The Log of Periwinkle II

The End of an Adventure

2010-06-09T16:15:00.002-04:00

June 8th, 2010

Well there you have it, 299 days and 4100 nautical miles. This concludes our blog "The Log of Periwinkle II". Gill and I have really enjoyed this adventure and if you have thoughts of doing something like this, we recommend that you give it a try. Sure there will be some misadventures but over all it is a great experience. Periwinkle II is now safely home at her dock and the engine is off.

Collingwood, ON - HOME!!

2010-06-09T14:08:00.005-04:00

Day 299, June 8th, 2010

The alarm went off at 5:00 and we'd slept well. Oh! I didn't want to get up! I was safe and warm there in bed and didn't want to face the day! But home was so close - only 3.5 hours!!!

We listened to the forecast again. Still strong winds but it sounded as if the worst of it would be coming the following day, Wednesday. Meanwhile the wave height at the buoy in the south of Georgian Bay was reported as 0.3 metres. with winds of 10 knots out of the west. The barometer was rising. This was an improvement. The wind had dropped by 5 knots and the wave height by 0.6 knots. I didn't like the idea of the wind coming out of the west though, knowing it would hit us broadside as we crossed the Bay. We got all our gear on again and set off.

The day was clear - we could see right across the Bay. The tiny pinpoint of white which is the elevator and those dear ski hills on the Niagara Escarpment.

It wasn't fun. The waves seemed higher than 0.3 when we got to open water. Back to the wallowing motion. Back to my imaginative thoughts as I white knuckled it at the helm. I'm not much of a conversationalist when I'm nervous so poor old John didn't have anyone to talk to! The good thing was, that I didn't hear any creaking from the wooden frame and dear little Periwinkle was as desperate to get home as me. Somehow or other she chugged along between 6.1 and 6.5 knots all the way across the Bay. I swear she could smell Slip #10, her little spot at the Collingwood Yacht Club. Slowly, slowly, we watched the "distance to waypoint" diminish from 15 nautical miles to 0. With each milestone there was comfort - we're halfway; less than 5 miles; less than 3 miles; less than 2.5 miles; we're almost home!!! We watched the elevator and the ski hills get bigger and then we could even see the houses. Finally, we were in the channel approaching the dear old elevator. What a wonderful landmark it is. As we turned the corner into the Harbour, we were surprised and excited to see the building at the "Shipyards" housing development on the waterfront.. So much has changed since we left home. We can't wait to explore.

I was glad there were few people about. It was lovely just to have a few moments to take in the moment. 4,100 miles and we'd closed the Loop. How lovely to be home again. What a trip, what an adventure!

Port Severn, ON

2010-06-09T13:43:00.004-04:00

Day 298, June 7th, 2010

We left the wall ahead of Bluenoser at 8:40 and were through the swing bridge at 9:20 after crossing Sparrow Lake. Canadian Shield scenery. After living in Thunder Bay for 35 years and now in Collingwood, this is really home country!!

We arrived at Lock #44, The Big Chute, at 2:05. Just time to tie up on the blue line, pull up the dinghy and throw another jug of diesel in the tank. The guys called us up and competently caught us in the slings. This must be the best of all the locks. Its an extraordinary ride up in the marine railway, over the road and down to the water on the other side. All went so smoothly. When we were floating, John was told he could go ahead and again we tied up on the wall briefly so John could go below and "burp" the packless seal and lower the dinghy back down. Off we went again!

Through another couple of little lakes and we finally arrived at Port Severn. It was very windy. This is the smallest lock of all, built as a temporary lock in 1915. We waited while a 43ft cruiser locked through and then it was our turn. The weather forecast still wasn't good - much too windy to tackle Georgian Bay so we tied up on the west side. We went for a walk, bought an ice cream and a movie for $10 and then settled down to wait. We had a late supper at 7:30 but by the time we'd done the dishes the wind seemed to have dropped. Its a tricky little channel on the west side of Port Severn, so we decided to leave while there was still some light and make a try for it.

We just made it through the channel markers as the sun went down. All seemed okay at that point but we were still in the protected waters of the Waubaushene Channel. As we came out of the channel heading around the headland at Sawlog Point, the water changed considerably. The forecast had given the waters in the south of Georgian Bay as less then 1 metre but it was increasingly uncomfortable. Periwinkle was just wallowing in the waves, the wooden mast frame was creaking, and the wind was strong out of the WNW. It was obvious we would not be able to cross and should seek shelter. It seemed ironic that we had carried the survival suits, packed in a dry bag in the very back of the quarter berth, all these 4,000 miles, and on the very last night I'd dragged them out. They are lovely and warm and I felt more secure. I hate going through rough water with the mast down. Its my vivid imagination again as I picture the supports breaking up and the mast slipping. I had plans how I was going to cut the lines with a knife and see the mast sink overboard hoping Periwinkle wouldn't roll!! We looked at the chart and decided to head for Beckwith Island. Having reached there, the water was somewhat better but we chugged on a bit further to Christian Island and dropped the anchor in 26ft of water, not far from the ferry terminal. The water was calm there and we knew we could safely get some sleep. It was about 2:00 a.m. when we climbed into bed with the alarm set for 5:00 a.m.

Lock #42

2010-06-09T13:29:00.005-04:00

Day 297, June 6th, 2010

It rained all night and was still miserable in the morning. The thought of diving on the boat repeatedly again was not a happy thought. The nearer we get to home, the further away we seem!!!

Lock #40 was also full of weeds but luckily they got caught behind the doors when they opened and we didn't have too much trouble inching our way down to Lock #41 at Gamebridge, the last lock the East side of Lake Simcoe. This lock was clear!! We locked through and tied up on the wall again. John dove this time but it was easier to clear and everybody seemed confident this would be the last of the weeds!!

We set off again at 10:30 with only the weather to contend with - strong winds were forecast in the region. Lake Simcoe didn't look bad at first. We tried but had to turn back when the slop got uncomfortable. We went back behind the break wall and tied up on the inside wall. At first it sounded as if we'd have to wait the rest of the day and the next but after lunch the wind dropped from 20 knots to 10 knots and the sun came out. We decided to try again. It was quite a bit better and we made it across with no trouble.

At Atherley Narrows we stopped at a marina in Orillia for diesel and water and then carried on up Lake Couchiching. It was windy but we were fine and there were no weeds!!!

We arrived at Lock #42 just 10 minutes before 7:00 and locked through. The staff told us there was a swing bridge which would be closed at 7:00 and would not open again till 9:00, so we tied up on the west wall. We phoned home to Collingwood and let them know we hoped to be home Tuesday if the weather cooperated. There was another boat there - a 31ft motor boat, a really nice boat called Bluenoser. "Jim" had just bought it in Whitby and was taking it home to Penetang. After supper John went over and had a drink and a chat with Jim and his crew, Bruce, as they wanted to hear all about "The Great Loop". I gave my apologies and went to bed!

Lock #40

2010-06-09T12:47:00.004-04:00

Day 296, June 5th, 2010

We left Bobcadgeon at 7:00 and did 15 miles to Fenelon Falls where we arrived shortly after 9:30. It was a good run with no problems! Then into Rosedale Lock #35 and across Balsam Lake. There's so much to see, so many pretty cottages, each with its own character. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining.

From Balsam, we went across Mitchell Lake - everything was fine. Then, as we approached Kirkfield Lock #36 (2nd largest lift lock in the world after Peterborough) we met a sailboat coming the other way, tied up on the wall. We called out to warn him of the weeds. His reply was "Its worse coming here!" "Oh! It can't be!" I stupidly replied. "We've had to dive on the boat to free up the prop 4 or 5 times already!" "That's just about what I'm going to do now!"

Into the lock we went and were joined by a 36ft motor cruiser - the guy had just picked it up in Albany, NY and was bringing it home to Midland. He reckoned he hadn't had any trouble with the weeds.

Coming out of Kirkfield, the motor cruiser took off fast and was in the distance very rapidly. Meanwhile, the rpm dropped while we were still in the channel and all of a sudden we were going nowhere. The channel was thick with weeds. There was quite a wind blowing too from the starboard bow and before John could drop the anchor we were blown out of the channel towards a rocky outcropping with a Trent Severn sign. The anxiety didn't end when we realised the anchor wasn't holding - it too, was clogged with weeds immediately. I scrambled out of my clothes, donned my skin, no time for the wet suit, and jumped overboard. The grass was so thick around me and I could stand on the weed bed with my flippers. I thought for sure the boat must have gone aground, but John assured me it was still rocking! Several dives later the prop and shaft were clear and we tried to move up, back into the channel, but it was hopeless, we just got choked up again immediately before John could get the anchor up. We tried tying the dinghy to the port side of the boat and using the 15hp outboard along with the main engine, but then brown smoke started pouring from the exhaust. I thought we'd lost the engine!
A fishing boat came by with 2 guys. They had a 50hp motor and offered to help. We threw them a tow line and they pulled while John struggled to raise the anchor. They did manage to get us back into the channel but it was pretty obvious they didn't have enough power. We dropped the anchor again. Then we saw a motor cruiser come out of Kirkfield lock and was approaching up the channel. I called them on Channel 16 and asked if they would consider giving us a tow. The Prescott Coast Guard must monitor Ch.16 very carefully, because they came back to me and offered their assistance. I explained that the motor cruiser was going to try to take a tow line and Prescott stood by on Ch. 65 while John tried to throw them a line.
Several tries later though, the motor cruiser gave up. They just didn't have the confidence to do it. Quite understandable. But a jet boat had happened by too, a man and his two young sons, and they offered to tow us into Bolsover. We kept the Coast Guard up to date and they made contact with the captain on his cell phone. It was decided they would take us to Sunset Cove Marina in Bolsover. The jet boat was about 18ft and at first we really didn't think they would have the power, but we made a good steady 2-3 knots across the dreaded Canal Lake, about 5 miles, to Sunset Cove. Luckily there was an empty slip where we were able to tie up. John wanted to pay the guy for his fuel and time but he wouldn't hear of it. "Just pass the favour on when you get the opportunity - that's what boating is all about!" That's the boating community for you!!! Bless his heart!! We called Prescott Coast Guard too, of course, and let them know we were safely tied up on the dock, and thanked them for their support. They wished us well with our engine problem. John then dove on the boat again. He pulled great rafts of weeds from the rudder. He couldn't even see the prop and shaft at first - it was just a huge ball of weed! Once that was cleared off, John tried the engine but there was no water coming from the exhaust. He took the water intake hose off the engine and blew down the line. It cleared and when we tried again we had lots of water coming from the exhaust. He felt we could continue! I was so stressed out. I'd thought we'd lost the engine for sure and had had visions of trucking her home and having to get a new engine. My goodness, my imagination is alarming!! I've always considered myself as a pretty fearless person, but this was all getting to me. At one point I announced to John "my cruising days are done!" The proprietor of Sunset Cove was also very kind and wished us well on our journey without taking anything for the use of his dock. Thanks Sunset! He and a couple of fellas on the dock told us that that would be the end of the weeds. They were wrong!!!

Our next lock was #37, got through that one and then into the narrow man made channel. Lots of weeds again. We backed up several times but knew the prop was wrapped again. We got into Lock #39 and saw rafts of weeds actually in the lock. When the west side doors were opened and we attempted to leave the lock, we couldn't go anywhere! The lockmaster eventually threw us a line down and he pulled us out of the lock until we could tie up on the wall.
My turn this time. Down I went, had to struggle to get a huge raft off the rudder - couldn't even see the prop, except for this huge mass of weeds. It seemed to take ages to chop away but gradually the prop and shaft were clear. Meanwhile the lockmaster had given John a garden rake to clear the rafts of floating weeds from the boat. There was a bit of a current there going down from Lock #39 to Lock #40 so we realised that if we didn't set off then, the rafts of weeds would all be ahead of us and we'd be stuck again, so while the prop was clear we set off again and made it the .8 mile to Lock #40. By this time it was almost dark. We had a look into Lock #40 - more weeds. All a bit depressing! We thought we'd feel better after something to eat so sat down to barbecued pork chops at 8:30 at night!!

Bobcadgeon, ON

2010-06-09T12:27:00.002-04:00

Day 295, June 4th, 2010

We were waiting at Lock 25 at 9:00 a.m. and the two girls there locked us through. The next lock was a Lakefield, and then we did 15 miles across Lake Katchawanooka. This is all beautiful cottage country.

Lock #27 at Young's Point is a popular little spot. Very picturesque. There's a lovely store there, where we've been before. We tied up for a bit and treated ourselves to an ice cream and a walk about, stopping at the general store for some milk.

Back on the boat we motored through Clear Lake and Stony Lake. The scenery changes here from the marshy low lands to a the rockier landscape of the Canadian Shield. And, fortunately, deep water with no weeds!!

From Burleigh Falls, Lock #28 into Lock #29 and Lovesick Lake, then Buckhorn Lake through Lock #31. We were doing so well with visions of getting to Fenelon Falls before dark, when we got hung up on weeds again at the top part of Buckhorn, Gannon Narrows. The lake was shallow there - about 7 - 8 ft deep in the channel and the weeds were thick. The rpm dropped until we were hardly doing 2 knots. We stopped the boat and I went down to clear the prop, shaft and rudder. However, we thought we could just do it quickly and continue on without anchoring, but the wind blew us out of the channel a little where the weeds were even worse. We got going again but immediately got bogged down again. This time we dropped the anchor right in the channel and after waiting for a motor cruiser to pass, I went down again and had another go. Freed up again, we chugged through another 1.75 miles to a patch of deep water where we had to repeat the performance and cut away more weeds. Our hopes of making Fenelon Falls were dashed. We didn't think we'd make it even through the lock at Bobcadgeon.

Just as we were approaching the lock in a narrow channel right in the town, a tour boat pulled out just as we were passing, without giving any kind of signal and obviously without checking for traffic! Fortunately John had the horn right beside him and gave the danger signal of five loud blasts. We came within 3 feet of him but didn't hit! He had been about to do a 360 degree turn, so waved us ahead to the lock. It was 7:05 p.m. We thought we'd missed locking through by 5 minutes so we tied up on the blue line. Then we heard the lockmaster call out to us that if we wanted to lock through, to give him a high wave. We waved and he called us up. He said he had to bring the water up anyway so might as well give us a ride! That was kind of him. We tied up on the blue line on the West side ready to make a good start the next day.

Once tied up we had a nice chat with Bernie, Sylvie and Ann who were having a few days fun on a little houseboat. Even though they owned cottages in the area, it was their first time at using the locks!! We went for a short walk around the pretty little town before turning in for the night.

After Lock #24

2010-06-09T12:17:00.003-04:00

Day 294, June 3rd, 2010

We left Lang's at 7:00 before anybody else was about. It was a difficult run across Rice Lake because of the weeds. We remembered it like that from before, so expected it. We did "the dipsy doodle reverse thing" repeatedly with some success but it was frustrating. Things improved a little once we got into the River and then enjoyed the three locks in Peterborough.

The lift lock, of course, being the most fun. What a weird sensation it is going up and up in the tank and finally looking back over that enormous drop!!

Coming out of the lift lock in the Trent River, the weeds were worse than ever. Even the backingi up didn't seem to help. You could see the weeds right up to the surface and in the channel. It seemed to take forever to get to Lock 22 when it started to pour with rain.

In Lock #23 they had a new set of doors on the West side. They were beautiful. We thought they were Western Cedar but when we asked, were told they were built from Douglas Fir!! I wished I had taken a picture.

We managed to get through Lock #24 before they stopped for the day and anchored between 24 and 25. Then donned the gear again and went diving! The shaft and prop were just gummed up with weeds. It was a lovely peaceful spot. Pretty good day in all. Managed 39 miles and five locks. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the waterway hours are extended to 7:00 p.m. so we hoped to do better for the next three days.

Lang's Family Resort, Rice Lake

2010-06-09T12:08:00.002-04:00

Day 293, June 2nd, 2010

We only managed 23 miles today. It was a beautiful day until the last hour. Managed 9 more locks, but there was lots of weeds again. Coming out of Lock #11 we got really bogged down and were only doing 0.9 knots. We kept having to back up in a circle to get the weeds to spin off. On one occasion the popping sound recurred and the temperature light came on again. Its a mystery! Did we pick up something in the lock?

We've seen lots of turtles, had the company of a muskrat in one lock, and swans. I love seeing the wildlife. The Trent Severn is giving away these lovely little information cards, each featuring a different animal, bird or fish. We're collecting two sets for Katie and Eric. I think they'll really like them. They seem better than baseball cards!!

The sky looked stormy at 4:00. We arrived at Lock #18 in Hastings just in time to lock through.
Then went on a bit to Lang's Family Resort on Rice Lake. It was pouring with rain when we arrived but it was lovely to be there again. In 2006 they made us so welcome when we had to await an engine part there for 3 days. Its a great location and great fishing.

Haig's Reach

2010-06-09T12:03:00.003-04:00

Day 292, June 1st, 2010

We set off at 8:35 and went through the first lock at 9:00 a.m., as soon as they opened. The first 5 locks are one after the other. All the lock personnel look so smart in their uniforms and the lock properties are so well kept. Locking through is slow though as most gates are still manually operated. There are lots of weeds. When we stopped for the day at 4:15 , right after Lock #9 in Haig's Reach, we donned our wet suits and dove on the boat. We cut away a lot of weeds from the prop. and shaft and scraped off a bunch of barnacles from down south! John also took a wire brush to the water intake strainer and removed barnacles from there. (Perhaps they were the culprits to the engine overheating problem?)

Trenton, ON

2010-05-31T15:00:00.003-04:00

Day 291, May 31st, 2010

I was on first watch from 8:00 p.m. to 11;00 p.m. It gradually was getting a little lumpier but the boat was handling it well and the mast was secure. I handed over to John at 11:00 and went down below to sleep.

Then it wasn't so good. Of course, I realised that all motion seems exaggerated in the V-berth, in the bow of the boat, but I couldn't relax. The boat's motion got more and more erratic, it seemed and I got quite nervous. Our course was NNW and a wind came up out of the NE at about 8 knots (according to the weather forecast out of Rochester). This caused an uncomfortable swell on the starboard beam. I'm never very comfortable with the mast down. The boat just doesn't feel right. I was muttering under my breath "I'm never going to do this again!" I got up after about an hour and checked with John. As I reached the cockpit, I could see the moon had come up and the water behind us just looked calm and gorgeous. John reassured me that all was well - he'd checked the mast, and all was tight and secure. I went back to bed and this time was able to drop off to sleep. When I got up again at 2:00 a.m. we'd made good headway with only 8 nm to go to our waypoint on the Ontario side! That made me feel much better too. Its awful what tricks your mind can play on you!! The remaining 8 miles diminished steadily and we arrived in Ontario at 3:45 a.m. As soon as we turned the corner into the Adophus Reach in the Bay of Quinte, the water calmed right down and everything was serene!

I went back to bed at 5:00 and John took us the rest of the way to Trenton. We arrived at 11:30 after breakfast on the run. Lovely little town - where John spent his teenage years as an Airforce Brat!!! Its like coming home to him in more ways than one. How lovely to be back in Canada! We sang "O Canada" as we came into the mouth of the Trent River. Docked the boat, cleared customs etc. etc. and then went for lunch at Timmy's!!! Yeah! Canadian. tradition, as good as ever!! Tonight we're going to the movies and get a pizza afterwards. Haven't been to the movies since Miami!!

Lake Ontario

2010-05-31T14:48:00.003-04:00

Day 290, May 30th, 2010

Left Rome at 7:00, thinking we'd stop at the Junction of the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal!
We did much better than that!!

Did lock #21 and #22 and arrived at Sylvan Beach. Such a pretty little place - it always reminds me of Wasaga Beach! Good thing in a way that we didn't reach there as the boats were rafted up at the free dock, 4 deep!! And then across the 20 miles of Lake Oneida. A little choppy but not bad at all. Some boat traffic but again not bad. It was good to get that behind us as it can really kick up in bad weather.

Just kept chugging along. Couldn't be luckier with the weather - sunny and warm.

Came to the junction around 2:00 p.m. and realised we could make it all the way to Oswego so just kept going. Another 7 locks on the Oswego Canal. Passed the little town of Phoenix where we'd stayed a couple of times before. Built all new docks there, which looked very smart.

Arrived in Oswego, Lock #7 at about 7:30 p.m. and were warned of some kids swimming in the canal between #7 and #8. There are two levels to the canal at that point and there can be very dangerous undercurrents caused by the pipes under the water. The lockmasters were afraid for the kids safety. By the time we reached the kids, they were all out of the water. However, one young lady called out to me, asking if we had any fresh water on board. One of the young boys had hurt himself badly - I could see him holding his shoulder and walking as if in pain. John did a 360 while I ran below and grabbed to bottles of water. Then we sidled up to the canal wall and I threw them to her over the wall. When we reached Lock #8 the lockmaster mentioned the kids again and I told him one of the boys was hurt. He called the police to go see to them.

We came through Lock #8 where we could see Lake Ontario clearly - flat and no wind! Again, we decided to keep going. Thunder storms were forecast for late Monday, so we grabbed the opportunity.

It was just beautiful when we started with a lovely sunset.

Rome, NY

2010-05-31T14:42:00.002-04:00

Day 289, May 29th, 2010

We'd hoped to get to Sylvan Beach at the beginning of Lake Oneida, but that didn't happen. Several of the locks seemed pretty slow. So we stopped instead at the Free Dock in Rome beside a park which was very pretty, about half way between lock #21 and #22.

It was a lovely day again with good weather. Lovely scenery of the Adirondacks. Passed some mountain climbers on a rock face; some boys jumping off a railway bridge into the River. There's always lots to see. We were surprised though how little boat traffic there was, considering it was their long weekend.

We arrived at the Free Dock in Rome about 7:00 -a couple of boats already tied up there. One boat kindly moved up to make room for us. A good day.

Lock 13, Erie Cana,NY

2010-05-31T14:35:00.003-04:00

Day 288, May 28th, 2010

We left Albany at 6:00 a.m. and set off for the Erie Canal. Met another Canadian boat just before Waterford; they'd just bought their boat in Oriental, NC and were taking it home to Toronto. We went through all the locks together that day. Went straight through Waterford - were surprised to see so few boats tied up there. There are 5 locks, one after the other, called the Waterford Flight, to start with. They are very organized though and as you exit one, they have the doors open at the next. Its beautiful country through there with the high craggy peaks of the Adirondacks. We kept going till dusk, arriving on the East side of Lock #13. Tied up on the wall and pretty much went to bed right away.

Albany, NY

2010-05-27T21:20:00.004-04:00

Day 287, May 27th, 2010

Definitely a little cooler! Much better! We didn't get out of bed till 7:00 a.m. What a treat! We slept in!! Even had time to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Angela, Mike and four of their kids, Kate, Paul, Rachel and Michelle, arrived shortly after 11:00. It was so good to see them. They came aboard Periwinkle and saw our modest abode and we talked about our long trip. Then off we all went in their car to a lovely retaurant in Albany for a lovely lunch together. Angela and I haven't see each other since we were kids but it was just like it was with her sisters in Illinois - as if we've known each other forever. When we got back to the marina, Mike set up his computer in the club house and we chatted with Angela's Mom (my aunt) on Video Chat with G-mail. Ain't technology great! It was really special to be able to do that together.

Sad to say goodbye, but now that we've made the connection, we'll just have to make plans for a get together down the road, definitely not leaving it so long!!!!

Tomorrow we're off again. We were able to buy canal passes here at the marina, so we're all set to go. The Erie Canal has just switched to their summer hours - so hopefully we'll make Oswego in 4 days.

Albany, NY

2010-05-27T20:57:00.005-04:00

Day 286, May 26th, 2010

Up early again! We'd had our breakfast and were moving the boat into position by 6:45 a.m. The other guys were still on the mooring, nobody in site. We thought they'd join us shortly so just kept doing the next thing. The crane motor was good, although extremely slow - nothing as good as our new fancy system at CYC, but it worked and the remote control thing was extremely good as we could both work on the boat as well. The only other time we've done it with just the two of us, was in Thunder Bay. We hadn't had the boat very long and were pretty green - nearly dropped the b....... thing in the drink until Jim Massey came along and gave us a hand!!!! This time was much smoother. It came down easily and ended up well balanced on the supports. We were pleased. The guys on the other boat dropped the mooring and arrived at the dock just as the job was done! (Something like "dishes diarrhea".)

Scorching hot again! We were lucky we'd made such an early start as the temperature kept rising. It took a while to organize all the lines and shrouds etc. and get it lashed down securely.
Finally we were off around noon. We'd made arrangements to meet my cousin, Angela and her family in Albany the next day, and wanted to reprovision ready for the Erie Canal. We arrived at the Albany Yacht Club at 1:00 and got a cab to the grocery store 5 blocks away. We would normally have walked this distance without batting an eye but it was so hot!!! Going along in the cab we passed one of those eletronic billboards and it gave the temperature as 107 degrees Centigrade. Wow! I don't think I've ever been in such temperatures!!! The air conditioned store felt good, and we weren't all that disappointed when we had to wait nearly 45 minutes to get the cab back.

Our neighbour in the slip next door arrived on his boat and it wasn't long before he had his swim suit on and was going for a swim off his swim platform. "The members of the Boat Club all think I'm crazy but I do this all the time!" "Right", says I "I'm doing the same." Hudson River water does not look exactly clean - its brown, brown, with all kinds of bits floating about, from plastic bottles to cans, old bits of wood, and loads of pollen from the trees. But I'm telling you - that water felt so good! Fortunately our neighbour had set up a hose too, so we could sluice off once we climbed out.

Around 7:30 p.m., when it had cooled a little, we walked the laundry up to the laundromat a block away and looked after that. We were happy that we'd done all the jobs, we'd have a good visit with Angela and her family the next day and then be ready to leave first thing Friday morning.

By the time I got back from having a shower, we enjoyed some lovely fireworks, and then around midnight there was a banging, crashing, thunder storm with some heavy rain. Hopefully it would be a little cooler.

Castleton-on-Hudson, NY

2010-05-27T20:41:00.005-04:00

Day 285, May 25th, 2010

Off again at 7:00 and back onto the Hudson. It was overcast but warm. Today we were heading for Castleton-on-Hudson, where the Boat Club has a crane they will rent out for $50.00 for 2 hours to transients to either put your mast up or down. If you going down the East coast and back up the same way, you can even leave all your support lumber there, behind the building, and it will be there when you get back! We did that the last trip!

Anyway, there was very little traffic early in the morning, but the river is wide and deep and we were motoring along outside the channel. There was lots of grass in the river and old logs too, but we didn't think much of it. Then around 8:00 the engine seemed to be laboring. The rpm had dropped and we were only g oing about 4.2 knots with the current in our favour. We reckoned we should have been bombing along. John put the boat in reverse several times thinking the prop. was fouled with grass but it didn't seem to help. (The anxiety was beginning to build, yet again - What now?) Finally we decided to drop the anchor and have a look. John donned his wet suit and snorkel gear. We tied a line around his middle as it was clear the current was strong. I stayed on the deck and held onto the line and he dove on the boat - sure enough he found grass wrapped tightly around the shaft. It was difficult getting it off what with the strong current and the poor visibility but he got quite a bit off and climbed aboard again. Perfect! He was the hero of the day!!! Off we went - all sounded much smoother and we were zipping along well over 6 knots, even up to 7 at times. Ahhhh!!!!!!

We got into Castleton around 2:30, pulling in behind another sailboat with its mast down. It was so hot, we went straight inside to register and sure enough there were these two guys having a long cold drink chatting with the dockmaster, Ron. (We recognised each other from before!) Wayne and his son, Matt, were on their way to Belize, where Matt was going to live on the boat for a bit. We agreed to help each other with the masts. They had some work to do on their electrics yet, and we had to get the rig ready and build the supports.

It was scorching hot but no wind. Really perfect for taking the sails off. We've carried the lumber with us all these miles under the mattress in the quarter berth. Everything had to come out and then get repacked. While I did the packing job, John built the supports again. We were dripping in sweat - the showers felt so good when we were finally done around 9:00 p.m.
Wayne and Matt had taken their boat over to a mooring buoy on the other side of the river but agreed to be back at 7:00 am to work the crane.

Kingston, NY

2010-05-24T19:48:00.004-04:00

Day 284, May 24th, 2010

Another short day! We left at 7:00 so we could use the tide to help us up river. Left Pollepel with clouds hanging over the mountain peaks. Once we came around the West side of Pollepel we could really see the castle at its best. Quite the site. It must have been amazing in its day.

It was a quiet day again as we moved up the river. Couldn't use the sails at all as the wind was on the nose. The sun came out close to noon, as we arrived at Kingston. Kingston used to be the capital city of the State of New York. We had intended to anchor at the end of Rondout Creek but instead took a spot on the dock outside the Museum. We walked into town and had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant, picked up some milk and came back to the boat to use the Wifi!

Tomorrow we'll head to Castleton-on-Hudson, where we'll rent their crane to take the mast down.

Its been an amazing few days. We'd felt so despondent last week with all the problems. We'd even thought we might have to truck the boat home. We were worried about the engine, getting back home for Graham and Sheri's wedding etc. etc. Now, here we are again after making such amazing headway. The engine seems okay. We're back on schedule and keeping our fingers crossed our luck will hold. We'd originally planned on going up to Ottawa on the Rideau before returning home to Collingwood, but now we're thinking we'll go straight home. Its like we're a couple of homing pigeons and can think of only one thing!!!

Pollepel Island, NY

2010-05-24T19:37:00.003-04:00

Day 283, May 23rd, 2010

Oh that bed felt so good, and it was hard to get up the next morning. It was 8:45 by the time we'd set off.

We felt kind of jet lagged by our marathon run! Only went about 27 nm arriving at Pollepel Island in the Catskills, just north of West Point, around 1:00 p.m. We both felt wiped!
We kept remarking how different it was there after being down south so long. The high peaks of the Catskills, with the cliff faces, densely forested. So different from Florida and the Low Country!!! The architecture is so different too, a much older feel. Variety is the spice of life!!
Pollepel Island is an interesting spot too - where Frank Bannerman, a Scot, built himself a castle at the turn of the 20th century. Its in ruins now. After his death, his family didn't keep it up and sold it to the State of New York in 1967. Its an amazing place. There are guided tours around the ruins, but we were just too tired and spent the afternoon having a long nap. The peaceful sound of the birds chirping is interrupted every 10 - 15 minutes by the dulcet tones of the Amtrak whizzing by on the East bank and the whistle of the freight trains, whizzing down the West bank!!! We laughed, didn't bother us a bit - we would have slept through an earthquake!!
We managed to rally ourselves in time to barbecue and then played Dominoes until we crawled back into bed at 10:00 p.m. and slept again!

Chesapeake City, Maryland

2010-05-24T18:38:00.006-04:00

Day 279, May 19th, 2010

We set off with some trepidation at 7:00 the next morning. A delay right off the bat - we got through the first bascule bridge and then the lock at the end of Virginia Cut but then had to wait for the 2nd bascule bridge as it did not open at 8:00 at all. We doodled, meanwhile a bunch of other boats caught up.

We were a little leery, to say the least of anybody coming close and giving us a lot of wake but kept our fingers crossed, nosing right into the wake if somebody came by. It seemed to work.
The weather was fine and the water flat. We plugged on. All the other boats took off, once through the second bridge, we didn't want to push the engine. Then another delay, a railway bridge that is usually open, closed just in front of us and we had to wait for a train to come by. However, water conditions remained good as we entered Norfolk and then Hampton Roads. This was one of our concerns - that the engine would overheat just as we were in the middle of a lot of traffic. On our first visit through the area I'd managed to get on the wrong side of the channel and had to wiggle our way through between a freighter and a destroyer! However, we were lucky, traffic was light, and we came all the way through that heavy Naval area with no trouble at all. Its quite an imposing sight at any time, with aircraft carriers and destroyers, etc. etc.!!!

With the delays, there was no way we could make Deltaville, so instead set our sights on Back Creek off the Poquonson River, just North West of Hampton. We got out onto the Chesapeake and still the water was virtually flat and hardly any wind at all. We looked at each other and agreed - "Lets just keep going!" And we headed straight up the Chesapeake, right up the middle!!! Only one time did we get hit by a bad wake and the popping started, and the high temp. light came on. We couldn't believe our good luck, knowing that the Chesapeake can be quite a challenging waterway with rough seas and heavy traffic. There was none of that. We kept chugging along and started three hour watches when it got dark.

Day 280, May 20th, 2010

38 hours later we got into Chesapeake City in Maryland, halfway along the C & D Canal. There was no problem in arriving just as it got dark as the canal is lit along both sides by street lights! We found the anchorage easily, edging in at low tide. First try we grounded on the mud but second try we sneaked in on the side of the channel and anchored in 10 ft of water, right beside a busy restaurant with the music blaring. It was as much as we could do to secure the boat, turn off the instruments and climb into bed. We slept like logs!

Day 281, May 21st, 2010

The book told us that if we left the anchorage 1 hour before high tide, the current would help take us down the Delaware. We set off at 4:45 a.m. but we had to work hard against a current until we reached the end of the C&D 12 miles further on. However, once we came out on the Delaware River the current worked in our favour and we were sliding down the River and then the Bay as if on a sled. There was little to no wind and still the water was flat, oily flat!!! No trouble at all, the engine kept chugging away. Mr. James Taylor, of Atlantic Yacht Basin, we think you fixed it with the wire coat hanger - the water intake strainer on the through hull m ust have been partially occluded?! There was still some concern, we still had to travel up the ocean and surely there would be some rough water.

We arrived at Cape May at the bottom of New Jersey at 5:00 and stopped at a marina to refuel.
There was some wind at the dock but the weather forecast sounded okay. Winds 10 - 15 knots out of the East, backing to South East, waves 1 -2 feet. We decided to go out and try, knowing that we could always turn back if it looked too much. As we left Cape May we saw another boat we knew anchored there - Beltane of New Brunswick. We had a short chat on the radio - they were going to sleep the night and leave in the morning. We told them that if we didn't like it out there we'd come back and anchor and join them. The weather forecast had also mentioned a "Canadian cold front" arriving on Sunday with winds out of the North East. John and I both felt that we'd be better to try and make it to New York that night. There was a much cooler wind heading in off the Ocean, so I donned my long underwear and layered on more clothing on the top. I was warm and cosy. Even John put on his fleece and fowlies!

It was gorgeous out there. A little wind, perhaps 10 knots and the waves perhaps 1 foot. We double reefed the main, knowing that shortly we'd be taking watches, and put out the whole jib. We kept the engine running very gently and were going along very nicely at 5.9 knots.
Atlantic City came and left in the dark with the bright lights shining. The wind died when I came on watch at 2:00 and the water was totally flat again. There was hardly any traffic during the night but in the morning we had to watch carefully for a myriad of fishing boats.
Its so beautiful out there, both at night and in the daytime. With each inlet we passed we realised we were getting closer and closer to New York City. (We had each inlet marked on our route, just in case something blew up and we needed cover.) There was one weather forecast by the Coast Guard just before we reached Atlantic City that haunted us a little. He spoke of winds up to 20 knots, small craft wind warning and thunder storms. However, it all looked so benign we had trouble believing him and it certainly never happened. We used the sails when we could and just kept on chugging.

Day 282, May 22nd, 2010

Finally arrived at Sandy Hook (at the mouth of NY Harbour) around 11:00 a.m. We remembered how, hit by a sudden squall, we'd torn the main right across, at this exact spot in 2006. However, nothing like that happened this time. A freighter was brought in under tow - one tug in front and one behind, but that was as interesting as it got on that front. New York Harbour is truly amazing as you come in under the Verazzano Bridge. There are barges, and freighters, anchored and underway. There are helicopters overhead and Staten Island Ferries crossing the channel. Lots of sailboats of every size sailing without a care in the world. Its awe inspiring. We were taking pictures and pointing out the sights of Manhattan and, of course, the beautiful Statue of Liberty. She is really a lovely lady!!!

The tide was coming in as we headed up the Hudson River! How could we be this lucky? At one point we noticed our Speed Over Ground at 8.8 knots!!! It was a rush. Up through New York, past Yonkers, under the Tappan Zee Bridge and there was one of our favourite places - Nyack Boat Club. We took the sails down and headed in. There was the tender and the guys came over when they heard us call out. "Need a mooring for the night?" "Yes please!" "Just follow me!" And in we went. Its a mooring field at Nyack, we'd been there twice before and the people are so friendly. Nyack is a dear little place, artsy crafty little place about 20 miles north of New York. We got settled on the mooring and then went into pay! The last time we stayed there, they'd chased us as we left and gave the money back! This time, they just refused to take it. The yacht club building was all decorated with flags and lots of people were sitting down to supper on the deck. It was the finish of their Sail Past. We were invited to buy tickets for the supper and sit down and join them. It was delicious! Good conversation with the people at our table - a lovely end to a great 38 hours again!

Atlantic Yacht Basin, Virginia Cut

2010-05-18T21:47:00.005-04:00

Day 278, May 18th, 2010

Well, funny day!! We had to wait until about 1:00 - but then the chief mechanic came and assessed our trouble. We told him all our woes and concerns, and he had a very good look at the engine. He thought at first it was the water intake - maybe it had got something stuck up there or something was occluding the strainer. He took a piece of wire and shoved it down the intake but there was nothing there and there was lots of water. He checked out the exhaust and reckoned that was fine. The water pump and impeller is fine. He couldn't find anything wrong!! He told John to start her up at the dock and really run her hard, which John did - and everything was fine. We thought it would be - the problem only seems to happen in rough water.
Frustrating!!! Don't know whether to be glad or sad!!

Oh well! I did do the laundry and went to the grocery store. That was good! Had lots of good chats with some really nice people around here. That was good too!

We've been advised that the weather is going to be lousy for the next little while and that it really doesn't take any longer to go up the Chesapeake and down the Delaware, so we'll head off in the morning and see how far up the Chesapeake we can get. If the problem happens again, we shall just have to find help again somewhere else. Who knows! This life on the boat is either blissful or stressful!!! At times you think life can't get any better, and at other times, you wonder what the h.... you're doing out here. I'm longing for my comfortable little condo with the gas fire at a touch, my pretty little kitchen, my comfortable bed and bathroom!!! Oh, better not go there!!!!

Atlantic Yacht Basin, Virginia Cut

2010-05-18T21:17:00.004-04:00

Day 277, May 17th, 2010

We felt worried. The weather forecast wasn't too bad though, calling for south east winds at 10 - 15 knots. We figured we would sail across the Albemarle Sound and up into the North River.

We put the main up before we brought up the anchor, but the engine did start okay and got us out of the channel on the Alligator River and into the Sound. As soon as we got out into the open water, we shut down the engine and determined to sail. The weather forecast lied. The wind never did get into the south east but stayed East to North East!!! We don't have wind instruments but we heard another boat report on the radio that it was 20 knots! Again, the Albemarle is huge, 15 nautical miles across, and shallow, around 17 feet deep, which gives a short uncomfortable chop. However, we stuck to our guns and sailed across, making two tacks. We set off about 6:00 and made it all the way across and then up the North River another 5 miles under sail. Dropped the main at the top of the North River, where the channel gets narrow and meanders. Then we had to use the engine again. We hadn't gone very far when another gas guzzler came by and swamped us and the popping started again, and the light came on, etc. etc.!!!

From the North River, there's a series of narrow channels and then you get to the North Landing River where its very shallow. There's a dredged channel, well marked but the area is open and wide with areas of shallow water either side - 2ft, 1ft, 4ft, 5ft, etc. etc. We were able to use the jib for long periods and wind was pretty good. At times we used the engine to help keep the speed up to 5 knots, but then another gas guzzler would come by and we'd go through the routine again and again. Meanwhile the sky got greyer and greyer and it started to drizzle.

Around 4:30, the temperature light was on again. Each time John was having more and more trouble getting her to cool down. We were getting really concerned that damage might be done to the engine. So we decided to get help. The wind was still in our favor, and the channel was long and straight but we felt that it was only a matter of time before the wind would change and then we could go aground. John called Tow Boat US. We had a hard time making contact at first. His transmission was breaking up. Then a big cruiser passed us and told us that Tow Boat US were trying to call us. We asked him to relay and he did, which was very helpful. It wasn't long before the local Boat US guy, in Coinjock, called us on the cell phone and said he'd be along in about 90 minutes. It was then that we looked ahead on the chart and realised that we'd better just drop the anchor right then as there was an area of 6ft just off the channel. We shortened sail, came up wind and dropped the anchor. It was pouring with rain by then and we were both sodden. When in times of stress - EAT!! I quickly warmed up yesterday's spaghetti sauce and added more noodles and we sat down to a warming plate of spaghetti and mugs of hot tea!!!

That helped. Just as we were sipping on the tea, just an hour later, and there was a "Ahoy, Periwinkle!" from outside. It was Cap'n Wayne, the Tow Boat US guy!! In the blink of an eye we had the anchor up, the line was slipped over the bow cleat, and we were underway. John had called Atlantic Yacht Basin and they were holding a place for us at the end of their dock. Wayne hummed along with his 200 hp Merc. at 5.6 knots while we took turns at the wheel to keep the tow boat immediately infront. The rain just poured down the whole time. I felt bad for poor Wayne who stood out in that weather the whole time, and when we reached the dock I saw he didn't even have a wind shield at his driving station!!!! At least we'd had a hot meal and had some cover! Anyway we reached the dock at 8:30 p.m. and there was somebody there to meet us. Wayne came alongside, tied up to us and nudged us to the dock very smoothly. We were happy to arrive safely! Our thanks to Wayne for a job well done. He said his wife would be waiting up for him with a hot drink!!

(Does this bring back memories, Darvin and Marilyn?)

Little Alligator River, NC

2010-05-18T20:59:00.003-04:00

Day 276, May 16th, 2010,

Off we left at 8:00 a.m. up the last of the Pungo River and then into the Alligator/Pungo canal.
Gorgeous day, not quite as hot. In the canal we passed a motor cruiser stuck well and truly in the mud on the side! They asked a passing power boat for help but no luck. Needless to say we couldn't help.

All was fine until we reached the Alligator River where the water was more open and rough with a northerly wind. The river is about 2 miles across at this point and its shallow. Just as we were feeling more confident in the engine, the exhaust started popping again and this time the high temperature light came on. That hadn't happened before, although we had been shutting it down very promptly. Again, after a short while we were able to get going again. The wind was on the nose so we couldn't sail but we chugged along.

Just before the Alligator River gets out to the Albemarle Sound there's a swing bridge. We were just going through the bridge and the idea did pass through my head "Oh, I do hope it doesn't happen again right now!" Sure enough, we'd not cleared the bridge when the popping started again! John had no option but to push it until we were clear - with the wind on the nose we pulled out the jib and had to bear off to get some forward way before we could shut the engine off. The temperature light was on and John couldn't get the engine to cool off, so we had to give up on the engine. There was a choice of two anchorages on that side of the bridge. The preferred anchorage was on the east side, described as a good spot to wait out bad weather on the Albemarle - however, according to the chart the entrance is quite narrow and as we sailed the wind clocked around to the east. It would have been impossiblel to enter with the wind on the nose. So, we chose the west anchorage at Little Alligator River. There was a little hook behind an island there but that didn't seem like a good idea, seeing as we might have continued problems with the engine. So we dropped the anchor in the open - very open, windy and lumpy with 2 ft waves. We set the anchor alarm in case we dragged, and went to bed, not too hopeful of sleeping very much. Sure enough, I was awakened at 12:00 with the alarm ringing off. We scrambled out of bed but everything looked just the same - just a wide swinging, we figured.
We did sleep a little off and on. The wind diminished a little but it didn't quit, and neither did the waves. Not the best of nights!

We're homesick!

Belhaven, NC

2010-04-02T22:38:00.004-04:00

Day 233, April 2nd, 2010

When John poked his head out first thing in the morning - guess what he found? Tiger Wood's "Privacy" had returned in the night. Its the last boat on the dock! When you see it down here it looks a lot more modest than we thought - there are so many boats this size!

One of the other Canadian boats in the anchorage was "Aeolus", a catamaran with Pam and Jim aboard, originally from London, England. We had bumped into them once before in Tarpon Basin (Key Largo). They pulled up the anchor just before us and we followed on behind all morning.

They were spending the night at Peck Lake. We hadn't been there before so followed them into the anchorage for lunch and a quick swim in the ocean. A pretty little anchorage on the ocean side, just a short walk from the beach. Lots of locals there having a fun day on the beach. The water was warm and gorgeous. We didn't stay long as it was pretty shallow in there and at high tide we didn't want to be sitting on the bottom when we tried to leave! We did have a short chat with Pam and Jim and hopefully may meet again further north.

It was only another couple of hours to Stuart. Unfortunately the bridge for the trains came down just as we arrived. We had to wait over an hour for two trains to go through. In the meantime the river just seemed to fill up with all kinds of different boats waiting to get through.

We finally picked up a mooring buoy around 5:00p.m. Went to the restaurant on the dock for a lovely supper and then got started on the laundry!!

Lake Worth

2010-04-02T22:19:00.004-04:00

Day 232, April 1st, 2010

We left early from Middle River, knowing it was going to be a long day. The wind was on the nose all day and there was a lot of motor traffic so sailing, even with the jib wasn't an option.

We were pretty lucky with all the bascule bridges, only having to wait for 3. We passed some absolutely gorgeous houses, of course, how do you like our new house? (I'm joking!)

As we came to the north end of Lake Worth (Palm Beach) the tide was very low. Lots of people were having fun in the shallows, with their boats anchored off Peanut Island. If you look closely this boat is well anchored! Its going to take a while before he can go home!!

We got into the anchorage around 5:00 p.m. We hadn't been there before and it was a lovely spot. John went off to meet the Canadian neighbours and learned that Jack Nicklaus has a house on the north shore of the anchorage and Tiger Woods keeps his boat at the marina there, although it wasn't there just then!

Middle River

2010-03-31T12:55:00.004-04:00

Day 231, March 31st, 2010

Quiet night, no wind! We left the boat just before 9:30 and dinghied up to Border's, the Book Store to use their free wifi! We're still here at 1:00 p.m. having done the e-mail thing and got up to date on the dear Blog!!! (That's the problem when you're so long winded!!!)

We're going back to the Mall this afternoon. The gelato ice cream bar looked too good. Maybe I'll find some shoes and a purse?

This evening we'll dinghy over to the marina at Las Olas Blvd. and maybe run into Monkey Girl, the American tug - Bill and Laura may still be there!

Middle River

2010-03-31T12:50:00.004-04:00

Day 230, March 30th, 2010

Woke up to clear blue skies and no humidity! A pleasant day motoring up the ICW to Middle River. Back to the lovely anchorage we had visited going south.

After lunch we found a good little beach to tie up the dinghy and walked across the road to a lovely mall. I found a nice dress in Macy's! A lovely mall with all kinds of lovely shops! All I need now is accessories!!

Pics: Fort Lauderdale docks with cruise ship on right, far left there's a container ship being turned around in the channel by two tugs. The picture of the dinghy is interesting. There was a grandpa and his grandson with a black lab. in a "Carolina Skiff". The contraption on the side of the boat is a swim platform for the dog. They lower it into the water and the dog can jump out of the boat, onto the platform and jump easily into the water. Getting out of the water was just as easy for him. He was an 8 month old pup. He will be trained as a seeing eye dog, their 2nd. The boy threw a ball into the water and the dog swam to retrieve. We only saw him do it twice - the grandpa said he thought the dog was tired as he'd run all morning!

Baker's Haulover.

2010-03-31T12:45:00.003-04:00

Day 229, March 29th, 2010

It was pretty windy in the night, with some heavy rain. We had intended to move on but both reckoned it might be better to stay put. When we turned the weather channel on for the forecast, the decision was easily made - Tornado warning! We let out more rode to 120 ft. and sat tight. Again, it seemed a bit of an anti climax as the tornado blew through into the Atlantic and we were just left with strong winds and torrential rain off and on all day. No trouble, we read our books and played Scrabble.

After supper (hamburger stew with a loaf of John's homemade bread!), we went to another small beach and hiked a pretty trail through the bush. It was good to get some exercise and fresh air.

Baker's Haulover Inlet

2010-03-31T12:35:00.005-04:00

Day 227, March 29th, 2010

It took us a while to get the anchor up - it was firmly stuck down in the mud that morning! Always a good problem to have, considering yesterday's shenanigans!!! It was a lovely day again with lots of wind. We used half the jib and motor sailed up the ICW to Baker's Haulover Inlet where there is a lovely anchorage by Oleta River State Park on the one side and a campus of Florida State University to the other. We were able to tuck in out of the wind and it felt good. There were quite a few boats surrounding us but we still had adequate swing room.

We'd been here before 4 years ago and it was good to be back. We dinghied to shore and walked around the park. It was busy with Sunday picnicers. Families barbecuing and having fun.
The sky was overcast but the wind was warm. There were lots of children in the water at the beach and everybody was having a good time. There are lots of nature trails. A triathlon had been organized that morning. You can still rent kayaks and bikes from a site on the park grounds - it used to be an old shack but they've just finished a brand new smart building, where we found an ice cream each!! After exploring the park by foot we explored the shoreline by dinghy, meandering around the mangroves.

By evening many of the boats had upanchored and gone home, leaving us quiet and secure.

Oh yes! One funny thing - while sitting in the cockpit reading our books, a young couple came over to chat when they saw the Canadian flag. Apparently they were both raised in Canada but came down to Florida to work - both were members of the police force, he was a homicide detective and she was a CSI. We told them we'd been watching out for Horatio Kane's Hummer all the time we were in Miami but didn't see him. The young lady said she didn't have a Hummer but drove a van instead!! The young fella knew Collingwood well, having skied in Collingwood many times while his grandfather was alive! Small world!

Venetian Causeway

2010-03-31T12:16:00.006-04:00

Day 229, March 27th, 2010

Woke up early, shortly after 5:00 with loud voices outside. A boat with several guys aboard was having difficulty anchoring. Couldn't figure out what they were doing. The captain was yelling at his crew with some pretty blue language! Then they were going round and round the anchorage in a muddled kind of way. It was pretty obvious they didn't really know what they were doing! Thankfully they ended up quite a distance from Periwinkle!

A lovely sunny day again today. We walked down Lincoln Mall, stopping in some dress shops to try a few dresses. (An important wedding coming up - a Mom must find something good for her son's wedding!) Nothing seemed right. We walked to the beach and along the beach to Ocean Blvd. Lots of people on the beach now! Had lunch in a sidewalk cafe on Ocean Blvd. and then walked back.

Then we went for a long dinghy ride up and around the canals north of the anchorage. Found a lovely quiet anchorage surrounded by beautiful homes. If we were coming back, that would be a good spot! We got a bit lost in the end, coming out north of the Julia Tuttle Bridge on the ICW a couple of hours later!

Back on Periwinkle, we were invited over for sundowners to "Ekotopia", our immediate neighbours - Karl and Laura. Were having a great chat with them when we noticed the two boats behind us were in trouble again. John and Karl had already tried to help by letting out more rode on the one boat. ( The same boat involved in the early morning troubles - we'd noticed on our return that nobody was home on either boat.) The boat nearer to us seemed to have dragged back onto the other, and now they were somewhat entangled. Not knowing exactly what the liability issues were, we did not want to interfere without an owner's okay.
However, fortunately the one guy got back. John and Karl went over to help and they managed to push the one boat away and reanchor the other. It wasn't to be the end of it though. He dragged again and they were banging again! John to the rescue again and this time the reanchoring was successful! What goings on! Never a dull moment! While John was helping this fellow, Karl went off to help another guy fend off another boat and let out more rode!

Pics: the marina beside us a Venetian Causeway, and the gorgeous house, just one of many in the area!!

Venetian Causeway

2010-03-31T12:12:00.005-04:00

Day 228, March 26th, 2010

In the morning we went off to the library to get on-line. Did some business, wrote up the Blog and checked e-mails etc. My goodness it takes a long time! Afterwards we got some groceries and eventually ended up back at the boat. Having taken care of business we planned on having a more fun day tomorrow.

Venetian Causeway, Miami

2010-03-26T11:47:00.005-04:00

Day 227, March 25th, 2010

We dropped the ball just after 9:00 and motor sailed back into the ICW and back to Venetian Causeway. Quite a few boats in the anchorage but we found a nice little spot and set the anchor. Funny how it almost feels like home to be back!

John was busy in the afternoon going on a fuel run but I was totally lazy and read my book in the cockpit. Lovely sunshine. A couple of neighbours dropped by to say hello and make sure we knew where everything is. Nothing very exciting but very pleasant all the same! While we were sitting in the cockpit, this family passed by - I'd never seen anything quite like this before - Dad and baby in the dinghy and Mom kayaking beside! It looked funny!

Dinner Key

2010-03-26T11:39:00.006-04:00

Day 226, March 24th, 2010

We left Boca Chita around 10:00 and headed up Biscayne Bay. It was my turn to helm and I knew this would be one of the last days to really sail for a long time. With the wind on the nose I really didn't care. The wind was steady around 15 knots and the water so beautiful - I was quite prepared to tack all day if needed! However, we only tacked twice and then the wind shifted 45 degrees which gave us a beam reach all the way up to Dinner Key. It was so good! A sail to remember. You can certainly understand why Biscayne Bay is so popular to boaters.

We arrived around 1:00 and picked up a mooring buoy at the Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. We were starving hungry so after checking in we walked to the town centre of Coconut Grove and found a great hamburger joint. It looks like a pretty upscale area, lots of little boutiques. We enjoyed walking around and then found the Fresh Market, a really great grocery store.

Bocca Chita

2010-03-26T11:31:00.006-04:00

Day 225, March 23rd, 2010

Today we moved onto Bocca Chita, in Biscayne Bay. Motor sailed most of the way in the lovely sunshine. Found a good place on the wall and tied up. Bocca Chita is now a park with a nice little beach on the ocean side. It was privately owned back in 1930 and developed as a party island. The lighthouse was never actually commissioned. The State of Florida bought the island in the 1970s and its really a lovely spot to stay. Its costs $20 to stay the night - on an honour system.

Bill and Kathy from Skeeter anchored outside on Sand Key but came to visit for sundowners by dinghy. We had a great visit with them, hearing all about their voyages to Guatemala, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Tarpon Basin, Key Largo

2010-03-26T11:20:00.006-04:00

Day 224, March 22rd, 2010

Got up in the morning and off we went to the Paradise Pub, across from the marina, for their $1.99 breakfast. On the way however, we noticed a boat anchored close to the dock with a Thunder Bay registration. Of course, we had to stop and say hi and they invited us back for a chat on their 43' Shucker on our return! Its a small world!

Breakfast was as yummy as before! Then we took our computer into the Monroe County building there and used their free wifi to catch up on the blog and look at our e-mails!! That took the rest of the morning!!!

We had a nice visit on the Shucker. It turned out Kathy and Bill knew all kinds of people we know!!! They used to own Sweet Bess but now have "Skeeter". They send their best wishes to Pea Soup and also to Rick and Sue Schultz in Owen Sound!!!

Then we took the dinghy back to the canals to look for manatees. This time I'd brought the camera. We went up and down the canals and I was so afraid I wouldn't see any like last time.
Then there was one big one in the main canal but he wouldn't come too close. I was just kicking myself I'd missed the opportunity last time we were here. Then John drove up one little canal and we saw them!!!! There was a dripping fresh water tap on a dock and there was big Mama sucking back the water. Baby was right beside her. We turned off the engine and maneuvered close with a paddle, so that John could hold onto the boat lift right beside her. We must have stood there for 15 minutes at least taking endless photos, mesmerized by these amazing animals. It wasn't long before 2 other big adults joined them. They were right beside the boat, under the boat, I was so excited. Amazing that even though they went under the dinghy repeatedly we never felt a thing. We could hear Mama slurping back the water, she was the real boozer, and when she opened her nostrils and snorted John reckoned her breath was none too sweet!!! I shall never forget it!

Lignum Vitae Key

2010-03-22T11:17:00.003-04:00

Day 223, March 21, 2010

I had really wanted to walk the nature trails on Lignum Vitae on the way down but they close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the weather was so awful we didn't stick around. (That was the time we spent on the mooring buoys at Shell Key.) So John and I left the boat in the dinghy at 9:30 and dinghied around the island to the big dock. Lignum Vitae is a Botanical State Park and is the only remaining key left untouched. Its really quite beautiful, named after the Lignum Vitae tree - "Tree of Life". They have tours at 10:00 and 2:00 Thursday to Monday and you are only allowed to use the trails with one of the Rangers as guide. We spent a very pleasant hour or so learning about the trees: the lignum vitae which has such oils it was used as a bearing lubricant in years past, the poisonwood tree - in the same family as poison oak and poison ivy but treble the strength, even in its fallen leaves, the pigeon plum which looks very similar to the poisonwood but has a fruit the raccoons like to eat, the gumbo limbo with its red flaking bark - "just like the tourists, its red and peals!", the black pine which is so dense it sinks in water, the strangling fig which can literally strangle its host tree, as well as barbed wire cactus and some other bits that went in one ear and out the other. The Ranger was a really interesting guy who obviously loved his job and his trees! There is no treatment for the mosquitoes on Lignum Vitae, so they can be very bad in the summer due to the "Solution Pits", which are depressions in the coral where stagnant water collects. He and his family "do a lot of running" during the summer!

The weather forecast wasn't so good for the evening and Monday, so we up anchored on our return to the boat and made our way to Tarpon Basin where we knew there would be shelter all around. It was a lovely afternoon. My day at the helm. We motor sailed when we could but it gets very shallow at several points so we put the sail away at times. 0.1foot beneath the keel is not very comfortable!! But it really was a gorgeous afternoon to be on the water and I couldn't help but feel how incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to be there!

We got into Tarpon Basin around 4:00 and anchored very close to where we were before. It was such a beautiful evening we sat in the cockpit with a rum and coke and read our books. Barbecued steak for supper and then I just managed to beat John at Dominoes.

The lightening and thunder started around 8:00 but the rain didn't come until we were in bed.
Then the lightening and thunder came smashing and cracking right overhead. It was hard to concentrate on our books! However, it passed without incident and the anchor held and we went to sleep!

What a great day it had been!

We're Off!

2010-03-22T11:11:00.005-04:00

Day 222, March 20th, 2010

I'd had that itchy feeling since Pea Soup left to get moving again, but it was so sad to say goodbye to Marathon. We certainly had some fun there and met so many wonderful people.
As we pulled out of the harbour, it seemed as if every view had a memory. We shall miss it!

We left about 10:00 a.m. and motor sailed to Lignum Vitae Key. John was at the helm while I finished a good book! It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and a good wind. Just as we were coming around the 7 mile bridge John saw 2 sea turtles swimming. He called out each time but I missed them both! But I did see two dolphins a distance behind us! It always seems so special when we see the wildlife!

We arrived around 4:00 hoping to pick up one of two mooring buoys at Lignumvitae but both were taken. However, the weather forecast was good with winds out of the east and south east, so we dropped the anchor with no worries. I went for a quick reconnoitre in the dinghy and then we had supper and John trounced me at Dominoes! A good day.

Our Last day in Marathon

2010-03-22T11:01:00.004-04:00

Day 221, March 19th, 2010

Our last day in Marathon. Lots of do today to get ready to move. In the morning I did the laundry while John looked after topping up the propane tank and filling up the gas and water tanks.

All that work caused us to get hungry so we went to "Annette's" for the $5.00 lunch! Then off to Publix for food and drinks, brought back to the boat in a grocery cart (no we didn't steal it, they have some at the marina for that purpose!). By the time we got the groceries put away it was time to go to "Nautilus" for supper.

We had a great evening with Al and Rosie on Nautilus. Their friends Ken and Jan were also there having driven down from Islamorada where they have a condo. We had a lovely meal and then a game of "Catch Phrase". That was a laugh! We also saw pictures of Nautilus when they bought her. She was hit by a hurricane and had spent a week on the bottom with a big hole punched through her starboard hull. My goodness Al and Rosie have done an amazing job of repairing and refitting their boat over the last couple of winters. What an undertaking! As Jan said "They are visionaries!" The picture above is Nautilus - the big white trawler.

Party Day!!

2010-03-22T10:46:00.004-04:00

Day 220, March 18th, 2010

First thing in the morning we heard from Rick and Wayne from "Amber Lee". We had met them in Demopolis and they were such fun. They left Demopolis before us, confident that they could get under the one short bridge and we'd been sad to see them go. Then we met them again in Mobile,AL where Rick's daughter was taking part in a National dinghy race. Rick and Wayne left the boat in Mobile on the trailer and went to their respective homes for a couple of months and then came back for another month of cruising. They'd chatted with Pea Soup in Fort Lauderdale and heard we were in Marathon so looked us up on arrival. We were so pleased to see them. They came and anchored near our mooring buoy and John went over to fetch them in the dinghy as they didn't have their dinghy blown up. We had such a fun time chatting over a cup of coffee.

In the middle of our visit "Barnacle Bill" arrived to dive on Periwinkle, clean the bottom and change the zincs. It was all good! Lots of entertainment! At one point (while Bill was below, breathing with his "hooker system" attached to an air compressor in his boat) Bill's boat came untied from the bow and started drifting away. Fortunately a stern line was still attached. John hopped over onto his boat and we managed to retie it. It caused the four of us some excitement. It was all news to Bill when he surfaced!

We were sad to say goodbye to Rick and Wayne and wished we could have spent more time with them. However, we're going to keep in touch and may get the opportunity to meet again as we move north.

We then smartened ourselves up and headed into shore. Met up with Barefoot and Cakaro in the common room and shared some info. re good anchorages on the way to the Chesapeake.
Afterwards we left in two cars for supper at Key Colony Beach Inn. Only about 20 minutes up the road. Had a lovely supper with Wayne and Bobbie, Ron and Meg and Ken from Dream Catcher. Ken is from Birmingham, England. His wife went home early to start a new job.
We had a yummy supper, and then went onto the local community theatre to see "Guys & Dolls". All done by volunteers. It was so good! They just did an excellent job. We all really enjoyed it. It was a great way to spend one of our last evenings in Marathon with good friends.
Again, we really hope to bump into Barefoot and Cakaro on the way north.

Marathon

2010-03-22T10:42:00.003-04:00

Day 219, March 17th, 2010

Pouring with rain this morning. All the baseball crowd had been invited to a get together at one of the member's house at 2p.m. but I didn't feel like going in the rain. John did venture out to walk up to West Marine. I stayed home and worked on the Blog.

It did clear later in the afternoon, so we quickly made a salad and went off to "Meet & Greet" at the marina. Always find somebody to chat with and have a laugh.

Marathon

2010-03-17T15:49:00.003-04:00

Day 218, March 16th, 2010

John had a couple of little jobs to do on the boat so he stayed home. Rosie and I went to baseball together! Rosie was good - she played pitcher for her team. I was asked to play catcher for mine! Some of the players have already left to head north so numbers were a bit thin. Only three out in field meant those guys had to run out there! My poor team were way behind so our captain tried to change around the players to see if we could outfox the opposition - silly man asked me to pitch - well that was a big mistake as far as I was concerned!!! Out of about 40 throws, I think I got just one over the plate!!! I gave up and went back to catching! We still lost horribly, but I did manage two moments of glory - caught a fly ball to get the third person out in one inning, and scored my first run!! Not a complete loss.

After the game Rosie and I biked up to the Dollar store for a few bits of shopping. We had a good day together.

In the evening we got together with some friends for a birthday supper for Ron from Toronto.

Ron and Meg are down here for the first time on Cakaro. Wayne and Bobbie, from Barefoot, hosted the party. Ken joined us from Dream Catcher - Ken's from Birmingham, and also Marty from Montreal. We had a lovely supper and a good chat.

Dominoes

2010-03-17T15:46:00.003-04:00

Day 217, March 15th, 2010

This afternoon we met Al and Rosie from Nautilus under the Tiki hut and played Mexican Train Dominoes all afternoon. Al and Rose own a marina on St. Mary's River in Sault St. Marie, MI and spend their winters down here on their trawler. We must have passed right by their marina when we brought the boat down to Collingwood from Thunder Bay. Al had never played Dominoes before. It was a fun afternoon. Apparently they both played baseball last year and Rosie felt she'd like to try again, so we made plans for the morning.

Marathon

2010-03-17T15:42:00.003-04:00

Day 216, March 14th, 2010

I didn't feel like baseball today but John went. He was moaning and groaning again when he got back poor guy. He reckoned everything hurt!! I stayed back on the boat and read my book.
I can't remember much else. I think we barbecued for supper and watched a movie. Oh Yes! We talked to all our kids on Skype. Thank goodness for Skype! Its so lovely to see their faces and catch up on their news.

Seafood Festival

2010-03-17T15:32:00.002-04:00

Injuries!

2010-03-08T12:33:00.003-05:00

Day 209, March 7th, 2010

Pea Soup and Sea Sharpe left first thing this morning, calling into "the Net" to say their goodbyes to the harbour. We shall miss them. In many ways I rather wish we were setting off again but the timing isn't quite right for us yet, so we'll keep busy with the many activities and leave here on the 20th.

We both went to Baseball at 2:00 p.m. They had such a good turnout, there were enough to make up 4 teams. Only 2 women this time! John and I played on different teams. Both our teams won the first round and then we played each other! My team won overall by 1 run!!!
I really didn't have much to do with the win though. I pulled a thigh muscle running to first base the first time. They appointed a pinch runner each time after that! I managed to hit the ball each time but not very well. Overall, I felt a bit disappointed - I used to play baseball like a guy but something seems to have slipped!!! John really played quite well. He got some good hits and managed to score several runs too. Unfortunately he wiped out in the first game, running between 2nd and 3rd. Scraped his knee and pulled a muscle in his hip! He was moaning and groaning by the time we got back to the boat in the evening.

After the game we went visiting in the dinghy. Ended up meeting a nice couple from Newfoundland, and had a nice visit aboard Breeze Hunter from Toronto. We hope to have them aboard Periwinkle in a couple of days.

Goodbye Parties.

2010-03-08T12:25:00.004-05:00

Day 208, March 6th, 2010

Pea Soup and Sea Sharpe are leaving tomorrow. They both have to be back in Canada for the middle of April. So we met Sharon and Reg, Bill and Laura, and another couple (I can't remember their names) at the "Panda" for the Chinese buffet for lunch. The food was delicious and we all had a good chat. A bit sad. I don't like goodbyes!

At 4:00 p.m. a whole bunch of people met at the Tiki hut at the marina for munchies and drinks to say goodbye to Mike and Judy on Sea Sharpe. There was a great turn out. Mike had spent hours making a taped collage of clips of music representing each boat. He really went to a lot of trouble and we all had a good laugh.

Key West

2010-03-08T11:59:00.004-05:00

Day 207, March 5th, 2010

There were several things we hadn't had time for the last time we went to Key West. So Sharon and Reg and John and I caught the 8:12 bus again down to Key West. John and I were wearing light fleece sweaters, thinking it would warm up as the day went on. It didn't. It was pretty chilly, not too bad while the sun was shining but got downright cold when the sun went down.

However, we had a great day. We started off with a breakfast buffet on Duvall Street. Then we visited the Custom's House Museum. Lovely statues surround the building by J. Seward Johnson. Very much in the genre of Norman Rockwell. They are really charming. There are more inside too. Other local artists are featured in the museum as well. Also displays on Ernest Hemingway and Babar (the artist has a home and works in Key West every year).

Then we walked over to Mel Fisher's Maritime Museum. Its all about Mel Fisher's discovery of the Atocha treasure. The ship went down in the 1600s. Mel Fisher started looking for it in 1969 and 16 years later found it on the sea bottom in 19 feet of water just past the 3 mile limit in International waters. Gold and silver coins and all sorts of precious artifacts. Amazing. Reg had read the book some years ago, so he really was excited to get a chance to look at it. Sadly Mr. Fisher lost a son and daughter-in-law during the discovery process when their boat was lost in a storm.

We walked around the beautiful Mallory Place - a lovely public area looking over the anchorage.

The we visited Harry Truman's Little White House. This house used to be a duplex, part of the officer accommodation for the Naval Base in Key West, but was converted to a lovely summer home for Harry Truman where he spent 6 months of his presidential office and ran the country in 1949. He grew very fond of Key West and loved the relaxed life style. He went back several other times for extended vacations before his death. Other presidents have also spent time there: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Clinton, and others. It was also used by Collin Powell for a Mideast summit. There is still a private suite there which is used for dignitaries today. It was closed as part of the Navy in 1974, bought by a private individual, and then gifted back to the US Government because he felt it should be kept as an important historical landmark. Its been renovated and furnished as Harry Truman and his family would have used it in 1949 with many of his personal items. We really enjoyed this tour.

After eating fishing chips at "B.O.s" which is just a funny little shack outside, and getting gradually more and more freezing cold, we caught the bus back to Marathon, arriving home at 10:00 p.m. It was a great day.

Sports Day!!

2010-03-08T11:50:00.003-05:00

Day 206, March 4th, 2010

I'd walked passed the baseball diamond several times and thought what fun that looked. It was announced on "the Cruisers' Net" on the radio in the morning that all were welcome so I set off at 9:30. John didn't think his ankle was quite ready so he stayed home.

It turned out to be good fun. They have special rules for girls. We get to be safe to first base. However, I hit two fly balls, both of which were caught. The third time up to bat I hit a worm burner onto the grass and walked to first base! There were only about 3 women. Some of the men are pretty serious. It was fun.

In the afternoon, John and I, Sharon and Reg and another couple, Bill and Laura from "Monkey Girl", played bocce ball. All that curling seemed to help a lot - John and I won two games and came second in the third game. Bocce ball is fun!

In the evening, it was back to Dominoes on Pea Soup. John won!

Another Day

2010-03-08T11:41:00.003-05:00

Day 205, March 3rd, 2010

Laundry day in the morning. Very pleasant really - good company, always someone nice to chat with! We all laughed when we agreed that it must be pretty sad when you are entertained by doing the laundry!

Made a big pot of macaroni cheese with wienies in the afternoon, in preparation for Wednesday's Meet & Greet! (There are always lots of people but food seems a bit thin if you're at the back of the line!)

John dropped me off early at the marina so I could join the meeting for "Relay for Life". Many of you will be aware of this annual event that occurs all over. It involves fund raising for Cancer Research via sponsored lap walking over an 18 hour period. The event in Marathon will be held on April 9th. We won't be here but other fund raising events are going on as a wind-up for the event itself. The team already have raised $2,500.00 from cruisers in Marathon. I thought it might be interesting to join the team and help out.

John then joined me for the Meet & Greet. Its always fun and there's lots of opportunity for meeting new people and having a laugh with others. (My macaroni cheese and wienies disappeared within five minutes!!)

Just another day in Marathon

2010-03-08T11:36:00.003-05:00

Day 204, March 2nd, 2010
The weather forecast wasn't good. Thunder storms were expected late morning and continue all afternoon with high winds.

So we left the boat by 8:30 and walked up to Publix to get some fresh vegetables. There were dark clouds overhead and we were quite sure we would get caught in the downpour before we got back but it didn't happen. In fact the sun was shining quite nicely on the walk home. We got back to the boat and spent a quiet afternoon.

The bad weather blew threw. We later heard Homestead got hit soundly with it but all was pretty good in Marathon.

Sombrero Reef

2010-03-02T12:10:00.003-05:00

Day 203, March 1st, 2010
Did you say "Rabbit" this morning?!! For Good Luck!!!

We had a lovely day today. Sharon and Reg joined us aboard Periwinkle. We motored out of Sisters Creek to the ocean side and then to Sombrero Reef, about 3 miles off shore. It was coolish and a little chop. It took a little while but we finally found the mooring buoys at the reef.
The guys didn't feel like it but Sharon and I got our wet suits on and piled all our gear in the dinghy and dinghied over to a mooring buoy closer to the reef. John and I had bought this fancy dinghy ladder back at the St. Petersburg Boat Show and had never tried it out, but it looked good. In the past I have had great difficulty climbing back in the dinghy from deep water.
To say that I look like a beach whale is as close as it gets but in the past I've never made it back in the dinghy without first reaching shallow water! Just don't have the upper body strength I'm sad to say! So I was a little nervous that I would be able to get back in with the ladder but it looked possible! Sharon has another method - she ties a long line from the far side of the dinghy, dangles the line across the dinghy into the water and then climbs up the line! I didn't try it but couldn't see how this would made much difference to me! Anyway, we got the rest of our gear on in the dinghy and jumped overboard. The water was choppy but warm and the visibility wasn't too bad. We saw lots of lovely fish - yellow tailed snapper, angels, parrot fish and barracuda. There was lots of corral too, but the colours were somewhat masked. It was lovely though and we swam up to a pontoon boat on another mooring buoy and chatted with them a bit (from Quebec). After about half an hour it seemed to be getting more choppy, so that we had a little difficulty seeing the dinghy as it was hidden between the swells. So we decided to swim back and try getting back in!!! I was okay - up first time on the ladder, but I must admit I still did the beached whale thing! Then Sharon climbed up her line in the blink of an eye!!! My ladder cost us $100.00!!! I shall be really cross if I try the line and can make it into the dinghy!!!

We got back to Periwinkle feeling very brave and congratulating ourselves on our "Girl Power"!
We made spaghetti for lunch and sat in the cockpit and watched all the dive boats arrive. Lots more people went snorkeling. It was fun.

We sailed back to the harbour going the long way round as it was low tide. Lovely wind and it was really pleasant. Realised as we motored back to the mooring buoy that we hadn't taken any pictures!!! Sorry.

In the evening we went over to Pea Soup and played Mexican Train Dominoes. As usual I lost miserably. John won! I think its time we played Scrabble!!

A Gold for Canada in Hockey!!

2010-03-01T09:13:00.004-05:00

Day 202, February 28th, 2010

Fiddled and diddled around in the morning. We had a broken cleat on the starboard side of the boat for a long time. John happened to find an identical cleat in the flea market Saturday morning for $3.00! He was able to get the old one off and the new one on without a problem. Its nice to have that midships cleat back available again.

At 2:00p.m. we met Sharon and Reg and walked to Boatman's Resort & Marina where a whole bunch of Canadians were meeting to watch the Hockey game - Canada vs USA! It was great. About 50 of us turned up, along with about 15 or so Americans. Even I enjoyed watching the game (I never watch hockey!). It was very exciting at the end when the US tied it up 24 seconds before the end of the third and then Crosby scored the winning goal for Canada in overtime. There was some loud cheering!

Marathon

2010-03-01T09:04:00.002-05:00

Day 201, February 27th, 2010

First thing after breakfast, we dinghied into the marina. John went off to West Marine to buy a "cavitation wing" for the outboard. This looks like a big flat plate thing thats attached over the propeller. It changes the water flow over the prop., giving lift to the stern, and results in better gas consumption at slow speeds, reducing wake. While he was doing that, I walked up to the post office and sent off a parcel to my little Abby in Winnipeg. We each had a shower at the marina on our return and met up again to go back to the boat for the afternoon. The morning was pretty good with some sunshine but the rain clouds had return by the time we got back!

In the evening, we actually got dressed up and went back to the marina for a dance!! First time I'd worn something pretty in a long time! We had a great time. All proceeds went towards the American Cancer Society. It was lovely old time 70s music, with lots of swing! The company was good. Boaters' hours 7:00-9:00!

Homestead

2010-02-27T16:28:00.003-05:00

Day 200, February 26th, 2010

Okay, enough sitting about!! We were off the bus at 7:25 a.m. and picked up Sharon from Pea Soup. Walked at lightening speed, the mile or so, to the bus stop and caught the 8:05 to "Florida City Mall" in Homestead. A 2 and a half hour ride or thereabouts, North. Very expensive to go North - $2.35 as opposed to the $1.50 to Key West! An interesting ride on US1 up through the keys. We passed all the places by road that we had seen on the way down by boat. Very little land so all the towns, Islamorada, Tavernier, Key Largo, etc. are all spread out in long lines.

We arrived around 10:30 and visited Walmart, Best Buy and then had lunch at the Cracker Barrel. Then over to the outlet mall where we found some lovely stores. Back to Walmart and fiddled around until catching the bus back to Marathon at 3:15.

Not the most exciting day but pleasant!

Totally Lazy Today!!

2010-02-27T16:23:00.002-05:00

Day 199, February 25th, 2010

Poked my nose out first thing this morning to find a cold, cold wind blowing even though the sun was shining. I'm reading a totally fascinating book called "I know this much is true." by Wally Lamb, so turned straight back down in the cabin and decided that was where I was staying for the day!!!!

I read my book. John did Sudoku and stuff on the computer. He signed us up for wifi on the boat for the next month. That will be great - won't have to take the computer into the marina when we want to go on line. He also put some money in our Skype account so we can make "phone" calls from the computer for pennies!

We idled the day away!!