Day 67

Howling winds and the rapid deployment of the USCG rescue boat have made us glad about our decision to come immediately to this safe harbor in Manitowoc. We are quite snug in this place. This. Morning we toured the Maritime Museum. I t was excellent and included a tour of the SS Cobia a WWII submarine. A little less polished than the boats I was on.

So here we are and I have to say that unlike many adventures the treat is not at the end of the trip. Indeed, the treat was the trip itself.
We burned about 500 gallons of Diesel fuel.
We travel 1711.1 miles.
We went through 149 locks. Two of the were pan dishes that lifted us up and one was a railroad like ride called the  "big chute".
We used 250.2 hours of engine wear.
We used 2 quarts of diesel oil.
We had no major problem with the enforced togetherness and , in fact, have gotten quite used to being alone with each other for weeks at a time.

We suffered indignities and setbacks without an angry word . Situations like breaking the radar mast, a failed GPS , a two way communication system dropped into Rice Lake, ruining a propeller on a rock, engine stalling and crashing into a multimillion dollar yacht and  a couple of gales at sea.
Did I mention the burning up of the exhaust water injector. all these are a part of the boater's life. A strong faith in the Supreme Leader helps in situations like these.

We started with dear friends Scot and Lucinda and finished alone.  We reconnected with an old college chum, Natalie and husband Jim and they are now high in the dear friends category. In every port we made new friends that shared their boating stories and travel tips with us. Many of them will be life long friends.

Many were the small towns that charmed us. The star was Charlevoix. Both of us voted  it magnificent and number one. Others worth high honors included Orillia, Ontario; Westport ,NY and  Westport, Ontario; Perth; Mackinac Island was wonderful and of course Ottowa and Montreal are huge and very special. There was only one town that really turned us off and that would be the desolate, decomposing town of Whitehall,NY birthplace of the USN.

We are anxious to get back to our family and bungelow in Rome. Yet we are anxious too, to reusme the nomadic life next June when the water softens up again. Overall an amazing first bucket list accomplishment and worth every minute of our time.

Day 66

SUCCESS , THE TRIP IS OVER UNTIL JUNE 2013.
We had hoped to arrive in Manatowic between the 6-8th. The weather patterns said no way. Original plans had us going to Sturgeon Bay, miles to the North. From there we would work our way down the eastern coast of Lake Michigan to Manitowoc. Severe weather for the next 7 days made us feel lucky to get this one open day so we took Lydia the whole way to Manatowoc. The trip was boooooooring and seemed to laaaaaaaaast forever. There was nothing to see but water. Then a fog bank at least added something to worry about. We came in to port about 3 pm having left in the cold dark morning about 6 pm.

Manitowoc is nothing to write home about (although That is what I am doing).

Lydia will winter here until June.. She will have minor health issues addressed.

The blog will likely smolder until June. If there is any desire for us to keep it up please let me know. I plan just one more issue that will summarize some of our accomplishments this summer.

For those following us we thank you for your support and interest. May God bless you all.

Day 65

Due to the threat of big waves and strong winds we decided to come all the way to Frankfort, MI yesterday. We had planned to stop at Leland to make 2 short trips. After 9 hours we were glad to get safely into Frankfort, MI at Betsie Lake. Frankfort is cute and very small. We will spend most of today walking around and bicycling. The weather is brisk and sunny and a bit windy. In other words a perfect fall day for anything but motoring across a fresh water ocean. 

We had planned to go over to Sturgeon Bay for a few days, but the weather pattern would trap us there too long. Waves over the weekend are predicted at 12 feet and gale force wind for 3 days in a row. Alternate plans then call for us to make a longer passage to Manitowoc tomorrow. If successful we will have arrived 3 days early on a three month long voyage. Since we are meeting Ashley in Chicago on the 12th we will have a few days extra. Most days we will be either working on cleaning and dressing up Lydia for the winter or perhaps renting a weather resistant form of transportation and touring Door County Wisconsin.

I have finally found out why I was unable to blog pictures to you. I am sure that the blog would have been way more interesting. It us because Blog-spot does not support Apple photos in their raw form. It was not my incompetence. I have , however, just found an independent blog support system that promises to allow me to continue my present blog address and send apple pictures to it. Thank you Mr. Scott Hastings Bradshaw for your hot tip.  Wish me luck.

Tomorrow's trip is gutsy. Wish or pray for our success and safety.

God bless the followers.
B&M

 

Day 63

As usual, this is the best place . Lovely town, tree shaded streets, huge lake that is safely protected from Lake Michigan. Probably one of the most charming towns in USA. Perfect weather did not spoil the effect. The streets are all tree shaded with beautiful homes.everything is immaculately clean.

This morning we walked out to the Nazarene church. We thought
 it would only be about a half mile. Well it was three miles. Fortunately a nice man gave us a ride back and included a wonderful tour of the village.This afternoon we entertained several new boater friends .There are  quite a few people who seem fascinated by our small tug. One couple was a Dr. And hi wife who also own a Ranger 25. They also go on Christian medical missions and to boot, she is a social worker specializing in adoptions. What are the odds of those coincidences? We really enjoyed their company. Meeting nice people is part of the boating experience.

Later we bicycled around this gorgeous place. We took pictures of the streets and beautiful Lake Charlevoix. We were politely corrected in the pronunciation. Ia is called Char le voy.

Day 62

Yesterday we made it to beautiful Beaver Island., also called the Emerald Isle of Lake Michigan. Avery small but pristine Island in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant was several miles away, so we called them and they sent a car over, driven by the under chef, who picked us up and then went right back to cooking our meal. Whitefish dinner was delicious.

Today we motored over to the astounding town of Charlevoix, MI. Marti likes it here so much that we will stay an extra day. The ride over was about 35 miles, but lumpy with a 2-3' sea pushing on our port stern all around. Eventually we will have to cross the whole lake  which is a bit daunting. We will likely cross over from Frankfort to Sturgeon Bay  and the weather will have to be perfect.

Day 60

Blogging has been difficult as there is minimal cell phone service and wi fi at Mackinac Island.
The past two days yhave been idylic. Flat seas, clear blue skies and we were staying at the Island House Hotel on beautiful Mackinac Island. There are no cars here, just horses and bicycles. Marti and I decompressed and prematurely celebrated the almost completion of the trip. Getting here from Drummond Island was a piece of cake with near perfect sea conditions.

In one day we passed Mowat Point, Scott Bay, Robert Point and Martha's Sweet Shop. All these are participants of all or part of the trip.

Today we toured Fort Mackinac, and also saw a 250 old bark tepee that housed the first Catholic mission o  the island. It was founded by Father Marquette who later explored much of the midwest territories with Father Joliet. Both these men have major cities named after them.

Then we toured the butterfly museum. It was wonderful to just be among so many colorful butterflies that flitted everywhere, including Marti's head and my arm.

We had planned to stayn one more day, but the weather window says best to move on. Tomorrow we leave for Beaver Island, St. James Harbor. Lydia has been photographed constantly on this trip and especially here in Mackinac.

Day 58

Back in the US of A. Flat water all day. Beautiful fall day with sunshine and crispness that denotes a change in the scenery. Drummond Marina in in the boonies, but safe. We rented a car for $12 and will drive to "town". The staff at the marina promised us that the town has a pub, a church, a grocery store and a post office and that is all.

Day 57

A quiet day. 50knot winds kept us on Gore Bay. No fish in the 2 restaurants here as the fisherman are all at home. Marti misses her daily pickerel. The pickerel here are a bit bigger than at home and sometimes called walleye.

Did odd chores, ate, met some wonderful boaters who are our new friends. Jean is actually from Braintree, MA and was graduated by UMO. Larry is a French teacher and was born right here in the Gore Bay area. They live in Midland, ON.

Counting on leaving for Drummond Island at the crack of dawn. Predicted winds 5 kts in the AM.

Day 56

We left Little Curent this morning after a gale/storm lasting all night. The seas were flat, the sun was bright and the scenery enhanced, even more than usual, by the now changing colors of the maple trees. About two hours out and the seas they raised up. Now we were battling 1-2 meter rollers. Checking once more with the NDBC and the marine forcast we thought it best to retire for the day as starting this afternoon and all day tomorrow gale force winds will basically shut down small craft adventuring. One thing we did notice is that under the same conditions The Noth Channel  is more benign than the very rough Northeast Channel.

We were fortunate enough to find a spot at the Town Dock in Gore Bay. both Little Current  and Gore Bay are located on Manitoulin Island which is the world's largest fresh water island. It is a wonderful place. Gore Bay is the cutest little town, larger than Byng, but not as large  as Litle Current. The harbor is very deep with crystal clear water. We are in a vee shaped harbor and the walls go straight up on the eastern shore creating a very beautiful rock and tree backdrop for the quiet and blue water. It reminds us of a Norweian Fjord. One  would never know that the outer lake was so very riled up.

All weather sources predict a super day on the 25th  so that is when we will clear customs at Drummond Island and get ready for the last push, Lake Michigan to Wisconsin.  

Lov to All
B&M

Day 55

This was a good day, for several reasons. We rejoice in days like this.

The weather was spectacular. Seas 1-5 inches. Some clouds. No traffic. We made tracks from our anchorage , 10 miles east of Killarney, and made it safely to a cute little village called Little Current, ON. Several charming shops, a good pub, a general merchandise store. Then the storm hit. 30 knot winds and intermittent rain. The barometer is rising and if the storm abates we will strike out for Drummond Island, Michigan. Should be back in the USA in two days. We have special plans to visit Macinac Island (superman played a quieter role there in " Somewhere in Time".

The waters now are no longer rivers, but huge and raging seas. Most of today I thought how much this looks like Puget Sound. More violent here though. We are totally dependent on the sea state. We read the National Data Buoy Center several times a day. Canada is a wild and wonderful place. I could easily live here, but their weather forcast service is only about 10% correct.

Day 54

The day started innocently enough. We were treated to a spectacular sunset and no winds at all.  Henc, the decision to push off. Today's quest was to get to the start of the Northeast Passage which according to our guide books is a bear. Due to yesterday,s storm we weren't sure that we should enter the Passage until tomorrow or the next day, but thought to get near the start for an immediate deployment when the weather calmed down. Well, well, the seas were reasonable so instead of waiting we charged ahead. The seas soon rose to 5-6 feet and for 25 miles we bounce around. At this writing we are safely done with what is supposed to be out greatest challenge.

All afternoon we have been in Collins Inlet. This is more like a twenty mile river with sheer granite walls, a deep channel and no obstructive rocks. I actually felt guilty as it is soooooo beautiful and easy to navigate. It is about 200-300 feet wide and very primative. The forest is mostly evergreen , but the maples are turning red and the sun is shining and we are feeling pretty smug. We have found an ideal anchorage behind Keyhole Island.
For the last two days we have constantly had the heater on , but tonight the AC will go for a spell before it gets cooler. Marti is cooking a chicken stew. There is probably just enough time for a dip before supper.

Day 53

Fierce winds and 8 foot waves forced  us to stay another day in Britt. Weather report says two more days to rest then scoot for North Channel on uppeer Lake Huron.

Day 52

Now residing in Britt or Byng, Ontario. Twin cities. About 50 houses, 4 dirt streets. One fabulous restaurant (pickerel dinner is to die for) and one other restaurant. The marina is called St Amant.

The day was interesting as we traveled through an area which is aptly named Thirty Thousand Islands. There were a myriad of fascinating granite lined passages. We only got lost twice. Many islands may be measured 40x40 and every one of them has a house of some kind. Every house was boarded  up and all the boats were on the hard. We figured if we hit a rock today the search party would find us in June. These channels are quite protected and as long as you do not leave the channel for even 6 inches you will be treated to a gorgeous Georgian Bay experience. For miles at a time we went out to "sea" where it was a bit lumpy. The coast reminds us very much of Maine or Mass. Several of the channels today measured about 12' across  , leaving us about a foot on each side.

Does not look good at all for tomorrow with heavy rains and 60 kmh winds. If we leave we will do only about 25 miles in the inside passages and save the 25 mile open reach to Kilarney for a better day. Snug on board Lydia we bid you adieu and bonne nuit.

Day 50 and 51

No disasters nor close calls. Sheer fun.

Yesterday was a fun filled day with two extraordinary friends. Natalie and Jim Moir joined us for a boat ride through the last lock and out across Waubusheene Bay to Midland and back,  then up the lock again to the end of the Port Severn Waterway System. Jim is an excellent boat handler and I got to see more while he drove. There was a dram of the Highland Park at the end of the day. It was a perfect day. Hard to describe it any other way. We stayed the night in splendor at the hotel.

This morning it was very sad to say good by, but off we went down the last lock one last time and out into Georgian Bay. Never, have I seen such a treacherous waterway. We very, very carefully follow the buoys as granite mounds are everywhere
. Some are visible others show up as unusual whitecaps just inches below the surface of the very clear water. The channel is incredibly  torturous . In the open water the waves were large and choppy,often coming over the bow. Thousands of rocky islands dot the Bay. Almost every one has a small cottage that takes up 80% of the land mass. All were boarded upp. The heater was on the whole trip. It was adventure  in a pure form.

Tonight we are safely anchored in minute Echo Bay not far from Parry Sound.

Love to all
M&B

Day 49

The Day of Luxury.

Slept well in a small cove in the Lost Channel and woke up to a lovely sunny/ misty day. Cleaned up the ship for inspection and slowly cruised a couple of miles to the Big Chute. The BC is where there is a drop of about 100 feet. There is no lock there. So we
Drove onto a submerged dolly or platform. Two slings lifted us up and the whole dolly came out of the water and we rumbled silently over a railroad rail Over the edge of this rock wall and  down to the waiting pool below. It took but a few minutes. We were fortunate to have our friends Natalie and Jim Moir with us on this part of the trip. Natalie and I graduated from Bates College together 49years ago. What a thrill this Big Chute was. We took Natalie down the canal to a wonderful hotel at Port Severn and Jim met us there. We are staying in the lap of,luxury for 2 nights. Now just enjoying good company and good food and a real bed.

I thought we would finish the canal system today, but the hotel is located exactly at the last lock and we are not likely to finish lock 45 in this system until the 18th when we push off on part two of our  odyssey and tackle Georgian Bay, Lake Huron And upper Lake Michigan.

Day 48

A beautiful sunny crisp fall day. The kind that is special wherever you are. We just happened to be in Orillia. Most impressive town yet. It has a huge farmer's market that is crowded. Marti loaded up on all kinds of things, including a bunch of radishes each nearly the size of a tennis ball.
We bid adieu to our friends and crossed Couchiching Lake and then got back into the canal and Trent River. We just made it to the Swift Rapids lock before they closed for the night. That lock dropped us nearly 50 feet. After that we cruised the River and are now anchored out in a beautiful cover on the Lost Channel.

Tomorrow we will complete the last lock and have lived the dream to visit all 149 locks on the Champlain, Richelieu, Chambly, Lachine, Rideau Tay and Trent-Severn canal systems. Probably not on everyone's bucket list, but a great source of pleasur and oxide for us .

Days 46-47

Day 46 we had Lydia hauled out and a new propeller installed. Took but 45 minutes. The lprevious days we had free use of a van and toured the charming  cities of Bobcaygeon and Buckhorn. That night we anchored out in a small cove in Sturgeon Lake. It is always a thrill for me to wake up in an isolated cove and watch the sun rise.

Yesterday (47) we traveled along side "Hindsight" 
The entire day. Skipper Rod And his paid crew Amanda. Skipper is a great gut, a retired neurosurgeon and Amanda is a chemist. Really sharp and interesting people. We followed them for about 25 miles on a canal that was barely wider than his 46' Carver and he was scratching the bottom the whole way. We were all praying for no other boats to come from the other direction as there was no place to pull over and both Hindight and Lydia had already lost props when pulling over to let others by. The scenery was exquisite. Masses of cedars right down to the waters edge. We shot lots of pictures. In the morning we locked on thine Kirkfield Lift together. His boat makes Lydia look like a pea. The lift is like the one I described in Peterborough.

The late afternoon we had a 16 mile reach across wide open Lake Simcoe. A squall erupted, huge winds and waves 6 feet really battered us and The dinghy, which had been on the swim platform broke off  from the davits. They just popped loose. It took us quite a while to rescu the dink and ever ounce of strength we had while we were being tossed around. Once back on the davits off we went and spent a fabulous night in Orillia. We are pretty tired and so will not leave Orillia until noonish.

Love to all.

Day 45

Not much news today. We are at Buckhorm Yacht Harbor , our propeller is here, but the team is too busy to put it on until tomorrow. Last night we stayed at a fascinating B&B called Shambhala. The owners are delightful and enjoy collecting oriental and Indian art. Shambhala is a Budist sect headquartered in Nova Scotia. They were very much aware of the goings on in American politics. I think, like most Canadians we have met they admire the successes of the USA and  are acutely aware of our failings. The are very loyal to their own country, but admire the US health care system as it is today. They are greatful for the access they have, but very disappointed in the wait.

The BYH folks have gone out of their way to be kind to us. We have free and full use of f their vehicle and later today plan an excursion to Bobcageon, a slightly larger town to the north.

Day 44

Just noticed that yesterday's blog did not take. At least I cannot find it. Yesterday we came up from Peterborough to Stony Lake. Peterborough is a fairly large and interesting town. We stayed at a marvelous marina called Peterborough Marina. There is an amazing Indian restaurant there.

Upon leaving Peterborough we went into lock 21 also called the lift lock. Instead of filling the canal to lift you up you drive into a large bathtub. They close the door, sealing you in and then the entire tub is lifted 70' to the awaiting canal. They open the door and out you go. It is one of the most amazing experiences. The way it works is there are two tubs. By adjusting water levels one is always high and the other low. They are connected buy a U tube so no motors are needed, just the weight of the water. We went up with a fairly large cruiser.

From there we traveled miles, on the most beautiful of rivers and went through 7 locks. Getting to Stony Lake is both scary and beautiful. There are over 1300 rocky islands , all fairly close together. Just about every one has one or two houses and the shores are also filled with many mansions. Goldy Hawn and Kurt Russel have a home here. We found a nice cove and anchored out. Supper was corn , hotdogs and beer followed by a skinny dip swim and bath. This morning we had to lay in for  a while as the lake fog was extremely dense and with rocky ledges everywhere it was way too dangerous to travel. Some of the channels are
not a lot larger than Lydia. There are many propeller repair shops here inspite of the rural atmosphere.
Marti is taking me to a B&B tonight as Lydia is getting a new propeller and will not be ready to go until mid morning on the 12th.

I cannot wait to share the photos of the Stony Lake Islands and also the Lift Lock in Peterborough.
God Bless you one and all. (not too original, but nice).
Bert and Marti from Buckhorn, Ontario.

Day 42

So, yesterday we braved heavy rains and winds to lock through from Percy Reach to Rice Lake. By the time we got onto the open lake it was mid afternoon and the winds had picked up to gale force and up yo 50mph for a while. Made the water a bit bumpy and I thought we might lose the flags and pennants. Marti was a trooper as the rain just soaked her at each lock. Our reward was a beautiful sun filled late afternoon cruise that ended at the lovely Golden Beach Resort. The weeds (mostly milfoil) are very heavy in the shallow part of the lake and that made docking difficult.

This morning the sun was shining as we traversed the lake (20 miles) and then entered the Otonabee River system. This was another 25 mile cruise that was gorgeous. A fairly narrow river , the Otonabee is mostly trees and marsh with some small houses along the shore. A few fishermen were
out, but no cruisers. This river reminded me of the Great Pond Stream that flows into North Bay.No problems with the propeller . It does have a little vibration over 1600. Rpm, but we are averaging6 knots which is the legal limit on much of the Canadian waterways. Tonight we will be in Peterborough the last large city we will see until
Manitowic, Wisconsin.

No stalling, no crashes, no rocks. Just fun today!!!

Day 41

The blog site has been down for several days, but life has not been dull. The title of this message should be more like " and then what happened" or perhaps, "what else could go wrong".

Two days ago, in an area called Percy Reach, we hit a submerged rock. The water level is down almost 3 feet, due to the drought in the Midwest . The wind was blowing us to a hostile shore so I quickly launched the dinghy and tried to tow Lydia back to the lock wall, about a 1/4 mile back.
 The Canadian waters are filled with milfoil and it is so heavy that it clogged the tow rope and yet anchored us off shore. After an eternity I freed up the rope and ever so clumsily towed Lydia to Lock 8. I called a lfriend in Trenton, he called another friend who is a diver and he showed up hours later. His name is David Gartshore and I have contacted the Pope to nominate him for sainthood. The prop cage, that was supposed to protect us from such disasters had net into the propeller.Before David came I had dived the situation and had started to remove the prop guard. It was at that time I realized the bolts holding the guard went right through the hull and that if I had completely removed them Lydia would sink.

Now when David arrived I had already resigned myself to having the boat trailered back to Buckhorn for major repairs that would take the rest of the fall. Dave says no way. So he puts on a lung and removes the bolts and guard from the outside. I crawl and squeeze myself into a place. that
 . no normal sized human could get into and using his long pliers and a extended wrench called a Johnson bar fasten the nuts back on while he pushes them back from the outside. They were too long now so we ,had to use oversized nuts a washers. It worked. The prop is not perfect, but is serviceable , so we were able to get underway yesterday and made it to Campbellford where we crashed. Did I  mention that it was pitch black when we mfinished and Dave was working now by feel alone. For my efforts I am black and blue from shoulders to mid ribs. We were desperate. We will be in Buckhorn in a couple of days and a new propeller is waiting for us there.  Dave is, in addition to being a great and handy boat man, a heck of a nice guy. We will never forget his assistance and great personality.

After a good nights sleep at a small hotel in Campbellford we have recovered and leave today , heading upriver as far as we can get.

Much love to all who took the time to read this.

Day 38

Some good news. Lock eleven door was fixed today. We rented a car and drove up to Campbelford where the lock is located. We met with the lockmaster and also got to see the huge crane pulling out. Lockmaster said that the door, which is all steel and only new in 2005, snapped off at the attachment of the hydraulic ram to the door. We got to see the new one and this piece of metal looks rather small for the job  and is threaded as well. This is the second time that this broke off. He said it was really a aloud snap that. Sent everyone running the other way. that door is About 60 feet high and 20 feet wide. We expect to be going through that door about 3pm tomorrow. Push off time from Trenton is 0800 hours tomorrow and we will be in the first lock by 0900. By the time we a reach Campbelford we will have taken over 6 hours, traveled 32 miles and gone through 12 locks. We made that trip in the car today in 1/2 hour.
This afternoon we also toured Peterborough, which is the nearest big city. Pleasant enough but not charming.

Day 37

I have much to report.
First, more stalling of the engine, followed by more tinkering by Bert, followed by a sea trial with no stalling at all. After that a consultation from Dave, Trenton' s resident diesel genius. He arrived after my tinkering, looked the engine all over and tried a number of things and said, "what you did is what I would have done". Dave was a great guy and we talked a while about everything from diesel problems to the Bahamas.Anyway , I sure hope this is really it. I purchased a book on diesels for rainy day reading.

Second, rain and lots of it all day. So after great debate we decided to spend a day in Trenton and surely if we had not done so we would not have met Dave.We may rent a car tomorrow and tour around. I have not driven a car in 6 weeks.

Third, an amazing thing  happened. Lock 16 of the Trent-Severn Canal broke. The door fell off. This is huge, we are not sure if anyone or any boats were lost, but we do know that the entire canal system is closed for about 4 days. No one locally can remember when the canal was ever closed.
those doors are made of 12x12. S and are probably 20 feet high and 14' .wide. Reinforced with steel.They hold back many tons of water and when they let go it has to be catastrophic . We plan to explore the villages locally and if the Repairs to Lock 16 take much longer
we will not do the Trent-Severn this year, but will return to the Thouasand Islands and leave the boat at Clayton, NY. Not a bad back up plan at all.

This is still the best of all possible worlds. God has blessed us greatly and we wish to share those blessing. God bless you who read this.

Day 36

We left Kingston late Sunday afternoon and traveled the beautiful Adolphus Reach on Lake Ontario. As we looked south and saw nothing but water we had some appreciation for the emenseness of this body of water. We traveled until just minutes before sunset and anchored in a quiet cove behind Pull Point. Over all a great ride and so much easier than canal locking. Our reward was a great swim off the stern. The sunset on two happy people. The moon came up orange and to me it looked like a pumpkin.
There was another reason to rejoice! At the Kingston Marina we tied up next to Charlie King. As boaters do we just started swapping stories and I mentioned my stalling problem that still had not been completely resolved. "Oh", he says casually. We can fix that in about a minute. He explained that the throttle adjustment spring was either
Loose or missing. We opened the motor hatch, found that the locking nut on the throttle spring was loose, tightened it, and that was the end of our stalling problems. The purpose of the spring is to take up cable slack that occurs when the engine heats up. Three years, five friggen certified diesel mechanics, and $2500, and I fixed it in one minute. I had told Marti that the nut was loose  and maybe related to our low speed cut outs when warm, but did not have the slightest idea how right I was or how it worked. Charlie took the time to listen to my story and instantly knew what it was. Is this a coincidence or a God thing!

Day 35

Just read yesterday's blog and was surprised to see amazing spelling and word changes that the blogger service made. I really do proof read this thing before submitting.
Covered lots of miles yesterday traveling from Westport to Kingston. Altogether now we have completed 81 locks. Yesterday morning was sure bliss. Tree lined streams connecting tree lined lakes dotted with hundreds and hundreds of islands. Many of the islands would have a single house. It really is just like the Belgrades or Moosehead. Each of the locks is actually a well manicured park. Often there are boats that tie up on the "wall" overnight. Some offer 30amp service and others do not. All have bathrooms, but no showers. Often the lock will feature an historic building as a small museum, and always there are cars and bicyclists picnicking and watching the boats lock through. The lock doors are usually made of 12x12 timbers and closed by hand wiinching a long wooden pole, unbelievably simple. One thrill yesterday was when a lock gate (gates controll the water flow and doors let the boats in and out) mechanism broke. Unbelievable force caused a huge snapping sound and a sudden stoppage of water flow out of our lock. Park personnel went scurrying for cover. Fortunately for us each lock has two min flows and two outflows, otherwise we would still be in the lock bailing it out.
Toward the end of the day we went through miles of marsh. Often the water looked to be about 1/2 mile wide, but the well marked channel was only about 10' wide and we laughed to see seagulls walking beside our boat.

At Kingston we were pretty tired from a long very hot, day on the waters so headed into a very cute downtown area for a really lousey supper. A pox on the Toucan Pub..

Day 34

We left Perth and are now at Westport Harbor, Ont. Funny I used to live in Westport, MA. The trip was smooth and as usual just plain gorgeous. Much of it was across three interconnected lakes. In many ways it was like crossing Great Pond at home, with many islands , only bigger. We went through. Three locks. Westportnisnsimplynwonderful. It has 4 streets that go around a block , any shops and cute stores and a great restaurant called the Cove.
We hope to finish the Rideau Canal system today or tomorrow at the latest. This canal was constructedminthen1830s for defensive purposes and was to protect Canada from the invading Americans. There had been great fears after the war of 1812 that USA would invade them again and actually around 1845 a bunch of Irishmen called the Finians did invade Canada, from USA , in protest of thE British treatment of those still living in Ireland.
     Anyway, since there was no official invasion the canal. (up yo that time the largest engineering project in the world) was used for commerce and any small towns grew rapidly as supporting the commerce between Ottawa and Kingston and on to Montreal. 15 years later along came the cool choo and that led to the towns shrinking and the canal falling into disrepair. Someone, very smart, realized the present potential for the canals to bring tourist $ and thus they were repaired probably starting about 40 years ago. The towns now are doing fairly well and the canals are very, very busy  all summer long. The experience is just wonderful  and is much like canaling in Europe We will be pushing off now with hopes of making it to Kingston or Maybe Jones Falls where we will meet Ashley and maybe Dave and Maryanne as well.

Day 32

Perth is our new favorite. To get here we wound through 20 miles of twisting Rideau River. Trees s often hung over the edges and the everything would open up to beautiful marsh. After 12 locks we entered the much smaller Tay Canal. This was seldom much wider than Lydia and never got over 5' deep. It was all marsh or forest primeval and non stop pastoral beauty. After 7 miles of Tay Canal we found Perth. All very old
Stone buildings and the canal running through town. Sort of like Merrickville, but bigger and more. Beautiful. So, we stayed an extra day. The weather is nigh perfect and we probably will make our goal of Manatowac, Wisconsin by the first week of October. We are tied up at a town dock, minimal cost and great view of the Tay as it comes through town. Surrounded by a beautiful park

Disturbing news Arrived yesterday, that our little friend Noah has a liver tumor that has spread some to his lungs. Hepatoblastoma is a tumor that is almost exclusive to infants. For those of our Christian friends we earnestly ask for your prayers for Noah and his parents, Joe and Jenna Blakely.For those not yet Christian, get with it, not too late yet.Joe , Jenn and later, Noah lived in our Wilton house for about 3 years. One year of that was with us.

Tomorrws plans call for us too leave early and head to Westport, Ont. We hope to meet Ashley and some Cramers  in Kingston on Saunday. No wi/fi tomorrow so next blog tomorrow night or Sat.

Day 30

So, yesterday we only made 25 miles to Merrickville, ONT. Total locks from the start of the trip is 50. After leaving Ottawa the river was beautiful, but lined with very fancy homes. Now the river is even more scenic as the houses have given way to occasional farms, trees and gorgeous swamps.

Merrickville has won the title of Jewel of the Rideau. Voted most beautiful town in Ontario. Today we will stay here and do a tour of the small shops in ancient stone buildings. We will bike the canal trail for a bit and then go to the Canal Museum.

Our boatyard is"funky". It is cluttered with the largest collection of wooden vessels, most built 1900 to 1940s, that I have ever seen. Some are floating and some will not float in their present condition.One particular vessel, a sedan style from 1930s is in mint condition and is for sale for only $15,000. A steal even if not in good condition. The Peter Ayling and Assciates Boatyard is right off the canal in a very quiet bywater. A five minute scenic walk takes us to the center of this storybook village. All is good and we are back on schedule to reach Kingston around Sept first and Wisconsin the first week of October. That being the case we will be home in mid October.

Day 29

Yesterday took us to Hurst Marina which is out in the country. Beautiful setting. We only made 20 miles in 5 hous as we spent a lot of time locking. Nearest town would be Kars, Ont.  we got our first Canadian telephone bill. $580.00. Ouch!!!! The Canadians have a wonderful country and are a little bit more socialistic than the USA, but I am not sure why their phone system is so outrageous . We plan to e mail more and talk less.

Day 28

We left the Casino in Gatineau and started toward Kingston. Six hours later we had gone 5 miles. We waited in Ottawa to get into the Rideau Canal. The wait was 3 1/2 hours in bright sun temperature 95f and humidity 90. So, we got permission from the lockmaster to go for lunch downtown, which was just a short walk away. We were joined by our new boater friends, Tim and Pat. The long wait was caused by the nature of theses first locks. They are called the staircase. Eight locks, each opening into the next lock, four boats in the lock at a time. All trying really hard to not bump anyone else. Tim's boat is 42 feet 35,000#, single screw with no thrusters. He did an amazingly good job of it.  Once locked through into the canal we went though a tunnel under downtown Ottowa. From there the canal winds all through Ottowa and is surrounded by parks and beautiful buildings. Just wonderful.  In winter, when it is frozen it becomes the world's largest skating rink and connects Ottawa to Dow's Lake. On the way to Dow's Lake we had to wait quite a long time for one of the bridges to open for us.
     At Dow's we had a much needed shower and had a fabulous evening with Pat and  Tim.  Now it is morning and we will continue on to Kingston while the Cass's will stay and tour Ottawa.

All is well on board Lydia. Hoping to get to Kingston by the first of Sept. Anyone wanting individual pictures let me know by e mail or phone messenger.

Love to All.

Day 27

Casino life not soo much for us. Yesterday we broke out of the quarry, took the bus from Gateneau to Ottowa. We had a great. Time on the Greyline tour of Ottowa and Dow's Lake area.  In the afternoon we prowled Parliament and got a wonderful history lesson and tour of Parliament building. The stone work is amazing far eclipsing most of the architecture of Washington, D.C. Except the National Cathedral. We also went inside and up the Peace Tower. There is a lovely chapel in the Tower where the name of every fallen Canadian warrior is beautifully recorded and there lies their unknown soldier. A solemn and reflective place.

While the food at the Casino is neither good nor cheap we found a real gem of a place in downtown Ottawa called D'Arcy McGhees.

In about an hour we will shove off and start the Rideau Canal. It winds through Ottawa then goes country for a couple of days and ends in Kingston on Lake Ontario. Altogether it has 47 locks and this morning alone we will start with 8 in a row.

One observation: for the past 3 weeks we have been hearing, eating, speaking French. The Outtauouais River divides Quebec Province from Ontario. We were stunned that on the Ottawa side English is the oreferred language and it took a bit of getting used to different customs. Here on the Gateneau side it is more French and more laid back. Both sides would appear to carry a pridefull chip on thir shoulders.

Day 26

Yesterday we left Montebello for Ottawa. Prior to taking this trip I always thought that the St Lawrence was a fast moving Chanel of water. Somewhat like one sees on Quebec City. However, it is a meandering relatively shallow (25'-60') river with many marshy islands. To do this trip without a GPS would be totally confusing and probably fraught with multiple groundings.

So, leaving beautiful Montebello we were treated to miles of beautiful marsh and then small villages and farms. Very few boats on the river on the weekdays. Always there is the clown in the fast moving Bayliner that is proud of his 4' wake and likes to zoom by real close. Could this be R.G.?

We had been told by quite a few boaters that when we got to Ottawa we should stay at the Casino because it was free. Well when we got there they had changed the rules and now you have to pay. So we did. They have a rule that if you spend a certain amount of money you get the dockage fee back. We were $2 short of the the required limit so thought we would put a few bucks into the slot machine. Actually Marti wanted to play blackjack but chickened out. Thanks to the house rule we not only got the free dockage, but another $28 as well.

The casino is actually built on the edge of two quarry's. Each quarry is now a lake and to get into the quarry you have to get off the Ottawa River into the Gatineau River and then thread the needle by traversing a very, very narrow cut in almost a tunnel to get into the quarry lakes. A bit intimidating, but very protected once inside. Today we will tour Ottowa.

Day 24

OKA was a great find. Just a lovely small town so we could walk to the store. The storm was more threatening than real in the AM we awoke to a cool, crisp autumn day with perfect blue sky. This day we traveled up the Rivière des Outaouais to Montebello, QC. More amazing proof that God is an artist in his creations. We locked just once today, but this lock took us up 65 feet! At the lock we made friends with Alain who was attempting to sail up the river , but kept getting stranded aground. I think he probably did not have a working GPS.
In the afternoon we toured the amazing Chateau Montebello. We took many pictures, but I am still not able to get them into the blog. We bike around Montebello on some gorgeous wooded bike trails that connect the Chateau to the town. In the evening whi should show up, with a broken rudde r, but Alain so we stayed up late speaking French/English. Altogether, a perfect day. Slept well and now underway to Ottowa.
Love to all who take the time to read this. And to these who don't.

Day 23 continued

Well we traveled through the Canal du Chine. Another gorgeous experience. Then, through  Lac St Louis through  the St. Anne de Bellvue  lock into the lower Ottowa River. We finally made it into the Lac deux Montagnes to a village called OKA. No mishaps today and had a great supper on board and are getting ready for a storm at the marina.Very safe and again an amazing day. The people are very friendly. And the canals are just pastoral and beautiful.

Day 23

We spent most of yesterday on sea trials. Robert Grappin, the diesel mechanic, pushed Lydia to her limits. He bragged that he was the best diesel man in Canada. He is the 5th repair man to gove it a try and was pretty critical of those who had failed before him. After 5 1/2 hours he said, this is a good engine , but it is giving me a headache. We got a temporary fix by simply turning up the idle speed. So, we can safely continue our trip and today will take the Canal du Chine to Lac St Louis. Plan to spend the night near Saint Anne de Bellvue.
Montreal is a wonderful place to be. We will miss it. So many beautiful,cathedrals, parks, and the people are very friendly and laid back.

Day 21

So the GPS which was critical to the St Lawrence River was repaired in less than the three weeks as prediicted.  Dennis installed it on Friday night and Sat. AM we were on our way to Montreal. A glorious day with bright sunlight and puffy clouds. The banks are lined with beautiul trees and small towns. As we neared the Montreal Vieux Port area the current picked up to six choppy knots and Lydia had to really struggle. Once inside the breakwater we motored effortlessly through the usual marina maze. As we approached our designated slip the dockhand suddenly decided we should put the brakes on and aback into an other slip that we were passing. Here the excitement begins! Lydia has no brakes . After a long ride she will not idle slowly or reverse. Hence, the slow, uncontrolled glide into a multimillion dollar yacht just imported from Italy. Custom built. Gorgeous. And now no longer new, but with a small and superficial scratch on her starboard bow. Fortunately it is not bad and the owner was extremely gracious. Thoroughly  scared that this might happen again we are yet again tied up for a few days to see how the engine can be repaired so that it runs well , when warm, as it runs exceptionally we'll when cold. 4 previous attempsts to fix this have failed. We are still enjoying the adventure but you may surmise that we suffered an extreme blow to our self esteem.
Stay tuned to the adventures of Frog and Toad, Days of Our Lives or is it Stella Dallas and Bert!

Day 19

The GPS has been repaired, bu failed to make it back to Sorel from Toronto ,as hoped, on the Friday.
Yesterday was really fun. We cleaned and polished Lydia, and met a number of boaters. Many of the boater with large and beautiful boats prefer her size an looks to their own and to a man , all feel she is the ideal boat for doing the great loop. The boaters are a very friendly lot. However, the bicyclists  we meet on the many bike paths are not so friendly and our bonjours go unanswered.

In the afternoon we rode to the ferry that takes you to Isle St Ignace and bicycled there enjoying the rural atmosphere and many small houses on the water. This was a treat.

Today it was cooler and so we biked out to the country again and then went shopping at Canada Tire which is a cross between WalMart and Lowes. At present Marti has biked out to the little old farmer that gives us delicious corn. She is cute and iI think that is why the corn is free. If I went likely we would have to pay. At Canada Tire we got an indoor/outdoor thermometer, as the heat and humidity have been very bad. When we set it up we found that it only reads I degrees Celsius. 31C this afternoon.

One thing we have noticed is that Canadians live a life much like America in the 40s & 50s. Much conversation, all park benches full day and evenings. community gardens in some of the parks. People bicycle averywhere and there are great, two way bike lanes on many of the city streets. 4 way stop signs on almost every corner make biking safe and efficient. Traffic is very polite to the bicyclist.

Our French is improving as are our quads.

Aurevoir
B&M

More day 10

Spen the day enjoying Montreal. A lovely, friendly, cosmopolitan town. Finished up at the Cathedral de Notre Dame light and sound show. Fantastic! Due to the extraordinary kindness of John Lossee we shared sips frm a $750 bottle of wine.

Day 17

Seems unreal that we have been nomading for 17 days. Now that we are stationary for a few days a routine has developed.
At 5AM Bert wakes up. At 5:15 he is back asleep, thankful not to be getting ready for work.
By 7 the day is underway, breakfast, then computer lessons and then cleaning the boat.mid afternoon has us off on a bicycle trip somewhere. Today's trip will be on a bird sanctuary bike trail that ends at a dairy farm that makes their own ice cream. Most days end up with us very hot and sticky, hence the shower then we watch NCIS before retiring. Most night we have rain showers as well as people showers.Devotions are a regular morning event.
Here in Sorel we speak French much of the time. We have found that in the smaller town most people have never heard of Maine. One man had heard of Maine, but thought that it was part ofNew Hampshire. Funny, We have been traveling for weeks  and are in a foreign land that is not completely facile with our language, geography or culture, yet we are only 4 hours away by auto.
On the St Lawrence there are many very big ships, and we are unable to scope out the small raft Chanel's without a GPS. Much of yesterday I learned how to download all the Naviocs charts and their GPS unto the IPad as a back up for the regular system that is being upgraded.
Our love to all our family and friends.
B&M

day15

Nothing is perfect and I still cannot get blogger to work with my photos.
Chambly was the most perfect little town. People were very friendly and they have. A fabulous bicycle path system. At .the grocery store the bike racks were full.
We met a man named Luc whose boat was next to ours. He lives in Saint Hubert and on weekends relaxes on his boat. And feeds the carp. He said that they could
Here his fot steps and would meet him at
 The boat. We saw th
Is to be true. Hea has a friend who a owns a restaurant and she gives him
Huge buckets of bread ends. The carp love it and he had perhaps 10-15 carp
Swimming across his feet, on had a small lamprey eel attached to it's back. The carp probably averaged 12-20+ pounds each.
     Monday phad us finish the Richelieu River. We locked through the last lock at St Ours sand eventually got to Sorel. As we left the Richelieu and headed into the St Lawrence we were immediately impressed with h
Ow much traffic is on this river. Very, very large boats.
Since our GPS is not reading the river correctly we will probably stay at Sorel until it is fixes as the St. Lawrence is no place to be lost.

Day Fourteen , Chambly, Qu.

Yesterday was amazing. After finishing the exhaust repairs we headed down river to St Jean Sur Richelieu. At St Jean we entered the Canal Chambly. For the rest of the day we traveled at 5 knots/hr and went through 9 locks, all going down. the canal parallels the Richelieu River and we had many glimpses of swamps and rapids. The canal meanders through farm land as well as small picturesque villages. The canal terminated at Chambly, the most beautiful of towns that we have visited. It is also home to the best Italian restaurant in the world. Tre Colore!! We like Chambly so much that we plan to bike it and in addition will bike part of the tow path that follows the entire canal.Yesterday several joggers passed Lydia, jogging faster than we were motoring. Still, Frog & Toad are enjoying their adventure.

Day Twelve

Being stuck in Montreal wile the boat exhaust system is being repaired is pretty wonderful. We had planned to spend time here while tied up at a local marina, but now will skip Montreal when we eventually get back. Funny, it took us about 45 minutes to get here by bus and will take several days by boat as the river Richelou runs
Due north to the St Lawrence then we go up the SL to Montreal.
Yesterday we had a real
Great experience as we toured the L'Oratoire Saint Joseph du Mont Royal the former home of Frere Andre. Those at Togus will remember Richard Steinberg (now known as Richard the Retired), in his previous life he also was also known as Brother Andre. It was an amazing place. Beautiful and inspiring Basilica and grounds and a wonderful chapel to Ste Joseph as well as the Chapelle de Frere Andre. Brother Andre has just been elevated to Sainhood.
We have gorged ourselves on French cuisine and will have a special visit to the Montreal Poutine just before we take the bus back to Saint Paul Sur Richelou.

Day 10

Well,well. As Pangloss said, "this is the best of all possible worlds". A melted water-lock forced us to make some adjustments in our plans. It has also forced us to revisit our French lessons.
Due to the lack of safe propulsion we headed to Montreal. Fate has provided duck confit, rare Polish foods, museums and gorgeous parks. Scott and Cinda have provided excellent company.
Plans for today include Apple University, pastries and strong coffee, smoked meat at Schwartz,s and perhaps a taste of Chateau Lafite Rothchild. Oh yes, also a  visit to Notre Dame for the lumiere.
The bus ride back to St Paul Sur Richelou will take about 45 minutes. The same trip by boat on Saturday will take 2 days.

day 9

We were not bored. In fact, incredibly happy with the beauty of the scenery and the great company of Cinda and Scott. We had planned to get them to Montreal from whence they would depart for California. We spent an idyllic evening in Isle aux Noix (Nut Island), Quebec.
this morning we cleaned weeds out of the filter and started out for Sorel. it has been several days since our last disaster, so I created one. After getting under way the alarm signaled over
Heating and we burned a hole in the plastic device that mixes exhaust and cooling water? It looked like we were burning up when in fact it was just exhaust coming into the cabin. Fortunately it will be a cheap fix, but likely to take a day or two for the part to arrive then another 15 minutes to install it.
     The bad news is there is only one eatery here, with two tiny outside tables, a 1/2 mile away and only serves fish & chips. There is no grocery store.so Montreal is now several extra days away.
     In spite of this, life is really good and God is great!

Whitehall to Westport NY

Whitehallwas a dismal, empty, hot (98) town. On to Burlington but a big, bad storm sent us to Westport, NY wich was fantastic . We went to a play and Bert unwittingly be ame a cast me
Bed and bright the house down. His stage. name is Mr. Lee. All is great. We are going to learn more about sending photos in Montreal

Day 2

So thi is how it went.
Just a couple of days before the 15th we hit a low slung wire and snapped off the radar mast. So we went back to the boatyard for emergency fiberglass repairs.
So now it was too late to go to NYC by boat.
So then we planned to truck over to Coeynans, NY on the 25th.
So then on the 25th as we loaded up the trailer we found that we did not have all the paperwork necessary to get intoCanada.
So we a delayed another day while we scurried around.
On the 26th we trailered to Coeymans.
So then we had three wonderful days visiting Chris and Jenn in Westerlo. What a great set up they have there. He is Assitant Pastor of Westerlo First Baptist Church. We attended many functions there and felt very welcome. Sunday we let their boys take us for a
Boat ride up the Hudson.
Finally, yesterday was day one of the Great Loop. We traveled from Coeymans to Kingston. 42 miles of God's glory. An amazing experience.
Today we rested and tidied up.
Tomorrow we Go to Rheincliff to pick up Scott and Cundy and then head north again

36 hours to go

Lydia is chomping at the bit are we.

Almost ready to push off. Leaving July 25th .