daily routines – The Voyages of Nine Lives

August 1 to 15, 2019 – Henry’s Fish Camp to Gore Bay

Henry’s Fish Restaurant, on Frying Pan Island, is considered a must stop on the Great Loop. We knew it would get crowded, so we set off in good time and arrived around 11am. It was quite something watching all the arrivals, including seaplanes, a large charter group, and pleasure boats as large as 50 feet and as small as wave runners. Arrivals were wrangled by the new owner’s father acting as dockmaster, and wrangled is the right word. Only the larger pleasure boats call on the radio and ask for dock assignments, the smaller boats just zoom in and park wherever they please, regardless of whether they are blocking other boats. The docks are long fingers, designed to hold several boats one behind the other, so it matters who ties up where! Henry’s is on an island, and typically serves about 350 meals on a weekday, and over 700 every day on weekends. Lunch is busier than dinner.

Henrys 3 — The busy dock at Henry’s, before the lunch rush begins

We met a few Loopers who stopped for a meal and then anchored elsewhere. Carefully timing our dinner for a less busy period, we enjoyed our fish, although portions were huge and we certainly didn’t need the appetizers! Something strange is going on with the reviews. The owners took over the restaurant last year, and locals have been trashing the place on both Trip Advisor and Active Captain, and even spreading unfounded rumours at nearby marinas. We enjoyed our visit very much, and felt bad for the owners, who are certainly putting great efforts into making it a great experience.

Henrys fish chowder — Dick enjoyed fish chowder to start

Henrys smoked fish — A large portion of smoked salmon with cream cheese was too much with what was to come!

Henrys fish and chips — Fish and Chips at Henry’s, battered pickerel, chips, coleslaw, and baked beans!

Henrys dock — After dinner at Henry’s you can sit on the dock and watch the world go by

Leaving Henry’s, we had a pretty trip to Parry Sound. Georgian Bay was unusually calm, so we chose to avoid the white-knuckle channels and go around outside. In Parry Sound there were 8 Looper boats in the first evening, and a get-together for docktails on the shore. Among the stories exchanged was an experience with Canada Customs. The wife happened to have some CBD oil on board, which she declared when asked. They were immediately told to stay on the boat and wait for an inspection. Said CBD oil was confiscated. What made everyone laugh, was the helpful Customs inspector told the lady she could buy a replacement at a shop less than half a block from where they were tied up! The chuckles were not over, we next heard that upon arriving in the store, the husband noticed pre-rolled joints for sale. Suddenly feeling nostalgic for his student days, he decided to buy one. Returning to the boat, he smoked a little of it, concluded that the experience was not quite the same as his memories, and tried to put it out. He had us all laughing as he described trying to get this thing to go out, without success. A great storyteller! He concluded “they don’t make ‘em like they used to!”

Parry Sound marina — Stormy skies over Parry Sound Marina

Parry Sound sunset — The sun sets behind one of Georgian Bay’s distinctive tall pines on Parry Sound.

While in Parry Sound we booked a meal at Log Cabin Fine Dining. Dick discovered that Trip Advisor had the location wrong, instead of a .8-mile bike ride it was 4 miles away. For only the second time in our Looping travels we had to call a taxi. We were joined by our friends Brenda and Bruce from B-Side, and the meal was worth the taxi and then some. In fact, we are booked to stay there when we travel south later in the month to attend Mum’s birthday party. The next day was occupied with general maintenance, Dick changed the oil on the generator and replaced a burned-out fan, while I did the laundry.

Log Cabin elk carpaccio — Elk carpaccio at Log Cabin Inn

Parry Sound waterfront 2 — The trestle bridge that crosses the river in Parry Sound is the longest east of the Rockies. Built in 1907, it is 1695 feet long and 105 feet high. It is still in regular use. A tall ship can be seen leaving the docks.

Parry Sound tall ship — Another look at the tall ship leaving Parry Sound. It left the docks entirely under sail, no engine.

Monday was a holiday, so we continued our stay in Parry Sound. Boat cleaning day, inside and out, and then Dick did a provision run on his bike while I scrubbed the white ball fenders of all the grunge that had accumulated in the locks. The barrel fenders got their covers back on (we take them off for locks, because we find the knit fabric hangs up on the rough lock walls), and Nine Lives again looks shipshape! In the afternoon we took a seaplane tour of the 30,000 islands. It was an interesting experience seeing where we had been from the air, including flying over Henry’s, but we both agreed that the very limited sight lines of a Cessna compared to a helicopter make it not really worth the trip. I have never been in a seaplane before though, so it was a new experience.

Parry Sound refuelling seaplane — Refuelling our seaplane before we got on board.

Georgian Bay from the air 1 — Georgian Bay from the air. Note the boats rafted up in one of the many anchorages.

Georgian Bay from the air 2 — You can see all the small islands of Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay from the air 3 — Some of the protected bays and inlets of the 30,000 Islands

Georgian Bay from the air 4 — From the air you can see how clear the water is, and how many rocks lie just below to catch the unwary boater!

Georgian Bay from the air 5 — Many of the islands have large homes on them, often built and maintained at great cost and only visited for two or three weeks a year.

Georgian Bay from the air 6 — A last look at 30,000 Islands!

I have been musing over boat names lately. It is interesting to speculate on why someone names their boat as they do. Some are clever, such as our friends Brenda and Bruce on their catamaran B-Side (you gotta be old enough to remember 45rpm records). Last year we met Loopers whose boat was Fun. When calling marinas or bridges, they of course follow protocol, repeating the boat name 3 times. They told us half the people who hear something like “Lock 23, Lock 23, Lock 23, this is Fun Fun Fun” have trouble responding they are laughing so hard. (Not to mention hearing The Beach Boys in their heads for the rest of the day). Apres Sail ensures that everyone knows there are former sailors on board, and of course Nine Lives is named because she is a CATamaran. Red Boat is a beautifully kept sailboat with a bright red hull and matching dinghy. Some names clearly have meaning to their owners, but are not so obvious to the observer. A boat called French Toast? Sailboats are often evocative, North Star, Windrunner, Orion. But I could not believe the one I saw at Henry’s. This was a large, sleek, fast motor yacht, about 45 feet, (the kind that throws us around as they speed past us, throwing wakes that rock our boat madly from side to side), with a middle-aged couple on board. The name? Grand Wazoo. Now I realize there is a recording by Frank Zappa by that name (quite nasty lyrics), but I cannot imagine the owner has actually looked up the meaning of Wazoo. And what’s more, he is boasting that he is a really big one! (my gentle readers are going to have to look this up for themselves).

We ventured through the narrow channel known as Hole in the Wall as we left Parry Sound.

On August 6 we were again underway, this time hoping to tie up at what was called a “Government Dock” in Point au Baril Station. After traveling a long way up the channel, we arrived in what looked like an interesting village to find no evidence of the so-called government dock, and a clear sign on the public dock saying that boats longer than 30 feet are strictly forbidden from docking. Retracing our steps part way, we found a very pleasant anchorage in Kitsilano Bay for the night.

Kitsilano Bay anchorage — Our anchorage in pretty Kitsilano Bay in early morning.

Heading out the next morning we passed one of the iconic lighthouses of Georgian Bay. In fact, almost all of the Canadian lighthouses I have seen follow a similar design. Instead of the tall round tower that is more familiar in the USA or Britain, Canadian lighthouses are often a fairly short clapboard structure that tapers to the light. They are painted white, with distinctive red trim. Many are still in use, although most are unmanned.

Pointe au Baril Lighthouse 3 — Pointe au Baril Lighthouse

A closer look at Pointe au Baril Lighthouse

The next day our destination was Britt, up Byng Inlet. We planned to stay just one night, but high winds in the Bay kept us there for 5 nights. Not really complaining, it was only our second weather delay of this year’s voyage, compared to how much time we were stormbound in previous years. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to Britt. We rode our bikes into “town” to visit the post office, and ate a meal at the only restaurant on the way back. We got together with other Loopers the first evening for docktails. A few boats left the next morning, but we didn’t like the forecast. Instead we spent a most enjoyable afternoon playing bridge with Brenda and Bruce and listened to the wind howling around us. Saturday morning one of the remaining Loopers left at 7am, but were back an hour later reporting 4-foot waves (instead of the 1.5 foot that were predicted) and double-digit winds. We had been just about to start our engines, but we shut everything down and made another afternoon bridge date. Finally, Sunday with a 6:30am start we were able to say goodbye to Byng Inlet. We are too large for the so-called small craft channel, especially on windy days, so we ran outside at our top speed of 18 knots. It was unpleasant at first, but gradually the waves settled down. We were glad we had taken the picture off the salon wall and generally prepared for rough seas. We had forgotten that when it is very rough the water actually splashes up into the bathroom sinks. Dick thinks this is an excellent way of clearing the U-trap of any accumulated crud.

We turned off Georgian Bay into Beaverstone Inlet and then made our way along Collins Inlet. This was one of the most scenic routes we have seen. It was a geology lesson in miniature, more rugged than further south, but stunning.

Collins Inlet 2 — High water has killed many small trees at the water’s edge in Ontario this year

Collins Inlet 3 — Spectacular scenery of Collins Inlet

Collins Inlet 6 — A sailboat leaves the narrowest part of Collins Inlet.

Collins Inlet 8 — A geology lesson from the waters of Collins Inlet

Collins Inlet 9 — Approaching one of the narrow channels of Collins Inlet

Collins Inlet 10 — When the channel is this narrow, it is important to “colour between the lines!”

In Killarney we tied up at Killarney Mountain Lodge. The marina has good docks but inconvenient showers and unusable wi-fi. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable stop and I always like watching the boat traffic. Docks there are long, requiring boats to be moored two-deep. We arrived and were trying to tie up behind another boat, with a very strong current pushing us off the dock and dockhands who were very young, confused, and incapable of taking instructions. The owner of the large boat in front of us was also trying to explain to us that he would be leaving in the morning and we should tie up elsewhere. Apparently the Dockmaster had left for the day, and the young lady in charge was clearly inexperienced. Announcing ourselves before arrival as a 44-foot catamaran with a 19-foot beam was apparently unclear to her. Eventually we were moved to a more suitable slip. Meanwhile, the other captain proved to be a very friendly and chatty individual. He entertained us with his story of the morning before. He had bought a muffin at the small kiosk on the shore, and was eating it when he noticed a small dinghy coming into the dock. Helpful chap that he is, he stepped up and took the line and was just starting to tie it up when the Labrador on board lunged forward, snatched the rest of the muffin out of his hand and wolfed it down! Apparently, the dog’s owner was desperately embarrassed and insisted on replacing the muffin.

Killarney Mountain Lodge 2 — Killarney Mountain Lodge

We ate at the nearby Sportsman Inn that evening. Nice aspect overlooking another marina in the channel, food very tasty but rather overcooked. The next morning Dick prepared one of his special breakfasts on board. Later, I began working on the blog and became aware that someone else obviously likes Scottish music. The music got louder, and I looked up to see the tall ship Madeline moving majestically down the channel with a piper on the foredeck!

Killarney Sportsman Inn 2 — Fish supper at Sportsman Inn, tasty, but sadly overcooked.

Killarney is a small village about 25 miles from the mining city of Sudbury. It relies mainly on tourism, including fishing camps, boating, and general wilderness pursuits. It was first settled in 1820 by a French Canadian fur trader and his Anishinaabe wife, who established a trading post. Road access to the small community did not arrive until 1962. The town population is less than 500, but between the 4 marinas and two large hotels, it is bustling in the short summer season.

Killarney breakfast 1 — Dick begins to prepare breakfast on board

Killarney breakfast 2 — It’s ready, dishing it out!

Killarney breakfast 3 — English bacon, two eggs (lots of pepper), mushrooms, hash browns and toast, yummy!

Killarney tall ship 2 — Tall ship Madeline cruising through Killarney Channel. A piper plays bagpipes on the foredeck.

Killarney tall ship — Another look at Madeline

Killarney channel tugboat — A beautifully restored tugboat passing through Killarney Channel.

Killarney workboat — One of the large fishing vessels we have been seeing on Georgian Bay

We were delighted to see Brenda and Bruce arrive on B-Side the next day. We keep saying goodbye and then find ourselves once again in the same place. One of the great joys of Looping! We relaxed in the shade on the very comfortable chairs and then repaired to Nine Lives foredeck for docktails.

Killarney Mountain Lodge docks — That’s B-Side on the left. Nine lives is behind on the right hand dock.

Dinner that evening at the Lodge was excellent, such a contrast to the experience at Sportsman Inn, even though they are under the same ownership. Afterwards we went to the lounge to listen to the live entertainment. This was a young man, who brought with him at least 10 instruments. His music was a mix of Celtic and Canadian folk, with a few light rock thrown in for variety. He was a very talented player. What made his performance absolutely fascinating was a machine he called a “looper”. He would begin playing an instrument, and the looper recorded it. He would then play back the recording and accompany/harmonize, laying a new recording over the first. It was quite an amazing presentation, especially when he would switch instruments to add to the mix. He sang one song a capella, using two mikes, and gradually building up the chorus while singing the verses with the single voice. A most enjoyable evening!

Killarney Lodge crab cakes — Crab Cakes at Killarney Mountain Lodge

Killarney Lodge venison — The special was venison en croute, Dick said it was delicious!

Killarney entertainment — Evening entertainment at Killarney Mountain Lodge

Killarney channel 2 — The well stocked general store in Killarney, you can drive up by car, or by boat!

Killarney channel — Passing the Sportsman Inn as we leave Killarney

The next morning, we set off for Little Current on Manitoulin Island. One must pass under a bridge, formerly a railroad bridge, now converted to a single lane highway bridge. It opens only on the hour, but normally we would easily pass under its 20-foot height when closed. We still approached very carefully, knowing that this year’s high water is at least 5 feet above chart datum, and were preparing to ease under when the bridge tender kindly stepped out of his hut and called down that the bridge height is 13 feet. That would be 1.5 feet lower than we can duck under, so Dick had to reverse and wait for the opening, fortunately only 10 minutes later. Not an easy job, the current under the bridge in Little Current is not so little!

lighthouse near Little Current — Lighthouse on the point as we approach Little Current

Little Current bridge — Once a railway bridge, now a single lane highway bridge at Little Current. It opens only on the hour to allow boaters to pass.

Little Current was first settled in the late 1860’s, and is the main town on Manitoulin Island. An important port for Great Lakes shipping taking on wood for fuel in the 19^th century, today lumber is still an important part of the economy, along with agriculture and tourism. It is a well-kept village, with an outstanding municipal waterfront facility. The town wall is available for short term docking, and several floating docks make up the marina. Dick reports that the washroom/shower facilities are excellent, and well-spaced for access from all part of the marina. This should be obvious, but believe me, in so many places it isn’t. We were docked right beside the boardwalk. It is always enjoyable to watch people and boats coming and going and chat with passers-by.

Our next stop was Gore Bay, a deep V-shaped bay on the north side of Manitoulin. Docks at the marina are so long that the dockhands ride bicycles to get to the slip and help tie up. It is interesting how different people have different perspectives and reactions to the places we visit on the Loop. One Gold Looper we met waxed lyrical about Georgian Bay’s North Channel, telling us it is the most beautiful place he has ever cruised. In addition to completing the Great Loop, his usual cruising ground is the San Juan Islands off the west coast, and he spent last summer in Alaskan waters. To be honest, once we left Killarney and entered the North Channel, Dick and I are still waiting to see this amazing scenery he was talking about! So far it is attractive, but by no means the most beautiful we have seen since beginning the Great Loop! Another couple who cruise these waters most summers, when asked for recommendations by Dick, suggested spending two nights in Gore Bay. Once again, we are wondering why!

The next afternoon we rode our bikes the 3 kilometers to Janet Head Lighthouse, at the top of Gore Bay. The lighthouse is in private ownership, but it is open to visitors during summer months. Janet Head Lighthouse was built in 1879. The light, still operational, although now unmanned, can be seen for 11 miles into the North Channel. The building was built as a combination light station and home for the keeper and his family. The first keeper had 11 children. We wandered around inside, and found it surprisingly spacious, with 4 reasonable bedrooms, parlour, kitchen, and another front room. We could see that there is also a cellar, which would have been used as a cool room. During summer months the lighthouse was a warning beacon for Great Lakes shipping. In winter months it also directed sleighs carrying the mail along an ice highway from Gore Bay to Spanish between 1910 and 1924. This 35 kilometer route is still followed by snowmobiles in winter.

Janet Head Lighthouse 1 — Afternoon bike ride to Janet Head Lighthouse on Gore Bay

After visiting the lighthouse, we retraced our route and followed the bay around to its southern end. There is an important wetland and salmon run, and a boardwalk with interpretive signs offers visitors a chance to enjoy nature. We finished the day with excellent pizza at the restaurant near the marina.

Gore Bay wetlands — Wetlands at the southern end of Gore Bay

This update will likely be the last for a few weeks. Upon arrival next week in Sault Ste Marie, we will be taking 10 days to return to Brighton for Dick’s mother’s 90th birthday party. Returning to the boat, we will visit Sault Ste Marie and then make our way to Drummond Island, where Nine Lives will enjoy a well-earned rest for the winter.

July 5 to 24, 2017. Utica to Oswego and back to New Jersey

There and Back Again

On July 6^th the lock above us on the Erie Canal finally reopened and we were able to leave Utica and head for Oswego. The waters of the canal still looked like extra thick mushroom soup, and we had to keep a careful watch for floating logs, some of them whole trees that were partially submerged. We passed dredgers working on silted up areas, and other barges with workmen still gathering and cutting up debris.

Oneida Lake has a reputation for building up waves when the wind is from the west, and we wanted no further delays so we ran wide open (that means pushing the engines to just below their top speed, which gives us about 18 knots, as opposed to our normal travelling speed of 7 knots) and cut the journey time in half. Brewerton is on the northern shore of the lake and was our next stop. There is an attractive town dock, but we wanted to stop at one particular marina that Dick is planning to leave the boat with at the end of next season. They have heated indoor storage, so you don’t need to go through the rigmarole of winterizing. They also have excellent fuel prices, so we made a point of filling up!

North of Brewerton we passed a number of very nice cottages and full-time homes on the side of the canal before arriving at Three Rivers, the junction of the Erie and the Oswego Canals. The Oswego Canal was completed 3 years after the Erie Canal opened, and allows boats to travel directly north into Lake Ontario. 8 locks later we arrived in Oswego. Interestingly, the last two locks are right in the centre of town, and as you walk over the bridges you can see how the canal and the river have been kept separate.

Oswego is another old town that was once wealthy and has now lost much of its industry. In addition to being an important freshwater port it was also a railway hub. There were grain elevators and mills, the Kingsford starch factory, and textile mills. Today there is still a cement depot in the harbour, but most of the mills and factories are gone. We tied up at the Oswego marina, and prepared to leave the next morning for Kingston, Ontario.

There is a historic fort at Oswego that we did not explore on this visit, but there is also a marine museum, where we saw one of the tugs that was built for Operation Overlord in WWII. It was used to tow barges of ammunition and supplies in convoys across the English Channel to the Normandy beaches in 1944. After the war, she continued to work as a harbour tug for more than 40 years. We also went for a harbour ride on a solar powered wooden boat. This was an interesting experience, the boat was quite dreadful, all plywood, and extremely basic. The captain and his wife are very enthusiastic about their various projects, this one being their second solar powered boat, and a third is currently being built in a shed at Kingston (NY) harbor. We had seen the project when we stayed at the museum on our outbound journey. Dick was fascinated by the technology, whereas I was amazed at the complete lack of any safety briefing or life jackets on board when they are taking out members of the public. The liability issues are staggering. However, it is certainly a good cause. The boats are built by middle school students, closely supervised of course. It is often the first time any of these young people have ever picked up a hammer and nails.

Our original plans were to explore the Thousand Islands as far as Cornwall, and then work our way west towards Hamilton, eventually circumnavigating Lake Ontario before heading south towards home. Alas, the many weather delays changed these plans, but we were still expecting to cross Lake Ontario to Kingston and have time to visit Trenton, and friends and family further west. For once the weather was in our favour, and at 8am Dick turned on the chartplotter to plan the route to Kingston. At one mile outside Oswego Harbor, all the chart detail stopped. It wasn’t quite “Here Be Dragons” but close! When we bought the boat, everything had been equipped to such a high spec that it never occurred to Dick that the previous owner would not have bought the complete North America charts. With no paper charts for Canada either, we were not going to proceed, so Dick got busy and placed the order for the updated and complete charts, paying extra for “overnight” delivery. Nothing on the Navionics website suggested that they only process orders Mon-Fri (and this was a Saturday). Dick waited in vain on Sunday for the new charts. Then we gave it some more thought and realized that even if we did get another weather window we would risk getting stopped more times while travelling around Lake Ontario, and with a deadline for being back in Hilton Head we decided that Oswego would be our turnaround this year. Dick rented a car and visited his Mum while I stayed to keep an eye on the boat and Mr Tucker.

The evening before, we had one of the best get-togethers of the trip. We had enjoyed docktails with a group of Loopers earlier on the Erie Canal. The rest of that group got stuck in Ilion, two locks south of where we were in Utica, but once the canal reopened we all met again in Oswego. We gathered at a local restaurant and enjoyed a very pleasant evening of chat and consultation. One of the group is solo on a sailboat, he is Australian and has been planning to do the loop for nearly 15 years. He had spent time in Long Island Sound, and is now making his way around the loop with the rest of the pack. It was a great evening. The next morning, I stood on the stern of our docked boat and waved goodbye to all our new friends as they headed out across Lake Ontario and onwards.

Dick enjoyed visiting his Mom, and made a detour on the way back to shop at Wegmans, once our favourite supermarket when we lived in NY State. Then we waited some more for the not-even-close to overnight delivery of those pesky charts. They finally arrived at noon on Wednesday, and we decided we were quite tired of Oswego and ready to move on immediately!

On our return journey we are planning a combination of repeat visits to places we enjoyed, and new stops just to make things different. One new stop was Amsterdam on the Erie Canal. Another once wealthy town, but they have made major efforts to make it an attractive destination for boaters. There is a beautiful park on the river, with a bandshell and concerts weekly through the summer. You can tie up on the wall right in the park. Downtown has nicely restored buildings, but there is the usual sad problem that they are unable to attract a good mix of shopping and residential, so many of the shops are empty and those few that are open are a strange mix of tattoo parlours and wedding shops. East of Amsterdam we stayed overnight at the Schenectady Yacht Club, probably the prettiest location on the Erie Canal as the canal/river cuts through a gorge. After locking down through the final 6 lock flight we stopped again at Waterford. This is another village that has made efforts to attract boaters to the waterfront and the historic downtown. By this time, I was quite glad to get out of the Erie Canal and back into the Hudson River, with only one last lock to transit.

As we approached the lock above Albany, we watched replicas of the Nina and the Pinta travelling upstream on their way to Oswego and parts west. They looked quite strange with all their masts and rigging stepped and piled up on the decks. The authenticity stops at propulsion… they both have efficient modern motors to supplement their sails.

Our air conditioning pump was unreliable, so we stopped for an extra couple of nights at Shady Harbour in New Baltimore on the Hudson. The mechanic was able to get a replacement quickly. We certainly did not want to be travelling south into even greater heat and humidity without working air conditioning! That said, the other day this area had higher temperatures than Hilton Head, and the humidity was over 90%. I used the time to scrub the fenders with soapy water to get off most of the crud from the Erie Canal, and then Dick gave the boat a good wash as well.

I like the Hudson River. There is so much history and it is both beautiful and interesting with all the commercial traffic. One morning the river was completely covered in fog, and a big tanker passed, blowing its whistle every few minutes to warn oncoming traffic. We later read about the requirement for all cargo vessels to take on board a Hudson River pilot. He climbs up the side of the moving vessel in New York Harbour, and takes the ship up to Hyde Park, where another pilot takes over so they are always fully rested. Most of these ships have foreign crews, and many have never been through New York or on the Hudson before. The pilot must know how to navigate every kind of vessel, and these ships are huge! They run right through the winter, sometimes travelling in convoys because of ice.

We stopped again in Kingston, having enjoyed the Marine Museum and waterfront so much earlier. This time we tried the other restaurant we had noticed, and had the best meal so far on the trip. I had lobster ravioli that I will dream about for some time!

Our transit of New York Harbor was uneventful, if lumpy. This time most of the ferries and all of the NYFD vessels that had created such huge wakes on our outbound journey were not there, but there were a lot of sailboats enjoying the brisk winds. They all have the right of way when they are under sail, so we had to keep a sharp lookout and try to anticipate where they might be going. There was also very confusing chatter on the radios, with crackle, jargon, and add strong New York accents into the mix and it was impossible to work out what was going on and what we should be looking out for. After we had passed under the Verrazano Narrows bridge and were heading west along Staten Island I looked back and could see what we missed. There was a huge autocarrier that came out just behind us, followed by another big tanker. Timing is everything, it would have been nasty to try to get out of their way in the busy harbour!

We are now in Great Kills, New Jersey, again waiting for a weather window. It is incredible how weather dependent we are. We knew intellectually that we would experience delays, but actually living it has been a big surprise to both of us. It is not rain we worry about, it is winds and currents, as well as fog and thunderstorms. The winds and currents must both be in our favour before we can set off. We already know how unpleasant (and scary) it gets if we are caught in unexpected conditions. Even when everything is “perfect” it can be very bouncy at certain times such as when we came through New York Harbor with the tide behind us, the wind in front of us, and the East River outlet on our beam! We arrived here on Saturday and don’t expect the conditions to be acceptable until at least Thursday. Of course, you have to keep checking, the forecasts change continually. I have three different weather apps on my phone, and Dick has at least two others, and we look at all of them two or three times a day.

So, what is a typical day on our boat? Well, of course it depends on whether we are staying in port or planning to get underway. I tend to get up pretty early, usually between 5:30 and 6:00. I make a pot of coffee and wash up any dishes from the previous day. We both like our quiet mornings, sitting in the cockpit with coffee and watching the world wake up. Dick gets out his laptop and catches up with news and weather, and we both read the daily digest of the Great Loop forum. If we are heading out we try to go sometime between 8 and 9am, but this might also be dependent on the tide. If the tide is against us we will take longer and use more fuel to arrive at our destination, so some days it is better to wait until it has turned. When the time comes the engines are started, various lines and fenders reorganized, Tucker gets his harness put on, and the gate at the top of the steps is put up. Once we are underway we can close up the cockpit and take away the gate so Tucker can come up and enjoy the wind and be with his people. Unfortunately, if it is a day on a canal with locks, Tucker has to stay below because we need to be able to step in and out through the doors. It takes two of us to hold the boat in position in a lock. I bring the boat in, and Dick catches the lock-side ropes or wraps a line around the pipe that goes down the side of the lock. Then I can shut off the engines and get out and hold the stern rope to keep us in place. When the lock doors open I start the engines and drive the boat out.

Most of the time Dick does the driving. The seat is too far back for me to really see well, so I have to stand to drive, which gets tiring very quickly. I also prefer Dick to take the helm in tricky winds or currents. He is calmer than I am, not to mention if somebody is going to bump hard into the dock because of winds or currents I would much rather it was him! Instead I stand at the rail and throw the lines to the waiting dockhand, or make my best rope-toss over a cleat if there is no help available. We have headsets that are appropriately called “marriage-savers” by other cruisers in the know. It means we can talk to each other through the various manoeuvers calmly instead of having to shout or make easily misunderstood gestures.

Days spent in port begin the same way, but after breakfast there are usually necessary chores to be done. I am lucky to have a washer-dryer on the boat, but it uses a lot of water and power, so we have to have access to dockside services. Dick vacuums thoroughly once a week, and every other week there is a proper cleaning to be done, just as at home. Sheets get changed, bathrooms are cleaned, the kitchen gets a deep clean, and the rooms are dusted and the wood polished. Dick also gives the outside of the boat a good wash.

We usually alternate dinners out with cooking on board. Mostly the restaurants that are walking distance from the boat are not exactly fine dining, but we have had some very good burgers and steaks. I try to plan ahead for about 7 or 8 meals to be cooked on board. When we are in a port Dick gets his bicycle off the front rail and heads out with saddle bags and a shopping list. We have enjoyed most of the meals that have been chosen from a fairly extensive collection of on-board cookbooks left by the previous owner, plus my own cookbook. Last night I made chicken breasts in a wine sauce with cheese and bread stuffing topping. Other successful meals have included cooking a whole chicken in the pressure cooker, various beef or pork stews, plus we have the grill and Dick will do pork or lamb chops as well as steaks. We have tried pizza on the grill, so far not very successful, but we will keep trying!

Our next couple of weeks are likely to be spent mostly in port waiting for weather. We will first have the trip “outside” down the coast to Atlantic City and Cape May. Then there will need to be suitable wind and wave conditions on Delaware Bay, followed by the several days of good weather we need to transit the Chesapeake. South of Norfolk we must again cross Albemarle Sound and the (dreaded) Neuse River. After that we are at last back in the ICW and can expect mostly smooth traveling through North and South Carolina to get home.