2016 a year on the boat

2017 fall trip & southern Caribbean cruise
2017 Jan. - July
2016 a year on the boat
Winter in the Bahamas /Spring up the east coast 2018
2018 Bahamas

Legend

north bound trips
south bound trips

Saint Albans, WV, United States ‐ Aug 23, 2016

traveled 61.14 miles and took a detour up the Kanawha River to go to Charleston, WV. Doing the research on Charleston they too have a free dock available on Fri.-Sat.-Sun. all summer for their weekend concerts at the park right along side the river. What you must do is arrive on a Sednesday and go into the city hall and fill out a request to stay, show proof of insurance and boat registration, which we plan on doing tomorrow. So since we are a larger sized boat than usually travels this river [...]
, the marinas are for smaller sized boat. So knowing our distance of 61 miles, i started doing a google map search to look at the area and see if I could find anything. Well low and behold there was a long dock on the backside of a car dealership. Through several phones calls, someone finally decided it was Ok to let us stay there for one night. The previous owner of the dealership had a big boat (we determined that dock was 65' long) and he built the dock for his yacht. Through a bit of creativity we found the perfect spot for the night.
Pomeroy, OH ‐ Aug 22, 2016

traveled 61.73 miles to the town of Pomeroy, OH. and another free dock. We wlaked into town and found the Court Side Grill and had a cold one. There was also a very interesting statue across the street and they still fly a confederate flag! this was just a quick stop over the night.
Blennerhasset island ‐ Aug 21, 2016

traveled 14.70 miles to Blennerhasset island historical state park and their free dock.The history of Blennerhassett Island has made it the Ohio River’s most famous island. In 1789, the island was settled by Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett, wealthy Irish aristocrats fleeing political persecution and personal scandal. Over the years, the couple’s mansion gained a reputation for being the West’s most beautiful home. Then, in 1805, they allowed their estate to become headquarters for Aaron [...]
Burr’s military expedition to the Southwest, an episode that raised the island to national renown and awarded it a permanent footnote in American history. The Burr conspiracy, which is suspected to have involved a treasonous plot to create a new country independent of the United States, has become the subject of many stories, poems, artwork and Broadway shows. The Blennerhassetts fled the island when Burr’s scheme collapsed but the mansion and history remain. While the original mansion burned to the ground long ago, a detailed replica, which can be toured, has been built on its foundations. The Blennerhasset mansion greatly resembled George Washington's Mount Vernon, due to its Palladian style. We took a tour of the mansion and had a safe place to dock the boat for the night.
Marietta, OH ‐ Aug 19, 2016

traveled 13.59 miles to Marietta where we'll stay for 2 days. We just love this town, we get on the bikes and go all over!
Brokeback island , OH ‐ Aug 18, 2016

traveled 68.85 miles to anchor out at Brokeback island. We often make a day of travel when we know we are going into a marina the next day. This way we can make the most of the day we arrive.
Wheeling, WV ‐ Aug 16, 2016

traveled 52.08 miles to a free dock at Wheeling, WV where we stay 2 days. It lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Wheeling is located in northern West Virginia, on what is known as the northern panhandle. The area lies within the region of the Western Allegheny Plateau. The city is directly across the river from the state of Ohio and only 11 miles west of Pennsylvania. It is a part of the Tri-State area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, which is common [...]
ly referred to as the Ohio River Valley Region or "The Ohio Valley". Sad to see another small town with most of it's stores closed, very typical in many of the towns we have visited along our routes over the past several years. WE take our bikes and ride all over Wheeling. We did however find a gem, the legendary Undo’s Italian restaurants which feature authentic, homemade Italian food since 1953. The best pizza crust I have ever tasted, it was steamed and then the topping were added right before it was served. It was fantastic! history* The National Road arrived in Wheeling in 1818, linking the Ohio River to the Potomac River, and allowing goods from the Ohio Valley to flow through Wheeling and on to points east. As the endpoint of National Road, Wheeling became a gateway to early western expansion. In 1849 the Wheeling Suspension Bridge crossed the Ohio River and allowed the city to expand onto Wheeling Island. This bridge still stands today.
Midland, PA - Georgetown island ‐ Aug 15, 2016

traveled 41.35 miles and the first three of twenty locks on our return trip down the Ohio River. We made it by the Montgomery lock before the corp started with work....yeah! We went back to anchor for the night at Georgetown island. On the trip south the line is green and I am going along side the river so it clearly shows the river route,
Pittsburgh, South Side ‐ Aug 12, 2016

2.12 miles up the river we stop at South Side Marina for a 3-day stay. East Carson St. has restaurants, bars, and shops that help support the economy of the South Side. Then I find a Hofbräuhaus we had a fabulous meal and a great time. They even celebrated our 1000 journey by boat with a song! We continue to ride the bikes all around the area and had a great time, but with all things it's time to think about heading south. I found out the next lock Corp is going to work on is the Montgomery [...]
lock, and we wanted to get pass that so we wouldn't get held up. There is so much to do in Pittsburg we only saw a small portion of it in our 12 days here.
Pittsburgh, Station Square ‐ Aug 8, 2016

31.34 miles - our travels back and forth to Fox Chapel and now we are going to the Monongahela river and first stop Station Square Landing. This was awesome, they do have free docks here and because of our fuel purchase, this guy calls his buddy at Station Square and we are able to stay on the barge right at the square! Fun place with restaurants and bars and shops. We take the bikes to DUQUESNE INCLINE enjoy a spectacular panorama of Pittsburgh and its three rivers. We rode to the incline's [...]
Observation Deck in the 140-year-old Incline car to see what USA Today Weekend Magazine calls one of the "10 most beautiful views in America". Historical exhibits in the waiting room entertain between rides. We also enjoyed the "Texas de Brazil".... carving a new experience in dining, Texas de Brazil is the premiere Brazilian steakhouse in Pittsburgh! WE stay here 4 days enjoying this area and we take our bikes across the bridge into Pittsburg city.
Pittsburgh, day trip ‐ Aug 6, 2016

our friends Dave & Dianne Burlington from Ontario, Canada came down for the weekend. We took Pier Pressure to Pittsburg and docked along the wall next to the PNC park ball stadium. The boys went to find a brew pub and us girls went to the bridge where all kinds of booths were selling all kinds of stuff. The city was getting ready for boat races (like we saw in Huntington, WV) we had a fun day. Back at the marina they had a band that evening which were great, Dianne and I danced all night long! [...]
I actually looked into the cost of having the boat shipped from Fox Chapel to Lake Erie about 120 miles. Why not ....then we could cruise another route south, great idea I thought until the cost of $20,000 was given. Needless to say we are heading back south on the Ohio River. $20,000 REALLY.
Pittsburgh - Fox Chapel ‐ Aug 3, 2016

traveled 46.84 miles and 4 locks. Dashields lock 10' lift, Montgomery lock17' lit & Emsworth lock 18' lift (last lock on Ohio river) lock #2 on Allegheny river (there was no lock 1) What a day..... as we come upon our very last lock on the Ohio the Emsworth the corp of engineers were doing repairs to the lock. River traffic has come to a HALT, the smaller chamber we have been cruising through is now used by commercial tows and since the old chamber is 360' length the barges have to break down t [...]
o get through. That whole process takes along time and barges have preference over PC's (personal craft). But right now the corp's boat "Essex" rules and when they say we need the lock - they get the lock! WE pull over drop the anchor and wait. I would call on the phone very so often to get a status on our cue, hoping we could get through before dark. Finally the Essex moves (we've been waiting 2 - 3 hrs) and the lockmaster contacts the tow/barge if we can go thru ahead of them, at first the tow says no, but then the lock master ask "I think I can get this PC thru and the water lowered back down before you get here", he said OK. So off we go.... We come into Pittsburg and 3-rivers the Monogahela, Allegheny and where the Ohio begins is the confluence. Pittsburg is beautiful with the 2 ball stadiums and museums along the riverfront., the city skyscape, and the big bluffs. We made it up the Allegheny about 10 miles to Fox Chapel marina about 7pm, where we stayed for 5 days. history* The Native Americans used the rivers in dug out canoes, an Albany fur trader ( Arnout Viele) descended the Allegheny and Ohio in 1692. Pittsburg had it's beginning adjoining Fort Pitt in 1764. Marietta & Cincinnati were settled in 1788 by way of the river. The first steamboat to navigate the Ohio River was the New Orleans built in 1811 at Pittsburg. In 1824 measures were taken on coping with sandbars and the removal of snags obstructing navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. And so began a successions of improvements resulting in the construction of a canalized navigation system consisting today of 20 locks and dams that provide year round transit of the river's entire 981 miles.
Georgetown Island anchorage, PA ‐ Aug 2, 2016

traveled 63.12 miles and 2 locks Pike island lock 18' lift and New Cumberland lock 21' lift WE bypassed Wheeling WV today so we could get some more miles in today. Also have noticed alot more creeks and rivers dumping into the river.
Moundsville, WV ‐ Aug 1, 2016

traveled 69.41 miles and 2 locks Willow Island lock 20' lift & Hannibal lock 18' lift. There was a free dock here at Moundsville, for us it was a quick stop here, didn't go into town. We are now getting into the upper Ohio and today's drive was really pretty. We traveled along a big wildlife area the road along the river is called "Ohio river Scenic Byway".
Marietta, OH ‐ Jul 29, 2016

traveled 12.41 miles a shirt day up to the fabulous little city Marietta, OH where we stayed 3 days at Marietta Harbor. Their annual event of the turning of the bridge was that weekend, it was fun. We went biking around a saw the river history museum, the 30' mound cemetery built by the Hopewell Indians, the Mound Cemetery saw the burial of more than twenty-five Revolutionary War soldiers beginning in 1801. Found the 100 yr old theater and listened to fiddlers perform, there were interesting s [...]
hops and historic buildings we were kept busy. We have noticed alot of sternwheelers on the river and the big event for them is right here in Marietta, we even toured one. history* During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent settlement of the new United States in the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio. The original founders of Marietta chose to build their community where the Muskingum River met the Ohio River. When the Midwest was opened for settlement after passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the stream of immigrants leaving the populated eastern states became a flood of people looking for land in the new territory. There were no overland roads, just a few rough and dangerous trails through dense forests. And so the Ohio River became their highway, and flatboats their means of transportation. An average of 3,000 flatboats descended the Ohio River each year between 1810 and 1820. Abraham Lincoln twice piloted a flatboat carrying produce from Illinois to New Orleans (1828, 1831).
Parkersburg, WV ‐ Jul 27, 2016

traveled 56.73 miles to Parkersburg, WV and 2 locks Racine lock 22' lift and Belleville lock 22' lift. Parkersburg has a nice city park area and a free dock here outside the city wall. Normal pool of the Ohio River at Parkersburg is 20 feet. Flood damage occurs when the Ohio River water level at Parkersburg rises above 36 feet. However, on March 29, 1913 its water level rose to 58.9 feet and produced the worst flood there on record. These devastating floods finally inspired the city’s fath [...]
ers to initiate the construction of a floodwall to protect Parkersburg—in 1946 when funds were available after the high cost of World War II. Under the supervision of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, builders began its construction in March of 1946 and completed the workin April of 1950. While in Parkersburg we learned of Blennerhassett island nearby from the tour boat driver...sounds interesting. The summer of 2016 introduced Poke'mon Go, we found people roaming around at night with this app. About 2am I was up in the forward stateroom reading and I heard voices outside the boat. the next thing I knew someone jumped up on the bow of the boat! I called for ERIC and he was on it, I heard them say' "Someone's on the boat". WE called the police and because of the wall there was no place for the kids to go. The policeman came back about an hour later and said they had caught the 3 teenagers who were drunk. Later we discovered that Parkersburg has a big drug & unemployment problem. The city was very unimpressive!
Racine, OH -Old Lock 24 Campground ‐ Jul 26, 2016

traveled 26.84 miles to what was once an old lock, now which is a campground. We are finding alot of campgrounds along the Ohio River and the old lock house was bought by a woman who runs it. We were very careful tying up since the wall is hardly above the water level. She called to the Racine lockmaster to let him know we were down here (storms in the area) and to avoid letting alot of water out! She also had a laundry facility which I used, it was a cool looking old building. and it was an ove [...]
rnight stay. In our travels we passed the Kanawha River that goes to Charleston, WV. We have time this stop so we are here for the weekend when they have music in the park, and since they had a big flood here we'll hit this stop on our return trip down the Ohio River.
Gallipolis, OH, United States ‐ Jul 24, 2016

traveled 38.28 miles and Byrd lock 23' lift to Gallipolis, OH and a free dock at their city park. We ventured up the embankment into town for some groceries. There was a local restaurant/bar we went to and decided to stay here 2 days.
Huntington, WV ‐ Jul 20, 2016

traveled 40.02 miles and though Green Up Lock 30' lift, we finally leave Kentucky behind right before we get to Huntington, WV and a free wall along their park.We stay here 4 days. Bring the bikes on shore and go all over the place. They are having boat races here over the weekend and end with a big fireworks display. We happen to be on the wall where they are setting up for the fireworks and have us move our boat up to then end of the wall to get us further away from the action. Well 30 minu [...]
tes before they set them off the water police tell us we have to move the boat (Eric had some beers at this point since he wasn't going to be driving), the boat ended up staying put. We assumed we'd have killer view being so close, but we had to leave the boat and sit on the hill. Then we had to wait 30 minutes after the fireworks before we were allowed back on the boat, in case there were some that didn't blow. When we get back the boat is a mess paper and mess all over it, we even had a few holes in the canvas. Lesson learned don't get near a spot where they are going to shoot off fireworks. history* American towns were devastated in 1937 with some of the worst flooding in U.S. history. After heavy rains pounded the Tri-State for most of December 1936 and January 1937, the Ohio River crested in Huntington at 69.45 feet on Jan. 27. Flood stage is 50 feet. When the water subsided five days later, more than $17 million in damages had occurred and five people had died. More than 25,000 people were affected by the flood locally, those who were there just call it “The Flood.” There had been nothing like it before. It was a rolling catastrophe, as the river rose house by house, street by street, climbing stairs and pushing families into second and third floors of houses. Communities turned to lakes, people lined up to get fresh water in buckets and soup pots, rescue workers navigated streets in boats. Finally, the devastating 1937 flood convinced the federal government that a flood wall was needed. The flood protection system was completed in 1943 with money from the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program designed to relieve the hard times of the Great Depression. Huntington has not experienced as serious a flood since the wall was constructed. On Nov. 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people aboard. The passengers were Thundering Herd football team members, coaches and fans who had flown to Kinston, N.C., for a game against the East Carolina University Pirates. Later a ovie was made about the tragedy "We are Marshall".
Sciodale, OH ‐ Jul 19, 2016

traveled 59.35 miles to anchor out at Little Scioto Bar, a bend in the river that gives us some distance between the barges!
Maysville, KY ‐ Jul 17, 2016

traveled 60.47 miles and Meldahl lock 30' lift, to Maysville and a free dock. Today we keep going south and easterly we have left Indiana behind, hello Ohio. We had a storm coming so we stayed here for 2 days. In town we found O'Rourke's Pub a friendly place with good beer and pizza! The 1937 flood was such a doozy that it wiped out many of the buildings on Front Street right along the river. Rather than giving up in despair, however, the townspeople responded by banding together and erecting [...]
an enormous floodwall to protect their town from the river in the future. As we walked down to the river, we found that Maysville is actually a walled city. Unlike European walled cities, it isn’t walled against human invaders. Instead, it is walled against a much more powerful and brutal adversary: the Ohio River.
Newport, KY /Cincinnati OH, United States ‐ Jul 16, 2016

traveled 29.77 miles to the Hooters dock on the river. A free dock as long as you go to their establishment, which we do. We decide to spend more time here on the return trip, so it's a quick overnight stop. This is the first point where we notice huge walls built along the river, which is due to the 1936/1037 floods, the middle section of the river.
Aurora, IN ‐ Jun 29, 2016

traveled 41.80 miles to Lighthouse marina just outside of Aurora IN. we are now at mm 497. We've stopped here a little over 2 weeks. I have a wedding to attend in Illinois and Eric is headed back to check on things in North Carolina. We unload the 250' of old chain into Eric's rental car, what a job that was. Once he returns he changes the oil and we get a new controller ( Glendenny controllers were installed in NC Oct. 2015) panel. Had issues with it going into Louisville and the company is r [...]
eplacing it. He also fixes the davit, it had an electronic controller box that got moisture in it and it stopped working! With repairs done we are ready to continue our trip north towards Pittsburg.
Vevay, IN, United States ‐ Jun 28, 2016

traveled 61.25 miles to an anchorage called Craig's Bar. It's just along the Indiana bank where there's a shallow bar extending out providing a place to tuck up into. Most of the depth of the Ohio River has been 35'. Leaving Louisville we had to dodge river debris for the first half of the day. We passed one tow that had a huge tree limb sucked up under him. It was a mess and kept us on our toes.
Lousiville, KY ‐ Jun 23, 2016

traveled 27.75 miles & McAlpine lock 33' lift. With a bit of pre-planning we've arranged to stay at the Louisville Waterfront Park. A concrete floating dock with power and water all FREE, nestled behind an island which provides wake and boat traffic protection, we stay 5 days. A bit of history* Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark and is named after King Louis XVI of France, making Louisville one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains. The "Falls" were a series [...]
of rapids causing the Ohio River to drop 26 feet over a distance of two and a half miles. This was the only navigational hazard over the 981 mile-length from Pittsburgh to the Gulf of Mexico. The falls provided a singular, dramatic and daunting obstacle to navigation on this important inland waterway. The falls were formed by the erosion of the Ohio River operating on 386 million-year-old Devonian hard limestone rock shelves. Louisville was the first place where a lifesaving station was placed in western waters. Her historic purpose was to protect travelers on the Ohio River from the Falls of the Ohio, with rescue crews for those who fell victim to the rapids. The period from 1881 to about 1921 speak of approximately 2,000 distress calls, aid provided to between 5,000 and 7,000 endangered persons, assistance rendered in saving $6 million - $7 million worth of property, and 400 dead bodies were pulled from the Ohio River. The men of the station again played a leading role during the flood of 1937. Owing to its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, Louisville was a major commercial center. We had a blast in Louisville biking all over. Right before we are ready to leave a big bad storm comes rolling through and hit West Virginia hard. It's different in river travel you must be concerned with what happens upstream and within 24 hrs the water began to rise. Trees, barrels, all kinds of debris came our way, even tennis shoes and hats were floating downstream.
near Evans Landing, IN ‐ Jun 22, 2016

traveled 59.06 miles and anchored along the Indiana side of the river where we found a bar and tucked in behind it far away from the tows/barges. On this day NO locks!! On today's travel we continue along the Hoosier Nat'l forrest and the Harrison-Crawford State Forrest, very pretty areas. We also pass by Leavenworth which was laid out in 1818 in an oxbow of the Ohio River, directly under a large bluff called Mt. Eden. The bluff forms part of the Indiana Ridge and faces directly across the riv [...]
er toward Kentucky. A spectacular panoramic view of the valley can be seen from the top of the ridge. "Old Leavenworth" (the original town, now practically abandoned) was almost completely wiped out by the huge 1937 Ohio River flood, as it was built directly on the floodplain. We stop for the day near West Point, KY.
Derby, IN, United States ‐ Jun 21, 2016

traveled 64.09 miles and Cannelton lock 26' lift. Anchored out near the shores of Derby, there was a free dock about 150' length, however it looked more for a 35' boat. We use Active Captain along with a book I picked up on the Ohio River. Nice thing about Active Captain boaters make posts about everything hazzards, anchorages, marinas, etc... At least there is a curve in the river and it keeps us away from the big barges 3 wide X 5 deep is the norm. Our scenery had much improvement as we s [...]
kirted along the southern end of the 203,000 acre Hoosier National forrest, in the hills of south central Indiana. We enjoyed beautiful rolling hills, views of deep back-country, and rural areas. A bit of history - the forest which boasted some of the finest hardwoods in the world. With the advent of the sawmill in 1860, extensive commercial forest clearing operations began :( During the period following the Civil War, thousands of sawmills operated in Indiana. Early production records show oak comprising approximately 80 percent of the total hardwood production in Indiana during the period 1869 to 1899. During this period there must have been many oak trees over 24 inches in diameter. The estimated total cut of hardwood saw timber during the period of 1869 to 1903 was approximately 30 billion board feet.
Owensboro, KY ‐ Jun 19, 2016

traveled 53.92 miles to Owensboro, KY and the Newburg lock 16' lift. There are some serious hair pin corners the one at Evansville is the biggest on the river, which we passed today. The city of Owensboro has a free dock available for boats, we dock here. We take the bikes off and head to town a very short distance away. Pizza and a few beers are on the menu for us. We stay here for 2 days and enjoy Owensboro.
Evansville, IN ‐ Jun 18, 2016

traveled 73.34 miles to mm 812 along the river to drop the anchor. When you see the river markers nun and cans take the channel to one side to avoid shallow areas, that becomes a viable anchorage for us and keeps us safely away from the barge traffic. We now have Indiana on the left side of the river, leaving Illinois. We passed through one lock today John T Myers 28' lift. It's really nice that all but the last 2 locks #52 & 53 have added a additional lock for the barges/tows. So the old/sma [...]
ller lock is now used for pleasure craft "PC's" so get thru quickly. Point of interest today was Cave in Rock. The most famous pirate location on the river was an outlaw hideout called Cave-in-Rock, which is located along the Ohio River at the southeastern edge of the state. The cave became the stronghold of pirates who plundered flatboats on the river and who murdered and robbed travelers. It was also here, around 1800, that a robber named Samuel Mason began operating a tavern and gambling parlor in the cave. He used whiskery, cards and prostitutes to lure travelers in off the river and many of these customers found themselves beaten, robbed and sometimes dead, after tying up at the crude wharf.
Elizabethtown, IL ‐ Jun 17, 2016

traveled 71.16 miles On this day we begin our trip up the Ohio River to Pittsburg, PA. The distance is 1000 miles to 3-rivers (Allegheny, Mongahela and Ohio) where the Ohio river begins. We leave Kentucky lake and go through the channel that connects Lake Barkley and it's damn 57' lock down, less tows and easier to get locked down going down the Cumberland river verses going to Kentucky damn. We enter the river at mm 923. Our first of many locks on the Ohio is Smithland 22' lift. the lower Oh [...]
io is wide and surrounding land is mostly flat. Southern Illinois off our port side and Kentucky on the starboard. There is a very small floating restaurant on the river called E-Town river that is famous for their catfish a must stop! Our 45' Carver took up the entire dock (obviously made for smaller boats) the cleats being extremely small took some of our smaller lines and creative tying. We ask if we could stay overnight on the dock, they said sure. The Ohio river is steep in history* The early settlers, like the French, established themselves along the rivers and later, farmers would come to realize how much more simple it was to use the river to transport grain to market. The era of the steamboat created towns like Chester, Elizabethtown, Cairo, Metropolis, Golconda and Shawneetown. These towns became shipping ports with flour and lumber mills and even an iron foundry in Grand Tower. Travelers came to the towns by boat and hotels and establishments on the riverfront flourished.
Gilbertsville, KY ‐ Jun 5, 2016

traveled 12.75 miles to Kentucky Dam Marina. We've had weather systems moving through the area. The dockage here is so reasonable a month for $365, even though we don't plan on staying but 12 days. We get together with Dave and Windi and they take us to a black light, body painting, foam party on a huge houseboat. The couple actually won the lottery a few years back and bought a 95' houseboat! So the party was on their boat and I can tell you the people in Kentucky lake like to party. Dave an [...]
d Windi take a week off so get to see them and do some fun stuff. They too have a 45' Carver Voyager and that's how the friendship came about. A bit of history* In 1937 a terrible flood struck the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys. The flood caused devastation to communities, farms, and families, causing some to temporary relocate. The following year, in 1938, five years after the Tennessee Valley Authority was created and dam was started in 1938 and was completed in 1944. It began holding back the waters of the Tennessee River. Slowly the river flooded its banks and crept higher and higher. Now, the flooded Tennessee River, known as Kentucky Lake, stands about 55 feet higher than the original river. Kentucky Dam creates the largest manmade lake in the eastern United States. It backs up the Tennessee River for 184 miles and creates a lake that stretches south across the western tip of Kentucky and nearly the entire width of Tennessee. At maximum normal operating level, Kentucky Lake covers 160,300 acres.
Land Between the Lakes ‐ Jun 3, 2016

traveled 29.87 miles to Duncan Bay and one of the fingers is Houseboat Cove Anchorage. We hit a heck of a fast moving storm traveling down the lake visibility went to nearly zero. I hate that....but this one came up quick. We had a short day into Duncan Cove and our friends Dave & Windi Hatfield are suppose to join us. We stay two days. Land Between The Lakes is an inland peninsula formed when the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers were impounded, creating Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley -- one [...]
of the world's largest man-made bodies of water. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy created Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.
Cypress Creek, KY ‐ Jun 1, 2016

traveled 79.23 miles to just across the TN-KY boarder to Cypress Creek and Fort Heiman anchorage. Great secluded anchor just off the waterway. Since I an writing this one and a half years later we stay 2 days here (maybe weather was invloved). A lovely place to hang out.
Kelly Island anchorage, TN ‐ May 31, 2016

traveled 71.59 miles and the Pickwick dam lift 55' our last lock until we get to Kentucky dam 185 miles away. This entire stretch of lake all the way to Kentucky dam is simply stunning. We find an island to tuck behind for the night, we have barges to avoid and this gives us a safe spot.
Grand Harbor Marina ‐ May 27, 2016

traveled a half-mile today and pulled into Grand Harbor Marina, a good place to enjoy Memorial Day weekend and get off the water. One thing we have learned in our travels when it's a busy holiday weekend it's time to head to a marina. They have a courtesy van that will take you to Freddie T's a local hot spot and we use to get groceries one day. The marina is a part of the condos which has a wonderful spa, we treat ourselves to massages! We had a nice and relaxing time here and stayed 4 day [...]
s before we are off to Kentucky Damn.
Zippy Cove ‐ May 25, 2016

traveled 73.42 miles and 4 locks to Zippy Cove at the end of the Tenn-Tom waterway. Today's lock included The Fulton Lock 25' lift, Rankin Lock 30' lift, Montgomery Lock 30 ' lift and the final lock a big one....the Whitten Lock 84' lift. The Whitten lock lifts you into the Tennessee Valley a divide of sorts. South of the Whitten lock water flows towards the gulf. On the upper side of the lock water flows north towards the Ohio River and the confluence of the Mississippi river. When you come [...]
out of the Whitten Lock you are in one gorgeous area know as Bay Springs Lake. Filled with all kind of fingers and recreational areas with many incredible anchorages to choose from. This time through we pass them by so we can get up to the headwaters and confluence to the Tennessee river. Memorial weekend is coming up and we have plans to go to Grand Harbor Marina. We stay here for 2 days, this ended up being a really nice anchorage with lots of wildlife to enjoy.
Smithville anchorage ‐ May 24, 2016

traveled 69.20 miles and 4 locks today to the anchorage just above the last lock of the day, the Glover Wilkins Lock 30' lift. The other locks in today's travel Amory Lock 30' lift, Aberdeen Lock, 30' lift, John S, Stennis Lock (Columbus, MI) 27' lift. Today we travel into Mississippi.
Pickensville, AL Lock anchorage ‐ May 23, 2016

traveled 90.84 miles and 2 locks Howell Heflin 30' lift and Tom Bevill 30' lift. Ninety miles is a long day however the days are long and when you can get through the locks you just keep going. Leaving Demopolis and heading north you come to the white cliffs which are stunning. We have been shocked to see the banks that have fallen, trees that slid down, and nuns and cans pushed along the banks of the river. Had to have had one heck of a flood.
Demopolis, AL ‐ May 21, 2016

traveled 96.49 miles and the Demopolis Lock a 40' lift. A long day on the water to Demopolis Yacht Basin Marina. Now that we are above the 2 lower locks the river gets little better, not as curvy as the lower section and the scenery improves. It's here at Demopolis that the Black Warrior river joins the Tombigbee on it's journey south. We stay here for 2 days under the covered docks @ $1.25' plus they have a loaner car you can use to go into town and hit the Walmart for supplies.
Bobby's Fish Camp ‐ May 19, 2016

traveled 67.53 miles and the Coffeeville Lock and a rise of 34'. We are now in fresh water pool levels and no tidal influence, which is different for us traveling so much along the coast in salt water. The lower Tombigbee is full of blind curves, tows and this year it's obvious there was some major flooding. Bobby's Fish Camp is well know in this area and the year of our loop when we came by their docks the boats were rafted up 3 deep. So we bypassed Bobby's, however now in spring we stop and go [...]
to their restaurant and enjoy there famous catfish dinner. It was good!! Dockage $1.50' no water but they did have electric. For this remote dock that is kinda high....just sayin'
Tombigbee River ‐ May 18, 2016

traveled 54.25 miles to Bates Lake anchorage. Leaving Mobile initially you are on the Mobile River about 50 miles until to find the Tombigbee. The Tombigbee river continues all the way to the Tennessee River at Pickwick. We have 12 locks that will lift us a total of 341' over the next 234 miles. Until we get to the first lock at Coffeeville the river is still influenced by the tides (we forget this). So what seemed a good anchorage at Bates lakes (it's off the river) and a bar we crossed getti [...]
ng in was A-OK until we left the next morning. The water had fallen with the outgoing tide and Pier Pressure had to plow her way through that bar! Thank goodness it was soft mud and she didn't stall, the black smoke was pumping out of her :( Lesson learned.....
Mobile ‐ May 17, 2016

traveled 14.64 miles to Mobile, AL. The Convention Center allows 48 hrs. on their wall FREE, so boaters can stop and partake in the city. Granted Mobile is a very busy BIG port with US navy ships, container ships, and a bustling port for commerce. So with this free wall you must place a big importance on boat wakes going by. We hang every fender we have and the cleats are made for ships so I have to get creative when it come to tying the lines. Our bikes come on shore and off we go, Dauphine [...]
street is where a bunch of restaurants/bars are located. Wintzell's Oyster House and Moe's Original BBQ are two places we found last time here, both very good. This time we try T.P Crockmiers, Loda Biergarden and The Haberdasher. So many places so little time! One day this time around....but we'll be back in the fall.
Mobile/Dog River ‐ May 15, 2016

traveled 55.83 miles to Dog River Marina. Ever since the gale in Key Largo area our anchor has been rusting. Every time we raise and lower that chain rust gets all over the bow of the boat. So we had 250' of galvanized 5/16' chain delivered to Dog River Marina. Now we have the fun task of replacing the old chain (but wait Eric hates to throw anything out so we keep it in the chain locker) and haul the new chain onto the boat. We stay here 2 days.
Flora-Bama ‐ May 12, 2016

A fun weekend at Flora-Bama, they have bought up some of the land around them and expanded since we were here in the fall of 2014. There is now Ole River Grill, The Yacht Club and of course the famous Flora-Bama Lounge. "The big Earl Show" was on for Friday night, what a blast. The lounge has been added on to so many times, there are 3 different places you can go under this roof for music. It has a nice beach here, Church service on Sundays, the marina, a store, etc... Kenny Chesney preform [...]
ed here on the beach and they always have something going on!
Perdido Key/Old River

traveled 64.13 miles to anchor out in Old River and get us set up to go to Florabama Yacht Club Marina tomorrow. WE are on the Florida - Alabama line. Last time we came by car and it is such a fun place we decided to take the boat in so we can enjoy the weekend here. We actually anchor up short one day, so we have a short distance into a marina the next. This way get a full day in to where we are going.
Destin Harbor ‐ May 9, 2016

traveled 18.73 miles to Destin and anchored in the harbor. We dropped the dink and went in to explore this area, lots of restaurants a pretty happening spot, we ended up staying here for 3 days. The beach sand is the most amazing my feel have ever touched. I called it sugar sand but then a local called it hourglass sand. The softest sand that does NOT get hot. Another fun area on the bay side of the bridge is Crab island, it's a flat shallow island where there is floating restaurants, bars, ba [...]
nds playing etc... fun fun!!
Hogtown Bayou anchorage ‐ May 8, 2016

traveled 56.55 miles to Hogtown Bayou anchorage a pretty good spot for the night.
Panama City vacinity ‐ May 7, 2016

traveled 80.90 miles a very long day to East Bay anchorage, by Under the Oaks Park.
Apalachicola ‐ Apr 30, 2016

traveled 24.83 miles to Apalachicola marina Our next segment which is across the panhandle to Mobile is a distance of 218 miles. After that crossing we decided to stay in Apalachicola for a week and recoup. It's a funky little town we like alot, the guy gave us a golf cart to run around on, plus we had our bikes. No dink riding here..... it's oysters and beer! There is Apalachicola seafood grill, Hole in the wall, Papa Joe's oyster bar, Boss oyster, Oyster City Brewing co., Up the Creek Raw bar [...]
plus more. We had our fill by the time we left.
Carrabelle/anchorage ‐ Apr 25, 2016

traveled 175.5 miles Crossing the big bend of the gulf was a beautiful day with absolutely flat seas, just glorious! The rule of thumb is to wait until afternoon to get going so when you arrive on the other end in mornings light you can see getting through east pass. Well with no winds and a calm seas we were chomping at the bit and left way early (9am). The water was like a mirror and we saw sea turtles, flying fish coming right from under the bow of the boat continuously..it was an amazing s [...]
ight. Then came the dolphins, they rode with us for about 30 minutes at first at least 15 but then got down to 8. With the water so clear it was a sight to behold, even Eric both came to the front to watch them. Plus the other fish, a shark and did I mention flying fish they were with us for hours. Watching the sunset into the ocean was serene, but then came night and arriving at east pass at 2am. We were tired and it's hard to see the ocean depths rise 120' to about 25' which create swells. It was tense but we made it once inside the inlet we found a spot with depths of 8' and dropped the hook. We were beat, this was our 2nd crossing.
Clearwater ‐ Apr 26, 2016

traveled 43.75 miles on the outside today to Clearwater. Going out is easier travel the seas are calm and makes for an easy day with auto pilot. Anchored at Moonshine island for 3 days getting ready to cross the big bend on a clam day which is in the upcoming forecast.
Bradenton ‐ Apr 25, 2016

traveled 46.06 miles to Longboat Key and an anchorage near Cortez Bridge. We bypass the areas of Venice and Sarasota.
Englewood ‐ Apr 22, 2016

We move to Chadwick marina for the windless repair which end up taking 3 days. The White Elephant bar has karaoke night and the best fried chicken ever! Work and fun go hand in hand and then comes the time after 10 days we must leave and continue north.
Englewood/Lemon Bay ‐ Apr 15, 2016

traveled 20.43 miles to another favorite spot Lemon Bay Aquatic perserve area. We anchor out and from here it's dinghy paradise, we can get to a nice white sand beach, there is stump pass inlet, two tiki bars, yoga at the beach in the mornings. By searching the maps I found a way to get to the grocery store (by dink), a nice restaurant called Rum Bay which is a good ride (by dink) we just absolutely LOVE this area. However when we were employing the anchor the windless decides to stop working [...]
.....boat "break out another thousand". The one thing we are good at is locating parts and there is a small marina near by that can accept the package, it's going to take about a week to get the parts.
Cayo Costa State Park ‐ Apr 13, 2016

traveled 30.82 miles to Cayo Costa State Park anchorage We stay here for 2 days beautiful area with a beautiful beach, we dink in and the park service has a train of sorts that will take and drop you off at the beach. Very enjoyable 2 days!
Fort Myers Beach, United States ‐ Mar 30, 2016

traveled 32.59 miles to Ft. Myers Beach We stopped here for a week the year of the loop and loved this area, so this time we stay 2 weeks on the mooring ball. Take our bikes to shore and ride to the beach and all the nice spots along the beach. Happy hours are the way to go great food, great prices and they are everywhere. We especially love shrimp poorboy's at the Salty Crab and this section of the beach, great spot to people watch. In the dink we find Doc Ford's Rum Bar, Dixie Fish Co., the Sh [...]
rimp dockbar and Matanzas on the Bay all along the Matanzas Harbor. Before we depart we head to the Trico Shrimp Seafood Market for 5 lbs. of Florida Pinks, they are one of my favorite shrimps!
Naples ‐ Mar 27, 2016

traveled 73.23 miles We originally thought we would head up to Everglade City, however passing by the Cape Romano Shoals we keep getting attacked by nosee'ums. This is the end of March, Everglade City will have to wait until another trip in the winter months. So on to Naples, we've never been here and couldn't find a marina/mooring ball closer to town so we anchored in Naples #3. A residential area and nice small cove surrounded by million dollar homes. We drop the dink and head to town, what [...]
we found is Naples people are not nice, not helpful, could care less if you stop and spend $$. We finally found a spot of sand near the Dock at Crayton Cove and had lunch. We stayed in Naples 3 days and another storm come across the area and waited for the gulf to calm down before heading out to Ft. Myers Beach.
Shark River anchorage ‐ Mar 26, 2016

traveled 60.53 Crossing the Florida Bay to the west is the land of crab traps there were millions of them as we passed into the Everglades region where we stopped at Shark river and anchored out. With the days getting longer and back to daylight saving time we had time to drop the dink and explore the shark river. Huge forrest of mangroves, thank goodness for the Garmin. I had read the sunsets here were gorgeous, so we head out to get a good view, it did not disappoint I love sunsets. We get [...]
back to the mother ship right before the mosquitos hit by the thousands. The next morning we had zero wind which meant the mosquitos were hanging out, dang! Finally we have to leave so i run out unhook the anchor and lift it up....we are off leaving the bugs behind (we think).
Islamorada ‐ Mar 25, 2016

Back in the water....yeah!!! We head back out into the anchorage for the night, tomorrow we leave.
Islamorada ‐ Mar 16, 2016

After waiting several days we get hauled out on Wednesday 16th, and much to our surprise we were minus 1 trim tab (when Eric went in reverse the tabs were down...oops). While were on the hard in their yard we get fiberglass work done to repair that gash, insurance company wanted a survey (happens every 10 yrs), of course our depth finder issue. $2597.00 and 10 days after getting hauled out we are ready to go once again. With the lousy weather this winter, boat getting hit, depth finder going o [...]
ut we started thinking the universe is trying to tell us maybe the Bahamas is not a good idea this year. So we decide to go back up Florida's west coast, panhandle and destination Kentucky lake. The year of the loop we passed through Kentucky lake fall 2014 and it was such a pretty place we didn't get to spend anytime there other than passing through it. So plan B is in place and we are heading north to the midwest for summer!
Islamorada ‐ Mar 12, 2017

traveled 44.57 miles On our way north the depth finder stops working...WHAT. Eric is trying everything he can think of to bring it back online, at one point he backs down on it in reverse (in hopes that maybe something has stuck to it). Nothing is working and with the shallow waters in the Bahamas, we have to have a working depth finder. I start searching for a marina that has a lift big enough to haul us out, Coral Bay Marina in Islamorada (upper matecumbe key) has one. It's the weekend and m [...]
ost places in the keys (working marina's) are closed, but we talk to a security guard and he thinks they can help us. There is a good place to anchor out and this area has some very good restaurants Islamorada fish company, Lorelei's, Morada Bay and we even find the Florida Keys Brewing co.
Marathon ‐ Mar 5, 2016

traveled 46.77 miles It was time to leave key west and back to Marathon we go, our plan is to wait here until we see a weather window for the Bahamas and then move into position for a crossing. We love Marathon, it's a fun place with lots of places to go by dink and by bike. We end up here for 1 week.
Key West ‐ Feb 8, 2016

I call and we get a spot at the Conch Harbor Marina for 2 days. It feels good to be at the dock. We go through with accident with the DNR and a report is filed. Conclusion no one is at fault it was environmental accident due to conditions. We stay here and then I get us a month rental on the 10th at Key West Bight Marina. We have the bikes on shore and have a great time here, ride all over the place get the accident out of our minds and decide from now on when we come to key West we stay at a m [...]
arina! LOVE Key West I end up getting Eric to drag queen bingo, some of our favorite spots Hogsbreath, Conch Republic, Sloppy Joe's, Irish Kevin's, Margaritaville, Willie T's, the boathouse, Schooner's wharf the list goes on and on. We end spending many days at Dontes pool and this year we experience spring break OMG!! All in all we are here 5 weeks.
Key West ‐ Feb 2, 2016

traveled back to the anchorage at Fleming Key total miles to and fro 19.33 Now generator is working and we are back where we started from, more storms in forecast and actually one blows through we watch at anchor to make sure we have enough swing room between the two boats that are close to us, a 45' Fleming and 47' Catamaran. Everything was fine with the last storm and now yet another storm arrives on the 7th just a few days later, this El Nino brings bad weather fronts across south Florida. [...]
It's early in the morning 7am I wake and go directly out the back to see where the 2 boats are. the Cat is behind us all good and then i look off our port side and the Fleming is heading towards the bow of our boat. I call Eric and by the tie he got out to see why I was yelling, this Fleming is now caught by the wind (verses the tide) like the rest of us at anchor (currents in this channel between the gulf and the Atlantic are crazy) and it's whipping him around. As his boat turns he clips the quarter stern of our port side - his boat hit on stern of his port side. We had a good deep gash on the side, he had a bent swim platform and some damage on his port side. The storm hit with a vengeance! Everyone is watching their boat and everyone else's. We ended up pulling anchor and moving to a spot in front of the Fleming. It had been fine all day until night and we get a call from the Fleming that we are getting close to him. In the dark with headphones on so we can speak to each other we try a few more spots and end up going into the military restricted zone to anchor for the night. Enough of this day.
Key West

Robbies Marina at Stockton Island could fix the generator, so we traveled to where they were so it could get done sooner than later.
Key West ‐ Jan 31, 2016

Generator troubles brought us into Key West Bight Marina
Key West

traveled 50.90 miles to Key West first we were at anchorage, right off Fleming Key but the generator stopped. We called and got into Key West Bight Marina for 2 days to try and get our issue fixed.
Marathon ‐ Jan 25, 2016

traveled 29.83 miles to Marathon today and the mooring field had a waiting list of 80, so we went to Sister's Creek and anchored out. I actually like this spot it's quiet we just drop the dink and we are hitting our favorite spots. Castaways, Burdines, Sunset Grille, Keys Fisheries, Sombrero dockside are all a must. There is also a very nice beach near sister's creek and quick dink ride away. We end up here for 1 week. The weather has been really dicy due to El Nino' our plan is to wait a bit [...]
here in the keys and then jump over to Bimini and go to the Exumas.
Islamorada ‐ Jan 24, 2016

We traveled 32.21 miles a short day to anchor near the channel 5 bridge.
Key Largo ‐ Dec 14, 2017

Traveled 15.48 miles to Tarpon Basin stop ended up being alot longer than we ever expected. We managed to take the bikes ashore when we arrived and rode around checking things out. Then there was a big storm brewing so we stayed out and one afternoon a full on gale came through and then the winds blew for days! We ended up here 10 days most of it we sat on the boat on the hook.
Key Largo ‐ Jan 13, 2016

traveled 52.1 miles to Barnes sound anchorage
Aventura - Maule Lake ‐ Jan 11, 2016

traveled 46.78 miles It a day of bridges and timing bridge openings from lantana to Miami there are 30 bridges including the lantana bridge we need 11 openings - the others we can get under. We've learned to do this section during the week, the weekends are just crazy! We ended staying here an extra day. Oh but the million dollar houses are a sight to see and they are thick on the ICW. We passed by Steven Spielberg's yacht in Ft. Lauderdale, it has a helicopter in top with it's own landing pad.
Lake Worth - Lantana anchorage ‐ Jan 10, 2016

traveled 17.92 miles We dropped the dink and went into the tiki bar/restaurant.
North Palm Beach, Lake Worth ‐ Jan 9, 2016

Traveled 15.48 miles After lunch at Harborside we moved on to our anchorage for the night at Lake Worth.
Jupiter - Harborside

Stopped at Harborside for lunch, a nice area with shops and restaurants. Sonny & Libby along with John & Mary joined us by car.
Hobe Sound ‐ Jan 8, 2016

traveled 40.04 miles While talking with Paula on the phone a huge sea plane took off in the Hobe Sound and cam right by the boat. I'm talking a spruce goose size plane and it was low as it flew to the right of us...a sight to see!
Fort Pierce City Marina, United States ‐ Jan 1, 2016

The new year has us in Ft. Pierce we've been here installing a water maker on the boat and various other projects. We have friends in the area to visit and the new docks have just opened.