Browsed by
Author: Mary Kelley

Pebble Isle, TN to Clifton, TN to Iuka, MS to Dennis, MS.

Pebble Isle, TN to Clifton, TN to Iuka, MS to Dennis, MS.

Had to stay in Pebble Isle another day to wait out thunderstorms. Went to dinner with the crew of Kitumba in the next town. The harbormaster recommended a Mexican restaurant to them, so Mike and I skeptically went along. Place smelled good enough, and a margarita sounded really good. Our waiter advised they don’t have margaritas. O.k., a Tecate’ with a lime would suffice. Our waiter advised they don’t have beer. Apparently, we were in a dry county. We are…

Read More Read More

Dark Chute anchorage, IL; to Polestar Marina, MO; to Alton Marina, IL; to Kaskaskia Lock Wall, IL; to Sand Bar anchorage, KY; to Paducah, KY; to Green Turtle Bay, KY; to Dry Fork Bay, TN; to Pebble Isle Marina, TN.

Dark Chute anchorage, IL; to Polestar Marina, MO; to Alton Marina, IL; to Kaskaskia Lock Wall, IL; to Sand Bar anchorage, KY; to Paducah, KY; to Green Turtle Bay, KY; to Dry Fork Bay, TN; to Pebble Isle Marina, TN.

Weighing anchor in Dark Chute anchorage was a bit trickier than my prior anchorages. Each link of the anchor chain (those that had laid on the bottom) was covered in gooey mud–not an issue until the last bit comes up. Using the deck wash pump, it is fairly easy to clean each chain link as it comes aboard. Once the anchor is plucked from the bottom, however, the current wants the boat to move…backwards of course. Problem is, the anchor…

Read More Read More

Hammond, IL to Lockport Lock Wall, to Heritage Marina, to Lower Henry Island anchorage, to National Marine, to Peoria,IL anchorage, to IVY (Peoria Heights, IL), back to Peoria, IL anchorage, to Quiver Island anchorage, to Bar Island anchorage, to Dark Chute anchorage…whew.

Hammond, IL to Lockport Lock Wall, to Heritage Marina, to Lower Henry Island anchorage, to National Marine, to Peoria,IL anchorage, to IVY (Peoria Heights, IL), back to Peoria, IL anchorage, to Quiver Island anchorage, to Bar Island anchorage, to Dark Chute anchorage…whew.

This blog post is dedicated to the best Mother-in-law a man could ever hope for. Elizabeth (Betty) Joan Merhab, 5/31/1939-9/21/2019. One of Betty’s biggest passions-aside from her family-was her love of the ocean and boating. She will be fondly remembered and forever missed. Mike here again…Mary will return from CA this coming Friday. Can’t wait to have my co-captain back onboard. I am covering a lot of territory with this post, so please forgive me for such a lengthy entry….

Read More Read More

Traverse City, MI; to Northport, MI anchorage; to Portage Lake, MI anchorage; to Ludington Bay, MI anchorage (Pere Marquette Lake); to Muskegon, MI anchorage (Snug Harbor); to Grand Harbor, MI; to South Haven, MI; to Hammond, MI

Traverse City, MI; to Northport, MI anchorage; to Portage Lake, MI anchorage; to Ludington Bay, MI anchorage (Pere Marquette Lake); to Muskegon, MI anchorage (Snug Harbor); to Grand Harbor, MI; to South Haven, MI; to Hammond, MI

***Note: This edition was written by Mike, as Mary has temporarily returned to So. Cal to assist with her ill mother. Any/all errors and/or omissions are on me… Mary & I departed Harbor Springs, MI, on September 2, (Labor Day), bound for Traverse City, MI. Upon landing at the Traverse City Marina fuel dock (Duncan Clinch Marina), Forever Friday was surrounded by dock workers–two of which grabbed our dock lines & snugged us up to the dock–another who dragged the…

Read More Read More

Killarney, Ontario to Mary Ann Cove to Baie Fine East to Little Current to Benjamin Islands to Harbor Island, Michigan to Government Bay, MI to St. Ignace, MI to Harbor Springs, MI to Sutton’s Bay, MI.

Killarney, Ontario to Mary Ann Cove to Baie Fine East to Little Current to Benjamin Islands to Harbor Island, Michigan to Government Bay, MI to St. Ignace, MI to Harbor Springs, MI to Sutton’s Bay, MI.

Better late than never. August 19, 2019 marks the one year anniversary that we left California. We have since sailed almost 6000 miles from our starting point in Kentucky. Other than missing family and friends something fierce, this has been an incredible trip thus far. We departed Killarney under sunny skies and brisk winds. Did a short run of ~28 miles to Mary Ann Cove in Baie Fine. Baie Fine is one of the largest freshwater fjords in the world….

Read More Read More

Parry Bay, Ontario to Hopewell Bay to Britt to Bustard Islands to Bad River to Covered Portage to Killarney, Ontario.

Parry Bay, Ontario to Hopewell Bay to Britt to Bustard Islands to Bad River to Covered Portage to Killarney, Ontario.

Had a great visit in Parry Sound. It was a fairly busy hub with a lot of sea plane traffic, which is always so fun to watch. As is the glamorous life of boaters, got laundry done, walked a few miles to a grocery store and taxied the booty back, pumped out our head and filled up our water tanks. It was not all work and no play…we also found a great brewery! Parry Sound was a charming town (notice…

Read More Read More

Orillia, Ontario, Canada to Deep Bay to Midland, Ontario to Brown’s Bay to Three Finger Bay to Wilcox Bay to Little Wilcox Bay to Parry Bay, Ontario.

Orillia, Ontario, Canada to Deep Bay to Midland, Ontario to Brown’s Bay to Three Finger Bay to Wilcox Bay to Little Wilcox Bay to Parry Bay, Ontario.

Orillia was a super charming town. The marina was fantastic and within walking distance of everything. Orillia has a surf shop (although there is no ocean anywhere near) from which I bought my dad a t-shirt for his birthday. There was a huge street festival and farmers market on Saturday. The best times were at the docks where we met new friends…shout out to John Paul (and his beautiful dog) who gave us some great local anchorage tips. There was…

Read More Read More

Clayton, NY to Brakey Bay, Ontario Canada to Kingston to Trenton to Quinte West to Crowe Bay to Domino Cut to Peterborough to Lakefield to Kirkfield to Beaverton to Orillia, Ontario Canada.

Clayton, NY to Brakey Bay, Ontario Canada to Kingston to Trenton to Quinte West to Crowe Bay to Domino Cut to Peterborough to Lakefield to Kirkfield to Beaverton to Orillia, Ontario Canada.

Mea Culpa for the following blog as it is going to be way too long. I have not had good enough connectivity for the last couple weeks to upload pictures. I’ll try to truncate as much as possible. July 10, the folks from Scalywag, Alysana, Mike and I were guests on a tour boat that stopped at Boldt Castle. George Boldt, somewhat the father of the modern, deluxe hotel, and manager of the Waldorf-Astoria, had the castle built for his…

Read More Read More

Amsterdam, NY to Saint Johnsville, NY to Sylvan Beach, NY to Clay, NY to Oswego, NY to Henderson Bay, NY to Clayton, NY. (With road trips to Cooperstown and Rochester.)

Amsterdam, NY to Saint Johnsville, NY to Sylvan Beach, NY to Clay, NY to Oswego, NY to Henderson Bay, NY to Clayton, NY. (With road trips to Cooperstown and Rochester.)

Departed Amsterdam June 30 in rain. Although it was a Sunday, we were the only ones on the water. Went through a fun thunderstorm. Arrived Saint Johnsville, NY as the sun was breaking out treating us to a beautiful afternoon. Gina, Leslie and I walked to the “grocer” in town to pick up some provisions for dinner. Pickings were extraordinarily limited, so we decided to go out to dinner. There were not many options, but we picked Ripepi’s as it…

Read More Read More

Poughkeepsie, NY to Catskills, NY to New Baltimore, NY to Waterford, NY to Amsterdam, NY

Poughkeepsie, NY to Catskills, NY to New Baltimore, NY to Waterford, NY to Amsterdam, NY

Monday morning, took off with John and Gina who rented a car. Drove down the East side of the Hudson where we had stunning views. Took a brief hike to a vista. Continued driving through to West Point on the West side of the Hudson. Took an absolutely incredible 2 hour bus tour of the campus. These visits have just made us that more proud of our young men and women who serve our country. So very grateful to them….

Read More Read More