November 26, 2008

We are now in Niceville, Fl which is near  Ft Walton Beach.  We have met up with Danny and Kris Fletcher on Failte.  Our plan is to stay here about a week before heading east.  We will have Thanksgivings on our boat along with the Fletchers.  I have some more maintenance to do (as always)!!  This is a nice little residential area right next to Eglin Air Force Base. 

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgivings-------and come see us sometime!


November, 18 2008

 After a great trip to Houston, Austin, and Corpus Christi, we are now back to the boat.  We had a wonderful time visiting with the Halters in Baytown, Whitney in Austin, Fabins family in Rockport, and all of our "ole" friends in Corpus.  Whitney also came down to Corpus the following week end to stay at Port Royal with us.

I will update this site shortly!

October 28, 2008

We are now in Mobile, Al at the Grand Mariner Marina.  My Cin broke off from us yesterday and will head on to Marathon in the Keys. We will meet up with them in Dec.  We plan on being here until Nov 5  or 6, rent a car, and then head to Baytown to see Fabins father and our friends the Halters, on to Austin for a couple of days to see Whitney, and then to Corpus Christi to take care of some business and see some ole friends.  We will be staying at the Port Royal Condos in Port Aransas between Nov 9 and Nov 16.  We will then return to the boat by the 20th and head down to the Keys and then on to the Exumas after the first of the year.


October 14, 2008

Tomorrow we will start down the Tenn River and the TennTom waterway toward Mobile.  I have been able to get some much needed maintenance completed on Whichaway and we are now ready to go.  My Cin and Illusions will be going to Florence Al for a few days so  we will depart ways after the Paris Landing Marina until Columbus, Ms, where we will meet up again and continue to Mobile.  We will then rent a car and head home to Texas for a few weeks seeing my daughter, Whitney in Austin, Fabins family in Rockport, and then go to Corpus Christi to see what has changed in the last year and a half!  Internet access on the waterway to Mobile is not good (nor worthless Sprint!), so I will update as I can.

October 4, 2008

I am sitting at Buzzard Rock Marina in Kuttawa Ky, letting my mind wonder about the crossing our wake and therefore closing of the "Loop" at 4:38 PM on Sept 29, 2008.  We traveled over 9,403  miles since leaving May 28, 2007.  Total engine hours of 1,289.4 with an average speed of 7.29 MPH.

We went to places which I had only read about making this trip a fascinating tour thru US history.  We traveled thru 3 countries, 16 states, and spent 3 months in the Abacos.  We met so many new friends, went thru a flood on the Illinois River, has some heavy weather on Lake Michigan, cruised thru many driving rain and lightening storms, and saw too many beautiful sunsets  and moon rises to count.  A trip of a lifetime.
 
We will now slow down and see things at a much slower pace by spending more time at some of the area we blew thru!  We do plan on going to the Exumas this winter/spring and will be heading home (via rent car) to Texas for a few weeks in Nov.  That will be the first time I have slept off the boat since we left!  Might be a strange feeling!!!!

We will keep you posted on our plans.




September 29, 2009

We are anchored at MM 942.5 on the Ohio River near the town of Metropolis, Illinois on the Kentucky side of the river.  We have not yet seen Superman, but we are still looking!!  We had an exciting but uneventful (which is good) trip down the Mississippi River. We were not able to leave Grafton until last Friday, but we made the 218 mile trip in record speed!!  The muddy river was running at about 3-4 knots, so we were able to average about 11.5 MPH and also save lots of diesel by just turning 1450 rpms!!  

Once we turned up the Ohio river, the water immediately turned much clearer and our speed reduced as we were traveling upriver again.  We have a 60 mile trip today prior to getting to Buzzard Rock Marina in Kuttawa, Ky where we will plan on staying for about 2 weeks prior to heading down the TennTom and on to Mobile, Al.

The most exciting thing about today is that in about 50 more miles we will "cross our wake" thereby completing the "Loop" which was our goal when we started.  The Loop is the entire circle around the Eastern US.  We have now traveled over 9,300 miles over a period of 16 months. We have a bottle of Dom Perignon to celebrate!!!

I will update our celebration and statistics once we get into Buzzard Rock Marina tonight


September 20, 2009

We are in Grafton Illinois at the Grafton Harbor marina waiting out the flooding of the Mississippi River which has sections closed for  recreational boating.  We have been here for a week now and are hoping we will be able to leave early next week.  This flooding is the result of heavy rains in the Chicago area  over a week ago.  The river is running at 3 to 4 knots with lots of trees etc moving along which makes it extremely dangerous.

This marina is very nice and the ownership has been very accommodating.  Grafton is a neat little city with some nice restaurants and a couple of small wineries.  Not only have we had a good time in town, but I am getting some needed maintenance done on Whichaway .

There are 9 loopers here waiting on the flood to go away----and a total of 56 in various locations waiting to get down the river.  Upriver of us and above a lock which is closed for at least a week or two, are 28 boats which have no place  to go.  At least we can move as soon as the river goes down----hopefully Monday or Tuesday!

September 11, 2008

We are now in Peoria, Illinois sitting at the City docks.  We have had an adventure since the last update.  We had to stay in New Buffalo Michigan 4 days due to the rain, wind, and waves kicking up on Lake Michigan.  We did take the train into Chicago last Friday which enabled us to bypass taking the boat into Chicago and allowed us to turn into the Calumet/Sag canal and head towards the Illinois River saving some time.  We would have preferred to go thru Chicago, but that route has an airdraft limitation of 17 ft and our air  draft is 20'7" without taking down our radar and KVH satellite system.  Nevertheless, there is a bridge 30 miles south of Chicago which is 19'2" over the water at datum.  We have been dreading that bridge since we decided to do this trip as we expected to have to remove the radar and KVH to get under it.  It is the lowest bridge on the entire loop and can't be raised.  Well, believe it or not------the water is down and we were able to clear it by 1/2 inch without removing anything.  It was close and I was sweating it as we got close, but we made it!!!!

We had a nice evening in Joilet, spent 2 days in Ottawa, anchored out last night, and are now Peroia Illinois.  We are going to celebrate Billy and Pattys 32nd wedding anniversary by going to "Joes Crabshack"---which is well known to the  Corpus Christi crowd!!!  However, they don't have a ferris wheel here though!

September 02, 2008

We spent a nice evening Sunday at anchor in Holland, Mi while My Cin and Illusions stayed in a marina.  We dinked in and  met the gang for dinner eating at Pipers--very nice meal.  We pulled anchor at 8AM heading to St Joseph where we hoped to find a marina knowing it was Labor Day.

We are now in St Joseph, Michigan staying at a private condo project provided by some real great people, Jan and Dave Farley on Night Crawler. While we were trying to find a marina or anchorage in St Joseph (it was Labor Day and no luck), Night Crawler hailed us on the VHF and invited us to stay at their condo project for no charge----now how is that for Michigan hospitality!! We had a great happy hour and a nice evening.  Our plan is to see if we can find a marina today and do some much needed grocery shopping.  We are also going to hit Wolfs which is known as the largest marine store in this part of the country!  I can hardly wait!!


August 29, 2008.

We are now in White Lake Michigan which is about half way down the western coast of Michigan and about 150 miles from Chicago.  We had a wonderful time in Canada along with spending some time with Whitney.  Georgian Bay and the North Channel is a never to be missed area.  Whitney flew home from Sault Ste Marie on the 19th and then we headed back to the good ole USA and on to Mackinaw Island. We have now been slowly heading down the coast of Michigan visiting many scenic harbors and small communities.  We really enjoyed Charlevoix--neat boater friendly town.  We spent some time anchored at South Manitou Island(a rough anchorage), watching a fishing tournament in Frankfort (and getting some fresh King Salmon), staying in the municipal marinas in Manistee, Ludington, and now White lake. All great well kept facilities and only a dollar a ft per night.  We are now heading to Grand Haven tomorrow. 

August 15, 2008

We are currenly in Little Current which is in the North Channel.  The weather is in the upper 50s at night and the upper 70s during the day.  It continues to rain at least once everyday, however it is sunny today.  We celebrated Fabins birthday yesterday by having happy hour on My Cin and then eating at the Anchor Rest.  Our plan will be to go to the Benjamin Islands today to will anchor out.  They are supposed to be spectacular--we will see! 

The water is really clear up here---you can see at least 20 feet and it is supposed to get clearer as we head up the channel.  The water temp is about 68, so too cold for me!! 

August 8, 2008

Whitney arrived yesterday @ 3:45 PM after taking a shuttle from Toronto---however, her luggage didn't!!  We are now waiting for it to be delivered, which should be around 9:30 this morning at which time we will start up into Gerogian Bay.  Our plan will be to anchor out in Echo Bay tonight and then head up to Parry Sound Saturday as Illusions have some friends they are to pick up.


August 5, 2008

We have now finished the Trent Severn Waterway and are now located at a marina located in Penetanguishene, Ontario on Georgian Bay. We arrived here after a fantastic voyage down the Trent Severn Waterway.  A trip not to be missed.

We will be here until Friday as Whitney is arriving  on Thursday to spend some time with us prior to starting back to college.  This  is a favorite stop over for loopers and believe it or not, there are 5 boats here from "Texas".  We got together for happy hour having a great ole time!  Another side bar is that this is a small world----while we were having happy hour, a fellow came up on his dinghy asking who was from Texas.  I said I was and he said he was from Corpus Christi!! It turns out it is an old friend of mine, Jim Borden, who  owns a home up here and has a trawler which he has cruised extensively in Georgian Bay and the north channel.  He is a wealth of knowledge for this area.  


July 26, 2008

We are now in Hastings Ontario on the Trent Severn Waterway.  Canada is a beautiful country and the people are very friendly and patriotic.  We see numerous Canadian flags outside of their homes throughout the country.  I would like to see as many in the US!

As we progress up the Trent Severn, the scenery just gets better--many islands, clearer water, and lush vegitation.  We are at the Hastings Village Marina and it is raining (currently 10 AM), so we are doing boat chores inside.  Lots of lightening and thunder outside which makes it interesting.

Our plan is to stay here tonight and then head up the waterway to Georgian Bay and the North Channel.  Should be back in the states by the middle to late August.

July 5, 2008

We are now at the City Docks in Troy NY.  We have a great trip since my last real update.  We left DC on June 19th and headed back down the Potomac river to an anchorage on Wicomico River dropping anchor just before a thunder storm arrived---lots of rain and lightening!

We pulled anchor @ 8:30 the next morning heading for Solomans MD arriving there at Calvert Marina at 4PM.  Solomans is a neat little town with lots of good "eatin" places and thousands of boats.  We took our scooters off the boat and rode around town for a few hours.  The next day, My Cin arrived after having some work done in Norfolk.  We had a "few cocktails" and then headed to Vincenzo's for dinner--good but not great.

The next morning, (Sunday) we headed for Cape May NJ arriving there on Tuesday the 24th (Utsch's Marina) after having anchored in Selby Bay on Sunday and behind Reedy Island on Monday. We had dinner that night at the "world famous" Lobster House after having a good bike ride all around town.  Very nice city right on the Atlantic.

On Wednesday, June 25th, we left Cape May via the Atlantic heading for NEW YORK!  On the way, we stopped and anchored at Barnegat Inlet and stayed at the City Marina in Belmar NJ to wait out a storm.  As mentioned earlier, we arrived ath Great Kills Yacht Club on the 30th.

The highlite of the stay in New York was meeting up with Whitneys mom Mary Lynn and Trey Guinn. Trey was in NY to get a visa to go to Amsterdam.  It was great to see them both.  We all had lunch and a "few wines"!

We left NY on Tuesday July 1 and headed up the Hudson River.  It was quite a site to cruise by the Statue of Liberty and the City of Manhatten. The Hudson is really beautiful (not what I expected!).  We anchored on Haverstraw Bay north of Croton Point that night and stayed on the City docks at Kingston NY on the 2nd.  We really enjoyed Kingston as it has a great waterfront area.  We anchored at Schdock Creek the next day arriving at Troy on the 4th.  Happy 4th of July!!

June 30, 2008

We are now at the Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island, NJ  We have been here since last Friday and have really enjoyed our stay here.  This is a small yacht club which is member operated thereby keeping the costs down.  The members have been great to us and it is a great place to stay while in New York.  We took a 5 1/2 hour tour bus tour of the City on Saturday which gave us a good overview of whats what!  We are headed back today to see things in more detail!!  I will update the past 2 weeks later. 


June 16, 2008

We have been in DC since Thursday of last week staying in the Gangplank Marina right off the Washington Mall.  I think we have walked and biked for at least 50 miles since then. On the way up the Potomac River, we stopped at Mount Vernon which was a real treat.  They have a free dock for daytime use which made it really convenient. Well worth the stop--to stand where Washington did over 200 years ago and to see the bed in which he died in was something. 

 We have hit all of the museums  in DC --- quite an experience and  inspiring.  The highlite was going to the Arlington National Cemetery and watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  

We are planning on staying here to around Thursday and then meet back up with My Cin who are having some work done in Norfolk.  We will meet somewhere near the mouth of the Potomac. 

June 09, 2008

We are now in Norfolk VA.  Mile Marker "0" anchored just off downtown.  Since leaving Georgetown, we have anchored in the Waccamaw River, stayed at the St James Plantation Marina, Southpoint SC, anchored in Motts channel at Wrightsville Beach, Mile Hammock Bay near Camp Lejeune, NC, Taylor Creek, Beaufort, NC, Pungo Creek, near Oriental NC, stayed at the Alligator River Marina, the Mariners Wharf City docks at Elizabeth City NC, and now Norfolk VA.

Elizabeth City was one of our favorite spots.  The City provides free dockage space for about 14 boats right downtown.  This is one of the most boater friendly towns we have been in.  In fact, the mayor came down to thank everyone for visiting his town!!  We had a great meal at the Cypress Creek Grill which happens to be owned by Bobby Plough who is originally from Corpus Chrisiti.  It was one of the best meals on the whole trip.

We did the Dismal Swamp route which was really interesting.  It is worth the trip and we had no problems other than it being "hot"!!  The lowest water we saw was 5.5 ft however most of it was over 6 ft. 
 
When we made it to Norfolk, they were having their 32nd annual Harbor Fest Celebration right across from our anchorage.  The night we got here, they had the most spectacular fireworks display we had ever seen!!  I was worth staying up late (9:45) to see!!  We attended the festival the next day in 100 degree weather--hot but fun.  We also toured the Maritime Museum and  the Battleship Wisconsin.

Today, we head to the Potomac River and then on to Washington DC.   
 
May 28, 2008

This is a great day---we have now been living on our boat for One Year.  In fact, I have not slept on land for one year.  Fabin did go home for a week, so she has slept on land for only 7 days of the last year.

 We are now in Georgetown SC, which is the third oldest city in South Carolina.  We got here about 4:30 yesterday, but didn't have the opportunity to leave the dock.  Today will be our "tourist" day!   

May 24, 2008

We are anchored just off from the Charleston city marina.  We will probably head for Isle of Palms today and anchor out until My Cin catches up with us on Tuesday.  

We traveled up the Cooper river yesterday  to find an anchorage, however, all we found was a severe thunderstorm and  shallow anchorages!  Our guide book wasn't right on!!  It rained so hard that we could barely stay in the river.  Nevertheless, we made it back to Charleston and anchored where we should have in the first place--right across from where we started 30 miles before!!!

May 21, 2008

We have been in Charleston since last week having anchored out  Wednesday on the Ashley River and have been at the Harborage Marina since Thursday.  This has allowed us plenty of time to tour Charleston and to get some needed maintenance completed.  Charleston is a beautiful city with lots of old homes, circa the late 1700's.  It amazes me that I have really enjoyed just looking at all of the old buildings and architecture.  We have put at least 50 miles on our bikes riding all over the historic district.  The food has been good!

Today, Jess and Cindy have rented a car so we will make our mandatory trip to " Super Walmart!!" I also need to get a propane tank filled.  Our plan is to stay in the marina until Thursday, then we will anchor out until Jess and Cindy return from Houston on Monday to resume our cruise up the east coast on Tuesday.


May 11, 2008

As we sit anchored on Battery Creek, South Carolina, waiting for the storms to go thru (peak wind gust 41 mph), I thought I would update some statistics of our trip to date:

Number of days cruising:  349 (and sleeping on the water)
Number of miles cruising:  5,709
Average miles per gallon: 1.836
Average gallons per hour: 4.01
Total engine hours: 751
Average speed:  7.60 mph
States cruised thru: 9

May 10,  2008

We are now anchored in Battery Creek which is just outside of Beaufort, SC and adjoins Parris Island, home of a major marine corps base.  Jess and Cindy went on to the Beaufort City Marina where we will meet up with them tomorrow and spend a couple of days touring the city. 

We had a good time at Jekyll Island Georgia having stayed at the Jekyll Island Marina for 2 days and leaving there last Monday.  We then dropped the hook on the South Altamaha River just south of the Two Way Fish Camp.  We put the dinghy in the water and headed up the river.  I have never seen so many alligators.  We must have seen 20 nice size gators---more than when we were in Louisiana! We had a nice evening and grilled pork chops for dinner.

The next morning, we pulled anchor at 9 AM cruising to another anchorage located on Buckhead Creek just south of Pine Island.  We had another nice evening pulling anchor at 9 AM and headed to the Isle of Hope Marina just south of Savannah.  We rode our bikes around the local neighborhood and then took the courtesy car into the historic area of Savannah.  After hitting the local watering hole, we had a great dinner at Vic's. Savannah is an old city with much to see.  Everyone needs to stop there if time allows.

We left there on Friday, heading to Hilton Head, SC, staying at the Hilton Harbor Marina. The marina was nice, however, it was not close to the bike trails , so we were unable to tour the Island via bikes, which was a disappointment.    We left Hilton Head this morning at 11:30 AM and are now anchored at Battery Creek.


May 04, 2008

We left Jacksonville at 9 AM Friday the 2nd after pumping out and saying good by to our home base for the last 2 weeks.  I did get a lot of maintenance project completed which also put a dent in our cruising budget!

Our plan was to head to the St Marys River which is the border between Fl and Georgia, but it turns out that Fernandina Beach was having thier 26th annual Shrimp Fest right on the water front.  We anchored just off from the City Harbor and dinked in for a fest. Lots of food booths, and they had crawfish, so I was in "Hog Heaven"!!! We also had to hit the Palace Saloon which is said to be the oldest bar in Florida--1876.  The "jacks" were good!

This is a large festival and we had a great time walking around and seeing all of the sites. Fernandina is a old City and the historical area is worth seeing. Well worth a stop.

 After getting back to the boat, we were treated to a fireworks display put on for the festival---it was a 9:45, so I had a rough time staying up, but I made it!

The next morning, we headed to Jekyll Island.  This is where the rich and famous used to play prior to WWII.  Many of thier homes have been preserved and it is a great place to take a bike tour as there are many bike paths throughout the Island.  I think we put about 15 miles on our bikes yesterday.  We are going to stay here for another day if my legs and "butt" can handle another 15 miles on the bikes! Nevertheless, Jekyll Island is a must see spot.

April 20, 2008

We are now in Jacksonville where we will be for about 10 days or so.  Fabin is flying home on Monday for a week to see her family.  My plan is to do some way overdue maintenance.  My Cin is to have their boat pulled for a bottom job and other maintenance projects.

We had a good trip coming up the ICW spending some time in Vero Beach (really nice area) Melbourne, Cocoa, and St Augustine.  We spent all day in St Augustine doing the tourist thing!  It is the oldest continually occupied city in the US and was a very interesting day.  I took about 100 pictures as we walked thur the City.  Had lunch at Harry's Rest. which was cajun food and really good---no boiled crawfish though!!

We were anchored just south of the City Marina which was an area full of boats-- I didn't sleep well that night as I saw several boats drag , but no real problems.  We had happy hour on Intuition with Davies and Nancy, a Grand Banks 42 from Maine.

April 12, 2008

Well, we finally made it back to the States.  We arrived in West Palm Beach after a 7 hour trip across the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream which was not our favorite crossing.  The wind was down but the seas were a washing machine---we were glad to get back to the AICW and smooth water!!

The trip from Marsh Harbour to West End was great.  We got in a couple of rain storms with wind hitting 45 MPH along with driving rain, but not any real problems--just some excitement!!

The highlite was the trip down the Lucayan Waterway which is a 6 mile trip across Grand Bahama ending near Port Lucaya, a suburb of Freeport Grand Bahama.  

We spent 2 days in Lucaya eating and just generally having a great time--I
would recommend Lucaya to anyone.

We then headed to West End waiting to return to the States.  We thought we were lucky as the seas were supposed to be less than 2 feet on Friday, which was the next morning after arriving in West End.  We left West End at 7 in the morning on Friday to light wind expecting a great crossing----it wasn't.  We rocked and rolled for the 60 some odd miles across the Gulf Stream on the way to West Palm Beach.  We made it at 2:45---thank God!!  We checked into the Rivera Beach Marina and then cleared customs. 

We had dinner with Jess and Cindy and then went straight to bed!!

I woke up early this mornign and we are now anchored just outside of Ft Pierce at mile marker 966.

April 05,2008

It is 8 AM Saturday morning and we are preparing to shove off from Boat Harbour heading back to the States.  We figure we should be there within a week---depending on how rough the Gulf Stream is.  We will probably have to wait at West End, Grand Bahamas for a few days as the  sea settles down.  At least West End is a nice place to stay prior to the crossing.  We will not have internet service for a few days or more so we won't update this site for awhile.



March 29, 2008

Its another beautiful day in the Abacos.  I have been putting on another coat of varnish on the brightwork and doing some preventative maintenance to prepare for our voyage back to the states, hopefully sometime next week end.  I also need to scrub the bottom, so we will anchor out before we leave so I can go under the boat with my "Hooka" diving system and scrub off all of the "scum".  The water is so clear, it is just like doing in in a swimming pool! 

Not much else going on, so I will update this log when we get close to leaving Marsh Harbour.


March 20, 2008

We are heading for Great Guana Cay today as Fabins friend Diana Bright from Dallas is in for a week.  We plan on cruising the Abaco "loop" hitting all of the hot spots over the next week--Grabbers, Nippers, Hopetown Lighthouse, Cracker P's and Petes Pub.  The weather is a little "shakey" but it should be OK most of the time.

Whitney was here for spring break and we had a wonderful time.  It was great to see her. She was able to get a "tan" which made her very happy since Austin has had some cold weather over the last few months.  We did the Abaco "loop" with her and she was elated that the dinking age is 18 in the Abacos and she was able to go the bar and buy a beer legally!!

Whit was also able to do some snorkeling down near Little Harbour on a small reef which she enjoyed.  It was a little rough, but still a real nice dive. 

Everything is going OK.  Our plan is to head back to the States around the 6th of April.  We will then start heading up the east coast

February 27, 2008

We have been having a great time.  Grant and Sheryl Halter were here for 5 days and we had a whirlwind tour of all the hotspots and snorkeling areas -----Nippers, Grabbers, Hopetown, Tahiti Beach, Cracker Ps and Petes Pub. The weather was good other than being a little windy, nevertheless we all enjoyed the visit. 

We are now getting prepared for Whitney to visit us for spring break beginning next week. We haven't seen her since Christmas and we are looking forward to seeing her.

Everything else is going great.  Just relaxing and enjoying the Abacos.  We have another  6 weeks here and then we will head back to the States.   

February 8, 2008

I am just sitting here on the boat watching it rain.  One of the few times we have had any rain and they need it here..  We just watched a large water sprout out over the Sea of Abaco.  Very exciting.  This rain is from a cold front which is heading our way.  This rain will not last very long as it is clear in most all other directions. I think the high for tomorrow is just going to be about 72---real cold!!!  The weather will be "ify" for the next few days and then clear off by the middle of the week.  

We just anchored out for a few days with My Cin and Roving Seas after a trip to Snake Cay.  Nothing real exciting except Jess lost his anchor. He was lucky since we were rafted up and secured with our anchor.  He was, however,  able to retrieve it since the water is so clear and we could see it on the bottom.  
 

February 5, 2008

Well, we have been having so much fun that I haven't had time to update this site.  The Abacos are beautiful with crystal clear water that is great for snorkeling and just beachcombing.  We have taken several trips to Guana Cay, Hopetown, and Little Harbour --- all really nice places to visit and just beautiful beyond description.

Carlton and LeAnn McCain from Corpus were in last week end arriving on Thursday.  We hit all of the  local "bars" and did some snorkeling in the Atlantic.  The reefs are just fantastic and are just like being in a pool.  We had a great time---just too short as they left on Monday afternoon.

Becky Hermanson and her brother, Michael,  were in a week earlier and along with the Stills, we all had a great time.  Did a little cruising and some more "partying"   


January 16, 2008

We are now at Boat Harbour, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas.  This will be our base for about 3 months.  It is an upscale resort on the Sea of Abaco and has all of the bells and whistles-- 2 pools, swim up bar, resturaunt, etc.  Marsh Harbour is the 3rd largest city in the Bahamas and has all of the amenties.  Hardware store, marine store, etc.

We rode our scooters 80 miles yesterday and visited Treasure Cay.  The beach is supposed to be one of the top 10 in the world--I can concur.  The water is aquamarine and the beaches "white sand". 


January 9, 2008

Happy New Year.  Since our last post, we have made it to Ft Lauderdale and are now in a marina at West End, Grand Bahamas.  Fantastic place and really "paradise"! 

Whitney left on Sunday the 6th from Ft Lauderdale.  We really had a great time with her and Bubba.  We celebrated New Years in style anchored out in Tarpon Basin south of Key Biscayne. 

Next morning we headed for Miami and had a spectacular first with light winds and clear water.  It is so neat to be able to see the bottom when it is 10 to 12 ft deep. 

We then headed to Ft Lauderdale and stayed on the New River which is right downtown.  It made us feel like our boat was a dinghy---there is so much money and activity in that area that it is hard to believe that the country is in a "recession"?  Many beautiful  "people"  




December 30, 2007

We are now back in Marathon after a whirlwind trip to Key West.  We left  on Dec 27th from our "home base" in Marathon @ 10:30 AM.  We were sorry to leave the Harbor Cay Club as it was the best marina we had been at on the entire trip todate made especially grand due to the owners of the facility.  They were great--very helpful and great fun.

We headed out into the Atlantic and our first stop  after leaving was the Bahia Hondo National Park where we stayed for about 3 hours.  The snorkeling was great and the weather was in the 80s.  We then headed a westward to Newfound Harbor which as about 25 miles west of Marathon.  A great anchorage which was very protected from the wind--flat with very little wave action which made for a good night of sleep!!  Bubba cooked fish which he and Whitney had caught the couple of days before  while we were in Marathon.  It was a great meal (good job Bubba!) and glad we didn't have to cook!!!

We then left the next morning around 11 AM heading for Key West which was about 24 miles away.  We arrived at 4:30 and found a good anchorage just west of Flemming Island (along with about 50 other boats).

The next morning we dinked to Key West and did the normal Duval Street crawl.  Hogs Breath, Margaritaville, etc.  Whitney had a rash on her chest, so she was not in a great mood. (its OK now)

We returned to the boat about 5:30 and has a relaxing evening on the hook. 
 
The next morning we left the anchorage at 8:30 and due to high winds, decided to go the ICW route back to Marathon.  No major problems with the return trip and we made it to the Marathon Marina at 5PM---$130 a night with no pump out ($20 extra)!!
   


  



December 20, 2007

Just an update on our status. We are still in Marathon.  Whitney and her "boyfriend" Bubba arrived yesterday to spend a couple of weeks with us.  Our plan is staying here until the day after Christmas,  when we will then take the boat to Key West.  We will celebrate my birthday (49!) and New Years in Key West.  After the first, the plan is to head to Ft Lauderdale in order to get the kids on a plane to Austin by the 6th and for us to get ready to head to the Abacos.



November 28, 2007

We are still having a great time  in Marathon.  We had a great opportunity to watch 2 adult Manatees  a couple of days ago as they came into our harbor and stayed for about 3 hours.  I have posted some pictures of them.  I can see why everyone gets excited about Manatees--they are really magnificent mammals!!

I did some fishing a few days ago.  Caught  a few mangrove snappers and a mangrove grouper.  Kinda fun---however I like catching a lot more that fishing!!!

We have been using the dinghy quite a bit and spent some time in Boot Key Harbor yesterday.   Its amazing how many boats are on a mooring buoy  in Marathon.  Great anchorage. 

We ran in to Rodney and Katrina Warren who are here on thier 40' Cape Dory Angelina.  They retired as teachers from Flour Bluff in May.  Great to meet some more people from home!

We will be going to Key West today with the Stills.  Should be fun.  We will keep you posted.





November 15, 2007

Well, we finally made it to the Keys-----Marathon which will be our base for a month or so.  We have found a nice privately owned marina with 24 slips which caters to live aboards right on the gulf.  It looks as if it will be a fantastic place to call home for a month.  One of the best things about it is that they don't allow DOGS---can you believe that!  Just my style.

Since we left Madiera Beach, we anchored out in Sarasota Bay.  They have a mooring field right down town.  A little rocky, but a good anchorage.  We then left Sarasota at headed to Venice FL.  We arrived at the Crowsnest Marina on Thursday the 8th at 11:30 AM.  The Crowsnest was a great marina with the "Crowsnest Restaurant" on site.  A fabulous meal was had by all!  Venice is  a clean beach front town which was a joy to visit.  In fact we decided to stay 2 days it was so nice.

On Saturday,  we headed for Cabbage Key which has a restaurant (you can only get there by boat) which was made famous by Jimmy Buffets Cheese Burger in Paradise song----and yes, we did have a cheese burger and it was very good------but probably would have been better if we had had several margaritas to go with it!!  

We then hit an anchorage at Ding darling National Park and then on to Naples.  We decided to stay at the City marina in Naples.  We had a great dinner  at the Dock Restaurant and hit the bed early.  Next day, Fab and I got up early and went bike riding. Naples is obviously a very wealthy town and extremely clean-----I don't think I could afford a doghouse  in that town------- so many multimillion dollar homes----and boats!!!

We then headed for Marco Island and anchored out in "no name anchorage" which was just off the Gulf---clear water and a 3 ft tide.   We left at 7AM the next morning in order to avoid a low tide.  It was touch and go, and after both My Cin and us running aground, we finally made it back to the Gulf.

Next stop was the Little Shark River in the Everglades for a nice seclude anchorage full of "no see ums"  ---- bugs which bit like hell, but you couldn't see them!  Then on to Marathon.
     
                             

 November 7 2007

We finally made it to Tarpon Springs after 2 tries.  We took off on Friday thinking the seas would lay, but after 2 hours of cruising, we decided to turn around as the waves kept building--it was no fun especially knowing we would be going all night long and would not be able to see.  We again tried Saturday leaving about 11 AM.  The Gulf was relatively calm and to our relief, stayed that way all day and night. It was a beautiful clear night with lots of stars. We steered with radar as we couldn't see in front of us until the moon came up @ 3:30 AM.  We arrived at Tarpon Springs Sunday morning around 6 AM.  The only real problem we had was dodging the crab traps for the last 5-10 miles in the dark as we got close to shore and  Tarpon Springs.  

We stayed at the Municipal Marina in the downtown "sponge" area of town.  It was an excellent location as we were in the middle of everything.  We just stepped off of the boat and into the Greek sponge docks and restaurant area.  The food was great---another 5 lbs!!

We had a great visit with my cousin Judy and her husband Bill.  The Stills, Bill and Judy, and the Millers had a great meal @ Pauls restuarant. 

We stayed there a couple of days and are now in Madiera Beach.  The trip here was along the ICW and is lined with "Condos" and high dollar residences.  Slow going but an interesting trip.  We are headed for Sarasota today.


November 2, 2007

Its about 6 AM and the wind has been calm all night so we may be able to leave this afternoon---or tomorrow for sure as the seas will be down.  Our plan is to leave at 3 PM, cross the Gulf to Tarpon Springs (160 miles), by cruising all night and arriving in Tarpon Springs by noon (and in daylight)!  We will see.




October 31, 2007

We are now in Carrabelle Fl docked at the C Quarters Marina.  Carrabelle is a quaint little town that must be like Florida was many years ago----hasn't been discovered yet.  It is a town based on commercial fishing/boating and has little major development.  We have had a great time riding our bikes around town---took 15 minutes!! 

We are docked here to wait for a "weather window" so we can cross the Gulf to Tarpon Springs which is about 160 miles- non stop --so we will be cruising all night or about 20 hours. This route cuts the corner of the Florida Panhandle.  Going to be a great experience if the weather is right.   The wind has been blowing for some time now, and the Gulf is rough, so we may not be able to cross for 3 or 4 days  and only if it lays down.  We hope it won't be that long but we will take the advice of local knowledge. 

I took on a full load a fuel today so we will be ready for the crossing.  We will keep you all posted.


October 28, 2007

Believe it or not, we finally have internet service------ like 5 bars!!!!   We are anchored, along with My Cin,  west of Ft Walton Beach Fl just off the ICW .  It has been a great trip and I am soaking in the saltwater---------I was going through withdrawal even though I enjoyed the fresh water!!  

We have a interesting trip coming down the 500+ miles from Joe Wheeler State Park including rain, cold and sunshine---it is the fall???? The Rendezvous was great with over 80 boats and 250 attendees.  We met a lot of great people and enjoyed discussing the cruising lifestyle.  Its stimulating to meet so many people that are into the same thing you are and with such a varied background.

It is late and I will add pictures and "BS" tomorrow_____just wanted you all to know we were alive.


October 15, 2007

We are still at Joe Wheeler anticipating the start of the AGLCA rendezous which starts today @ noon.  There are well over 50 trawlers here of all types and sizes---quite a sight.

We are scheduled to leave here this Friday heading to Marathon, Fl.  We have reservations there until Dec 20 and then will try to spend some time in the Dry Tortugas.  We then have reservations at Marsh Harbor, Abacos starting Jan 15 thru April 15.  Check you schedules as they have an airport on Marsh Harbor close to the marina.  


October 6, 2007

We made it to Joe Wheeler State Park, site of the Americas Great Loop Cruising Associations winter rendezvous.  There are already many boats here even though the event doesn't start until Oct 15th.  Should be a great time as everyone here is into the same mind set.  They are expecting over 250 attendees.  I'm sure we will learn a lot from the other cruisers as some of them have been cruising for many years. 


October 4, 2007.

We are now at the Ditto Marina in Huntsville, Al. having arrived here on Tuesday afternoon from upriver.  We will be leaving here tomorrow to head to Joe Wheeler State Park Marina (Rogersville Al) where we will remain until the middle of Oct when we head for the Keys.

Our  trip back down the Tn River was uneventful yet beautiful.  I still can't get over how nice this area is.

We did purchase a couple of Yamaha Vino Scooters while in Scottsboro which we now have on the flybridge.  They will allow us to go a little farther (and faster) than our bikes will.  We rode them  up Green Mountain Rd yesterday which gave us a great view of Huntsville from way above the town.  Lots of fun.

We will be taking Fabins daughter to the airport today so she can fly back to Rockport.  It has been nice to have her on board.

Keep up with our site and feel free to come see us when you all can.  Just let us know when --- we still have the spare stateroom available for anyone who wants some R & R
 


September 26, 2007

We are currently at Euchee Marina near the town