent condition.

As we have stated many times on this blog, The Great Loop has been a trip of a lifetime. There are 3 parts to this journey; Planning, Doing, and Remembering. We have great experiences to remember and talk about for years to come. We have met some great people along the way and we have experience challenges that we were able to overcome.

For the foreseeable future, we will be back in Cornelius with long overdue chores at home as well as preparing "Still Busy" for lake life.

We look forward to our next adventure on the water and are already planning this event. Stay tuned!!!

Titusville to Disney to Beaufort, SC

2010-04-07T17:29:00.000-04:00

WOW - we had a great time with Joe, Jen, Olivia, and Stella at Disney! We left "Still Busy" in Titusville and drove to Orlando to meet the kids. Olivia was very excited about seeing a Princess while Stella was more exited about her next feeding. Pictures below are a good recap of our 3 days at The Magic Kingdom, starting with Jen and family followed by Pia and Jack in front of the castle:

We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with the kids over the next few days and tried to select a few more pictures that represents the good time had by all. In order are, Stella, Jen and Olivia, Olivia, and Pops and Stella.

We drove back to Titusville after dropping the kids at the airport on Thursday, returned the car, and prepared for the final leg of our journey. The next few days were uneventful as we traveled up the east coast with the exception of wrapping a dock line around the port engine shaft requiring us to hire a diver to cut the line. Fortunately all we lost was a dock line as the shaft and props were fine.

From Titusville, we traveled to Daytona Beach, St Augustine, Fernandano Beach, St Simons, Savannah, Hilton Head, and Beaufort - 60 miles from Charleston. We are still on target to cross our wake on Saturday where we will be greeted by friends from Lake Norman for the weekend.

Key West to Titusville

2010-03-19T21:51:00.001-04:00

We reluctantly departed Conch Harbor Marina in Key West for our trip north on a windy Saturday, March 6th, leaving behind the crews from “Brilliant” – Rich and Hildy- “Morningside” – Gerry, Joanne, and Hinckley – “Spey” – George and Kathy – all shown in this first picture taken at the entrance to the marina the morning we departed. Great people and fond memories!

Winds were on our bow for most of the trip causing a lot of spray so “Still Busy” and crew were pretty salty when we arrived at our anchorage destination in Long Key, 40+ miles from Key West. When we anchored, the winds had calmed somewhat (10mph) but really picked up after midnight (25+ MPH) so we rocked most of the night. However, we woke up on Sunday morning in the same spot without dragging anchor so we were much relieved. Late Sunday afternoon, we arrived in Key Largo tired after a couple of days of wind and salt spray so decided to spend two nights in this protected harbor. We both needed some respite from the wind and took this extra day for some much needed relaxing by the pool!

We left Key Largo early on Tuesday and arrived in Miami late afternoon, found a marina in Coconut Grove (with a Fresh Market close by), went shopping, and had dinner on the boat. We are now out of the keys and look forward to getting back into the protected Intracoastal Waterway as the wind continues to be a challenge. Our next destination, Ft Lauderdale was everything we had anticipated – big homes with even bigger boats! Our plans were to be at Bahia Mar Marina at Ft Lauderdale Beach a couple of days but Mother Nature once again dictated our agenda – heavy rains and winds on our expected travel day so we stayed an extra night, forcing us to travel on Saturday. We had hoped to avoid travel in this area on a weekend due to the number of local boaters that would be on the water. If anyone ever gets a chance to travel the ICW in south Florida try to avoid weekend travel. Local boaters do not slow down and are belligerent when asked to reduce their wake – we were rocked all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday evening, we stopped in Del Ray Beach and joined former neighbors Kristin and Ryan from Lake Norman that now live close to here, for a late lunch at a restaurant on the beach and drinks and desert back on the boat. Really good to see them both again.

Leaving Del Ray beach, we stayed at a marina in Hobie Sound (tried to anchor but the strong winds and the crowded anchorage forced us to look for a marina at the last moment) and Vero Beach before arriving in Titusville on Tuesday evening, March 16th – one day ahead of schedule. Wednesday was devoted to cleaning and minor maintenance on “Still Busy” in preparation for our final leg. Yesterday we spent the entire day at the Kennedy Space Center and will drive to Orlando this weekend to meet kids and grandkids at Disney. We will return to the boat on March 25th and depart the following day for our final 400 mile journey to Charleston with a planned arrival on April 10th where we will be met by the crew from Lake Norman that were there to see us off almost one year ago.

As most of you know, Pia has spent a lot of time on the trip documenting our journey via paintings. This last picture was taken in her “studio” on the bridge. When Pia is not driving the boat, she is usually painting and has completed over 20 paintings so far.

Our Southernmost Point - Key West

2010-02-28T16:07:00.002-05:00

We have been in Key West at Conch Harbor Marina since February 1st and are having a great time enjoying the weather (a few cool days in the low 60’s but a lot of days in the 70’s), the plethora of shops/restaurants/bars/etc., and, most of all, the people and local characters. When (or IF) we ever leave here, we will head up the east coast with plans to meet Jenn, Joe, Olivia, and Stella at Disney mid March.

At our last posting – well over a month ago – we had arrived at Marco Island. We departed Marco Island on January 26th and reconnected with George and Kathy from “Spey” whom we met in Canada and have traveled with on and off since last summer. On our first night out of Marco, we anchored in Little Shark River in The Everglades, dropped the dingy to do some exploring before joining Kathy and George for appetizers aboard “Spey”. These first 2 pictures were taken at our Everglades anchorage. We anticipated staying in The Everglades for a couple of days but, due to predicted winds and weather, decided to continue our trip to Marathon to find a safe harbor to wait out the winds. We enjoyed the experience of anchoring in the Everglades, we were disappointed, however, that we have yet to see any alligators. Due to the coming winds, the mooring balls and marinas in Marathon were full but we were fortunate to find slips in a marina (actually tied to a brick wall) and stayed for 5 nights. Nothing really exciting in Marathon while we waited for a good weather window – the highlight of our time spent there was on bikes riding to the grocery store down a busy highway (US1), in the dingy to the beach, and visiting Fred (minus Linda) on “Young America”. Some of the Loopers we have met along the way are now in Marathon for the winter.

On February 1st, along with “Spey”, we departed Marathon for Key West, a distance of ~50 miles, in light rain that turned to heavy rain storms by late morning but with minimal winds. We have finally arrived at the most Southern point of our journey – Conch Harbor Marina in Key West – and look forward to our “vacation from our vacation” over the next month. At this marina, we joined Gerry and Joanne aboard “Morningside”, another Looper we have traveled with and Rich and Hildy aboard “Brilliant”. Over the next few weeks, we had good times with all. This is the longest period we have stayed in one spot without returning home and our days have been nothing short of busy. We committed to walking every morning (3+miles) - have met this commitment so far – while most afternoons are spent leisurely walking around Key West to visit many of the recommended sights – Sunset at Mallory Square, Ernest Hemmingway House, Key West Light House, ALL of Duval Street, Truman’s Little White House, Southern Most Point, dingy rides through the mangroves (pictured above), and more bars than I can remember! Jack was very involved with some due maintenance on the boat while Pia took this time to catch up on her paintings.

Pictures below are of a number of sights we have seen in Key West - including our arrival at Mallory Square, lunch at Margaritaville, Hemmingway House, a picture made of a grave marker in the town cemetary, and sunset at Mallory Square.

We are now about 750 miles from crossing our wake in Charleston. This final leg of our journey will take a little over 4 weeks including the time we will spend in Orlando.

SW Florida - Punta Gorda to Marco Island

2010-01-25T20:10:00.003-05:00

After a month at home for the holidays, we were happy to be back in Florida even though the weather here was cold by Florida standards. However, after experiencing the below normal weather in NC while home, anything above freezing was an improvement.

We flew back to Sarasota on January 9th, was picked up by Ron and Marji at the airport, spent the next few days at their beautiful home in Punta Gorda and was joined by another Looper boat – Rick and Betsy aboard “Rick and Roll” – that we have traveled on and off with since Canada. We have really enjoyed Ron and Marji’s hospitality and friendship but we needed to continue our journey south. We departed Punta Gorda on January 13th and traveled a short distance to one of the most beautiful anchorages we have experienced in Pelican Bay. The weather finally warmed and we spent an enjoyable afternoon on the beach and was able to capture these pictures of the sunset.

From Pelican Bay, we traveled to Ft Myers Beach for the weekend, where we walked the beach, shops, and took in a Motorcycle fundraiser “Bikers for Babies”. On the 18th, we moved to Naples where we stayed on a mooring ball for 4 nights. We enjoyed the shopping in Naples, did a lot of walking, took in the boat show, and just relaxed! From Naples, we made the short trip to our current location on Marco Island. Here we took out our bikes, and traversed the island to the “lagoon”, the beach and shopping. The marina has wonderful facilities, including a pool, which we enjoyed on one of the hotter days.

We continue to be amazed by the playful dolphins as they "frolic" in our wake.

Tomorrow we will continue our travels south in search of warmer weather - we are only 80 miles from Key West and plan to make a few stops on the way at Everglades City, Little Shark River, and Marathon before arriving at Conch Marina next weekend. For the entire month of February, we will become honorary Conch Republic citizens before heading north closer back to reality.

Home for the Holidays!

2010-01-05T21:21:00.004-05:00

It is hard to believe that our last posting was over a month ago in late November. At the last posting, we were in Clearwater for Thanksgiving after crossing The Gulf and were preparing to travel to Ron and Marji's house in Punta Gorda and travel home for the holidays. Below is a recap of this voyage.

Some of our most favorite pictures since leaving Charleston in April have been of the dolphins and how playful they can be as they swim beside the boat. This picture has to be one of our most favorite of the entire trip taken as we traveled down the Gulf Intracostal Waterway south of Clearwater. This one dolphin was swimming alongside "Still Busy" for a few miles as Pia took many pictures. Finally, the dolphin came out of the water for this pose. Neither of us realized how good the picture was until we downloaded pictures later that evening. One more reason we enjoy being in Florida!

Our first stop since leaving Clearwater was the downtown marina in St. Petersburg where, for the first time on the trip, we were boarded by the US Coast Guard for an inspection. As Jack was going through the safety checklist with the "Coastes", Pia took this picture(she was quite impressed with these Guards?). Fortunately all was in order and we were on our way quickly.

Leaving St Pete, we next traveled to Brandenton Beach on a near perfect weather day to spend a few days on the beach and discovered this sand sculpture of Christmas cartoon characters. As the sun was setting over the Gulf, this next picture was also made on Brandenton Beach.

From Brandenton, we traveled to Marina Jack's in Sarasota to a great marina downtown within walking distance of many sights and restaurants. As part of our sightseeing adventures, we visited the Ringling Mansion, a beautiful home and museum built by the founders of the Ringling Circus. This picture was taken from the patio that overlooks the bay - yes that is Jack on his Blackberry!

We continued our trip south and, after a one night stop in Venice Beach, arrived at Palm Island Marina, just north of Charlotte Harbor, in a hard rain that "trapped" us for two days. Although the weather was wet and cool, Pia took the opportunity to clean "Still Busy" from the dingy. It is not always "wine and cheese"!!!!

So, we departed Clearwater on November 29th, traveled down the Gulf Intracoastal to St Pete/Sarasota/etc. and arrived in Punta Gorda on December 6th. We spent the next few days with Ron and Marji (shown here beside their pool) at their beautiful home,which included a dinner party with friends by the pool, before flying home on December 9th to Charlotte for the holidays. While home, we celebrated Christmas and New Years Eve with family and friends and will travel back to Florida this Saturday on January 9th. The final 2 pictures below are Pia and Stella on Stella's first Christmas and "The Crew" at our home for a New Years Eve party. Although we have really enjoyed our time at home, we are ready to get back on the water and continue our journey. Our plans are to depart Punta Gorda next week, take 2 weeks to travel to Key West with plans to spend the entire month of February in the Keys (in search of warmer weather). We will keep everyone updated on our adventures via the blog over the final 3 months of our trip and look forward to hearing from you.

Crossing the Gulf to Clearwater, Florida

2009-11-28T13:27:00.003-05:00

After waiting out Tropical Storm “Ida” in Orange Beach, Alabama, we departed November 12th for a great anchorage in Pensacola at Ft McRee. We passed this sign as we arrived in Florida and received an escort by dolphins. Along with “Meander”, “Dar Sea” and “Bullitt” – including about 100 other boats – we anchored on the beach to view the Blue Angels Homecoming yearly air show. While there, we took the dink to a local fish market for fresh fish and shrimp and spent the afternoon on the beach to view the show. Pictures below of "the crews" on the beach with the Blue Angels overhead.Good time had by all. Early on Saturday, we moved to a marina in Pensacola, rented a car and visited the house where Pia’s parents lived for 10 years and took the chance to reprovision. We left the marina on Sunday and, over the next week, made our way 200+miles through the intracostal waterway to Apalachicola to prepare for our greatest challenge so far – an overnight trip across the Gulf (Stopping overnight at several quaint fishing towns along the way ). We arrived in Apalachicola on the Panhandle on Thursday the 20th to wait for the right weather window to cross the Gulf. The picture on the right is "Still Busy" at the Waterstreet Marina, taken from the dingy.

From Apalachicola on the northern Gulf, the trip to Clearwater on the Florida west coast is 185 statue miles with no place to stop in the middle. One option is to leave prior to dawn, travel fast – 15+ MPH – and try to make the crossing in daylight and hope we have enough fuel. The other option is to travel at a slow speed – 8 MPH to conserve fuel - requiring a 20+ hour trip and overnight travel. Along with 4 other Loopers, we chose the latter, leaving our marina at 11AM on Monday the 23rd and arrived at an anchorage in Clearwater on Tuesday at 9AM – a 22 hour trip. In 2 hour shifts, we alternated between driving and sleeping. The 2 pictures above are sunset in the Gulf after we were on the water for 5 hours and sunrise in Clearwater as we arrived the following morning. The night was overcast with a quarter moon so our visibility beyond the bow was minimal and we followed the GPS and lights from the boat in front of us all night. The seas were rolling 3 – 5 feet so the entire night was choppy. When we arrived in Clearwater harbor at daybreak on Tuesday we were obviously tired but happy to be on this side of the Gulf. All day Tuesday was spent recovering (i.e. sleeping) and we then joined “Meander” and “Spey” on Tuesday evening for a celebration of our safe crossing. WOW – what a trip!

One of the best aspects of doing The Loop is the great people we have met. While in Clearwater, we contacted a Looper – Fred and Sharon from “Perfect Remedy” -that we have interacted with a number of times since leaving Charleston in April. “Perfect Remedy” finished The Loop a few weeks ago. When we contacted them that we were in town, they immediately offered to bring us a car to use while we are in town as well as an offer to tie up to their dock, which we will do on Saturday. Along with Ron and Marji, we used their car on Thanksgiving Day to drive to Tarpon Springs - the sponge capital of Florida, picture below of sponges being off loaded - for the day and to a local restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. As usual, we all ate too much but still enjoyed the time with friends and the chance to think about all we have to be thankful for.

Our plans are to leave Clearwater on Sunday and take a week or so to travel the 100+ miles to Punta Gorda where Ron and Marji have offered us the chance to leave “Still Busy” at their dock when we fly home for the holidays. Over the next few days, we will spend time in Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota, and other places of interest along the ICW before arriving in Punta Gorda. When we continue our trip in January we will travel to The Keys before heading up the east coast of Florida and/or the Bahamas. We are looking forward to a warm winter in tropical Florida!

We are now in The Gulf of Mexico!

2009-11-10T23:05:00.018-05:00

At our last posting, we had arrived at Grand Harbor Marina at the beginning of the Tenn-Tom waterway, 450 miles from the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico. We have been on the inland rivers since leaving Chicago and look forward to completing this phase of our journey. The inland waterway which connects Chicago to Mobile is almost 1300 miles long and includes the following Rivers – Chicago, Sanitary Canal, Des Plains, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Tenn-Tom, Black Warrior, Alabama, and Mobile Rivers. After many weeks traveling the 1300 miles of the inland waterways, we arrived in Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, November 7th along with Hurricane, turned Tropical Storm, IDA. As we post this update on the blog, IDA has passed over us and is now headed NE into the Carolinas after a lot of wind and rain at our marina in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
Before leaving Grand Harbor Marina on October 30th, along with John & Dottie on “Dar Sea” and Ron & Marji on “Meander” we spent a sobering day touring the battlefields of Shiloh National Military Park where over 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives in the Civil War as the Union forces began the campaign to recapture the Mississippi Valley. The day spent at Shiloh (the sight of one of America’s National Cemetery ) was as impressive as our time spent at Arlington Cemetery while in Washington early in the trip.
We are always amazed at the sights we see coming down the rivers - from white cliffs that are majestic to rural houses on the edge of the eroding shore. Our 450 mile trip from Grand Harbor Marina at the entrance of the Tenn-Tom to Mobile Bay took seven days and included a good mix of marinas and anchorages as well as the final 12 locks on our journey. Our first night out was on anchor on Bay Springs Lake just before our first lock at Whitten Dam. We rafted with “Dar Sea” and “Meander” and had a “pot luck” Halloween dinner with no tricks, but many treats (if we count the good food and wine). We departed early on Sunday the 1st, traveled through six locks to one of the most rural marinas we have visited. The next three pictures are of the marked channel off the river to Aberdeen Marina, the Marina/gas station (notice the marina gas at the back and auto gas in the front), and “Meander” in the early morning mist as we departed the marina the following morning. The combination of trees, stumps, and shallow water presented a challenge.
In the last few weeks, this part of Mississippi and Alabama has received a tremendous amount of rain which has resulted in strong currents and debris in the river. This next picture is of the grass and logs which have collected in one of the locks, requiring us to actually dodge debris while attempting to lock through. After 3 more locks and 70 miles, we anchored at Cochrane Cutoff along with 2 other boats already anchored when we arrived. Once again, we rafted with “Dar Sea” and “Meander” for the evening.
The last marina before reaching Mobile is Demopolis Yacht Basin in Demopolis, Alabama at mile 216 of 450 on the Tenn-Tom. For the next few nights, we have no choice but to stay on anchor. Consequently, Demopolis also is the last chance for fuel before arriving in Mobile Bay and is a popular marina for loopers and other boaters headed to Florida. We stayed for two nights, which included sightseeing, and provisioning. This next picture is of all the boats waiting for the lock on Thursday the 5th as the sun was rising. The race is on to find the best places to anchor for the next few nights before arriving in The Gulf.
Because of the recent rains which resulted in strong currents downsteam, we were able to travel almost 90 miles to the Okatuppa Creek for our next anchorage. This next picture is of us in the narrow creek as we anchor for the evening. As we were leaving on the 6th, the fog was thick and actually got thicker in the river, forcing us to “hang around” in the river and hope we didn't meet a tow. This picture is of “Meander” and “Dar Sea” in the fog.
After 143 locks since leaving Charleston, we performed our last lock through at Coffeeville Lock at mile 117 on the Black Warrior River on Friday, November 6th. Pia had the honor of taking us into the lock as Jack handled the lines and took this next picture. We are happy to be close to the Gulf, sandy beaches, and warmer weather. We are happier to be finished with LOCKS!
We arrived in Mobile Bay (last picture below) on Saturday, November 7th with reservations for the weekend at Eastern Shore Marina in the east side of Mobile Bay. On Saturday, we visited Fairhope, Alabama and were looking forward to spending the weekend in this charming seaside village. A little shopping and sight -seeing, even took in a Motorcycle parade, with Santa as the star ! On Saturday evening, we bought fresh shrimp from a local shrimper and had boiled shrimp at the marina with the crews from “Dar Sea” and “Meander”. Dinner was enjoyed by candlelight at a picnic table at the marina. We were awakened early on the 8th by another looper in the marina that advised us that the east of Mobile bay was not the place to be with the approaching Hurricane Ida from the Gulf. We were fortunate to find a marina in Orange Beach on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway which was fairly protected from the approaching downgraded Tropical Storm. The wind from Ida was strong and the rains were intense on Monday and Tuesday. However, not nearly as bad as we had feared !!!! The marina was well protected and our plans are to leave here on Thursday to begin our 250 mile trip along the Panhandle of Florida before crossing the Gulf to the Western coast of Florida. The Blue Angels have a homecoming air show in Pensacola this weekend and we hope to be anchored for the show. We actually saw the Blue Angels while in Annapolis earlier in the trip and am sure we will enjoy the show again!

Joe Wheeler State Park to the Tenn-Tom Waterway

2009-10-30T21:30:00.024-04:00

We made it back on the water after a very enjoyable few weeks at home. With many friends and family, we celebrated Jack’s 60th Birthday along with our 1st year wedding anniversary. Thanks to everyone that participated in making this a special time of celebration. This first picture is at our house at the party surrounded by good friends. The next picture is at one of our "hangouts" at home - Big Al's with wings and beer.

While home, we were able to spend time with the “Carolina Grandkids” – Jackson, Garrett, Grace, Olivia, and Stella. The next three pictures are Jackson, Garrett & Grace, and Olivia & Stella.

We are also able to keep in touch with the “Canadian Grandkids” – Keegan, Maija, Makenna, Ethan – via frequent webcams. It is hard to believe that it has been only one year since our entire family was together for the wedding and we are amazed at how much all our Grandkids have grown.
We drove back to the boat on Tuesday, October 20th after almost 3 weeks at home. It’s hard to believe how dirty a boat gets by sitting in a slip – even a covered slip – so we spent a couple of days cleaning and reprovisioning before moving “Still Busy” from Bay Hill Marina to Joe Wheeler State Park Marina – a distance of 10 miles down the Tennessee River - for the “Fall Loopers Rendezvous”, a yearly meeting of past, present, and future Loopers gathered to share experiences of the looping experience. With over 250 people in attendance, including 25+ “currently looping” Looper boats, we attended 3 days of sessions on what to expect in the final phase of our journey into the Gulf, around Florida and up the east coast. Based on what we learned at the meeting, we are really looking forward to the next phase of our adventure back in salt water and the challenges of tides and currents.
The rendezvous ended on Wednesday the 28th and we departed at 6:30 AM on Thursday, along with 12 looper boats (including “Dar Sea” and “Meander” that we have traveled with since Canada), in heavy rain. We back tracked through Wheeler and Wilson locks down the Tennessee River 60+ miles to the beginning of the Tenn-Tom waterway. In early October, we traveled this same route up the Tennessee River to Wilson Lake to leave the boat, return home and back to attend the Rendezvous. Wilson lock was once the world’s highest single lift lock but now ranks 6th in the US and is a challenge with 12 boats in heavy rain. We all made the trip safely and arrived at Grand Harbor Marina located at the junction of the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom late afternoon.
The Tenn-Tom Waterway is 450 miles and 12 locks, connecting the Tennessee River, via the Black Warrior River, to Mobile, Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. Weather permitting, we should be in Mobile in 10 days to begin the trip around the “Big Bend” of Florida. As we get deeper into the Tenn-Tom we don’t expect much cell and Internet coverage but will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible. This final picture was taken, just before we left the Tennessee River to enter the Tenn-Tom, of a waterfall in a small anchorage off the river. We were impressed with the waterfall as well as the foliage of the early fall leaves. One of the prettiest sights we have seen since entering the western rivers.
As a final note – when we were home many friends expressed the desire to leave comments on the blog but wasn’t sure of how. For those that wish to leave a comment, the procedure is as follows:
· At the bottom of the posting, click on COMMENT
· Type your comment on the right side of the screen in the box provided
· Below the comment box, type the Word Verification as it appears
· Finally, check “Anonymous” and “Publish Your Comment”
We always enjoy reading your comments and look forward to hearing from all of you.

Tennessee River - Kentucky Lake to Wheller Lake, Alabama

2009-10-07T09:16:00.023-04:00

At our last update, we had arrived at Green Turtle Bay Marina on the Cumberland River for the weekend of September 18th, 19th and 20th. As we submit this posting on October 6th, we are back in Charlotte for a planned visit home to celebrate Jack’s 60th Birthday on the 8th and our first anniversary on the 11th. It is great to be home to share these two events with family and friends this weekend. However, we will also miss sharing these events with our “looper” friends and look forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming Looper Rendezvous at the end of the month. When we continue our travels in late October after the rendezvous, we will provide another update to the blog as we travel down the Tenn-Tom to Mobile and the Gulf.

We departed Little Turtle Bay Marina and made a short trip down the Cumberland and turned to port to join the Tennessee River. The Tennessee River begins just north of Knoxville and flows 650+ miles to the Ohio River, flowing southwest through Tennessee into Northeast Alabama before turning north through western Tennessee into the Ohio River just north of Paducah. Our travels will take us up the Tennessee, past the beginning of the Tenn-Tom Waterway, 287 miles to Bay Hill Marina in Athens, Alabama. Because of the strong current created by a lot of rain recently, we once again changed our plans to travel to Chattanooga, deciding to leave the boat in Athens, rent a car for sightseeing in the area, travel to Charlotte, return to attend the rendezvous in Rogersville, Alabama before continuing our journey on the water.

We began our 287 mile trip up the Tennessee River departing Green Turtle Bay Marina on September 21st and made a short trip – less than 20 miles – to a great anchorage at Sugar Bay on Kentucky Lake. "Meander" decided to stay a few days in Sugar Bay as we departed early the next day. We will see Ron and Marji at the Rendezvous. The following 3 pictures were taken on our 2nd anchorage at Clay Bay on Tuesday evening. The first is "Still Busy" on anchor taken from the dingy before the rain storm shown in the 2nd picture followed by the 3rd picture of a beautiful rainbow following the storm. What can't be seen in this photo are the deer eating grass on the side of the water. One of the most beautiful scenes we have seen on the trip! (remember you can click on the picture to enlarge)

It is great to be back into “lak’n” for a change after all the rivers and canals we have experienced recently. Over the next week, we anchored 4 nights, stayed at 2 marinas before arriving at Bay Hill Marina on Wheeler Lake on September 28th where we rented a car for our local and home travels over the next few weeks.

Below is a recap of our journey over the last few weeks in pictures:

This next picture is us anchored at Double Isle, just off the river behind two islands with a barge traveling down the river. Know I know why we look for anchorages out of the waterway!

In Canada, we traveled with John and Dottie aboard "Dar Sea" and last saw them in Lake Michigan just before they left their boat to go home for a few weeks. We have traded many emails and voice mails trying to reconnect and they finally caught up with us on Friday in Clifton, Tn. This first picture is "Dar Sea" passing us at a marina and the 2nd picture is both of us anchored at Diamond Island on the River. In spite of the heavy current, we dropped the dingy and joined John and Dottie for cocktails and snacks and stories of grandkids. It is really great to see them and look forward to traveling with them again. After the Rendezvous, we hope to reconnect with "Meander" and "Dar Sea".

We arrived at Bay Hill Marina on Wheeler Lake on September 28th and, as mentioned earlier, used the rental car to explore the area including a day spent at the NASA Space Center in Huntsville as well as seeing downtown Huntsville. A great day of sightseeing. This next picture was taken at NASA and I couldn't resist posting it on the blog with the title "I Am Glad We Don't Live in a Yellow Submarine". Looks even smaller than "Still Busy".

We secured "Still Busy" and began our drive home on Friday, stopping first in Chattanooga and staying in a Marriott for the first time in a long time using some of the many Marriott points Jack accumulated over the years of business travel. In the afternoon, we visited the famous Chattanooga Aquarium and attended a Blue Grass Festival on Friday night. Before leaving on Saturday, we also visited the "more famous" Chattanooga Choo-Choo before driving to Asheville, NC through the mountains. Once again, we used points to stay at the Marriott downtown Asheville and visited one of the largest single family homes in the US on Sunday - The Biltmore House.

St Louis to Green Turtle Bay, Kentucky

2009-09-25T15:09:00.012-04:00

In one of our first blog postings describing our trip and the route we were taking, we referenced the western rivers of The Great Loop as the most challenging of the entire trip. Although we have had many challenges with wind, waves, weather, etc, the next 3 days of our trip down the Mississippi to the Ohio River to the Cumberland River was indeed the most challenging.
We departed Alton Marina early Tuesday, September 15th and met other loopers at the Melvin Price Lock just south of Alton. We now have a flotilla of 9 Looper Boats – “Mayalisa”, “Perfect Remedy”, “Meander”, “Rick ‘n Roll”, “Morningside”, “Sterling Lady”, “Riff Raff”, “Pookie II” – as we travel the ~300 miles to Green Turtle Bay Marina on The Cumberland River. The trip will take 4 days with limited resources (fuel, marinas, etc) along the way.
Having visited the arch over the weekend, we were thrilled to see this familiar structure from the waterway as we passed St. Louis. Unfortunately, there are no marinas or facilities in St. Louis for pleasure boaters to stop so we continued our journey to one of the most interesting “marinas” we will ever visit. Hoppies Marine Service is located at mile 158 on the Mississippi – 40+ miles from Alton Marina. Hoppies is a must stop not only because the next fuel stop is Green Turtle – 242 miles away – but is a great resource of information about the river. Hoppies is actually three very rusty 100 foot barges tied to the cliff with cables. Our “flotilla” arrived around 2:30 and took turns getting gas and tying up for the evening. The picture on the right is Hoppies with "Still Busy" tied to a barge on the inside. The barge we were rafted on had a leak and we heard the bilge pump emptying the barge ever hour or so all night. Hoppies is located at Kimmswick, a small village with very quaint shops, restaurants, and bakeries. We walked into town for shopping and arrived back in time for Hoppie and Fern to brief us on what to expect further down the river. This next picture is a "typical" sight on the Mississippi - barges, trains, industry. The picture to the right is an island on the river.

We decided to leave at first light on Wednesday with the intent of traveling 110 miles to our best anchorage out of the river at Little Diversion Channel – a narrow river that empties into the Mississippi. When we arrived at Diversion channel, we rafted in 2 groups – 5 in one and 4 in the other – some stern to stern. The current was not strong, we all settled for appetizers and drinks aboard and an early night. We are very encouraged by our fuel consumption as we are traveling with the flow behind us and have no doubt we can make the trip to Green Turtle for our next fuel stop.
The flotilla pulled anchor early on Thursday prepared for another long day on the River. Late morning, we turned off the Mississippi into the Ohio River. We have traveled over 200 miles on the Mississippi and will miss the current pushing us along as we now travel 50 miles up the Ohio with the current on our bow. We can feel the difference in GPS and water speed. We arrived at our first Ohio River lock mid afternoon and experienced the most difficult lock we have been in so far after ~150 locks. The lockmaster allowed us to lock through only if we don’t tie to the bollards and float in the middle of the chamber – 9 boats with 15 knot winds “floating” in the middle of the lock for almost 1 hour – a very exhausting experience! Here is a picture from our boat of all the boats "floating" in the lock. However, all passed the “bumper boat” test! When we arrived at our 2nd lock of the day, near Metropolis, Illinois, we were advised by the lockmaster to anchor below the lock for the night and we could all lock through in the morning. There were multiple barges and tows waiting in line to lock through and the lock will operate all night. The flotilla was able to find anchorage out of the channel and we all anchored separately after another long day of travel. We are now less than 50 miles to our weekend destination at Green Turtle Bay just north of Paducah.
Once again, the flotilla was up at first light to line up for our lock through - here is a picture of the flotilla as we waited for the lock at sunrise. When asked if we preferred to tie up to bollards or float in the middle we immediately reached a unanimous decision – all based on the previous days experience. We arrived at Green Turtle Bay Marina around 5 PM after fighting a lot of current on both the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. In spite of the distance of 240 miles and the strong current after we left the Mississippi, we arrived with ample fuel. While at Green Turtle Bay, along with Betsy, Rick, Ron and Marji, we took advantage of the courtesy car and drove 26 miles back to Paducah to visit the Maritime Museum and the National Quilt Museum. Both were worth the trip. Paducah is trying very hard to be an “artsy” little rivertown and we enjoyed it very much.

The last 3 pictures are 1) Leaving the Mississippi into the Ohio Rivers, 2) Leaving the Ohio River into the Cumberland, and 3) arriving in Green Turtle Bay Marina after a long 3 days on the Rivers.
We now really look forward to traveling the short distance into the Tennessee River after spending the weekend at the marina on the Cumberland. In addition to the 9 boat flotilla, we were joined in Green Turtle over the weekend by 6 more looper boats as everyone is pacing to arrive at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama for the looper rendezvous. Our original plan was to continue up the Cumberland River to Nashville but, because we would like to travel home early October, we plan on leaving Monday and taking our time for a 400 mile trip up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga where we will rent a car and drive home for a few days. When we return, we will backtrack 200 miles down the Tennessee River to Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama for the Looper Rendezvous in late October before traveling down the Tenn-Tom to Mobile.

Ottawa to St Louis - on the Mississippi

2009-09-14T21:36:00.019-04:00

After a very enjoyable Labor Day at Heritage Marina near Ottawa, Illinois, we continued our journey down the Illinois River on Tuesday. At this point of the trip, there are not many choices for marinas nor good anchorages and proper planning is essential. Although we considered many anchorages along the way, we traveled over 70 miles because we were able to get a “slip” (tied to the gas dock) at The Illinois Valley Yacht Club for the night and joined fellow loopers “Pookie II”, “Rick and Roll”, and “Meander” for dinner across the railroad tracks at a local bar. The next morning, along with “Meander” we decided to bypass Peoria and continue our journey with the goal of reaching St. Louis for the weekend. The upper Illinois River is the least appealing part of our journey to date – very industrial with many barges – so we are looking forward to the Tennessee River in another few weeks! As stated in earlier posts, due to the Fish Barrier, it costs us $600 to be towed through the barrier created to keep Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan. Not only do Carp eat all vegetation and upset the environment, they also jump out of the water and are actually dangerous to boaters. (We witnessed a boater getting hit on the head by one!) When we arrived at our evening anchorage, we were very surprised to find a carp had landed in the dingy and joined us for a ride. Here is a picture of Jack holding our $600 Carp!

Our scheduled departure of 8 AM was delayed to after 9 due to heavy fog but we were still able to travel another 50+ miles to an anchorage behind Quiver Island at mile 121 (only 121 more miles to the Mississippi River). We joined Ron and Marji for appetizers on “Meander”, had dinner on “Still Busy”, and ran the generator so we could watch “America’s Got Talent” on the TV. Once again, due to heavy fog, our departure on Thursday was delayed until after 9 and but we still traveled to mile 46 (another 70+ mile day) to another anchorage at Buckhorn Island where we rafted with “Meander” for a pot luck dinner and early bedtime.
The lower Illinois River is much more appealing with less industry, fewer commercial barges, and trees and vegetation along the shore. This made for an easier trip on Friday. We arrived at the junction of the Illinois River and Mississippi River (mile 0 of the Illinois and 300 miles – 8 locks - from the Little Calamet River where we departed a week ago) mid-afternoon and were all amazed that we were at this junction of the trip. The “mighty” Mississippi River holds a lot of mystique and we were in awe. We continued for 15 miles to Alton Marina where we had reservations for the weekend. This is one of the nicest marinas we have ever seen – covered slips, new floating docks, swimming pool, hot tubs, and great shower facilities. A great place to stay for a few days and visit St. Louis. The next 3 pictures are our first view of The Mississippi as we departed the Illinois, rock cliffs on the River, and Alton Marina.

On Saturday, we rented a car for the weekend and drove the short distance into St Louis and spent the afternoon at the famous “Gateway to the West Arch” as well as an local art show near downtown. We also met some long time friends, Rick and Nanette Rice, for dinner at one of Jacks favorite restaurants in St Louis. Good food, good wine, great time reminiscing about our many memories together. The first picture is us at the top of the Arch and the next is dinner with the Rick and Nanette. On Sunday, we toured the “Lewis and Clark Museum” and did some much needed reprovisioning as we prepared to leave on Tuesday. Monday is devoted to maintenance day – change oil and filters, washing the boat inside and outside, etc. Once again, we look forward to continuing our trip but have really enjoyed the weekend in Alton and the St Louis area. We are 300 miles or so from Kentucky Lake and will slow down our journey at that point. Our plans are to travel up the Cumberland River for a side trip to Nashville as well as another side trip up the Tennessee River to Knoxville before reaching Mobile in early November.

Little Calumet to Ottawa, Illinois

2009-09-07T23:26:00.019-04:00

We flew out of O’Hare on Friday, August 21st, for our return home. Hard to say this was a vacation since we are on a year long vacation but we did look forward to getting off the boat for a few weeks and visiting friends and family, especially our new grandchild. I guess one could say that this trip was a vacation from our vacation? Thanks to Jessica, our house was in perfect shape when we arrived home. On Saturday, we met many of “the crew” at Big Al’s for wings and beer at lunch and spent the remainder of the afternoon on the home dock visiting with friends. We marvelled at he heat and humidity...had not had any all summer !!!On Sunday, we traveled to south Charlotte for dinner at SouthPark Mall to celebrate Pia and Pia’s Mom Aili’s Birthdays. Great to be home for this event! The remainder of the week was spent working around the house, doctor’s appointments, visiting friends, etc, etc.
Jackie and Jackson came to the Lake on Friday for the weekend (the first picture is Jackson in the backyard and the 2nd picture is Jackson and Olivia) Jack's Mom, Sandra, and Ralph joined us on Saturday. Joe, Jen, Olivia, Bella (the dog) and Stella, along with Pia’s family - Mom, Juha, Laura, Nick, Kylie, Anna - visited on Sunday for a Griffin/Lehtela family event. This was our first chance to meet Stella and she is as beautiful as we had imagined. The next picture is Great Grandma Irene with new granddaughter Stella. Stella was born as we crossed Georgian Bay in July and we really looked forward to seeing her. We also look forward to sharing our memories with her of our day in the middle of the Bay when we heard she was finally here and her and Mom were fine. Thanks to Ron, Marji, John and Dottie for making this special day even more special.

Before we flew home on the 21st, we heard a Coast Guard broadcast on the VHF radio concerning a closure on the Illinois River due to an electrical “Carp Safety Zone” that had been established on the River to keep Asian Carp from swimming upstream to Lake Michigan due to the havoc the carp play on the environment. In effect, the Army Corp of Engineers, in order to keep Carp out of Lake Michigan, injects electrical current into the river as a deterrent to Asian Carp seeking cooler water upstream. This “Safety Zone” has been in effect for a few years but has not been as effective as planned so the Corp suddenly decided to increased the volts. Unfortunately, the effect of this increase on fiberglass boats had not been tested so the Coast Guard shut down the waterway until testing could be completed, essentially shutting down the Illinois River south of Chicago to pleasure boaters. We fully expected the situation to be resolved before our return but were surprised to learn that the River was still closed when we flew back on September 1st. However, a compromise was developed. Loopers could be towed through the Carp Safety Zone by a commercial tug at a cost of $600 per boat! Rather than waiting for this ridiculous policy to be changed (or waiting on the US Government agencies to make rational decisions), after gaining “permission” from the USCG, we departed Marine Services Marina on the Little Calumet River on September 4th to meet our tug “Buster White” for out tow beyond the safety zone. We arrived at 10 AM, tied to a coal barge (pictures above of Pia and Jack tied to the coal barger - dirty!) on the river waiting for our tow to arrive, rafted to the tow boat after signing a release that stated we would not sue the tow company if our boat exploded, paid our $600 ransom after disconnecting our battery cables, was towed the .7 mile journey, and were on our way to Joliet in 2 hours. We arrived at the town dock in Joliet (home of the prison that housed Al Capone) mid afternoon and were happy to beyond the fish zone. We joined Ron and Marji on “Meander” for cocktails and appetizers.
On Saturday, we departed Joliet for a 60 mile trip to Ottawa, Illinois for the Labor Day weekend. We joined other Loopers at Heritage Harbor marina, along with local boaters, for a great Labor Day weekend Some of the highlights were: Wii bowling (Pia won $45) and the 2nd annual Ducky Derby duck race along with music and dancing by a local band named The Mavriks. Loopers and local boaters all had a great time.
On Labor Day, we borrowed the courtesy car for a trip to Starved Rock State Park and an afternoon of hiking through the many trails overlooking the Illinois River. Beautiful rock(limestone) formations, and lush vegetation, the waterfalls, unfortunately, this time of year were somewhat dry, still beautiful! We joined 7 other Looper boats on the dock for a pot-luck dinner in the evening , the locals were gone, and we had the marina to ourselves!
We will leave in the AM for our continued trip. We should be in Peoria mid week. We enjoyed our “vacation home” but are happy to be back on the waterway! This final picture is Jack sitting on the bikes as we make our way down river - a leisure bike ride? ( Not much of a workout, but fun just the same !)..The passing boaters were somewhat confused !!!!

Milwaukee to Chicago to Charlotte

2009-08-24T22:02:00.013-04:00

As mentioned in the previous post, we enjoyed the festivities in Milwaukee over the weekend. This first picture is the skyline of Milwaukee as we arrived on Friday. Also , in an earlier post, I have recapped our weekend “Irish Festival” festivities while in Milwaukee.

On Monday, August 17th, in HEAVY fog, we departed Milwaukee for a 45 mile trip to Winthrop Harbor on the Illinois/Wisconsin state line. All weather reports indicated that the fog would lift early morning and the sun would appear before noon. Using the GPS chartplotter and radar, we left the marina fully expecting the fog to lift “at any time”. How wrong the weather reports were and what a journey – we followed the radar all day and the most we saw was the nose of the bow! The picture at the right was taken as we departed the Milwaukee marina. It is essential to have great equipment at all times and especially at times like this - our trusty Garmin GPS led us all the way. Through heavy fog the entire trip, we finally arrived in Winthrop Harbor mid afternoon. I don’t think we were ever more relieved to be tied to the dock!
On Wednesday, the weather was perfect and the water was calm for our 40+ mile trip to Chicago, arriving early afternoon to our marina downtown. The next few pictures are of the Chicago skyline on our approach, the skyline with the Navy pier in the foreground, and the marina with sailboats on mooring balls. While in Chicago, we biked through the downtown area parks and river front, ate a Chicago deep pan pizza from Giordano’s, visited Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears), and enjoyed fireworks at the Navy Pier. A great visit to a great city!

Our flight to Charlotte is scheduled for Friday afternoon so we left the downtown marina in Chicago late morning Thursday for the short trip to a marina south of Chicago on the Little Calumet River.

These next 3 pictures are from the bow as we are coming out of the Chicago lock, are traveling on the Chicago River through downtown, and of an Amtrak bridge south of Chicago that we had to wait on so we could continue our sho rt trip. We will leave “Still Busy” here for 11 days where she will get a much needed rest along with a wash, detail, and wax in preparation for the remainder of our journey. We have traveled almost 3000 miles since leaving Charleston in April and are now half way through the trip. This journey continues to far exceed our expectations! From Charleston, up the ICW through the Chesapeake, Atlantic Ocean, Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Richelieu/St Lawrence/Rideau/Trent Severn canals in Canada, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan we have spent over 4 months on the trip and can only hope that the 2nd half of our journey is exciting and successful as the first half. After our trip home, we will once again provide updates to our journey down the inland rivers to the Gulf. Thanks for the comments on the blog and the emails we receive from those that have followed us all along. We enjoy hearing from you as much as you have stated you enjoy following our travels.

Lake Michigan

2009-08-16T20:29:00.018-04:00

We arrived in Makinac City Marina on Friday, August 7th, after a great weather day crossing Lake Huron. We were joined in the Marina by “Dar Sea”, “Meander”, and George and Kathy aboard “Spey”. On Saturday morning, in the rain, all of us took the early ferry to Makinac Island for the day. In spite of the rain, we spent most of the day on this charming, waterfront village with horse drawn carriages, Colonial Homes, and NO motor vehicles. Travel is by horse, bike, or foot. This first picture is the Grand Hotel on Makinac Island that was featured in the movie "Somewhere in Time". After a busy day of touring, we had dinner on the island and took the ferry back to Makinac City Marina. Due to predicted high winds, we chose to depart on Monday for our trip down Lake Michigan. This picture was taken of us overlooking Mackinac Straights from the island.
This picture we took of The Makinac Bridge – which connects Makinac City to St. Ignes and claims to be the longest single span suspension bridge in the US – as we departed early Monday morning headed south. John and Dottie from “Dar Sea” had plans to return home from Muskegon and, as we turned toward Charlevoix, they continued south. We hope to join them again south of Chicago after our trip home. “Meander” and “Still Busy” arrived at Lake Charlevoix in time to walk into the city and take pictures of the cutest “mushroom” and “fairy” houses designed and built by Earl Young in the early 1900’s. The design of these stone -built houses were certainly “whimsical” with wave-like roof lines and both of us fully expected Snow White to be sitting on the front porch. On the dock we had a pot luck dinner with Ron and Marji as we planned for our departure on Tuesday.
The drawbridge leading into Lake Charlevoix opens every half hour and we made the 6:30 AM opening on Tuesday morning. Although the wind was brisk, it was from the north so not a problem for our trip south. We arrived in Leland late morning for lunch as “Meander” journeyed to Manitou Island for an anchorage. Leland, pictured at the right, is known as “Fish Town” because of the ancient ice and fish shanties that now are used as operating fish houses with fresh smoked fish as well as specialty shops. We bought smoked salmon and smoked white fish and continued our journey south to Frankfort for the night. The shoreline from Leland to Frankfort is part of Sleeping Bear National Park and is lined with 400 – 500 feet tall sand dunes and white beaches. Good to see sand again after all the rocks in Georgian Bay! While in Frankfort, we took this picture of a boat in the marina - notice the car on the deck where most boaters keep the dingy. Also notice no bikes on the bow rail - don't need them?
The weather on Wednesday was perfect with slight winds and calm seas as we departed Frankfort for Ludington - a 55 mile trip along more sandy beaches and sand dunes. We passed the Big Sable Light House, a 106 feet aid to navigation that is visible for 20 miles on the water. On Thursday, we took the bikes for the 16 mile round trip back to the Big Sable lighthouse from our marina in Ludington along the beach and state park. Upon our return, with sore legs and behinds, we joined “Meander” and Rick and Betsy from “Rick and Roll” for dinner at P.M. Steamers, a restaurant that was highly recommended.
When making the trip from Mackinac to Chicago, Loopers have the option of traveling down the East Coast or the West Coast of Lake Michigan or a combination of the two. In order to experience both coasts, we decided to cross Lake Michigan from Ludington to the shores of Wisconsin and then head down the Illinois coast to Chicago. All other loopers that we have been in contact with plan to continue down the East Coast of Lake Michigan and cross further south. We will see them in the inland rivers south of Chicago after we return from our trip to Charlotte. On Friday, in 10 knot winds from the south, we departed for the 60 miles crossing to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Here is a picture of the sunrise as we departed. Although the winds increased as we approached mid lake, the trip was fairly uneventful and we arrived early afternoon at our marina. Good timing – the town of Sheboygan and the Arts Community was putting on the first annual “Sheboygan Shebang” downtown with local performers and acts headlined by an escape artist that freed himself from a straight jacket while suspended from the top of a crane that was borrowed from a local roofing company. Small town USA at its best! This final picture of "The Shebang" is Pia posing with the daredevil himself after the "death defying act"! Didn't get an autograph.

Our good luck (or maybe the luck of the Irish) continued as we had surprisingly calm wind and seas on Saturday for our 60 mile trip to Milwaukee for the weekend. Even better, when we arrived we discovered that the 30th annual “Irish Festival” was in downtown Milwaukee and we spent a great afternoon enjoying the festivities. “Griffin” is an Irish name so Jack really enjoyed the day. A lot of green clothing, a wide variety of Irish beer/ stout/whiskey, Irish music, bagpipes, and “Step” dancing. This is a huge festival and, although we saw no leprechauns, and we truly enjoyed the day.
We will depart on Monday for Chicago – an 85 mile trip – and will be in the Windy City by Tuesday.

Killarney to Mackinac - The North Channel

2009-08-09T18:10:00.016-04:00

One of the many things we have learned on our adventure is that we can’t control the weather. Our trip from Killarney through the North Channel was affected by strong winds but we made the best of it. We are now in Makinaw City, Michigan and will leave tomorrow to begin our 300+ mile trip down Lake Michigan to Chicago.
When we entered the Georgian Bay channels, we became aware of many stone figures on the rocks. We have since learned that these figures are known as Inukshuk and were originally made by Northern Canadians to serve as guides pointing the way to return home. They are now abundant on the shores of both The Georgian Bay and North Channel - this picture was taken somewhere on the Georgian Bay of a stone figure pointing the way. Most everywhere we traveled in the Bay and Channels, the Inukshuks were around every bend. However, we continued to rely on our Chartplotter and paper charts to guide our way.
We left Killarney on Thursday, July 30th and traveled 12 miles in the small craft channel and headed north another 6 miles to one of the most beautiful side trips we have made on our trip. Baie Fine is described as the closest thing to a fjord we will ever see. We traveled 10 miles through Baie Fine to an anchorage known as The Pool. The weather was ideal and the site was breathtaking. The 3 pictures below are the entrance to Baie Fine, anchored in the Pool, and a

cottage we were anchored close to that is owned by The Evinrudes (as in outboard motor!). We took the dingy to shore for exploring (Pia hiked a couple of miles to another smaller lake that was turquoise in color) and blueberry picking as well as a ride back down the entrance to The Pool.

Friday morning we retraced our journey back to the small craft channel and arrived in Little Current on Manitoulin Island just in time for the Haweater Weekend festival, an annual homecoming event for locals that featured parades, fireworks, water competition, live entertain, etc. We, along with “Dar Sea” and “Meander” departed Little Current on Sunday with intentions to travel 15 miles to Kagawong to visit the water falls, have lunch, and travel across the Channel to an anchorage in The Benjamin Islands. Mother Nature and the wind had another idea! Because of strong winds, we stayed in Kagawong overnight and traveled to Meldrum Bay on Monday – a trip of 40 miles – again with intention of a one night stay. We were “trapped” in Meldrum Bay for 3 nights along with 7 other looper boats. The picture to the right is of all the loopers having a happy hour in the "clubhouse" at the marina. The village of Meldrum consists of an Inn – with a great restaurant – and a small general store with very limited provisions. (and nothing else, but a few local homes, and a one room museum, in the old net shed !)
Although the forecast on Thursday was still “iffy” with winds, ALL the looper boats decided we had enough of Meldrum and left at 6 AM in a flotilla headed for Drummond Island and US Customs. As we departed the Bay, the winds and waves were real choppy but finally smoothed after a couple of hours. We arrived in Drummond late morning, cleared customs after lunch, and continued our trip another 7 miles to DeTour Village at the entrance to Lake Huron where we walked into town for some much needed re-provisioning. It felt good to be back in the US after 2 months in Canada. As stated in our last posting, we really enjoyed our time in the beautiful country and would recommend trips to Canada to anyone.
Friday weather could not have been more perfect for our trip across Lake Huron to Mackinac Island at the beginning of Lake Michigan. Winds were calm, the entire Lake was smooth as the sun warmed the cool nighttime temperatures. This final picture is of the "flotilla" of loopers as we departed DeTour Village into Lake Huron at the lighthouse. We arrived in Mackinaw City Marina early afternoon with plans to spend the weekend in this area – including a day trip to Mackinac Island. Tomorrow, August 10th, we will leave to head south (the first time we have traveled south in a long time) down Lake Michigan. With good weather we should be in Chicago in 7 – 10 days with plans to travel home for a couple of weeks to visit family and friends. Chicago is the half way point of our trip and we look forward to the second half of our journey down the inland waterways to the Gulf of Mexico.

Penetang to Killarney - Georgian Bay

2009-08-01T18:49:00.018-04:00

We enjoyed our few days at Bay Moorings Marina in Penetang with 20+ other Looper Boats. A time to revisit with some folks we met in Charleston in April as well as some folks we met somewhere along the waterway. We also met a few Loopers we had not seen. Good time visiting and learning about the journey from here to the North Channel.
The trip from Port Severn at the end of the Trent Severn waterway to Killarney at the top of the Georgian Bay is 168 miles as measured through the small craft channel and offers the opportunity to see every type of scenery without having to cross a large open body of water. The most striking feature of the Bay is its topography – land both above and below the water consists of granite with a very thin soil cover. The entire inner route is dotted with small granite islands – most with small cottages that are only accessible by water. Most of these “one cottage islands” have no facilities (with the exception of a gas powered generator ) and the locals use these for vacation and/or rental property. The area is referred to as the 30,000 islands but in reality should be called the 100,000 islands. There are so many destinations in the Georgian Bay that you are forced to be very selective in the destination you chose to visit.
We departed Penetag on Thursday morning in a steady rain traveling with Ron and Marjie on “Meander” and John and Dottie aboard “Dar Sea”. We met “Meander” in Kingston and have traveled with them on and off for the last 3 or 4 weeks but just met “Dar Sea” in Penetag. Most of the trip on Thursday was in the rain – but no wind – and we stopped at Henry’s Fish Restaurant on Frying Pan Island for a late lunch of fish and chips before anchoring in Echo Bay a few miles from Henry’s. The narrow channel into Echo Bay is lined with granite rocks and shallow water. As we made our final turn into the protected bay, we were really surprised to see 23 other boats – all local – anchored in the small bay. On the advice of a local boater that was anchored, we rafted our 3 boats together, dropped 2 anchors, and tied the stern to the granite rocks on the shore. We dropped the dingy, explored the area, picked wild blueberries, and had appetizers aboard “Meander”. A great first night in the Georgian Bay in spite of the rain.
The trip on Friday from Echo Bay to Parry Sound was once again through narrow, rocky channels that are clearly marked with channel markers. Stay in the channel and everything is fine – venture off course and the bottom is not sandy or muddy but hard granite rock. When I look at the granite, I see bent props; Pia sees counter tops! Nonetheless, our 15 mile trip to Parry Sound was uneventful and we tied up to the town dock (a brick wall) – intended for overnight but, due to strong winds and thunderstorms on Saturday, became two nights. We were able do some grocery shopping along with touring the Bobby Orr museum which was located close to our dock. The picture on the right is of Parry Sound as we departed - notice the brick wall we spent 2 days tied to!
Sunday we departed Parry Sound for an anchorage we had heard about in Hopewell Bay where we once again rafted and tied the stern to the granite walls in this narrow – and still rocky – bay.

The winds on the Georgian Bay are often unpredictable so we were encouraged the next morning when the weather called for 10 knot winds. As we departed the channel at Port Au Barel, the winds were relatively calm with slight waves. About 1 mile into the bay, the winds and waves increased substantially. Suddently we had waves 4 - 6 feet with frequency, taking waves over the bow on a few occasions. We were forced to duck into the closest inlet at "Hangdog Channel” – a channel we were advised to avoid. Although the channel is very narrow - and yes rocky – the water was calm. We had traveled less than 5 miles but we felt like we had been on the water all day! We traveled 5 more miles up the channel to Bayfield Harbour– a small facility with very limited amenities but out of the wind. Once again, due to strong winds in the bay, we stayed here for two nights. Here is a picture of John, Dottie, Ron, Marjie, and Pia on "Meander" as we relaxed after our hectic day in the winds and waves.

On Wednesday, the weather was ideal so we departed the small craft channel and made the 60 mile trip to Killarney across the Georgian Bay. The water was as smooth as we had seen since leaving the canals and the trip was great! The picture below is of "Meander" and "Dar Sea" as we crossed the Bay.

The most important event of the day was in the early morning as we received a call from Jennifer that our newest grandchild, Stella, had arrived! Both Mom and new baby were fine. The crews from “Dar Sea” and “Meander” celebrated with us as we had a champagne toast to Stella upon arrival in Killarney. Obviously a great day for travel and a great day to celebrate and be thankful for life! We wish we could have been home for this important event but look forward to meeting Stella when we travel back to Charlotte late August/early September. The next picture is as we arrived in Killarney after a long day crossing the Bay.

On Thursday the 30th, we plan to leave Killarney to begin our 100+ mile trip through the North Channel before arriving at Drummond Island, Michigan to reenter the US. We have really enjoyed our time in Canada and are very impressed the beauty of the country and the friendly people and look forward to our final few days in the North Channel.

Fenelon Falls to Penetanguishene on the Georgian Bay

2009-07-22T22:09:00.015-04:00

We are currently at Bay Moorings Marina in Penetanguishene on the Georgian Bay attending a “Looper Gathering” of 20 or so loopers that have made it this far. Many of them, we met in Charleston, some along the way, and the rest, here. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will depart up The Georgian Bay into the North Channel and should be in Lake Michigan in 2 – 3 weeks. Our goal is to be south of Chicago by Labor Day.
At the last posting, we had arrived in Kawartha Lakes on the Trent Severn at Fenelon Falls. The first picture is "Still Busy" tied to the lock wall in Fenelon Falls as a tour boat departed the lock. Crystal, Trevor and the kids – Maija and Ethan – met us at Trevor’s parent’s – Jack and Donna Shea - house for the weekend. Jack and Donna joined us on the boat for drinks on Tuesday night and picked us up on Wednesday night and Thursday night for dinner at their beautiful house on Cameron Lake. On Friday, Crystal and family joined us on the boat and we took the kids through the lock at Fenelon Falls and anchored in the bay close to Jack and Donna’s house for the weekend. The grandkids even slept on the boat Friday evening. What a great time with family and new friends. We can’t say enough about the hospitality of both Jack and Donna – they made our visit to Fenelon Falls even more enjoyable.
We departed Cameron Lake late Sunday afternoon and traveled to the other lift lock on the canal at Kirkfield. This lock is really remote but we did find a small restaurant across the road from the lock for dinner. We were very surprised, when we walked in, to see NASCAR pictures everywhere and life size posters of Dale, Jr. on the walls. The owner obviously likes NASCAR and his wife was very interested to find out that we lived close to Mooresville and made us promise we will send her a NASCAR postcard from the Mooresville post office when we return home. This picture was taken at the bottom of the lock after tie up and the next picture was taken of Jack on the bow as we locked down at Kirkfield.
We left the lock early Monday intending to travel 30 or so miles. The weather was perfect – sunny but not too hot with low humidity and a slight breeze. Because of the ideal canal traveling conditions, we were able to travel 62 miles to the second lock we have looked forward to (the first was the lift lock in Peterborough). The Big Chute is a railway lift that lifts the boat out of the water on slings and carries you over a roadway and “refloats” the boat at the other end. All of this as you are required to stay on the boat. Quite an experience. The next two pictures were taken from the bow as we traveled over the road to the waterway on the railway.
The canal locks are behind us – 114 since leaving NC – and we are now into the Georgian Bay and the 30,000 Islands. We have traveled almost 2000 miles and have put close to 300 hours on the engines - that's a lot of gas - since departing Charleston on April 16th. We are amazed at the sights we have seen so far, Once again, we are looking forward to the adventures and challenges of the next leg of the journey. The scenery we will see in the next few weeks is supposed to be some of the most beautiful of the entire voyage as we anchor in protected bays with rock bottoms and incredibly clear (but cold) water. This final picture was taken as we departed the last lock on the Trent Severn - our last lock until we are in the western waters of the trip.

Trenton to Fenelon Falls

2009-07-13T21:07:00.012-04:00

At the last posting, we were in Trenton, at the beginning of the Trent Severn waterway. We departed Trenton on Saturday, July 4th and are now in Fenelon Falls on Monday, July 13th. In the last 9 days, we have traveled 154 miles and 33 locks with 100 miles and 12 locks to go before we arrive in Georgian Bay. We will be in Fenelon Falls for 6 days as we visit with Trevor, Crystal and the grandkids on Cameron Lake. So far, the Trent Severn has been everything we were told – very scenic and beautiful. Of the 9 nights we have traveled, all but one night we were tied to a lock wall in the numerous towns we have had the opportunity to visit. After departing Trenton, we stayed at Frankfort, Campbellford( the first picture is a group of loopers on the wall), Healey Falls, Peterborough, Lakefield, Buckhorn, Bobcaygeon, and now Fenelon Falls. In the last week, we have seen the Canadian Air Force precision flight team practice for a show, seen “The Turkey Capital of Ontario” but did not see a turkey, stayed at a lock wall beside a very active and loud campground, attended an open mic day at a local Royal Canadian Legion beer garden(picture on the right), had dinner in an 18th century house and ate blackened kangaroo as an appetizer, toured a chocolate factory, crossed the dam on a swing bridge while riding our bikes, attended an outdoor music festival in Peterborough( a British band "The Proclaimers"),locked through the famous “Peterborough Lift Lock”( an amazing experience), navigated through “Hell’s Gate”,which is one of the most beautiful and tricky parts of the trip we have seen so far – a lot of rocky islands with houses accessible only by water(see pictures below). In Bobcayeon, we attended an art show at the Kawartha Settlers Village, saw the trophy head of the first cattleo – a cross between a cow and buffalo, shopped at the largest shoe store on the waterway- over 40,000 shoes on display (Pia did not buy any shoes???), had a milk shake at the Kawarthas Ice Cream Factory, and sat on the lawn behind the museum for a Sunday evening Country Western concert – actually just a local family country band. All in all, a pretty dull and boring week.(lol)

On our last night in Bobcaygeon, we had the opportunity to visit with some fellow loopers and took this picture as we all joined for snacks and drinks by the wall. Pictured with us are Joe and Punk from "Carolyn Anne", Fred and Linda from "Young America", and Ron and Margie from "Meander 1". We hope to see all of them up the waterway in the coming weeks as we spend the next few nights visiting family.

Canada Day - Kingston to Trenton

2009-07-03T18:51:00.013-04:00

The few days spent in Kingston were packed with sightseeing at the local museums, tour of city hall, visit to Fort Henry (built to protect the city from American invasion), and local festivities on Canada Day. Everyone was dressed in Red and White so we dressed accordingly, joined the crowd and became Canadians for a day. The marina was downtown adjacent to the park so we were at the center of all the activities. Many of the pictures below were taken in and around the marina as we enjoyed live bands, hot dogs, and fireworks on Wednesday evening. Great time had by all!
On Thursday, we departed the marina in a steady rain, headed to the North Channel of Lake Ontario to Trenton – 71 miles. Trenton is at the entrance of the Trent-Severn waterway and, as I write this posting, we are at a marina at the entrance of the canal. As mentioned in the previous post, the Trent Severn is 240 miles and 45 locks providing passage from Lake Ontario to The Georgian Bay. These locks include the world’s highest hydraulic lift – 65 foot vertical lift - at Peterborough and The Big Chute Marine Railway lift. We have often heard that the Trent-Severn could be the most beautiful part of the trip. Based on the beautiful scenes we have seen so far, the T-S must really be awesome!
Our timing is good – when we were in Annapolis we were able to sit on the bow of the boat and watch the Blue Angels practice for the graduation at the Naval Academy. The Canadian equivalent – only Air Force – is putting on a show tomorrow and actually practiced today over the marina.

Ottawa to Kingston via The Rideau Canal

2009-06-29T23:04:00.014-04:00

The Rideau Canal is a chain of beautiful lakes, rivers, and canal cuts winding 126 miles from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario at the head of Lake Ontario. The Canal was conceived in the wake of the War of 1812 as a war time supply route to Kingston and the Great Lakes allowing vessels to bypass the vulnerable St Lawrence. The Rideau Canal was completed in 1832 and consisted of 45 locks that operate today as originally constructed – often cranked by hand. The Canal relies on natural rivers, lakes and canal cuts to provide navigation with an available of water depth of 5 feet in some cuts. The many lakes are connected by very narrow cuts that are often no more than 20 or 30 feet wide, shallow, with rocks on either side. You really need to pay attention to stay off the often rocky bottom and avoid oncoming boat traffic. Another challenge on the Rideau is the underwater plants that can grow up to 8 feet high underwater - the water is clear so you can see them on the bottom. They can't really be avoided since you are often in 5 - 6 feet of water so the plants are just below the surface. However, we need to clean our sea strainers often as the plants get sucked into the water intakes. We took this picture of the plants on the canal - you may need to enlarge the picture to see the thick plants.
Leaving Ottawa, the locks raise via 31 locks to the summit at Newboro and then lowered via 14 locks to Kingston. The trip down the Rideau was as interesting as we have seen so far on the journey. The narrow lakes are dotted with many rocky islands with small cottages or fishing huts built on them. The shallow shores are full of waterlilies, and marsh…Beautiful beyond words!
We departed Ottawa on Wednesday morning and traveled almost 8 hours (but only 46 miles due to the 12 locks and 2 bridges) to Merrickville. The lock walls were full so we, along with “Carolyn Anne” stayed at a marina and walked the short distance into town for dinner. Pleasant evening after a long day!
On Thursday, we traveled a short day to Smith Falls and stayed at a town marina which provided a short walk to the local grocery store and Wal Mart for some supplies. We enjoyed a pleasant walk to the historic buildings, and the museum in town. On Friday, we arrived at the Narrows Lock just in time to tie up to the lock wall as a violent thunderstorm moved overhead. The picture to the left was taken as the storm passed over before "the bottom dropped out" - winds were gusting at 30+ mph with heavy rain and some hail. We stayed at the lock long enough for the storm to pass and then proceeded to the next lock. Friday evening was spent on the lock wall at the Newboro lock which is the summit of the canal – up top this point we have “locked up” the canal. With no homes or cottages nearby, this was a truly quiet evening… From here we will “lock down” at each lock to Kingston. While locking through at Jones Falls on Saturday morning, we were forced to wait 45 minutes for oncoming traffic and were able to tour the lock master's house (now a museum) built in the early 1880's along with an operating blacksmith shop. Saturday evening was spent at Upper Brewer lock and on the final day on the canal was also another short run to Kingston. We arrived at the Confederation Basin Marina shortly after lunch on Sunday. This marina is in the heart of downtown Kingston and we will spend the next few days touring the area. Canada Day is July 1st and we will be centrally located for all the festivities, including fireworks. The marina is filling up with many boats that travel here for Canada Day.
We spent 5 days traveling the 126 mile trip down the Rideau through numerous lakes and rivers from Ottawa and we have really enjoyed this part of the trip. We plan to depart on Thursday and should be in Trenton – for the beginning of the Trent Severn Waterway – on Friday. Our goal is to be in Fenelon Falls (Camaron Lake) on the Trent Severn by mid July to visit family and friends before proceeding into the Georgian Bay.

Ottawa

2009-06-27T20:53:00.014-04:00

At our last posting, we had just arrived in Ottawa through the Step Locks. This first picture is of “Still Busy” at the top of the 8 locks that was taken by a fellow boater as we arrived on Saturday afternoon. I realize we talk a lot about locks but the locks are an important part of the journey and the canal system that allows this passage around dams and rapids. The locks on the Rideau, including the 8 Step locks in Ottawa, were built in the early 1800’s and operate today as when they were built by the British. Parks Canada hires local college kids to work the locks during the summer and we are very impressed with how helpful and friendly they are.
Upon arriving in Ottawa, we tied up to the canal wall downtown. We were so impressed with Ottawa that we stayed on the canal wall for 4 nights. We could actually see the Parliament Buildings sitting from the back of our boat. We arrived on Saturday early afternoon and spent an enjoyable evening at the Byward Market area downtown – dinner, drinks, street performers, etc. Very festive! On Father’s Day we attended a festival honoring the Aboriginals (native Canadians) on the first day of “Indian Native Days”. We actually ate a bison burger and bannock –grilled bread - with blueberry jam. These first few pictures were taken at the festival. Jack received a call from Brent, Jackie, and Jen for Father’s Day wishes. Always great to hear from all the kids and grandkids.
On Monday we spent the day touring Parliament Buildings and were very impressed with the tours of the government buildings. This next picture was taken of the House of Commons not in session. We were both amazed with the Victorian Gothic Architecture of the Limestone buildings as well as the brief but robust history of this nation. During the tour of the government buildings, we took the elevator to the top of the Peace Tower overlooking Parliament and made this picture of “Still Busy” and another looper – “Carolyn Ann” – tied to the canal wall. (We will spend the next few days traveling with Joe and Punk from “Carolyn Anne”). We also toured a couple of museums in the city including “The Museum of Civilization” which recapped Canadian history since the Indians. This last picture of Ottawa is Jack and Pia at The Champlain Monument Hill with the Parliament Building in the background. In addition to the museums and government buildings, there was ample shopping and restaurants in the downtown area. Along with a couple of fellow loopers, we sat on the sidewalk beside the canal wall one evening for local cheese, fresh baked bread and drinks – try that in NYC. We would both highly recommend a trip to Ottawa for anyone that has the opportunity.
When we leave Ottawa, we will take the Rideau Canal – which is 126 miles and 44 locks – to Kingston on Lake Ontario where we will spend Canada Day on July 1st.

Rousses' Point to Ottawa

2009-06-20T17:05:00.023-04:00

We are behind in our posting but have had a little difficulty getting a good connection for updating the blog and downloading pictures. Our last blog was one week ago as we were preparing to go through customs in Rousses’ Point, NY. As I am writing this, we are now – exactly one week since entering Canada – in Ottawa , the capital city of Canada. Below is a recap of our travels in the last week.
Leaving the Customs station at Rousses’ Point - the first picture - The Richelieu Canal , Chambly Canal, and Richelieu River is 70 miles (and 10 more locks) long leading to the St. Lawrence Seaway at Sorel. We cleared customs at 9:30 AM on June 13th and traveled 34 miles to a marina on the Richelieu River. This journey included 10 locks that are often hand cranked by the workers of Parks Canada. The picture to the right is Pia in the first lock on the Chambly. The last 3 locks on the route are 3 step down locks in succession leading to the Basin de Chambly. We cleared the final 3 locks at ~ 3 PM. Another long day!!! The next 3 pictures are of our journey in this canal system. As you proceed through the canal, local residents are riding bikes and following along the way and pontoon planes are landing on the water in front of you.
On Sunday, we departed the marina early – before 7 AM – headed to Sorel 34 miles away. The trip up the River was great with little traffic and great cruising weather. We cleared Saint Ours Lock early and arrived in Sorel around noon with intention of staying at a marina on the St Lawrence River but decided to continue down the St Lawrence on our way to Montreal since the weather was great and the commercial traffic would be minimal on a Sunday. Pia was able to find a marina down the River in Contrecoeur, Quebec. What a great little village! The picture to the left is "Still Busy" at the marina in Contrecoeur. We were able to walk into town for a visit and dinner in a local Pub but "stumbled" across a rally in progress (we thought it was a town carnival) of a local labor union protesting the hiring practices of a local business. We later found out that the protest was sponsored by the communist party of Canada. In spite of this, everyone was friendly and we enjoyed our time at the marina and in town.
On Monday, we departed Contrecoeur, returning to the St Lawrence, to Montreal, through the Canal de la Rive Sud - and 2 of the largest locks we have been in -(bypassing the rapids around Montreal) and arrived at the town dock of St Anne de Bellevue – an 80 mile trip from Sorel. We stayed at the town dock for 3 nights, and, on Wednesday, took the bus into Montreal and spent a great day touring this great city. Old town Montreal is like being in a small French village – everyone speaks French, the crepes were fattening, and the wine was bold but good. The next 3 pictures are as follows - Montreal from the waterway, Pia at one of the locks on the canal, and "Still Busy" tied to the town dock in St. Anne de Bellevue.
We departed St Anne early Thursday in heavy rain headed for Montebello to meet John, Sue, Doug, and Leslie aboard “Just Relax” and “Happy Clamz”. We haven’t seen these folks since Watertown, NY and it was great seeing them again as we head West on The Great Loop and they head East on the Down East Loop. A great evening of recounting our adventures since we split but sad as they departed early the next morning headed to St Anne and the St Lawrence. We will see John and Sue back in Charlotte when we return home for a visit in December and may actually join them in the Bahamas in January.
Montebello is famous for The Chateau Montebello, a “log cabin” built in the 1930’s and is now a Fairmount Hotel property of 230 rooms, spa, marina, pool, with many activities. The structure is actually built from logs brought from the west coast of Canada and gives a rustic appearance but is very plush. We had a charming lunch in the hotel and toured the gardens and waterfront surrounding the chateau.
Since entering Canada last Saturday, we have traveled 70 miles to Sorel, 80 miles to St Anne de Bellevue, and 45 miles to Montebello, including 15 more locks. This morning, we traveled 42 miles to Ottawa and will spend the next 3 – 4 days here before beginning The Rideau Canal to Kingston – a 126 mile trip from Ottawa. We continue to be amazed that, not only are we on this trip, we are making good progress and are on schedule to be in The Trent Savern Canal mid July for a visit with family and friends.

We are not real sure what we do when we finish the loop - return to Lake Norman or keep a boat on the coast for weekend use. If we choose the latter, we found the ideal house boat for our next great adventure.

When we arrived at the beginning of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, we encountered one of our most memorable events - the 8 Step Locks from the bottom of the river, with the Canadian Parliament buildings on the port and Fairmont Chateau Laurier on the starboard side. These 8 succession locks provide a lift of 76 feet and take about an hour. While the workers are hand cranking the doors so you can pull from one lock to another, many tourists are walking beside the boat asking questions - where are you from, where are you going, how long does it take, etc. We actually met a family from Raleigh on vacation. I will enlarge these last two pictures of the step locks - from the bottom and at the top.

We are now tied to the docks in Ottawa on top of the locks and will be here for the next few days touring the city.

Once again, we are back on the water. Burlington to Rouses Point

2009-06-12T20:55:00.009-04:00

We were overly optimistic thinking the fuel pump would be in on Tuesday and remained optimistic that it would be in on Wednesday. It finally arrived late morning on Thursday and was installed mid-afternoon. Importantly, the port engine started fine and is running smoothly again. A great sound. We intended to stay in Burlington 2 nights but, due to circumstances, stayed 4 nights. In spite of the engine problem and the cool, wet weather, we decided to make the most of our time.

Our timing was good - the annual Vermont Jazz Festival was in downtown Burlington while we were at the marina and we were within walking distance so we enjoyed the festivities during the day and in the evenings we were in town. We rented a car for one day and did some needed shopping and re provisioning (with the obligatory trip to West Marine). We also drove to Stowe, Vermont on Wednesday morning and visited this charming little ski village. While in Stowe, we were able to visit one of the few remaining covered bridges in Vermont. This first picture, of Pia posing with a bear (not real), is taken at a lodge in Stowe where Jack had attended a meeting over 10 years ago. This next picture is Jack at Emily's Covered Bridge north of Stowe. Although the day was cool and wet, we really enjoyed getting off the boat and seeing some of Vermont from the road.

The next picture is "Still Busy" at the Burlington Community Docks as we departed on Friday morning - the weather was wet, wet, wet but cleared as we made our way up Lake Champlain. We departed Burlington on Friday morning for out 40 mile trip to Rouses Point, NY at the top of the lake. This is the last stop before entering Canada and we can actually now see Canada from our marina. Tomorrow morning, we will leave the marina and make the 2 mile trip to the Canadian Customs pier. We should be in Canada for at least the next 6 weeks and look forward to seeing this country from the water. Upon arriving at the marina, we walked into "town". This is a picture of Pia on main street in Rouses Point and "Still Busy" tied to the dock at Lighthouse Marina (if you look closely you can see Jack on the aft deck waving).

It is hard to believe that it was only 2 months ago when we left Charleston to begin our great adventure. We have passed through numerous states, waterways, canals, bays, rivers, locks, and cultural regions in the US and are about to enter another country. The trip so far has been beyond our expectations and we fully expect Canada to reach this same level. We look forward to continuing the journey and keeping everyone up to date on our travels. We are not getting a lot of comments on the blog but do get emails from friends about the postings, particularly the pictures. We continue to encourage everyone to send comments either on the blog or on email. Keep in mind that we cannot respond to comments left on the blog but we do read them all.

The 6th Great Lake

2009-06-08T17:15:00.018-04:00

Lake Champlain is one of the most beautiful views from any direction - looking north, south, east or west. As we travel north on the lake, NY state and the Adirondack mountains are on our port side and the beautiful state of Vermont is on our starboard side. Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the discovery of The Lake, Champlain has served as a highway and battleground for the armies and navies of several wars. Two places on the lake - Whitehall at the end of the NY canal system and Vergennes where we visited - claim to be the birthplace of the US Navy. As mentioned in the previous post, our intention was to stay in Whitehall overnight but we decided to make it a long day and arrive in Westport early. Turns out this was a great decision. We arrived at the marina around 5 PM on Thursday and quickly realized that the boating season in the central/north part of Champlain doesn't really begin until mid June. The marina was still "preparing" for the launch of the season but the facilities were adequate. We were their 2nd transient of the season. On Thursday evening, after a long day, we had dinner on the boat along with a well needed nights rest. Friday was a great weather day and we spent most of the day on the boat cleaning and completing a long list of projects. On Friday evening, we walked - about a mile - into Westport and had dinner at the only evening restaurant in town which was locate d

in a small hotel. On Saturday morning, at the urging of everyone we spoke with, Pia was up at 5 AM to take pictures of the sunrise over the mountains of Vermont. I will download a few of these pictures but will tell you that the pictures do not do the view justice! Absolutely Stunning views!!! This final picture of Westport is "Still Busy" in the slip we stayed at for 2 nights.

We left Westport on Saturday morning and decided to make a side trip to a small town in Vermont named Vergennes which is 8 miles off the Lake up Otter Creek. The trip to the entrance of Otter Creek was about 10 miles and we traveled on the NY side of the Lake. Again, the views from the water are great. This next picture is the entrance to Otter Creek as we picked up a passenger along for the ride (you may need to enlarge and look on top of the light). The entrance to the creek was VERY shallow with a narrow channel but once we were in the creek, our depth was more than adequate at 8 - 12 feet until we arrived at the Vergennes town docks. So made the 8 mile trip and came around the curve on the creek to see the waterfalls beside the town dock. This was actually our view as we were tied to the dock. In the Revolutionary War, the colonists build the Saratoga at this very spot and entered the Lake through Otter Creek to prevent the British from using this passage to New York. We launched the dingy to get closer to the falls and explore the creek. This is a picture of Jack driving the dingy with "Still Busy" tied to the town dock.

We had a great evening in Vergennes. We walked into town, had dinner, viewed the small city, and attended a jazz pianist - Fred Barnes - in concert in the Vergennes Opera House which is located above the police station and city hall. We returned to the boat after the concert and had this view of the moon rising over the falls sitting on the aft deck of the boat. A perfect ending to a great day!

On Sunday morning we untied around 9 for the "easy" trip to Burlington. After the 8 mile trip back into the Lake, Burlington is less than 15 or so more miles. The departure was smooth, sunny day, no wind, and calm lake. Here is a picture of the Garmin measuring our depth in the middle of the lake - in the lower left corner the depth reads 430 feet deep! Everything was smooth until - HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. The port engine sputtered and shut down in the middle of the lake. Good thing we have 2 engines! We thought it could be water in the fuel so Jack changed the fuel filter as Pia continued the trip using the starboard engine. We still could not get the engine started so we were able to make it to Burlington and are now at a marina. Yesterday - Monday - we were able to get a mechanic to come out and the problem may be one of the low pressure fuel pumps. A replacement was ordered on Monday and will hopefully be here today. To add to the misery, today is 55 degrees and raining in Burlington so we have arranged for a rental car and will do some shopping and sight seeing. If we can get the filter on today, we will leave Burlington tomorrow and should be in Canada in a couple of days. Guess we have to take the bad days (not very many) with the good days. We look forward to seeing Burlington and also look forward to hearing the port engine run smoothly. On the bright side, here is a picture of the sunset at our marina in Burlington on Sunday night - not too hard to take.

Mechanicville to Westport, NY on Lake Champlain

2009-06-07T15:12:00.014-04:00

On Wednesday we left Mechanicville for the 28 mile run to Fort Edward. This stretch of the canal system includes 5 more locks #3 - #7. So far, we have seen fairly consistent depth in the canal of 10 - 15+ feet but welcome the calm weather as shown in the first picture as we departed our free dock. The locks were dug to create a bypass beside the dam so commercial and pleasure boats can travel from The Hudson River to Lake Champlain. As we departed one of the locks, we were quite surprised at how close we came to the dam beside the lock. Fortunately, the 28 mile trip was uneventful until we were informed at Lock 6 that we could not access the town dock in Fort Edward due to dredging and we would need to travel beyond Lock 7 today. We were able to use some floating docks beyond lock 7 instead of continuing up the canal. This next picture is us tied up to the dock - not electricity or water - but adequate for us for one night. We walked into Fort Edward and discovered a local restaurant with quite a history. The Anvil Restaurant has served this community as a number of canal and farming businesses including as a blacksmith shop and the building was over 200 years old. In fact, according to local legend, one of the original owners was still living there as a "friendly" ghost that plays tricks on the staff. Everyone in the restaurant had a ghost story to add but we did not see him! Very disappointing. Here is a picture taken of us at the bar in the restaurant in the afternoon. We enjoyed the place and the people so much, we returned in the evening for dinner.

On Thursday morning, we left Fort Edward for Whitehall, NY - another 24 mile run. The weather has warmed overnight and Jack took this next picture as we prepared to leave early morning. Hopefully, you can see the fog as it lifts from the calm water. Another picture you may find amusing, we saw this house for sale before we reached Whitehall - can't understand why there were no takers - it is waterfront. Take note of the For Sales sign on the front.

So far, all the locks have raised us anywhere from 12 - 20 feet. At lock 9 we began the steady locking down and arrived in Whitehall around noon. This is a picture of Whitehall as we approached the lock and, based on the early arrival and the looks of the town, decided to continue on to Westport, NY on Lake Champlain - another 49 miles and a total of 73 miles today. We were quite taken by the views on Lake Champlain and will provide more pictures on the next posting. Lake Champlain has to be one of the most beautiful places we have seen and we look forward to spending some time in the coming week exploring this 120 mile long lake. What we have seen so far is breathtaking! Here are 3 closing pictures of this day on the lake, the first of a mountain view as we approached the Lake, the 2nd looking toward Westport Marina with the Adirondack Mountains in NY State in the background, and the final picture is from our marina looking across the Lake at the mountains in Vermont.

Waterford to Mechanicville - 9 miles on the Canal

2009-06-04T19:20:00.014-04:00

As you travel north from Waterford, the Hudson River continues 37 miles to Fort Edward and connects with a man made canal 23 miles long - The Champlain Canal - that then connects the Hudson to Lake Champlain. The Hudson River combined with the Champlain Canal is 60 miles from Waterford to the beginning of Lake Champlain. The Canal begins at 15 feet above seal level and steadily rises to 150 feet at Lock 8 (of 11 Locks on the canal). After Lock 9, the Canal descends to 97 feet at Lake Champlain. The lowest bridge clearance on this route is 17 feet just above Lock 3 and we cleared the bridge by 6 inches. The Locks were easy during the entire voyage over a couple of days since we were the only boat headed north - we passed a couple of sail boats headed south. At lock 2 we did share the lock with a tug and barge without difficulty.

This first picture is of downtown Waterford as we did the "self" tour of the homes. A lot of history in this small village. When we departed Waterford, "Just Relax" and "Happy Clamz" went through the first lock on the Erie Canal as we departed for the Champlain Canal. Our paths will cross again in the coming weeks as they turn to the northeast for the Down East Loop and we head west for The Great Loop. We look forward to seeing them again. The next picture is our first solo lock - one of many more to come. However, as mentioned above, we did share one lock with a tug and barge and needed to be careful as the barge creates a lot of turbulence with his engine. We made it safe! This next picture is Pia in the lock "manning the lines" - rubber gloves and all. As you can imagine, the lines can get dirty.

So, on Tuesday we made a whopping 9 miles and 2 Locks by ourself - didn't want to push our luck - and tied up to the town docks at Mechanicville, NY for the evening. We toured the village, found a Bank of America and a CVS pharmacy as well as a local Italian deli for takeout to have dinner on the boat. The first picture is us at the Mechanicville and the second is a sign we saw on the dock as some of the locals were fishing off the dock. Probably why we chose Italian food for dinner instead of a local fish restaurant.

Tomorrow morning - Wednesday - we will leave for Fort Edward, 28 miles and 5 locks and plan to stay at the town docks there.

The Hudson River to Waterford, NY

2009-06-01T17:07:00.019-04:00

The historic and scenic Hudson River travels 134 miles from the Atlantic Ocean in lower Manhattan to the Troy Lock in Troy, NY. Just north of the Troy Lock, at Waterford, there is a "crossroads" sign indicating that the Erie Canal is to the left and the Champlain Canal is straight ahead. 2009 is the 400th anniversary of the explorer's Hudson and Champlain voyages along the river and lake that bears their names.

We departed Half Moon Marina at Croton, at mile marker 33, in the early morning (early as ususal - kind of see a pattern?) in a low hanging fog. Visibility was good and the fog made for some beautiful pictures. This part of the Hudson River is as beautiful as The Waccamaw River in SC and/or some of the Sounds in Eastern NC. At mile marker 45, we approached West Point on our port side and were able to take some great pictures of the Army Military College. It is hard to decide which of the 2 academies we have seen, Army or Navy, is most impressive. As you would expect, West Point looks like a fortress from the water and has a strong history of defending itself from enemy attack. Unfortunately, boats can no longer tie up to the dock to visit the academy from the water thanks to 9-11!

The scenery continued to be spectacular as we made progress up the waterway. This picture was taken of the mountains with the foggy mist in the air. You can see "Just Relax" and "Happy Clamz" in the distance. This picture does not do the beauty justice.

One thing we have learned is that the waterways can be trecherous with debrie and we remain on constant lookout for limbs and trees that can do damage to the props. This picture has to be the biggest debrie we have seen so far and, if you will zoom in, you will notice the birds that have hitched a ride down the river.

Another sight we are fascinated with is the many lighthouses along the River - all shapes and sizes but all intriguing and most continuing to work. Here are a couple of lighthouse pictures taken before we arrived in Poughkeepsie.

On Thursday night, all three in our flotilla made it to Poughkeepsie at mile marker 66 and tied up to a restaurant marina with the promise that we would spend money at the restaurant in order to stay the night for free. No problem - we immediately went to the bar for snacks and drinks and went back to the restaurant after having dinner on the boat for desert. Here is a picture of Mariners marina in Poughkeepsie.

We departed on Friday for the 30+ mile trip to Catskill, NY. We arrived at Hop-O-Nose Marina in Catskill on Friday afternoon with plans to spend the weekend in this charming little village. As we approached Catskill, one more picture that depicts the progress we have made since leaving Charleston, 7 short weeks ago. Our first view of a barge or tug early in the trip caused a tremendous amount of stress but, as we become more comfortable, we seem to adjust to the commercial traffic. Jack made this picture just before Catskill as Pia was at the helm and we passed a tug/barge on the waterway. Notice the laid back demeanor and the ship approaching on our post side.

We arrived at the marina in Catskill at mile marker 99 and spent Friday and Saturday night. This is a picture of us at the dock. We had dinner at the marina restaurant on Friday night, toured the downtown and marina museum on Saturday, and went to the local movie theatre to see "Angels and Demons" on Saturday night. A great weekend! On Sunday morning, we left for Waterford where we plan to spend a couple of days tied to the town dock. When we leave Waterford, our traveling companions will head up the Erie Canal and we will continue to the Champlain Canal. This final picture on this post is the sign on the waterway that indicates the the junction of the two canals. On the next post, I will download pictures of Waterford.

New York Harbor and Miss Liberty

2009-05-28T10:26:00.017-04:00

What a difference a day makes. When we pulled into Sandy Hook on Saturday we had 5 - 6 feet waves on our beam so were really happy to get to the marina. On Sunday morning, we departed the marina in calm but foggy conditions headed for NYC. This picture on the right is the marina as we left our slip and the next picture on the right is the Verrazano Bridge that connects Staten Island to Brooklyn - our first sight inside the harbor. One of our most amazing sights yet on the loop was when we saw The Statue of Liberty from the water on our boat - quite a moving experience. Two pictures below are - one of Miss Liberty by herself and one with Miss Liberty and an impostor - but a good looking impostor holding a flashlight, a Waterway Guide, and a cut out crown.

Along with the crews from "Happy Clams" and "Just Relax", we rafted up on anchor behind the statue for the evening and took the dingy to Liberty State Park just next to Ellis Island. What a great way to spend Memorial weekend.

On Memorial Day, we left our anchorage and finally made it to The Hudson River with the Atlantic Ocean - and all "big" water for awhile - behind us. Although the day was overcast and a little windy, in the river the ride was relatively smooth. The view up the West side of Manhattan was great - this is a picture of the Empire State Bldg from the water. We arrived at the Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton on the Hudson (picture to the left) mid afternoon and decided to spend a couple of nights here and travel into NYC for our long awaited "night in NYC" thanks to a great group of friends and co-workers from sanofi. On Tuesday night, we stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, was joined by our travel companions to see Hair (which seemed appropriate since Jack has not had a haircut since March) on Broadway, and had dinner at a great restaurant on 46th street. While there, we also went to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building and took this picture looking up the Hudson with Central Park on the starboard side.

We departed the marina this morning and will stay in Poughkeepsie tonight and should with plans to be in Catskill tomorrow night for the next few days. We should be in Waterford, NY by Monday and will make the turn toward Lake Champlain early next week. The adventure continues.....

Cape May to Sandy Hook, NJ

2009-05-23T19:08:00.015-04:00

We departed Cape May on Friday - early as usual - headed to Atlantic City. This first picture was made on Thursday in Cape May and captures the Victorian style homes in Cape May. The next picture was made from the water as we departed Cape May on Friday morning. Our original plan was to stop in Atlantic City for the night but the weather and waves were favorable so we changed plans to pass Atlantic City for an anchorage north. Although this decision worked out fine, in retrospect we probably should have followed our original plan!! In spite of not stopping, we were able to take a picture of the Looping Monkeys in Atlantic City from the water and they, nor us, lost any $$$$.

For fair balance, we needed to show The Captain taking a well deserved break in the middle of the day while The Admiral was in command of the bridge. Both needed the experience.

By skipping Atlantic City, we could get closer to New York Harbor and the Hudson River so we chose Barnaget Inlet as a favorable anchorage for the evening. However, as we approached the Inlet, the wind speed increased dramatically and the waves were incredible (although we discovered on Saturday what incredible really means - more on that later). In the Waterway Guide, we read, after we were in the Inlet, the US Coast Guard warns boaters to not approach the inlet if waves are breaking over the jetties. Believe me, the waves were breaking over the jetties and we were fortunate to have "the luck of the dumb" and made it into the Bay. We joined John and Sue for dinner on their boat and, after returning to "Still Busy", had a restless night worrying about dragging anchor. However, we were up at 5 AM (this is suppose to be fun - right?) and left the inlet with numerous fishing boats, racing to find the best fishing spot, at dawn. Here is a great picture of the Barnaget Lighthouse which boast the second tallest lighthouse in the US - assume Cape Hatteras lighthouse in the tallest. As we progressed out of the inlet, we made this picture of the sunrise over the Atlantic as the shrimp boats were departing and the fog was arriving. This was truly the best part of the day. From there we experienced dense fog, wind, waves in excess of 5 feet on our beam, and more wind mixed with numerous fishing boats! What a wild ride - the worst in terms of wave height and frequency we have experienced - but we finally arrived in Sandy Hook, NJ around 2PM. We spent most of the afternoon picking up after the turbulent ride - books and dishes all over the salon - and washing the salt off the boat, including the canvas over the bridge which should give you an idea of how high the breaking waves sprayed. All is well that ends well and we have successfully navigated New Jersey and the Atlantic and look forward to traveling to the Statue of Liberty and entering the Hudson River tomorrow or Monday. We plan to stay at a marina on The Hudson and spend a couple of days in NYC - hotel, dinner, theatre (thanks to a gift from Jack's coworkers upon retirement), shopping, long warm showers, and a stationary bed. However, one of the most exciting parts of The Loop will be the NY and Canadian waterways and we are eager to experience this part of the journey.

We are back on the water...Annapolis to Cape May, NJ

2009-05-20T16:38:00.023-04:00

As planned, we flew from Baltimore to Charlotte on Thursday to take care of some personal business and regain our "land legs". Overall, a very successful trip home - the house was meticulous thanks to Jessica. On Friday evening, we traveled to south Charlotte for dinner at Pia's mom with her brothers and family. Great homecoming. On Saturday, we attended Jack's grandson, Jackson, baseball game and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He is really growing! Here is the lefty as he prepares to hit during the game.

On Saturday afternoon, we met the "crew" (the same crew in the earlier picture that traveled to Charleston to see us off) at Big Al's for wings and beer - a chance to share some of our memories so far. After Big Al's, we went to the dock for more beer - great afternoon!

Sunday was cool in Charlotte so family - including Jackie and Jackson - met at our house for a cookout. We so much enjoyed seeing family and friends and home but we both are looking forward to getting back on the water to continue the trip. We flew back to Baltimore on Tuesday and arrived in Annapolis just in time to see The Blue Angels practice for their upcoming show at the Naval Academy graduation later this week. Although we won't be there for the actual flyover, the practice was awesome. Here are a few pictures taken from the bow of our boat as the Angels flew over the marina.

Our last dinner in Annapolis was followed by watching The Idol and Dancing With the Stars before leaving early Wednesday for the C&D Canal that joins the Chesapeake to the Delaware River.

We left Annapolis on Wednesday around 7 AM headed for the C&D canal . "Just Relax" and "Happy Clamz" were two days ahead of us and we needed to make good time to catch them in Cape May. We left the Chesapeake for the last time and traveled half of the C&D before stopping at a marina for the night - about 60 miles on the water. We arrived at the marina mid afternoon. A very pleasant weather evening - no winds, comfortable temps, no humidity. This is a picture of the Summit North Marina as we settled in for the evening with cable hook up to watch the Idol final and we were both surprised and pleased that Kris won.

We again left early on Thursday (although we don't like getting up at 6 AM, we do enjoy the water in the early morning - crisp, calm, smooth). We traveled the last 5 miles of the C&D into the Delaware River into New Jersey. Here is our first sight of NJ (no kidding) as we left the C&D with Delaware on our starboard and NJ on our port. The trip down the Delaware could not have been any better as we ventured outside the shipping channel to avoid the commercial traffic but maintained a comfortable depth. The "crew" from Charlotte gave us a couple of stuffed miniature monkeys when we departed Charleston and asked us to post pictures as we traveled. As they reminded us this week - we have been remiss so we have now "strategically" placed the monkeys on the bow rail above the Looper flag so all pictures from the bridge will show the monkeys. So - here is the first of many more to come - Monkeys on the Loop in the Delaware Bay.

We arrived at the entrance of the Cape May canal late morning after another 60 miles on the water and were fortunate to follow another motor yacht into the inlet (notice the monkeys). Our depth sounder was reading 1 - 2 feet as we passed the ferry boat pier at the entrance and we feared running aground - it was low tide. Following another boat did provide some comfort, if he hit bottom we knew where to avoid. We made it to the marina to join our travel companions and spent the afternoon in Cape May - a very charming resort town in southern NJ that is the nation's oldest seashore resort that dates back to 1812. The entire town of Cape May has been proclaimed and national historic landmark and has the largest collection of Victorian houses in the country. Very colorful!

We plan to leave tomorrow for Atlantic City and hope, weather permitting, to be in NYC early next week.

Solomon to Annapolis

2009-05-12T21:25:00.012-04:00

On the last update, we had arrived in Solomon for a couple of days with plans to travel to St Michaels and then to Annapolis. We had planned to spend two days in Solomon but Mother Nature had a better idea - the wind on Sunday was strong so we decided to spend another day - Mother's Day - in this cute little fishing village. On Saturday, we traveled with the crews from "Just Relax" and "Happy Clamz" to a state park where we hiked 2 miles through the woods to search for shark's teeth along the beach but only found a couple of fossilized sea shells but everyone enjoyed the walk. As you would guess, in a Maryland village on the Chesapeake, we enjoyed the fresh crab cakes at some of the local restaurants. We also visited the Calvert Marine Museum on Solomon.

On Monday, John, Sue, Doug, and Leslie departed for St Michaels and we departed for the 45 mile trip to Annapolis. Our traveling companions will join us in Annapolis on Wednesday. The trip up the Chesapeake to Annapolis was relatively smooth with overcast skies, a few drizzles, and light winds. We departed Solomon at 7AM and arrived at The Yacht Basin Marina shortly after lunch. This is a picture of the lighthouse as we entered the Chesapeake Bay - the cliffs were beautiful through the mist!

Since traveling up the ICW from Charleston to Myrtle Beach, this was our first venture without following John and Sue. We were happy everything went so well as we navigated the Chesapeake on our own. Jack has visited Annapolis many, many times over the years on business travel and this is the first time he has seen this bay city from the water - a whole different perspective. This is another lighthouse as we entered the Annapolis harbor - the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, the last screwpile lighthouse in its original location. (remember you can click on any picture to see an enlarged view).

The weather on Tuesday was a pleasant 70 degrees so we took the train into Washington for a marathon sightseeing expedition. We were amazed at how much we were able to see in a short 6 hour tour - many of the Smithsonian museums, the National Archives, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery. Our sore feet and joints can attest to our hectic walking tour but we had a great time. Pia had never seen DC and she was fascinated by the history of this great country. However, as an artist, she was most amazed with the American History of Art Museum and we made a picture of her viewing an original Monet. Jack enjoyed viewing the original documents of the founding of this nation at The National Archives. A great day of sightseeing!

Early Thursday, our traveling companions arrived in Annapolis in time for all of us to tour the Naval Academy. What a historic place with a lot of tradition

- we actually viewed John Paul Jones' crypt located below the chapel on campus. Graduation is next week so many of the students were busy cleaning and practicing for the big event. We will be back in Annapolis from our trip home just in time to see The Blue Angels perform for graduation.

So we are off to Charlotte for a few days - checked on line and discovered that we could fly home for the same price as renting a car and driving 7 - 8 hours one way. Kind of a "no brainer". We will be back on the boat Tuesday and will leave Annapolis on Wednesday and hope to catch up to "Happy Clamz" and "Just Relax" in Cape May, NJ. Although we are glad to home for a few days, we already are looking forward to continuing our trip!

Norfolk to Deltaville to Solomons

2009-05-07T09:02:00.005-04:00

We discovered that if the weather reports say 2 - 3 feet waves, you need to add these together to determine the correct wave height! We left Norfolk on Monday morning with the intention of traveling to Mojack Bay for an overnight Anchorage. Leaving the Norfolk ship yards was not too bad until we hit the Chesapeake Bay. The waves were 4 to 5 feet and were beating us up pretty bad so we decided to cut our day short and find a haven to wait out the weather system. We tied up to the docks at Dare Marina just south of Yorktown - "Just Relax" and "Happy Clamz" dropped anchor in the cove and John and Sue used the dingy to join us for dinner in the evening. Early Tuesday, we left for Deltaville - about 40 or so miles further north. Because of unpredictable weather, we decided to stay in Deltaville for 2 nights and we all used the extra day for "projects" on board. John and Doug helped me change the oil in my VDrive and I was able to fix my VHF antenna connection to get better reception. Pia reciprocated by painting numbers and names on "Happy Clamz" dingy and repairing the Captain's chair on "Just Relax". We left Deltaville at 6 AM this morning and are currently in the Chesapeake headed for Solomons on the Patuxent River - a long run of 60 miles. Although we debated if we should stay in Deltaville one more day or not, it appears that leaving was the right decision. Although the swells are 2 - 3 feet, they are on our stern so not so bad. We plan to stay in Solomons for a few days and then to St Micheals on the Eastern Shore before arriving in Annapolis after the weekend when we will rent a car a drive back to Charlotte for a few days.
Since writing this post, we have arrived in Solomons - a cute little fishing/tourist village in Maryland. We are now in our 4th state since leaving Charleston. Today, we plan to break out the bikes for sightseeing and shopping. We hear the crab dinners are great. We may stay here until Sunday!

Oriental,NC to Norfolk, Va

2009-05-01T21:26:00.019-04:00

We left Oriental on Tuesday on a beautiful, sunny day for our trip to Bel Haven. We pulled away from the Marina at 7:30 and arrived at our anchorage just north of Bel Haven at 3:30. Our trip took us into the Neuse River to Bay River to Gale Creek to Upper Spring Creek to Goose Creek and The Pamlico River across the Pamlico Sound to the Pungo River. We are both glad we have a GPS!!! We had a pleasant dinner aboard "Just Relax" and attempted to watch The Idol from our boat with limited success because we were so remote.

On Wednesday morning we departed the Pungo River and proceeded up the Alligator River. You would think the Alligator River is named after the reptile but all we were able to spot was a lot of driftwood. So, for the first picture pretend this is an alligator.

We arrived at Alligator River Marina just beyond the Alligator Swing Bridge (and we haven't seen one alligator) around 1:30 - a four hour run. Early arrival allowed us to do some needed cleaning and maintenance before our dinner out of fried chicken and seafood in a booth in the back of the convenience store located at the marina. Overall - a "romantic" evening topped by watching The Idol on a 12 inch TV located in the bathroom/laundry/shower facilities.

On Thursday we once again left early so we could make the trip across the Albermarle Sound before potential inclement weather arrived in the afternoon. The Sound is the largest fresh water sound in the Eastern US and is shallow so any wind can cause turbulent travel. Our day across the Sound was smooth with the exception of the many, many crab pots that you are forced to dodge. After a long day of watching for crab pots, the Admiral took a breather.

We arrived at the town docks in Elizabeth City around 11:30 am. What a charming, friendly little sea port town located on the Pasquotank River. The locals are there to help tie you up to the dock and the local grocery store will come to pick you up for shopping. The dockage is free on a first come basis.

Here is a picture of Pia at the dock NOT taking a nap.

Doug and Leslie aboard "Happy Clamz" finally joined us in Elizabeth City. The three boats will travel together in the coming weeks.

We had planned to stay in Elizabeth City for a couple of days but learned of a bridge closing just south of Norfolk beginning Sunday for 3 days so we decided to leave on Friday to make the long anticipated trip to The Dismal Swamp and our first adventure through the locks. Here is Jack preparing "Still Busy" for an early departure as the sun rises.

The Dismal Swamp is everything the name describes and is Mother Nature at her best! The waterway is long, winding, and narrow. You need to be alert for floating logs and debris in the channel. We passed one sailboat headed south in the waterway and he needed to watch for overhanging trees on his mast.

So, we finally make it to the lock which was a lift of 8 feet. This two pictures demonstrate how much you do rise - Pia when we first entered the lock and Pia we were ready to depart. All in all, not a bad experience for our first time. On The Loop there are over 110 locks - we have 2 behind us!!

After the first lock, we traveled to the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center (an oxymoron?) where you must raft together to accommodate all boats that are waiting overnight for the next lock at 11:00 AM the next morning. At this small face dock, we have 8 boats rafted together. The Dismal Swamp Welcome Center is also a state park and we took the opportunity to hike the trails.

We departed the Welcome Center Saturday morning in time to make the lock opening at 11:00 AM. We crossed the Virginia state line prior to the lock and finally "locked through" the final lock on the canal around lunch and arrived in Norfolk/Portsmouth early afternoon. We made the trip from watching geese, turtles, and other wildlife to watching out for huge ships in the harbor. Quite a change of scenery and culture in a few short hours. We will be in Norfolk for a few days and plan to spend at least the next two weeks on the Chesapeake before traveling home for a few days in mid May. We were both amazed at the beauty of Eastern NC and are already talking about coming back to spend a few months exploring the many sights to see. We fully expect to enjoy the Chesapeake as much.

2009-04-27T21:10:00.007-04:00

We arrived in the sea village of Oriental after a 3 hour trip from Beaufort on Sunday. As we have posted before, the scenery and sights from the waterway are "postcard" views. After the loop, we could come back to Eastern NC for months just to see the side trips. We have seen another view of this great state. We are amazed at the number of dolphins we have seen on the trip and Pia is constantly trying to take pictures but they just won't stay above the water long enough for a good picture - guess they did not watch Flipper! This picture is of a "school" of dolphins in the ICW as we approached Oriental.

As we left Beaufort on Sunday morning, we were navigating to the ICW and knew the water was "skinny" but discovered how we need to be constantly aware of the water depth. Before we "found" the ICW, our depth sounder read -.9 feet! We weren't on the bottom but was probably plowing - thankfully the bottom was sandy. We were finally able to find the channel and made the scenic route to Oriental. Below is a picture as we approached the marina that would become our new home for the next few days. Again, the water was "skinny" - we now have 2 feet of water below the boat.

On Monday, we took the dingy into Oriental - a great little seaside village(population <1000)> 2700 sailboats and is known as "The Sailboat Capital of NC". Oriental is definitely a destination that we would revisit. After our trip into town on the dingy for marine shopping and lunch with John and Sue, we returned to the marina and we walked to the local grocery store for provisions. On the way back - less than 1 mile - the local residents stopped on the road to ask us if we needed a ride. What a great town!

The last picture is "Still Busy" in the slip in Oriental at Whittaker Creek Yacht Club. We will leave in the morning early for a 50 mile run to Bel Haven on the ICW.

2009-04-22T20:14:00.019-04:00

On Wednesday morning, left Myrtle Beach for Southport, NC - a run of 40 miles. The weather was "breezy" but we were hoping it would calm down. As I have said many times - Hope is not a strategy. The trip up the ICW was fine and the wind, although "breezy" was not a problem until we arrived in Southport around 2 PM. Mother Nature decided at that very moment to "really blow" and the gusts were more than 30MPH. Quite an experience getting into the marina but we made it with the same amount of gelcoat on board as when we departed MB. All is well that ends well.

The first couple of pictures are of John and Sue aboard "Just Relax" as we depart MB and as we wait pass through the pontoon bridge in Sunset Beach NC. The bridge opens on the hour and if you are early, you have to wait. We had to wait for 35 minutes in the wind - not an easy task.

Did you ever wonder why fishermen wear rubber overalls even though the sun is shining bright? Pia took this picture as we discovered the answer to this intriguing question - notice the birds that are "hovering" above his skiff. You may need to click on the picture to find the answer!

So we finally arrived at the marina in Southport (remember the winds?) and the wind finally calmed down. Looking at these pictures makes it hard to believe that the wind was blowing so hard just a few short hours ago but now all is beautiful again!

On Thursday morning, we left Southport headed to our first night on the hook at Camp Lejune, a run of 60 miles. When we arrived in the anchorage area, the winds were once again a factor since we were so close to the ocean. We dropped the anchor and were joined by John and Sue. Because of the high winds, we decided to drop another anchor. This picture is John and Jack in the dingy taking a spare anchor out as far as possible - just for insurance. Please notice that neither one was wearing life jackets and were promptly scolded by Admirals Pia and Sue!!!

After a dinner cooked on the grill, all of us slept great and were up early for our 40 mile trip to Beaufort NC. We continue to be amazed at the sights and the environment. This first picture was taken about 6:30 AM as soon as we got out of bed. The second picture was taken about 8 AM as we headed up the ICW shortly after pulling anchor. Beautiful sights!!

Just in case you were wondering what a First Mate/Admiral does while the Captain is driving the boat, we thought we would share a picture that was made after lunch while cruising.

So, on Friday at 2 PM we arrived in Beaufort and plan to stay here until Sunday when we will leave for Oriental, NC. The final 2 pictures from this post is "Just Relax" as we come into the downtown Marina. As we were on the dock on Friday evening, we took this final photo of wild horses on an uninhabited island directly across the harbor from the marina.

Georgetown to Myrtle Beach

2009-04-19T10:27:00.006-04:00

We left Georgetown around 9:30 on Saturday for our 50 or so mile trip to MB (should have left earlier but our bed sleeps so well we have a tough time getting up early - one of life's challenges). The ICW between G'town and MB may be some of the most beautiful stretches of the NC/SC ICW. Waters were calm when we departed from the harbor into the Waccamaw River. By 11:30 were were in the Cypress Swamp - very pretty -trees are fuller with Spanish moss hanging into the water. It is hard to describe so I will download some pictures. The first picture is on the Waccamaw River on one of the many islands - hopefully you can see the school "bus/boat" that must transport students from the islands to the school beside the general store. (may not be aware but you can click on each picture to enlarge)

The last picture is the Socastee Swing Bridge which we reached about 1:30. Most of the day we traveled with a couple of Yachts from G-town to MB and we traveled about 5 0r 6 miles per hour since the beautiful scenery (and the multiple no-wake zones) were many. We arrived at our marina at 4:15. John and Sue will be joining us on Sunday evening and we will plan our trip for the next few weeks - need to meet with Doug and Leslie aboard "Happy Clams" in the next few days in NC.

We are 1% Done

2009-04-17T20:55:00.010-04:00

We had a great final few days in Charleston. After our Dock mates from Lake Norman left on Sunday, Bill and Nita Reeves from Dallas arrived in Charleston on Monday. We spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday sightseeing and eating our way throughout Charleston from downtown to Shem Creek to Isle of Palms. In fact, the first picture is the four of us having lunch on the market. Great food, great friends, great time!!!

Thursday - finally the departure date arrived and we were ready. A perfect day to cast off on our adventure - slight breeze, warm temps, and nothing but sunny skies. This is the day we had been planning for a long time. Here is a picture of us pulling away from the dock headed into Charleston harbor to the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW). We were thrilled as we moved into the Ashley River to Charleston harbor toward the ICW. A couple of early pictures of dolphins in the harbor before the ICW as well as a picture of the famous Battery that neither of us had seen from the water.

Our original plans were to travel to Georgetown on Thursday and depart for Myrtle Beach on Friday. We arrived in Georgetown around 4:30 and, after getting settled, walked to the historic downtown waterfront. What a charming little town. We decided to stay another night so we could further explore. We realized that we have traveled 67 miles - from Charleston to Georgetown - of a 6500+mile trip so we have completed 1% of the trip - 99% to go! - and if the remaining 99 is as good as the first 1, we will have a blast.

A couple of pictures that you may find of interest. Check out the preview of the ponytail on Captain Jack. Don't know how long it will last but it is a beginning.

The last picture is "Still Busy" at the Georgetown dock with downtown waterfront in the background and Pia toasting our safe arrival on the first leg of our journey.

On Friday we will depart for Myrtle Beach - a trip of almost 50 miles. We will be in MB for a few days as we join our friends John and Sue Winter aboard "Just Relax" for the trip up the east coast.

We are now "boat people"

2009-04-12T16:33:00.009-04:00

Since moving the boat to Charleston in mid-March, we spent a couple of weekends getting organized, provisioning, etc. Jack retired on April 1st and Pia left her position the same week so we moved on the boat full time April 3rd. We have now spent 10 consecutive nights as "boat people" and we are both amazed at how well it is going. No question, some adjustment (clothes are always wrinkled) but we are doing great and looking forward to leaving on our trip soon. This first picture is "Still Busy" at her new temporary slip in Charleston.

Earlier this week, we attended a meeting in Charleston of a Loopers Rendezvous sponsored by the AGLCA, an association of current, past, and future looping boaters. Many good sessions on what to expect and what to plan for as well as the opportunity to meet many good people that are more than willing to share their experiences. We look forward to traveling with many of these same boaters in the coming months somewhere on The Loop.

While in Charleston, last weekend we attended Jack's grandson Garrett's, 4th birthday party. Watching twenty or so 4 year olds bowl is quite an entertaining event. Fun had by all!

This past weekend was spent with some great friends from home - all dock mates from Lake Norman - that traveled to Charleston just to celebrate the start of our trip. We will miss all of them and look forward to seeing them at the home port in a year. It is great to have such good friends.
On Monday, some more friends from Dallas, Bill and Nita Reeves, are traveling to Charleston to "see us off". Bill has been an avid boater for many years and I look forward to his advice as we plan the final days in Charleston.

Our plans are to leave Charleston on Thursday, April 16th, and travel to Georgetown, SC for one night before joining John and Sue Winter aboard "Just Relax" in Myrtle Beach. We plan to travel up the east coast with John and Sue as they leave for their trip on the Down East Loop. The Winters' completed The Great Loop in 2007 and have been a wealth of information and encouragement for us as we have prepared. We will benefit from their knowledge and experience.

We have enjoyed the time we spent in Charleston finalizing our plans but we are ready to leave on the great adventure. We will try to update the blog next weekend from Myrtle Beach and look forward to hearing from all of you in the coming days and weeks.

Moving "Still Busy" to Charleston

2009-03-15T16:43:00.004-04:00

The big move date has arrived and we are ready for the trip. Jack drove "Still Busy" to

All Seasons Marina on Lake Norman to prepare for the haul. Most of the disassemble - and the reassemble in Charleston - will be done by Ed Sherrad, marine mechanic extraordinaire. The first picture is Jack on "Still Busy" leaving our home port at Vineyard Point.

The following day was busy as the truck was there early to load the vessel. Most of the plan went smooth with the exception of a very difficult time removing the radar arch. Here is a picture of "Still Busy" aboard the truck before removal of the radar arch but with the canvas off. This will be her new slip for the next few days.

On Friday, we were up early to meet Ed at the Charleston City Boatyard for the big day. The day was cloudy - around 60 - with a few sprinkles. Ed was already on the boat finishing the reassemble, having worked long the previous evening. Although we were ready to put her in the water by 9:00, we had to wait until 1:30 for our turn. Finally got her in the water with everything working fine, although the current was rough due to the tide flow - a new challenge for us. But we succeeded getting her off the dock and into the Wando River for our trip to the Charleston City Marina, a trip that will take us into The Cooper River to the Charleston Harbor by Fort Sumter to The Ashley River - a trip of a little over an hour. Here we are as we leave the boatyard. The remainder of the weekend was devoted to cleaning, cleaning, cleaning along with grocery shopping and the obligatory trip to West Marine and Boaters World. We were able to spend some time with Brent and his family and look forward to spending more time with them over the next few weekends.

We are now back in Charlotte and have plans to spend most weekends in Charleston. We both marvel at how strange it is to sit in very familiar surroundings aboard "Still Busy" - but - in Charleston. A comforting feeling that I am sure we will experience throughout our trip.

We are almost there...

2009-02-16T11:34:00.018-05:00

On this blog, we will attempt to keep our family and friends updated on our travels on The Loop and provide pictures whenever we can. We would love to hear back from you on how well we are doing at providing updates.

We have really enjoyed the first phase of this journey – Planning – and are looking forward to getting started. In 2007, we chose April ’09 as our departure date and have accomplished a long list of “to do’s” getting ready. We quickly discovered that to begin this adventure is much more than “tossing the lines off the boat”. We have spent a lot of time in the last 2 years checking tasks off the list and find it hard to believe that the departure date is almost here.

The second phase of our great journey is the trip itself - up the ICW, leaving Charleston mid-April, into the Chesapeake early May, New York Harbor and up the Hudson to The Champlain Canal and back down to Kingston, Ontario in June. We will spend the greater part of July on the Trent Savern Waterway visiting Pia’s daughter and family before proceeding into the Georgian Bay to Lake Michigan in August. After departing Chicago early September, we will face what we feel is the most challenging part of our trip, The Western side of The Great Loop. By Thanksgiving, we will be in The Gulf of Mexico on the western side of Florida with plans to spend the winter in Southern Florida (and maybe the Bahamas if all goes well and there is no mutiny on board). The last leg of our journey will take us up the east coast of Florida returning to Charleston in the spring of on 2010.

“Still Busy” is a 2000 Carver 350 with LOA 37’7”, Beam 12’9”, and a draft of 37”. She is powered by Twin Volvo 7.4L gas engines. In addition to much interior redecorating - designed by Pia – we upgraded the GPS/Radar, VHF, and installed a new flat screen TV in the parlor along with a new FM/Satellite receiver and sound system. She has never looked, nor performed, better. The best advice we received while researching the trip was “the best boat for Looping is the smallest boat on which you can spend extended periods of time and still live comfortably”. We strongly considered bigger boats for the trip but in the end decided that “Still Busy” was the right vessel for us even though, as Pia recently discovered, the living space is about the same size as our master bathroom at home.

As we get closer to hauling the boat and provisioning for the trip, we will provide more updates to the blog. Please travel with us via Pia and Jack’s blog.