Update April 5, 2010 - Punta Gorda and Stuart

Well, I did it again. The months just seem to fly by! For someone not working at a job I seem to stay awful busy, and the time just flies! Therefore this update will cover 2 months of activity.

We left Ft Myers beach fairly early and had a good trip up to Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. The trip up the Peace River was longer and took longer than I expected but was otherwise uneventful. The marina has a tradition of happy hour on the dock at 5 PM every evening and also has a nice pool. However it was so cold the happy hour only occurred twice and I only got into the pool 4 times. Way too much time was spent in long pants and jackets!

Highlights of our stay there included several dinners out with Ray and; Linda from Summertime and Jim and Trish from Great Expectations both fellow loopers. We also had a short visit from our neighbors, Rick, Pat and Dan but unfortunately it was too cold and windy to go out on the boat so we had to settle for lunch and a trip to Pine Island.

Larry and Cathy also visited us for several days and something similar happened. We had planned to take them out to Pelican Bay/Caya Costa State Park but once again it was much too windy. Therefore we had to settle fo a long bike ride, a trip to the Edson Ford estates and a Lee County park (to see the Manatees) in Ft Myers, and a trip to Boca Grande Island by car. We also had dinner out with one of Larry’s former business partners, Bruce & Doritt. The last day we finally got in a short boat ride down the bay and back. The picture to the right is Larry driving a power boat!

Larry at the controls

Other events included a trip to a jazz concert and rooftop bar with Jim & Trish, and a couple of pot luck dinners. These included a “B Dockers” party which was held away from the marina and included many people who had previously stayed at the marina and had now purchased houses in the area. We also played Mexican Train Dominoes with Ray and Linda several times, enjoyed the super bowl with Jim and Trish, took numerous bike rides and enjoyed the (free) entertainment at the Fishermen’s Village Shops. The month was over much too quickly.

Tim and Jan (from Lamb Chop) joined us our last day there for the trip back across the Okeechobee Waterway to Stuart. The first leg was back to Ft Myers Beach where we picked up a mooring for the night. Ray and Linda came over for happy hour and we had an uneventful evening. After getting fuel the next morning, we headed upstream stopping again at the Franklin Lock. Jean and Jan learned to play hillbilly golf at the RV park there. The next day we traveled through more locks, stopping again at Moore Haven for the night. We were able to get in a nice walk around the town, which had little of interest but the exercise was good. The picture below is Tim getting a little help at the helm!

Tim at the controls

A short day -15 miles followed as the wind was too strong to try to cross Lake Okeechobee, so we stopped at Clewiston and got in another good walk. Tim cooked some awesome ribs that evening. The next morning we got up before dawn and left as soon as it was light to get across the lake before the wind came up. We failed somewhat on this and had a somewhat rough trip across the lake. It was a relief to get through the Port Mayaca lock on the far side and we had an uneventful trip the rest of the way into Stuart other than being held up by two railroad bridges. The four of us had a good dinner that night with Alan and Susan from Kaos, trying out the 23oz drafts from the Jensen Beach Ale House.

The following day (Friday)we took a rental car and drove back to Marathon with Tim and Jan. We had a short but good visit there, partying at Sparky’s with a number of our boating friends and staying overnight on Lamb Chop.

We drove back to Stuart on Saturday arriving just in time to pick up Alan and Susan’s car which we would have the use of for the next 3 weeks. Thank you Alan & Susan! Son Bill arrived that evening and we commenced to get the condo set up the next day. We purchased a bed and some appliances and did a few minor repairs on the items identified by the home inspector. Bill was able to stay there by the second night.

The rest of the month was a blur. Rick and Betsey were renting a place on Nettles Island for the month and we were able to get together with them several times. Eldon and Dianne flew in for a couple of days to join us and we were able to go to the maritime museum with them. Larry and Sue (from Sue Sea Q) visited for a week by land yacht and we had a number of afternoons and evenings with them as well. Alan and Susan returned and we had a couple of nice evenings with them. We also ran into Mike and Judy, friends from New Brunswick and spent went out with them a couple of times and of course we spent many days and evenings with son Bill who put on several dinners for ourselves and our friends. The picture above is the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and the picture to the right is Jean and Bill on our (unsuccessful) trip to see Manatees. This was as close as we got!

After looking at our plans for the summer,we decided to buy a car and I learned all about buying, insuring and registering a car in Florida. Every state is different and insuring anything in Florida seems to be an adventure! The condo insurance took forever and we got quotes that were several times the entire house in Maine. Fortunately we also got some more acceptable ones as well. On top of that, the company Sun Cat has been insured through is getting out of the marine business so I was working on that as well. Combine these with doing our income taxes and way too much time was being spent on the computer! Fortunately the weather has finally warmed up and we were able to swim a bit in the pools at both the marina and the condo.

We left Stuart on Easter Sunday (yesterday) and traveled to Vero Beach where we got in a nice walk in the sunshine. This morning, we got up early and saw the shuttle launch. It is an awesome sight even from 50 (or so) miles away! We will be here for a few days and then will head up toward Jacksonville.

That is a quick summary of two months activities! Still having a great time!


Steve and Jean

Update 2/2/2010 - Jacksonville to Ft Myers Beach

Greetings from Ft Myers Beach

As you can see we have left cold snowy Maine behind. Unfortunately it has been colder than normal here although low 70’s are far better than winters in New England. January has gone by like a rocket shot. We spent the last week of January visiting with friends and working on both our house and Steve’s. We had a nice dinner with Eldon and Dianne on Thursday night and on Friday night I did a program at Centerboard Yacht Club on cruising the great loop. On Saturday we went to a birthday party for our friend Larry Clough which was also attended by a number of our boating friends/ Sunday was spent with our sons and then on Tuesday (1/12) we flew back to Jacksonville to pick up the boat. It was around 40 degrees when we arrived and we were pleased to find the heat in the boat running. The boat was in good shape when we found it.

After a day of errands and provisioning, we set out for St Augustine, fighting the current much of the time. We were met in St Augustine by my brother Ron who would be traveling with us for most of the next week. From there, we had a good run with the current to Daytona Beach. We took a short walk on the beach and then enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends Bruce and Ellie. The next day we had another good run. Strong winds and heavy rains were forecast for that evening so we went into the marina in Titusville and took a short walk/ We found a good bakery but failed in our quest for Ron (a railroad buff) to see the trains which run close to the marina.

We set out the next day for Cocoa planning to either stay at the park dock or anchor out. Unfortunately we found the park dock to be fully occupied. and the winds were again very strong. We had a 20 degree heel from the winds on the boat some of the time!
Therefore we opted to into Melbourne Harbor and stay at the Marina there. We arrived in the middle of a sailboat race and had to dodge the boats trying to start and moving quickly under shortened sail. We had a nice walk around Melbourne, finding the Ice Cream shop but once again missing the trains for Ron.

The next day we went into Vero Beach which is one of our favorite stops. The weather had warmed up enough for shorts. We took a walk on the beach, splashing our feet in the water and enjoyed another good happy hour at The Pearl.

After Vero, we stayed at the Harborage Marina in Stuart for almost 2 weeks. During that time we shopped to a new home that our son Bill could stay in, We also had several nice dinners with both Alan and Susan from Kaos and Bob and Allie from Bali Motu both at their homes and at restaurants. In addition, we took a little time to enjoy the pool at the Harborage. Our search may have been successful. We made an offer on a property which was accepted. However, the seller is a government agency which repossessed the property and we have now been over a week dealing with various versions of paperwork. I can’t believe anyone would want these people to be controlling their healthcare! Hopefully the process will come to a successful conclusion.


From Stuart we proceeded across the Okeechobee Waterway. The first day was a short run to Indiantown where we stopped as the lake was too rough to cross that day. When we hooked up the electricity, the circuit breaker tripped immediately and I spent the rest of the evening trying to find a short in our system. It turned out the problem was the GFI breakers that were part of their system. The next day we crossed the lake accompanied by Toucan under acceptable but not idea conditions as the waves were around 2 feet with occasional larger waves. The crossing took about 3 hours and we were glad to get to the other side although it really hadn’t been that bad. We stopped at Moore Haven that evening and tried to go to a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to Toucan. We found it closed and wound up with Pizza as a substitute. The next days run was good, and we stopped that afternoon at the Park at the Franklin Lock just in time to avoid the rain. The park is small but nice.

The last day on the Okeechobee started under partially sunny skies but soon clouded over and it was raining by the time we passed Fort Myers. The rain let up as we reached Ft Myers Beach and the sky lightened so we decided to fuel up then rather than wait until morning. (Ballard Oil in Ft Myers Beach is one of the best places to fuel up in Florida) The rains came back quickly and we got very wet taking on fuel. We had planned to pick up a mooring ball but we were offered the fuel dock for the evening so we stayed there rather than picking up the mooring in the rain and then having to launch the dinghy and go in and pay for it in the rain. As I write this, it is still raining but we have dried out.

Its supposed to be nice tomorrow!

Steve & Jean

Update 1/3/2010 - Hilton Head to Jacksonville

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Hello to all from Snowy Maine!

It’s a marshmallow world out there! As I write this on Sunday morning its been snowing pretty much continuously since Thursday noontime and its supposed to snow most of today.  No wonder we are more than ready to return to Florida! Clicking on the link below will get you to a web site that will let you play dean Martin's Marshmallow World song.

http://www.last.fm/music/Dean+Martin/_/A+Marshmallow+World

In my last update it was November 1 and we were about to leave Hilton Head. This is what has happened since.

Our first day out of Hilton Head was short as we traveled only as  far as Thunderbolt, Ga. Thunderbolt is a savannah suburb and has the distinction of being the only town in the country so named. We had dinner that night at Tubby’s with Ray and Linda on Summertime.

The next day was not a good one. The trip through Ga. was pretty but uneventful. However, when we went to anchor that afternoon, the anchor line parted at the rope to chain splice. We rafted onto Summertime and tried to drag a grapple with the dinghy to find the  anchor but were not successful. Then as we returned to the boat (as it was getting dark) Jean informed me that she was not able to start the generator. This was a surprise since we had tested it a few days earlier. After a few hours of testing I determined that the problem was the electric fuel pump. Fortunately I had an electric pump I could make work and after another couple of hours the generator was working again.

The next day we traveled the rest of the way through Ga. to Fernadina Beach where we spent a nice evening with Tom and Jerry Claire at a pot luck dinner held at their sailing club. Calls to Lamb’s and West Marine during the day got a new fuel pump and new anchor and chain on order as well. The following day we went to Jacksonville where we stayed at Jacksonville Landing, a free dock right in the middle of downtown.  It was the first Wednesday of the month so they were having their “art walk”, a 4 hour event where they serve free wine and one gets to view artwork in a number of interesting buildings, some of which we toured. The following day we walked around, did some shopping and went to the maritime museum. This museum is small but has a lot of historical information about Jacksonville as a major river port (which it still is).

After a day at Lamb’s getting the new fuel pump and anchor on board and installed we headed upstream (south) on the St John River. The first night was spent at Palatka. We were having a quiet drink with Summertime when the locals on the dock invited us to go to dinner with them in Welaka, so off we went to a very rustic lodge and marina for dinner and some live entertainment.  The following day we anchored in Murphy’s Creek and went exploring in the dinghy looking for wildlife. We saw plenty of birds but no alligators.  The river here is largely undeveloped and is quite pretty. It gets even nicer further down.

After another night in a pretty anchorage avoiding strong winds, we crossed Lake George and spent a night at the Blackwater Inn in Astor. There isn’t much in Astor but strong winds were predicted (there was a hurricane warning out further north) and the dock at the Inn is only $10 a night. However, we did have lunch and dinner at the Inn so that made it a bit more expensive a day.  From there we went all the way to Sanford which is effectively the head of navigation. We spent several days there touring the town and visiting  the museum.  They also had an evening event going  downtown called ‘”Alive at Five “ This consisted of live bands and street vendors and free food and drink. What fun!

The next night was spent in a pretty anchorage called the river forest loop. In addition to the usual wildlife we saw wild turkeys and another large bird that stood over 3 feet tall. Then it was back across Lake George where we anchored for a couple of hours in the afternoon and took the dinghies into Silver Glen Springs State Park to see the manatees, followed by a night at Georgetown marina. (There is nothing there!). The next three nights were spent at three more nice anchorages-Deep Creek, Six Mile Creek and Black Creek and then it was back to Lamb’s where we spent a day or two and then left Sun Cat to fly back to Maine for the holidays. Sun Cat will get some needed maintenance while we are up north.

The five or six weeks here in Maine have been a blur. We had a pleasant Thanksgiving with our sons Steve and Bill, and had a good trip to the Cape to visit my mother and my brothers family. We also spent a nice evening with old friends Rick and Betsy Blake.

Steve is in the midst of a major renovation of his house so I’ve spent quite a bit of time helping him with insulation and sheet rock. It’s a big project but he’s doing it the right way and it will be very nice when he is done.

We had somewhat reluctantly decided to sell our house here this fall so we have also spent a good deal of time cleaning and organizing things here at the house. It looks great! There have been a few showings but no nibbles yet.

Christmas was spent with our sons and was over all too quickly. It seems hard to totally relax for that holiday but we managed to have fun anyway.

In addition we’ve visited with friends, attended the “Past Commodore’s Lobster Stew” at the yacht club, and went to several concerts. We hope to see more of our friends before returning to Sun Cat.

We wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2010!

Steve & Jean

Update 11/09/09 - Hilton Head

We arrived back at Sun Cat just before Labor Day and spent the weekend cleaning the boat and traveling to the beach and the pool. It was great to be back in nice warm weather although the last 2 weeks in Maine and the week in upstate New York were also warm and we wore shorts most of the time there as well.

Shelter Cove Marina Hilton Head

As I reported in the previous update, the boat was in good shape when we returned but had not been cleaned all summer so we spent a number of days cleaning and polishing with particular attention to the plastic windows that surround the bridge and sundeck. We also cleaned the dinghy and added a new coat of UV protection as well as had the divers clean the bottom and running gear. Our plan was generally to work in the morning and play in the afternoon and evening. It worked for the most part!

We traveled to Beaufort twice the first week. We had a nice lunch there with Ken and Sharon Vogel, a couple we had met at Hilton Head 2 years ago. We also made a trip to get a new set of tires on the truck as one had gone flat and one was bad. We also had a nice dinner with my niece Kelly and her husband Steve at their house in Blufton.

After a week or so, we had lots of company. Ron and Brenda came for another visit as well as my sister Sue and her husband John, her son David and his family and her daugher Kelly and Steve. Everyone stayed at Kelly and Steve’s in Blufton and we had a good time traveling with them around Hilton Head and the area. One day we took the Sun Cat and went over to Daufuskie Island for lunch, ducking rain showers the whole time. We also visited the Harbortown lighthouse and south beach as well as the nature preserve in Sea Pines. Steve had grown up in the area and served as a guide. Ron & Brenda took us kayaking in the lagoons of Palmetto Dunes one morning and we spent a day with them playing tourists in Savannah. The picture to the right is the view from Harbortown lighthouse.

Palmetto Bluff, SC

Soon after ever they left, fellow cruisers Bob & Sharon on Catch Me If U Can arrived and we spent much of the rest of the time there showing them around Hilton Head, working on our boat, going to the beach and pool and partying with them. Among other adventures, we went to a classic car drive in, took a boat ride to Buffalo’s restaurant at Palmetto Bluff, attended a performance of Cabaret and played many games of Sequence. We also enjoyed many dinners together with Sharon preparing several wonderful meals and Jean introducing them to a Low Country Boil.The picture to the left is the restaurant at Palmetto Bluff

Before we left Hilton Head, we traveled to Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama, which is on the Tennessee River. There we attended a Rendevous of the American Great Loop Cruisers Association where I did a presentation on traveling from Key West to Jacksonville. It was fun to meet the latest group of Loopers and tour some fo their boats. We actually got to see a larger Symbol of the same vintage. The picture below is the view from our room at Wheeler.

The river at Joe Wheeler State Park Alabama

The time had come to leave Hilton Head. We returned the truck to Chuck and Claria. We’d used it so much and really enjoyed it. The F-150 is definitely a good vehicle! It was sad to leave our friends and a place we like but we wanted to do a tour of the St John River in Florida before flying to Maine for the holidays so we had to go. Our next update will cover that adventure.

Update October,2009 - Northeast Harbor to the St John and back

Update October, 2009


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When we left the intrepid crew of Trader last, they were in Northeast Harbor, Maine. A lot has happened since which we will attempt to describe in this update and the November one which will follow shortly.

Trader and Katahdin anchored at Mistake Island

After a couple of days in Northeast Harbor, we left with Katahdin and sailed east to Mistake Island and then to Roque Island where we picked up a mooring in Bunker Cove and spent a couple of nights. The highlight of that stop was a dinghy trip to the great beach that forms most of the southern side of the main island. (Roque is sort of like a pacific atoll with several islands making a circle around a fairly large and deep harbor. Of course there are pine trees rather than palms and one does not go swimming without a wet suit!) There used to be a flight of sixty stone steps that would take one to the top of the island for a great view but now the owners limit visitors to just one end of the beach when they go ashore. The  two pictures are the boardwalk at Mistake Island looking back at the harbor and part of the beach at Roque.

The next day we traveled mostly with the current to Grand Mannan Island off of New Brunswick where we cleared Canadian Customs and had a nice dinner with Larry and Cathy. (The current can run 3 knots or more in Grand Mannan channel and this part of the Bay of Fundy. We were up early the next morning and traveled mostly with the current again to St. John, New Brunswick. We tied up to the “Market Pontoon” in downtown St John to wait for the right time to pass through the reversing falls. We timed the falls well and had an uneventful trip up the river to the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club (RKYC). We spent two days at RKYC getting organized. We also visited with Bob Harrity, a friend from the Yarmouth Cup Race who kindly loaned us his car for shopping. We then started up river, stopping at Whelpy Cove, and Gagetown where we spent 2 days playing tourist. We then went up to Douglas Harbor on Grand Lake where we reconnected with Mike McKendy and the Frederickton Yacht Club. The next two pictures are the RKYC Clubhouse and typical scenery along the St John.

We spent the weekend with the yacht club, participating in their campfire on Friday night and racing with Bob Bavor on his hot racing boat both Saturday and Sunday. It was fun to race on a boat that was all tricked out for racing with a crew that was very good, We finished first on both days! The following day we sailed to Cumberland Bay where we anchored in a neat cove near the end of the bay. We then returned to Douglas as bad weather was predicted. More bad weather was predicted so the next day we hustled back to Whelpy Cove and then to RKYC. Once again we really appreciated the hospitality of the Frederickton Yacht Club and RKYC.

Trader on the market pontoon

The weather was indeed bad that night and our mooring became increasingly uncomfortable. Some kind members of RKYC bailed us out and called us into behind the breakwater to tie up to their workboat. Things quieted down after that and we were able to get a decent night’s sleep. We had planned to spend the next day playing tourist in St John but the weather interfered again and the next day looked like a good one to go down the bay so we decided to go back through the falls and spend the night on the market pontoon. Everything was fine until we got to the pontoon and discovered that there were large swells in the harbor making the location uncomfortable. We endured an uncomfortable night and then left at 0500 to catch the tide and the good weather.

We arrived at Dipper Harbor about 10 AM just as the tide turned against us. We spent an extra day there waiting out another bad day and then spent one of those forgettable boating days that one just endures. We did have the current with us most of the day but we also had heavy fog, big swells and no wind for sailing. We went into Cutler where we tried to clear US Customs and got frustrated. We had been told before we left we could clear in there, but when we called Lubec they refused to come to Cutler (a 10 to 15 mile drive) claiming only commercial boats could be cleared there. There is nothing in Cutler. Why any commercial boat would ever go in there is beyond me! We called Houlton and were informed that as long no one left the boat we would be ok. They also indicated that we could clear in in Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor.

The following day we again got off very early and motored the last 60 miles to Northeast Harbor. It was another foggy day with visibility less than 100 yards, sometimes as little as the length of our boat. The swells were less than the day before but there were more lobster traps to deal with. We arrived in Northeast Harbor late in the afternoon and called Houlton again to arrange to clear in. They sent a crew from Bangor, three people traveling over 50 miles to clear in Jean and I. I guess it was our tax dollars at work!. The individuals who came were very good and the process took less than 5 minutes!

We spent a couple of days at Northeast Harbor resting and enjoying Mt Desert Island. From there we went to Buck’s Harbor and then to Castine where we met up with another looper, Jack & Patsy McCord on Honga. After a day of playing tourist there ( the museum was quite interesting) we then headed to Warren Island where we spent another rainy evening. The next day we went to Camden for a day where we had a nice dinner with our friend Peter Van Alstine.

The trip back to Portland from there included a stop in Round Pond, Boothbay Harbor, and then Quahog Bay. At Quahog we again met up with Steve and Larry and Cathy. The weather had finally improved and we found the swimming there to be excellent. The trip ended the next day in Portland.

We spent the next few days working on the house and then Ron & Brenda paid us a visit so we went back out on the boat again, stopping at Potts harbor for Lobster stew and then on to Harpswell for the night. After a day at Sebasco Resort, we went back to Quahog Bay again for more swimming. We were again joined there by Steve on Nette and Larry and Cathy on Katahdin and Doug and Maggie on Majica.The next two pictures are the harbor at Sebasco with Trader in the middle of the picture and everyone swimming at Quahog Bay.

As Ron and Brenda were leaving on Sunday, we got a call from Tim and Jan that they had already arrived at our house! We got a bunch of precooked lobsters at the store and had a good lobster feed at the house.

Tim and Jan stayed with us for a couple of days and the weather was good so we decided on another boat trip. We took them to Quahog as it offers a good view of what cruising is like on a sailboat in Maine. The trip also included another stop at Potts Harbor for their famous lobster stew. They had to leave all too quickly on Wednesday morning!

We then spent another few days mostly working on the house. On Friday we traveled to Bangor to pick up the Gorgon’s truck which we would bring back to Hilton Head for them.That Sunday night we went to a “Florida night” party at our neighbors and then left on Monday for Cape Cod where we visited my mother and Ron and Brenda. Then on Wednesday it was off again. This time we were headed for upstate New York where we would spend a week or so with our friends Eldon and Dianne on their boat, traveling the western part of the Erie Canal.

We got off early and stopped for a late breakfast with my sister Sue. We then traveled to Seneca Falls where we met up with Eldon and Dianne on “Maine Visions”. Our first day there was a different adventure. We took the truck and did a circumnavigation of Seneca Lake. The scenery in that part of New York State is beautiful and there must be at least 40 wineries located on the roads that circle the lake. We stopped at a number of them, sampling everywhere and buying a few bottles. We also stopped at an Amish store and later an Amish market. It was interesting to see a number of food brands we do not ordinarily find, many of which were processed in New York or Pennsylvania.

From Seneca Falls, we pointed Maine Visions Westward along the canal. It was a wonderful trip! I got in a lot of practice locking and docking a single engine trawler with a thruster and the scenery was beautiful. They had made the trip once already so Dianne decided to follow us with the truck and do some shopping in the smaller towns, meeting up with us each evening. Among other places, we stopped at Lyons, Medina, Fairport and Tonawanda.

The next four pictures are Maine Visions at Seneca Falls, overlooking Seneca Lake, Jean and Dianne at the falls in Watkins Glen, and the Erie Canal approaching Lockport, NY.

The stop at Fairport was on the weekend and they had a festival going on with lots of street vendors and music. It was also an interesting town to walk around. Tonawanda marks the end of the canal and was also the end of our trip on Maine Visions. Thank you to Eldon and Dianne for another great time!

We left Tonawanda and headed for Hilton Head, stopping to visit Jean’s sister Gail along the way. It was two long days of driving but we arrived in Hilton Head just before Labor day weekend to find Sun Cat in good shape and waiting for us. Our adventures in Hilton Head will be continued in the next update.