Sept. 16 -22, 2024 – Leland, MI to Hammond, IN (Hammond Marina)

Highlights this week: Cruising 4 states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana); entering a new time zone – Central Time; crossing Lake Michigan; traveling down the Wisconsin coastline; having a Wisconsin Kringle; seeing Wrigley Field; having Chicago-style pizza; making it to the end of the Great Lakes and the beginning of the river systems.

Monday, September 16, 2024 – Leland, MI (Leland Township Harbor) to Manistee, MI (Manistee Municipal Marina)

Today, we were underway 8 hours, going 67 miles (58.6 nm), going an average speed of 8.4 MPH (7.3 knots). It was such a beautiful day on Lake Michigan that we cruised past our planned stop and travelled 3 more hours to Manistee, MI.

After leaving you last Sunday afternoon, we walked out to Bogey’s 19th Hole, where we had drinks last year. Unfortunately, it was closed, but the stunning view of Lake Leelanau, sitting off in the distance, below the golf course was worth the walk.

We thought about getting a drink at The Cove, which sits below the dam of the Leland River. However, the crowds standing outside indicated a long wait, so we just walked through Historic Fishtown and went back to HOMES. Leland’s Historic Fishtown is a collection of weathered fishing shanties, smokehouses and charter boats, reminiscent of Leland’s fishing past. Being on the dock leading to town, we had lots of people stop and talk as we sat on HOMES’s back deck.

Today, this beautiful Monday morning, greeted us with a flat, aqua blue Lake Michigan. We had originally planned to stay at Frankfort tonight. Fortunately for us, Frankfort Municipal Marina wouldn’t take reservations, so we had no commitment to stop…and we didn’t. We made the most of this gorgeous day and cruised an additional 3 hours to Manistee, MI.

Like Leland, Manistee is a repeat stop for us. We spent my birthday here last year. Tim remembered that the Manistee River has a small current, so he made adjustments and docked perfectly, in one attempt. The Looper next to us must not have done so well, because he seemed amazed. After getting docked, I got started on laundry and some cleaning and Tim polished some fuel from the back tanks to the front tanks. We haven’t filled up since Troy, NY on July 14th. We’ll fill up in Hammond, IN, before starting down the river systems.

In the evening, we walked to North Channel Brewing Co. for a drink. This place was worth a repeat visit. On our way back to HOMES, we strolled through the quaint town that we remembered so well from staying here a few days last year. James Earl Jones, who just passed away on September 9th started his career here at Ramsdell Theatre in 1949. He would return periodically because of his love the area and this theater. In 2009, Jones, a pioneer for Black actors, received the prestigious Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award for his roles on stage and screen. His history and achievements are fascinating! However, most of us will always remember him best as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 – Manistee, MI (Manistee Municipal Marina) to Manitowoc, WI (Manitowoc Marina)

Today, we crossed Lake Michigan. We were underway 8 hours and 23 minutes, going 67 miles (58.2 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (6.9 knots).

Last year, we traveled the whole coast of Michigan, so this year we wanted to travel down the Wisconsin coast. Thankfully, Lake Michigan allowed us to do that! It wasn’t a flat ride, but the 1-2 feet waves, with an occasional 3-footer, wasn’t uncomfortable. However, even those small waves are fatiguing. We were much more tired from this 67 miles than our 67 miles yesterday.

We left Manistee Harbor around 7:15 AM and crossed into Wisconsin waters around 10:15 AM. As we crossed the state line, we also entered the Central Time Zone, so we will now be an hour behind everyone at home in the Eastern Time Zone.

As we neared Manitowoc Harbor, the ferry, S.S. Badger, was heading back to Ludington, MI. Its route connects U.S. Route 10 between Michigan and Wisconsin. Wisconsin is known as the Badger State – for its state animal. When we were in Ludington last September, the S.S. Badger was broken down, so we got to see her up close. “S.S” stands for steamship. The S.S. Badger is the last coal-fired passenger steamship in operation in the U.S.

Tired or not, we walked around Manitowoc – our first visit to Wisconsin! This historic community is Wisconsin’s Maritime Capital. It is the home of Manitowoc Maritime Museum, which highlights Manitowoc’s history in WWII and the building of 28 freshwater submarines for WWII. The museum includes touring the USS Cobia, a submarine docked in the Manitowoc River. Interestingly, you can pay to spend the night on the sub. “USS” stands for Untied States Ship.

Manitowoc is believed to be an Ojibwa word meaning “spirit spawn” or the Menominee word for “place of the spirits.” In 1836, the Menominee lost their land in the Treaty of the Cedars, but the town name stayed. Beginning in 1847, Manitowoc produced schooners and clippers used for fishing and trading in the Great Lakes and beyond the St. Lawrence River. Interestingly, in 1962, at the height of the U.S. space race with Russia, a 20-pound piece of Sputnik 4, a Russian satellite crashed on North 8th St. We just missed the annual Sputnikfest last weekend.

Sadly, through the 1960s, Manitowoc and other towns along the coastline were “sundown towns,” which prohibited African Americans from staying overnight. It is hard to believe that I was born in a decade when a town could have a sign saying: “N—-:Don’t let the sun go down on you in our town!” Therefore, not surprisingly, as of 2020, the Manitowoc’s population of 34,626 was 82.9% white, 2.4% Black or African American and 0.7% Native American.

Our walk took us to PetSkull Brewing Co., which was about the only place open on a Tuesday. It was a nice night to just sit on the back deck of HOMES. A Looper on Free Flow came over to introduced himself. They start their Loop on Thursday.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 – Manitowoc, WI (Manitowoc Marina) to Port Washington, WI (Port Washington Marina)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 41 minutes, going 53 miles (45.8 nm), at an average speed of 7.8 (6.8 knots). It was a shorter day and Lake Michigan was flat!

We left Manitowoc around 7:00 AM. We cruised by Sheybogan, WI. Last week, stayed at Cheboygan, MI. The names are spelled differently, but it both claim to be derived from the Chippewa word meaning “passage” or “waterway pass through.” The Sheboygan River flows out to Lake Michigan.

We pulled into the made-made harbor at Port Washington around 1:45 PM. We enjoyed our cruise along the coastline, which does not have the dramatic sand dune cliffs like on the Michigan coastline.

We stopped at the fuel dock for a pump out of our waste tank before heading deeper into the marina to the back dock near all the restaurants. Tim had to tie our middle fender from the top rail, since the dock was missing the board for the middle fender to rest upon.

After getting settled, we walked the short walk to town for Tim’s haircut at Port Barber Stylist. Linda, an artistic barber for over 35 years, did an excellent job and was fun to talk with. Since we are staying here another day, we didn’t do a lot of exploring today. We came back and had dinner on HOMES before heading up to Inventors Brewpub for an evening drink. The moon was beautiful. Last night there was a partial lunar eclipse and the Harvest Moon/ supermoon. The supermoon looks bigger and brighter than a regular full moon.

On Thursday, we took a much needed day off. After sleeping in, we headed up to Java Dock for coffee. A walk around town took us to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, which is a massive limestone church, erected in 1882 upon the high bluff overlooking the town and Lake Michigan. We could see the church as cruised toward the harbor yesterday and enjoyed hearing the loud, rich tone of the three bells in the bell tower during our stay.

Also on the bluff was the 1860 Light Station, now a museum. Next to the Light Station was the lifeboat from the S.S. Milwaukee, which sank in 1929 off the coast of Milwaukee after encountering a northeaster gale. There were no survivors. The lifeboat washed up near Holland, MI, containing four dead crew members, who died overnight from exposure. The S.S. Milwaukee was a steam-powered, steel hull, rail car ferry on its return trip to Michigan, carrying 28 train cars, a full load, packed with lumber, food, bathtubs, and Nash automobiles. Shipping train cars by boat meant avoiding the crowded rail yards of Chicago.

Our walk then took us back down the steps to the town below. We explored the shops, buying sausage, cheese, and beer (all Wisconsin made) from Bernie’s Fine Meats, a fixture in downtown Port Washington since 1941. We also went to three gift shops looking for a Wisconsin trinket to add to my memorabilia collection, which hangs in the salon/living room.

We ended our evening at Inventors Brewpub with the new Loopers on Free Flow – toasting their first night on the Loop.

Friday, September 20, 2024 – Port Washington, WI (Port Washington Marina) to Racine, WI (Reefpoint Marina)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 12 minutes, going 48 miles (41.4 nm), at an average speed of 7.7 MPH (6.7).

We left Port Washington (just called “Port” by the locals) around 7:00 AM. Our Looper neighbors on Patriot sent a photo to us on Nebo as we were leaving.

The waves were 1-2 feet, with an occasional 3 footer. That isn’t uncomfortable, but the waves definitely make it a more tiring cruise. On these days, I don’t work on my blog or wipe down the decks on our journey.

We cruised by Milwaukee, WI around 10:00 AM. We could have stopped there, but the marinas weren’t very close to the city, so we kept going.

Around 1:15 PM, we passed Windpoint Lighthouse, first lit in 1880 at the north end of Racine Harbor in the village of Wind Point. Soon we pulled into Racine’s man-made harbor – cruising in between Racine Reef Light and Racine Breakwater Lighthouse. Tim navigated HOMES through the entrance perfectly, despite 2-foot waves, wind, a slow sailboat coming out and a fast little boat cutting in front of us. We immediately turned off Root River, through another narrow entrance into Reefpoint Marina. For the second night in a row, we have a view of the local craft brew pub.

After docking, we walked up to the marina office to check it. I was thrilled to see that they had a fresh Danish Kringle – Wisconsin’s state pastry! O&H Danish Bakery in Racine has been making award-winning Kringles since 1949. The bakery is too far to walk, so I couldn’t believe my luck in finding them at the marina store! Our Kringle was $15.00, but the Olsen family uses traditional methods of Old Denmark to make their Kringles. Each Kringle, with its 36 flaky layers, takes 3 full days to make. O&H has 13 award-winning flavors. We picked turtle – filled with creamy caramel, drenched in pecans and a homemade chocolate sauce. Racine has a large Danish community, dating back to the 1840s.

The long cruise in the waves made us tired, so we took a nap before venturing out to explore Racine in the evening. Racine is the 5th largest city in Wisconsin. It is the headquarters of S.C. Johnson & Sons cleaning and chemicals products, with its building designed in 1936 by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright also designed the Wingspread Conference Center and several homes in Racine. Besides being the birthplace of Windex and Pledge, it is the birthplace of the malted milk (1887) and the garbage disposer (1927) and where Little Golden Books were published from 1907-2001. However, I know it from the 1992 movie, A league of Their Own, which was directed by Penny Marshall. The movie honored the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which existed from 1943 to 1954 to keep professional baseball going while the men were fighting in WWII. These women were a different type of Rosie the Riveter. The Racine Belles won the league’s first championship in 1943 and again in 1950.

Our walk back to HOMES took us along the waterfront, where we meandered our way through lawn chairs filled with people, of all races and ages, enjoying a free Blues concert. We ended our walk at Reefpoint Brew House. I’m glad we stopped at Racine. It is obviously an economically prosperous city, with the age and race diversity giving it a heart beat that I didn’t feel in the other two towns, which are clearly relying on summer residents and tourism for their economies.

Saturday, September 21, 2024 – Racine, WI (Reefpoint Marina) to Chicago, IL (Belmont Harbor)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 51 minutes, going 56 miles (48.9 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7.1 knots). Lake Michigan gave us beautiful water for our last long cruise down its coast.

Around 7:00 AM, we followed our path back out of Reefpoint Marina and Racine Harbor and were greeted with a very flat Lake Michigan! It was a beautifully smooth cruise to Chicago!

Our cruise to Chicago last year from Benton Harbor, MI on October 18th was in 5-9 foot waves. However, if we hadn’t gone that day, we would have been stuck for 5 days in Michigan City, IN at a marina that had turned off its water for the winter. Looking back, we remember our fun 5 days in Chicago more than that uncomfortable journey across Lake Michigan. This year, we are heading to a different marina in Chicago, so that we see a different part of Chicago.

We left Wisconsin behind us as we crossed into Illinois around 9:10 AM. We are thankful that Lake Michigan allowed us to cross from Michigan and explore the Wisconsin coastline.

Around 2:00 PM, we began our turn into Belmont Harbor. There were people enjoying Lincoln Park, along the waterfront. We continued to the back of the harbor where we docked at Belmont Marina. We paid our dockage and received all of our information and gate code by e-mail. We never saw an employee.

After docking, we wasted no time in getting off HOMES for a walk to Wrigley Field and then a stop at Giordano’s for a deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza! However, first we walked to a UPS Store and mailed our Fusion Radio unit back to Garmin. Despite multiple efforts to fix, our Fusion Radio has not worked since getting HOMES. It is basically a boat stereo, so nothing necessary to have, but it would be nice if it worked. Finally, Garmin said they would send us a new unit, as soon as we return ours. Luckily, there was a UPS Store on our way to Wrigley Field.

Ironically, we got to Wrigley Field at the 7th-Inning Stretch and got to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game, as we walked around the perimeter of the historic stadium. The tradition of singing that song during the 7th-inning stretch began in 1982 with Cubs announcer Harry Carey. Carey actually began singing the song in 1976 when he was the announcer for the Chicago White Sox, but the tradition took off with the Cubs fans in 1982. Since 1916, Wrigley Field has been the home to the Cubs. Built in 1914, the stadium is the second oldest Major League Baseball park in the U.S.- only Fenway Park in Boston is older, by 4 years. Originally called Weeghman Park, it was renamed in 1926 for chewing-gum manufacturer, William Wrigley, Jr., who bought the Cubs and the stadium in 1920.

One of the most notable moments in sports history occurred here when New York Yankee’s Babe Ruth called his shot by pointing his bat to centerfield, then hitting a home run at that spot during the 1932 World Series. Tim and I had our picture taken in front of the iconic art deco-style marquee at the main entrance of the stadium. It has changed colors over the years and was digitalized in the 1980s, but essentially it has remained the same since 1934.

We next walked up to Giordano’s for deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza. Giordano’s has been acclaimed “Chicago’s Best Pizza” by CBS Chicago, New York Times, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune and the list goes on. We were warned by our server that our pizza would take 45 minutes to cook. About an hour later, our pizza arrived at the table. It was well worth the wait! By the time we left, the restaurant began filling up with disappointed Cub fans after their loss to the Washington Nationals.

After stuffing ourselves with pizza, we walked back to Belmont Harbor and enjoyed an evening on HOMES’s back deck, taking in Chicago’s skyline.

Sunday, September 22, 2024 – Chicago, IL (Belmont Harbor) to Hammond, IN (Hammond Marina)

Today, we were only underway 2 hours and 36 minutes, going 19 miles (17.3 nm), at an average speed of 7.6 MPH (6.6 knots). The duration of our trip was 4 hours and 14 minutes, because it took us nearly two hours to fill up with fuel and dock at Hammond.

Today became a very rainy day. However, early this morning it looked pretty nice, so I convinced Tim to take a 20-minute walk up to Stan’s Donuts & Coffee. In my zeal to take advantage of our last few hours in the city, I didn’t take into account the weather, and today the weather forecasters finally got it right. We got quite soggy on our walk back to HOMES, but we were going to get wet untying HOMES anyway.

After getting back to HOMES, we quickly untied HOMES in the rain and began our voyage to Hammond, IN. We soon passed downtown Chicago in the rain and haze.

Fortunately, the rain let up for fueling at Hammond Marina. This is the first time we filled up our 1,000 gallon tanks since the beginning of the Erie Canal on July 14th. Since then, we’ve gone 1,247 miles (1,170.4 nm)! Today, we took on 622 gallons!

After fueling up, we docked in the rain. Since Tim was already soaking wet, he decided to rinse down HOMES. We are now done for the day. We’ll be here until Tuesday morning.

Here is where we will leave you this week. Next week we begin our journey down the river systems.

See you next week.

Thank you for reading!

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Sept. 9 – 15, 2024 – Thornbury, Ontario, Canada to Leland, MI, U.S.A.

Highlights this week: Getting back to the United States of America; docking at Mackinac Island and bicycling around the perimeter; docking at Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan; and riding electric bikes for the first time.

Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 – Thornbury, Ontario to Tobermory, Ontario, Canada

Today, we were underway 9 hours and 10 minutes, going 82 miles (71.4 nm), at an average speed of 8.9 MPH (7.8 knots).

We got up at 5:30 AM, so that we could leave at first light. As predicted, the wind and waves had calmed overnight. We pulled out of Thornbury around 6:30 AM and soon watched the sun rise, as we began our long voyage up the western coast of Georgian Bay.

Most Loopers go up the eastern coast of Georgian Bay. However, most Looper boats have shallower drafts than HOMES. With our 4’8” draft, we were very done seeing huge rocks just inches from our keel and props. Therefore, we headed to the deeper water of the western coast. We were happy that our choice led us to the hidden gem of Thornbury to wait out the bad weather. We had a wonderful four days in Thornbury enjoying three different coffee shops and Thornbury Craft Beer and Cider Co. We also stocked up at on groceries at Foodland.

About two hours into our voyage, the rain that we knew was coming finally caught us. As predicted, the large storm coming down Georgian Bay hit the eastern coast and we just got a little rain on the western coast. With calm waters, a little rain isn’t a concern.

Cruising along the western coast of Georgian Bay, we were treated to seeing the white limestone cliffs that protect the bay from Lake Huron. Georgian Bay is a 5,795 square-mile body of water. However, even though it isn’t much smaller than Lake Ontario, it is still just considered a bay of Lake Huron.

Ironically, after the rain stopped, the water became a little choppier for the last hour of our voyage. The sun was shining with temperatures in the low 70s by the time we pulled into Little Tub Harbor and docked at Tobermory Marina. It was a long day, so after food and drinks at Tobermory Brewing Co., we came back to HOMES for our last night in Canada.

Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 – Tobermory, Ontario, Canada to Presque Isle, Michigan, USA

For our journey back to the USA, we were underway 10 hours and 26 minutes, going 90.6 miles (78.7 nm), at an average speed of 8.6 MPH (7.5 knots).

Lake Huron was nice and flat for most of our voyage. We only encountered 2-3 foot waves on our last 2 hours. Since those waves were coming on our side, it would have been a miserable ride without our stabilizers.

We’ve been reluctant to use our stabilizers since finding out on the Big Chute that a pin is coming out of the rear starboard fin. However, after a few waves rocking us side to side and all the dishing clanging in the cupboards, we decided a smooth ride was worth the risk of losing the bottom half of our fin. Fortunately, when we docked at Presque Isle, the pin hadn’t fallen down any further. The employee on the Big Chute, who notice the pin, said that it was tight when he tried to push it back up. That was nice of him to even try! Another one of the guys took a picture of our props with Tim’s phone. We were happy to see that the props still look good!

We crossed back into the United States around 11:30 AM, about 5 hours into our journey. Checking back into the country was very simple. Months ago, we submitted our required information on the Customs and Boarder Patrol app on our phones and were approved as “Trusted Travelers.” Therefore, after crossing back into U.S. water, we each just pulled up the CPB app on our phones and we reported that we had reentered the country. There was a screen that said we could be subject to a video call or required to report to a boarder patrol station; however, within minutes, we both received “Approved” status.

We entered Presque Isle State Harbor Marina around 5:00 PM. We stopped here last summer, so it was nice seeing a familiar marina. We are also back where it spelled “harbor” and not “harbour.” 😁 We enjoyed our time in Canada because of the people who we met, but the Trent-Severn Waterway, from Peterbourgh to the end, was not so enjoyable because HOMES was just a little too big for it. Our next bucket list item is crossing Canada by train. In April, we have a rail trip planned, with our friends Robb and Tracy, going from Montreal to Quebec City to Halifax.

At Presque Isle, we were docked next to another Looper boat. The first Loopers we’ve seen since getting back from our visit home. We chatted with Vern and Lisa from Out of the Blue and then headed up to Ida Mae’s Portage Deli and ordered a pizza. This store is the only one around, but we remembered that they had good pizza. Besides, we were too tired and hungry to make anything on HOMES.

After enjoying our delicious pizza, we converted HOMES back to a boat cruising in the U.S. Tim took down our Canadian courtesy flag and took our Trent-Severn Waterway passes out of the window – one was for passage ($201.04) and one for dockage on the lock walls ($421.22).

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 – Presque Isle, MI (Presque Isle State Harbor Marina) to Cheboygan, MI (Cheboygan County Marina)

Today, we were underway 7 hours and 3 minutes, going 58 miles (50.2 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7.1 knots). Since we have been traveling 9 and 10 hours for the last two days, this shorter day was a joy.

We cruised out of Presque Isle Harbor around 7:00 AM. We cruised by the old lighthouse in the harbor and the new lighthouse at the north end of the island – both of which we climbed on our visit last year.

After passing Rogers City, we were in new water again! Last year, after leaving Rogers City, we crossed Lake Huron to Detour Village in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for our trip up to Sault Ste. Marie and Lake Superior.

As we neared Cheboygan, we could start to see Mackinac Bridge off in the distance and we passed Fourteen Foot Shoal Lighthouse. This lighthouse went into service in 1930 to mark this 14’ shoal, as vessels with deeper drafts were becoming more common.

About a mile later, we came to the Cheboygan River Channel, marked by the Cheboygan Crib Light. This light was constructed in 1884 and originally sat on a crib out in Lake Huron. A crib is an artificial island landfill made for a “crib light.” It isn’t called a “lighthouse” because the crib did not have a house for the light keeper. It is assumed that the light keeper lived in Cheboygan and made a daily boat trip out to the crib, despite the weather conditions, to maintain the kerosene-fired light. The last keeper left in 1929. With the creation of radar and electronic aids to navigation, the Crib Light became redundant. In 1984, it was designated as “surplus” by the Coast Guard and moved from its crib to its current location on the pier head at the mouth of the Cheboygan River. The light is now powered by electricity and maintained by a local support group.

As we walked up to Cheboygan County Marina’s office to pay for our dockage tonight, Tim noticed only two streams of water, instead of three, coming out the side of HOMES – indicating one of the three air conditioners/heaters was not working. So, down into the engine room we went. Tim cleaned some weeds out of the sea strainer and we ran water through the lines. That did the trick! As I’ve said many times, If Tim wasn’t smart and handy, I would not be doing this trip!

With work and dinner out of the way, we walked the mile into the quaint downtown of Cheboygan to go to Cheboygan Brewing Company. The Main Street was lined with little shops, restaurants and an old movie theater.

The first settlers came to Cheboygan in 1845 as fur traders. By 1877, Cheboygan had become a boom town, as a result of the nation’s desire for lumber, shipping lumber across the Great Lakes and into the growing cities. As for the meaning of the word “Cheboygan,” there are differing opinions. So, it is either an Algonquian word possibly meaning “Chippewa water” or “the river that comes from the ground;” or, it is an Indian word meaning “through passage,” referring to the Indians “passing through” this inland route to Mackinac Island, during their fur trading days, instead of using the Straits of Mackinac. Either way, a beautifully painted mural in the downtown showed how instrumental the Native Americans were to the prosperity of the settlers.

On our walk back to HOMES, we walked out to the beach and got a close up look at the Cheboygan Crib Light. What a beautiful evening!

Thursday, September 12, 2024 – Cheboygan, MI (Cheboygan County Marina) to Mackinac Island, MI (Mackinac Island State Harbor)

Today, we were only underway 2 hours and 5 minutes, going 16.6 miles (14.4 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (6.9 knots). We planned this short hop, so that we would have all day at Mackinac Island. Besides, we just wanted to go the Cheboygan because we missed it last year.

It was a beautiful cruise, with sun and a flat Lake Huron. We cruised between mainland Michigan and Bois Blanc Island, which is a 34 square-mile island due north of Cheboygan. While having breakfast on the back deck, we watched the ferry go by that connects Cheboygan and Bois Blanc Island. The island most likely gets its name from the basswood trees, called “bois blanc” by the French fur traders. The Native Americans called the island Wigobiminiss, meaning “tying bark.” Both the French and Native Americans used the basswood’s white underbark for sewing up canoes and webbing for snowshoes. “Boblo” is the English corruption of the French pronunciation of Bois Blanc. There are several islands called Boblo around the Great Lakes.

For a little Ohio history…. The Anishinaabe (Chippewa) lost Bois Blanc Island with the Treaty of Greenville – signed in Greenville, Ohio, in 1795. In this treaty, negotiated by General Anthony Wayne, the indigenous nations of the Midwestern U.S. gave up their land, which gave way to the formation of the new state of Ohio in 1803.

After getting by Bois Blanc, we saw Round Island Light on the tiny, uninhabited island that marks the channel through the Straits of Mackinac. We saw a freighter coming our way heading toward the Mackinac Bridge and a cruise ship sitting just off the channel. Tim sped HOMES up to cross safely in front of the freighter to get us into the Mackinac Island channel. A tender from the cruise ship came in behind us.

After getting tied up, we lost no time in walking up to town and renting bicycles to explore the island. Last year, we docked at Mackinaw City (yes, they spell it the way it is pronounced) on Labor Day Weekend and took a ferry over. We spent that whole day exploring the Grand Hotel. So, today, we’re exploring the rest of the island – riding the 8.2 mile perimeter around the island on M-185. This Michigan highway is a unique in that there are no motorized vehicles allowed – not even electric bikes.

We climbed the 207 steps up the see Arch Rock. This 4,000+ year-old natural formation spans 50 feet and towers nearly 150 feet above Lake Huron.

After rounding the northern tip of the island, we began seeing Mackinac Bridge in the distance. We stopped to look at the bridge while walking one of the white stone beaches that surround the island. Our final stop before getting back to town was at Devil’s Kitchen – a group of sea caves formed about 350 million years ago.

After a two-hour bike ride, we were ready to head back to HOMES for dinner. We needed some fresh fruits and veggies, so we stopped at Doud’s Market, which is America’s Oldest Grocery Store – family-owned since opening in 1884.

In the evening, we walked up to Mary’s Bistro Draught House, which has 50 craft beers from all over Michigan on tap. Tim enjoyed two of them while we chatted with others at the bar. Ironically, the one couple live in Hilliard, Ohio, about 8 miles from our house. Small world.

Friday, September 13, 2024 – Mackinac Island, MI (Mackinac Island State Harbor) to Beaver Island, MI (Beaver Island Municipal Marina-North)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 46 minutes, going 47 miles (40.7 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7 knots), traveling the Straits to Mackinac in dense fog.

We got up early for a last stroll around the island. I made coffee to drink on our stroll up the steep hill to Fort Mackinac. In 1780, during the American Revolution, the British built this fort, moving it across from mainland for better protection. The British did not relinquish the fort the U.S. until 1796 – 13 years after the end of the American Revolution. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the British sized the island again, but the Americans reoccupied the island in 1815. Troops were here until 1895.

We pulled away from Mackinac Island with clear skies, but soon dense fog engulfed us and stayed for about 3 hours of our nearly 6-hour journey. We could hear the fog horn sounding from Mackinac Bridge as we neared, but we couldn’t see the 552-foot high, 5-mile long bridge in front of us. The bridge finally emerged from the fog as we got to the base. As you know, we navigate with electronic charts and use radar and AIS, so we could “see” the bridge and other boats on our electronics, and other boats could “see” us. This fog was dense, but nothing like the fog we had on our journey up the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Hudson River on July 8th and 9th; however, it still required Tim to be more vigilant. This fog was not predicted, so there were other Loopers around us.

After putting Mackinac Bridge behind us, we saw very little of the Straits of Mackinac, which led us between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas and into Lake Michigan. The visibility got better the further we got into Lake Michigan. Bythe time we entered Beaver Island’s Saint James Harbor, it was a clear, warm and sunny day.

Since we are staying here for two nights, we didn’t rush off to explore Beaver Island. We took some time to relax, after a slightly stressful foggy journey, and then we did some route planning. We routed our trips to Ludington, MI and then planned routes down both side of Lake Michigan. At Ludington, we hope to cross Lake Michigan to Sheboygan, WI. We didn’t go down the Wisconsin side last year, so we are hoping Lake Michigan will allow us to do it this year.

A walk in the evening took us to Whiskey Point Brewing Co. and a walk down Main Street.

On Saturday – also my 56th birthday- we began by having breakfast at Wild Strawberry Cafe, as HOMES watched in the distance. After a breakfast – a breakfast burrito for Tim and Avocado toast for me- we walk next door to McDonough’s Market to get eggs for my birthday brownies. “McDonough” is a common name around town, along with other Irish names. The Irish settled here – fleeing from the potato famine in Ireland and discrimination and hatred on the American mainland. Other Irish immigrants joined them, making it a unique community where Irish Gaelic was spoken for decades.

After taking our groceries, including the first White Castles Tim has found in months, we walked over to St. James Boat Shop and rented electric bikes this 13-mile long and 6-mile wide island – the largest island in Lake MIchigan. It is 32 miles from Charlevoix, MI, where ferries and air service link the island to the mainland.

We enjoyed our first time on e-bikes. With peddle assist, the battery would last six hours, so we experimented with the full electric option – kind of like moped mode – at the end of our ride. These bikes zip along nicely. We could have taken the two-hour route around the whole island, which stayed mostly on the paved main road. However, we took off into the interior of the island on gravel/dirt roads to find The Big Rock, which was dropped here by a glacier thousands of years ago. It is believed that two thirds of the rock is under ground.

After our 2-hour e-bike adventure, we visited the local gift shops and hardware store. We didn’t have time to visit some of the other quirky historical spots, like the Print Shop Museum. The print shop was built in 1850 to print Northern Michigan’s first newspaper. This newspaper was printed by a group of Mormons brought to the island by James Strang, who challenged Brigham Young for the leadership of Mormonism, after the death of Joseph Smith. Strang named himself King of Beaver Island and ruled his followers and other residents of the island as a monarchy. He was assassinated in 1856 by two of his followers, believed to be in collusion with the federal government. A mob from the mainland came and drove the Mormons away, stealing their land.

After eating birthday brownies and dinner – in that order- we had an evening walk out to the beach, through Petritz Nature Preserve to the other side of the cove. Tim hates getting sand in his shoes, but trudged down the sand dunes to the beach, so that I could pick up rocks along the water line. Beaver Island is not only for boaters. It is a haven for bird watchers and star gazers. Last spring, Beaver Island was recognized by DarkSky International as a Dark Sky Sanctuary – the first in Michigan and only the 11th in the U.S. This coming Friday (Sept. 20th) is the official dedication ceremony.

Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Beaver Island, MI (Beaver Island Municipal Marina-North) to Leland, MI (Leland Township Harbor)

Today we were underway 6 hours and 34 minutes, going 53.7 miles (46.7 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7.1 knots). A beautiful day for a cruise! Lake Michigan went from flat to almost glass like.

We left Beaver Island around 7:30 AM cruising out of Saint James Harbor, passing the Beaver Island ferries. We cruised out onto Lake Michigan as the sun was rising over Beaver Island Harbor Lighthouse.

The enjoyable, uneventful voyage took us back over to mainland Michigan, with its coastline of sand dunes.

We arrived in Leland around 2:00 PM. It is sunny and 77 here, so we changed into shorts, had a bite to eat and are now ready to go walk around Leland. We stopped here last year. It wasn’t one of our favorite stops because it is a crowded, expensive, touristy town. However, we’ll go walk around again and see if we have a better second impression of the town.

Here is where we will leave you for this week. By next Sunday, we hope to be in Hammond, Indiana and ready to start down the interior river systems. The question for this week is whether the waves allow us to go down the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan, or not.

See you next week!

Thanks for reading!

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Sept. 2-8, 2024 – Orillia, Ontario to Thornbury, Ontario, Canada

Highlights this week: Going over the Big Chute Marine Railway, finishing the Trent-Severn Waterway and entering the Georgian Bay!

Here’s a recap of August 2024, before beginning our September adventures.

In August, we traveled 12 days, going 231 miles (200.7 nm), at an average speed of 6 MPH (5.3 knots). We only traveled 12 days, because of some weather delays and our fun 2-week visit home.

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 – Orillia, Ontario (Port Orillia Marina) to Port Severn, Ontario (Starport Marina)

Today was a big day – the Trent-Severn Waterway’s smallest lock and the world’s only marine railway! We traveled for 9 hours and 21 minutes, going only 42.5 miles (36.9 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.2 knots).

We were happy to be moving again! While we took our two-week visit home, HOMES was basically sitting in the mud at Port Orillia Marina. Before heading home, we had to move HOMES to a shallow, short slip, because last weekend the entire marina was sold out for their “Pirate Party.”

Yesterday, we moved HOMES back to a bigger, deeper slip for the night. The dock master and I pulled HOMES backwards out of the weeds before Tim put the engines in reverse. Tim slowly backed HOMES up. I could see the bottom…that is until the props had all the mud swirling. Fortunately, Tim successfully backed HOMES up the length of the dock and around to the middle dock, where the water was deeper. After getting tied up, we sighed with relief, feeling ready to take off in the morning!

We left Orillia around 7:30 AM following our tracks back out onto Lake Couchiching. As with all other lakes on the Trent-Severn Waterway, the channel through Lake Couchiching is shallow and narrow, but the lake is beautiful!

Around 9:10 AM, we turned off Lake Couchiching at Washago, ON and cruised onto the Severn River. We entered the Trent-Severn Waterway on the Trent River and are now exiting it on the Severn River. From the mid-1800s until the canal was completed in 1920, the Severn River was used to transport logs to sawmills down river.

About 20 minutes after entering the Severn River, we encountered the CN Railroad Swing Bridge. We had just seen a train going along the tracks, so we were hopeful that the bridge would open immediately for us. The bridge is listed in our materials as opening on demand. However, as we approached, there was a large flashing sign that said the bridge opens beginning at 10:00 AM and only if no train traffic is coming. Since it was only 9:30 AM, we just hovered in place. Finally, 10:00 AM came, but so did a train, so we hovered another 25 minutes. Tim loves trains, so it wasn’t a problem. He honked HOMES’s horn and the engineer waved back.

Finally, an hour after we arrived, we were cruising through the swing bridge and heading to Lock 42 – the last lock to be built on the waterway. Construction on Lock 42 started in 1914, but work stopped in 1917 due to wartime shortages. Construction re-started in 1919 and the lock officially opened in 1920, with the opening of the whole canal. We hovered briefly, before the gates opened, and then entered this 155-foot long lock, which dropped us approximately 20 feet.

About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the Hamlet Swing Bridge. It is actually two bridges connected. The fixed part was constructed in 1905, while the swing portion was constructed in 1915. This bridge swings on demand, so Tim gave three honks of HOMES’s horn. Within a few minutes, the bridge swung open and we continued on our way out to Sparrow Lake.

We cruised along the 4.3 mile-long Sparrow Lake and re-entered the winding Severn River.

At 1:00 PM, we pulled up to the blue line of Lock 43 – the deepest conventional lock in the waterway. After the gates opened, two boats exited before we entered this lock and be lowered 47 feet. This modern lock, built in 1965, replaced a marine railway constructed on this site in WW I. However, no fear, we still get to go on a marine railway…within the hour!

At 2:30 PM, the final highlight of the Trent-Severn Waterway came into view – the Big Chute Marine Railway! This is the only marine railway of its kind in North America still in use. The original marine railway at this location was built in 1917 and could only carry boats up to 35 feet long. In 1923 the original railway was replaced with a carriage able to carry boats up to 60 feet long. The carriage that we are traveling today was built in 1978 and able to carry boats up to 99 feet long. The railway is also instrumental in halting the spread of the invasive sea lamprey into Canada’s inland lakes.

Tim pulled HOMES into the slings of the carriage. It took the employees at least 10 minutes to get HOMES properly into the slings.

The carriage lifted HOMES out of the water and began our rickety and rattling ride up the rails, over the road, down the other side and back into the Severn River.

Once we were floating again on the other side, Tim turned the engines back on and we were on our way to Port Severn Marina. It was a long day, but happily we only have one more lock in front of us tomorrow.

Thursday, September 5, 2024 – Port Severn, ON (Starport Marina) to Thornbury, ON (Thornbury Municipal Harbour)

After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to leave the Trent-Severn Waterway behind us! Today, we were underway 5 hours and 57 minutes, going 48 miles (41.9 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7 knots).

After getting a pump out of our waste tank at the marina, we headed the short distance over to our last lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway – Lock 45.

Lock 45 is the smallest lock on the waterway, so we had to wait for a boat to go in front of us. When it came to be our turn, they squeezed a little boat in behind us.

Once we exited the lock, we still had to follow the narrow, winding channel out into the Georgian Bay.

The channel out to the Georgian Bay was the narrow, but the depths were good and the scenery was beautiful!

The Georgian Bay may be beautiful today, but it won’t be after today, so we pushed on to Thornbury, ON. Like yesterday, the day started cool, but by the time we got to Thornbury, it was 80 degrees and people were swimming at the beach.

We are staying in Thornbury until Monday morning because of the weather, but it is a nice town to be stuck in. Thornbury was first incorporated in 1831 and was a shipping and processing center for local agriculture, especially apples. Apples are still an important part of Thornbury’s economy. On Friday, we visited the Thornbury Craft Co. Cider and Brew House, which uses all local apples in its ciders.

While Thornbury is known for its boating, beaches, fishing and cycling in the summer, it is also known for its snow skiing in the winter. Georgian Peaks Club is a private ski resort in the Blue Mountains, just a few miles from Thornbury.

Yesterday, the rain, wind and waves came as predicted. Tim did some inside boat chores, but we still ventured out into the bad weather for coffee in the morning at the Thornbury Bakery Cafe and a drink in the evening at The Port Tavern Thornbury.

Today, the rain is gone. It is still windy, with a high of 63 degrees, but the sun is out. We had a nice walk around Thornbury this morning. We visited the farmers market and had coffee at the Cranky Bear Cafe. After a trip to the grocery store and liquor store, we walked along the beach. The waves are still bad, but tomorrow is predicted to be better, so we’ll be on our way again.

Tune in next week as we return to the U.S. and get to Lake Michigan again.

Thanks for reading!

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Aug. 12-18, 2024 – Fenelon Falls, Ontario to Orillia, Ontario, Candada

Highlights this week: Surviving the shallow, narrow channels -several actually called “the Narrows.”

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 – Fenelon Falls, ON to Gamebridge, ON (Lock 41, Lower Lock Wall)

Today, was the most stressful cruise of our entire two years on HOMES. We were underway 4 hours and 22 minutes, going 25 miles (22.1 nm), at an average speed of 5.9 MPH (5.1 knots). Add in the 7 locks and our slow speed in the shallow, narrow waterway, the duration of our trip was 6 hours and 52 minutes – but it seemed much longer.

Fortunately, we had a fun, restful two days in Fenelon Falls before we took off on this day. When we left you last Sunday evening, we had just taken the last spot on the upper lock wall in Fenelon Fall. That spot didn’t have electric or water, but on Monday morning, many boats left, so we moved up to a place that had an electric/ water pedestal- which only cost about $40 US for two nights.

The power pedestals on the Trent-Severn have a 30 amp outlet on each side of the pedestal. Since HOMES needs 50 amps, we have an adapter that allows us to plug into both sides. Today, one side of the power pedestal kept popping the breaker. The boaters behind us saw us having trouble and offered to switch spots with us, because they only use one side of the power pedestal. That switch involved pulling their boat around HOMES and us sliding back to their spot.

That was the beginning of a fun day with Alex, Karen and their dog, Cuba. We bought them a round of drinks at Fenelon Falls Brewing Co. that evening. Since most Canadian restaurants close at 8:00 PM, we went back to the dock next to our boats and enjoyed talking until 11:30 PM – way past our usual bedtime! Alex is a firefighter in Toronto and is originally from Cuba. Karen, a life-long Canadian, had lots to share about the areas where we’d be traveling for the next week.

Tuesday was a domestic day. I did laundry, since we were hooked to water. We also walked to the grocery store and Tim did some cooking. In the afternoon, we said good-bye to Alex, Karen and Cuba.

Wednesday, we woke to a foggy morning. However, we knew the fog would lift by the time we went for coffee at Waterbridge Chocolate Cafe and a final walk around Fenelon Falls.

As anticipated, the fog lifted by the time we pulled away from Fenelon Falls and headed out the narrow channel to Cameron Lake. It only took about 30 minutes to cross the 2-mile width of Cameron Lake to Rosedale, where Lock 35 and the canal took us over to Balsam Lake.

Lock 35 only took us up 4 feet to Balsam Lake, which is the highest point to the Trent-Severn Waterway – it is all downhill from here!

However, before getting out of the canal, we stopped at Rosedale Marina for a pump out of our waste tank. Here begins our stressful day. The marina told us that they have 5.5 feet of water at their pump-out/fuel dock. However, coming in at an angle, there is not 5.5 feet! We hit bottom with a scrapping noise and despite going slowly, the impact caused the starboard engine to stall. Fortunately, the starboard engine started normally when we left the dock. And, learning from our mistake, we trusted away from the dock until we were in the channel, before heading toward Balsam Lake.

Balsam Lake took us to a man-made canal, called The Narrows. This several-mile stretch is so narrow that boats over 40-feet long, like us, must call out on the radio announcing that we are entering the canal, so that other boaters can hold back and wait for us to exit. However, since no boaters in Canada use radios, it was futile. Many little boats met us along the way. At one point Tim just stopped and let a boat go by, because we could not get over any further. With the clear water, we could see the rock shelf beside us.

The Narrows took us to the Kirkfield Lift Lock (Lock 36) – the second highest hydraulic lift in the world. We did the highest one last week at Peterborough. However, while the Peterborough Lift Lock took us up 65-feet, this lift lock took us down 49 feet. Like Peterborough Lift Lock, this lock was also opened in 1904 – which seems like high-tech for the time.

This is our first lock taking us down, since we are now at the summit of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The view is much different when you cruise into a lock going down, especially at this lift lock, when you can see the water 49 feet below! As with the last lift lock, there was a “tub” going up and one coming down. This time, there was a boat in the the lower “tub” that passed us going up as we came down in our “tub.”

We continued our stressful journey along the narrow canal to Canal Lake – which looked like a wide lake, but the channel was narrow. We could see geese sitting next to us on rocks.

Halfway across Canal Lake, we went through the Hole in the Wall Bridge. This bridge, constructed in 1905, is the oldest concrete arch bridge known to remain in Canada.

Once through the Hole in the Wall Bridge, we continued through Canal Lake to the narrow opening of the Talbot River, where we had to wait for a swing bridge to be opened for us. When closed, this bridge only has a 5-foot clearance. We radioed the bridge tender for an opening, but per usual, we got no radio confirmation back; however, the bridge began to swing open as we approached. So, even if the Canadian lock and bridge tenders do not listen to the radio, at least they watch for approaching boats.

Finally, we reached Lock 37 at Bolsover, which lowered us 22 feet. This is the deepest manually operated lock in the waterway. Since we are now coming into a full lock to go down, we cannot reach the cables on the lock wall, so we give our lines to the lock tenders who wrap our lines around the cables and hand our lines back to us.

Locks 37-39 are so close together that we could see one from the other – dropping us 49 feet in total. These locks are all manually operated.

After Lock 39 we entered a wider, but not deeper part of the Talbot River. Tim had to double check the chart to make sure we were on the proper side of an island – neither side was deep, but we followed the channel markers. With relief, we made it through the 5-foot spot. Finally, we were funneled back into a narrow man-made canal, which took us to Lock 40.

Finally, we were funneled back into a long, straight man-made canal, which took us to Lock 40. After dropping 14 feet, we pulled alongside the lower lock wall of Lock 40, where we tied up for the night.

Lock 40 was a peaceful setting, surrounded by farms. A nice place to end our stressful day. The main source of our stressful day was caused by HOMES’s 4’8” draft. The channels are supposed to be 6-feet deep, but when you can see the rocks a few feet on either side of the boat, it is nerve racking. Plus, we heard a few “clucks” along the way – besides hitting the rock that stalled the starboard side engine at Rosedale Marina. All ended well – no engine vibrations. We are glad to be done with this section of the Trent-Severn Waterway!

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 – Gamebridge, ON (Lock 41, Lower Lock Wall) to Orillia, ON (Port of Orillia Marina)

Today, we were underway just 2 hours and 56 minutes, going 21 miles (18.1 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.1 knots). There was some narrow, shallow water, but nothing like yesterday!

Last night, we only shared the lock wall with a family of Canada geese. The species name for these geese are Branta canadensis (meaning from Canada). So, it is correct to call them Canada geese, but not “Canadian” geese – which would be any goose from Canada. However, the term Canadian geese has become synonymous for them, much to the disgust of true bird watchers. I enjoyed watching the mom and dad watching over their three goslings, which are now almost as big as them. These geese mate for life, anywhere from 10 to 25 years.

We had a short journey up the canal to Lock 41. Again, these canals are supposed to be 6-feet deep, but when we see rocks and weeds directly beside HOMES, it’s hard relax.

Once through the swing bridge and out the narrow channel, Lake Simcoe gave us a nice journey with flat water. This is the fourth-largest lake wholly in Ontario. The native Wendat/Quendat (Huron) people called it Quentironk, or “Beautiful Water.” Today, that name surely applied.

Coming out of Lake Simcoe, there was another channel called “the Narrows,” which took us out to larger water again, before turning up the channel to Orillia, ON.

We pulled into Port of Orillia Marina, where there were already several Loopers, with more to come, as we all choose to wait out the predicted stormy weather. This is a nice, secure marina, so we are opting to head home for a visit. It seems like a long time since we were home in June.

We’ll get back to you after our visit home.

Thanks for reading.

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Aug. 5-11, 2023 – Campbellford, Ontario to Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada

Highlights this week: Traversing the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, with a 65-foot vertical lift – virtually two swimming pools going up and down!

Monday, August 5, 2024 – Campbellford, Ontario (Layover day)

Today was a day to sleep in, wash HOMES and to explore the town. Last month, we moved 25 days – which is a lot for us. We went 830 miles (721.6 nm), at an average speed on 7 MPH (6 knots). We want to slow down a bit now that we made it to Canada – all new towns and water.

After a leisurely morning, we spent the early afternoon giving HOMES a good wash. Every morning, I wipe down the decks while Tim drives, but she needed a good hose down and soap!

By the time HOMES was shinning again, the afternoon sun wasn’t as hot and we headed out for our walk.

Across the canal from us is a Giant $2 coin. Canadian currency has a coin for its $1 and $2 denominations. The $1 coin is called a Loonie, for the loon image on the back. So, a $2 coin is called a Toonie, as a take off on the Loonie. The Toonie is special to this area because a local wildlife and landscape artist designed the back of the coin, which features an adult pollar bear on an ice flow. This Giant Toonie is 27 feet high and 18 feet in diameter. It was constructed by a local metalsmith, with the oversight of the Royal Canadian Mint, who proclaimed Campbellford “The Home of the Two Dollar Coin” in 1997. This is the most famous bear in Canada, so in 2017 there was a contest to name him. After adding up 166,635 votes, the name “Churchill” was chosen by 34%.

Ranney Gorge was only a mile walk back down the Trent River. Yesterday, as we turned off the Trent River to enter the canal, we saw a suspension bridge in the distance. This steel pedestrian bridge is suspended about 35’ high. As we walked across the 301-foot long bridge, we could see the Trent River through the steel grating under our feet.

After crossing the bridge, Locks 11 and 12 were right there. This flight of locks lifted us about 48 feet yesterday. It called is a “flight” because they share a gate – as the upper gate of Lock 11 opened, we immediately entered Lock 12 and that upper gate became the lower lock of Lock 12.

We walked along the canal on our way back to town, stopping at the grocery store – Fisher’s NO FRILLS. I always check out the local Heinz bottles, since my mom retired from the Fremont, Ohio factory and I worked summers there during college. Heinz closed its Leamington, ON factory in 2014, to much protest from Canadian consumers. Therefore, as of 2021, Heinz has started producing ketchup in Canada again, opening a new Montreal factory and working with Quebec and Ontario farmers to get tomatoes grown again. Interestingly, Canadian Heinz ketchup is healthier than U.S. Heinz ketchup, because Canada uses liquid sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. I’m going to buy a bottle to do a taste test once we get home!

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 – Campbellford, ON (Old Mill Park/ Campbellford Town Dock) to Hastings, ON (Lock 18 Upper Lock Wall)

Today, we were underway 3 hours and 20 minutes, going 19.5 miles (17 nm), going an average speed of 5.9 MPH (5.1 knots). In a car, our meander along the Trent River today would have taken 15. 😁

Our average speed is also a little slower, for two reasons: 1) the time spent in locks, and 2) a speed limit of 6 MPH (10 KM) on much of the waterway.

We started our morning at Dooher’s Bakery – a 5th-generation bakery voted “Sweetest Bakery in Canada.” My chocolate-drizzled, light and airy doughnut melted in my mouth. Tim got the famous cream filled, and we got an apple fritter to share for tomorrow morning.

After savoring our doughnuts and Winans coffee on the back deck, it was time to head toward our next lock – Lock 13, which was only minutes away. The first four locks kept me busy moving fenders back and forth. Lock 13 and Lock 15 were port side ties, while all other locks on the Waterway are starboard ties. The reason for this isn’t to give me a workout after eating a doughnut, but is because the starboard sides of Lock 13 and Lock 15 are on islands. When the locks were constructed over 100 years ago, it was too hard to build lock stations on islands.

For Lock 13 and Lock 14, the lower gates were hydraulic, but the upper gates were still manually operated. We were told that as old gates need to be replaced, they are being upgraded to hydraulic.

Around 11:30 AM, we came to our second and last lock flight on the Trent Severn Waterway – Locks 16-17. These locks lifted us about 54 feet around Healey Falls.

We then meander with the Trent River until getting to Lock 18 at Hastings. We may have been able to drive here in a car in 15 minutes, but it was very scenic through the waterway. We were welcomed into Hastings by the historic water tower and brick chimney that stand as symbols of Hastings’ industrial past. Hastings Tanning Co. was built in 1854. It was purchased in 1906 by Breithaupt Leather Co., which closed in 1982. Only the brick chimney has survived.

We tied up at the lock wall and chatted with several local couples who were walking by. In the evening, we walked into Hastings for a drink at McGillicafey’s. With all of the Irish labor used to build the canal, it’s not hard to find an Irish-style pub.

Wednesday, August 7, 2024 – Hastings, ON (Lock 18 Upper Wall) to Peterborough, ON (Lock 19 Upper Lock Wall)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 38 minutes, going 37 miles (32.4 nm), at an average speed of 6.6 MPH (5.7 knots). Today, our voyage took us through narrow channels, wide-open water and onto a new river – the Otonabee River.

We pulled out of Hastings around 8:30 AM, after sharing our apple fritter from Dooher’s Bakery. The channel was narrow until we got to Rice Lake. This lake raised to its present size by the Hastings Dam, built in the 19th century as part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. We stayed next to that dam last night.

Rice Lake is fairly shallow and was named for the wild rice that grew in it and was harvested by native people of the area; however, when the dam caused the water levels to rise, the rice was wiped out.

When we turned off Rice Lake and onto the Otonabee River, the channel got narrow and shallow again.

About 2 hours of winding our way along the Otonabee River, we made it to Lock 19 at Peterborough – our only lock of the day. As we’ve been told, Peterborough is the beginning of a much busier part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. As we approached Lock 19, we could see a boat and some jet skis coming down in the lock. So, we tied up on the lock wall’s blue line to wait our turn. Once the boat and jet skis came out, we untied and headed in. We shared the lock with a little boat.

Once out of Lock 19, we immediately pulled over to the upper lock wall to moor for the evening. After a late lunch/ early dinner on HOMES, we went for a walk over the bridge to Porch & Pint Pub for a drink. We talked with a local couple who are Canadian, British and lived for 15 years in Florida, before moving back to Canada to be closer to kids and grandkids. Ironically, the guy had worked for a short time as an engineer at the Honda Plant in Marysville, OH, so he knew exactly where our hometown of Plain City is. We called it a day, after checking out the dam on our way back to HOMES.

Thursday, August 8, 2024 – Peterborough, ON (Lock 19 Upper Lock Wall) to Lakefield, ON (Lock 26 Upper Lock Wall)

Today, we were only underway 1 hour and 53 minutes, going 9.4 miles (8.2 nm), at an average speed of 5 MPH (4.3 knots). Adding in the 7 locks today, the duration of our voyage was 5 hours and 59 minutes! However, today was a big day. We traversed the highest hydraulic lift in the world.

This morning, we waited until about 9:30 AM to take off. We had a phone call with a travel agent to book tickets to Switzerland in February. Our friends, Crystal and Eric, who visited us in Philadelphia, invited us on a 10-day trip to Switzerland with their ski group. Since skiing is not required, we jumped at the opportunity to travel Switzerland by rail!

After our call and plane tickets purchased, we pulled away from our mooring on the wall. When we got to Lock 20 about 10 minutes later, there were already 3 boats waiting, so we tied up on the blue line. When the locks gates opened, the Lock tender called us all in on the loud speaker. In Canada, the lock tenders don’t use the radio. They talk through a loud speaker, which is sometimes hard to hear.

All four of us fit in the 120-foot lock. Tim said it was nerve racking, but he does enjoy the chit-chat with other boaters! This lock lifted us 12 feet.

And now…Lock 21 – the Peterborough Lift Lock! Opened in 1904, this 65-foot lift lock is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world and the first of two built in North America. We’ll traverse the second one next week on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Approaching this massive lock structure was a very different experience from any other lock that we’ve done.

The lock operates on a balance system. We cruised into the 120-foot long “tub” and when the gates closed, our “tub” was lifted as the top “tub” came down. I put a short video on our Facebook page.

At the top, we cruised out. Looking back, we could see the “tub” that we just drove out of and “missing tub” that was now down at the bottom. Amazing that this was constructed in 1904!

We continued to follow the other three boats through Locks 22-24, before one of the boats pulled off to their home.

We continued on through Lock 25 and Lock 26, before mooring up at the Upper Wall of Lock 26, where we said our farewells to the other two boats. They were continuing on to this weekend’s Boatapalooza – the annual boater concert at Kawartha Lakes Marina on Pigeon Lake.

In the evening, we walked into Lakefield and ended at Canoe and Paddle for a drink before heading back to HOMES. The rain is supposed to start overnight and rain all day tomorrow, so we’ll be staying here for another day.

On Friday, we woke to pouring down rain – as predicted. By 4:00 PM, the rain was over, so we walked into Lakefield again for a coffee at Tim Hortons. After making dinner on HOMES, we walked back into Lakefield for a drink at Canoe and Paddle. Lakefield was known for its canoe building from 1858-1969, based on skills learned from First Nations people – which is what Canadians call Native Americans.

Saturday, August 10, 2024 – Lakefield, ON (Lock 26 Upper Lock Wall) to Buckhorn, ON (Lock 31 Upper Lock Wall)

Today, we were underway 3 hours and 49 minutes, going 22 miles (19.4 nm), at an average speed of 5.9 MPH (5.1 knots). the weather and scenery were stunning today, but the boat traffic, plus a dam water release, made for a long day of waiting.

We pulled away from our spot on the wall of Lock 26 around 8:30 AM. It was a beautiful cool morning. The people on Northern Lights, who moored behind us, left around 8:00 AM, so we hoped that we’d have all the locks to ourselves.

We got to Lock 27 an hour later, and as hoped, we pulled into the lock without waiting. The lock tender said it should be that way all day. However, she couldn’t have been more wrong!

After leaving Lock 27, we came to Clear Lake, which was pretty. However, when we got to Stoney Lake, the scenery was stunning – narrow channels and more islands than in the Thousand Islands. This area is primarily a summer cottage area. The region has prehistoric rock carvings from the 1400s, created by the First Nations who lived here for thousands of years. By the 1800s, European settlers came and logging became the large industry, especially after the Trent-Severn Canal began being built in 1833.

We knew the we were almost to Lock 28 when we saw Burleigh Falls, which is actually a chute or cascade, since the drop of water is more horizontal than vertical. Around 1910, five indigenous Mississaugas families, who had been evicted from their home reserves by the Canadian government, settled here. However, they were again evicted in 1912 for the construction of the dam and Lock 28. They then settled on nearby Lovesick Lake and today the community is known as Kawartha Nishnawbe. In 2002 the Ontario Court of Justice ruled that they are a distinct Mississauga First Nation community, holding constitutionally protected Treaty rights; however the government of Canada still refuses to acknowledge that they hold Treaty rights.

Lock 28 was hidden off to the left after the fall. As soon as we rounded the curve, we saw all the boats lined up on the blue line waiting to go through the lock. Our friends on Northern Lights waved us up to them to raft off. They were told that the wait could be hours. The lock staff had to go up to the dam to do a water release, due to the rain yesterday. So, we enjoy chatting with Northern Lights from about 11:45 AM to 12:30 PM.

Around 12:30 PM, the lock tender told us to untie and back up out of the way. There was a rental houseboat coming down and he wanted us to give him lots of rooms. This lock is usually the first lock for rental boaters. With today’s wind, along with an inexperience houseboat operator, the lock tender wanted to avoid accidents. Once all the boats got out safely, the lock tender called us in one boat at a time, squeezing the lock full. He says they do this all the time. There were lots of people watching! People who like watching boats lock through are called gongoozlers.

Once the gates were opened, we filed out and began our scenic trip through Lovesick Lake to Lock 30. There is no Lock 29. It was combined with Lock 28 sometime over the years. The little boats who shared the lock with us sped ahead on Lovesick Lake, so we only shared Lock 30 with Northern Lights.

As we exited Lock 30, we traveled on Kawartha Lakes for about a little over an hour before getting to Lock 31 – Buckhorn. We were happy to hear from the lock tender that some day boaters had just left the upper wall, so there would be room for us there tonight! This lock had even more gongoozlers!

After coming out of the lock, we found room on the wall. As day boaters left, we continued to walk HOMES up the wall. When we were sufficiently far enough away from the lock to avoid being hit by inexperienced houseboat drivers, we hooked up to the electric pedestal. We called it a day after having dinner at Mainstreet Bar & Grill.

Sunday, August 11, 2024- Buckhorn, ON (Lock 31 Upper Lock Wall) to Fenelon Falls, ON (Lock 34 Upper Lock Wall)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 24 minutes, going 31.6 miles (27.5 nm), at an average speed of 5.9 MPH (5.1 knots).

We left our spot on the Upper Wall of Lock 31 around 9:40 AM, with no real plan, but hoped to find room on the lock wall at Lock 32 – Bobcaygeon, but that was not meant to be.

The weather was in the mid-60s this morning and initially sunny. As we made our way through Buckhorn Lake there were narrow areas through the islands.

About an hour after leaving Buckhorn, we went under the lowest bridge on the Trent-Severn Waterway– Gannon Narrows Bridge. This mid-20th century metal truss bridge is charted at 22-feet high, but we’d heard that it is more like 20.5 feet. So, when we put our radar back on the arch in Oswego, NY, we left our anchor light hang down so that we’d be 19.7 feet. Now we’re all done with low bridges until Chicago.

The rain came in annoying occasional bursts, but was gone by the time we got to Bobcaygeon, where it was replaced by people and boat congestion. Luckily, a line of boats were going into the Lock 32 as we approached, so we had room at the blue line to tie off and wait. We were told that even on a good day, it’s hard to find space on the wall here. To add to the Sunday traffic, the boats from Boatapalooza were all heading home. So, we continued on toward Fenelon Falls – Lock 34. We did not travel through Lock 33- Lindsay, because it was on a side trip to Lake Scugog.

The cruise to Fenelons Falls took down and then back up Y-shaped Sturgeon Lake. this lake 16-mile long lake is known for its large and small mouth bass, muskie and walleye. The lake narrowed as we reach the confluence with the Fenelon River, which will connect us with Cameron Lake, after we pass through Lock 34 at Fenelon Falls.

When we reached Lock 34, a boat on the blue line was casting off and the lock gates were opening, so we cruised in behind the other boat. This lock lifted us 24 feet and we found space on the wall as we exited the lock.

Here is where we’ll leave you this week. Next week will include another lift lock and maybe even the marine railway.

See you next week.

Thank you for reading!

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July 29 – Aug. 4, 2024 – Kingston, Ontario to Campbellford, Ontario, Canada

Highlights this week: Beginning our journey on the Trent-Severn Waterway – a 240-mile long canal route connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to the Georgian Bay/ Lake Huron at Port Severn. We are two days and 11 locks into our 44-lock journey.

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 – Kingston, Ontario (Confederation Basin Marina) to near Greater Napanee, ON (Hay Bay-Long Reach Anchorage)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 15 minutes, going 37 miles (32 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.1 knots). It was nice getting back to cruising after being in Kingston since last Friday.

Last night, we were treated to dinner and drinks by our Looper friends of Rana VI -Mitch and Shirley, who are from the Kingston area. They are taking their six-month break in order to keep their free health care. They will return to their boat in Florida around December to avoid hurricane season. When they saw us in Kingston on Nebo, they texted us before we could text them. It was so great catching up and sharing stories. They were in our flotilla down the Illinois River and we traveled together until Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, KY. It was great catching up, reminiscing and sharing stories.

That dinner with Mitch and Shirley wrapped up four days of fun on land. On Saturday, our friends, Robb and Tracy, came for her birthday celebration – which is now the third annual on HOMES. In 2022, we took them though the Dismal Swamp in North Carolina and Virginia; and in 2023, they came to Kelleys Island. This year, we drove to Ottawa, Ontario – Canada’s capital – for a two-day stay and then finished off our four-day adventure back in Kingston on HOMES.

We stayed Saturday and Sunday nights at Fairmont Chateau Laurier. This hotel was commissioned by American railroad magnate Charles Melville Hays, whose Grand Trunk Railroad was quickly expanding throughout western Canada in the late 1800s and he envisioned his railroad extending all the way to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast. To entice people to travel on his railroad, he needed deluxe accommodations at destinations along his line. The Chateau Laurier was to be his showcase. Unfortunately, Hays died aboard the Titanic, delaying the opening of the hotel was from April of 1912 to June of 1912. Not only did Hays parish, but much of the hotel furniture and furnishings went down with the Titanic. The hotel has hosted many important guests from rock stars, movie stars, Royals and political leaders. However, we didn’t see anyone famous.

During our stay, we had Afternoon Tea, with blueberry and regular scones, accompanied with mascarpone cream and strawberry jam, five savory finger sandwiches and six sweet desserts. We each chose a different tea from a selection of 35 tea options. Despite being hungry after a full morning of sightseeing, we were stuffed by the time we ate our way through the three tiers.

Running along side the Fairmont Chateau Laurier is the Rideau Canal. This 125-mile canal, connecting Kingston on Lake Ontario to Ottawa on the Ottawa River, is too shallow for HOMES to traverse, so it was nice to get to see the famous staircase locks. This canal was opened in 1832 and came about as a strategy to keep the United States at bay. After the War of 1812, information was received that the United States planned to invade the British colony of Upper Canada. This canal would keep the supply lines running within Canada.

Upper Canada (Quebec) and Lower Canada (Ontario) was united in 1841, but the capital moved around to multiple cities. In 1857 Queen Victoria was called upon to help choose a permanent location. She chose Ottawa for its defensible location.

Until the American Civil War, the individual provinces did most of their own governing. However, with the outbreak of the American Civil War, Canadians decided they needed to unite for fear of retribution for Britain’s support of the Confederacy. Therefore, from 1864 to 1867, representatives of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec, with British support, worked together to establish a new country – the Dominion of Canada, within the British Commonwealth. By the 1960s, the word “Dominion” was dropped. The last holdout was the name for Canada’s unity day on July 1st. Finally in 1982, Canada’s “Dominion Day” until officially changed to “Canada Day.” Today, Canada is made up of 10 provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan) and three territories (Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories).

We took a free two-hour tour of the city and did some exploring on our own.

On our drive back to Kingston, we stopped at Brockville, Ontario to see Canada’s first railway tunnel. Bockville is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands. This area of Ontario was first settled by English speakers in 1784, when thousands of American refugees arrived from the American colonies after the American Revolutionary War and were called Untied Empire Loyalists because of their continued allegiance to King George III. The 1,730-foot railway tunnel was dug under Downtown Brockville between 1854 and 1860 to provide a rail link from timber trade of the Ottawa Valley to the Brockville port. It also became a stop for the Grand Trunk Railway. The tunnel was used until the mid-1970s.

After all of that excitement over the last four days, our voyage today was uneventful, ending at a peaceful anchorage.

Thursday, August 1, 2024 – Near Greater Napanee, ON (Hay Bay-Long Reach Anchorage) to Trenton, ON (Trent Port Marina)

Today, we were underway 4 hours and 45 minutes, going 34 miles (29.8 nm), at an average speed of 7.2 MPH (6.3 knots). After a restful night, we pulled up a relatively clean anchor and were on our way to Trenton.

Today was an uneventful cruise, traveling further up into Canada. We will be staying two days at Trent Port Marina, so that we can provision before heading into the Trent-Severn Waterway.

The AGLCA Harbor Hosts were so kind to take pictures of us coming into the marina. They also emailed lots of information to us about the Trent-Severn locks.

Trenton is known as the “Gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway.” In 1615, Samuel de Champlain traveled this network of inland waters with the Hurons. However, between 1830 and 1920, this route had an addition of roughly 20 miles of man-made canals to make the Trent-Severn Waterway navigable to commercial boats. Unfortunately, by the time the Trent-Severn canal route was completed in 1920, rail and road transportation had already made it obsolete as a commercial route. However, like the Erie Canal, The Trent-Severn is important for so many reasons: tourism, water source for nearby municipalities, hydroelectric power and wildlife havens.

On Friday morning, we took the dinghy up to Lock #1 to purchase our passes to travel the Trent-Severn Waterway. One pass gives us one-way lockage through all 240-miles and 42 locks and the second pass gives us mooring at all of the parks and lock walls. The combined passes cost $610.00 (U.S.). In addition to buying our passes, we enjoyed talking with the lock tender and seeing how the locks work.

After leaving Lock #1, we moored the dinghy across the Trent River to go to the Beer Store. You had to go up to a window and order what you want and then it came out on a conveyor belt. The store also had bottle and can returns. In Canada, you pay a $0.10/can or bottle and when you bring them back you get a refund or credit.

As we were taking the dinghy back over to HOMES, we got waved over by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). They just wanted to make sure we had all of our safety equipment. After we passed, they chatted with us for awhile about our trip.

We wrapped up our stay in Trenton by grocery shopping and getting Tim a haircut.

Saturday, August 3, 2024 – Trenton, ON (Trent Port Marina) to Lock # 8 (Mooring at Upper Lock Wall)

Today, we were underway 4 hours and 13 minutes, going 25 miles (21.6 nm), at an average speed of 5.9 MPH (5.1 knots). Completing 8 locks added about 3 hours to our voyage, for a total duration of 7 hours and 16 minutes.

The Trent-Severn was not busy today! We didn’t wait for one lock, and we only shared a lock once, with a guy and his dog in a little dinghy. In June and July we could have been waiting in line for hours at each lock. An average of 120,000 boats lock through annually. There is a blue line painted on the lock landing where you are to moor up and wait your turn. However, we cruised into each of the 8 locks today without stopping. Luckily the holiday weekend didn’t make the locks busy. The first Monday in August is Civic Holiday, with many Canadians having the day off work. It is not a federally mandated holiday, so the locks and most stores are still open.

Before leaving the marina this morning, Tim put more fenders on HOMES to put her “lock mode.” We then cruised over to the pump-out dock. In the U.S., pump outs are either free with dockage or have a small fee. In Canada, there is always a fee. We paid $24.67 (U.S). Once that was done, we headed out under the “Gateway” sign. The AGLCA Harbor Hosts took a great picture of us beginning our journey of the Trent-Severn Waterway!

This was the beginning of our voyage of this 240 mile waterway, with 44 locks – 37 traditional locks, 2 hydraulic lift locks, 2 flight locks and 1 marine railroad! The 8 eight locks today were traditional locks, but tomorrow, we will go through 1 of the 2 flight locks.

As we approached Lock #1, the narrow canal split off from the Trent River. We could see the open lock gates and proceeded into the lock. The lock tender from yesterday waved as we cruised in. This lock, like the other 7 that we are doing today are traditional locks. They are 154’ long, 32’ wide, with lifts from 9.8 feet to 27 feet.

While these are “traditional” locks for this canal, they look different to us. The 8 locks today are still manually operated, which means the two lock tenders push a turnstile around to open and close the gates and valves. There is a turnstile on each side and at both ends of the lock.

We had one mishap today in Lock #2. We didn’t notice that the blue fender got stuck behind one of the lock lines and when Tim thrusted over it broke, but still kept us held to the lock wall. Quickly, I unfastened the fender on the inside of the boat and the lock tender freed it from behind the lock line. No harm done, except for destroying the fender. Tim didn’t like that blue fender anyway. 😁

When we got to the top of Lock #8, we cruised out and moored on the lock landing. This landing is more like a park than some of the other landings. There are some camp sites at the bottom of the lock and a shower house next to the lock. It was a beautiful evening!

August 4, 2024 – Lock #8 (Mooring at Upper Lock Wall to Campbellford, Ontario (Old Mill Park/ Campbellford Town Dock)

Today, we were only underway 1 hours and 8 minutes, going 5.4 miles (4.7 nm), going 4.7 MPH (4.1 knots) – just when you thought that we couldn’t possibly travel any slower! 😁 We completed 3 locks, so the duration of our trip was 2 hours and 48 minutes.

Our first lock – Lock #9 – was another traditional lock. It lifted us up 16 feet.

Lock #10 was one of the traditional locks that has been modernized to use hydraulics instead of turnstiles. This lock lifted us 24 feet.

Locks #11-#12 were our first set of flights. A “flight” of locks share a lock gate – so as you exit one lock you immediately enter the next lock. We have only completed one other flight of locks and that was the “Flight of Five” at Lockport, NY on the Erie Canal. So, this was exciting for us, even if it was only a “Flight of Two.” These two locks together lifted us 48 feet!

With all of our lock competed for today, we cruised into Campbellford, ON. We are on the town wall, so there is a charge of $90.00 U.S. to stay on this wall. However, we have water, electric and a fun town to explore. We are going to stay two days, since we want to hike back to the falls that Locks 11-12 took us around. There is also a pedestrian suspension bridge. So, those will all be things to explore tomorrow.

We will catch back up with you next week with our experiences in the “unusual” locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Thanks for reading!

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July 22 -28, 2024 – Brewerton, NY to Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Highlights this week: Cruising the Thousand Islands with dinghy trips to Boldt Castle and Singer Castle, and making it to Canada!

July 22, 2024 – Brewerton, NY (Ess-Kay Yards) to Oswego, NY (Wall by Best Western)

Today, we were underway 4 hours and 30 minutes, going 32 miles (27.7 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.1 knots). We completed 8 locks today – 1 on the Erie Canal and 7 on the Oswego Canal. With those locks, the duration of our trip was 7 hours and 24 minutes.

Before backing out of our slip, we took out the trash and filled up our water tank. We needed to pump out the waste tank, so we headed the short distance over to the pump-out/ fuel dock. We had several Looper friends help us tie up and chat before backing out onto the Oneida River.

About 25 minutes after pulling away from Ess-Kay Yards, we were at our first lock of the day, but our last lock on the eastern Erie Canal – Lock E-23. We cruised under the guard gate and entered the lock before being dropped 6.9 feet. There were about 10 people fishing on the lock wall as we pulled out of the lock. This must be a good fishing spot to be that crowded on a Monday morning.

We soon went under our last low bridge until Chicago, so we’ll put the radar scanner back up on HOMES’s arch tonight. About 40 minutes later, we came to Three Rivers Point where the Oneida River, Oswego River and Seneca River meet. We took a right turn to follow the Oswego River and begin our day on the Oswego Canal to Oswego, NY. The Western Erie Canal continues on the Seneca River. As the sign says, Buffalo is 192 miles away. We really enjoyed traveling the whole Erie Canal to Buffalo two years ago. However, we’re looking forward to getting into new waters tomorrow.

The Oswego Canal is only 23 miles, but it drops 188 feet. As it was created to do, the Oswego Canal will take us from the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

Phoenix, NY and Lock O-1 soon appeared. We stopped at Phoenix on our way back down the Oswego Canal two years ago. We took the Oswego up to Lake Ontario and back down because we wanted to make it into all 5 of the Great Lakes on our first Loop.

Lock O-1 was having repairs made to its starboard gate, so we were instructed by the lock tender that only one gate would be opening. However, by the time we descended the 10.2 feet drop, the guys had finished the repair and our lock opening was the test run. Both gates opened fine. All fixed! We still had to linger in Lock O-1 until the bridge was lifted.

We had 9.5 miles to the next lock, so Tim took a lunch break and I took over the helm.

All of the 7 of the locks on the Oswego Canal have dams that generate hydroelectricity. These facilities date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The High Dam Hydroelectric Facility at Lock O-6 uses the waters of the Oswego River to provides the city of Oswego with 10 megawatts of clean renewable energy.

Once we pulled out of Lock O-8, we found space at the wall. After making some lunch and have a little break, Tim was back at it again. Now that we’re finished with the low bridges of the Eire Canal, he put our radar scanner back up. We definitely want that for our journey across Lake Ontario tomorrow.

In the evening, we decided to explore downtown Oswego, on the west side of the river. Oswego’s location at the intersection of Lake Ontario and the Oswego River was a freshwater port even before the Oswego Canal was completed in 1830. However, the canal provided a cheaper and quicker route between the East and Midwest, transporting salt and lumber, as well as thousands of immigrants. The downtown is being revitalized with restaurants and shops. The clock tower of the historic Oswego City Hall, built in 1870, can be seen from the river and drew us in for a closer look.

We stopped for a drink and wings at Southern Fare. It still amazes me at how busy restaurants are on a Monday evening. After drinks, we walked back over the bridge and called it a night.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 – Oswego, NY (Wall behind Best Western) to near Wellesley Island (Thousand Islands Club Anchorage)

Today, we were underway 9 hours and 6 minutes, going 74.7 miles (64.9 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7.1 knots). We got a little push from the current of the St. Lawrence River, so HOMES averaged about 1 MPH faster than usual – still slower than you’d ride your bike! 😁

Knowing that it was going to be a long cruising day, we were pulling away from the wall and heading up the Oswego River by 7:00 AM, with Lake Ontario in our sights. We passed our friends on LeRea who came in after us yesterday.

We were in the choppy waters of Lake Ontario, once we passed the Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse, which was built in 1934 to replace the 1880 lighthouse.

For the first hour, Lake Ontario was choppier than forecasted. So, I didn’t do my usual wiping down of the decks. However, the water smoothed out after about an hour and we even turned the stabilizers off.

Once we entered the St. Lawrence River, we were greeted by the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, built in 1854 at Cape Vincent, NY. As I was focused on picture taking, we heard someone yelling “HOMES! It’s Surf Rider!” We looked over and see a guy in a 28‘ Marinette waving his arms and coming along side HOMES. We instantly remembered Surf Rider from our travels on the Tennessee River last November. In our 5-minute catch-up, we found out he took his boat out in the Georgian Bay and is taking a 6-month break off the Loop. This is his home area and he is on his “other boat.” I don’t remember if he was Canadian, but all of the Canadian Loopers take a 6-month break because they have to be in Canada for 6 months to keep their healthcare.

As if being recognized from the water wasn’t weird enough, we were then recognized by our Looper friends from Annie B, who were on land! They took our picture cruising by Rock Island Lighthouse. They were touring the lighthouse when they saw us go by. Nevin called Tim’s cell phone and said he was waving at us. How fun was that!

As we made our way further along the St. Lawerence River, there were little islands everywhere! Therefore, it is fitting that this area is called the Thousand Islands. Within the Thousand Islands, there are more than 1,800 islands in the St. Lawrence River, straddling the border of the U.S. and Canada. For tonight, we anchored near Wellesley Island, so that we’d be close enough to take the dinghy to Boldt Castle tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 – Near Wellesley Island (Thousand Islands Club Anchorage) to Near Cedar Island (Cedar Island Anchorage)

One year ago today we resumed our Great Loop Adventure after taking HOMES out of the water for Winter/Spring 2022. So, we’ve been basically continuously cruising for a year now. It would also have been my dad’s 88th birthday. He passed away in 2002. It doesn’t seem like 22 years ago.

Today, we were underway 1 hour and 46 minutes, going 11.6 miles (10.1 nm), at an average speed of 6.6 MPH (5.7 knots). You may notice that the duration of our trip was 3 hours and 45 minutes. The time discrepancy is because we anchored last night and tonight. Pulling up the anchor was slow going because of the clay and weeds that I had to spay off the anchor chain. Then, it took us two tries to set the anchor tonight.

We actually had to re-anchor this morning before heading over to Boldt Castle. The marina employee came over from the marina across the anchorage and asked us and another Looper boat to move over 50 feet to make more room in the channel going to the marina. We moved the short distance, despite being in a legitimate anchorage and planning to leave after our tour of Boldt Castle. We probably wouldn’t have anchored here on a weekend, but on a Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the boat traffic was minimal.

Within the 5-minute dinghy ride to Boldt Castle, we passed about eight little islands. There are houses on even some of the smallest islands.

Boldt Castle was to be a Valentine’s Day gift of George C. Boldt to his beloved wife Louise in 1904. Unfortunately, Louse died suddenly in January 1904, at the age of 42. George had construction halted and no one ever lived in the castle. The family began vacationing in the Thousand Islands in 1890s, so George bought “Hart” Island and renamed it “Heart” Island and went so far as to try to reshape the island to look like a heart. The gardens and castle motif repeat this heart theme.

George never stepped back on the island and the castle sat empty, being ravaged by the elements and vandals, for 73 years until Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property. Since 1977, they have been rebuilding the castle from George’s original plans. George began his life in the U.S. as a penniless immigrant from Prussia in 1864, but ventually rose to be a millionaire hotelier. He was the proprietor of the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. You may not recognize George Boldt’s name, but you may be familiar with his legacy – the Waldorf Salad, Thousand Island salad dressing and the phrase, “the customer is always right.” He also financed much of the investigation into the sinking of the Titanic because his dear friend J.J. Astor died aboard.

While the castle was never lived in, Alster Tower (children’s playroom) was used by the family. Alster Tower was completed in 1899 and was meant for recreational activities. It had a two-lane blowing alley, kitchen, billiard room, and theater. Tim liked the Power House and Clock Tower. It originally housed two generators that would supply electricity to the entire island.

After the castle and grounds tour, we took the shuttle boat a short distance over to the Yacht House on Wellesley Island.

George Boldt’s son-in-law, Alfred Graham Miles, was an avid boat racer and adventurer. In 1893 he and three friends boated from New York City to Alexandria Bay, taking 15 days and stopping at 7 places of interest along the way. While their trip would have been more adventurous in 1893, Tim and I followed their path. It took us 13 days to get here yesterday from New York City, stopping at 9 places.

Once we got back to HOMES, we ate lunch and then pulled up an anchor covered in weeds and clay. On our journey toward Cedar Island, we cruised by Boldt Castle. Another check off Tim’s bucket List. The journey was filled with more islands and a beautiful lighthouse.

Our anchorage was near Cedar Island State Park, but we stayed aboard HOMES on this gray evening. It had been a busy day.

Thursday, July 25, 2024 – Near Cedar Island, NY (Cedar Island Anchorage) to Cape Vincent, NY (DEC Fisheries Free Dock)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 7 minutes, going 37 miles (32.5 nm), at an average speed of 7.2 MPH (6.3 knots). It was a chilly, windy day going against the current of the St. Lawrence River.

We woke to a chilly morning. It was a windy night at anchor, but the wind calmed down for our dinghy ride over to Dark Island to visit Singer Castle. We had to dig out pants and sweatshirts for the ride. Temperatures in the high 60s feel colder on the water.

Singer Castle is the polar opposite of the Germanic-style of Boldt Castle. Singer Castle is a medieval-looking castle, which looks like it came out of a Scooby Doo episode – complete with multiple secret passageways.

Frederick Bourne, who was the fifth president of Singer Sewing Machine Company, bought Dark Island and built the castle as his family hunting retreat in 1902. This is the same time that the other wealthy New Yorkers – like George Boldt – were vacationing in the Thousand Islands. Unlike Boldt Castle, Singer Castle was actually lived in my the family until the mid-1960s.

Unlike Boldt Castle, this was a guided tour, which took about an hour. Also unlike Boldt Castle, you can stay overnight in Singer Castle for about $800/ night and up to 6 people. They also host weddings.

HOMES was waiting for us when we got back. It took a good 30 minutes to get the anchor up because of all the weeds I had to pull off of 125’ of anchor chain. Ugh! HOMES’s bow looked like a garden by the time I got the anchor up. I had some washing down to do after that!

Once the anchor was up, we headed back up the St. Lawrence River – the way we came. We ended our day in Cape Vincent, NY. We have reservations in Kingston, Ontario, Canada starting tomorrow through Wednesday.

July 26, 2024 – Cape Vincent, NY (Dept. of Environmental Conservation Fisheries Free Dock) to Kingston, Ontario, Canada (Confederation Basin Marina)

We made it to CANADA 🇨🇦! Today, we were underway 3 hours, going 23 miles (19.7 nm), at an average speed of 7.6 MPH (6.6 knots).

Since our trip to Kingston was a short one, we walked into Cape Vincent for coffee at Cup of Joy Cafe.

We shared a dock with two Canadian sailboats. We had a nice chat with the two couples about checking into Canada. They also told us were to dock in their hometown of Trenton when we get there. But more importantly, they gave us a tip about the weeds! They showed us their homemade weed cutter – a steak knife taped to a broom handle. I could have used that in the past two days! Tim will make me one after we clear our check-in in Canada today.

The little harbor behind HOMES was quiet all morning, except for five ladies who went for a swim. However, as we went to pull out, three boats and a jet ski seemed to materialize out of thin air. We waited as the jet ski and two boats passed. The third boat wanted our spot, so we were finally able to pull away from the dock around noon.

We crossed over into Canada around 1:00 PM. The markers in Canadian waters are taller and skinnier than U.S. markers. We continued our voyage around Wolfe Island and Simcoe Island and up to Kingston. As you can see from our voyage map, Kingston is basically straight across from Cape Vincent, with Wolfe Island in between.

After docking at Confederation Basin Marina, Tim called Canadian Customs to clear us into Canada. He gave them our passport numbers, our boat information, how much alcohol we have and our expected duration of stay. The call only took about 10 minutes. Technically, we could have been boarded by a customs officer who would have inspected our boat. After getting cleared, we got out our new Canadian courtesy flag and hung it from our antenna. We will still fly our U.S. flag off the stern.

We took a walk around Kingston this evening. We went to the ATM and got some Canadian money. It looks very different from our money! Tomorrow, we’ll walk into the farmers’ market. Then, we’re going to be getting visitors and being whisked away to Ottawa for the weekend. Our friends, Robb and Tracy, are coming so that we can help to Tracy celebrate her big birthday.

I’ll end my blog here this week, since the weekend will be busy. Next week we’ll begin our journey on the Trent-Severn Waterway, with 45 locks. Some of these locks are very different than any of the U.S. locks that we have done, so we are looking forward to sharing this canal with you.

See you next Sunday! Thanks for reading!

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July 15 – 12, 2024 – Troy, NY to Brewerton, NY

Monday, July 15, 2024 – Troy, NY (Troy Downtown Marina) to Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina)

Back to the Erie Canal! The whole reason we started this trip was because Tim wanted to go through the whole Erie Canal and see the Statue of Liberty. He says that he is seeing so much more on this second time around.

Today, we were underway 3 hours and 37 minutes, going 23 miles (19.7 nm), at an average speed of 6.2 MPH (5.4 knots). We went through 7 locks (the Federal Lock and E2-E7). Because of the extra time it takes in the locks, the duration of our whole trip was actually 6 hours and 47 minutes.

We could see the Federal Lock from where we were docked on the wall at Troy Downtown Marina. This Lock is one of the oldest in the county. It was built in 1915 to improve navigation between the Hudson River and the New York Canal System. Many of the workers were men returning from constructing the Panama Canal.

Henry Ford was camping with his buddies Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone – as they were known to do often – and they saw the potential for hydropower. After getting permission via an act of Congress, Ford built the hydropower plant here in 1921, with the agreement that he would provide the lock and dam with free power.

Tim radioed the lock and we waited for the gates to open. Once we got the green light, we pulled into the 520-foot long and 45-foot wide lock. The lift was approximately 14 feet. Gravity is used to fill or drain the locks. The lock was set in our favor, so we just had to wait for the lock keeper to open the gates. We pulled in at 7:38 AM and exited about 15 minutes later.

After exiting the Federal Lock, the Hudson River is no longer tidal. The locks and dams keep the water monitored.

About a 3 miles from the Federal Lock was our left turn to go to the Erie Canal. If we proceeded straight up the Hudson River, we’d enter the Champlain Canal. That canal goes up to Canada through Vermont – a trip for another time.

Once we made our left-hand turn off the Hudson River and onto the Mohawk River, we saw our second lock of the day – Lock E-2. When Tim radioed the lock tender there were already 3 boats going in. The lock tender seemed grateful when we told him that we’d just wait for the next lift. So, we moored on the wall at Waterford, NY and waited our turn. I walked up to the Harbor Visitor Center to pick up some canal information and Tim found a police officer to talk with.

When we saw the water rushing out from under the gates of Lock E-2, we knew the lock was being emptied for us. So, we bade farewell to Tim’s new cop friend, untied from the dock and headed up to the lock. Once the gates opened, we proceed in and were lifted up 33.55 feet.

When the gates opened, we started our second journey on the Erie Canal – an engineering marvel when it was constructed from 1817-1825. The original canal traveled 363 miles through the state of New York, joining Lake Erie, which is 570 feet above sea level, to the Hudson River, which is only 16.5 feet above sea level. It was the longest artificial waterway in North America and put New York on the map as the Empire State – the leader in population, industry, and economic growth. New York’s sixth governor, DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828) financed the project with state money and bonds and hired Irish immigrants to dig the canal through swamps, forests, and rocky cliffs by hand. The laborers were paid $0.37 to $0.50 a day, and sometimes whiskey instead of money. Thousands of workers became sick or died from malaria in the swamps near Syracuse.

Locks E-2 to E-6 came in quick succession, raising us about 34 feet each time. This “Waterford Flight” is the steepest set of locks in the United States. At E-6, we had to wait for some kayakers to paddle out.

At the top of Lock E-6, we a beautiful view behind us and our first guard gate in front of us. These guard gates help to isolate sections of the canal in case of emergency, such as a break in the canal wall or extreme high water. They’re also used when a section of canal needs to be drained for maintenance or winter freeze protection. We can’t imagine digging through the rock beside us.

After Lock E-6, the Mohawk River widened. The Mohawk River fed the original Erie Canal on this 117-mile section that we’re traveling from Waterford through Rome, NY. Much of the original canal on this stretch has been abandoned because the river itself has been deepened and straightened.

About 35 minutes later, we exited our last lock of the day – E-7 – after being raised 27 feet. We were now back on the Mohawk River, traveling by the historic Aqueduct 1842 in Rexford, NY before getting to our marina in Schenectady.

We didn’t waste much time after docking at Mohawk Harbor Marina, because we had parts to pick up for the dinghy. Since the motor stoped working on May 26th, we’ve made multiple attempts to have someone fix it, but they either won’t travel to the boat, are too busy or won’t return our calls. Therefore, Tim decided to try to fix it himself. I found CR’s Marina in Schenectady when we were back on the Hudson River. They wouldn’t fix the dinghy either, but they had parts, so we ordered a fuel pump, the secondary fuel filter and spark plugs. Tim changed the main fuel filter back at Isle of Hope, GA.

After a 30-minute round trip with our Uber driver, Nelson, we were back to the marina with our parts. Despite the 92-degree temperature, Tim got right to work. He offered to stop while the wedding pictures were being taken, but they said he was fine. After about an hour, he was test driving the dinghy in the marina. After that success test, we took it out onto the Mohawk River and gave it a real test. Success! Tim thinks the problem was just a clogged secondary fuel filter. We have a dinghy again!!!

Tuesday, July 16, 2024 – Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina) – Layover day.

We planned this layover day so that Tim could fix the dinghy, but he did that yesterday. So today, was a free day, which we spent cleaning the saltwater off of HOMES. It is nice to be back in freshwater. Tim tackled cleaning the dinghy and I spent the day washing the portholes, mopping the floors and doing laundry. In the evening, we walked up to Druthers Brewing Company, which was just at the top of the marina park.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 – Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina) to Fort Plain, NY (Lock E-15 Free Wall)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 25 minutes, going 43 miles (37.5 nm), at an average speed of 6.5 MPH (5.8 knots). We completed 8 locks, so the duration of our trip was 8 hours and 38 minutes.

Knowing that we had a long day ahead, we pulled out of the marina a little before 8:00 AM. After steering around a rowing team as we turned out onto the Mohawk River, we poured our coffee and settled in for a busy day.

The scenery today through the Mohawk Valley was stunning, with the Adirondack Mountains off in the distance. Lock E-8 took us up 14 feet.

At Lock E-9 and E-10, we shared the locks with another Looper boat. These locks took us up 15 feet each.

Coming out of Lock E-10, the abandoned Adirondack Power and Light building loomed like a dinosaur. This beautiful building, built in the 1920s was a coal-burning power plant. It stopped generating power in 1950 because New York State had abundant hydroelectric power.

Once through Lock E-11, we saw the free wall where we moored in 2022. We were happy to see that the manor house of Sir William Johnson, built in 1742, was being restored. Johnson came from England in the 1740s to manage his uncle’s business affairs. He soon realized the benefits of assimilating Indian culture into his political and business dealings. He was eventually adopted into the Mohawk Nation and took a Mohawk wife in a common law marriage. Because of this credibility with the Mohawks, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the English Crown in 1768, when the French and Indian War began.

We barely made it out of Lock E-11 before the rain storm hit. It only lasted about 20 minutes. We drove slowly and the rain was all done by Lock E-12.

As we cruised through Locks E-12 through E-14, we dodged floating logs and saw downed tree caused by the tornado and damaging winds that hit this area yesterday.

After pulling out of Lock E-15, we tied up at the lock wall. Tim had radioed the lock tender to make sure there was room for us. There was one boat there, but still plenty of room for us. The young lock tender even came over and helped us with our lines. Lock E-15 sits in between a busy rail line and the longest Interstate highway in the country- Interstate-90. These are the three forms of transportation that shaped our country. Later in the evening, another Looper couple, who tied up after us, came to visit and have a tour of HOMES. Once light rain ended, we had a beautiful sunset.

Thursday, July 18, 2024 – Fort Plain, NY (Lock E-15 Free Wall) to Marcy, NY (E-20 Free Wall)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 49 minutes, going 41 miles (35.2 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6 knots). We completed 5 locks, which added about another 2 hours to our day, making the duration of our trip 7 hours and 42 minutes.

We know exactly where each lock and guard gate is along our way. Tim uses a program called Aqua Map on his iPad to route our daily voyages. He then uses the “Route Explorer” function, which shows us all locks, hazards, bridges, marinas, fuel etc, along our route.

Therefore, as we pulled away from the wall this morning, we knew that Lock E-16 was about 4 miles (3.3 nm) in front of us.

The rain that passed through last evening pushed the heat and humidity away! We woke to temperatures in the mid 60s with a projected high in the low 80s!

The scenery beside the locks today look different than on our previous days. There are no massive dam structures beside these locks, but you can see the unnavigable Mohawk River goes off to the right when we cruise into the locks. After lifting 20.5 feet in Lock E-16, the beauty of the Mohawk Valley still had us in awe. We occasionally passed a few corn fields.

About 8 miles later, we headed into Lock E-17 – the largest lock in the New York Canal System, with a lift of 40.5 feet! Constructed in 1915, when the original Erie Canal was modernized, this lock was once the highest single lift lock in the world. It takes us around the multiple drops and rapids that make up the “Little Falls” of the Mohawk River at Little Falls, NY.

About 20 minutes later, we were at the top, the two gates opened and we headed out, cruising by the town of Little Falls, NY. These massive rock cliffs, once dreaded by the canal makers, are now enjoyed by rock climbers!

About 40 minutes later, Lock E-18 lifted us 20 feet. We had a 12-mile break before coming to the unique Lock E-19. For E-19, we cruised under a railroad bridge, which ran at an angle, before pulling into the lock and being lifted 21 feet.

We had a 10.28 mile break before getting to our last lock of the day – E-20. While lifting 16 feet in this lock, Tim chatted with the bicyclists who camped next to us last night at Lock E-15. They are cycling the Empire State Trail, which is a 750-mile bicycle/walking trail, that runs along the canal. Today, they bicycled the 48-mile distance to here and beat us by miles!! HOMES is not fast, but we enjoy her comforts!

Mooring on the canal walls can be a little challenging, since the canals were built for large, heavy work boats. We secured HOMES with her midline through a steel ring and her bow and stern lines and spring lines were tied to big bollards. A tug and big barge was moored in front of us. Looks like their job is to pull debris out of the canal. We could have used them today!

After getting moored up, we decided to take a walk the 1- mile walk into Marcy, NY. We were ready for a long walk. Besides, there was a farm market with Marcy Discount Beverage next door. Two necessities: fresh fruits and veggies for me and beer for Tim. We took a longer walk on the trail into town. However, we took the short cut across the lock gate on our way back, since we were loaded down with our purchases.

Our shortcut route along the lock wall took us by our bicycle friends. We chatted with them for a long time. He is 71 years old and she is probably 60. They are cycling the whole 750 miles of the Empire State Trail, doing about 50 miles/day. They are from Michigan. He is retired from Ford and she is a retired paralegal. They have cycled from Cincinnati to Cleveland and did a trip from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. They definitely make our Loop trip seem easy, with all of our comforts on HOMES.

We went back to HOMES and cooked up our sweet corn and had dinner. We ended our great day by relaxing on the back deck.

Friday, July 19, 2024 – Marcy, NY (Lock E-20 Free Wall) to Sylvan Beach, NY (Sylvan Beach Pier)

Today, we were underway 3 hours and 9 minutes, going 23.5 miles (20.4 nm), at an average speed of 7.5 MPH (6.5 knots). We only had 2 locks today, so the whole duration of our trip was only 4 hours and 3 minutes. The 2 locks today are dropping us – instead of lifting us.

We chose this short day so that we could get to Sylvan Beach early and secure a spot on the pier wall. It’s a long wall, but Sylvan Beach is vacation hot spot on Oneida Lake. When we were here in 2022, it was Wednesday, August 24th and the place was almost a ghost town. Being a carnival town, it looked like the set of a scary movie. However, we know a Friday in July will be much different!

Our journey to our first lock – Lock E-21 – was uneventful except for one silted area where we sludged through the mud, with the depth finder screaming at us that we were in 4’6’’ of water. HOMES needs 4’8” to float, but she has sludged through mud before.

Just before getting to Lock E-21, we passed by Rome, NY we could see trucks and workers doing storm-damage clean up. A tornado touched down in Rome on Tuesday afternoon, with peak winds of 135 MPH. That was when we were in Schenectady and only got a little wind and rain.

We pulled into Lock E-21 around 11:30 AM. This is our first lock going down, so it looked different coming in at the top. I had to get the dock pole for Tim so that he could reach down and get the line.

The lock gates sit on top of a massive raised ledge, called a cill. When we are lifted up in a lock, Tim, being at the bow, gets to watch the cill ledge disappear into the water. When we are lowered down in a lock, I get to see the cill appear out of the water.

After lowering 26 feet down in Lock E-21, we continued on another 1.35 miles to our last lock of the day – Lock E-22. While lowering another 24 feet in Lock E-22, we noticed that the water was very clear. Then, we noticed the zebra muscles clinging to the bottom of the canal wall, squirting out water. Zebra mussels are a small freshwater mussel native to Russia, which were introduced into the Great Lakes in 1986 to help clean up the water. By 1991, they crossed New York State through the Erie Canal and Mohawk River into the Hudson River and now infest the Great Lakes and all major river drainage east of the Rocky Mountains. The pros and cons of zebra mussels are too complicated to discuss in my blog.

After Lock E-22, we had less than an hour before getting to the pier wall at Sylvan Beach. Arriving at around 12:45 PM, we were surprised to see so much boat traffic. Fortunately, there was still space for us on the free pier wall. A nice older couple on the boat in front helped us with our lines. These “free walls” do not have power or water. So, after just tying up, we decided to eat lunch and relax before exploring the town.

Once was began our walk up the pier to town, we realized why there were so many boats and people. It was the annual Pirates Weekend at Sylvan Beach. The Oneida Indian Nation owns the casino and a vacation rental cottage community that have revitalized the town. We had a drink at Harpoon Eddie’s before coming back to HOMES.

While sitting on the back deck working on my blog, the cat on the neighboring boat came over to visit. According to his owner, Lucky likes to check out other people’s boats. So, while Lucky explore HOMES inside and out, Tim and I got to know Lucky’s owners, a Canadian couple who are traveling on a steel boat that they are converting from a working dive boat into a live-aboard. We ended the evening sitting on the back deck, people watching. We even talked with a local woman who was originally from Toledo, OH and knew all about my hometown of Fremont because of the Rutherford B. Hayes Home and Presidential Library.

Saturday, July 20, 2024 – Sylvan Beach, NY (Sylvan Beach Pier) to Brewerton, NY (Ess-Kay Yards)

Today, we were underway 3 hours and 2 minutes, going 22 miles (18.9 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.2 knots). This is our stop to change oil. Since it Ess-Kay Yards is a boat yard, they will take our used oil for $1.50 a gallon. HOMES takes 17 gallons to change both engines.

We went to the Sylvan Beach Pancake House for breakfast. We ate here 2 years ago and really enjoyed the food and the old building.

After breakfast, we left the pirates behind and took off across Oneida Lake. Three hours later, we docked at Ess-Kay Yards. We are in an 18’ slip, but with the fenders out, HOMES is 18’, so I quickly pulled up the port fenders after the first fender hit the middle piling. Oops. We are used to leaving our fenders out for the canals.

Our friends Chris and Diane on LaRea, who we met last week, are here too. We took our dinghy to Barado’s On the Water. The service was slow, but it doesn’t matter when you are having fun with friends. We made it back before it got too dark

Sunday, July 21, 2024 – Brewerton, NY (Ess-Kay Yards)- Layover day.

Today was a lounging morning, but we got to work in the afternoon. We took the courtesy car 3.4 miles to Walmart. We didn’t really need anything, but when a car presents itself, we like to stock up on the bulky and heavy items that are hard to carry when walking.

The remainder of the afternoon was for changing the oil in the engines. We brought the oil and filters back with us on our last trip home, so we had everything that we needed.

This evening will be spent between LaRea and HOMES. We have never toured each others boats, so we’re going to so that and probably consume some of this alcohol that Canada does not want us to bring over the border.

Our plans next week have us cruising the Thousand Islands in New York and ending the week in Kingston, Ontario, Canada waiting a visit from our friends Tracy and Robb for Tracy’s birthday adventure. Two years ago we took her through the Dismal Swamp and last year was Kelleys Island. We’re looking forward to this year’s adventure!

Thanks for reading!

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July 8-14, 2024 – Cape May, NJ to Troy, NY

Highlights this week: Problems with the waste tank; an overnight voyage (only our 2nd); passing the Statue of Liberty; making it to the first lock of the Erie Canal; meeting up with lots of Looper friends -old and new.

Monday, July 8, 2024- Cape May, NJ (Canyon Club Resort Marina) to Atlantic City, NJ (Golden Nugget-Farley State Marina)

Today, we were underway 5 hours and 40 minutes, going 44 miles (38.5 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (6.8 knots). We left the marina today with intentions of an overnight, 18-hour journey to Sandy Hook, NJ However, in the boating world, plans are always fluid.

We left the marina around 1:00 PM to time our arrival in Sandy Hook, NJ around 6:00 AM. We were excited to find another Looper in the marina, De Viking, doing the same trip, so we’d even have a buddy boat.

We woke to a foggy morning, but it was looking better when we left the marina. Once out into the Atlantic Ocean, the fog quickly became more dense. However, with radar and AIS (global ship tracking) HOMES can see – even when we cannot.

With radar, AIS and communicating with De Viking, we felt comfortable traveling. We were even thinking about going further than Sandy Hook, NJ. However, HOMES had other plans. Nothing dramatic or cool, and actually kind of embarrassing…our waste tank filled completely with seawater, so we couldn’t use our toilets!

Earlier this morning Tim had fixed the tank gage, which was not working to show how much waste was in our tank. Today, we’ll be far enough out to sea to be able to use our macerator pump to discharge our tank at sea. The macerator pump works like a Ninja Blender, so that what comes of the tank is a fine slurry that can be sucked out or discharged over board, if you are far enough from the coast. This afternoon, when we were away from the coast, well-beyond the 3-mile requirement, Tim turned on the macerator pump and went down to see if the waste tank was emptying. We’ve only used this option a few times, so it is still a little foreign. The next thing I know, he is running up the stairs to the helm yelling: “turn it off…turn it off!” He believes what happened was that when he clean off the tank gage this morning, something clogged the macerator pump values, causing them to invert – meaning the seawater was coming in, instead of the waste water going out! Fortunately, he got it turned off before the tank overflowed into the bilge!

Tim called the marina in Atlantic City and got us a reservation, making sure that they could do a pump out yet tonight. So, we said farewell to our buddy boat and changed course. The fog was so dense that we could only see about 500 feet ahead. We were in the channel leading to the marina before we could see Atlantic City. Tim got us in using just our navigational charts and radar. Finally, well past the boardwalk, we came through a wall of fog and we could finally see. It was about 6:30 PM when we got finally docked.

After getting a pump-out at our dock, Tim was able to fix the macerator pump in about 45 minutes. Being Tim, he had the spare parts on hand!

Tuesday, July 9 – Wednesday, July 10, 2024 – Atlantic City, NJ (Golden Nugget-Farley State Marina) to Croton-on-Hudson, NY (Croton Point North Anchorage)

Today was only our second overnight voyage, and this time we had to contend with fog. Our first overnight voyage was our crossing of the Gulf of Mexico back on Feb. 20-21, 2024 when we went 172 miles over nearly 22 hours.

Today on our voyage, we were underway 21 hours and 13 minutes, going 143 miles (124.2 nm), at an average speed of 6.7 MPH (5.9 knots).

This morning we woke to the same dense fog, so we developed a new plan – an overnight journey, leaving this afternoon! After tomorrow, the weather would keep us in Atlantic City until at least Sunday. So, Tim charted our course to Sandy Hook, NJ. We were pleased when some boats coming into the marina this afternoon said the fog was heavy, but manageable.

To kill a little time before leaving, we walked into the Golden Nugget Casino. We felt very young amongst the elderly people glued to their gambling machines. – like teenagers glued to their phone. We didn’t gamble, but we thought the Craps machine summed up how we got here! 😁

Around 4:30 PM, we backed out our slip. The fog was still obstructing the buildings and the boardwalk, but it was much patchier than the day before. Coming into this marina yesterday was probably to most dangerous and scary thing that we’ve done so far on our trip.

As be emerged back onto the Atlantic Ocean, the visible and waves were good! When we saw the boat in front of us head north, Tim radioed him. He was going to New York City too, so we unintentionally had a buddy boat. So, we settled in for a long voyage. We are more vigilant about watching the engine room when we’re at sea. We had the engine room camera displayed on the control panel and Tim would periodically check the engine room and shoot his infra-red thermometer around to double check to the display readouts. The waves weren’t bad, but we had the stabilizers going most of the time to make it a flat ride, so he also watched those air compressors.

Tim took the first shift from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. I took over at 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM. I enjoyed watching the lights along the shore – white and yellow lights running along like a runway, with the periodic vertical blinking red lights of antennas. I cold visually see the distant running lights of our buddy boat and another boat traveling in front of us. However, around 3:30 AM, the fog descended and swallowed up everything. I could still see at least half a mile in front of me and all of those things that I had been watching were still there. I just had to look at them on the radar screen instead of with my eyes.

I woke Tim around 5:00 AM. He was surprised on how much foggier it had gotten, but the fog lessened as the sun rose on our Wednesday morning. We both stayed up at this point because soon, we’d be exiting the Atlantic Ocean and entering the New York Lower Bay. We decided that, since we didn’t feel tired, we’d head on through New York City to the anchorage we had picked out for tomorrow night. Being around 6:30 AM, we had a lot less boat traffic to contend with than our last time cruising up the New York Harbor.

This time, we knew when and where to look for the Statue of Liberty. The last time, we were surprise about how small she looked, with the skyscrapers of Manhattan behind her. She is beautiful to see! We had more time to enjoy her this time because there was only one other boat out this early gawking like we were.

We continued our journey up the Hudson River, enjoying the sights of Ellis Island and the skyscrapers of Manhattan. It still amazes me that two sets of ancestors on my mom’s side came through Ellis Island -one set from Hungry and the other from Germany. Neither knowing the language, but willing to give up a life they knew for hopefully a better life in the “land of opportunity.” I am thankful for those brave ancestors! I’m not sure I could do that.

When we came through on our first Loop, we stayed two nights at Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey and took the ferry over to Manhattan. This time, we’re cruising by New York City, because we want to get to Canada. So, we continued up the Hudson River along Manhattan, enjoying the skyline and waterfront, while reminiscing about our over 7-mile walk from Battery Park to Central Park last time, stopping along the way for coffee, ice cream and beer – spaced out appropriately.

We cruised by Manhattan’s Upper West Side and the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial and Soliders’ and Sailors’ Monument; then by West Harlem and Washington Heights before going under the George Washington Bridge.

After passing under the George Washington Bridge, we had some crazy currents passing the Harlem River. Bays, harbor and rivers separate the city of New York into five boroughs – Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. We got a glimpse of all but Queens and The Bronx. At this point, I was ready for a nap!

I napped for almost two hours while we cruised up the Hudson River. Luckily, Tim took a picture of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which in 2017 replaced the 1955 Tappan Zee Bridge. We are now completely within the state of New York. We had been splitting the New Jersey-New York border until this area. I woke to a completely different landscape – now we are in the picturesque Hudson River Valley. We’ll be traveling amongst several mountain ranges – the Appalachian, Hudson Highlands, Shawangunk Mountains, Catskills and Taconic Mountains.

Around 2:00 PM, we finally reached our anchorage near Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Happily, our anchor took hold on the first try! Our 21-hour, 143 mile trip over two days had ended in success!

Thursday, July 11, 2024 – Croton-on-Hudson (Croton Point North Anchorage) to Poughkeepsie, NY (Shadows Marina)

After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to continue our journey up the Hudson River. On our voyage today, we were underway 5 hours and 41 minutes, going 39 miles (34.1 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6 knots).

Yesterday when we pulled off into the anchorage, the Hudson was pushing us along with choppy, 1-foot waves. The wind continued during the evening, but the anchorage was in the protected Half Moon Bay, so we slept well on calm water. After picking up a relative clean anchor, we pulled back out onto the Hudson River and headed north.

We passed by West Point, NY and the majestic United States Military Academy (USMA) or as it’s more commonly called, West Point. It is the oldest continuously operating Army post. We also cruised by Peekskill, NY, which may ring a bell, if you were a fan of the 1980s sitcom, Facts of Life.

We enjoyed watching freight trains run along the western shore and commuter trains running along the eastern shore. Steam locomotives began developing this area between Albany and New York City staring in the 1830s, helped by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who became the president of the Hudson River Railroad in 1867. Tomorrow, we will catch a glimpse of the Vanderbilt mansion high on the cliffs above the Hudson.

Around 2:00 PM, we neared Poughkeepsie, NY and our marina for tonight, Shadows Marina. We stayed here last time, so Tim was prepared to dock in the fast current. We recognized the voice of the dock master who expertly guided us in last time. He was waiting on the dock and giving instructions over the radio. Tim is so much more experience now that it was an easy docking experience – not what we remembered from last time.

We didn’t have the energy to walk into Poughkeepsie, which we recalled was long walk up hill. Instead, we enjoyed an afternoon of sitting on the back deck reading, planning and talking with the locals on the boat behind us, until walking up Shadows for a drink and wings.

We finished off our evening by sitting on the back deck and enjoying the lights of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge, built from 1925-1930. Franklin and Eleanor attended the opening ceremony. In the distance is the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park, which is the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world at 212 feet high and 1.28 miles long.

Friday, July 12, 2024 – Poughkeepsie, NY (Shadows Marina) to New Baltimore, NY (Shady Harbor Marina)

Today, we were underway 7 hours and 22 minutes, going 55 miles (48.3 nm), at an average speed 7.6 MPH (6.6 knots). We fought the current most of the day.

We got going early this morning, so that we could get off the dock in slack tide (weakest current between the high and low tides). We also wanted to take advantage of the slack tide before we had to start fighting the current of the falling tide coming at us.

After passing under the two bridges of Poughkeepsie, we passed a rowing club out practicing. The rowers in their “shells” were receiving instructions from their coach in the “launch.”

Our trip up the Hudson River today took us past places that I told you about at length on our first trip around. High up on the cliffs, we saw the Culinary Institute of America, established in 1946 with notable alumni being Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes and Richard Blais from Top Chef. Then we cruised by Hyde Park, NY, the hometown of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), our 32nd President, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He took our country through the Great Depression and WWII. We caught a glimpse of Fredrick William Vanderbilt’s 1899, 54-room mansion. Vanderbilt was a railroad magnate and philanthropist. Also in Hyde Park is a home and historic site of Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a “Roosevelt” before she married her 5th cousin, Franklin. She was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Our afternoon was filled with interesting lighthouses and old homes nestled along the banks or high up on hills.

We passed under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, which also has a 6-mile walkway connecting the historic homes and studios of Hudson River School painters Thomas Cole and Frederic Church. These artists, in the mid-1800s, found inspiration in painting the Hudson River Valley region. Tim and I only know of these artists because we watch Antiques Roadshow on PBS. 😁 This bridge is named after the 1819 short story of the same name by Washington Irving, which mentions Hudson and Catskill – the two cities that the bridge connects.

By the time we reached the marina, we were nearly at slack tide again. Tim had no problems backing HOMES down the pier and around the marina owner’s big yacht to where we docked. We were right across from our friends on De Viking. At 5:00 PM, there were Looper “docktails” up at the marina’s picnic area. This is the first time that we’ve been in a pack of Loopers in a long time. When lots of Loopers are in a marina, someone usually organizes a “docktails” to get to know one another. We met a couple on LaRea who just started their Loop last week. They joined us and De Viking for dinner at the marina restaurant. It was a fun evening of swapping stories.

Saturday, July 13, 2024 – New Baltimore, NY (Shady Harbor Marina) to Troy, NY (Troy Downtown Marina)

Today, we were underway 2 hours and 58 minutes, going 21 miles (18.4 miles), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.2 knots). It was a short journey, so we had planned on leaving around 9:00 AM. However, as we know, boat plans are fluid.

As I was washing our breakfast dishes, I noticed out the kitchen window that our friends on LaRea appeared to be stuck in the marina channel on the other side of De Viking. Tim said it wasn’t low tide, so they shouldn’t be stuck. We went out and shouted over to them and were told that they wrapped an anchor around their props, stopping both engines. They were basically anchored off their stern. The marina called a diver, who cut them free. They couldn’t start the engines with the diver in the water, so they drifted over to De Viking and in a group effort, they were pulled to the dock and secured.

At this point, it was 10:00 AM. With nothing more we could do to help, we pulled out of the marina and hoped that we’d see LaRea in Troy later this afternoon. Our journey up to Albany, NY was industrial. We passed Coeymans Marine Terminal, where it looked like a bridge was being built. The Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (formerly the Tappan Zee Bridge) that we passed back near NYC, was built here and float down the Hudson River and put into place.

Albany is the capital of New York and its oldest city. It was settled by the Dutch in 1614, but the English took it over in 1664 and renamed it Albany in honor of the Duke of Albany. It became the capital of New York in 1797 after formation of the United States. Albany is the oldest surviving settlement of the original British thirteen colonies north of Virginia. Its capitol building was completed in 1899. At a price equivalent to $774 million dollars today, it was the most expensive government building of its time.

From Albany to Troy was just about 6 miles. We pulled up to the wall at Troy Downtown Marina around 1:00 PM. The Waterfront Farmer’s Market was going on until 2:00 PM, so we quickly hooked up our water and electric and headed up the riverwalk to downtown. The Farmer’s Market was huge – taking up multiple streets, with more than 80 food growers, bakers, chefs and artisans. We made the most of our short time and bought blueberries, biscotti, salami, chorizo and apple jack whiskey – all homemade and local!

After the fun of the Farmer’s Market, we had some work to do. We took the radar scanner down from the arch, so that we can make it under the low bridges of the Erie Canal. We also got out all of our fenders to protect HOMES from the canal walls. We’ll begin our journey on the Erie Canal on Monday.

The evening was time for fun again. We finally met back up with Looper friends on Annie B, who we first met back at Mackinaw City, MI. We also did a wine tasting trip with them and another Looper couple back in Petoskey, MI. It was nice catching up. Nevin fell off the boat back in January, when they were preparing for the tornado in Panama City, FL. He broke his leg and they had to go home for two months. At dinner, we learned that their son, Joe Saylor, is the drummer and co-leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. We were also joined by our new friends on LaRea. Fortunately, their boat was fine after the diver cut away an 2-inch diameter ship rope that had anchored them as they tried to leave Shady Harbor this morning. Only one week into their Loop and they are collecting stories already! We capped off our evening sitting on the back deck.

Sunday, July 14, 2024 – Troy, NY (Troy Downtown Marina) – Layover day.

Today is a day of much needed rest and relaxation. We have been moving everyday since leaving Cape May, NJ last Monday. We slept in until 9:00 AM. However, we were up briefly at 4:00 AM. I flew out of bed when I head voices and felt the boat wobble, which made the back door jiggle. There was no one on our boat, but we saw two drunk girls laughing and taking pictures. One was standing on Annie B’s swim platform getting her picture taken by the other girl. Tim turned our spotlight on them and they quickly ran away, laughing as they ran. No harm done.

This morning, after coffee on the back deck, Tim checked our route plan for tomorrow, which will take us through 7 locks of the Erie Canal. He also filled our water tank and moved fuel around, so that can fill up with diesel today. He always polishes the fuel from the back two tanks to the front tanks, making room for new fuel in the back tanks.

We will go walk around downtown Troy this evening when it cools down. I did the history of Troy in my blog two years ago. When we were here then, the HBO series, Gilded Age, was being filmed. This year, Season 3 will be filmed in Troy, Albany and Schenectady from August 5-23. We’re sorry to miss it. It was amazing seeing all of the costumed actors.

Our last chore of the day was to fill up the diesel tanks. We had to untie and drive HOMES the 50 yards up to the fuel pump. After filling up, we just pulled HOMES back to our original spot because the tide helped us move her back. We were hot a sweaty when that task was done and ready for lunch. It’s 90 degrees today!

As I finish up this blog, I am sitting beside the Green Island Bridge. This 1981 lift bridge looks more futuristic than the other bridges we’ve seen on the Hudson. The original wood-truss covered bridge built in 1832 was destroyed by fire in 1862. A spark from a passing locomotive started the fire and the burning debris floating down the river threatened steamboats and smaller crafts tied up along the wharves. By the time it was over, the fire consumed more than 500 buildings in downtown Troy. Most of towns that we have visited on our trip have a devastating fire story in their history.

We will leave you here, but tune in next week as we begin our journey through the Erie Canal.

Thank you for reading!

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July 1 – 7, 2024 – Chesapeake City, MD to Cape May, NJ

Highlights this week: Philadelphia – history, food and a visit from friends; a dragging anchor; and, briefly being stuck in the mud.

We completed another month of cruising. In June, we took an enjoyable two-week break to go home, so we only traveled 15 days. However, we still went 693 miles (602.1 nm), at an average speed of 7.8 MPH (6.8 knots.) We started near Myrtle Beach, SC and traveled through North Carolina, Virginia, and ended in Maryland – just miles away from the Delaware boarder.

Now that we have cruised a month with our new lithium iron phosphate battery system, we thought it would be a good time for a review. In short, Tim is estatic with them! We can now be at anchor all night and use only 40% of our power – using no generator! If we will be anchoring for a 2nd night, we will run the generator, while cruising the next day, for 1-1/2 hours to be charged back to 100%. In the past, when at anchor, we’d run the generator for at least 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. The two benefits of this upgrade are: 1) using less diesel – going from using 7.2 gallons to only 1.8 gallons; and 2) putting fewer hours on our generator – meaning less maintenance and oil changes.

Our old system had: 1) two gel cell batteries, with a combined 450 amp hours of power; 2) a 40 amp battery charger; and 3) a 1800 watt inverter. Our new system has: 1) two lithium iron phosphate batteries, with a combined 400 amp hours of power, 2) a 30 amp DC to DC charger; 3) a digital battery monitor; 4) a 3000 watt 100 amp inverter/charger; and 5) a Victron inverter remote control.

If you are considering this upgrade, we’d recommended going to a Victron dealer. The guys in St. Augustine were not specialists. After a week we knew that we needed more than a 30 amp charger. Fortunately, over our break in Portsmouth, VA, we happened to walk past a Victron dealer. Claude of Prudent Mariners visited the boat, analyzed our problem and installed the last two items above – making it the system that Tim is ecstatic over!

Monday, July 1, 2024 – Chesapeake City, MD (Chesapeake City Anchorage) to Essington, PA (Tinicum Island Anchorage)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 36 minutes, going 42 miles (36.5 nm), at an average speed of 6 MPH (5.5 knots). The goal of today’s voyage was to get close to Philadelphia, so we can time the tide for tomorrow’s journey.

When we left you last Sunday afternoon, we had endured one of our most hot and humid days of our whole trip. There was absolutely no breeze! Shortly after getting anchored in the little harbor of Chesapeake City, two rain storms passed through. The second one, thankfully, cooled things down.

This morning, it was actually a little on the cool side, after sweating standing still yesterday. Crazy weather! After we had our coffee and Tim did his engine checks, we pulled out of the anchorage around 9:00 AM.

When we entered Chesapeake City yesterday, we had just entered the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal. The first half our our journey today was traversing this 14-mile long, 450-foot wide and 35-foot deep ship canal that connects the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River. The idea for this canal was supported by Benjamin Franklin and other business leaders in 1788. However, the canal did not open until 1829. It was one of the most expensive canal projects of its time – the equivalent to $89.1 million dollars today. The canal saves approximately 300 miles on the route between Philadelphia on the Delaware River to Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay.

Shortly after leaving Chesapeake City, we crossed into the state of Delaware. Once we emerged onto the Delaware River, we took a left and headed north toward Philadelphia – new water for us! From entering the Delaware River until anchoring, we fought a strong current – hence our average speed of 6 MPH today! The Delaware River is a working river. We were passed by several freighters.

Not far up the Delaware River, we passed Fort Delaware. The polygonal-shaped fort, on Pea Patch Island, was built mainly between 1848 and 1860. It was used as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts and privateers. That is probably why it is well-known for its “ghostly” activities and has been featured on the paranormal T.V. show, Ghost Hunters.

As we continued up the Delaware River, we followed along the state lines of Delaware and New Jersey. Our journey took us under the Delaware Memorial Bridge and past the busy port of Wilmington, DE. We watched new cars being loaded onto a Hoegh Autoliner ship. This company is a leading global provider of ocean transportation of cars, trucks and heavy machinery. It is fun wondering where these cars will end up.

The river then took a bend and soon we entered a new state for HOMES – Pennsylvania. After passing we under the Commodore Barry Bridge, which connects Chester, PA and Bridgeport, NJ, we were clearly in the outskirts of Philadelphia! We passed the Subaru Stadium, where Philadelphia’s soccer team – the Philadelphia Union– play. We passed Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack. Then, we anchored near Essington, PA – right beside the Philadelphia International Airport. It was a noisy evening with the jets going over, but we picked this anchorage to position ourselves for a short trip to Penn’s landing tomorrow – making it easier to time the tides.

Tuesday, July 2, 2024 – Essington, PA (Tinicum Island Anchorage) to Philadelphia, PA (Penn’s Landing)

Today, on our voyage to Philadelphia, we were underway 2 hours and 15 minutes, going only 16 miles (13.7 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.1 knots.) The trip went quickly because the high tide was pushing us, with a maximum speed of 9.7 MPH (8.4 nm) !

The noise of the jet traffic didn’t bother us overnight. We pulled up anchor around 9:00 AM and made our way back around Little Tinicum Island. We soon passed by Philadelphia International Airport. We cruised under Walt Whitman Bridge, which seemed like an ironic name for a bridge along the industrial Delaware River. However, a quick search revealed that this poet of Leaves of Grass, who praised nature and the individuals human’s role in it, died in nearby Camden, NJ.

The Philadelphia skyline continued to grow as we cruised by derelict docks, warehouses and the SS United States. This retired 1951 ocean liner, is the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the United State and on its maiden voyage, in 1952, it broke the record for fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic – 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, at 40 MPH. It broke the record of British Royal Ship Queen Elizabeth – a source of great national pride at the time. A conservation group is hoping the save this piece of American pride, but their efforts are at a critical point, since a judge has ordered the SS United States to leave her pier by September 2024. The company that is now leasing the pier wants to develop the area, so it raised the rent for docking the ship from $850/day to $1,700/day – getting an eviction order as soon as the the rent could not be paid. We’ll have to see what happens in September.

Once Penn’s Landing came into view, Tim radioed Rick at the marina and received our dock assignment. Rick recommended a stern-in, starboard tie. By the time Tim had negotiated the entrance of the marina and was backing into the slip, I had gotten the lines and fenders moved to the starboard side. I handed the lines off the Rick and Jimmy who were waiting on the dock. I enjoyed their heavy Philadelphia accents – like in the movie Rocky. They were funny too, battering about giving the lines to the “younger” guy. Rick is 79 and said Jimmy is younger, but I wouldn’t say by much! They both worked hard and quickly got us secured.

We didn’t waste much time in the marina and were out exploring by 12:30 PM. We visited the Benjamin Franklin Museum and marveled at his inventions- the glass armonica; creating the first batteries and coining the terms “battery”, “positive charge” and “negative charge;” charting and publishing the first Gulf Stream chart, which reduce the time of lengthly ocean crossings. We also visited a reproduction of Franklin’s printing office. His profession as a printer was the source of his fortune. He didn’t enter politics until he retired at the age of 42. The printing press process may be in our distant past; however, its roots are still visible in our present. While setting type, the capital letters were kept in the printer’s “upper case” and the small letters were kept in his “lower case.” Tim made a rare souvenir purchase. He couldn’t pass up the Benjamin Franklin reading classes. However, they are practical, since they are the same strength as his drug-store readers.

Our journey then took us to the Betsy Ross House. A must stop since I was Betsy Ross in my 3rd grade 1976 Bicentennial play at Hayes Elementary School. That Christmas, my mom bought me a Betsy Ross Christmas tree ornament. Still, every year as I put that ornament on the tree, I say my part, “My name is Betsy Ross. I was in the Revolution too. With my needle and tread, I made the flag, red, white and blue.” 😁 Betsy Ross (1752-1836) was a successful upholsterer, producing flags for the government for over 50 years. She didn’t become a patriotic icon until nearly 100 years later when her grandson told the tale of General George Washington visiting Ross in the summer of 1776, after which she helped to design and sew the first “stars and stripes” of the U.S. flag. The story is unlikely, since the flag’s design was not fixed until later in 1776 or 1777. However, true story or not, Ross still represents the many widowed women who worked and supported their families during this time in history.

Seeing no street vendors selling pretzels, we need headed up Market Street to Reading Terminal Market – one of America’s largest and oldest public markets. Housed since 1839 in this National Historic Landmark building, the Market has restaurants, locally grown and exotic produce, locally sourced meats and poultry, seafood, cheese, baked goods, confections… and yes – pretzels! I acquired my love of Philadelphia pretzels when I attended paralegal school here in the summer of 1990.

In celebration of July 4th, the entrance fees to the big attractions and museums are free. Therefore, the lines to Independence Hall, were so long that we didn’t even try to go inside. Earlier in the day, the line for the Liberty Bell was wrapped around the building; however, on our walk back to HOMES, there was no line at all, so quickly entered the building.

The Liberty Bell, like Betsy Ross, is shrouded in myths. It is unlikely that it rang on July 4th or July 8th, 1776, since the statehouse steeple was under repair. It was made in 1751 for the Pennsylvania Assembly to mark the 50-year anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges, which served as Pennsylvania’s original constitutional. It arrived in Philadelphia in 1752 and is believe to have cracked when it was tested upon its arrival. It did toll to mark the singing of the Constitution, and the deaths of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. It has not tolled since February 1846, when the last crack happened, as it tolled in celebration of George Washington’s Birthday.

After visiting the Liberty Bell, we headed back to HOME, stopping at Khyber Pass Pub for a drink and to rest our feet. The building functioned as a saloon crafted by German woodworkers and used in the Centennial Celebration in 1876.

That evening, we got a surprise when we walked around the deck enjoying the city lights. We heard the distant music of a concert. The more I listened, I recognized Alanis Morissette! Since I knew that she and Joan Jett were touring this summer, I quickly Googled and found that they were performing right across the Delaware River from us in Camden, NJ. We missed Joan Jett, so we didn’t get to hear her sing her classic 1981 hit, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll; however, we did listen to Alanis sing her 1990s hits, including songs from her hit 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill. A nice end to a great day!

Wednesday, July 3, 2024 – Philadelphia, PA (Penn’s Landing Marina)- Layover Day

This morning, we walked the 1.7 miles up to Rittenhouse Square to see where I lived during the summer of 1990, while going The Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training. At the time, it was one of the best paralegal schools in the country; however, it has since closed. Having it on my resume did help me get my first job at Crabbe, Brown, Jones, which began my life in Columbus, OH. The apartment building did not look at fancy as it had. The beautiful doors, which were once opened for me by the friendly doorman, were gone and now there were normal office doors with a security desk in the lobby. It has office space, as well as apartments, now. I don’t recall offices being in the building when I lived there.

When I was done reminiscing, we meandered our way toward City Hall and the Love Sign. Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love. The Love Sign was placed on John F. Kennedy Plaza for the 1976 Bicentennial. The massive City Hall, with over 1 million square feet of space, was built from 1872-1901 and stands in Penn Square.

We then headed across Penn Square and over to the Wanamaker Department Store on Market Street. It is now a Macy’s, but when it opened in 1876, it was one of the first department stores in the United States. John Wanamaker was influential in the development of the retail industry and created the first price tags. In 1910, he expanded this store to the 12-story building that it is. It was the first retail store in the nation to have electricity – blazing to life on Dec. 26, 1878. Some people who watched laid wages that is could not be lighted. In 1911, President William Howard Taft, an Ohio native, attended the dedication of the expanded store – making it the only department store to have a presidential distinction. If you are my age, you may remember the store from the 1987 movie Mannequin, featuring the Starship song, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. Or…perhaps that was more of an exciting tidbit in 1990, when I first visited the store. 😁

After all of this walking, we were hungry, so we headed over a few blocks to Chinatown for lunch at Chu Shang Spicy. Philadelphia’s Chinatown was born in 1871 as many Chinese immigrants fled the anti-Chinese sentiment in the west. At that time, like most Chinatowns of the day, it was a dangerous and undesirable place. However, after WWII, liberalized immigration policies toward the Chinese transformed Chinatown into a family-oriented community. In 1966, the whole area was to be razed for an expressway, but the Chinese community pulled together, forming the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Their efforts paid off and Chinatown has persevered even as other developments encroach upon their neighborhood.

After lunch, we meandered back to HOMES to escape the afternoon heat and to spend time making route plans and reservations for our next few days after leaving Philadelphia. In the evening, we were treated to front row seats at the Camden, NJ fireworks show. We watched a tug push the fireworks barge into place, while listening to the Gin Blossoms, who were in concert across the water. Watching the fireworks shoot from the canisters on the barge was almost as captivating as the fireworks show!

Thursday, July 4, 2024 – Philadelphia, PA (Penn’s Landing) – Layover Day

Today was an enjoyable day with our friends, Crystal and Eric. They were one of the couples who we went to Ireland with in 2023. We haven’t seen them since and were so happy that they could come visit – not the least bit deterred by the hour drive or construction around the marina. Crystal knows my obsession with Philly pretzels, but I never imagined that she’s arrive with a bag of 25!

After a tour of HOMES and enjoying some pretzels, we headed off to find explore and find some lunch. We walked along South Street until Eric decided that we weren’t too far from two iconic Philly cheesesteak places. So, we turned left on 9th St. and headed toward its corner with Passyunk Ave. Here, Geno’s Steaks reigns on one corner and Pat’s King of Steaks in on the other corner.

Dating back to the 1976 movie, Rocky, there has been an ongoing debate about which cheesesteak is better. Being in the neighborhood of the real-life boxer Rocky, in the movie, Sylvester Stallone eats at Pat’s – sparking the rivalry. Therefore, we decided to do our own taste test! Tim and Eric ordered a Geno’s “wit” (meaning with onions) and provolone cheese. Crystal and I headed over to Pat’s and ordered one with “Whiz” (the yellow cheese sauce), but no “wit.” While Pat’s is credited with introducing the original Philly cheesesteak in 1930 and wears the crown as King of Steaks, we all preferred Geno’s, which opened in 1966. We preferred Geno’s tastier roll and less greasy meat. We also preferred the provolone cheese on Geno’s better than the Whiz on Pat’s – so perhaps were weren’t comparing apples to apples. However, Geno’s also had better napkins, despite not having their logo on them like Pat’s. 😁

Despite just having consumed two halves of cheesesteaks, we left Geno’s on a hunt for ice cream. We know from our Ireland trip that Eric enjoys his ice cream! Luckily it wasn’t hard to find multiple ice cream places. Eric picked Franklin Ice Cream, prompting Tim to don his Ben Franklin reading glasses. After meandering back to Penn’s Landing, we had a drink at Liberty Point. The breeze off the river made the heat a little less as oppressive. It was entertaining watching the people board the ferry – many wearing Willie Nelson t-shirts. At age 91, Willie Nelson is still performing this afternoon, where the Gin Blossoms performed last night.

It was such a fantastic day with Crystal and Eric! Time spent with friends is alway special. We hope to do more traveling with them and our other “Ireland Peeps” next year.

We could not see the Philadelphia fireworks display from the boat and we had no intentions of walking over a few blocks to see them. So, we sat on the top deck and watched people go by while enjoying the fireworks going off in the surrounding communities. What a great 4th of July!

Friday, July 5, 2024 – Philadelphia, PA (Penn’s Landing Marina) to Port Penn, DE (Reedy Island Anchorage)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 21 minutes, going 47 miles (40.7 nm), at an average speed of 7.4 MPH (6.4 knots).

After three fun days in Philadelphia, we pulled away from Penn’s Landing. William Penn actually landed a little farther south in Chester in 1682, but Philadelphia purchased the naming rights.

It’s funny how things change. When I lived here in 1990, what is now Penn’s Landing was the industrial area of the Naval Shipyard, established in 1776, during the American Revolution. The Shipyard closed in 1991, due to reduced need for ships at the end of the Cold War and because of foreign competition. Also in 1990, as a paralegal student, I was well aware that the shipyard was the heart of the mesothelioma litigation. This litigation was initiated by veterans and civilian shipyard workers exposed to the asbestos, used in shipbuilding from the 1930s to the 1980s.

After leaving the Penn’s Landing Marina, we had to fight the current of the high tide, as we journey back down the Delaware River, at about 4.4 knots; however, we needed the water provided by the high tide to have enough water to exit the marina – so it’s a give and take. When the tide turned, we got up huge push and reached a speed of 9.7 knots! Around 2:00 PM, we crossed back into New Jersey, with I-495 and an Amtrak line running along side us. Once we got back the C & D Canal, where we emerged from back on Monday, we knew that we were nearly at our Reedy Island anchorage. We pulled through the narrow entrance to the anchorage and attempted to anchor many times without success. The wind and the current were fighting each other, so we let HOMES sit and chose the direction to anchor. We thought we were set for a few hours, but the anchor was slowly dragging. Therefore, we decided to pull up the anchor and try again, right before dark. The anchor never did dig in. However, even with the dragging, the anchor alarm never went off, so we went to bed and set our alarm to get up and recheck at 12:30 AM.

Saturday, July 6, 2024 – Port Penn, DE (Reedy Island Anchorage) to Cape May, NJ (Canyon Club Resort Marina)

Today, we were underway 6 hours and 51 minutes, going 55 miles (47.9 nm), at an average speed of 8 MPH (7 knots).

Fortunately, the anchor alarm never went off overnight. Despite the anchor dragging on the incoming tide last evening, it held fast once the tide turned around midnight. At that point, the tide turned HOMES 180 degrees and the anchor just wrapped in the mud – holding us tight. We did get up at 12:30 AM, 2:30 AM and 4:00 AM to check our position. When we got up at 6:30 AM, we were right over top our anchor, so all was good. We pulled out of our anchorage around 8:00 AM and began our journey down the Delaware River to Cape May, NJ.

The Delaware River is the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi River. It runs 330 miles, flowing from New York, through Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Today, we are following down the split between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. The River becomes more salty the closer we get to the Delaware Bay and the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. The Bay varies in width from about 4 miles to 30 miles.

To get to our marina we turned off the Delaware Bay and took the Cape May Canal over Cape May Harbor. This 3.3-mile long canal was built during World War II to provide a protected shipping route to avoid German U-boats operating off Cape May Point. At low tide, the canal is narrow and shallow, so Tim went slowly.

Before going under the NJ-109 Cape May Canal Bridge, Tim called Canyon Club Resort Marina to get our slip assignment. Since it would be a port-side tie, I had to move the fenders over from the starboard side and move one line. Our slip was actually on the T-head/fuel dock. Tim was using the wind expertly to blow us into the dock, but then we stopped about 15 feet from the dock. He used the thrusters and still no movement! We were stuck in the mud! Like I said, it was low tide. The dock hands tied us off, and as the tide came in, the dock hands pulled us over. Tim told them to just wait and let the wind do the work, but these young guys had a good time using their strength to pull us over.

Sunday, July 7, 2024 – Cape May, NJ (Canyon Club Resort Marina) – Layover Day

Today, we had a a well-deserved and much-needed leisurely morning. In the afternoon, we took the marina’s shuttle up to Washington Street and walked around. Tim actually bought two pairs of shorts! When we’d had enough of the hot and humid weather, we went shopping at the grocery store and the beer store (two different stores in Cape May) and then called for the marina’s shuttle. For the rest of this hot afternoon, we will stay inside HOMES to do laundry and cook. This evening, we may take the shuttle or walk to C-View Inn. It looks like a cute pub.

Tomorrow, we plan to leave the marina around 2:00 PM and do an overnight journey up the Atlantic Ocean to Sandy Hook, NJ – which is just inside the mouth of the bay leading up to the New York Harbor. Last time, we did this trip with two stops – one in Atlantic City, NJ and one in Brielle, NJ. However, we did not like Atlantic City and getting into the marina in Brielle is difficult unless you time the tides correctly – which we did not do last time because we ran out of fuel on the Atlantic Ocean and it took Tim about 45-minutes to get the engines running again (that would be a good blog the revisit 😁). Therefore, we are doing an uncharacteristic journey tomorrow. We’ve only done one overnight voyage before, which was across the Gulf of Mexico. That one went well, so here’s hoping for another good voyage!

Tune in next week to see how our 18-hour voyage up the Atlantic Ocean to Sandy Hook, NJ goes. If all goes as planned, by next Sunday, we should be on the Hudson River near the Erie Canal.

Thanks for reading!

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