May 1, 2015 – We Made It To NYC!

We spent the last two weeks shopping in Cos Cob, Connecticut .  We shopped for boat parts and food.  We shopped for plastic boxes at Target and Macy’s.  We made three trips 90 miles north to Waterford to go to Defender Inc.  We bought a dingy and $2,000 worth of  boat stuff there.  And then we shopped some more.  

Of course we also did a few boat projects too.

The Billy Ray in front of the New York Skyline

Today we left the Palmer Point Marina and cruised about 30 miles to New York.  We came southwest across Long Island Sound. into the East River and went around Rikers Island, along the FDR Expressway, around the South end of Manhattan and across to Liberty Landing Marina.  Really a fantastic trip

They had a big event here tonight with a bunch of boat vendors and major fireworks. I scammed an update for the software in our chart plotter and a Waterways chart book for the Great Lakes.  Nice!

We plan on staying here for most of a week to do New York stuff including the MOMA, some plays and other New York sightseeing.  We still have a LONG list of projects to do on the boat!.  We heard that the NY Canal system is closed until May 8^th so there is no rush to head north. 

Its nice to be on our way and out of the "boat yard".

Here We Go Again

Hi folks - As you may have heard, Linda and I bought a new (used) boat in Connecticut in October.  It is our dream manufacturer/model and we plan on doing some extensive cruising this summer and next.  We have named it the Billy Ray in honor of both our our fathers.  We'll publish pictures later but for now here is a description of the boat:

• It's a 2005 Tiara 3600 Open
• It is 36 feet long and has a beam of 13.25 feet.
• It has twin Cummins QSB 5.9 diesel engines (they are turbo charged and after cooled)
• It has one stateroom (great for us)
• It cruises at about 25 mph.
• It is very cool.  The alternative name was the "Cool Dog".

Our Plan-

• Do some work on the boat and get it cleaned up this Spring.
• Cruise up the Hudson River starting around the middle of May 2015.
• Go up the Hudson River and to Montreal by around June something.
• Go to Ottawa and down the Rideau Canal into Lake Ontario by early July.
• Go through the Trent Severn Canal into Lake Huron by mid or late July.
• Winter over somewhere around Michigan until Spring 2016
• Cruise Lake Superior in the Summer of 2016 and end up in Duluth Minnesota.
• Have the boat shipped to Seattle in late 2016.  
• Cruise until we can't in the NW.

I'm sure there will be high points and "challenges" on this trip like our last one so prepare to be entertained.  I'll try to put out a more detailed schedule soon so if you want to join us along the way we can start working it out.

Tod and Linda - January 14, 2015

Windy, Windy, Windy

KINGFISHER

Synopsis - We are currently in Northport Michigan at the town marina. The last two weeks have been quite windy on the lake Michigan with waves up to 14 feet. We have been travelling when there is a break but mostly hiding out in various harbors. Winds were low this morning (on the 15th) so we travelled to Northport to store the boat for the winter. We will either come back next year to do more cruising here or sell the boat. We should be home around the end of October after doing some maintenance. A summary of the trip so far is as follows:

• 199 days since leaving Kirkland
• 125 days since leaving St Pete Florida
• 3700 miles driving to Florida
• 3100 miles in the boat
• 84 locks
• Nine states plus Canada
• 
  

After leaving Canada and clearing customs , we went to the small town of De Tour

Michigan. The marina was right on the shipping lane for freighters carrying ore and other cargo to US and foreign destinations. They go by frequently so it is quite a show.

Here is a picture of one so you can see these are BIG ships.

On labor day, the wind dropped so we left DeTour for the run across the Mackinaw Straits. It was over 40 miles of open water so we were glad to get to Mackinaw City to a protected marina where we could wait out the next three days of high winds. Sustained winds of 40 mph and gusts to 60 mph along with waves up to 14 feet were reported. These conditions are impossible for any recreational boat. Mackinaw City has a lot of history and is at the Southern end of the Bridge that connects lower Michigan to the "Upper Peninsula". Here is some of what we have learned about Michigan-

• If you live north of the bridge (i.e. on the Upper Peninsula), you are a Yooper. Yoopers have a dialect that is unique to that area and sounds a lot like French Canadian. ("So you're going under da bridge eh?")
• If you live south of the bridge (i.e. on the main part of Michigan), the Yoopers call you a troll or a fudgie. Fudge seems to be a dietary staple around here, at least for tourists. So far I have only bought two and a half pounds.
• One lane of the bridge is closed off every Labor day and it's traditional to take the five mile walk across it. Even the governor does it. We didn't.
• The Mackinaw Straits have been the crossroads of the whole Great Lakes Mid-West area for thousands of years. First, the Indians gathered here in the summer to fish and re-strengthen clan ties. Then it was the center of the fur trade in the 1700s and 1800s. Now, all of the shipping to and from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan go under the bridge.
• Mackinac and Mackinaw are both pronounced the same -Awwww!

Here is a picture of Linda on the beach at Mackinaw City with the bridge in the background. Pretty long eh?

We did boat chores, did a little sight seeing around Mack City and took a day trip over to Mackinac Island. It is famous for two things. First, there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, only bikes and horses (over 500). Second, is the Grand Hotel which has been serving tourists since the late 1800s. It has a porch that is the longest in the world and was the scene of a Christopher Reeves movie called "Somewhere In Time" (you remember that one boys - right?) that has developed a cult following. Here are pictures of the main street and me relaxing on the porch after a great buffet lunch waiting for my horse.

Next we went to the town of Charlevoix about 40 miles south of the bridge. It was a great town and there was lots to do within walking distance of the boat. Charlevoix is famous for it's "mushroom" houses that were built in the 1930s and look like something out of Snow White.

Linda and I decided that although we would like to cruise the Tenn Tom River system, we really did not want to go back to Florida. Once you start down the rivers, you are committed to end up in the gulf. It isn't the greatest cruising area for a boat like ours and it a bad market to sell a boat like ours. Also, we both miss home and look forward to seeing you all. So, we are storing the boat on the hard in a heated building in Northport and will deal with it in the Spring.

I figure that most of you aren't interested in hearing about the boat maintenance projects we will do over the next few weeks so this is the last posting of this blog. Hope you enjoyed it.

Bye from Tod and Linda.

See you soon.

September 1, 2010 - My Noodle Is Blue

Synopsis – We are in the town of "Blind River" on the North Channel of Lake Huron in Ontario Canada. We have traveled 2900 miles since leaving St Pete in early May. All is well and we have been cruising in stunning beauty for the last couple of weeks. We have been cruising generally northwest in "Georgian Bay" and then the "North Channel". It has become progressively more remote and progressively more beautiful. This is northern latitude island cruising at it's best.

Shortly after our last posting we went through one of the trickiest spots on the whole trip.

It is shown on the photo to the right but it is really MUCH scarier than it looks here. .

To negotiate this ROCKY area, you have to go to the right of the green buoy and then turn left IN FRONT of the rock with the red triangle on it and then around the rock. There were rocks within a few feet of either side of the boat so of course we had to go through at dead slow. After going through this area, we had to stay in an anchorage for three days because the winds were 20 to 30 mph out in the open water. This results in waves that are from three to six feet high and would be TERRIBLE to travel in. So, we just hunkered down for three days and watched the wind blow in the trees. Even here, we got a few TV stations that were local broadcasts.

We had a wide variety of weather from pretty nice (but windy) to rain, thunderstorms and fog as shown in this view. We were anchored off a main route and during this three days we saw almost no traffic. It was lonely.

A major portion of Canada is covered by huge granite formations that are collectively called "the shield". This is the dominating geological feature of the landscape in this cruising area so everywhere you look there are granite islands that have been scoured by glaciers with beautiful windblown trees and bushes. We have a million pictures of them but here are two.

When the winds dropped down some on August 18^th, we headed to the big town of Killarney and tied up at the Killarney Mountain Lodge. Boy civilization felt good. They had a restaurant and everything! It is actually a cute little town and although the "store" is quite lame, it was great to be there for a couple of days. One of the town

landmarks is a fish and chips restaurant that is in an old red bus and serves lake trout and whitefish that are netted locally every morning. Here is a view of it and let me tell you they really pack them in at this time of the year (of course they are closed in the fall, winter and spring).

After Killarney, we continued on and went into a bay called "Baie Fine" (pronounced

Bay Fin) and anchored with quartz hills surrounding us. Here is a picture of the hill top we reached after hiking up about a mile. The "ground" here is all solid quartz. The views were incredible.

Here is a picture of Linda recovering after

we returned to the boat.

After a few days in Baie Fine, we went into the town of Little Current which is the only way to drive onto the island of Manitoulin (it's a huge island – look it up!). This is important geography around here and of course we had never heard of it. We were surprised to suddenly be in the middle of a bunch of cruisers that had gathered here, drawn by what is called the "cruiser's net". One of the townsmen (Roy Eaton) does a radio broadcast every morning on the VHF radio at 9:00 for boaters. He covers news (local, regional and international), local marine weather forecasts and has all of the boats that can hear him check in (typically

60-100 per day for the roughly 80 mile stretch that he tries to serve). He had also organized a pot luck dinner (with music and prizes from the local businesses) for the boats in Little Current so we met quite a few other cruisers and hooked up with some fellow "loopers" including these folks (Marty, Gloria, Don, Richard, Gill, Rhonda and Joey on three boats) who we had run into before on the Trent Severn Canal System and several times since. We had a great dinner and a nice visit.

There was also a couple that were cruising with SEVEN CHIHUAHUAS, some of which are shown here. Bet their boat smells good!

After leaving Little Current, we went to the small (itty bitty) town of Kagawong to view Bridal Falls and then moved on to anchor in an area called the Benjamins off Croker Island. The anchorage was nestled between granite hills and some evergreens clinging on for dear life. We stayed longer than we had planned to enjoy the perfect weather and check the area out a bit more. We did a lot of swimming (hence my purple noodle and Linda's blue noodle swim toys) and relaxing. We had calm winds and hot air and water temps.

Here is a picture showing Kingfisher in the anchorage however it doesn't due justice to the surrounding area and the granite hills.

Here is another picture taken from our boat across the anchorage showing the sailboat of Tom, Cheri and Cookie who live in Michigan but work at Park City Utah for the Winters. We shared dinners, dingy rides and swimming with them.

We continued West with a loose plan to reenter the USA right after Labor day and went into an anchorage called "Bear Drop". Again, it was granite cliffs around us and warm water. On the first day of September, we made our way to the town of Blind River to have a little "town time" and stay out of the forecast winds. After Labor Day we plan to spend a few days on Mackinaw Island and then head south on Lake Michigan.

That's all for now. The last month or so has been very pleasant and often more like a vacation than a journey. We miss you all and wish you well.

Have a great Labor Day holiday and we look forward to seeing most of you when we return in October or November after putting the boat away for the winter near Traverse City Michigan.

Tod and Linda C

8/12/10 - Georgian Bay

Synopsis - We are in the very small town (village?) of Britt about half way up the Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. We have travelled a total of 2750 miles since leaving St Pete on May 10th, 2010. We have transited a total of 80 locks but don't think we will have any to go through any more in the foreseeable future. We now plan on
"storing" the boat in NE Lake Michigan for the winter so we will probably be home sometime in October or November.

Since our last blog, we finished going through the Trent Severn Waterway including all 45 locks. There is a variety of lakes and passages between each lock and we generally went to a marina every two or three days and anchored out or stayed on a "wall" the rest if the time. The water was very clean and warm so swimming was often on the agenda. I also did a bit more fishing and finally started catching a few large mouth and small mouth bass. Here is a picture of me with one of the "big ones" that I caught off the back of our boat.

Some of the Trent Severn is quite open, but other parts are VERY narrow. Here is a picture of us approaching another boat

(there are actually three small boats behind him) and as you might guess, it was a slow difficult process to pass. One guy in a 25 foot boat wasn't too happy with me judging by the yelling and single finger gestures.

Of course one of the main memories of the Trent Severn is the locks. They come in all sizes and designs. In the last blog, I put in a picture of the lift lock just past

Peterborough that goes "up". Here is a picture of the Kirkfield lift lock (the other lock where you drive into a big pan and they make the whole pan go up or down) where you start going back "down". As you enter, it looks like you are going off into nothingness!

We worried for weeks (months?) about going over lock 44 which is called "Big Chute". They load your boat on a special railroad car and then take you (and your

lock mates) up and over a hill and down into the river below. Here is a picture of us going down the "Big Chute" and you can see that there is not any water for the boat to float in. We sat on our keel and the lock keepers (Canadian Park folks) put straps under us to keep us from falling over. When you get back in the water down below, you just float off and away you go!

After the Trent Severn, we entered Lake Huron to continue our way West. There are

thousands of "cottages" (not cabins!!) along the waterway of all types. Here is one that Linda picked out to show you.

At one place, we anchored in a bay off of a park and settled in for the afternoon. Little did we know that we were in front of a YMCA camp and would soon be surrounded by

boys and girls trying to learn how to sail by racing out on the harbour and around us! Here is a picture of one of their boats.

Today's insight - we didn't realize how "bug challenged we were coming from Seattle. In Florida we were attacked by "love bugs". In the Carolinas big black biting flies took over, and recently the mosquitoes and gnats are attacking en masse! Bring on the chemicals!

I think I will post this a couple of days early because the next part of our trip is reportedly quite remote and I worry about having internet.

We have firmed up our plans to store the boat in NW Lake Michigan (the town of North Port Bay) for the Winter and come home sometime in late fall.

We look forward to seeing you then.

Tod and Linda.

8/1/2010 - 63 locks!!!

Hello Boys and Girls -

Synopsis - We are in Bobcageon on the Trent Severn Waterway and have travelled 2505 miles since leaving St Pete on May 10th. We have gone through a total of 63 locks and all is well. It is finally cool and comfortable.

Right after our last post, Bob Liebling went home. Here is a picture of our two ace lock

hands (Bob and Linda) and I on the day before Bob left. Is he happy to be here or happy to be going home? Two days later Linda went home for a week so I was feeling lonely at this point in the trip. However, I had a good week at the "ess-kay" Yard in Brewerton NY waiting for Linda to return. I got some boat jobs done and spent time playing with the local cats. Ess Kay Yard was in a very beautiful section of the Erie Canal waterway and here is a picture taken in front of the marina taken from the KingFisher.

When Linda came back after visiting Seattle and having an early 90th birthday celebration for her father, we headed out in pouring rain. It was still hot (in the 80's) and the rain didn't last long.

We went another 7 miles on the Erie Canal and then turned North on the Oswego Canal. We happened to hit Oswego on their big yearly "Harbor Fest" and got to hear some music.

The winds were down the next morning so we decided to make the big crossing of Lake Ontario. This picture is of me thanking the sea gods for not blowing the winds into a gale.

It actually got pretty windy later and we had to tack back and forth a bit. It was about a 50 mile passage so this is big water. In the middle, you are out of the sight of land in all directions.

It seems like we have been going through locks forever. First we did a few in Florida on our way across the Okeechobee Waterway and had a couple in the Dismal Swamp in Georgia. Then, after going up the Hudson River for about a hundred miles we turned into the Erie Canal and went through another 20 locks and then transited the Oswego Canal (connecting the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario) which has 8 locks of it's own. After crossing Lake Ontario and travelling West into the Trent Severn Canal system we have gone through 31 (of 43) of the locks on this waterway. Here is a picture of the entrance to locks 16 and 17 which are a double lock

(called a fleet lock) that rises 50 feet. On the Trent Severn locks there are vertical cables every 20 or so feet along the wall of the lock to hang on to (you normally put a rope around and hang on) while letting the rope slip up or down the cable as the water level changes. The only real challenges are getting in position to start with (where's my bow thruster?) and holding on when the incoming water creates heavy current. It's OK and after doing a bunch of them it feels like a bit of an accomplishment.

The locks are managed by Parks Canada and you can stay on the canal wall above or below the locks in a beautiful setting. This picture is where we stayed above lock #15.

The lock master brought me donuts in the morning (wonder how I got him to do that?).

Our normal routine is to stay on the wall or anchor in one of the many lakes for a few days and then stay at a marina. Usually the marinas are near a "city" and we can stock up with supplies as well as filling our water system and washing the boat.

This picture is lock 21 near the town of Peterborough and is quite unique.

It is two huge "pans" that go up and down filled with water and whatever boats are inside. It is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, going up 65 feet, and gives you quite a view.

The scenery between locks is spectacular too. This area is called "Cottage Country" because there are so many summer places along the edges of the lakes and canals. Some are quite modest but many are very upscale with fancy boats and even airplanes out front (Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel reportedly have one somewhere around here). Many are built on small islands where the house takes up most of the island. They take drinking water from the lakes and do a bit of filtering and UV processing. Here is a picture of one of the MANY "cottages" that shows some of the lake scenery (this is on Stony Lake where we anchored one night) - Can you see the house?

We are in Center Pointe marina in the town of Bobcageon where there is a big celebration going on as part of Ontario's "Civic" day (three day holiday like BC day). Last night was called "Midnight Madness" for the late shopping and bands in the streets. Linda and I took the dingy into town (about a mile) to check it out. Town was packed with people, bands, swimsuit models (male and female) and outdoor shopping. We came home in the dark at about 11:oo and had to sort of "feel" our way back to the marina (we had a lame navigator -me) but had no real problem. We plan to stay here for another day to avoid the local boat traffic and take a break from travelling every day.

I've finally had a chance to enjoy some fishing although I don't really know what I'm doing. I talked to two different local fisherman who must have felt sorry for my lack of knowledge so they GAVE me some tackle (boy Canadians are nice). Think I'll go to the fishing store today and buy more. So far I have caught several smallmouth bass which seem to be the most common species here. One guy was fishing off the dock last night for muskellunge with a "marlin" pole and a lure about a foot long. I didn't see him catch anything but maybe tonight he will. More fishing is in my future.

Here's todays musing - I went through all our pictures last night and was reminded of how much we've seen along the way. Every day and in fact often every hour it's new and interesting. I pick out the few shots to put in this blog as "representative" of what we are seeing but it is very difficult to do with just a few pictures. Some of you will suffer through the whole meal deal when we get home..

We have another 100 miles to go on the Trent Severn and then we enter Lake Huron to cruise through the "Georgian Bay" on our way to Lake Michigan. We have been told that this is the best cruising area of the whole trip. Hope it is. We should be in Port Severn in about 5 days if you want to cruise with us.

We are thinking of storing the boat somewhere in Northern Lake Michigan for the winter. Who knows after that?

Hope everyone is doing well. We miss you.

Tod and Linda

July 15, 2010 - Linda's Leaving

Synopsis - We are in Brewerton NY and have travelled 2207 miles total since leaving St. Pete Florida on May 10th. Linda left yesterday to go home for a few days to visit
her father and do a few things in town. I'm babysitting the boat and doing some chores. When she returns we will head North across Lake Ontario and into Canada.

It's hard to believe, but since the last blog (July 1, 2010) there have been no mechanical problems with the boat. Wow! We went North from New Jersey and headed into New York harbor. On the way, we passed a bunch of oyster fisherman who were still using "sails and rakes" in the traditional manner.

The photo at right shows one and you can see his sail (OK, it's a blue tarp!) and he is using a 25 foot long rake and working hard.

There were quite a few big ships coming into NYC along with us. We passed the "biggest cruise ship in the world", the Norwegian "Jewel" which holds something like 6,000 passengers. We thought about staying in NYC harbour for the 4th of July fireworks but after a visit to the statue of liberty we decided to head up the Hudson river. We got to a town called Tarrytown after trevelling all day and when I looked back I could still see the NYC skyline. Boy is this boat slow!

We stopped in Hyde Park and spent a day touring the FDR family mansion (and Presidential Library), a Vanderbilt mansion (one of 40 they built) and the Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA). They were all great but I think the FDR property was by far the most interesting because the history it documents.

We continued North and were joined by our friend Bob Liebling in Troy which is where the Erie Canal heads West from the Hudson. We spent a week cruising West on the Erie Canal stopping at the occasional marina or at the free "mooring walls" provided by many towns to entice boaters to stop and spend some money in their town. In addition to incredibly beautiful lush scenery, highlights included spectacular locks and Fort Stanwix at the town of Rome.

Brewerton, our current location, is mid way on the Erie Canal (to Buffalo) and is where the Oswego Canal branches North to Lake Ontario. To get here, we travelled over 150 miles on the Erie canal and went through 21 locks. Here is a picture of the biggest lock (#17 on the Erie) and the lift gate which you have to go under to get in. It has a rise of 40 feet! It was a great help to have Bob Liebling manning a rope in the locks.

Fort Stanwix in Rome NY (shown below) was the location of a key battle in the American Revolution. The patriots there held up a

large English force for three weeks which contributed to the subsequent English defeat at Saratoga and helped convince France to support the colonists. It was fun to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers who manned the fort.

We are excited to head into Canada and the Trent Severn Canal system late next week after Linda returns. The Trent Severn and Northern Lake Huron are reported to be great cruising. We'll find out.

You all take care and remember that we miss you (well, maybe not all of you)

Next post on August first.