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.

Boat Cruise on Trent Severn Waterway 2013, Part One

After a number of years cruising to/through Georgian Bay, we decided to spend our 2013 boating summer holidays with a return cruise through the eastern part of the Trent Severn Waterway. As we had only two weeks to venture from - and back to - our home port on Lake Simcoe, we were only able to get as far as the village of Lakefield. I had hoped to be able to get down to Peterborough, but that's going to have to wait until next summer.

Yes, yes, I know we could have made it to Peterborough and back easily within two weeks, but the days of hammering the throttle just to say we did it are behind us. Theses days, it's more along the lines of 'sit back and smell the roses' kinda mindset.

 As things are, we are hoping to have the whole summer of 2014 to go on extended boating trips, as we have recently put our house up for sale, with the intention of moving full time aboard 'Boogaboo' during the seasonal months, but that's a whole other Blog post ;-)

 Back to this years' fun.As mentioned, we travelled east from Lake Simcoe towards Fenelon Falls and beyond.

Leaving our marina gas dock.

The weather was spectacularly clear and calm. A great way to start the voyage.

Lake Simcoe was unbelievably calm. A beauty day for boating.

For those of you who have travelled this way, you know that there are quite a number of locks to pass through. Oh well, a small price to pay for a voyage like this. And it provides a great opportunity to master your driving skills ;-)

Going through the fist of many locks.

 This is both a funny and sad photo; the car rushing along the side of the canal has the lock staff that has to run between these locks to let the boats through. One example of Parks Canada's way of 'saving' money. Hmm, I wonder what the vehicle costs for the year, with fuel, wear and tear and maintenance costs?

A Parks Canada vehicle rushes to the next lock.

 After travelling for a few hours, we decided to make Lock #39 our first stop and stayed there for one night.

Lock #39 of the Trent Severn Waterway.

 Staff closes the big lock doors after some boats dropped down

The lock chamber.

I love the nature at these locks. Keep in mind that all of the locks are operated by Parks Canada and are mini national parks. The trees are one nice part of the attraction.

Big trees, big sky and a lovely, peaceful afternoon.

As the locks in this area are very close to one another, the lock staff generally tries to have a number of boats all go through at one time. That's why you often see groupings of 4 - 6 boats passing through together.

A group of boats head towards Lock #39 of the TSW

Here's a shot of yours truly walking over to the other side of the canal for some picture taking.

Walking over a lock gate.

 A cool shot of a big trawler, the 'M/V Quimby' that pulled in for the evening. These folks were part way through their voyage through the Great Loop, a circumnavigation of the eastern portion of North America. Affectionately referred to as 'Loopers', the boaters who do the trip typically take about a year to make all the way around the roughly 6,000 mile route.

One of the 'Looper' boats we see along the TSW

Perry The Penguin, our mascot, enjoys a lovely sunny summer evening from the deck of 'Boogaboo IV'.

Perry The Penguin on board 'Boogaboo IV'

 I took this photo hanging out of the forward hatch - the first one I've ever taken from that vantage point. An appropriate spot to finish up this entry, as that is the direction where we will be heading on the next leg of the journey . . .

 Next time, we will be heading to the Kirkfield Lift Lock :-)

:-)

Nature's Child

The older I get, the more I find myself longing to be close to nature. I first recognized the phenomenon roughly eight years ago, after returning to our home after a summer boating holiday.

 We had been traveling on the boat for three weeks, enjoying the lakes and rivers of the Trent Severn Waterway and getting in some serious relaxation. When we arrived back home, all the pavement, concrete and cars came crashing onto my previous state of . . . . solitude.

A day tied to an old wooden dock had somehow become more rewarding than such mundane things as a house, nice car or any other such material 'things'.

Peaceful settings like this are now what is important. We are working closer to enjoying this lifestyle more and more full time, with plans to travel farther and further and taking in as much of life's beauty as we can experience - all at a slow pace.

Water, trees, wildlife. Awesome. . .

Maybe I can express myself better in this video, in conversation with my buddy, Perry The Penguin;

Sea Ray Plant Tour - Palm Coast, Florida

 At long last, I'm finally gonna post some photos & video from our tour of the Palm Coast Sea Ray manufacturing plant we took back in February when we were in Florida. When we were in Florida?!?!? The Sea Ray plant tour was the whole inspiration for the trip to begin with - I kid you not!

 So, Mr. Harbour Master, here are the photos you requested.

  Told you I was there;

This was so cool, the folks at the plant knew we were coming & had this welcome ready for us - that's 'Commodore Frankie & Anchor Girl', in case you can't read it through the Florida sunshine glare;

It was neat to see how all the components of the inside were put in place before the upper deck was installed;

Here we see the interior walls being put together. I was impressed to see that they built all the cabinetry and did all the upholstery right on site. I always figured they would bring those components in from outside suppliers.
No, I wasn't taking notes, just listening;

The engine bay with all the systems in place for a big Sundancer;

Here's the upper deck section ready to be 'married' to the hull in the previous picture;

A finished Sundancer, ready for final rigging;

This is  Shawn Wilson, who was good enough to take us on a 1-1/2 tour of the ENTIRE plant. He is the guy to contact at Sea Ray for any technical support or insights, as he has been working with them for 25 years in the manufacturing side and can come up with part numbers by wrote & has an encyclopedic recall of the boats, hulls, engines and parts right down to special clips that hold down trim!
 In this shot, Shawn was just looking back to make sure I wasn't taking any spy photos of hull #1 of the newest 450 Sedan Bridge (the current designation for our Boogaboo boat)  before it reached the market;

This is the final station before the boats go in the water, where the boats are gone over by white clad specialists who make sure there are no scratches or other blemishes - including touching up the bottom coat paint.
 Again, I was very impressed with the attention to detail and quality put into a mass production boat. I guess that's one reason that Sea Ray was able to weather the economic melt down in the US boating market, as well the support of long term, die hard Sea Ray owners like my wife ;-)

 The last part of the process is an in water test of EVERY boat that they produce, complete with a Mercruiser technician dialing in the power plants. After that, it's a shake down cruise on Florida's Intracoastal (NOT 'Inter-Coastal) Waterway to  make sure everything is ship-shape.
 And yes, they actually pay people to do this kind of thing. Did I mention this is in Florida??

2009 Georgian Bay to Lake Simcoe

Closer to the end refers to the fact that this post - reviewing the end of our 2009 holidays - is closer to the end of this years' holidays than last. Oh well. Maybe if I could control all of my long winded stories that always accompany the photos, I could get this done quicker. Probably not though. I have enough I'm working hard on controlling, so one thing at a time.

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 Our final stay on The Bay was at a mid sized marina in Honey Harbour called Paragon Marina.I took this photo in a vain attempt to capture the feeling of the moment, knowing that the long anticipated holidays were rapidly winding down. I was feeling really good, despite the fact that the highlight of the year was almost over. I only wish I had taken a few more shots here, looking around at the lovely surroundings and the beautiful day - she sure was a nice one;

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Right next to the marina is the Honey Harbour town docks, where A.G. & I rowed to to get some supplies. Yes, rowed. That darned Mercury outboard was once again being uncooperative, so it stayed on the dock while we rowed over here. Not too far anyway, only about 1000' or so from where Boogaboo was moored.  Hopefully I'll have better luck with the new Yamaha. Funny thing about that deal is that the 'American' Mercury was built in Japan, while the 'Japanese' Yamaha was built in France, of all places.
 This is what that looks like;

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Saw this sign in the window of a building right beside the town dock and thought you might like to know what the fines are for various infractions;

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This plaque is also next to the docks, commemorating the fact that the French explorer Samuel Champlain was the first European to visit this area, 400 years ago.
 French explorer. French outboard. I see a pattern developing. Hmmmm. . . .

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 It was a gorgeous, hot day when we pulled out of Honey Harbour, so we took a slow tour down to Midland Harbour so that Sanja could get a feel for the location and to try her hand at some real navigating. That's right, once again I forced her to use her classroom skills to find our way back to the Potato Island Chanel (most of the way, at least) and lead us out of here. Remember, trust your charts . . .
 Too bad you won't get a chance to put both experiences into play this summer, eh Captain? Probably no wonder, traveling with such a tough instructor as me :-)

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After a bit of coaching and some help form A.G., we made it to the north cardinal buoy marking the entrance to the Potato Island Channel. Not that I was in any hurry - like I said, this was the very end of our time on The Bay and once through the channel there was only one lock separating us from this body of water.
 The audio in this video is muffled by the wind, but you'll get the idea;

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It sure was a nicer day coming back through Tug Channel and under the highway 400 overpass than when we came through the other way on the beginning of our voyage - but I'd trade the sunshine for another 3 weeks up here any day;

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Anchor Girl waiting to help the approaching SunAria onto the blue line. Or not;

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Looking back towards the lock;

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Don't worry, I have video, too;

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Immediately to the left of the top of the lock is a resort called The Inn At Christie's Mill, where we spent the night, reunited with the Water Wings crew. Yes, we even had dinner reservation there, as well.
 After our experience here - even trying to book the slips was a chore - I can highly recommend to NEVER, EVER GO THERE! Being self employed I believe I have a certain sense of customer service. This place doesn't even know the concept and it shows in spades.
 After all the crap of checking in and trying to find shore power AND a shower (and ending up going for a swim shower behind the boat), we all headed over to the restaurant for our dinner engagement. Beside a menu that featured such delicacies as 'Loin of Elk', we decided that a walk over the lock to the Rawley Resort was the better option.
 If you don't believe me, listen to what these satisfied customers had to say;

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All smiles now as the gang heads into the Rawley - conveniently located right across the street form the LCBO;

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At last - an enjoyable sit down dinner with our friends to celebrate another GREAT holiday on The Bay!
 I know it's hard to take your eyes off the rest of the scenery, but if you look closely at the two mugs at either side of this photo you'll notice that our shirts match the upholstery. What a coincidence. And I thought they were just kidding when they told me to 'get stuffed';

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The Maple Leaf gang bid us farewell as pass by.
 Looking forward to hooking up with you guys on The Bay in a few short months. Remember - it's 'Point Au Baril or Bust'!!

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Looking back to SunAria passing through the Little Chute. And this is a scary spot??

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On the blue line waiting for the big water train to take us back to the top of the hill.
  Gotta go - my sandwich is coming;

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Our final stay for the year would be our first time anchoring at Chief Island on Lake Couchiching. One more spot to put on the list to avoid. Sorry, but I guess we were spoiled with our time at the quiet, natural anchorages of Georgian Bay because the first thing I noticed when we dropped the hook here was the friggen road traffic noise coming from highway 11 across the lake. If I want annoying urban noise on the water, I might as well go to Orillia for the night;

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The gals gabbing on the back of the boats.
 Tomorrow we'll be home :-(

And that's it.
As the chartplotter witnesses, a round trip (including a second trip to Parry Sound for an emergency pump out) totaling 346.9 statute miles.
 For 2010, I hope to add about 50 - 100 miles to that total. . .

Now that we're done with this review, I'd love to hear (read) your comments . . . Otherwise, you'll be doomed to seeing much of the same next winter.

 HA HA!

:- - - - - )

Boating to Parry Sound

 Continuing on with the never ending Georgian Bay trip of 2009, we bring you, the listening audience, 'Parry Sound - The Early Years'.


After spending three days and memorable nights on Echo Bay, we departed and moved north and east to the town of Parry Sound under cloudy skies and increasing winds;

 Part way down South Channel (one of the routes that takes you into Parry Sound) we chose to hang back while a long barge came towards us through a narrow passage. This is why - for the only time on the trip - you see SunAria in front of us;

 Here's the barge in question. One more unusual navigational feature to be on look out for on The Bay;

 Windy was the word for our time in Parry Sound. From a hair raising (I do have some left) docking when we landed in our slip, to a loud, first thing in the morning departure by another boat at the marina, it was blowing hard for two days straight. No worries, because it was sunny and pleasant;

The Maple Leaf tight up to the rock wall. The boat that was across the way from us got blown into these same rocks when they left a couple of days later;

 

  Dinner time aboard Water Wings; 

  The full compliment of crew kick back aboard the Maple Leaf; 

A loverly shot of the moon rising over the marina;

 

 Looking in the opposite direction to catch the twilight evening skies. It was a windy, cool and clear night;  

That's all I need - a prop to clown around on. Yes, I said it - clown ;-)

Ahh, the things I do for the amusement and entertainment of others;

 

 Taking a walk into Parry Sound to do some shopping and looking around;

 

And beer and coolers and a general assortment of beverages;

 

 Good thing we brought the carts to hold all the liquid refreshments; 

Right next to 'Big Sound Marina' is one of the largest Coast Guard stations (Canadian OR American) on the Great Lakes. It was cool to watch this big one  pulling into it's berth, all the while being escorted by a Coast Guard helicopter; 

Looking closely at this next photo, you will notice the pointy part of Boogaboo facing out of the slip, behind and in between the two boats in the foreground. The next morning, the Mainship to the left tried to back out of it's parking spot (or so I am told, as we were still in bed when this all took place) and was pushed back (or ahead) into the previously pointed out rock wall, which is to the left in this picture.

 That is when we were woken up by someone (either Sanja or Von A, or both,  depending on which one was telling the story) banging on the deck of our boat attempting to warn us of impending danger. Problem was that since we were still in sleepy mode and given the fact that there's been many times that someone has pounded on our boat while one or both of us have been snoozing (or trying to), there was no sense of urgency on our part to jump out of bed to see what all the fuss was about . . .

  Perhaps we all need to establish some sort of 'Real' warning, as opposed to 'Get out of bed you lazy bum' type of goofing around? That way, each of us will know how to respond if something like this were to happen again. Maybe one could add to the commotion something like 'THIS IS SERIOUS'.

 Then I won't have to listen to someone going on and on (and on) about how he'll never try to help again and that he'll just watch as our boat gets destroyed and how nice it must be to have all my money and don't have to worry about these things and how I don't love my wife because I obviously don't care about her welfare and so on. And on. And on.

 Anyways, by the grace of the boating gods, disaster on our part was averted and all we got out of the ordeal was an earlier morning than we had expected and a pleasant story to tell :-)

 

Here's another view of the 228' long, 'Medium Endurance Multi-Tasked Vessel'  CCGS Samuel Risley at berth; 

Here's some video of the big boat slowly saddling up to the dock;

Capt'n Buttercup & I along the break-wall, discussing world events and watching the big ship playing in the Sound; 

 Relaxing around Water Wings;  

Pulling out of Parry Sound to head towards our next adventure - Gilman Bay;

 But first, we'll need to make a pit stop for ICE CREAM!!