Day 38-40. 2nd year. June 27- 29. On to Midland. Mile 9. Total 3308

Later last night the misty rain creates a 180 degree rainbow that lasted for an hour. Was Awesome!

Today we woke to overcast and drizzly rain, which we hope will clear up in the next hour.

Weighing anchor we headed south to Midland, ONT and Bay Port Marina. Bay Port Marina is one of three large marinas in the area. You can tell that boating is quite popular here!

Noticed that one flag was flying the banner for the Buccaneers!

Midland began as a trading town, first fur and lumber, the later grain. Today the granary silos on the waterfront are covered in murals that depict the history of the town. This mural theme is carried through to the downtown area also. The town also sports three very large marinas that do boat repair and servicing, as well as winter storage of boats for the larger boats. Midland is a big town with a population of 16,000, similar in size to Peterborough. Most of the other towns we visited so far are much smaller.

As you can see in the pics below, homes cover the shore line along the bay to the city of Midland.

This lighthouse guides boats into Midland harbor.

Downtown Midland has a few older homes and churches and lots of murals.

Midland even has a cruise ship, that plies Georgian Bay for tourists that visit the area.

Enjoyed meeting our boat neighbors, as we tackled tasks to get ready for our son’s visit on Thursday. I cleaned the boat and did grocery lists and laundry. Bill changed the oil in the engines and filled the water tanks, and pumped out the waste water.

All the things you have to do periodically to keep the boat in shape.

June 28-29. Lay days in Midland

Today we helped a few Canadians get off for their long weekend. July 1 is Canada’s Independence Day. Will be interesting to see how they celebrate. The local fliers posted in the marina describe the holiday as picnics, boating and family games.

For us, we will get grocery shopping done and finish up our chores today. Even got the screens up in the doors, so we can leave them open with this beautiful weather and keep those pesky flies and mosquitos out. With those chores accomplished, the boat is now presentable and we have food for our guests! Bill even found time to stow some of his supplies. It may be the end of the trip before he gets it all stowed!

Tomorrow we will pick Kyle up at the airport. Wish us luck getting in and out of Toronto! The locals warn us that traffic is terrific.

My postings in the next few days may be more sporadic as we have family on board. Once Kyle leaves, my sister, Kathy and her husband, Dick join us. Will be hectic but fun!

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 Great Loop -

Over the 5 and half months last year and the almost 7 months this year for a total of 351 days, we travelled 6348 miles, through two countries 19 states, traversed over 200 locks to find large cities, small towns, farmland, and vast natural waterways and bays. Our route took us through sites of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War, as well as the history of how America grew along her waterways. Beginning with canoes, rafts and barges people and goods moved through these waters. The sailing sloops and steamships changed these rivers, requiring locks and canals to be built to facilitate travel and commerce. Today it is amazing how much commerce moves through these waters. We developed a healthy respect for the freighter and tow captains and lock masters and harbor masters that keep the system working. We have lasting impressions of early morning sunrises, beautiful sunsets, and moonlit bays, the hospitality in all the towns...

April 2 2022. We cast off our lines!

Day 1. April 2 We cast off our lines at 9:00am on out Great Loop adventure. Our friends, Phil and Aggie helped record our departure. The weather was overcast as we traveled out our canal and into Tampa Bay. As we approached the Skyway bridge a dolphin twice leaped completely out of the water, playing in our bow wake. An omen of good fortune for our adventure! As we ended our Tampa Bay crossing, the sun began to peek out and as we traversed past Longboat Key/Bradenton and entered Sarasota we had ourselves a sunny day. We traveled 34.4 nautical miles in four hours and anchored behind Otter Key, a mangrove Island near Lido Key in Sarasota. There we joined another boat from St Petersburg, FL. The owners were for many years sailors from the Caribbean down to Panama. What adventures they shared! The anchorage sports lots of manatees, dolphin and of course, the osprey who lords over Otter Key. Once settled properly, we took a nap, Wi...

Crustacean Travels

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