Mackinac Island to Beaver Island
DeTour Village to Mackinac Island
The weather report was calling for wind by 1, so we headed out before breakfast to try and beat it to Mackinac Island. We pulled out of the marina around 7:30. I know that Lake Huron can be as nasty as the other lakes, so we didn't want to take a chance with the weather getting bad, so here is one o...
Sault Ste Marie to DeTour Village
We knew this day would come. We are leaving Canada today. We've had such a great time up here..... the waters are amazing, the people are amazing, everything - except the rocks - is amazing. We decided to cross over the river and head to the George Kemp Marina in USA to fuel up and check in with cus...
Whitefish Point to Sault Ste Marie
It was a beautiful night out on Whitefish Point. We woke to questionable weather, and looked like drizzle, but the forecast looked like 1 ft waves and no wind, so we decided to head back to Sault Ste Marie. Its a short crossing, so hoped we could make it without incident. Here is the breakwater comi...
Whitefish Point
'The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gichee Goomee'. The words keep rolling through my brain as we sit in front of the Sault Ste Marie Lock that will lead us out into Lake Superior. We're a massive boat by Lake Pueblo standards, and pretty darned big when compared...
Thessalon Harbor to Sault Ste Marie
We woke early today. The anchor pulling loose is a thing that will wake you pretty quickly. I stay up late and keep watch, and George is up at daybreak and keeps watch, but it just never gets to be fun. We are searching for an anchor that we can depend on, because ours fails us too often. This is wh...
Blind River Marina to Thessalon Harbor
Blind River was a great stop. We really enjoyed hanging out at the dock, watching the beavers, and visiting. The next door neighbor told us late last night that the power was getting turned off all day. We had sort of thought about staying for another day, but that killed it. We took off for Thessal...
Kitsilano Bay anchorage to Alexander Passage bay
Parry Sound to Kitsilano Bay
Frying Pan Island (Henry's) to Parry Sound
Midland Bay to Beacon Bay in Penetanguishene
Big Chute Marina to Midland Bay
McLean Bay to Big Chute Marina
Orillia to McLean Bay anchorage
Talbot wall to Orillia
What a nice lock this was. Clean, and quiet, and beautiful. We locked through first thing this morning. We headed out into the canal on the way to Lake Simcoe. Lake Simcoe is the biggest lake we go through before we get to Georgian Bay. Not sure what to compare it to, but its big. This canal though....
Bridge Port Marina
We left the wall at Talbot and continued on in the ditch. This is our spot for the night. Honestly, I have seen irrigation ditches in Pueblo that were bigger. There wasn't room to pass a big boat, so we're awfully grateful that we didn't need to. Here are a couple pictures of the canal. It's 6 feet...
Fenelon Falls to the Talbot wall
Fenelon Falls was a great stop. We didn't plan to stay there, but with the rain coming elected to stop early. Glad we did. Now, on to Talbot. We traveled through the ditch after Fenelon Falls, which was clearly just dug through the flagstone/shale (not sure) surface. You can see the piles of the spo...
Bobcaygeon anchorage to Fenelon Falls wall
I don't think either of us were ready to leave the anchorage at Sturgeon Bay near Bobcaygeon, but it was time to move on. We had planned to make it further than Fenelon Falls, and were just going to breeze through, but the storm clouds were rolling, and the rain was threatening, and there was a spac...
Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon
Lakefield to Buckhorn
Hastings to Peterborough
Campbellford to Hastings
Frankford wall to Campbellford
Trent to Frankford wall
....and just like that, we are through 6 locks. We left Trent in ugly gloomy weather, but according to our charts, the weather would clear. First stop - leave $650 for diesel fuel. Ugh. It is so cool of them to have this amazing sign on the bridge. I remember when the kids and I drove up to Alaska,...
Picton to Trent
It was a beautiful day for traveling when we left Picton. The breeze made it really nice, and the water was calm. There are houses lining the water everywhere we go now. I know it must get really cold in the winter, but right now I envy them. Here we are traveling up the Trent River towards the Port...
Kingston to Picton
It was hard to leave Kingston this morning. What a fun, hip, vibrant city this is. Sunrise on the marina was beautiful, but the picture didn't do it justice. Here is the city view as we left. We cruised past the penitentiary and the museum of the locks as we went by in the river. We are separated fr...
Shady Harbor to Waterford
Catskill to Shady Harbor
Rondout Creek to Catskill
Shadows to Rondout Creek
Cortlandt to Shadows Marina
Our time at Cortlandt was awesome. Time to move on though, and I chose to go as far as Shadows in Poughkeepsie. It is a marina right on the Hudson, and there was no way to avoid the wakes from passing boats and barges, but it was the correct distance to go that day. We decided we'd be OK. Keith, the...
NYC to Cortlandt Yacht Club
We left Chelsea Piers as early as we could possibly leave, because it started very early in the morning rocking the boat. Those ferries are relentless in their desire to stir up the Hudson River. It had a great location, but lacked a way to stop the waves. Oh well..... Here we are at Chelsea Piers M...
Raritan Bay to Liberty Landing
We woke up to a drizzly ugly day. Devon and Dolly were going to stay for a week or two and head home. Chris and Lesley were staying a week to visit with family nearby, so we went on ahead alone. The trip across the bay, even in the fog and drizzle, seemed so nice compared to yesterday. The waves wer...
Barnegat Bay to Raritan Bay
We woke up this morning and thought we were going to wait at the marina for a few days..... for a break in the weather. Then George came back from his visiting the neighbor boats and said that they were all leaving now. Half had already left. What!? I checked, and it seemed like a really bad idea. H...
Atlantic City to Barnegat Bay
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Atlantic City. It wasn't quite Vegas or anything, but it was OK. The boardwalk was OK, and the marina was good. Dinner was the best, even though expensive. Our friends were all staying behind, waiting for better weather, but we made the decision to take off for Barn...
Cape May to Atlantic City
I read up on the Cape May area. It has so much history... especially the fact that it is the first recreational beach in the country, and a favorite spot for early travelers from Europe and Africa, since they could get out of the ocean easily. It was just another tourist town - sadly - with lots of...
Havre de Grace to Reedy Point to Cape May
The weather forecast for this morning was 'drizzle'. Bleh. We can travel in rainy weather.... it's just not as much fun. You don't get to see everything that you typically would, since the front eisenglass is a mess, and there are no wipers. Drizzle isn't as bad, just not pretty. We left shortly aft...
Rock Hall to Havre de Grace
It was another perfect day of travel on the Chesapeake Bay. It still sort of shocks me how shallow most of the water here is, and if you aren't in the channel it can be dangerous, - today was no exception. We were a bit outside of the channel, in 5 ft of water (which honestly now isn't even a cause...
Deltaville to Reedville
After spending a week in Deltaville (yes, the weather held us down for 5 days), we were really looking forward to moving on. We needed the weather to be a bit better before we crossed the mouth of the Potomac on the Chesapeake Bay, but Reedville was just the stop. Besides that, we needed water. The...
York River to Deltaville
Leaving the York River Yacht Club was tough. It was so pretty, and so protected, and so convenient. We thought about staying longer, but had to move on. I selected a marina based on the location, since another 'blow' was expected, and we didn't want to go too far off of our route, and partly based o...
Norfolk to the York River
I tried, unsuccessfully, to take pictures of every cool thing there was coming out of Norfolk. Each giant naval vessel was cooler than the last, and each dry dock or shipyard had the most amazing assortment of other giant ships. I tried..... I did get a few cool pictures, but multiply them by a hund...
Dismal Swamp canal to Norfolk
The second day on the swamp was just as cool as the first day. I took so many videos, but I can't post them without first putting them on YouTube. Such a pain. I will with a few of them, but not all. Pictures will have to do. By the end of the swamp canal we were sort of over it. It really looks pre...
The Dismal Swamp
You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, that was our day. We started off so well. The wind was perfect... My captain did a fabulous job maneuvering us through the super tight marina, down the super shallow channel, and into the Pasquotank River....heading to the Disma...
Crossing the Albemarle into Elizabeth City
We started out bright and early to cross the Albemarle. The day before it was crazy rough, with 4 ft waves and big winds. Today? Calm and beautiful. I think maybe as calm and beautiful as it ever gets anyway.... The pictures are great. Look through them to see how pretty the sound was. At the far ed...
Alligator River Marina
What a fun trip it was up the Alligator River from Belhaven. It was a canal leaving Belhaven, but deep enough, and wide enough. We followed it for most of the day, through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. There is allegedly a huge black bear population, a lot of smaller critters (fox, r...
Belhaven NC
We started the long trek across the Pamlico Sound much earlier this trip, to hopefully avoid any 'sporty' travel. We were hugely successful, and made it all the way up the Pamlico River, and the Pungo Rivers with barely a breeze. Most of the marinas were full, but we found a spot at this marina, con...
Ocracoke Island
Since we started this trip - and maybe even long before - we had heard about the island of Ocracoke. It is a must-see stop, and maybe even plan several days there. We put it in the planning, and weren't disappointed. The late start that we got from River Dunes meant that we were traveling well past...
River Dunes Marina
I wasn't really planning to come to this marina. We had sort of planned to be in the quaint little town of Oriental NC, named for an old ship of the same name. Allegedly some cute shops and restaurants. We were low on fuel, so I started shopping around and found the best price at River Dunes Marina,...
New Bern Grand Marina
We were really looking forward to this stop! This is the town that Dave and Barb chose to leave Colorado for. I wondered about the logic of that choice, but after being here for a while - I get it. This is also where Outlander is set in America once they got here. It is a beautiful area. We booked i...
Beaufort Town Dock
Seriously? $35 for electricity for a night? I book a lot of docks, and the typical charge is $5 bucks. Maybe $8. I would grumble over $10. When I looked at that, I said 'are you serious?" He said, yeah, it seems high, but that's what we charge. SMH I was really excited for Beaufort, but not sure why...
Caspers Marina
Poor planning on my part. That's what I'll attribute paying for a dock at Caspers Marina is. There is a town dock that is possibly free next door. Well.... that, and the marina owner really irritated me - to the point that I nearly asked George to just leave. The workers were so nice, and so helpful...
Old Ferry Marina
What an adventure this turned out to be! We planned to stay here for one night. We ended up paying for an entire week. The storm that blew through was a serious one, with gale warnings for the whole area, and USCG travel advisories that said things like 'maritime travel strongly discouraged'. Remain...
Carolina Beach
This is the stop we wanted, but weather was coming in so we stayed at Holden Beach (the last stop). Another short day, but its all good because we are now against the beach. We are again on a T dock, against the channel, in a non-no-wake zone. I know that's a double negative. I don't hate T docks, o...
Holden Beach
Not far enough for a days travel. Really only a few hours away from Myrtle Beach, and technically even called North Myrtle Beach. If you don't stop at certain stops, you might miss others, so I have some semblance of an itinerary. This wasn't what I wanted, but there was no room at the one I wanted...
Barefoot Landing Marina
I had read so much about this marina and the surrounding area. The advertisements went as far as saying 'Don't miss this stop! It has so much cool stuff, and shops, and restaurants, that its worth the trip'. Turns out if you are a little boat thats true. If you are a big boat, you are relegated to t...
Wacca Wache Marina
When I was working on find a spot to stay, two things helped make this decision. 1. Super cheap fuel. 2. Such a fun name to say! It was on the list of great marinas thats published in the Loop book that we are using as a guide, so we had it planned. We sort of planned other stops around it, so the d...
Georgetown SC
I was looking forward to this stop. It was advertised as a safe quiet stop a long the way, with anything you need accessible. It was. I chose Harborwalk Marina, because it was literally in the middle of town with a Harborwalk in front. Sweet! 😎 We planned to arrive by 3, with a nice 4 hr cruise to...
McClellanville
We were looking for a quick trip, and we found it. The trip all the way to Georgetown was too much of a journey, so we split it up. McClellanville is what the map sent me to, so thats where I searched. Leland Oil came up as the best place to tie up and buy gas. Hhmmm.....doesnt sound that fancy, or...
Charleston Harbor
Welcome to what Conde Nast has declared as the #1 City in the US. Possibly the Charleston tourism folks took some liberties with that ranking, but who knows 🤷♀️. We ended a beautiful, albeit long, run up from Beaufort to arrive at 5 pm into Charleston Harbor Marina. We left early with the intentio...
Beaufort SC
What a beautiful, historic, charming and walkable city this is. I Googled a great walking tour, which turned up a really nice one. About 10 minutes in we ran across the Reconstruction State Park and the ranger was a storehouse of local history. I wont bore you with the details, but it was cool. 2nd...
Time to start!
Four months is a long time to wait. Oh sure, we got a lot done during that time, but geez.... Its a long wait. We got all the service work done, all the boat improvements done, and any little side jobs done too. In addition, we spent a lot of time touring Savannah and the Coastal Empire. We meant to...
The Wanderers
We've talked to so many people during the process of starting this daunting voyage. The majority of the responses have been super positive, but with a hint of 'wow, must be nice'. I came across this excerpt this morning, and it is so perfectly spot on that I needed to share it. To clarify: No, we di...