18 July 2013 – Thursday.  Ottawa -> Kemptville, ON

Just as we were leaving the Wall in Ottawa, the Queen's Guard passed by on their way to the changing of the Guard at Parliament.

We went through 7 Locks today: First came Locks 9 & 10, the Hartwells which had a neat Lockmaster, Ross; Lock 11 – HogsBack then HogsBack swingbridge;  Lock 13 (there is no Lock 12 it was planned but never built since it was not needed) ,Black Rapids;  Locks 14-15-16, Long Island Locks ( Locks that are  completed in succession are called a “Flight” – if you begin the flight, you must complete all of them without stopping) Liam was our Lockmaster, he and his crew were great.. 

17 July 2013 – Wednesday

I lucked out today – found a Laundry that would do mine for 99 cents a pound.  It was worth every penny.  After dropping off the laundry, we met “Element” at the Parliament Building for a tour.  It was quite interesting – and it is a beautiful Building with a lot of symbolism. After the tour, we had a late lunch at an Irish Pub (of course).

We ended the day with a planning session aboard Element. The steamed clams that Debbie cooked were marvelous – they helped the planning process immensely.  We are having a ball!

16 July 2013  - Tuesday.     Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Our first adventure in Ottawa was locking through 8 consecutive locks to get from the Ottawa River up to the Rideau Canal.  Quite an experience with an audience too!  The Locks are next to Parliament so there where quite a few tourists..

Lock 1 of 8

The City wall was full but 2 smaller boats backed up to make room for us on the end – the very last spot!  We tied, up took the Girls for a walk and then went exploring with our friends on “In My Element” , Bob and Debbie Smith (Element).We found the outdoor “Market” and more importantly a Pub, The Brig.  It was hotter here than in Houston today.  

Tied up on the Wall

“Element “ joined us for dinner at a Thai Restaurant.  We had Shrimp Curry with Pineapple which is our favorite and it was terrific.  After dinner, the 4 of us went to the Light Show at the Parliament Building.

25 July 2013

I have been away from the Blog for awhile.  It has been difficult to keep up – long days and then little wifi.  I am going to restart the Blog from Ottawa and then figure out how to insert other location notes, photos, etc.

OFF SHORE NEW JERSEY

As you can see,  I  have fallen behind on the Blog.  It seems overwhelming to catch up so will begin with the most recent and do some catching up as time allows.  I am also having difficulty transferring my pictures and pulling up saved data.  Will keep  working on it.

18-22 April 2013

We headed North today, headed to Beaufort.  We had to say good bye to the Andersons since they were having their boat hauled in Thunderbolt to check their boat out since they have  developed a vibration.  We will miss them.

The trip to Port Royal (just out of Beaufort) was intense. Lots of "skinny" water.

Port Royal Marina

This was a nice marina - clean public areas and a helpful friendly staff. We were tied up on the outside of the face dock and the wind picked up  - therefore there was a lot of wave action all night - noise and movement.  Not a pleasant night.

We headed out the next morning for Charleston.  Another intense, "skinny" water day with building wind added to the mix. By the time we got to Charleston, it was really blowing.

Ozel did an excellent job of getting Freya into her berth for the night.

The Harborage at Ashley Marina

I show this picture because this is  the shower/restroom facility that you shouldn't expect on your boating voyage.

Ozel isn't studying charts - but a great menu!

This was a good stop. There was a very good restaurant within walking distance and the marina had a van that would take us downtown.

We stayed here an extra day because of the predicted strong winds and headed to Georgetown on the 21st. The weather and winds were  good when we left the marina but the winds built steadily from the time we left the dock until we got into the harbor. Shortly after we entered the ICW, we heard a sailboat report 37 knot winds. We had gust greater than that!

This was in the process of being built out in the middle of nowhere!

This is the area where that house was being built.  I show this picture to show how there was nothing to  protect us from the wind.

The Race Committee contacted the Coast Guard to inform them  that the Charleston Race Week races were cancelled for the day.  The wind was unbelievable - we had spray on the bridge when we were in the Bay leading to Georgetown.

We found out later that there was a 67 mile an hour gust recorded between here and Charleston.

We safely arrived at the Harbor Walk Marina in Georgetown, SC.  Another exciting landing - Ozel is really getting good at bringing Freya in under challenging conditions.

Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina, following Charleston and Beaufort, Georgetown was founded in 1729 and became an official port of entry in 1732. Prior to this, all foreign exports and imports had to pass through Charleston. Duties and the added freight had to be paid there. With the designation of Georgetown as a port of entry, the area's merchants and planters could deal directly with all ports, bypassing Charleston (from Georgetown website)

This is the Kaminski house one of the Antebellum houses. 

The Clocktower in town.

Cheers to our friends.  Georgetown is great.

We leave for Myrtle Beach in the morning. 

13 - 17 April 2013

We left Jekyll Island and headed north and spent the night at anchor on the Wahoo River.  We had dinner onboard "Once upon a   Time" with the Andersons.  The food and company was great!

Once Upon a Time at anchor on the Wahoo River.

From the anchorage we headed on to Isle of Hope, GA which is a suburb of Savannah. This is a really nice marina with helpful and friendly people. They have courtesy cars so we got to go into Savannah with the Andersons to look around, watch the end of the "Masters" at a bar and have a really good dinner.

The welcome sign at the marina

The pizza party on the fly bridge of Once Upon a Time.

A great evening with the Andersons (Once Upon a Time) and the Beckers (S/V Dragon Fly)

Left to right - Brent Anderson, Friedbert Becker, Janet Becker and Susan Anserson

Tonight the 3 couples went to the local Mexican Restaurant which was great.  We all head out tomorrow.  We are headed to Beaufort, SC

10-12 April 2012

The Coast Guard hailed us as we left Fernandina Beach, FL to inform us that Naval ships were coming down the Cumberland River. We were told to stay outside of the "greens" and to keep our bow pointed away from the ships.

This is not a good picture but it is of a Submarine escorted by 2 Minesweepers.  There were several USCG vessels of various sizes as well.

This was quite an intense day as we encountered shallows and shoaling.  

The tides here are unbelievable.

Jekyll Harbor Marina

This is a great Marina. Everyone friendly and helpful.  The Cafe has a great happy hour and the food is pretty good too!

They have a loaner car which we took to town to get some supplies and to drive around the Island.  It is lovely here.

This is the main entrance to the Cafe/Restaurant.

The weather has been unpredictable so we are on a weather hold here.  We plan to leave early tomorrow morning since we have a long voyage tomorrow.

4/12 - We will be going to our first "Pot Luck" this evening.  I say first because we hear that there will be many on this trip.

April 9, 2013 Jacksonville to Fernandina, Florida

Well, the day has come - on with the voyage.  We had filters changed, zincs replaced, extra anchor chain added, the extra prop stowed, walked the dogs and checked out of the marina.

Ozel working on anchor chain

Really a tight fit to stow the prop in the engine room. Ask Ozel about getting out of there!

We left the marina and headed out of the Ortega River to the St. John's.  Just after going through the railroad bridge, the engine died.  Finally got it started and limped back to Lamb's.

It turned out to be a valve that was not properly positioned after the fuel filter change.  so, we started out again.  No problems this time.

We went North on the River which is down river to the Sisters Creek which is the ICW.  It was difficult to see the entrance but we made it.  Shortly after entering the ICW, we had a couple of visitors.

First Dolphin of this trip.

We have never navigated such "skinny" water.  There was quite a bit of shoaling in this part of the ICW.  Sometimes depths of 4 ft.  It was an intense day

So....when we got to  the Fernandino Harbor Marina, we hooked up the life lines, walked the dogs and headed to Brett's for a glass of wine. Ozel opted for Margaritas - he earned them.  We had an excellent meal at Brett's - and - the dogs were with us on the deck.

This is Ariel

Looking over the Marina from the Restaurant..Freya is on the right hand side of the fairway.

On to Jekyll Island tomorrow.

April 6, 2013 - Jacksonville, FL

We are on the boat at Lamb's Yacht Center in Jacksonville.  Greg's wife, Liz, came with us and will drive our SUV back to Texas.

The boat is provisioned and almost ready for take off. We plan to head North on Tuesday. Our Planned first port of call is Fernandino Beach.

Ozel is loading the last of the things that are going back to Texas

 A wave farewell!

Off she goes!

Going, going, gone!  Now we on our own and will resume our adventure!

17 March 2013

We had some St. Patrick's Day excitement in the canal behind the house.

We woke up to find that the Barge working on the dock across the canal had sunk during the night and was sitting on the bottom.

                           

The canal was quite busy.  We had Coast Guard and Texas Land Management checking out the site.  They did a good job of re-floating the barge. Here you can see that the Port side is still under water

  

It took all day and well into the evening but they finally got her afloat.  The next morning there she was and a lot cleaner too!!!

March 14-15, 2013

From this.....

to this!

Drove from Angel Fire, NM to our home in Rockport, Texas to begin preparations for rejoining our boat, Freya, in Jacksonville, FL.  We will clean up the boat,  provision and then resume cruising "The Loop".  Looking forward to getting back on the water..

November 10th

We cleaned up the boat and got it ready to store until March/April..  Once the boat was buttoned up, we headed west to Biloxi and then on to Texas....will return next Spring to continue the "Loop"..

November 9th - Palatka to Jacksonville

We left Palatka after a great breakfast at Angel's Diner which is the oldest diner in Florida....opened in 1932.

We had breakfast at the table where the policemen are sitting.

After breakfast, we headed back to Jacksonville and Lamb's Yacht Center.

Home again!

We secured the boat and then went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Jacksonville (Anondale) - Biscotti's.

November 8th - Astor to Palatka Boat House Marina

The story of the Hyacinth:

Florida's problem with the plants began at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884 - also known as the New Orleans World's Fair. The Sun-Sentinel reports the Japanese were giving water hyacinths to visitors as gifts.

Why the Japanese selected a South American plant to give away has been lost to time, but among the visitors who left the fair with a plant was Mrs. W.F. Fuller.

Mrs. Fuller and her husband, a citrus grower, lived along the St. Johns River in the area of Palatka. Mrs. Fuller brought the hyacinth home and placed it in her fish pond. When the plant choked her pond, she thinned out the plants and placed the extras at her boat landing on the St. John's River.

Water hyacinths are floating perennials with large green leaves, lovely purple flowers and dense, heavy roots that trail them in the water, according to information from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. In Florida, they grow much faster than even rabbits could think of reproducing, doubling in number in as little as 13 days.

Information from TheLedger.com

Ozel checking out Mrs. Fuller's Hyacinths

It was as though we were parked on ground.   Unbelievable....tide and current cleared them out by the time we left in the morning.

We left Astor and headed to Palatka which was also a revisit..to the Palatka Boat House Marina..below.  We were at the end of the T Head.

November 7th - Astor Bridge Marina revisited

This morning we left Hontoon Landing and headed upriver to Blue Springs Creek State Park in our quest for the elusive manatees.  This was probably the best nature viewing day of the trip.

This is one of many alligators we saw on this stretch of the River.  He sure is healthy looking.

These are Wood Storks which are the only storks in North America.

The alligators are almost black in color here.  It might be because the water is very dark.  It is the color of coffee but quite clear not murky or muddy.  Probably tannin. 

If you look closely, you may be able to see the head of the Manatee in the water.  It was difficult to see them because of the dark water.

Isn't this picture gorgeous?  Melanie took most of the pictures and I think that this one is definitely professional quality as were some of the others.

We saw many cormorants but this one looked especially photographic.

The number of eagles that we saw on this trip was surprising and encouraging since they had been on the endangered list.

This blossoming bush was in many places along the River.  We never did find out what it is.  We asked several people what it is but none knew.

The Ibis where everywhere on this part of the River.  Sometimes Egrets shared trees with them.

  

We'll end the nature tour  with an alligator.  This one is a little lighter in color.

When we left the State Park Area,  we headed down river to return to the Astor Bridge Marina and the good food at the Castaway Restaurant.

The owners of the Marina were on the bulkhead waving a greeting when we arrived.  We knew that we were returning to the same slip so just went right to it. 

We had another great stay with another great meal!

I will address the Water Hyacinths in my next posting.