Aug 22-23. Day 127-128. On to Inland Sea St Albans Bay and Burton Bay. 10nm. 2483 Total

After 30 minutes of fighting with weeds, we managed to free our anchor. Bill got a workout.

We then retraced our steps turning north out of a Keeler Bay. The mountains of Vermont are even more visible this morning. Passing several small islands ( Lazy Lady, Ball, Burton and Rock Islands) we enter St Albans Bay to anchor.

Vermont Mountains

Adirondack Mountains

At the north end of the bay is the town of St Albans and further south are two state parks- Burton Island and St Albans. We will spend the next 2 days here visiting both of these.

After lunch, we launched the dinghy and headed to Burton Island State Park. The island is only accessible by ferry or privately owned boats. Originally the island was used for pastureland and crop cultivation with continued use til 1902. There are lean-to shelters, cabins and tent sites, biking apnd hiking trails and a small marina.

We tied up at the marina and took to the trails. We really enjoyed the woods and rocky shores and cliffs. Is fascinating how ice and water have carved out the shore of this island.

A Vermont beach with sun bathers!

Apple tree on Burton Island which you could pick fruit from. Apple was delicious.

A view of Ball Island south of Burton State Park.

Some drone shots of our anchorage below.

August 23

We woke to an off and on rainy day, so we did chores and planned marina stays and later as it cleared up, we launched the dinghy to explore.

We ate dinner in the 1920 road side diner called Bayside Pavillion. Was a wooden bar with a several tables. Had dinner with the mixture of Vermonters- farmers and summer cottagers. On our way back we explored the forested Lazy Lady island and its rocky shore. As it was evening all the Cormorants from the area had come to roost. According to the waiter the island was once had a cottage on it but has been abandoned for almost 100 years. The small town of St Albans supports the local farmers and used to have a ice house that shipped ice on barges to New York City.

Had a cloudy sunset as we traveled back to the boat.

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...

Day 98. 2nd year. August 27. On to Manistee. Miles 25 Total miles. 3910.

We weighed anchor on a sunny 50 degree morning. So we put on our sweatshirts and drove from below as we left Frankfort. Going through Frankfort’s channel and breakwater we encountered a few intrepid fisherman and further along as we cleared the breakwater there must have been over a hundred fishing boats. Almost like playing bumper cars, but with boats. Had to negotiate a path between them as the fishing boats were all trolling fishing lines behind them. We were still seeing fishermen 4 miles south of Frankfort. These guys sure take their fishing tournaments seriously! The shoreline that we pass heading south are still sand dunes bluffs some as tall as 200 feet. As we travel, we pass the small town of Arcadia and Portage Lake, each situated on an inland lake which is connected to Lake Michigan by a dredged channel. Interesting to note that the dredged channels were originally small rivers connecting the inland lakes to Lake Michigan. As we passe...

Crustacean Travels

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