Hudson River to Long Island, NY - June 22-28

Hudson River here we come! The Hudson River Valley is a scenic, lush, hilly valley with spectacular natural beauty. On June 22, we stopped at Hop-O-Nose Marina (yes, crazy name!) in Catskill, NY. It was a rainy night but that didn’t stop us from donning our rain gear and taking the dinghy up the Catskill Creek to pay for our slip and walk to dinner. The next morning we traveled 73 miles down the Hudson to Safe Harbor Haverstraw where we spent the evening. 

Next up 40 miles to New York City! Eleven years ago while on the Great Loop we came thru the New York Harbor and were almost overrun by ferries, freighters and other crazy boaters. This time we knew what to expect and everything went smoothly. We discussed what it would be like to experience the 4th of July, 250th anniversary fireworks here, and decided that would be more chaos than we wanted to experience. We had a quiet evening on anchor behind the Statue of Liberty. Impressive sight!

The next morning we crossed New York Harbor to the East River which really isn’t a river. It’s a 16 mile tidal estuary which connects New York Harbor to Long Island Sound.  We got under way early as we knew we would be fighting the tidal currents which would gain strength over the next 4 hours.    Two hours later we had put the East River behind us.     Long Island Sound lies between Long Island, NY to the south and Connecticut to the north. The sound is roughly 90 miles long and up to 20 wide with numerous ports along each coast. A boaters dream!

We stayed on the Long Island side at Safe Harbor Capri Marina in Manhasset Bay for 2 nights. While here we borrowed the marina bikes to explore the area. We also took advantage of the local dinghy dock to aid us in transporting groceries.  The homes…ok, mansions along the bay were impressive! 

On Saturday morning we travelled 24 miles to Oyster Bay, NY. Once again we passed many huge mansions, including one owned by the singer Billy Joel. After we set the anchor we once again geared up in our rain coats for a dinghy ride to town. A nice couple offered us a ride into town in their Jeep. While checking out the town, the rains stopped so we could enjoy the rest of the day without our rain gear.

The next morning we took advantage of another boaters dream….the town provides a floating, solar powered, self serve, 24/7,  free pump-out barge. Easy squeezy! 

We then continued along the south side of the sound 29 miles to Port Jefferson Harbor. What a pretty bay! We anchored out near a beach and took the dinghy around the bay, checking out the many boats and enjoying the beautiful day.

Passing West Point US Military Academy

Haverstraw Marina

Cliffs along the Hudson River 

New York!

Anchored out by the big green lady

Goodbye NYC!

One of the many mansions in Manhasset Bay

Billy Joel’s digs

Pump out barge Oyster Bay

Many boats anchored out by sand dune…Looks like home!

200 foot yacht docked at Port Jefferson 

Welland Canal to Hudson River - June 15-22

Our normal morning routine is to check the up coming weather. After a good night sleep on anchor in Wilson, NY, our weather research showed we had a beautiful day ahead, but that was going to change drastically the next day. Realizing we had to get off Lake Ontario before the winds picked up we pulled anchor and headed 116 miles east. The lake was flat and we had a smooth cruise. At Oswego, NY, we turned onto the Oswego Canal where we locked up 118 feet thru 7 locks. Most locks on the canal close by 6pm however our last lock stayed open until 8pm which was a good thing because we didn’t arrive to it until 6:30. By 7pm, we were tied up to the final lock wall in Phoenix,NY for the night. It was a 142 mile/12 hour day, but we were happy to be this far with the forecasted weather. Cute town!

As predicted, Thursday morning was windy, stormy and rainy. By noon the rain had stopped so we walked a mile to the Angry Pig BBQ for a fabulous lunch. That afternoon we moved 12 miles, thru 1 lock, and blew on into to Ess-Kay Marina in Brewerton, NY. Due to the continued winds, we stayed here 2 nights. While here, we purchased 2 new batteries for the port motor and used their courtesy car to load up on provisions. 

Next up….the Erie Canal! By 7am on Saturday we were back moving. We cruised 20 miles across Lake Oneida. It was a choppy run but we were happy to have the winds at our back. Upon entering the river we began our journey through the Eastern Erie Canal. This portion is 153 miles and 20 locks. We broke up our trip with overnights tied to the lock wall at Lock 18 and Lock 8. The canal system offers free docking on the walls below or above the locks.  Monday was our last push thru the canal - 7 more locks to go. Unfortunately the rains came in so Sheli had a wet day on lock duty while the captain stayed dry. Argh! The last 2 miles and 5 locks, we dropped 160 feet, which is the greatest rate of decent of any navigable waterway in the world.

Upon exiting the Erie Canal, we turned south onto the Hudson River. We went thru the Federal Lock two miles later. The height of this drop varies with the tide. Yes, tide. Although we are 152 miles upstream from New York Harbor, this area experiences a 4 foot tide.

We have now left behind fresh water and are moving into salt water.

We have traversed a total of 38 locks between the Welland, the Oswego and the Erie Canals. As always, locks are an interesting and challenging experience however we are very happy when finished.

Informative sign at each lock - nice!

Oswego Canal lock wall - Phoenix, NY

Beautiful evening Phoenix,NY

Next morning thunderstorms and tornado watch

Overnight on the lock wall - Erie Canal

Lock exit with lift gate rather than swinging doors

In the lock, watching water come over the dam

Rain or shine, first mate always ready for duty

Erie, Ohio to Wilson, NY/Welland Canal - June 14-16

Sunday morning we pulled up the anchor and headed north across Lake Erie to Canada. 65 miles later we entered the harbor of Port Colborne located at the south end of the Welland Canal. Upon pulling into Sugarloaf Marina, we called Canadian Border Patrol to clear into Canada. After taking our information the agent advised us to remain on the boat until the local border agents arrived to our boat for further inspection. Upon their arrival, there were many more questions to be answered after which they instructed us to stay outside on the back deck of the boat while they went in and did a lengthy and thorough inspection of the boat. We got the thumbs up and were welcomed to Canada. Yeehaw! 

Monday was a no travel day so we spent the day doing wash, cleaning the boat and dragging Steve around Port Colborne. 

Tuesday was our day to transit the Welland Canal.

The Welland Canal is a 27 mile long ship canal in Ontario, Canada which connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. As a crucial component of the St Lawrence Seaway, this allows massive cargo ships up to 740 feet in length,  to go up or down the 326 foot elevation difference between the lakes. The canal lies 10 miles west of the Niagara River and Falls which is not so user friendly for watercraft. 

We left the dock by 6am in order to be in our staging location for a 7am transit. Once entering the 1st lock, you must continue thru all 8 locks. No stopping is allowed. We traveled with 2 other pleasure boats and had to have one of them tie off along side of us in every lock. This was a little extra work however all went smoothly. Ten hours later we were locked down to Lake Ontario. We entered Lake Ontario around 5pm and headed east 20 miles to Wilson, NY. Upon crossing back into US waters, we called US immigration to clear back into the USA. By 7pm we were anchored out in a small cove at Wilson. Happy and tired. Big day! 

Freighter entering the Welland Canal 

Going down!

Lock duty!

All hands on deck!

Relaxing after 10 hour transit thru

Lake St Clair to Erie, Ohio - June 9-13

We had an interesting discovery upon entering Lake St Clair. Our chart plotter suddenly showed that we had come to the end of the earth!

Upon further investigation we figured out we needed additional charts beyond what was installed on our system. We stopped at Keenan Marina’s Lake St Clair location to get fuel and talked to the service manager about our chart issue.  He did some research and could not find what we needed in town. He was however able to get the required chart chip shipped overnight and he delivered it to us at Safe Harbor Jefferson Beach Marina, where we were staying. Thanks Jason! 

On Wednesday, June 10 after spending 3 nights on Lake St Clair (one night on anchor and 2 at the marina) we proceeded down the Detroit River to Lake Erie. The Detroit River is actually beautiful! We passed under the new, yet to open Gordie Howe bridge connecting the US and Canada. Quite a site!

Destination: Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island, Ohio.  While in Put-in-Bay, we enjoyed our time cruising around on a golf cart,

shopping, checking out the local vibe and even jumping in warm Lake Erie for a swim while exploring on the dinghy.

While here, we spent 2 nights on a mooring ball. The first night was calm and quiet, the 2nd night was the total opposite.

Friday was Steve’s birthday. He couldn’t wait to celebrate so he got up and 2am to get the day started! Actually, he got up at 2am due to high winds and waves. It was a long night watching the weather and hoping the mooring ball would hold. 

And thankfully it did.

Lake Erie was still rough from the storms the night before so Friday we cruised  faster than normal as the boat rides much better in rough conditions when up on plane. We traveled 77 miles to Mentor, Ohio. The first mate took the captain out for a birthday smash burger!

By Saturday morning Lake Erie had calmed down nicely so we had a smooth slow cruise of 76 miles to Erie, Ohio. We anchored out in a pretty bay by Presque Isle State Park. The water was warm and clear so Steve was able to throw on his dive mask and check the running gear on the boat. All good!

Next up….O Canada!

  

Ford’s Cove on Lake St Clair

Passing Downtown Detroit 

The new Gordie Howe bridge

Welcome to Put-in-Bay, Ohio

Captain Golf Cart Tour Guide

The Benson Ford cargo ship forecastle place on land and turned in a home

Grand Haven to Lake St Clair - June 1-8

Our adventure has begun! We pulled out of the Grand Haven channel at 7:00am on Monday, June 1. 

For the first part of the trip we were in travel mode. (vs sightseeing mode)  Full days of travel at 10 mph got us from Grand Haven

to Lake St Clair in a week. (vs 3 hours by car)  Our overnights on Lake Michigan were: Portage Lake (anchored), Charlevoix (anchored), and Petoskey (marina).

We had a fun afternoon with our friend LaNell in Petoskey.  From there after passing under the Mackinac Bridge we entered Lake Huron.

Our overnights on Lake Huron were Cheboygan (anchored in Duncan Bay), Harrisville (marina), and Port Sanilac (marina). From Port Sanilac we entered the St Clair River that led is into Lake St Clair. This is new territory for us and we’re impressed with the beautiful St Clair River and Lake St Clair.

ALONG THE WAY

Highlight: Beautiful weather and FLAT waters. Wow we had amazing travel conditions.

Yucky:  Midge flies covering the boat in Charlevoix. Ugh! Glad we had a little blower on board to get rid of most of them.

Goodbye Grand Haven!

Gorgeous Lake Michigan 

Midge flies everywhere!

Midge flies! 

Cruising under the Mackinac Bridge 

Beautiful home along the St Clair River

  

Anchored out on Lake St Clair

Our next adventure!

 Here we go again! Different boat, different dinghy, different direction, same old crew. We said goodbye to Pura Vida dos (the 420 SeaRay Sedan Bridge) and said hello to a Maritimo M48 which we named Island Bound.

After cruising Lake Michigan for the past few years, we once again have the urge to explore new waters. With Captain Adorable being fully retired, we no longer are tied to weekends only on the boat.

In early June we plan to head out the Grand Haven Channel and turn right this time. Our goal is to work our way to New York City and head north up the coast as far as Maine.  Stay tuned for updates as we travel. 

Route - Grand Haven to Lake Ontario

Route - Lake Ontario to Maine

   

The Panhandle-Gulf Crossing - Oct 18-31

The Panhandle!  Dolphins! Need we say more? 

We decided to slow down our pace to reward ourselves for accomplishing the rivers once again. The Panhandle continues to be a favorite area for us so it was great to take the time to take in the beauty of the beaches and pretty waters. We combined our time in fantastic anchorages as well as marinas located near shopping and restaurants. 

After crossing Mobile Bay we spent 2 nights at the upscale Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, AL. Then on to our favorite Panhandle anchorage at Ft McRee located 3 miles from NAS Pensacola Naval Air Base - home base for the Blue Angels. It’s a thrill to witness them practicing over the anchorage. Our other stops included Destin, Panama City Beach, Apalachicola and Carrabelle.  From Mobile Bay to Carrabelle we traveled 290 miles.

We planned our arrival into Carrabelle on Thursday to catch a forecasted weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. By the time we reached Carrabelle that weather window had evaporated. Next good weather for crossing showed for Monday. We had never stayed in Carrabelle before, so we spent 3 days enjoying the town. To position ourselves for the crossing we anchored out Sunday night just off St George Island. We were welcomed by a fabulous dolphin show. At the crack of dawn, we headed out for 163 mile crossing from St George Island to Tarpon Springs. The first half was rougher than we expected or cared for, but by the 2nd half, the seas had laid down and the crew could relax a little. For 7 of the 9 hours, we were incommunicado….no cell service, no other boats, no land in sight. Always thankful when we arrive at the other side. 

ALONG THE WAY:

Sunny, sunny weather until we reached Carrabelle 

Zero locks!

6 nights in marinas

6 nights on anchor

Blue Angel fly overs - a dozen

Sharks - 1

Dolphins - too many to count 

Captain Relaxation 

Miles of secluded beach.

Our Sentry guarding the boat

Ft McRee sunset 

Ft McRee

She tried to run, but they got her on a really small offense!

Leaving Carrabelle 

Cruising across The Gulf

Amazing flat Gulf