Wings on Your Feet

While checking out some of the updates and and stories from last weekend's Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, I came across a neat bit of water fun technology, called the Flyboard. It's a jet pack attached to a board, onto which riders strap their feet and away they go! Apparently a big hit with the charter yacht crowd, these things will send riders flying - literally.

Photo credit; http://www.seemallorca.com

 Developed by a company called Zapata Racing, only a couple of years ago, there are already over 2,500 deployed throughout the world. Looks like the world of fun on the water just got a little wilder. Here's some video of it in action. Hold on to your hats!

Price? Around six grand.

Moving Full Time Aboard Our Boat!!

 I am absolutely ecstatic to share the news that my beautiful wife (the lovely and talented Anchor Girl) and I (the less lovely and talent challenged)  have committed to moving full time to our beloved 'Boogaboo' !!

Our New Home :-)

 This idea is something we have thrown around for the past couple of years, but were 'held back' by excuses too numerous to even think about any more. Can we afford it financially? No. Is it the most prudent decision many would ask? No. Are we doing it anyway? YES!
 
 For those of you who haven't been following along on my YouTube channel and were not aware of my condition, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis - MS - early this year (2013) and we went through a rough and very scary time over the winter. Being hit with the news and dealing with the symptoms is something that stopped us both in our tracks.

 These days, what's the first thing one does when told by their doctor that they have something like MS? Google it. Some pretty scary stuff we saw when learning about the disease, but eventually we saw a glimmer of hope and the fact that we didn't have to live the same life that other sufferers were dealing with. We had options, but it wouldn't be easy or overnight.

The fear, emotions and questions, for a very dark period of time, overwhelmed us. And the way I was feeling during my worst 'flare ups' was very shitty, to say the least. I don't have to go into the details as to what was going on with my body, but it really, really hit home that our time on this planet is very limited. Now I am the first to say (something that I had to repeat to Anchor Girl over an over) that things could have been much, MUCH worse. It was only through the hard work and dedication of Anchor Girl's efforts that, for the most part, I have had a very positive turnaround. For the past few months my symptoms have mostly been in check and despite the recommendations of my doctors (G.P. and two neurologists), I am NOT on the heavy duty medication that has been suggested. Despite the fact that there is no way to know when, where or how severe the flare ups (or attacks) will be, I am very hopeful that I will be good for a long time to come. Even without drugs!

 If you want to learn more about our MS journey, as well as learn POSITIVE information about food, stress reduction (huge part of my 'recovery'), vitamins, gluten and more, feel free to check out my YouTube Channel (YouTube.com//MotivateSuccesses).

   Move forward to April, 2013 and our boat has just gone in the water for the season. Apart from the benefits of the uber healthy diet I am on, the hugely positive feelings of simply arriving at our boat each weekend has been something I cannot put into words. We step onto the boat and the not only does stress melt away, but there is both a physical and emotional sense of well being, as if there is a cloak of a welcoming, reassuring presence that is saying 'you are here now, no worries, everything gonna be alright' Ya, I don't think Bob Marley could have said it any better ;-)

The 'side yard' view from our boat ;-)

 

 It's that great feeling that we both want to have every day and our boating lifestyle gives us that. So why not live it every day? That is why we are making the jump and I am on an indescribable high that now permeates every part of my life :-)
 

A beautiful sunset sky at the boat.

Last Bay Pics of 2011

 Anchor Girl & I took a spin up to the marina today to check on the boat and the ice conditions. For those of you who haven't been up Lake Simcoe much this winter, the main part of the lake didn't freeze over until the second week of February - the latest I've ever seen that - and broke up a couple of weeks ago when we had those many days of high winds. As of today, Cooks Bay (south end of Simcoe) is still covered in ice, but looks like it'll be gone this week. The marina at Lagoon City still has ice, but there is lots of open water all around & everything should be open and ice free this week.
 Good news is, with all this favourable weather, that we are looking at  an early launch this year!! Given the fact that Boogaboo is on land and strategically located right next to the launch ramp, I've scheduled it to go back in the water the first week of April, so that we can be back on board for the first long weekend of the season!!

Bring it on!

 Today's post will take us through the last part of our 2011 Georgian Bay travels. I hope you enjoy it.

Back at Henry's on our return trip. Juts one more glorious evening on Georgian Bay;

Beautiful;

This is the cottage across from Henry's. See the flag pole in front? Well, it's actually depicted as a 'flag staff' on the nautical charts, which is different from a 'flag pole' - but only up close :-)

My lovely Anchor Girl, dipping her feet in the water;

A couple of float planes from Georgian Bay Airways preparing to depart;

Here's those same two planes from the above photo taking off . Plus a really nice view of a summer evening at Henry's;


Nice sunset;

Pretty;

While here, we happened to see Brian (from Keswick Marine) bringing his new boat home from the States. He was accompanied by his brother & Peetah and they stopped in for us to take the grand tour of the boat. I remember that it was VERY hot that day!

One more photo from our (previously posted) dinghy trip to Moon River Falls;

Very nice;

Summer. Nice.

All good things come to an end, and we left Henry's the next morning;

As this would be our last day on The Bay for the season, I was gonna drive back real slow . . .

Slow driving or not, we was back at Honey Harbour too soon;

The Picnic Island store & gas dock in Honey Harbour;

Rounding 'Turning Rock';

This is the calmest conditions we had ever encountered on Severn Sound;

The north cardinal buoy closest to Port Severn. Unbelievably calm waters;

Unfortunately, those calm conditions wouldn't follow us into Lock #45. Here we are approaching the highway #400 overpass & the lock behind it;

Oh. Calm waters have been replaced by a very strong current at the bottom of the lock. We had to hover in these conditions for roughly 40 minutes. Not a fun thing to do in a small, congested area surrounded by rocks and other drifting boats;

Safely at the blue line, waiting to enter the lock;

Does my wife appear stressed out in this shot? The answer is 'yes'. You gotta watch the video below to get a feel for the approach to this lock. Definitely the least favourite lock to pass through - by far;

Here we are with ten minutes of fun passing through the lock at Port Severn;


Look at that. We made it through without loosing any fingers or anything. Well, a little scuff of blue line paint on the side of the boat, but that was easily buffed out;

Here it is. I like to call these little abrasions 'Memory Marks' :-) Heck, if we never left our slip, we'd never have all our great memories from our adventures;

The dock at Rawley Resort in Port Severn. A nice, 5-star inn which is our traditional 'last night' place to stay and go for dinner in their restaurant. And they even let in people dressed like me;

One last beautiful sunset for our holidays;

At least I wore a nice Hawaiian shirt for the occasion;

Even got the moon in this pic;

Wow;

Here's a clip I took the next morning before we headed on. I told you it was worth it;


Back on the move along the Trent Severn Waterway;

13 minutes to ride back up the Big Chute Marine Railway. We couldn't have timed it better, as we simply drove right onto the car - no wait at the blue line. Counter that with our 2009 return when we had a three hour wait to go over;


Let's go up Lock #43 at Swift Rapids;


 A nice shot of Boogaboo, taken from the 'Over Doo' crew docked at 'The Wabic' restaurant;

Approaching the last lock, #42;

The Narrows on Couchiching. That means we are almost home;

Back at Pefferlaw, entering the break wall and on to our marina. This was one of the last times we entered this way, as we would be moving to Lagoon City in less than a month from when this was taken;

I'll end this trip with a clip from one of my favourite settings, enjoying a spectacular sunset at the Rawley Resort;

Another Year of Boating Videos :-)

2011 certainly brought some dramatic changes to the Boogaboo Crew, and that of our family and friends. Focusing on the positive, the best thing that came from our boating year was the move to a new marina and the fact that many of our boating buddies were able to join us.

 Not to sound like a broken record, but I continue to be very busy with 'Work' work and haven't done as many updates as I would have liked to, but at least I've gotten quite a few videos posted and I'd like to share some of the newest ones with you.

 Any ways, in no particular order, let's go boating;

 First one is a seven minute full ride onto, over (down) and off the Big Chute Marine Railway (taken on our way to Georgian Bay this summer);

 And, now it's time to go back up (taken on our way back from The Bay at the end of our holidays). Quick note that this was the very first time we were able to drive right up to the carriage without having to wait at the blue line;

 
Now, let's pick up the pace a bit and let them horses fly across Parry Sound. I hope I don't mess my hair up ;-)

 Here's a gale warning report from the end of September. How would you like to be in the THIRTEEN FOOT waves forecast in this marine report?

More to come . . . .

Delivery Our New Boat Home - Big Water

Part Three of the Big Boat Delivery HOME to Canada

 Departure day from Sarnia Bay Marina. A good looking day, on a good looking boat with a GREAT looking first mate ;-)

 These next two shots were taken by the crew of the aforementioned 'Plan B'.
 The boat looks nice except for those black streaks on the hull, a result of the new black dock lines bleeding. . .

 Insight; I've saved a boating magazine since 2007 that has a 'for sale' ad for a similar model to this  boat & I've been hanging on to it as inspiration. The ad shows the boat on the water with a lady crew member on the bow while it's underway. A great boating shot.
 Well, here I am - my boat, my very attractive lady crew mate and a sunny summer day on the water. . . .

 That's what I call a dream come true, my friends!!!

 Thanks again for sending me these pics, Glen :-)

Video from the fly bridge;

Exiting the marina and back on our way northbound for the last part on the St. Clair River;

This would be the final great lakes freighter we would pass by on this voyage;

Approaching the Bluewater Bridge. This is the bridge that joins the Canadian side of the river to the American side. Ya, we spent allot of time waiting to cross the border into Michigan on that bridge on the many trips we took to see/buy/take possession of the boat. I tell you, it was quite a bit of work to make the deal all come together - but it was exhilarating, exhausting and inspirational - and well worth it!!

 Some video of the approach to the bridge, complete with commentary from yours truly ;-)


The lighthouse on the U.S. (Port Huron) side. Yes, it's the very same we took pictures of from the bridge on the road trips to see the boat & would be the first of many we would pass on this journey;

 On Lake Huron. I've heard the term 'Big Water' used by my fellow boaters, but nothing we've experienced compares to heading out onto a body of water that stretches for hundreds of miles before you.
 One is privy to many emotions, to say the least;

To keep everyone traveling (with pink toe polish) aboard 'Boogaboo IV' as happy as possible, I took a route that at least kept us within view of land;

 A zoomed in shot passing by Goderich and the Sifto Salt Mines operations located there.
 Note also the electrical generation windmills on shore. There are many of those things - 200+ in this region;

 Just before Goderich, we unexpectedly came upon a series of small, bobbing buoys in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Good thing my eyeballs were on the ball, as the buoys came upon us without warning.
 I suspected they were marking fishing nets and shortly afterward, spotted this commercial fishing boat well off in the distance.
 A little disconcerting initially, to say the least, as this was something that I had totally NOT anticipated;

 

 Some video of me talking about what we saw.
 Note also the bounce we experienced at slower speeds. Although the video doesn't quite capture the essence of the water conditions, we were running through solid 5' - 6' swells and they picked up to 6' - 7 footers the next day. Remember that this is taken from roughly 12' above the waters' surface on the bridge, making it hard to get a feel for.
 You'll get a better representation of what I'm talking about when we come to the Flower Pot Island clip. . . .Stay tuned . . .

Safely in Kincardine Marina on yet another glorious day.
 I hadn't even got the boat into the slip here when a Canada Customs officer came over - and waited at the end of the dock - to talk to me. Seems they are continuously looking for out of province registration numbers on the hulls (note the Michigan registration or 'MC Numbers' on Boogaboo). Those fellows roam around from marina to marina to check to make sure everything is in order - proper checking into the country, vessel registrations, taxes paid - you know, the important stuff.
 This wouldn't be the last time we were to be questioned by Custom's guys either, as we would meet up with their compatriots again in Parry Sound;

A shot of the marina from the bridge, looking out on to Lake Huron. Can you see the Big Boy in the distance?

 The Kincardine Lighthouse - this shot taken from the road bridge next top the marina.
 We took a stroll for a bite to eat and were impressed by this neat, clean & well preserved old town;

 The view from the boat, looking north east across the marina. Another spectacular day;

Here's a close up shot of the lighthouse from our vantage point;

 

 Myself, relaxing in my own, unique way - capping off the day. HA!


  Here is the storey of the 'Phantom', as told on the Kincardine Scottish Piper Band web site. . .
 Way back in 1856, on a cold, October day, a small vessel left the Port of Goderich carrying a family from the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It was the final leg of a journey for the immigrant family that intended to farm at Penetangore (now Kincardine).

 The weather was cloudy with a light breeze out of the southwest when the vessel left Goderich. But as the boat approached Point Clark, the sky turned black and a cold wind started to blow out of the west making for heavier and heavier seas.

 As the vessel slowly beat its way north, late afternoon turned to dusk and the captain feared he would not find Penetangore in the dark.

 Donald Sinclair, fearing for his family, went down into the hold and fetched his pipes. He prayed for safe passage and then played a lament. The sound of the pipes carried across the water to Penetangore where another piper heard the rich sound. The settler on shore retrieved his pipes and played another lament in return, just as the sky suddenly cleared in the west and the sun set beneath the cold waters.

 The captain, knowing he had to be near Penetangore, headed for the drone of the bagpipes and eventually made his way into the harbour.

 For many years after the narrow escape, Donald Sinclair often went down to the harbour to play the pipes at dusk. They say it was a way to remember his good fortune and to remind others of the power of the pipes. And it's in the memory of Donald Sinclair that the Kincardine Scottish has decided to play at dusk atop the lighthouse on sunny summer evenings. The piper will only appear when the sun sets and will pipe the sun down.

As good fortune would have it, we were lucky enough to witness the 'Phantom' playing on a perfect summer evening. Here's some video of that event, including a panning shot of the marina and the sun setting over Lake Huron;


 A look from the bridge towards Lake Huron and the setting sun;

 Beautiful . . .

 Next time we cross the last half of Lake Huron and enter onto Georgian Bay & Tobermory.