| SHIP'S LOG |
| RENEE & TONY'S GREAT LOOP ADVENTURE COMPLETED Note: Click on any blue-underlined location to link to that web page. 12-21-06: WITH SHEAR DELIGHT AND A TOUCH OF SADNESS, WE COMPLETED OUR GREAT LOOP ADVENTURE, ON 12-20-06 AT 11:00 AM WHEN WE CROSSED OUR STARTING PATH UNDER THE TAMPA BAY SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE. To those of you who have followed us via this web page, please email us. We would like to know who you are and what your thoughts are about the Loop. We have had over 3,000 visitors to our website and are overwhelmed by the interest. We thank you for logging on. This will close our updates of this adventure, but we are working on our next one. We enjoyed every minute of our Great Loop trip and plan to continue enjoying every future moment. One of our very dear friends said "It is not the number of breaths you have in a lifetime, it is how often you are left breathless." We hope each of you have many breathless moments. With sadness we end this adventure, and are ready to explore options for our next one. 12-20-06: We left Tarpon Springs for St. Petersburg FL just before sunrise. We had to leave then or have BREAKAWAY sit on the bottom mud & muck for 3-4 hours while waiting for the extreme low tide to rise. As we left, a pair of osprey called to congratulate us. Then our friends, the dolphins lead the way out of the narrow Ancolte River channel. We have come to appreciate both as signs of good luck and a safe journey. We could also see where BREAKAWAY dragged in the mud flats on her way into Tarpon Springs. (Gratefully it was mud, not rock, and the last time we touched bottom on the Loop.) The trip was almost 70 miles, with the typical crab traps we have come to love (not) and negotiate. The sunrise was incredible. Once we entered the Gulf, we powered along the Clearwater coast and beaches heading for the main shipping channel into Tampa Bay. We passed a large ocean freighter heading out to the Gulf. We felt sorry for them, since they will probably be at sea for the holidays, while we will be in St. Petersburg with family. Then came the thrill of seeing the Tampa Bay Sunshine Skyway Bridge and we knew we were close to completing this adventure. What started with the purchase of the BREAKAWAY in Newport Beach CA on September 30, 2005; the shipping of the BREAKAWAY from Ensenada Mexico on October 19, via the Panama Canal; meeting the BREAKAWAY in Fort Lauderdale FL on November 5; and then moving the BREAKAWAY, via the Intra Coastal Waterway and Lake Okeechobee from the east coast of Florida to Fort Myers, then to St Pete for last Christmas holidays. We began our adventure when we left St Pete on December 30, 2005 with Renee's brother John Urich and Tony's brother Tom Russell aboard. We spent New Year's Eve in Clewiston FL, as we returned to Florida's East Coast and then north to St. Mary's GA. We kept the BREAKAWAY there while we returned to California to finish our organization for the adventure. We returned in early April to provision and prepare the BREAKAWAY for the rest of the Loop. This web page tells only a small portion of the adventure. You will need to do your own to truly appreciate what we have accomplished -- the thrill of our lifetime! We did not enjoy every day, we enjoyed every minute. It was an adventure, not a vacation. We would not have wanted it any other way, except to have more time to visit more places, see more things, and meet more of the of the generous, caring, helpful, wonderful people we met along the way. Entering St. Pete's Municipal Harbor, we were greeted by a phone call from Renee's sister, Kandy, who was at work on the 14th floor of a hi-rise office building, one block from our marina. She videotaped our return and the docking of the BREAKAWAY, while the office staff joined in the welcome. We are now docked and will begin a prolonged vacation. Christmas, New Year's Eve and the Outback Bowl (Penn State v. Tennessee) on January 1. Beyond that, we have no definite plans. HEADING EAST 12-18-06: We left Carrabelle FL for Tarpon Springs FL. BREAKAWAY performed beautifully, even though the fuel drip continues. We averaged 17 miles per hour and completed the crossing in 10:05 hours. We picked the perfect day to cross the Gulf of Mexico. Dense fog was predicted, but it was crystal clear for the entire trip. We were concerned about being able to complete the trip while there was still daylight, so we left in the dark at 5 AM. Sunrise was 7:28. The GPS plotter worked and Renee used the spotlight from the bow to spot the day markers as we left Carrabelle for the Gulf. Once in the Gulf, it was a straight shot on a course of 140 degrees to channel markers outside the Tarpon Springs channel. However, you do not want to approach Tarpon Springs at night, from 40 miles out, the lines and floats for the lobster and crab traps, were a potential hazard to propellers. Catch one line and you will need to be hauled out to cut the drive shaft and propeller loose. There were thousands of traps to avoid and it was very difficult to see the floats, even in the daylight. Both Tony & Renee were required to act as constant spotters. We were quite relieved that we completed that gauntlet and safely entered the Tarpon Springs channel. Tony tried to confirm our dock reservations via cell phone. When the marina said they had no room, we started to look elsewhere. Unfortunately calling marinas while negotiating an unfamiliar channel was not very smart because we missed the range and ran aground. Fortunately it was a soft bottom and Tony was able to work BREAKAWAY free. What a downer after a wonderful crossing: We got to see the sun rise over the Gulf with light clouds adding color to the sky. Dolphins played in our wake. We even saw a large greenback turtle -- our first greenback turtle sighting. Upon docking, we congratulated each other for a great, safe trip and decided to dine out. We are docked in the middle of the Greek sponge divers fishing village. In fact we are docked at The Sponge Factory. They have a museum and movie, plus any trinket (sponge related or not) that one could ever create. We dined at Costa's Restaurant. Had great Greek food and drink. Another enjoyable day. 12-17-06: We left Panama City Marina for Carrabelle FL and the C-Quarter Marina. It was a 90.2 mile journey in 6: 37 hours. Left early because we knew it would be a long day on the water. We followed the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW), even though one could go into the Gulf of Mexico. We thought this would be a prettier trip, and it was. We were greeted by friendly dolphins and many bald eagles. There were wide open bays and over 20 miles of canals. It was shallow most of the way, but safe as long as we stayed in the channel. Between the GPS chart plotter and Renee's charts, we were able to avoid trouble. The fuel drip continues, but it has not been a problem, so far, since it drips into a container and there was very little fuel dripped. Hopefully, it will continue to drip slowly so we can complete the next leg of our journey - Tarpon Springs - 170 miles. We shall see. We chatted with the locals at the marina, including Russ who operates one of the Tow Boat US. He gave us helpful advice for making the trip across the "Big Bend" to Tarpon Springs. We cannot do the ICW around the Big Bend because of shoaling & other unfavorable water depths. The weather is good for our crossing, it is just a matter of having enough of daylight hours for the length of trip. 12-16-06: We left Baytowne Marina for Panama City Marina Fl. It was a beautiful, sunny morning with no fog, although the weatherman forecasted dense fog until noon. Just as we left the marina channel Tony made an inspection of the engines and noticed a drip of diesel from the port engine fuel injection that was just replaced by a Cummins mechanic last weekend. Tony was able to juryrig the leak and we were able to complete our trip to Panama City Marina. We called Cummins about the problem and scheduled a visit on Monday with a mechanic to solve the problem. Even with that going on, the trip was fantastic! We went through a section of the ICW called the "Grand Canyon". It was a cut through the Florida Panhandle woodland and cypress swamps with 10 - 25 feet high sand dunes and cliffs. And when we were in the larger bays (Choctawhatchee and West Bay) we had lots of swimming, jumping, and twirling dolphins in our wake. It was so much fun to see them turn their heads to look up at us. The more we laughed and applauded them, the more they congregated and performed. We arrived safely and took a long walk to the grocery store for provisions and had a nice supper on the boat, at sunset. Another great day. 12-15-06: The Navy's Blue Angeles escorted the BREAKAWAY as she left Pensacola Bay on its journey to Sandestin FL. Thank you guys, you know how to treat us well! We left with another day's forecast of dense fog, but it was fine for our travels. We passed the same tugs pulling dredge barges in Santa Rosa Sound. We always hope we are not going over the areas of their next assignment. We were greeted as we entered the Narrows by a family of dolphins playing in our wake. Thank you guys we enjoyed the show! After 61.4 miles in 5 hours, we safely arrived at Baytowne Marina, another Intrawest resort. It is similar to Harbor Towne Marina in Hilton Head SC. A "Disneyland" village of shops and restaurants, a lagoon, condos, health club, bike paths, huge trees with hanging Spanish Moss. We climbed Captain Joe Lee's tree house, walked the hiking paths and explored the sounds & smells of the Village (where most of the establishments ares places to eat or drink). We met up with fellow Loopers aboard the TITANIC. They were going to stay here for a day and it turned into a couple weeks. It is a great place to hang out. 12-14-06: We left Dog River Marina for Pensacola FL and the Palafox Marina. It was a total of 78.5 miles in 7.5 hours. We left with overcast skies, but the weather forecast was for patchy heavy fog. We never hit the fog, but heavy haze and overcast got worse in Mobile Bay and continued all day. It was a long day of boating because in Mobile Bay's main Ship Channel, the shrimp boats fish in and around the main channel, and we needed to minimize our wake for them. So we ran slow for about 22 miles, even though a huge tanker was hot on our stern the whole time. We had to balance the speed to stay ahead of the tanker and minimize the wake. The great number of shrimp boats made it a circus to maneuver through and around. We also saw many dolphin, pelicans, seagulls, cormorants and miscellaneous other birds. Of course, there were also the tugs and barges to contend with. At the end of the Mobile Bay Ship Channel is the Intra Coastal Water Way (ICW) and then the Gulf of Mexico. Our turn east marked our return to the ICW since leaving it at Norfolk VA and the Chesapeake Bay. Welcome back ICW! There are pros and cons with the ICW. It is more sheltered than the larger bodies of water, such as the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean. However, many people live beside the ICW with their docks and boats. That means no wake zones. So we are back to no wakes whenever we pass another vessel, dock or marina. 12-13-06: So far we spent 7 days in Mobile AL. It is time to move on. However, the forecast was correct - dense fog. If it does not clear by 1000, we will wait until tomorrow. We are planning to go to Pensacola FL. It is a run of about 75 miles. We certainly do not want to travel in the fog. The fog did not lift and we are staying another night. 12-12-06: Looked like rain all day, but did not start until 1600. Tony made phone calls to solve some issues that could only be handled by phone. We finally received the Cummins repair bill. OUCH!!! It was incredible; even the local mechanic was shocked by it. The only down side to our little Loop adventure is the cost. However, this is what Tony & Renee worked and saved for and it is worth every penny! We both were able to catch up on various projects and enjoy the rain. Sitting in the flying bridge, listening to the rain on the canvas and strataglass is like safely camping out in a storm. It is most enjoyable, especially when we are dry and securely tied to the dock. Dense fog is predicted for tomorrow. 12-11-06: We returned the rental car, but are staying a few extra days because of the weather forecast - rain & thunder storms. We drove by Bellingrath Home and Gardens, a huge southern estate, which is decorated in lights and flowers for Christmas. Later, we took BREAKAWAY for a sea trial to check out the fuel injector repair. All is OK. : ) On our way back to the transient dock, we filled up with 450 gallons of diesel and did a pump out in preparation for our run to Florida. We finally had cocktails alone on the flying bridge at sunset. The end of another great day. 12-10-06: We began planning our route to St. Petersburg -- so many options, all good. We used the rental car for more provisioning and Christmas shopping at our usual stores -- Lowe's, Wal Mart & Sam's Club. We went sight-seeing through Historic Mobile with a stop at Fort Conde. While driving within the Loop, we discovered Wintzell's Oyster House and could not pass up raw oysters ("nude oysters" is what they call them at Wintzell's) and a cold beer. Wintzell's opened their doors in 1938 and now has 5 locations in the Mobile area. After dinner we put up Christmas lights in the flying bridge, and decorated the salon with a Christmas tree & candle/wreath. 12-09-06: Another windy and cold night. After sleeping in, Renee worked on logs and computer to try to get current. Tony took the day off to watch UCLA-Texas A&M basketball game, and some other mindless TV. He needed the day off after not getting any sleep last night. 12-08-06: The wind blew hard all night, creating 2 - 3 foot waves at the dock. The marina turned off the dock water, so the pipes would not freeze. They froze and broke anyway. Renee keeps up with the logs and begins another book with local setting. Time to do some shopping errands - Home Depot, Wal Mart, Advance Auto Parts, and CVS Pharmacy. Back to BREAKAWAY for lunch. Ray, the marina mechanic, arrived to change the oil and filters on both engines. Tony assisted, and is offered a job. We had a great seafood dinner at the Marina Restaurant across the Dog River with the Bobby's Fish Camp group (Kevin & Erika-KISMET III, Bill & Sandy- MISCONCEPTION, Mike & Bev-WALKURE.) When we got back from dinner, the Cummins mechanic was ready to start working to fix the "fuel in oil" problem. Tony worked with Andrew all night long (from 2130 Friday to 0600 Saturday) replacing the fuel lifter and injector on the port engine. Now we are awaiting the bill. : ( 12-07-06: Pearl Harbor Day. Although the Dog River Marina has a courtesy truck available, we rented a car for the weekend so we did have to run errands in 2 hour increments. Because we had the rental car we had time to visit the USS ALABAMA, a WWII battleship. While there we attended a special 65th Pearl Harbor Anniversary ceremony which included four Pearl Harbor survivors. It was quite touching to hear their stories. One was a marine. He said he grabbed his BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) and started shooting at the Jap planes. He told the TV news reporters that he "filled the belly of one Jap plane and blew it all to hell". So much for political correctness. Our tour of the ALABAMA was awesome. We spent several hours, practically all by ourselves, taking the three different self-guided tours and watching a historical film. We also toured the USS DRUM, a WWII submarine. They also have a rather large collection of planes and other military vehicles that were parked outside and off limits because the hanger was still under repairs from hurricane Katrina. Just as we were leaving the Battleship Memorial Park, the marina called to say they were ready for our haul out. Fortunately the check out of the running gear did not uncover any problems. A minor ding on the port prop, however was discover and tapped out. We were back in the water and back at the dock within 1 1/2 hours. Later in the evening, the heaters stopped working. This was not a good thing as the temperature was again forecasted to be in the low 20's. Yikes! Did we may a wrong turn and turn north instead of south? We have had freezing, or below freezing, nights for at least a week. Boy, did we need the heaters to work. The manual said to check for an air block at the water intake pump. Sure enough, after Tony got an unexpected shower removing the air block, all three heater systems were up and running. 12-06-06: We spent a very cold and windy night tied to the fuel dock at Dog River Marina in Mobile AL because of our late arrival. Slept in until 7. Then got situated at the marina. Made arrangements to have BREAKAWAY hauled out to inspect the running gear. We had a vibration on the starboard side. Also the port engine was "making oil" -- that means there is more fluid in the oil pan then oil. It had to be either fuel, coolant or water. A quick test of the oil dipstick confirmed the fuel leak. The Cummins maintenance book said fuel leaks from the fuel lifter or the fuel injectors. BREAKAWAY waited at the fuel dock until she was moved to her assigned transient dock. Made reservations at the Marina Point marina in St. Petersburg for the Christmas Holidays and January '07. Tony does Internet downloading and email, while Renee does logs, cleaning and organizing. Met Skip and Sue from Tennessee aboard a large sail boat that they are refurbishing. We went with them to the CAPTAIN SID, a shrimp boat, looking for dinner. Sunny, the owner, had tons of shrimp, but they were too small to sell for eating. They were going to sell them for bait. The cold weather has the large shrimp out in deeper water. However, he gave us five flounders which we split with each other and Kevin and Ericka from KISMET III. Tony cleaned and BBQ'd the flounder for dinner, after getting help from his brother and sister-in-law via phone, Tom and Pat, on cleaning and cooking. Tom and Pat have a trailer next to the Delaware Bay and have been fishing flounder for years. MISCONCEPTION and WALKURE also safely made it to the Dog River Marina. It was a long day for them, especially Mike and Sue on WALKURE, the wooden sail boat with a max speed of 6 knots. The Cummins mechanic came about 2100 and confirmed fuel in the oil and ordered the parts. HEADING SOUTH 12-05-06: A longer and harder day today than what we had been doing for awhile -- 134 miles in 10 hours and 15 minutes. All 4 boats from Bobby's Fish Camp agreed to start out together at daybreak to go through Coffeeville Lock at the same time. We were all up and ready to go in the cold & frosty (we had icicles on BREAKAWAY), but when we called the lock master, he said there was heavy fog at the lock, even though it was clear at Bobby's dock 2 miles upstream. We only had to wait about an hour until we all headed south to the lock with only slight fog along the way. We made it into the lock together and then BREAKAWAY took off to head for Mobile for the night. The others planned to anchor 1 - 2 nights before heading to Mobile. We were making good time except for a minor running aground about mile 70 where a navigational buoy must have been missing, as we ran aground mid-channel with no buoys anywhere, but good water (15 feet) on the port side. The next wrinkle that slowed us down was about mile 45 when Captain Tony noticed the port engine's oil pressure dropping. He ultimately diagnosed the problem as fuel mixing with the oil and we decided to complete the rest of the day's run on just the starboard engine. It ran well, but it also meant we ran slower. The net result was we did not arrive at the Dog River Channel until sunset. The water was real skinny (at one point 4.9 feet and we have about 4.5 feet draft) and the markers were not easy to see in fading light. If interested you can look at the pictures and see one of our navigational charts that shows the course of the river was designed by a drunken sailor. Several times we had to go north, south, east and west, to go south. At one point if we could have gone straight for 1000 feet we would have saved the 3 miles it ultimately took us to get there. (If you are interested, you can see a page from our chart book in picture # 3482 in the grouping dated today). After the long day, we were grateful to be safely docked for the night in Mobile AL at Dog River Marina. It was an interesting trip as the shoreline changed from colored river banks & bluffs, to sandy beaches, to tree & grass lined banks, to tug/barge & power facilities, to Mobile's busy ship channel, and finally to the open waters of Mobile Bay before entering the marina-lined Dog River. We saw small deer along the banks at several places, including a family group of about seven. (How many can you see in picture # 3487?) We also began to see more blue heron, snowy egrets, and other shore birds like gulls and brown pelicans. (Can any of you bird aficionados tell us what kind of bird is picture # 3575?) 12-04-06: We got an early start again this morning and were the only boat through the Demopolis Lock. After 95.2 miles in 6 hours and 38 minutes, averaging 14 mph, we made it to Bobby's Fish Camp shortly after lunch. MISCONCEPTION (Mike & Sandy) was already on the dock, and later we were joined by KISMET III (Kevin & Erica) and WALKURE (Mike & Bev). After we all were securely docked, and registered, everyone joined Tony and Renee aboard BREAKAWAY to warm up (temperatures were expected to go down to the 20's tonight). Mike from WALKURE brought his guitar and shared his musical talents, playing & singing boat-life songs. It was also an educational evening as the 6 U.S. Citizens educated Kevin & Erica (from Canada) about U.S. Politics. Their knowledge comes from the TV show West Wing. (We do not know if that is good or bad, as we have never watched it.) 12-03-06: We are still in Demopolis, AL, at the Demopolis Yacht Basin, but plan to leave tomorrow. We spent the last three days enjoying the "Christmas on the River" (COTR) festivities. Once again we lucked out to be a part of a special weekend in another small town (population 7,540). The locals tell us this is the town's biggest weekend of the year and it was their 35th COTR. On Friday night we bundled up in warm clothes and visited the BBQ Food Festival where we gorged ourselves on BBQ'd ribs, chicken, sausages and pulled pork sandwiches. We also had "free" (with the small entrance fee) Budweiser Beer, gumbo, and chili. Saturday morning we got up in the early frosty morning to run the COTR 5K and did OK for two old retirees -- Tony placed 3rd and Renee 1st in our age groups. It was fun, but it let both of us know that we have not done any serious running or training for awhile. We also explored the folk art and crafts fair and managed to walk away without any candles, soap, baked goods, clothing, jewelry, furniture, toys, etc. After a late breakfast aboard BREAKAWAY, we went back to the BBQ competition, bothering John & Kathy Swift again while they were preparing their meats. We also got to sample their entries and wonder why they only took 2nd place in ribs, and 4th overall. From our perspective, all 4 entries were truly outstanding! We wish them best of luck in their next competition and extend a thanks for all of the samples, the goodie tray they sent back to BREAKAWAY with us, and for their patience with all of the "green horn" questions. 12-01-06: The day began for us by taking a walk through town to explore the damage from the tornado that touched down last night about 1/2 mile from BREAKAWAY. Last night we experienced quite an unsettling strong wind, with heavy rain, lightening and thunder. Fortunately the wind did not last long, but it was long enough to cause some major damage in Demopolis. It destroyed an abandoned brick warehouse, uprooted a number of trees, snapped electric power poles, left the marina & town without electricity, and blew away all the COTR water floats parked along the embayment shoreline. The COTR is the Demopolis 35th annual "Christmas on the River" festival. A little further away in Demopolis, it destroyed several mobile homes, uprooted more trees, and crushed a number of houses with overturned trees. BREAKAWAY rode out the winds very well, with no damage, and only pink fiberglass insulation on her decks and windows. Our walk also led us to the riverfront where we took a tour of the US Coast Guard navigation-buoy-laying- vessel, WEDGE, escorted by midshipman Brandon Short. It was most interesting to see how 13 crew live and work aboard this ship and make the Tombigbee River and related rivers safe for us. We really appreciate your services and thank you! We also walked through the RV encampment for the COTR State-wide BBQ Cook-off competition and met David Roper, a Certified Master Cook-off Judge, the "Wild Bunch Butt Burners" team of John & Kathy Swift, and assistant Walt, "Butt Rub" team of Bad Byron and his dog, and the "Lotta Bull" team of Mike and his wife. We got quite an education in the competition judging and the kinds of meat (chicken, ribs, shoulder and brisket) in a sanctioned cook off from David, John, Kathy and Walt. We also know how to pick our cooks, these three were 1-2 and 4 in a competition of 42 teams. Naturally John and Kathy asked us to test their creations. Tough job, but we were glad to accommodate. 11-30-06: Tony and Renee took Fred for a walk into Demopolis to share the little town atmosphere with him. It has a beautiful City Hall, nice town square park, Bluff Hall (an antebellum building located on the Tombigbee River built in 1832). Unfortunately Fred left shortly after lunch for a drive back to Montgomery to visit his Aunt Catherine. Later Tony and Renee borrowed the marina's courtesy car for a shopping excursion at Wall-Mart. 11-29-06; Fred Whitson, an almost-retired friend (he is on vacation until he officially retires 12-31-06) and a native Alabamian living in CA, visited us. He did not get to see BREAKAWAY for the short time we had it in CA. He treated us to a late lunch at the New Orleans Bar & Grill, the marina's restaurant. We did a lot of "catching up", drinking, and more eating. BBQ'd ribs and drank a little "Jack" (Jack Daniels). Apparently an Alabama tradition Fred adheres to. 11-28-06: We wanted to cover more distance (~90 miles) today than we have lately, so we left the dock in the dark this morning. We got a jump start through the Beville Lock, had an easy lock through the Heflin Lock and a nice run the whole way to Demopolis AL. We got to see that BREAKAWAY can get up and move when we let her. Besides the wooded shoreline, sparsely populated with "cottages", we saw a raccoon swimming across the Waterway, and the white (probably limestone) cliffs at Epes and even higher cliffs at mile 234.5. When we arrived at the Demopolis Yacht Basin, we saw a number of familiar boats, including Misconception, Cream Puff II, and Ladyhawke. 11-27-06: We left Columbus Marina early this morning going through John C. Stennis Lock with TITANIC, a little ~25 foot boat with twin 75 hp motors. They headed downriver at 45 mph and we took our time (~3 hours for ~30 miles). We are docked in Marina Cove Marina for the night and are the only Loopers here. It is a very quiet and protected marina with only 4 other boats, but lots of snowy egrets, blue heron, and lots of little jumping fish. Oh and I can not neglect to tell the whole truth -- there are also many flies and mosquitoes. We took a walk to the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam and Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is an authentic reproduction of an 1830-1860 mansion. It is one of the best Visitor Centers we have visited. We also visited the U.S. Snagboat Montgomery. Both were well worth the visit. If interested, please see our pictures from today. 11-26-06: Johnny & Connie (Renee's brother and sister-in-law) treated us to a visit this past week. They brought fresh shrimp from their home (Pearl River, near New Orleans, LA). We spent the week with them on the Tenn-Tom Waterway moving slowly south from Aqua Marina in Iuka, TN; to Bay Springs Marina in New Site MS; to Midway Marina in Fulton, MS; to Aberdeen Marina in Aberdeen, MS; to Columbus Marina in Columbus, MS. In between the boating, we shuttled Johnny & Connie's van from one marina to the next using the marina's courtesy vans. On the last shuttle, we had a flat tire, creating a little different kind of excitement. For the river cruising, we had beautiful sunny days (60's & 70's) and cold, frosty nights (30's & 40's). The more south we progressed, the more the waterway scenery reminded Johnny & Connie of their home waters, with scenic cypress knees and not-so-scenic flotsam & debris. This portion of the trip also provided multiple (7 to be exact) opportunities to experience going through a lock, something Connie especially wanted to do. Johnny was already a seasoned BREAKAWAY guest and "locker" as he joined us in our initial run (and start of our Great Loop trip) late last year from St. Petersburg FL across Lake Okeechobee with its 6 locks. Johnny & Connie made their visit really special for us by helping us celebrate Thanksgiving with family. We had a smoked turkey and all of the "fixings", took lots of photos, and enjoyed sharing this special holiday together. One final note to Johnny & Connie -- Congratulations and Happy 25th Anniversary!! We had cable television at the Aqua Marina so we took the opportunity to watch Penn State beat Michigan State and cinch a bowl invitation. Go Lions!! 11-17-06: We had a later start than planned out of Clifton due to the heavy river fog. We finally got to leave just before 10AM and caught up to TONIC who had left in the fog and had to anchor until the fog lifted. It was a nice trip for our last leg on the Tennessee River. We met a few tugs/barges, saw a bald eagle, went past Pittsburg Landing at the Shiloh National Military Park, and went through Pickwick Lock with no waiting. It was quite cold and partly cloudy for most of the day's run. We docked at the Aqua Marina in Iuka, MS. 11-16-06: We had rain off and on for the last 2 1/2 days -- sometimes it was extremely heavy, along with heavy winds and tornado warnings. We kept the BREAKAWAY at the Clifton Marina in Clifton, TN. We took advantage of the down time and visited the Shiloh National Military Park and saw the home U.S. Grant used for his headquarters during the battle. The park was beautiful, in spite of the rain, with remnants of fall foliage and lots of wildlife (deer and wild turkeys). Tony also sampled some local "delicacies" (frog legs) at a local (Savannah TN) restaurant. 11-14-06: No hurry to get going this morning as we were only going 18.5 miles to Clifton TN to get set up for a longer run tomorrow, weather permitting. It was a slow cruise enjoying the sights, including a bald eagle in a tree along the Tennessee River. We also saw an otter with a fish in his mouth as we entered the marina entrance. 11-13-06: We left Pebble Isle Marina for a 40 mile ride south on the Tennessee River to Mermaid Marina in Decaturville TN. Slight rain on occasion, but nothing bad enough to stop us. We went under a few bridges and one train bridge which was open, so we had no clearance problems. Passed several barges for the first time since leaving Green Turtle Bay. It was a smooth run today, cool and mostly overcast. We are in the middle of nowhere, 8 miles from the nearest town, the marina is officially closed, but open for an overnight by BREAKAWAY. Thanks to the marina owners. 11-11-06: We left Green Turtle Bay Marina on Thursday 11-09-06 and after 2 days of running upriver (but heading south) we are in Pebble Isle Marina, near New Johnsonville TN. The Johnsonville State Historic Park is within walking distance from this marina. We took a nice walk and toured the park commemorating the only Civil War battle where a calvary force defeated a naval fleet, sinking four Federal gunboats and destroying a supply depot. We will be here for the weekend while a forecasted thunderstorm goes through the area. 11-09-06: We are heading south to Mobile AL. This is a very scenic part of the trip and we are taking our time. It should take two-three weeks, remember, we are on boat time, and there are no Monday appointments. We will take the Tennessee River from Kentucky Lake to the Pickwick Lock, which begins the 253 mile Tenn-Tom Canal with its ten locks, to the Tombigbee River, to the Mobile River and Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. WE ARE BACK ABOARD THE BREAKAWAY & READY TO HEAD SOUTH 10-4 to 11-8-06: The Breakaway has been at Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers KY since 9-23-06. During that time we flew to Europe via Amsterdam to Prague for 3 nights. From Prague we went to Nuremberg to board the Viking Europe (a 3 deck, 75 cabin boat) for an eight day romantic cruise on the Danube River. We visited & toured Nuremberg, Kelheim, the Danube Gorge, Regensburg, Passau, Melk, Vienna, and Budapest. We spent 3 extra nights in Budapest and another 3 in Amsterdam before returning home to the BREAKAWAY. At the various cities/towns, we took many walking and bus tours to explore the magnificent architecture of the cathedrals, monasteries, castles, and many other buildings. In both the large cities and small quaint villages, we strolled along many cobblestone streets & alleys, tasted authentic food & local wines & beers, and learned as much as we could about this region. Along the river, we appreciated going through the 40 + locks (but not getting our hands wet), and enjoyed seeing the beautiful fall foliage, and the hilltop castles & vineyards of the Wachau Valley. We met some outstanding fellow passengers and fun local people, attended a fantastic musical concert in Vienna, and were thrilled to see so many original van Gogh paintings. When we returned to Green Turtle Bay, we had a very nice visit from Hank and Cathy Jesch from Orange County. We took them for a BREAKAWAY cruise on Lake Barkley, had steak on the BBQ, and shared the local sights of Grand Rivers, Paducah, Benton, and the Land Between the Lakes where we saw free roaming elk and buffalo. The following weekend trip we drove to Madison WI to visit Peter and Gretchen Brown and to see the Penn State - Wisconsin football game. Peter and Gretchen had 2 "extra" tickets and were kind enough to let us invite Matt & AJ from Cincinnati. Unfortunately they drove all night to see Wisconsin beat Penn State 13-3. It was the first Penn State game Tony & Renee saw since the Lions beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl. However, we are still diehard Nittany Lion fans and expect them to win their remaining two games and go to a bowl game. GO LIONS! WE ARE HEADING SOUTH! HOWEVER, WE ARE TAKING A TRIP TO EUROPE FROM OCTOBER 4 - 22 AND WILL NOT UPDATE UNTIL WE RETURN 9-23-06 to the end of October: We are in Green Turtle Bay Marina and Resort. It's a great place with lots of fellow Loopers, condo rentals, all sorts of boat rentals (houseboats, fishing boats, canoes, Ski Doos, etc.), swimming pool, private beach, conference center, hiking/biking/riding trails, boating services and stores, courtesy cars, etc. We are taking a vacation here -- relaxing & unwinding from our push to get here while catching up with boat & computer projects, re-provisioning, and exchanging storm stories & renewing friendship with fellow Loopers. On Saturday night we used a courtesy car to go to Patti's 1800's Settlement Restaurant and then to Badgett Theatre in Grand Rivers KY (population ~ 350). Both the restaurant and the theatre are well known in this area providing Branson-type entertainment and drawing crowds from the surrounding states. We saw a song and dance show called Variety where Tony was called on stage to help perform to The Wanderer in a black leather jacket. He was an instant success as several people asked if he was "a plant". This southern county is known as a "Dry" county. Alcohol is not sold nor served. One must go to another county to replenish supplies. However, the Yacht Club will permit you to bring your own, and they will serve it to you. Renee has been jogging every day. We joined Paul and Sue (another jogger) from Odyssey for a trip to Paducah. They were having a street fair specializing in food, especially ribs. They have a wall along the Ohio River that is painted with many murals which depict the city's history. We had lunch with Chuck and Barbara Ganem from the Gold Watch and learned about their medical product invention business. Very interesting. We also had dinner with Alex & CeCe Cooke from the Sea Sea, who returned to help us when the Breakaway lost power (see 9-20-06). Met up with Bruce & Jeanne Melchert from the Adventure and had a nice cocktail hour with them. Also ran into Bob Johnson from the Knot Bad, the houseboat that is also doing the loop. He was having some repairs done and expects to be back in the water on 10-2. The marina had a boat show over the weekend and we toured some of the boats. We are not ready to trade in the Breakaway. 9-22-06: Left the anchorage for Green Turtle Bay Marina KY. Another long day, but the last moving day for awhile. We moved in and out of some wicked thunderstorms with fierce winds, finishing the last 7.7 miles of the Upper Mississippi at Cairo IL, then, 58 miles on the Ohio and 32 miles on the Cumberland rivers. There was lots of tug/barge traffic and radio chatter for a good portion of the Mississippi and Ohio and lots of barges parked alongside the river banks. Tony did an excellent job maneuvering BREAKAWAY around all of it. We also had 3 locks to deal with today. The wicket dam on the first one on the Ohio, Lock 53, was down due to high water, so we could go right over it. No waiting! At the second one, Lock 52, we had a 1 1/2 hour long wait for a tug/barge combination to traverse it. We were fortunate to be waiting where we were (open deep water, no nearby obstacles and no boats, tugs and or barges) because a wicked thunderstorm went through. Definitely the worst weather we ever had while not safely docked. (We later heard there were tornado warnings in this area and one touched down within 10 miles of us, and it sure felt like it.) Fortunately when our turn came to enter the lock, the sun was out and remained out until we were finally docked for the evening, although there were nearby threatening clouds and lightening most of the day. At our final lock (Barkley Lock) on the Cumberland, we had another 1 1/2 hour wait. We entered the lock at sunset and completed it and our final mile to Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers KY in the dark. The marina sent out a rescue boat to escort us and three other Loopers from the lock to the marina. It was necessary because of the darkness and minimal channel markers. We are most grateful to be tied up and secured at this marina. As transients here, we also have access to the marina's Commonwealth Yacht Club, where we had a wonderful, relaxing dinner. 9-21-06: Left Hoppies Marina for an anchorage somewhere on the Mississippi. A long tough day on the water today -- all day on the Mississippi. Our longest day yet -- 154 miles with lots of north and southbound tugs/barges and a number of turbulent water areas. We are pushing to get off the Mississippi River as soon as possible because there are no reliable marinas for a boat our size, anchorages are not our forte, and the weather forecasts are foreboding (bad thunderstorms for several days). In spite of the pressure, we enjoyed today's run because of the beautiful scenery -- fall foliage, high limestone cliffs, small towns, large inviting sand bars, and the wildlife (osprey, blue heron, sea gulls, butterflies, etc). We finally anchored at mile 7.7 above the Interstate 57 Bridge, a place recommended by our Guidebooks and Fern Hopkins from Hoppies. We were joined by a fellow Looper ADIRONDACK (Jeff & Sally) and we all shared a restless night as a thunderstorm blew both boats closer together than what was comfortable. As a matter of fact ADIRONDACK drifted too close at one point during the night and pulled anchor to move and reset their anchor a little further away. 9-20-06: A little delay starting this morning due to fog, but once we got going we made 80 miles, finishing up the Illinois River and our initial entry on the Mississippi River. It was an eventful day because we had both engines stop on us. The first time was at Grafton IL and the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. We dropped our anchor mid-channel until Tony figured out the problem (ran out of fuel in our forward tank -- OOPS!). We initially wondered if the mighty Mississippi had it in for us, but fortunately Tony was quick in figuring out the problem and there was no tug/barge or pleasure craft traffic. The second time the engines stopped was a little more exciting. We had just exited the Chain of Rocks Lock, but were still in it's canal. It took a little longer for Tony to find the remedy this time -- hand pump fuel through the filters and into the engines. The starboard engine started and stayed on after a few stops and starts, but the port was a little more difficult. It eventually succumbed to the same manipulations, but not without some tense moments. Gratefully, Alex and Cece, aboard SEA SEA who went through the lock with us, saw we were having problems, returned and volunteered to stay with us in case we needed additional assistance. No sooner had the engines started and we exited the canal into the Mississippi, and we could see the St. Louis Arch. What a treat to see The Arch, but it is such a shame that there is no marina in the immediate area to dock and tour it. After St. Louis and the tug/barge traffic, the rest of the day on the Mississippi was beautiful with the beginning of fall foliage colors contrasted against tall limestone cliffs. We docked at Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick IL and met Fern Hopkins. This is a well known Looper stopover because Fern provides an afternoon "navigation seminar" providing local river knowledge guiding Loopers into safe overnight anchorages and locations of potential problem areas due to currents, underwater rocks, stumps, shoals, etc. After Fern's lecture we met Alex and Cece for a delicious dinner and unwinding at The Old House. 9-19-06: We had an early morning start and a long, easy day moving down the Illinois River. It turned out to be our longest run to date -- almost 150 miles. We went through the last two locks on the Illinois (Peoria and LaGrange) and fortunately the water level was very high and we could "sail over the wicket dams" for both of them. It is a little scary to bypass a lock and cruise over the dam. Good news -- no waiting time. : ) South of Naples (Illinois, not Italy), we passed the westernmost point of our Great Circle Loop adventure. From here on we only head south and/or east. We docked in Hardin IL at Mel's Illinois Riverdock Restaurant for dinner and overnight. We had a great dinner of brisket with Mel's special seasoning and a nice conversation with Mel, his wife and daughters. 9-18-06: We left Ottawa for Peoria IL. Marinas that can accommodate us in length and depth are scarce. Their depths are usually very shallow, but thankfully they have mud and silt bottoms. BREAKAWAY dug a new channel for the Starved Rock Marina. We were lucky to get in and out unscathed. We called the Starved Rock Lock from the marina and they said the lock was clear. Again, what luck! Today there was no fog, only one lock and all high bridges! We made 65.3 miles in only 5.9 hours; eleven miles per hour. We called three marinas for reservations. We made a reservation at one and were on a waiting list at another one, and left a voice mail message at Illinois Valley Yacht Club Marina. We are staying at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club Marina (IVY), because Mike and Linda Gardner, an ex-commodore of the Yacht Club heard us trying to call the marina again, with no success. The club is closed on Monday, and no staff was available to help. Mike volunteered to guide us into the marina and get us a slip. What luck! Three other Loopers heard the radio chatter and arranged the same accommodations. Boaters are the best. Their generosity and helpfulness can not be beat. Today, Renee and I are celebrating 41 years since our first date on my motorcycle to the York, Pennsylvania State Fair. I won her a teddy bear at the basketball booth, and she made me ride the Ferris Wheel (probably the highest I had ever been at that time.) 9-16-17: Matt & AJ Urich came to visit. Great time. We talked Penn State Football, family, ate and drank well. They also drove us to town for breakfast, then re-provisioning at Krogers. AJ is a Philadelphia Eagles fan and if she does not wear her game day Eagles attire, the team will certainly lose. We assume the Eagles won because she had her gear on Sunday. Maybe it helped her fishing too. She floated bread crumbs that were followed and eaten by a 20" carp right up to BREAKAWAY's swim deck. Researching the bridge heights from Ottawa IL to St. Petersburg, we decided we could put our radar arch up again. Thank you Matt and AJ for helping us with that task. BREAKAWAY is back together and looking like she should again. 9-15-06: Left Harborside Marina for Ottawa IL very early and had the next lock open and waiting for us. What luck! The passage was smooth and we continued down river. One-half mile past the lock we hit the fog. It was so thick that we had to turn around and tie up near the lock. If the radar arch was not lowered to get under the low bridges, we could have used the radar and GPS to proceed at a slow pace. After waiting about one hour, a tug came through the lock, going our way and we followed it until the fog lifted. Great, we were on the move again, however, we had to wait three hours at the next lock (Marseilles), which was only 10 miles from our next marina. In a way, the wait was lucky. Tony had time to find out why the port engine would not respond to the shift control. The bracket holding the hydraulic shift control cables on the port engine broke in half. Tony was able to use three hose clamps to repair the bracket and get us safely to the marina. The Starved Rock Marina is where we stayed for the weekend. Tony got the marina mechanics to weld the bracket and we hope it will not be a problem again. We got the BREAKAWAY ready for a visit by Matt & AJ Urich, Renee's nephew. 9-14-06: We got an early start this morning to try to make up for the lost time earlier this week due to bad weather. We had a great start on the Calumut River with no traffic and beautiful fall colors on the tree-lined river banks and quite a few blue heron. That beautiful scenery changed immediately when we joined the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal (CS&SC). For most of CS&SC we had lots of barge/tug moving traffic and the same parked on the sides of the narrow channel. Occasionally, the entire channel was blocked which made for some interesting maneuvering by Tony who handled it like a pro "passing on the one" (passing port to port on the one whistle). We made it through the 19 foot fixed bridge (the limiting bridge for doing the Loop) with 2 - 3 feet to spare with full fuel & water tanks and the radar arch down. We also made it through 2 Illinois River locks -- one was absolutely painless. We went through it immediately. The next one we came to we had to wait for a barge/tug to break in half and go through in 2 parts. The net result, we had to wait over 3 hours for our turn to go through the second lock. While we were waiting for our turn in the lock, our port engine would not go into forward or reverse. Mr. Fixit (Tony) went below and temporarily fixed the problem with 3 stainless steel hose clamps. It worked the rest of the way to our marina for the night in Wilmington IL. At the Harborside Marina, our overnight dock, we met fellow Loopers Jeanne & Bruce Melchert on the ADVENTURE and their experienced looper guest Terry. Terry had a "free pass" from his wife Nancy to ride along to Green Turtle Bay, KY. Thanks Nancy! Tony had cocktails with the Loopers while Renee worked on the log and dinner. Tony knows how to dodge some work, he learned well from his buddy Augie. The Loopers plan to leave tomorrow with us, after calling the next lock master, to avoid a major wait at the next lock. Another great day. 9-12-13-06: We left Hammond IN to enter the Calumet River and Sag Canal. It was foggy in the morning which delayed our departure. Checking with another boater and a marina who said the fog lifted, we left Hammond. Lots of bridges, two locks, rain, no wake zones and the belief we would not make the marina 60 miles down the canal, we stopped early at Dalton IL. It rained hard at times with thunder and lightening making us glad we stopped at Marine Services Corp. It is a marina with new docks and full services including boat storage. Barbara and John Walsh and Marie Lugurotis and staff welcomed us, made us feel at home, and offered to loan us a car for re-provisioning. That is always a treat! 09-10-11-06: We wait out the wind and rain in Hammond IN doing computer and boat projects, and planning the southern leg of the Loop trip while we have the luxury of idle time. We also have good Internet service so we finally get to update BREAKAWAY's website. 9-09-06: We take Wayne & Marti Phillips to O'Hare and run a few errands while we have use of a rental car. We do some chores and few projects aboard BREAKAWAY, but take time to watch Penn State lose to Notre Dame. : ( Fortunately the Lions managed to score 17 points late in the game. 9-08-06: We move from Chicago to Hammond, IN giving Wayne and Marti a taste of life on the move aboard BREAKAWAY. Before leaving Chicago, we took them through the Chicago Harbor Lock and up the Chicago River until we were too tall to pass under the bridge. Then it was out onto a very calm Lake Michigan where we headed south for about 15 miles. The Hammond Marina, where we are docked, is adjacent to the Horseshoe Casino. It was a little odd to us because the parking structures and auxiliary facilities are huge, yet the casino appears to be quite small and is housed completely on a boat. Must be some strange laws in Indiana about gambling. We learned that the entire marina must be vacated by the end of the month and will be renovated, along with the casino, over the next 1 - 2 years. 9-05-07-06: Mark Harris, an attorney friend of Tony's whose office is in downtown Chicago, visited us aboard BREAKAWAY before taking a walk to the AON Plaza where we had lunch at one of the local restaurants. Wayne and Marti Phillips, friends from CA, joined us for a visit on their return trip from New York City. We had some good runs in the morning before daily sightseeing activities that included the Navy Pier, Millennium Park (The chrome Bean), Grant Park (Buckingham Fountain), Field Museum (King Tut Exhibition and Sue, the most complete T. Rex), Shedd Aquarium, Chicago's Little Lady boat cruise, a double decker trolley tour ride, John Hancock Center, lots of good local food & drinks. 9-04-06: Labor Day was rainy in Chicago. We used the day to do chores aboard BREAKAWAY and run errands. Lloyd graciously offered the use of his car so we could run errands to Home Depot and Jewel grocery store. Unfortunately we were not able to find a good DSL connection, so we continue to run behind in updating BREAKAWAY's website. 9-03-06: Last night Lloyd Sargent offered to take Tony to West Marine since he has a car at the marina. Unfortunately it was not open when they arrived first thing in the morning. Brian and Lisa Urich (Renee's nephew -- brother John's son) from Theresa WI drove 2 1/2 hours for a visit with us. We had a very nice day together -- "catching up" with family activities; lunch aboard ABEGWEIT; a walk through Grant Park and the Jazz Festival; another walk, this time to the Navy Pier; and watch fireworks at the end of the marina from aboard BREAKAWAY. 9-02-06: It was time to move on today. The weather cleared up, with no small craft warnings. We had a great trip to Chicago with next to zero boat traffic, except off of Kenosha and Waukegan where there were groups of fishing boats and near Chicago where there were sailboat races. We toured the Navy Pier and Chicago Lock area before going into DuSable Marina. We got a fantastic spot with no nearby boats on 3 sides of us giving us a clear view of the Navy Pier and downtown Chicago. It was time for a thorough exterior cleaning of BREAKAWAY and in the process we meet Bob & his wife (fellow Loopers) from TURNING POINT. They were fortunate enough to leave the Albany Yacht Club just hours before it floated downriver during the June flood that trapped us in the Erie Canal. Tony also made friends with Richard Cosby, the ex-Commodore of the Columbia Yacht Club, and his wife Susan who graciously offered to sponsor us with a temporary membership to the club. He also invited us for drinks with them aboard ABEGWEIT, an ex-icebreaker from Canada and now the Columbia Yacht Club floating clubhouse. What a treat for us to have use of these facilities so close to our dock! On our way back to BREAKAWAY we realized neither of us was sure of the marina gate combination. Tony hailed some fellow boaters for the combination and in the process made some more new friends of Lloyd and Buffy Sargent aboard PIERE'S. 9-01-06: The wind has not stopped since we arrived in Racine. Small craft warnings are still being issued, so we stay in Racine for another day. We took the dinghy for a nice ride through this big marina (Reef Point). We also went up the Root River past all of the other (smaller) marinas until there was too much debris in the river to navigate safely. 8-31-06: We left Milwaukee today, but only made it as far as Racine WI due to rough water and wind. The weather forecasters were calling for small craft warnings again, but we decided to check it out for ourselves since yesterday we had the same forecast. Unfortunately, it was nasty, so we stopped after only 26 miles in Racine. The city is also going through a redevelopment process and just finished connecting their lake shore & city bike path which we got a chance to explore. 8-30-06: Left Manitowoc for Milwaukee WI. We left the marina early to try to avoid the pending bad weather, high seas, and small craft warnings. Fortunately the lake had swells of only 2-3 feet as we left the breakwater, so our plan to stop at any close marina if the weather turned bad was not necessary. Instead we pushed on and made 76 miles to Milwaukee. We decided to explore Milwaukee by taking an 8.4 mile bike ride through town. The city is revitalizing their down town and port areas and we benefited by using their lakeside and river bike/walk trails. We biked them both and stopped at a The Cheese Mart, Usinger's Sausage Company, and a few pubs to check out the Milwaukee brews. The bike ride was very scenic, and the food & brews reminded Renee of her German/Dutch heritage. After dinner at one of the pubs, the bike ride back to BREAKAWAY was a little shaky. What's the alcohol level for drunk bike riding? We weren't quite that bad, we were just curious. 8-29-06: Took a 4.2 mile run on the jogging path, then cleaned the boat. We had a pleasant visit from our friend Peter Brown. Pete lives in Madison WI with his wife Gretchen and their two children, Cooper & Kelsey. We had lunch at the Courthouse Bar and Grill, across from the local courthouse. Unique name. This is the closest Tony wants to get to a courthouse. Remember he is on sabbatical! : ) Peter said he enjoyed the drive over, since he had never been to Manitowoc before. We had a great lunch, and had to try the local brews. They were quite good. He had to leave after his short visit to prepare for his flight to California. He is joining Augie and Lynne for the Labor Day weekend with the Jerry Lewis telethon. Augie will be featured on the front page of the Parade Magazine this Sunday and will be participating with Lynne on the telethon. Augie is the spokesman for finding a "fast track" cure for ALS, which is supported by he & Lynne, their foundation (Augie's Quest), and the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association. Check out Augie's Quest. After Peter's departure, we went for a long walk around town, before dining on the BREAKAWAY. Another great day! 8-28-06: We left Frankfort MI for Manitowoc MI and crossed Lake Michigan from its east shore to its west. We chose to cross today because it was a calm day. Another new state for BREAKAWAY. We docked at a very nice municipal marina, near to a jogging path, down town, the YMCA and the Wisconsin Nautical Museum. We bought two PFD's (personal flotation devices) for the dinghy, BBQ'd some more of that fresh salmon and shared some with our looper neighbors, Larry and Doris from the MISSY B. 8-27-06: We left Charlevoix for Frankfort MI. We needed to get going early to catch the bridge opening to exit the Charlevoix harbor. The bridge opens on the hour and half hour. Initially Lake Michigan was rough, but BREAKAWAY handled it quite well. We arrived in Frankfort (driving through a bevy of fishermen) to find out the town was hosting a weekend fishing tournament - "Benzie Frenzie". We got fuel and dock space at the municipal marina, just before the fleet arrived at the marina for the weigh-in. What a scene! Boats all over the place, then fishermen carrying their coolers, heading for the stage for their official weigh-in announcement. We got to enjoy most of the festivities from the bow of BREAKAWAY. Lew Wolf from the VAGABOND was here also, and stopped by to say "HI"! Tony asked several fishermen what they did with all the fish they caught. They said they usually give them away. Well now, when people are giving away fresh caught coho and king salmon and lake trout. Tony could not pass this golden opportunity up. One fisherman offered us 7, 15-20 pound salmon. We only took 5, but the "catch" was, we had to clean them. We were shown the municipal fish cleaning station. What a great idea. Tony carried the fish in a black heavy duty trash bag to the cleaning station and promptly asked if any of the 6 fishermen cleaning their fish knew how to clean these things. He got lots of friendly help and later we had fantastic pink salmon filet for the "barbie" and freezer. The cleaning station was professional. Steel tables, drains, overhead water hoses, big wooden cutting boards and a dumpster full of fresh fish carcuss. John started to help Tony clean the fish, but his knife was too small and John took over. John was born and raised in the Frankfort area, but his mother lives in Long Beach. While Tony was BBQing we were visited by two white swans, our first real sighting of swans on the trip. 8-26-06: Moved Breakaway from the Irish Boat Shop to Charlevoix City Marina. It was raining but it was not a problem. Tested the repairs in Lake Charlevoix on the way. Everything appears AOK. The city marina is in the center of the town, which has about four traffic lights on the main street. Renee decided to give the Breakaway a good cleaning, even though it was raining half the time. Since the dock was right down town, there were a lot of passer-bys commenting to Renee about not needing to rinse the boat since it was raining. We went shopping for a few things, brought back an entire shopping cart of groceries and returned the cart like a "good little boy & girl". We BBQ'd chicken on the grill and had another enjoyable evening. 8-23-26-06: Left Mackinac Island for Charlevoix MI. You can locate it on the map here. We had a minor shaky departure -- we forgot to release a line. Oops! Embarrassed again. However, we had an easy run to the Irish Boat Shop and marina at Charlevoix. Ken (Big Boss-Yard Manager), John and Roger (Service Reps), Dan (Mechanic), Bill (Travelift Operator) Scott ( Mr. Gel coat) Andy ( Mechanic) and Mark (Parts Manager) helped lift BREAKAWAY out of the water to repair the damaged prop and keel. They all did a professional-quality job, while still having a sense of humor. While we were land-locked, we also had some additional service performed on the engines, transmissions and generator -- new fuel & oil filters and fluids. They are now ready for the run south to Mobile. We wanted a faster turnaround for the prop repair than what the Irish Boat Shop people offered so we called Washburn's Boatyard in Solomon's MD, where we previously had such great service & repair work done and asked Linda for her prop repair recommendation. Based on that we had Irish Boat Shop send both props to the same shop in Baltimore that Washburn's used for repair - Miller 's Island Propeller. Once that was all settled we biked to town for dinner at Whitney's Oyster Bar. Ummm Good! We were able to stay aboard the BREAKAWAY while it is up on stilts, saving us additional hotel expense. Charlevoix is another place we will visit again. It is another beautiful historic resort area. After Renee completed her work projects and log updates, she had the opportunity to tour the town by bike while Tony worked on the boat with Dan. Dan did a great job on all of the service. He is also a great fisherman as he went fishing after work and the next day he presented us with a sack full of salmon fillets! Thursday evening we had delicious fresh fish for the barbie (BBQ for you non-Aussie readers). It rained all day Friday which gave us a chance to stay aboard BREAKAWAY and catch up with the web page and other chores. The props are back on and engines running smoothly. 8-21-22-06: Left Drummond Island for Mackinac Island MI. Stayed at the Mackinac Island State Harbor. Had some rough water for about 13 miles, between Du Tour Passage and Martin Reef Lighthouse. No big deal. We were told that it was tough to get dock space at Mackinac, but the harbor was at least 1/2 half empty and we got a good space. Took a bike tour through town and partly around and through the island. Found a 5 bedroom, 4 bath house for sale on the 14th green for $525K. What a deal! There are many big beautiful homes here. We were not aware that so many people lived on the island. This place reminds you of an upscale village of Avalon on Catalina Island off the Southern California Coast (26 miles across the sea . . .).The water is crystal clear, ferries come and go, the Victorian homes and motels, tourist shops and it is mostly an undeveloped island. However, Mackinac is unique since it has no cars or golf carts. Horse drawn carts, bikes and shoe leather express are the only means of transportation. We went for an evening walk in town and found a hotel that was showing "Somewhere in Time" which was filmed on the island with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Chick flick, but free. Tuesday, was a picture perfect Chamber of Commerce day. The weather was absolutely beautiful-- warm (mid-70's) and sunny. We biked the 8-mile loop along the island's water's edge and took every little hiking trail off of the bike trail around the island. It was so scenic, we kept stopping to take pictures all day, but our pictures do not do it justice. We want to come back and take some more pictures of the beautiful blue sky with white puffy clouds, lush green coniferous tree woods with a sprinkling of white birch trees, white limestone rocks at Lake Huron's shoreline, and the lake's crystal clear green-blue water. We both kept saying how pleasantly surprised we were with the island and talked about spending more time here someday. We toured Fort Mackinac, a very well restored and period-staffed (Revolutionary War era) fort. We got to see rifle shooting and canon firing demonstrations before we had lunch overlooking the harbor from the fort's terrace. We also visited the grounds and gardens of the Grand Hotel, but refused to pay $12 per person to sit on the porch or go inside. Maybe someday when we come back we will have tea at the Grand Hotel, but I believe we will stay elsewhere, perhaps the Mission Point Resort Lodge. 8-19-20-06: Spent the weekend on Drummond Island. On Saturday, we did a 2.3 mile run and we were glad we holed up for the weekend. The weather forecast was correct and a hard storm with heavy winds and rain came through. Nice to be tied to a dock and be rocked to sleep rather than up all night worrying if the anchor will hold. John and Betty from the KATIE SUE were our dock neighbors. They are from Avalon, NJ and are also Loopers. John cleaned his boat during the rain storm. It seems odd, but he was not alone. Many other boaters were doing the same. Tony would have been doing it also, but he did the cleaning earlier in the day before our run when the BREAKAWAY was still wet with morning dew. We expect to see John and Betty again somewhere on the Loop. On Sunday we went for a bike ride. Had breakfast at the Bear Track Inn and did some provisioning. Met our other neighbor, Ken Winarski, on the DAYSTAR. He did a lot of fishing on the dock and shared some of his catch (perch) with us. Thanks Ken, very tasty. Ken retired from Ford where he helped design automobiles. Even worked at the Ford building in the Irvine Spectrum, Irvine CA. Small world. 8-18-06: Left Thessalon ON for Drummond Island MI. BACK IN THE U.S., BACK IN THE U.S., BACK IN THE U.S. OF Aaaaaa! Sorry for the song. Canada was great, we will return. We crossed the North Channel with clear skies and no wind. The water was so flat, and the sky & water were so much the same color, it was hard to tell where one started and the other ended. The Navionics chip for the GPS ended west of Thessalon and the new chip started 15 miles further west. NO GPS! Not a great feeling. We were able to make the passage safely with charts, but charts alone do not help, if you do not know where you are. Every island looks the same and the hidden rocks seem to be everywhere. Upon arrival at the Drummond Island Yacht Haven docks, we cleared U. S. Customs quite easily. We filled out some paperwork with an employee of the marina and that was it -- no questions, searches, declarations or boardings. KNOT BAD had just cleared customs and was heading to Mackinac Island. There is a Mackinaw City and a Mackinac Island. They are both pronounced the same - just as the City. Go figure! The cell phone is not working all the time, but we have Internet. We expect the cell to be on line by Monday. Took a 10 mile bike ride here on Drummond Island and checked out a highly recommended restaurant. We decided it was overrated. We taste tested the local ice cream here - - Mackinac Island Fudge in vanilla ice cream (UMMM!) and returned to BREAKAWAY for the evening. 8-17-06: Left Little Current for a good anchorage at either Aird or John Island. We left with sunny skies, but some clouds. The weather forecast was for nice sunny day, however the skies kept getting darker and the temperature cooler. As a result, we decided to press on to a marina in Thessalon ON and make reservations for Drummond Island MI for the weekend. The trip and scenery was nonetheless spectacular as we passed John Island and went through Little Detroit and Whalesback Channel. We even saw a bald eagle near Little Detroit fly around the boat and make a dive into the water. Unfortunately it came up empty clawed, but it was neat to see. Maybe some day we will be able to spend more time here. At the Thessalon Marina, we went for a bike ride on bikes provided by the town Lion's Club and local businesses. We were surprised to see docked next to us a beautiful houseboat called KNOT BAD that had been across the channel from us at Little Current last night. We met the owner, Bob, and his two friends, Sid and Rich, All are from the Sarasota FL area. They invited us and a local man, John, for a tour and a drink. Bob is doing the Loop and will be trading in Sid and Rich for his wife soon. We expect to meet up with them as we both continue our Loop adventures. Thessalon is a nice, clean, quiet lumber town, with a quarry. The marina was recently renovated and is very clean with deep water. It is a rarity with marinas. We seem to always churn up mud when entering and leaving a marina. A new development on Lighthouse Point has water view and/or water front lots for sale from $25.4 K to $277.3 K US. It sure sounds like a steal compared to California or Florida prices, but there is this weather thing. 8-16-06: Left Killarney for Little Current ON. Great weather, sunny, clear skies, no wind. Little Current is named because of the strong current that flows through the narrow channel. It is some times 4 - 5 MPH. The good news is that there was no current today, because there was little wind to create it. We passed under the swing bridge at the narrows with a group of other boats, including Burt & Prue from IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE. We docked at the Spider Bay Marina. Took a bike ride to town for some provisions and ice cream. Visited Turner's store which is operated by the family's 5th generation. The store is a small hardware, radio shack, marine, and clothing store on the first floor and an art & local crafts store and family museum on the second floor. We returned to town for drinks and dinner at the Anchor Inn Bar and Grill, which provides free wireless Internet to its customers. We took advantage of that free offer. The Little Current Yacht Club CruisersNet broadcasts on VHF 71 each morning at 9:00, from the Anchor Inn Bar and Grill, news, weather, and assists boaters in locating other boaters which is a great help for those in Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Thanks for the service. Back at the boat we were planning where we would anchor the next few days, weather permitting, when we were interrupted by two Canadian customs agents. They were checking some of the boats in the marina and searched all of the storage spots on BREAKAWAY for drugs and firearms. There is also a limit on importing alcohol, beer, cigarettes and cigars, but they were not really concerned about these items. We could have owed a major tariff on alcohol and beer if we could not prove we bought the alcohol in Canada! 8-12-15-06: We are spending the weekend in Killarney at the Sportsman's Inn. The marina is on both Killarney and across the canal on George Island. We are docked on George Island and the marina ferry "TINKERBELL" takes everyone back and forth. We took TINKERBELL to Killarney to repair a dingy harness cable, but the shop was closed. Tony fixed it himself. Also went grocery shopping at Pittsfield's and bought a new chart at Gateway Marina. Then had lunch at Herbert Fisheries which is famous for its (straight-off-the-boat)fish and chips. Actually it is the only thing on their menu and is sold out of an old converted red and white school bus. They have their own fishing fleet and clean the fish right there, before cooking it for you. Dessert was a cone of Farquhar's ice cream. Took a 4.7 mile hike on George Island. Met new neighbors, Bert and Prue Preston aboard their trimaran, IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE, and ended up enjoying a very pleasant dinner with them at the Killarney Mountain Lodge Restaurant. On the way back to BREAKAWAY, we saw a fox having dinner at the local trash bin. Bad weather forecasts caused us to stay an extra two days -- the bad weather was just strong winds. Nevertheless, it is always best to be careful. We also did a couple long walks and bike rides while in Killarney, but did not get a chance to explore the nearby Ontario Park in Killarney. We had hoped to see some moose on our hikes and/or bike rides, but no such luck. We were very fortunate, however, to have a wildlife encounter while sitting on BREAKAWAY late one afternoon. A sea otter got up on the dock adjacent to us and proceeded to clean himself and watch "the comings & goings of the humans". We think it was a very fair exchange. 8-11-06: Left the cove for Killarney ON. There was good water through the North East Passage. Called Andy Faville on the VHF radio and met him and his wife Julie at McFarlane's Island. It is owned by our friend, Scott McFarlane's family and Andy is Scott's cousin. Andy motored over from Hamilton Island for a chat with us. Pretty neat. More skinny shallow water, but we made it safely to Killarney. Also called Tom Seagram, a general contractor in Killarney, at the suggestion of Scott, just to say hi. He said he knew all about BREAKAWAY, and assisted in getting the local boat to assist in getting us off the rocks. Small world. Arranged to treat the BREAKAWAY with a bath, while we cleaned the interior, did laundry, web and email updates. Great dinner at the Sportsman's Inn Restaurant. Eric Pukara entertained us on the piano. He was so good, what a talent! He would like a job on Crystal Cruise lines at the end of the Killarney season. We hope he gets it. 8-10-06: Another exciting day. Major oops! Since the wind shifted, we decided to move the boat to a calmer spot. The wind was blowing us toward the rocks and it started to rain. We pulled up the stern anchor and then the bow anchor too soon and the wind was to strong. We had no room to maneuver and were blown onto the rocks. Wonderful. We lowered the dinghy. Renee then lowered the bow anchor into the dinghy and Tony tried to drop the anchor as far away as possible. It was not far enough, the anchor began to pull BREAKAWAY off the rocks, but soon began to slip and came loose. May Day, May Day! Thunder Bay Coast Guard replied, asked local boats to assist and sent out their own rescue boat. Tony tried the anchor trick again. This time Renee lowered the anchor and all 250 feet of chain into the dinghy. Tony took the anchor almost the entire way across the cove and dropped it. Slowly, we pulled on the anchor chain with the windlass and ultimately pulled Breakaway off the rocks. Coast Guard arrived, then a local boater arrived. We thanked them for their assistance and then we anchored in a calmer location in the cove. On the brighter side, a 6' black bear walked along the shoreline right in front of BREAKAWAY damage. The starboard prop has minor damage to three of the four flanges and the keel has a 4" bite out of its trailing edge. Thank goodness for the keel. Spent a peaceful night at this better anchorage. 8-9-06: After advice from Henry on where to go and anchor, we said good-bye to Jim and Shelia, then Bob and Kirsten and headed for Bustard Islands. It was a late start and we decided to run outside in Georgian Bay and not take the small craft-inside route. That was fine except for the last hour and one half. The wind came up and we had 6-7 foot abeam seas. It got real rocky, literally and figuratively, but we made it safely to our protected cove. Anchored in the cove for the night. Both Tony & Renee checked the anchor lines often during the night as the wind came up and changed 180 degrees. 8-8-06: Happy birthday Renee! Great way to celebrate a birthday. Left Honey Harbor for Henry's Fish Restaurant and Marina on Frying Pan Island-- about a three hour trip. Jim and Sheila from Miss Maddie followed us. Jim very politely told us we missed a red buoy, but there were two routes to take to Henry's. We had a good laugh about that. Really, any help working through the rocks and staying on course is always appreciated. On occasion one must stop, check the GPS and charts before proceeding. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Bob and Kirsten and kids from the Mystique X, the neighbor sailboat that survived the Lock 45 storm with us. Then cocktails on Miss Maddie before dinner at Henry's. Jim introduced us to butter tarts, the local dessert. No big celebration for Renee, every day is a celebration. 8-5-7-06: Finally had an opportunity to lower the dinghy. The davit worked fine and no oops! The Mercury 4 stroke engine has not been run for at least one year and would not start. We tried everything, carb cleaners, gas additives, water absorbers for the old gas, but nothing worked. Lots of dockside superintendents, but three helpers, Bill, Roger and Ty. Nothing worked. We had to haul the dinghy out of the water to clean the carburetor and replace the gas, then it ran fine. That was good because we plan to use the dinghy to explore areas BREAKAWAY cannot go. Had the bimini top removed, cleaned and waterproofed with Thompson's water sealer. Hopefully that works the next time it rains. Renee cleaned the Strataglass and we reattached all. Tony used Barry's Ford Expedition to go to Honey Harbor for supplies. There are no gas stations in town, they use the marinas for fuel, no traffic lights, one main store that sells groceries, hardware and marine supplies. Emailed Augie & Lynne for their anniversary. Cocktails with Martin and Leslie from When I Dream from Naples FL and South Bay Cove. Periodic conversations with Jim and Leslie Greenwood, our neighbors aboard the Miss Maddie, from Orillia/Toronto. 8-04-06: After making the decision to stay at the marina for the weekend, we decided to take advantage of the situation and get some projects done today. Barry, the owner of South Bay Cove Marina graciously went over our navigation charts with us and shared his knowledge of some special places we can explore while we are in Georgian Bay. We spent the rest of the day doing chores -- laundry, log, photos & website updates; bimini top removal for cleaning & water-proofing; and lowering the dinghy & working on its engine. We ended the evening with a late dessert at the Top of the Cove Restaurant and watched some TV for the first time since the NBA Finals. We must give credit to Barry and the South Bay Cove Marina. It is by far the best marina we stayed in so far. It is like a country club. It provides all the advertised services and more. A unique treat. Thank you Barry and staff (Bill, Jill and the rest)! 8-03-06: Left Port Severn Lock #45 to enter Georgian Bay. However, last night's thunderstorm uprooted and broke many large trees in this immediate area, destroyed power to the Port Severn and Big Chute Locks, and 150,000 homes in this mostly sparsely cottage populated area, and knocked out all phone service. We heard the Big Chute Lock operators had to swim ashore to safety after the lock lost its power. The power outage encompassed Port Severn to Parry Sound, including Honey Harbor, our next proposed stop. Fortunately our departure was only delayed half a day until power service at this lock and its downstream drawbridge were restored. We were excited because we finally exited the Trent Severn Waterway and entered Georgian Bay where we expected deep water and wide channels. Not so on our initial venture. To start with the high temperature engine alarm went off which immediately sent Tony scrambling into the engine room to open the through hull engine cooling water (he forgot to do this after cleaning the water filters). OOPS! Then the channel became narrow, twisty, shallow, rocky, and not that well marked. Since this is a 3-day Canadian holiday, we were inclined to find a marina to avoid the local crazy boaters, but we were also most anxious to anchor in a secluded cove. On our way to Honey Harbor we passed Beausoleil Island which is a national park and one place we thought we would try anchoring. Unfortunately it appeared to be very busy and the long weekend had not even started, and Renee wanted a protected dock after last night's storm. As we moved to South Bay Cove Marina recommended by Jim, the Port Severn Lockmaster, the water traffic increased, the channel got narrow, we took a red buoy on the wrong side & fortunately were going slow enough we could back up before hitting a big rock, and we could not understand the initial marina docking instructions. Needless to say, by the time we docked, both of us had run out of patience with each other and the rest of the world. After a drink, appetizers, and some decompression time, we had a very nice BBQ dinner and a pleasant evening. And it turned out this is such a nice marina, we decided to sit out the long weekend. Canada takes the first Saturday of August off as a Civic Holiday, similar to Labor Day in the States. 8-02-06: Click the following link to surf the Trent Severn Waterway web page. Two other web pages are: Friends of the Trent Severn Waterway and Canadian Parks. They are excellent. Left Lock #40 for another eventful day on the Trent Severn Waterway. We started out first thing this morning going through the Gamebridge Lock #41 and luckily ended up at Port Severn Lock #45 (the end of the Trent Severn Waterway) on the blue line. (The blue line is a concrete wall where you temporarily dock your boat while waiting to enter a lock). In between we completed Couchiching, Swift Rapids, and Big Chute Locks; crossed Lakes Simcoe, Couchiching, Sparrow, Little; and completed other miscellaneous smaller lakes, bays, channels, canals, and "narrows". It was a little nerve-wracking in a few too many places where the waterway was narrow or shallow or both. (We saw 3.2 feet on our depth meter and technically BREAKAWAY requires 4.5 feet -- and remember we are talking rocky bottom and potential damage to the props). Fortunately when the light oncoming traffic occurred, it was in the wider parts of the narrow channels. We also went "through" the Big Chute Marine Railway Lock which moved BREAKAWAY in 2 very large slings over land and a highway in a huge carriage run on railroad tracks. As if that was not exciting enough, all day we were listening to Coast Guard warnings about severe thunderstorms in the area. We kept watching the skies and went in & out of rain showers and had 3' - 5' swells crossing Lake Simcoe, but neither of us took the warnings too seriously. Within 2 hours after we were docked for the evening, a major thunderstorm came through with over 45 knot winds that made us very grateful we were docked to a solid concrete lock wall. 8-01-06: SPECIAL LOG ENTRY. Successfully transited the Kirkfield Lift Lock. This is literally the high point of our adventure, 256 meters above sea level. From here on, we travel down stream to complete the loop. The locks will lower us until we get to sea level again. In New York City, our longtime friends, Augie and Lynne Nieto, visited us. They have been travelling elsewhere since. However they are always with us, especially at the high point of our trip. They are fighting Augie's ALS (Lou Gehrig disease). The photo link is from the top of Kirkfield Lift Lock with Tony wearing the Augie's Quest T-shirt. This is the foundation Augie and Lynne established in conjunction with the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation (Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon) to find a cure. Log on to their web page and let us all help to find a cure. 8-01-06: What an adventure! Left Buckhorn ON for Lock #40 near Lake Simcoe. Approaching lock #34 Fenelon Falls, we were hit by a strong current from the dam. At the same time, both engines decided to quit. Renee was in the bow ready to enter the lock and was holding the Breakaway from the rocks by being buried in overhanging tree branches. After major panic and scrambling, Tony was able to start the port engine. That was good since it was further from the rocks. There was no room for error. The Trent-Severn Waterway is most unforgiving if one ventures outside the channel. Even in the canal, we had anxious times. We hit bottom in the middle of the channel when the depth meter said we had 4.5 feet of water. We have been in water where the meter said 2.9 feet and have not touched bottom. Go figure. Fortunately, we believe only the keel touched bottom. The bottom is generally rocky here, not like the mud in the ICW. It makes for a long day when the lake has a bottom averaging between 3 and 5 feet. We did make 58 miles, 9 locks and 9:19 hours of travel. It has been hot and humid. Glad we can keep the bimini top up. Believe it or not, we still went for a 2 mile run/walk at the end of the day in 92 degree temperature and humidity. 7-31-06: Left Peterborough for Buckhorn ON -- going through 11 locks. Successfully transited the Peterborough Lift Lock, the worlds highest vertical lift lock, rising 19.3 meters (65'). Did not cover many miles, but we were on the water in the sun & high humidity for another 8 hours. Tied Breakaway to the Buckhorn Lock wall (Lock #31). The locks provide overnight mooring and camping. There are also time limits as to how long you may stay that vary depending on the activity level of the lock. This is a good alternative to marinas and anchoring, when they are not available. The lock buildings provide bathrooms, trash pick up, but no water or electricity for the boat. The Canadians call electricity "hydro" which really confused us the first few times we tried to hook up. We were ready to hand them our hoses instead of the power cords. We plan to make this week a week on the move. If all goes as planned, we will be in Georgian Bay for the weekend. We did 38 miles in 9:19 hours - a lot of time in locks. All went well except for the last two locks. The Breakaway drifted too far from the lock cable, causing Renee to drop her boat hook. Fortunately, it floats and could be easily retrieved. On the last lock, Renee had to shift the fenders from the starboard to port because other boats were in the lock. But Tony forgot to center the rudders and "walking" Breakaway into the lock was like a drunken sailor. On the boat we are learning patience, and also humility. Eventually, we got tied to the lock cables and completed the last lock of the day. That required a walk about town and dinner out. Good recovery strategy. 7-30-06: Went to the Holiday Inn to use their Wi-Fi to update the web page and check email. Bike ride to the Peterborough Lift Lock to check it out. When we leave tomorrow, it will be our second lock. It is the world's highest hydraulic lift lock, 65' vertical lift. 7-29-06: Slept in a little, but after a few chores, we did a 4 mile run-walk around Little Lake. Thunder showers and a walk in downtown Peterborough in the rain. The marina is located on Little Lake adjacent to Del Crary Park. The centerpoint of Little Lake is a 250-foot jet of water (the highest in Canada) that is lit at night. The city put on a festival at Del Crary Park with a Elton John & Billy Joel Pianoman Concert in the evening and fireworks on the water. All we had to do was sit on the boat to hear and see it all. It is nice of the cities to entertain us so often. 7-28-06: Left the lock wall and went to the Peterborough marina for the weekend. Again we try not to travel on weekends or holidays because of the increased local traffic. It was only 1.2 miles, and a nice short day on the water. It gave us time for a bike ride before moving to the marina and time to clean the boat. It needed it, locks seem to really be dirty. Also talked to the lock masters, Greg and Rob about the lock history, winterizing the locks, water level management and things to do in Peterborough. They needed to increase the water level above the lock and did so by adding another timber log to the dam. They had a diesel driven machine that picked up the log and slid it down into the water flow; raising the water above the dam. In the past this was done manually. Great engineering. These locks were designed and built in the 1840's. At the marina, we met Randy & Audrey ("Heart Tug") and Paul & Jackie (Boogaboo III). Boaters love to talk about each other's boats, ask questions, give advice and are very helpful to other boaters. Size does not matter here. The local restaurant had an afternoon concert for us and the Holiday Inn had an evening concert for us. 7-27-06: Left Campbellford for Peterborough ON. Very difficult to predict where we will stop and therefore where to make reservations at a marina. Locks can be open and waiting for you or they may be handling opposing traffic and you must wait. You may be the only boat or there may be so many boats that you are rafting with one to three other boats. On the waterway, there are speed limits in the canals, but none on the open lakes. However, passing other boats, fishermen and boats moored at a dock require you to slow down and minimize your wake. This all takes time and varies each day. For the second time, the starboard engine would not start again in a lock. It happened on the first lock of the day, lock 13! Maneuvered out of the lock, tied up, shook, cleaned and lubed a few things and it started for the rest of the day. We has a little rain, but we are quite used to it now. The weather forecast in California seems to always be: "Late night and early morning low clouds." On the East coast and Canada, it seems to always be: Possible scattered thunder showers and rain". No wonder they have so many lakes and rivers. Made it through shallow water areas and 22' high bridges with no problems. We finally stopped, just short of Peterborough and stayed overnight at a lock wall. We have purchased a seasonal pass to permit us to moor at the entrance or exit of any lock and National Parks. This was our first trial. They do not usually provide the marina services of water, pump-out (blackwater holding tank) and electricity. However, the Breakaway can be completely self-sufficient so long as we have water, holding tank capacity and diesel for the generator. The generator will charge batteries and permit us to run air conditioners and the washer-dryer. We will be going without marinas more often in the future. There were no other boats on the wall, and it was very peaceful, with the background roar from the nearby dam. Filet Mignon, baked potatoes on the BBQ and a salad. Another good day. 7-26-06: Left Trenton for Campbellford ON. First full day on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Similar feel to Lake Champlain and Richelieu/Chambly Canal systems. We only moved 30 miles, but had 12 locks to negotiate. Nine hours on the water, but only 5 hours of running time. You are required to turn off the engines while in a lock. Dined on pork loin, baked potatoes and salad while we listened to a concert in the park across from the waterway. 7-24 & 25-06: Left Sackets Harbor for Trenton, ON, the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. Although the first part of the trip across Lake Ontario was a little bumpy due to the 4 - 5 feet wind chop, it turned out to be quite a nice trip. The stabilizers worked great so we did not roll, just a little pitching. BREAKAWAY is docked in front of a nicely landscaped city park and its gazebo. We had a delicious dinner at Tomasso's Restaurant recommended by Craig from the Fraser Park Marina. We spent an extra day in Trenton to plan the next leg of the trip, re-provision, and do a few more chores. Walked to the local A&P for groceries, the local bank to exchange US dollars for Canadian dollars, the tourist information center for a local map. Remeasured the height of BREAKAWAY, since we need to get under 22' bridges. BBQ'ed salmon and baked potatoes on the stern for dinner. Re-filled our water supply to get ready for being self-sufficient while we are in the Trent- Severn Waterway. Another good day. 7-23-06: Slept in, began doing boat chores. Changed coolant filters, cleaned the boat and did laundry. Paid bills, did accounting, email, logs, web page update, edit pictures, talked with neighbors Tom & Helen aboard the SEA KNIGHT and Jimmy & Chris Thom aboard the WEEKEND WATERBED. Nice neighborhood. We took a walk through the battlefield to listen to a singer, but she was taking a very long break. We eventually gave up and walked through town and back to the harbor to watch boats coming off of Lake Ontario. 7-22-06: A windy, blustery day, rainy early and during our 38.8 mile bike ride for provisions. I think we need to rent our bikes out to any drought areas as a guaranteed rainmaker. We listened to music from the pavilion and watched the parade. Americana at its finest. Walked to Good Fellos for pizza and pasta dinner, then back to the BREAKAWAY to watch the spectacular fireworks. We enjoyed the fireworks over the water. 7-21-06: Left Prescott for Sackets Harbor NY. Only place we were able to find marina space. We are at Navy Point Marina. You need to visit these web sites showing real Americana. We left Prescott very early because we had a lot of unknown miles to cover. We estimated 60 miles and it turned out to be 86 miles in 8.2 hours. However, it was a beautiful trip. The morning started out overcast, but it cleared up to be sunny and bright, great for taking photographs. Check them out! We saw some beautiful scenery. The prettiest were along Brockville & Brockville Narrows ON, both begin the 1000 Islands area. Next was Alexandria Bay. But Brockville Narrows had lots of little islands with little coves to overnight with the boat, while Alexandria Bay was more commercial with tourists/tour boats. Both areas also had very large, wealthy looking estates. More nice places to go back and explore someday. We finally left the St. Lawrence River by early afternoon and entered Lake Ontario. Again we were fortunate with the weather, as the lake was quite calm, despite its size. We finally docked at Navy Point Marina, a very nice, protected marina with lots of beautiful flowers and a garden with a little brook overlooking the lake. BREAKAWAY is docked just across the small harbor from the Marketplace gazebo on Main Street, Sackets Harbor. We again lucked out because this weekend is their CAN-AM (Canadian-American) festival with parades, performers, tall ship, a classic wooden lake boat, the "Zipper", BBQ's, crafts fair, fireworks, etc. By coincidence, IN THE MOOD (Don & Leslie Tomeny's Carver 44) are also docked here. We have hopscotched marinas, locks and dined with them for the last 5 days. A charming couple we hope will do the loop some day. 20-06: Left Crysler Park Marina for Prescott ON. (ON is for the Provence of Ontario) Be sure to check out this Prescott link. Had a marathon type day. Only 26.5 miles in just over 4 hours. We are having a difficult time getting marina reservations due to the Canadian contractors taking their 2 week summer holiday. What is more amazing, we cannot find a diesel mechanic to do our 500 hour service on the 450 Cummins engines. It is only a change of oil and coolant and the associated filters. When all else fails, we can set up our own diesel service company since we may just do it ourselves. We had only one lock to pass through today, Iroquois Lock # 7, the last lock on the St Lawrence Seaway. We now came from near sea-level up approximately 260 feet to the level of Lake Ontario. We try not to move on weekends, due to the increased local traffic. We had to make reservations on the US side of eastern Lake Ontario at Sackets Harbor NY. This area is called the 1000 Islands, even though there are 1800 islands. Gary Hill from Hill's gas dock in Newport Beach, CA sent me an email telling me how to use the forward fuel tank, which we had shut off when Gary polished our fuel and tanks last October. If anyone cares, you must shut off both aft fuel tanks and open the forward tank, the engines will then draw from the forward tank. The engines will draw from the path of least resistance, which is usually the aft tanks. Thanks Gary, it is nice to know you are only an email away. And Gary, we could use your mobile fuel boat to top off our tanks?! 7-19-06: We left Creg Quay Marina early this morning and continued heading west on the St. Lawrence Seaway. We went through two American Locks (Snell and Eisenhower) and experienced a real "free for all" in getting a position on the lock wall. In some cases the lock attendants told boats where to tie up and in other cases either the boats didn't hear or ignored the directions. Fortunately for us, unlike yesterday where we were on the wall, today we were the middle of the raft and just got to ride the water up and not fight to keep the boat from banging against the wall. Tonight we are docked at Crysler Park Marina in Ontario. We traveled another 43 miles in another 8 1/2 hours. Near the end of today's run we took Breakaway out of the channel and enjoyed the cool, clean refreshing waters of the Seaway. It's not as buoyant as the Pacific; I wonder why? 7-18-06: Left Montreal to enter the St. Lawrence Seaway. Negotiated 4 Canadian locks to arrive at Creg Quay Marina. The Marina is on Lake St. Francis and across from St. Anicet. We waited at the first two locks for the Captain Henry Jackman, a commercial vessel. They have priority over all pleasure craft. The locks have a complex set of lights that control entry and exit from the locks. Lights (single and double), red, yellow and green. Similar to traffic lights. However, they are on or off, blinking and in combinations. Basically, we wait for a double green and sometimes an announcement from the lock master to enter the lock. The system is designed for the commercial traffic and it seems to work. 7-16-06: Left Sorel for Montreal. We are now heading West! Actually, Southwest. Heading up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. Another beautiful waterway. The major issues are: strong current, from 1- 6 knots on our bow, all the boat traffic, a few commercial ships, jet skis, fishermen, strong headwinds, and did we mention a lot of small pleasure crafts. The pleasure crafts have no concern for speed, wake or any other boat. In the ICW most boats had those concerns. This is also "Contractor Two Week Vacation" period. Think of your painter or gardener on the waterway with a high powered speed boat! Chaos at its best. After 46.6 miles and 5: 30 hours, we made it to Montreal. We are docked at the Old Port Marina (for those of you who know French, Port d'escale du Vieux Port de Montreal) in old town Montreal. We are in the center of a fish bowl. 50 feet above us is the Quay Promenade where everyone in Canada constantly walks and looks at the Breakaway. We walked old town, had dinner at a French restaurant and apre-dinner drinks outside on the Place Jacques Cartier, another promenade in Vieux Montreal with all the sidewalk attractions of a circus (singers, artists, jugglers, fire twirlers, etc. 7-14 -15-06: Left early for a long day of 60 miles and 10 locks. What an exciting adventure! While in one lock, the starboard motor decided not to start. First time we had any trouble with starting the motors, and it had to be in a very tiny lock with two other boats. Tony had to maneuver the Breakaway through the next two locks on one engine, just as the wind came up. Not knowing what else to do, Tony went down into the engine room and shook the starboard transmission shift linkage. That worked and the motor started for the rest of the day. If the transmission is not in neutral, it will not start. Just needed to convince the motor it was in neutral. Then the synchronizer stopped. Tony had turned it off to run with only one motor. We ran the rest of the day working both throttles simultaneously. Then the GPS which we use to track our route and post it on the front page of this web site stopped working. To say the least, it was a day of mishaps. All worked again by the next day. Stayed at the Marina de Saurel to reprovision the Breakaway and take a bike tour of the town of Sorel and got caught in a downpour. Cooked pork loin and baked potatoes on the Bar-B-Que. Interesting observation: no cell phones, no Ipods, no newspapers for sale or newspaper readers. The people we met in Quebec so far are observers and do help other boaters dock their boats. Once you break the ice, they like speaking English and are very inquisitive. 7-13-06: We refuelled the Breakaway and headed North to Canada. Cost of fuel has constantly risen as we go North. First stop was the Canadian customs dock. They checked our papers, asked a few questions and permitted us to pass into Canada. Next stop was our marina at St Jean sur Richelieu. Welcome to France, we mean Canada. French is the dominate language and no signs or menus in English. We should have done our homework in our French classes. We walked the town and had a beer at a local garden saloon. This is a Thursday night and the locals are all out walking, biking, and sitting by the water. 7-12-06: Left Essex for Rouses Point NY. Wonderful ride through Lake Champlain. Few boats and marinas. If this lake was in Southern California . . . The lake is the largest fresh water lake in the US, except for the Great Lakes. Rouses Point is only 1 mile from the Canadian boarder. Stayed at the Lighthouse Marina and had dinner at their San Marino restaurant. 7-11-06: Put the bimini top back up since we will not have low bridges until the Trent-Severn waterway. The top really helps shield us from the sun and the rain. We are glad to have it back up. Tony disabled the macerator per Lake Champlain requirements. Try to minimize lake pollution. The southern part of the lake is more like a river or canal rather than a lake. It has rocky cliffs and heavy woods of evergreens and birch. The Amtrak line runs right along the western side of the lake. It would be a great train ride on the daily run between NYC and Montreal. We arrived at the Essex Marina about 1700. We were greeted by the marina owner/dockmaster Barry Hamilton, a fellow Penn State Graduate! There are two marinas here, the other has fixed (not floating) docks and is under water due to the 100 year high water of the lake. Essex is a very nice, scenic, and historic town. Certainly worth a future visit. The Governor of New York State has a farm just down the road and occasionally visits Barry for Belgian beers. 7-10-06: Headed North on the Champlain Canal. Passed through less populated areas since we left the Hudson River and entered the canal. Beautiful rocky cliffs, evergreens and some white birch. Almost 9 hours, 52 miles and 9 locks. That makes for a long boating day. Renee almost lost her boat hook when it caught on a lock rope and the rubber hand grip slid off from the pole. However it hung on the rope and was retrieved. The lock masters have fun retrieving hundreds of boat hooks each year when they clean the lock. Finally arrived at the Lock 12 Marina, the entry into Lake Champlain, and docked for the night. Dinner at Finch & Chubb Restaurant overlooking the marina and lock made for a relaxing evening. 7-9-06: Stayed in Mechanicville at the municipal wall. Free dockage provided by the local town merchants. Awakened at 0400 by civil defense sirens. Tried to find out what is going on, still concerned about flooding. There is no activity from fellow boaters or the neighborhood. Another siren at 0500, and again no signs of activity. Later the police told us that that is their way of alerting the fire department to a fire or auto accident. Have they not heard of the telephone? Worked on the Breakaway and lowered the bimini top and satellite TV so the Breakaway can get under several 17' bridges. Toured the town of Mechanicville. 7-8-06: The Erie Canal is closed west of Schenectady NY. It will be closed for at least 8 weeks. Therefore, we backtracked 6 locks to the Hudson River at Waterford NY and are now continuing our Great Loop Trip via the Champlain Canal. We are currently in Mechanicville NY. But before going further in this log, we must talk about the Schenectady Yacht Club. We arrived there on June 26 and just left today. The Yacht Club is a "Working Yacht Club." That means the members maintain the club and do all the work that they can perform. Each male member must put in 40 hours per year and the female members must volunteer at least 8 hours. As with boaters, they all pitch in. We must thank the members for their friendship and support while we awaited the locks to be opened to continue the Loop. To name a few -- Dockmaster Dan, for moving things around so the Breakaway could stay at the gas dock on the west end of the marina. There was enough room for the Breakaway and Jan's Tern, a 40 foot Tollycraft owned by Bob and Jan Kossman. Their anchor chain was also a lifesaver for the marina. Commodore Tom Caron and board member Gary Maliszewski led the members in designing the plan to add additional cables to secure the marina docks to the original Erie Canal aqueduct stones west of the marina, to trees and light poles on shore and required the other marina boat owners to tie their boats to the shore. After the Mohawk River crested on June 29, they organized the repair and restoration of the docks. You can see the pictures which are posted on the Photo Album. I do not have the names of all the helpers, but Bobbie, Bob, Bill, Michael, Doug, John, Brian, Billy, Vince (Vinnie), Rick, Rich, Pete, Kurt, Gary, and Jack. I know I missed some, but if anyone will email me with full names of everyone, I will be happy to update this log. Bob and Mary la Fountain drove us to and from the Holiday Inn. Brian made a van available to the transient boaters that were locked in with us. Bob, Mary and Bobbie Harris Gerolymatos and his wife Irene cooked dinner for us for three nights, while Tony taught them how to bartend. The club got its marina in "working" order in only one day, a major surprise for most members, but a lot of repair and replacement work remains. Because the marina was back in operating condition, the annual Canal Fest Kick Off at the Club was not canceled. Friday the Fest was opened by the Yacht Club with hundreds of participants, a rock band and a great Caribbean buffet. We cannot express our gratitude to the members for their friendship and caring during our "Lockup". They even gave the welcome mat to Renee's sister Kandy, her husband Jeff and granddaughter Josie who visited us for three days and helped enjoy Schenectady, Blue Mountain Lake and Museum and the Cohoes Falls. They were traveling from Florida in their 19' Air Stream. What an adventure for all! 6-29-06: Breakaway is at the Schenectady Yacht Club on the Mohawk River and may be there for a week or two, or maybe even a month or more. We do not know, nor does anyone else know at this point. We are lucky, safe, and so is Breakaway, at least for now. The entire Erie Canal is closed due to major flooding. All locks are under water, heavy debris including navigation buoys have floated down the river, and the water is too high for Breakaway to get under bridges. The rain and thunderstorms are continuing today and forecasted again for tomorrow. So far however, Breakaway is holding its own and from all accounts is saving the marina. Its anchor chain is secured to a highway guard rail on shore. It is also tied to the docks holding them together, and as first in line in very severe current (estimated to be 20 - 25 mph), it is protecting the smaller boats and the docks they are attached to. Breakaway is the largest boat at the marina and if it was not chained like this, the small cables holding the other buckled docks and the other boats would more than likely break loose and cause a domino effect of devastation for the entire marina. Local news reports show flooded houses, a boat crushed under a bridge with the owner lifted off by helicopter, boats attached to docks from the Albany Yacht Club (where we docked Breakaway last weekend) floating down the Hudson River, houses washed away, and interstate & other major road closures due to flooding & washed out bridges. The good news is the Mohawk River is expected to crest today and if the Breakaway holds until tomorrow, the crisis may be over. All boat owners were told to evacuate last evening; we felt like we were abandoning Breakaway when we left. We stayed in a hotel in Schenectady and will again tonight. Again we are safe and the Breakaway is still afloat. 6-26-06: Left Albany for the Erie Canal and are spending two days at the Schenectady Yacht Club because the Erie Canal locks are closed due to high water. We plan to leave on Wednesday if the locks reopen. Spent last weekend in Albany and Dumont NJ. Tony's sister, Ann's daughter, Sharon, got married to Scott and we attended the celebration. Great time. Got to see the Tony's brother Tom, his daughter Molly and friend Jason, sister Ann and hubby Bill, sister Anita and hubby Steve from Orlando Fl. This week we have weather forecasts of rain and plenty of it. So we left Albany and started the Erie Canal. The first lock was closed until 10 AM because of a barge leaking oil. Once on the move, we completed locks E-2 through E-7 and decided to have a shorter day (miles not time) only 28 miles and 8:30 travel time. Locking is easy, but keeping off the concrete walls is tough. We want to protect the boat and fenders, but the lock turbulence makes us work hard with the boat hooks to stay off the lock walls. Not a lot of success, but we both try hard. Rained hard most of the day, which Tony enjoys it, but makes rain travel difficult. There are lots of waterfalls into the canal, beautiful homes, rowers, boat docks, rocks and trees down to the water. Not bad. Would like to have clearer weather and more progress, however, we are learning patience and appreciating BOAT TIME. It is less predictable than Contractors Time or Mexican Time. 6-22-06: Left Catskill NY for Albany NY. Docked at the Albany Yacht Club, one of the oldest yacht clubs in America. Again, another scenic cruise of the Hudson. We are 100 miles from NYC and there is a major shipping port in Albany with commercial ocean-going ships. We passed a few on the trip here. While here, we are planning our trip through the Erie Canal and provisioning the Breakaway. 6-21-06: Left New York to navigate the Hudson River to Troy NY. Yesterday, we stopped at Haverstraw NY at the Haverstraw Marina and today Catskill NY at the Catskill Marina. What a change from NYC. A beautiful river, hills, stone cliffs, mountains, blue sky, and reflections on the water. Peace and tranquility. We passed so many historic and interesting points of interest, it is hard to describe. How about, West Point, Singsing Prison, Bannerman's Castle, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Poughkeepsie NY, FDR's home and Presidential Library, Vanderbilt Mansion, Appalachian Trail (Tony hiked part of it as a boy scout.) 6-18-06: From the Breakaway, we have a view of the entire Manhattan skyline as well as the Statue of Liberty - Not bad. We have been in New York City for almost a week and have seen or visited the Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park, Staten Island, Empire State Building, Twin Towers Ground Zero, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square, 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Plaza, Today show broadcast booth, and great restaurants. We explored the area via BREAKAWAY, light rail, subways, taxi cabs, water taxi's, bicycle, and lots of "shoe leather express". We have been visited by Augie, Lynne & Dave Nieto. Great fun, good food, wonderful sights, and even time for our daily workouts. 6-12-06: We left Atlantic City NJ and made a safe, comfortable Atlantic Ocean trip of 116 miles to New York Harbor. We were welcomed to New York Harbor with a spectacular view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty as we passed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. We cruised the harbor and enjoyed more of the Manhattan skyline, Brooklyn & Manhattan Bridges, the Battery, Chelsea Pier, and the aircraft carrier Intrepid. We eventually docked at the Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey, which is adjacent to Liberty State Park and within walking distance of Ellis Island, Liberty Island and the Statute of Liberty. 6-9-06: We enjoyed Cape May NJ for the week, even though it included some stabilizer repair time. We took the opportunity to bike in Cape May and Wildwood as part of re-provisioning trips. We were here for the Cape May Strawberry Festival on Sunday and ate Maryland Crab Cakes and strawberry shortcake. We also made a point of visiting the famous Lobster House because it was easy -- just a walk across the parking lot from Utsch's Marina where we were docked. For those interested we got "take out" dinners of Chesapeake Blue Crabs and Stone Crab Claws and ate in the flying bridge at sunset. Today we left Cape May for a short trip to Atlantic City NJ. We are spending the weekend at Trump Marina. The Stabilizer pump replacement worked after some minor adjustments by Tony and we had a safe, smooth trip North on the Atlantic Ocean. The ICW is too narrow and shallow to follow through NJ. Most Great Loopers "run outside" to New York City. 6-2-03: Left Delaware City for Cape May NJ. Another new State. Burned out the stabilizer hydraulic pump. Ordered one from Naiad and had it delivered on Saturday. Now to correctly install it. Will get some help from the local mechanic. Hopefully, he knows more than we do. Biked through Cape May for stops at Acme for groceries and Ace for more tools cleaning supplies. Burgers on the Barbee tonight. Thunderstorms last night and rain today, but did not stop our bike ride. Wet clothes do dry out, as we do. Glad to have three heating and air conditioning systems. Nice boat. 6-1-06: Left Baltimore for Delaware City DE and the Delaware City Marina. Very small village with friendly natives. Enjoyed walking and biking the town. Enjoying ice cream and the views. Severe lightening and thunder storm with occasional strong wind gusts. Glad to be secure at the dock. Could have gone to Philadelphia PA. However decided to go to the mouth of the Delaware Bay - Cape May NJ. 5-30-06: We are at the Baltimore Inner Harbor Marine Center after a successful navigation through the Chesapeake Bay. We were visited by Dad Russell, Tom & Pat Russell, John Heffernan, Steve & Janet Rasch and Dave & Ann Lawrence. The Russell's came from York, PA, Heffernan & Rasch's from Newport Beach, CA and the Lawrence's from San Luis Obispo, CA. We celebrated the Memorial weekend by taking our visitors on several harbor boat trips past Fort McHenry, listening to the square rigger Constellation's cannon at Noon, watching all the tourists walk the Baltimore Inner Harbor Promenade, and eating lots of crabs(Maryland Crab Soup, Crab Cakes, Soft-shelled Crabs, & Crab Salad). It was a great weekend. We are heading to Cape May NJ next via the C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware) Canal that connects the two bays. 5-21-06: We are at Solomons Island MD after a wonderful trip from Portsmouth VA. The sun rose to a clear sky with no wind. We left the Portsmouth/Norfolk area and entered the Chesapeake Bay. What a thrill. We saw all kinds of war ships in Norfolk, commercial shipping, lighthouses, and the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel-Bridge. The bay was calm and we did not have to worry about the current, tide or depth. Last night Renee and I charted the course, entered 9 waypoints into the GPS and hit them all. It was over one hundred miles and, believe it or not, we knew where we were going! We are working on an easy way to add photographs to the web page and hope to overwhelm you with spectacular pictures. Visitors included Debbie and James Urich, Kelly (Urich), Scott, Lauren & Olivia Weiner. Some repair work to the stabilizers was promptly and perfectly done by Washburn Marine. Chris, Erik, Rick and the rest of the repair crew are highly recommended for any boat service. A fresh supply of donuts each morning works wonders! 5-19-06: We are in Portsmouth VA, home of the worlds largest and deepest natural harbor. Its neighbor is Norfolk VA. From Coinjock Va, it was only 48.8 miles and it took 6.5 hours. It was a slow day, only 8 mph. There were many bridges, high and low. The low bridges sometimes open on request, Channel 13 on the VHF radio, or on the hour, half hour or whenever the Bridgemaster wants. We had one lock to transit and we were lowered about 15 inches. Some action pictures are below. On our way to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. 5-18-06: We are in Coinjock NC, just 50 miles south of Norfolk tonight. We traveled north over Albemarle Sound and got roughed up a bit. Tony was in the engine room fixing a spritzing fuel injector. Captain Renee was fighting the 4' to 6' swells while trying to avoid all of the crab pots laid out right on the ICW magenta course. Nothing here but 2 long docks and 2 restaurants, on opposing sides of the channel. 5-16-06 Left Southport/Cape Fear SC. Stayed at Swan Point Marina in Sneads Ferry NC on 5-15-06. Left Swan Point and stopped at the Oriental Marina at, guess where . . . Oriental NC. Boat running great. Weather super. Waited for a swing bridge, no dock issues and no running aground. Looking forward to reaching the Chesapeake Bay on Friday. Oriental is a wonderful small town you should add to your checklist of places to visit. 5-14-06 Holed up at South Harbour Village Marina at Southport/Cape Fear NC. Decided to take two days at this marina. Catch up on paperwork and projects. Weather forecasts thunder storms and hail for this afternoon and tonight. 5-13-06: Left North Myrtle Beach SC and headed to Southport/Cape Fear NC. YEAH! Another new state. Got a late start because we mislaid the GPS navigation chip for North Carolina & north. We went through the last floating pontoon bridge on the eastern ICW at Sunset Beach. Then we approached Lockwoods Folly, a narrow & heavily shoaled channel. Unfortunately it was dead low tide with a grounded 71' Hatteras (Bill Effinger's Whale's Way) mid-channel. We elected to wait out the low tide for 1 1/2 hours while still communicating with other boaters and their attempts to pass through and we still went aground in 2 feet of water. Luckily, we got off quickly, unlike a sailboat we heard that was aground for over an hour. We docked at South Harbour Village Marina and met up with Fran and John Wolfe from aboard Evergreen who helped us navigate through The Rock Pile. We had dinner at the highly recommended Joseph's Italian Bistro at the marina. We were personally catered to by the bartender, Chase (Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor) at the bar with excellent dinner & wine recommendations and fun conversations. 5-12-06: Left Georgetown SC for Dock Holidays Marina in North Myrtle Beach SC. Smooth start, but wet armpits after navigating the five mile channel called the Rock Pile. They say this is the most hazardous section of the ICW. Narrow, with rock sides. One must stay in the channel. We only had four tugboats pulling a barge the length of a football field pass us! After that we were brain dead and almost mounted a jet ski dock. What an adventure! Every dock is different, every town is different. Dock Holidays was hosting a Biker's Weekend Rendezvous (as in motorcycles). We had dinner at the marina restaurant, Dynamite, and were serenaded by a local hard rock (biker) band. 5-10-06: Left Charleston for Georgetown SC. Another shaky start. A normally unused extra line was still tied to the dock. Oops! Well another learning experience. Left early to avoid predicted bad weather and catch a favorable tide. Needed higher water to navigate the channel near McClellanville SC. Stayed at the Georgetown Landing Marina. 5-9-06: Left Beaufort SC with a shaky start. Renee said she was on board and Tony started to leave the dock. However, the last stern line was not released. Oops! Another learning experience. Heading for Charleston SC. Stayed at the Charleston Maritime Center Marina. Could see Fort Sumter, the South Carolina Aquarium, the IMAX Center, and the Yorktown aircraft carrier. Walked into town for dinner and sightseeing. 5-8-06: Left Harbour Town Yacht Basin for Beaufort SC. Got fuel at $2.75. The shallow water alarm went off in 25 feet of water. Fortunately other systems confirmed the correct depth. Cell phone to the manufacturer recommended we turn off that alarm since we have redundant systems. Docked at Downtown Marina. 5-5-06: Left Jekyll Island, GA and headed North to Hilton Head SC. Had a shaky start just getting away from the dock due to wind and low tide. Then promptly ran aground. Fortunately, only silt and mud with no damage. Lots of serpentine rivers, narrow channels, marsh and grasslands, open sounds, horse flies, wind and heat. It was a two day trip. We over-nighted at Isle of Hope Marina, Savannah, GA. No shaky start this time. Staying at the Harbour Town Yacht Basin. Had a 6 mile run through old oak trees with Spanish Moss. Beautiful. Turned on the TV for the first time. Watched some of the Laker-Phoenix game. New friends Bob and Sue Grote aboard the RAGTIME lent us their ICW (Intracoastal Water Way) knowledge and their Mercedes to tour and re- provision. What a treat! 5-1-06: Left Amelia Island, FL and headed North to Jekyll Island, GA. BREAKAWAY is running great. Wonderful weather and the sightseeing is unmatched. We got diesel for $2.53/gal in FL. Arriving in Jekyll Island we docked at a small marina with the Jekyll Island Club as our neighbor. We walked the grounds of this once exclusive resort for the rich and famous of the early 1900's - Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Morgan, Pulitzer, Goodyear, Gould and all the rest. 5-1-06- 5-3-06: Jekyll Island GA Sightseeing. 04-17-06 - 5-1-06: Amelia Island, FL Repairs, Improvements, Provisioning, Sightseeing and Visitors 01-04-06 - 4-16-06: St. Mary's, GA Docked awaiting the Adventure 12-15-05 - 12-30-05: Holiday Family reunion in St. Petersburg, FL 12-30-05 - 01-4-06: In transit from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Cape Coral, to Clewiston to Manatee Pocket, to Titusville, to St. Augustine, FL to St. Mary's, GA 11-5-05 -11-8-05: Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Manatee Pocket to Clewiston to Cape Coral to St. Petersburg, FL 11-3-05: Meet Breakaway at Fort Lauderdale, FL to transit to St. Petersburg, FL 10-19-05 - 11-3-05: Ensenada, Mexico to Fort Lauderdale, FL (Aboard Freighter “Palmyra”; via Panama Canal) 10-16-05: San Diego, CA to Ensenada, Mexico 10-15-05: Newport Beach, CA to San Diego, CA 9-30-05: Purchase the Breakaway - Hampton 490 Pilothouse |
SPRING: FLORIDA TO CANADA
SUMMER: CANADA WEST TO THE GREAT LAKES AND CHICAGO
FALL: CHICAGO RIVER TO ILLINOIS RIVER TO MISSISSIPPI TO TENN-TOM WATERWAY TO MOBILE ALABAMA
WINTER: GULF OF MEXICO TO FLORIDA AND THE KEYS
SUMMER: CANADA WEST TO THE GREAT LAKES AND CHICAGO
FALL: CHICAGO RIVER TO ILLINOIS RIVER TO MISSISSIPPI TO TENN-TOM WATERWAY TO MOBILE ALABAMA
WINTER: GULF OF MEXICO TO FLORIDA AND THE KEYS
| GREAT LOOP SCHEDULE |
BREAKAWAY GREAT LOOP ADVENTURE
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