Day 93 - the LAST DAY - Florence
Final issues we have to complete: Fix the leak from the radar arch array - wrapped it with 2 clear bags and sealed tight as a drum - found water coming down inside with the wires this a.m. after the storm, so likely source is the 'Direct' TV dome has lost its seal. Will soon know. Of course life wou...
Day 92 - Florence
Events: Left Aqua at 07:00 to beat the heat; had quiet day with no traffic except someone looking for the entrance to the Tenn-Tom and I told him he was about 5 miles past it. Arrived at the Florence Wilson Lock at 11:45 and the lockmaster said as soon as he unloaded a chemical tow he would come bac...
Day 91 - Aqua
Events: Met with Aqua's service mgr, Dennis, really nice fellow and we have scheduled the work to be done, including haul out for the props, etc, for Aug.25 and it will take 3 wks likely to complete. He sent his a/c fellow and he concluded we need to replace the salon unit, since it is a 'one piece'...
Day 90 - Aqua Yacht, Iuka, MS
Events: Left Clifton at 07:50 and had quiet water all day, with only a couple of barges/tows and a few pleasure craft. Arrived at Iuka, MS, Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht , at 15:25/3:25pm, in the hottest day of the year at 'feels like 106'. The marina is bigger, with 450 slips; the transient dock is a long...
Day 89 - Clifton, TN
Events: Left Pebble Isle Marina at 08:15, in sunny but hot and humid wx, traveled 6.7 hr at 9.8mph usually, to arrive at Clifton City Marina in hot and more humid wx feeling like 106. Little boat traffic and the river was quiet. Clifton City Marina is a smaller municipal one with 72 slips including...
Day 88 - Pebble Isle Marina, TN
Events: Left GTBay at 08:00, travelled 72 miles in 7.7hr at 9mph +/-, to arrive in New Johnsonville, TN at Pebble Isle Marina. We were here in 2018 in our Trojan with the Smiths. It has 180 slips with 30 transients on a face dock, but Billy, the owner, let us stay on the fuel dock because he was abo...
Day 87 - GTB
Events: Finished washing the port side and both fender boards. Also cleaned and vacuumed the lazarettes of dead bugs and accumulated crud. Sprayed Home Defense in all corners, etc, to control the spiders. Removed the 3 blue solar night lights [had 4 - 2 per side - one disappeared over winter] from t...
Day 86 - Green Turtle Bay
Events: Washed the stbd side, soap/water, dried with chamois, and the sundeck and radar arch; will do the port side this evening, once the sun moves around and we will pull the boat to the portside finger, which is where the power pedestal is anyway, then leave it there until Monday. Will not get th...
Day 85 - Green Turtle Bay, KY
Events: Left Paducah at 08:20. We were worried about grounding again but the dockhand reported that the water at the gauge was up a least a foot. We hugged the dock around the end and only saw 4 feet fortunately, though did churn up the mud. Travelled 42 miles in 7.2 hrs, against a current up the Cu...
Day 84 - Paducah, KY
Events: Left the anchorage at Little Diversion Channel, Cape Girardeau, MO at 07:55, without any trouble pulling up the aft and bow anchors, which held all night without allowing the boat to move at all, per the phone app alarm I have. Travelled 50 miles to the confluence of the Ohio R., then turned...
Day 83 - Cape Girardeau, MO
Events: Left Kaskaskia Lock dock at 07:55, sunny, no wind, min. current, 69F, and travelled 69 miles over 5.7 hr to arrive at the Little Diversion Canal at Cape Girardeau, MO. The current pushed us along so that we stayed at 1600 rpm and achieved 12.3 mph. Passed/overtook one large tow [3 screws] wi...
Day 82 - Kaskaskia Lock-Dam, IL
Events: Left Hoppies in sunshine, mild winds, 70F, strong current, but had 2 of the fellows, Harry and Dave, to help throw our lines - they are born and bred on the Mississippi and advised how best to leave the dock in the strong current - worked well for us. We cruised at 1400 rpm most of the time...
Day 81 - Kimmswick, MO
Events: Brad and his dad were here at 08:00 and reinstalled the repaired prop. Left Grafton at 09:35, went 15miles to Alton Marina and topped up our diesel and pumped out; then travelled 8.2hr total, 61 miles, to arrive at Hoppies Marine , Kimmswick, MO at 17:45/5:45pm. Spent 4 hrs getting through t...
Day 80 - Grafton, IL
Events: Cloudy day forecast but no rain to test my plastic wrap on the array. Since we are only 2 wks from being home, have started going through all the files and stuff related to planning for the Loop, etc, when I have nothing else to do while sitting in a marina. Lot of 'stuff' related to 'over-p...
Day 79 - Grafton, IL
Events: Rain and TSM off and on all a.m. - just as well we didn't travel today!! Temps much improved with the wx change - 69 with high 76 today. Should be cloudy otherwise but possible showers in evening again [no rain all afternoon however]. Washed/scrubbed the sunbridge/flybridge between showers s...
Day 78 - Grafton, IL
EVENTS: Well....it has been another interesting day!! The prop divers came [father and son team] and removed the stbd prop which is the one he felt was 'not right' and there is a dent along one blade. We were going to change both blades, to keep them matched. However....the spare ones don't fit!!!!!...
Day 77 - Grafton, IL
Events: Checked the engine raw water strainers and little debris fortunately. Did the usual 'de-spidering'. Too hot and humid for much else. The diver will be here at 08:00 tomorrow to replace our props; wants to be early before the boat traffic begins. Photos: The tall poles in the marina pics are...
Day 76 - Grafton, IL
Events: Left the scenic docking in Beardstown at 07:10, traveled 88miles over 7.5 hrs, arriving at Grafton Harbor Marina at 14:40/2:40pm. Lots of debris requiring occasional boat steering for the first 2 hours, then quiet albeit fast water thereafter. The current was at least 2 mph and we cruised at...
Day 75 - Beardstown, IL
Days Events: Left IVY in Peoria at 07:05, partial cloud, 71F, no wind, and went through Peoria downtown and then the lock-dam which is a wicket type - see photo and explanation. With the water high, the wickets had been lowered which allowed all boat traffic to just cruise over the dam - a nice opti...
Day 74 - Peoria, IL
Events Today: Not much happening today, except washed the boat early; and while Marg defrosted the fridge. Cleaned the a/c strainer last evening while it was a bit cooler also. From the Desk of the Admiral: A stay-in day. It's hot, the marina is closed, some cleaning requirements including showers😂...
Day 73 Peoria, IL
Events Today: Left Spring Valley at 07:45 in sun, light wind, and just backed straight out into the river, since no place to safely pivot around in the marina. Quiet trip of 51 miles lasting 5 hrs, running usually at 1600 rpm for 10.5-11 mph with a 1 mph current pushing us. Lot of debris the first h...
Day 72 - Spring Valley, IL
Events today: Left Ottawa, IL, in 81F heat, at 10:05, a few mild gusting winds, partial clouds, travelling at 7-11mph depending on marinas/boats, cleared the Starved Rock Lock after a 25min.wait, and arrived at Spring Valley Boat Club , in Spring Valley, at 13:15/1:15pm. The weekend boaters were sta...
Day 71 - Ottawa, IL
Days Events: We are definitely back in heat! Going to 88 today but feels like 98. Cleaned the a/c strainer after all the junk and weedy patches. Still requires daily spider patrol - bought some spider preventive spray in the ships store here, in the hopes of reducing them. Checked the oils, coolant,...
Day 70 - Ottawa, IL
Events today: Left Joliet at 08:20 after first calling the Brandon Lock, 2 miles downstream, to verify no barge traffic, and then carried on. Had 3 locks total; lots of tows/barges for the first 20 miles, then mostly treed scenery, little population or boats, until we came to Marseilles Lock at m.24...
Day 69 - Joliet, IL
Days Events: Had to put the radar array down - I had it put on a hinge before we began the Loop - so that our air draft [height above the water] would be reduced from 19'2" [to top of anchor light on the radar array] to only 15'6", allowing us to get under all 107 of the Illinois/Chicago River bridg...
Day - 68, Chicago, IL
Days Events: [today we will both be commenting and mixing together] We walked over the bridge, along the Lakefront bike/walk path, about 1/2 mile, to Navy Pier to grab a tour boat for the Chicago River Architectural Tour. It was excellent, lasting 75minutes; the boat was open, about 1/4 full so lots...
Day 67- Chicago, IL
Day Events: Left Racine at 09:00 - after delay waiting for Reefpoint staff to do our pumpout - in smoky skies [see photo], 69F, light winds NE, no waves; traveled 62 miles in calm water until the last half hour or so when choppy and 1' on our port stern; arrived in Chicago, at DuSable Harbor, at 14:...
Day 66 - Racine, WI
A nice day today with sunny skies, 70-74F, winds light all day. De-spidered the boat and then washed with non-phosphate soap and brush - looks much happier. Checked that the anchor winch controls were working and replaced the safety rope holding the anchor to the winch [in case the chain or shackle...
Day 65 - Racine, WI
Events today: First thing was to 'de-spider' the boat - it needs to be a daily chore, as they rebuild webs and deposit poop everywhere and if we don't stay on top of it, it looks a disgrace. Our friend, Helen Cozzetto [nee Kupsch, from Saskatoon, SK originally, now in Fargo, ND but retiring Aug.3] a...
Day 64 - Racine, WI
The Day: Left Sheboygan at 07:20 in cloudy skies, winds NE 5-7mph, 69F, and travelled 72 miles to Racine, WI, Reef Point Marina, arriving at 13:50, a 6.5 hr journey at 11-12 mph, in initially waves/wind NE-E at 1' which became 2' in the last hour, on our port stern quarter. It was tolerable for us w...
Day 63 - Sheboygan, WI
Yesterday was one of those I-wish-to-forget-but-never-will ones. It was indeed a downer. With hindsight, should have gone into the slip bow first, which gives better control in wind - next time!!! Great responses from local help post-event though: the marina mechanic came by just after we had sealed...
Day 62 - Sheboygan, WI
Events: It's been quite a day! We had pleasant trip this morning. Sunny with waves of 1ft or less on our bow and only 2 1/2hrs. There was weather coming in later so we started early and got here by 11am as the wind gusts were beginning to pick up. After refueling we asked that there be someone at ou...
Day 61 - Manitowoc, WI
Days Events: Post pumpout yesterday, forgot to mention that one of the dockhands had the Robin Williams RV 'experience' - before they were using the threaded clamp-on fittings, when he was using the rubber universal 'cone', which requires you to hold it firmly in place all the time you are pumping o...
Day 60 - Sturgeon Bay, WI
Days Events: The marina provides dockside pumpout of holding tanks; there's a hose fitting at the dock for each slip and the dockhands pull the hoses down to the boat and connect it; they have an impressive pump, doesn't need priming, use the threaded fitting with clamps, and we rinsed x 3 so that t...
Day 59 - Sturgeon Bay, WI
Days Events: Washed 3/4 of D.A. this a.m. - couldn't get to the mid-Portside - could walk along the 'cat-walk' but the Admiral is not pleased whenever I do it [as when I helped pull a sailboat in last night when the wind and seaweed caused him some havoc - took his line and levered it around me and...
Day 58 - Sturgeon Bay, WI
Days Events: We left Frankfort at 07:30 in sun, temp 51, no wind, no waves. [See Marg's commentary.] Traveled 58miles, at 11.4mph, until we entered the Sturgeon Bay canal where the speed limit is 5mph for most of the remaining 4miles. Docked [in a sudden wind that came up, made it an interesting tim...
Day 57 - Frankfort, MI
Days Events: Another good travel day, mostly. Left Suttons Bay at 08:00 in light winds, 59F, sunny. After leaving the bay, waves were 1' NW and became 1-2' when we rounded the point into L.Michigan, which lasted about an hour, then steadily improved to <1' on stbd aft quarter. Saw quite a few fas...
Day 56 - Suttons Bay, MI
Having a boat is one of Gods ways to keep people humble! As Marg noted last evening, we had a 'significant' water leak in the salon ceiling port side, during the wild storm yesterday afternoon/evening, and I finally identified the likely source as the radar array hinge [I think], with driven water t...
Day 55 - Suttons Bay, MI
Rain started last evening and has been off/on all night and expected to rain most of today/tonight. The SC Advisory is now in effect until Thursday midday but the waves are to remain at least 2' with winds persisting all day at 15-22 kn which would make docking a bit tricky - at least for us. So, we...
Day 54 - Suttons Bay, MI
Days Events: Had a grand cruise today. Left Bay Harbor at 08:00 in sun and calm waters, 69F, winds SW 2-4. Little choppy in the bay and around into L.Michigan but seas became 'glass' once entering Grand Traverse Bay, the last 2 hrs. essentially. After 4.3hr, at 1800 rpm [actually 1500 rpm more likel...
Day 53 - Bay Harbor, MI
SCA [Small Craft Advisory] in effect all day with winds S at 20-25kn and waves 3-5'. Good thing we believed the forecast and tucked in here for today as well. Tomorrow shows only 1' waves on our bow so we should be good to go. A 52' Ocean Alexander docked beside us last evening. Nice boat, similar l...
Day 52 - Bay Harbor, MI
Days Events: A really good travel day. Left Mackinaw City at 09:20, after adding 249 g. diesel, at $3.50/g, and having a pumpout, traveling 52 miles at mostly 1800 rpm for 11.3 mph, to arrive at Bay Harbor Lake Marina , in Bay Harbor, MI at 2:10pm/14:10h. The waves were 1' on the bow for the first 2...
Day 51 - Mackinaw City, MI
Last night I was able to post all the Icebreaker photos - for some reason the wifi was superfast last night. The USCG Icebreaker Mackinaw was really a neat experience. Hopefully the titles to each photo are somewhat self-explanatory; zoom in for more details, if interested. Walked to the hardware to...
Day 50 - Mackinaw City, MI
Days Events: Up before sunrise and walked about; really nice time of day [see photos], peaceful, almost no one about. Chatted with the two other loopers - they both leave today heading northward about 30 miles to anchor out. Wx should be good for them, although they can tolerate much heavier seas th...
Day 49 - Mackinac Island, MI
Woke to wind - what's new?! Forecast is for N 10-15kn but sunny, temps high 68. To Mackinac I. via Sheplers Ferry ; they picked us up in a shuttle ['free'] which made it much easier. Mackinac is still pronounced 'Mackinaw', same as the city. Waves were 3' but ferry punched through them easily, on a...
Day 48 - Mackinaw City, MI
Days Events: Woke to fog with visibility about quarter mile; temp 62 with dewpoint 60 [fog when the latter is within 2 degrees of former]. Bugs/spiders in evidence everywhere - it is a constant and daily effort to keep them 'controlled'. Sun came out at noon. So did the wind! Walked 12 min. [avoidin...
Day 47 - Mackinaw City, MI
Days Events: It has been a long but overall pleasant day. Left Presque Isle at 08:00, travelled 70 miles at about 11 mph/1800rpm to arrive at Straits State Marina in Mackinaw City, MI at 14:30. Had lots of fog for the last half of the trip but no major surprises popped out of it. Saw a couple of lig...
Day 46 - Presque Isle, MI
Days Events: Another good travel day. Left Harrisville at 07:55, traveling at 1800 rpm for 11 mph and after 5.1 hr arrived at Presque Isle State Harbor [PISH], MI at 13:00/1pm. Wx great, in the high 60's/low 70's, winds NW at 6-8, with waves/swells 1' on the port bow-beam. Little boat traffic - a co...
Day 45 - Harrisville, MI
We're still here!! A SCA [Small Craft Advisory] for this stretch of the coast had 2-3' waves SW with SW winds 12-20+ mph, and possible TSMs; there were breakers visible on the breakwater. Our new looper friends left at 06:30 before it was at its worst and called me after 5 miles out, reporting 3' wa...
Day 44 - Harrisville, MI
Days Events: A good day - mostly because we were finally on the move again. Left Harbor Beach at 08:45, after humming & hawing over wx; the harbormaster had some reassuring opinions, so off we went. Needed to get on the road. Travelled 5.3 hrs, 65miles, at 12-13 mph on 2200 rpm, most of the way, arr...
Day 43 - Harbor Beach, MI
This is day 5 at Harbor Beach and although it's a great little marina with nice folks, we are ready to move on. Lousy wx again today with rain and cloud and winds S 14-22mph and waves 2-3+ ft in the lake! Not cruising wx for the likes of us. Gets downright depressing. A couple of cruisers came in th...
Day 42 - Harbor Beach, MI
Days Events: Wind. More wind. And more wind. The Great Lakes tend to indeed be windy. Today it is 12-20mph, S-SW, with waves 3-6-8'. The Admiral notes that wind can drive a person insane! Put another 2 liters of soapy Dawn water into the stbd bilge, which drains into the forward bilge pump. Odor has...
Day 41 - Harbor Beach, MI
Days Events: Wx not good on the water today, with a SCA [small craft advisory] in effect until late Thurs/Fri.; winds up to 20mph sustained and waves 4'-8'. After a respite last night, by noon, the SW winds were back to at least 20mph and creating sizeable whitecaps within the sheltered harbor with...
Day 40 - Harbor Beach, MI
Days Events: 05:30 - This will be a serial report since I got up at 04:00 to adjust a couple of lines and reposition 2 fenders that had slipped, allowing our rub rail to be on the posts. Cold here at 51 with wind NW still 10-18, straining our lines. Going to 66 today but waves now at 3-5' outside th...
Day 39 - Harbor Beach, MI
Days Events: Wx overcast since last evening; winds were forecast for up to 28mph this afternoon, with a maritime warning; rained off and on last night, then started just before noon again, but brief with intermittent sun. It has been really gusty all day! The USCG boat went out in a hurry late this...
Day 38 - Harbor Beach, MI
Days Events: Wx forecast was 82/66F with winds NE 4-9mph, waves 0-1', mostly sunny. Tomorrow, Monday, has a SCA [ Small Craft Advisory ] in effect all day, so will likely be staying put in Harbor Beach. Left Lexington at 07:40, travelled 42miles on calm seas [ripples for waves and <1 foot swells...
Day 37 - Lexington, MI
Days Events: Wx forecast is winds SW 9-12, 75/60F, waves 0; until lunchtime when TSM quite possible. Left Port Huron at 08:15; had a 3mph current against us until we passed into L.Huron proper and some not insignificant turbulence at the river/lake junction, but fortunately no large freighters to de...
Day 36 - Port Huron, MI
Days Events: Mother Nature decided we should stay in Port Huron another night! There is a Small Craft Advisory for southern L.Huron, as well as other areas, due to severe TSM and winds gusting to 26mph with waves 1-3'; a change from yesterdays forecast. So being water wussies, we made the prudent de...
Day 35 - Port Huron, MI
Days Events: Departed from MacRays at 07:45. We were a wee bit tense because the boat across the 70' channel from us had his bow stuck out past the pilings by about 5-6', cutting down our ability to back out and to pivot. There was a light wind blowing us against the sea wall so decided to use it to...
Day 34 - L.St.Clair, Point Huron
Days Events: Wx much nicer with only light winds, 4-8mph! Sunny, 52 at dawn, rising to 75 later. Updated the SD card chartplotter map and software for our Axiom electronics which will carry us now to Florence. Used Google Earth to review the marinas we will be staying at; helps recognize it from the...
Day 33 - L.St.Clair, Point Huron
Days Events: Left Riverside at 09:30 when the long term slip holder knocked on our hull to say he was just launching his boat from storage and needed his own slip back! The office wasn't open yet. It was rather breezy, 10-16mph, but the wind favored us pushing the boat out of the slip; Marg had to h...
Day 32 - Detroit, MI
Days Events: It was a relatively stressful day. Winds and waves were brisk in the a.m. so after pumpout at 10:45 we tied up at the restaurant dock waiting to see if things would improve; and they did almost immediately! Amazing - from 2' NE breaking waves to 1' or less with no whitecaps, etc. Left T...
Day 31 - Toledo Beach, MI
Days Events: Mayflies worse this a.m.! Swept them, sort of, to the corners of the aft cockpit so we could get off the boat without stepping on them making a worse mess; used the hose to clean them off the swim platform. Son Jeff, the entomologist, says these are male burrowing types which were almos...
Day 30 - Toledo Beach, MI
Days Events: Woke to find a million mayflies covering the boat [all the white boats too]. A woman walking by said she uses a blower to get rid of them. I used a soft broom aft and then the hose. They will be a daily event until their mating season ends. [see photos] Washed the boat. Cleaned 3 white...
Day 29 - Toledo Beach, MI
Days Events: Departed Kelleys I. at 08:35 with sunny skies, 72, winds NE 6-10; this changed to cloudy, winds 8-14 NE, waves 1-2, so we did some zig-zagging to tolerated the swells/waves off our stbd beam. Managed well and arrived, after 4 hr, at Safe Harbor Toledo Beach marina, in La Salle, MI at 12...
Day 28 - Kelleys Island, OH
Days Events: Wx great - p.cloudy, 72, light NE winds. Walked to 'downtown', about 2 blocks away, at 07:15 for a cappuccino and chocolate cake donut; baked on the premises and the owner watches the Great British Baking Show too! Woke to find lots of mayflies on the aft deck, being gobbled up by black...
Day 27 - Kelleys Island, OH
Days Events: Departed Lorain at 08:30 in cloudy skies, temp 70, light SW winds. Winds remained SW all day, with waves only ripples initially but worked up to 1' on port bow, so adjusted heading for a few miles until waves began to shift more southerly and we resumed direct heading to Kelleys I., arr...
Day 26 - Lorain, OH
Days Events: Left the Mentor Harbor Yachting Club at 07:30, travelled 45 miles to the Oasis at Port Lorain, Lorain, OH, for 4.7hr, at mostly 10.8mph. Water was terrific - ripples with sometimes a few 1' but often like glass! Winds SW 6-10, partial cloudy. Could see clouds building along the shorelin...
Day 25 - Mentor, OH
Days Events: Had to wait for diesel tanker to come and fill Geneva supply tank; he arrived at 09:15; took him awhile to finish, then, we started refueling about 10:00 and the fuel pump/nozzle wasn't working properly so it took us 1.5hr to put in 300g total! Finally left Geneva at 11:45 onto a perfec...
Day 24 - Geneva, OH
Days Events: Wx was great, c/t yesterday - 84/71, sunny, SW 6-14, waves 0-1, on the bow, and a bit more choppy the last hour; still pleasant. The 60' Riviera left at 05:30 heading to Detroit; the 85' Mariner left at 07:00 for Cleveland. Lots of fishing boats the last hour in particular, likely relat...
Day 23 - Erie, PA
Days Events: Wx was sunny and warm, 68-83, but windy +++ 10-31mph. Glad we were not travelling! A 60' Riviera came in behind us [see photo] this a.m. after she left a nearby marina heading West and had to turn around and came in here; waves were 6-10', even though forecast was 4-5'. One of the towbo...
Day 22 - Erie, PA
Days Events: Wx turned out to be pleasant, no rain, cloudy in a.m. then sunny; temp 58/75, winds S 5-13. Had a productive day: fixed the bimini corner twist snap - used 2 screws since my rivet gun wouldn't fit; adjusted the ropes to snug up the bimini frame and some waxed cord/twine around the fitti...
Day 21 - Erie, PA
Days Events: Wx - cloudy, rainy off and on, temps 62 at dawn, rising to 70, winds S 10-15. Then, sun came out in evening and it was a grand end to the day. Re: coolant - my 2nd boating Mentor, Terry, sent me a note suggesting the leak may be wnl [within normal limits] with a normal amount of coolant...
Day 20 - Erie, PA
Days Events: Left Dunkirk at 08:00 in cloudy conditions, winds 6-10 SE, 59F, no waves essentially. As we left Dunkirk, took a snap of their power station now in process of being decommissioned; also saw a similar one last week. Followed shoreline about 2mi. to port as cruised SW to Erie, PA, 47 mile...
Day 19 - Dunkirk, NY
Days Events: Wx forecast is SW at 2-5mph increasing to 8-14 by noon, waves 0-1', cloudy w/ some sun in afternoon. Good to go! Left at 08:45 in SW winds with light waves <1' on the port bow. Arrived Dunkirk, NY, Holiday Harbor at Chadwick Bay , at 12:15, after 3.5 hr, mostly running 1800 rpm for 1...
Day 18 - Buffalo, NY
Today was a 'hurdle' day in that D.A. is transiting the Welland Canal , piloted by Capt.Bob Ruh, from Buffalo, and 2 crew members. [we, as boat owners, are not allowed to stay on the boat - if we did, the passage would be considered a pleasure event and that is prohibited by CBSA under its Covid gui...
Day 17 - Youngstown, NY
Days Events: Wx great - clear, sunny, 43F at dawn, rising to 55 by 11:00 and to 62 in pm. Winds NE 5-9-12. Today the sailing club, YYC, had their first race of the season, with about 7 boats leaving around 10 a.m. It was a closed event, running 16mi. down to Wilson Harbor, where we had been, and ret...
Day 16 - Youngstown, NY
Days Events: Wx is dry but rather cloudy and cool at 47F this am but supposed to be 62 in pm. Still windy ENE 12-21. Tomorrow will be warmer and have lighter winds. Woke to find the indicator light for the aft BP on. Oh, oh. Opened the hatch and could hear it running but no significant water visible...
Day 15 - Youngstown, NY
Days Events: The wx has been quite miserable since early this a.m. I had put out extra lines last night - 7 total - anticipating the winds and rains, but woke at 04:00 hearing a 'clunk' sound; don't like 'clunks' on a boat. Worried one of the fenders had deflated and the boat was hitting the face wa...
Day 14 - Youngstown, NY
Days Events: We found a window of wx opportunity this afternoon, with winds 7-10 WNW and waves 1-2' and sunny; the waves had been 2-3 in the a.m. and again this evening and worse tomorrow at 6-9' with winds projecting ENE 20-29mph; not pleasure boating at all, and dangerous conditions for trying to...
Day 13 - Wilson Harbor, NY
Days Events: Watched our looper friends boat, Here's To Us, being piloted away at 06:30 to go up the Welland this a.m. ; the 3-man crew will be picked up in Buffalo from the boat this evening - hopefully, as the wx on the L.Erie side may prevent them getting from Port Colburn/Welland Canal to Buffal...
Day 12 - Wilson Harbor, NY
Days Events: Left at 08:00 in partial sun, 68F, winds SW 6-10mph; wx stayed pretty much the same the whole day except the temp rose to the low 80's; no rain, though 51% risk of TSM. Waves were on our bow, initially only ripples but built to 1-2ft mid way, then settled back to 1ft. We were able to fo...
Day 11 - Rochester, NY
Days Events: We had a v.leisurely day. I cleaned the transom and aft deck of all the diesel stains; much brighter white now; the admiral is impressed. Reviewed the inventory and a few other things. Went for a walk to the Office building [without my mask] which has an ATM - they are enforcing masks [...
Day 10 - Rochester, NY
Days Events: Wx has been cloudy and cooled off in the afternoon to 68F, threat of rain or TSM. Winds S 8-12. Cleaned off the aft deck diesel stains - didn't realize how much was there until had cleaned the transom! Also fixed the stbd porthole leak in our stateroom from the waves splashing yesterday...
Day 9 - Rochester, NY
Days Events: Left Oswego at 07:15, cloudy, though warm at 57; wx predicted to be 83F this pm with possible TSM. Travel was overall 'easy' with only about 2 hrs of 1-2 ft waves on the bow; winds were predicted 7-12 from SW - and were. So, fortunately our course made travel into the waves and bow not...
B.Day 8 - Oswego, NY
Days Events: Wx - about as perfect as possible for boat travel - sunny, 70's, no waves! Boat - no problems! Trave l - We had a great day to start back on the water, leaving Alex.Bay at 07:20, travelling upstream among the 1000 Islands on the St.Lawrence River and after 30 miles entered L.Ontario [se...
B.Day 7 - Alex.Bay, NY
Days Events: This is our last night in Alexandria Bay; we will leave 07:30 for Oswego, NY, 74 miles. The mechanic installed the 2 new generator relays, in 5 min, and looked at our exhaust; noted that the stbd side engine quit smoking within a few minutes but the port side may have a bit too much. Th...
B.Day 6 - Alex.Bay
Events of Today: Wx - perfect - again! Boat - cleaned the tracks on all 3 doors and sprayed with Lithium grease - has helped some; the port door is now effortless! Decided to experiment with the Genset relays [the mechanic was delayed and will bring the replacements tomorrow]; tapped them and was ab...
B.Day 5 - Alex.Bay, NY
This is the sleeping Captain, returned from the dead [of sleep], now at 0715 on B.Day 5! As the boss said, the lengthy effort written yesterday disappeared, so here is a summary. It was a busy day; definitely fatiguing. While waiting for the mechanics to arrive, finished almost everything required b...
B. Day 4 - Alex Bay, NY
Hi, It seems Rob's draft post has gone missing. We've had this happen a couple of times recently but were able to fix it before Rob sent to sleep! Anyway, he's asleep and I have no idea what he wrote. So, it was a busy day, a good day, and a day with one funny episode involving rental cars. We will...
B.Day 3 - Alex.Bay, NY
Days Events: Another perfect wx day. Completed pre-travel tasks including organizing the fenders/lines, cleaning the 3 faucet aerators [replaced one; the Admiral is much impressed], updated Navionics and planned our route to Oswego; reorganized the storage areas; installed our new 28" flat screen TV...
B.Day 2 - Alex.Bay, NY
Days Events: It's been another gorgeous day on the water - sunny, 43-69F, slight wind. More boats are being dropped back into the water from the storage warehouses and so with 160 slips we see more folks. Took the Enterprise 2020 Durango SUV 30 miles back to Waterton, returning in our local rental T...
B.Day1 - Alex.Bay, NY
Events of the Day: We are now living back on our boat, so this is now our B.Day1 - Boat Day #1. Wx today great again - dry, sunny, temps 43-69F, mild breezes. Supposed to stay like this for the next week! Finished transferring everything to the boat and now have the task of storing/relocating/notlos...
Alex.Bay day 2
Well, another great day. Temps 40F in a.m. rising to 68F in p.m. Little wind. Sunny We finished transferring more stuff to the boat; everything except personal stuff, which we will bring onboard tomorrow. We flushed and refilled the water tanks with filtered water. Found out that the aft tank monito...
Alexandria Bay, NY
Woke to a clear, cool sunny day, temp 40F, no winds - see photos. Drove to the Horizon Marina office in town to pay bills and get some docking information. Shot photos of the view across the St. Lawrence to Wellesley I. with Boldt Castle and Thousand Is. Horizon Marina just across from our hotel. We...
Winchester to Alexandria Bay, NY - 460mi.
We have arrived! After 7.5hr and 460 miles of mostly sun, with temps in the 50-60F, and traffic easing off the further north we drove; traffic was bit heavy as we left Winchester and around Scranton, PA, but otherwise better than yesterday. Little to comment on except the later spring leaf-out compa...
Cookeville, TN to Winchester, VA - 526mi.
Had a more pleasant drive today, leaving Cookeville, TN Hampton Inn at 08:50 and driving I-40 in occasional showers to Knoxville, TN after which we turned off to I-81 up to Winchester, VA, total of 526 miles, arriving at the Hampton Inn at 18:15/6:15 [after losing an hour; so total drive time was 8h...
Florence to Cookeville, TN - 196mi.
Change of plans!! The Admiral suggested that since we were essentially ready Saturday evening, having packed the Durango SUV, house organized, etc, why don't we leave Sunday afternoon, after returning from our Mom's Day Brunch, to reduce the long day driving Monday and where we lose an hour time cha...
Preparing to Resume Loop
Ed.Note: We started planning this journey by boat - 'The Loop' - in 2018, joined the AGLCA [Americas Great Loop Cruisers Association] that fall and went to one of their conferences in Fort Myers, FL in January 2019; where we simultaneously looked at a boat specifically for the Loop, which Marg's sis...