Welcome aboard REEL MATCH

Leg 3 Miami to Hillsboro: May 11

Leg 3: When we started planning this trip we knew it was going to be an adventure. At this point I can do without the adventure we experienced yesterday but I thank God for keeping us safe. Heading north on the Atlantic with the seas quartering at our stern the ride was pleasant until it wasn’t.

Just north of Hillsboro Beach/Pompano Beach we lost our steering. 😳 The closest inlet was behind us at Hillsboro. Tim was able to steer us to the inlet controlling the boat with the throttles. The scary point was the approach with 6′ breakers and a narrow inlet then we lost a motor😲. I have never been so scared in my life. I was praying harder and faster than I ever have before!

Tim finally got the engine restarted and he was able to get us beyond the breaking water and into the harbor. We were able to find a good spot to anchor while we got our wits back and assessed the damage.

After several hours of regaining our composure we were able to make it to Lighthouse Marina where we are docked today, May 12. The neighbor across the waterway had a diver working on his boat today, Tim struck up a conversation and he happened to have a buddy in the area that is a welder. Prayers answered and things are coming together. With all the crazy stuff going on in this world it is a breath of fresh air to still find good people that are willing to help.

If all goes well we hope to be cruising again by the weekend.

Leg 4 Hillsboro to Riviera Beach: May 14, 2025

It has been a few days since my last post. I will try to update everything tomorrow. Just an overnight at Safe Harbor New Port Cove. Huge yacht yard, Tim did a little shopping while I did laundry.

Leg 5 Riviera Beach to Fort Pierce: May 15, 2025

The winds have settled and we had a nice cruise to Fort Pierce. Marina is nice and the food the The Cobb was excellent! Spent one night here as there wasn’t a lot we wanted to see on land. Tomorrow we are moving on to St. Augustine, FL

Leg 6 Fort Pierce to St. Augustine, May 16, 2025

We are having a great time so far…. St. Augustine is a must see if you are in there area. The historical downtown is awesome! We stayed at the City Marina and were within walking distance of so many shops, galleries and restaurants. If you are in the area I highly recommend you skip dinner and go to Peace Pie Ice Shop for one of their ice cream sandwiches. 😋 SO GOOD!

I have a new favorite appliance in the kitchen…. Instant Pot! I have made so many meals in it so far and they have been great! I even made lasagna and was pleasantly surprised!

Leg 7 St. Augustine to Jekyll Harbor Marina: May 17. 2025

Our navigational skills have improved a great deal…. when we don’t see our channel markers we quickly decide it is worth the time to back track to another inlet. Coming into Saint Andrew Sound on our way to Jekyll Marina we couldn’t find the channel markers. Smart decision by Tim to back track to St. Mary’s River. We found out when we got to the marina that Saint Andrew Inlet has filled in and we would not have made it through.

Blessing in disguise because coming in through St. Mary’s inlet we had to pull outside of the channel to let the Coast Guard and Navy maneuver a submarine out to the Atlantic. Pretty cool to see when you have never seen it. 😊

Leg 8 Jekyll Island to Isle of Hope (Savannah): May 18, 2025

Travels have been good. It was pretty shallow leaving Jekyll Island but we just took our time and headed for the ocean. The seagulls followed us out looking for an easy meal.

We spent 2 nights at Isle of Hope just south of Savannah. It is a small but VERY nice marina. The entire staff was so friendly and helpful! They offer complimentary vehicles for 2 hour slots. We were able to do a little shopping to restock on food and other supplies we discovered we needed.

Savannah….what a beautiful and friendly city! If anyone gets the chance to visit I would recommend at least 2 days or longer to take in all the sights.

Tim and I have had a great trip so far. Though we are living in tight quarters we have found a rhythm to our routines and have become very good at navigating and docking in all conditions.

Leg 9 Isle of Hope (Savannah) to Charleston, SC: May 20, 2025

The cruise through the intercoastal was beautiful. A lot to see and not as boring as the Atlantic, though Tim prefers the Atlantic as it is less stressful for him. By the time we make it to New York we should have a nice balance of both. 😉

We have four nights in Charleston. Part of it is due to expected weather and the other reason is it is suppose to be another beautiful city to see. We are looking forward to it.

With 899 miles behind us we have roughly 2100 miles to go. Oh boy…. this in a hell of a trip. 😳 Hoping for good weather and no breakdowns.

Leg 10 Charleston, SC May 20 – 24, 2025

About a 5 1/2 hour cruise today up to Charleston. Spent the beginning on the Intercoastal then headed out to the Atlantic. Covered 125 miles.

May 21 moored at Charleston Harbor Marina and Resort, GREAT location! Toured USS Yorktown and USS Laffey the history is incredible. On this Memorial Day Weekend…. THANK YOU TO ALL THAT SERVED and to ALL THAT GAVE THEIR LIVES! 🫡

LOVE Charleston!!! Shout out to Jack for the restaurant recommendation Hyman’s Seafood, YUMMY! Of course we had to take a carriage ride. Old South Carriage Company was great. Saw some really cool sections of Charleston.

Hung around the resort today. Had to get laundry done and a few other things. They had a great band at “The Beach” today; Dave Matthews Tribute band. We head out in the morning for our next destination….TBD.

Leg 11 Charleston to ???? May 24, 2025

We stayed on the Intercoastal today so it took longer than normal but I loved it. Running the ICW at low tide can be challenging. You don’t dare veer too far one way or the other or you will quickly be in 3 foot of water or less! We passed some really pretty homes and towns. I found the school bus ferry to be interesting. I guess you do what you have to do.

We anchored in a quiet cove along the Intercoastal. There were 3 other boats there. After sunset the only thing to be heard was mother nature, it was so relaxing.

The second picture in on the top row was taken just after sunset with the phone camera in “night mode” I think I should have a 2000 piece puzzle made of it.

Leg 12 Anchorage to ???: May 25, 2025

We didn’t know where we would end up today. Turns out we stayed on the ICW for the entire day. Some slow going being a Holiday weekend and there were a lot of boaters. We ended up in Southport, NC at Morningstar Marina. This will be an overnight stay, we will head out tomorrow for Mile Hammock Bay anchorage. There is a well protected anchoring area with 10 – 12′ depth. We plan to hold there for two nights until moving on to your next stop.

Leg 13 Southport to Mile Hammock Bay: May 26, 2025

Found a nice anchor spot for the night. Protected from the wind and great holding mud. We had 5 or 6 other boats around us. Moving on tomorrow.

Leg 14 Mile Hammock Bay to Morehead, NC: May 27, 2025

Spent one night in Morehead City. Next week they will be hosting the 2nd biggest payout Marlin tournament. Wish we would be here to see the big ones brought in. Better yet, wish we would be participating!

May 28th we moved about 4 miles to a marina we had a reservation at, Homer Smith Docks and Marina. GREAT marina! Super nice and helpful dock master!

So we arrived May 28 and have enjoyed our time, which is good because we will be staying here until we can get some repairs. Last night, May 29 severe storms came through sometime after we went to bed. The good news…. we are safe. The bad news, the lightning struck something nearby and in turn it caused damage to our boat and several others on our dock. We were able to get a mechanic here today and his preliminary assessment is that the Engine Control Unit (ECU) aka computer is toasted. He is returning tomorrow and we will know more after that.

So the video was taken by our neighbors son as he drove across the bridge next to the marina. The lightning strike you see is where the marina is located…. no wonder there was damage.

Until we get more details from the mechanic, we are hanging tight in Beaufort, NC because we can’t go anywhere on one engine. 😕

🤨Maybe we’ll be here for the marlin tournament. It would be really cool to go fishing with them!

JUNE 6:

We are still in Beaufort, NC assessing the damage from the lightning strike. Tim has been doing a great job troubleshooting the issues and fixing them as they are discovered. So far he has replaced, the oil pressure sensor, transmission sensor, fuel pressure sensor and has another sensor on order. We discovered some issues with the Garmin so that is being looked at on Monday.

I can say the marina we are at HOMER SMITH DOCKS AND MARINA has been great to work with! They have been accommodating and very helpful.

We received the lightning report from the marina and there were 18 lightning strikes in under 5 minutes within 1 mile of the marina. The closest was .1 mile from us and 166.8 kA only .2 miles from us! ⚡⚡⚡

There are several boats that have been worked on all week trying to get them ready for the Marlin tournament which starts tomorrow. The boat Deep Color that is docked across from us just got their port motor up and running this afternoon. They went out for sea trials at 5:30 this evening and are good to go for the kick-off tomorrow.

Tomorrow we plan to head to Morehead City to watch the weigh-in for the ladies marlin tournament. I wish I could be on one of the boats with them! I guess I will add that to my bucket list. 😊

We are still in Beaufort, NC making some progress on the boat repairs thanks to Tim’s mechanical skills. All sensors on the engines had to be replaced and now we are waiting for Garmin because our screens are not working properly. We have been making the best of it monitoring the marlin tournament. The ladies kicked it off on Saturday, June 7 with their event. I tried talking my way on a boat but that didn’t work.

Not a bad paycheck for some of these ladies! The payout is based on points earned by catch/release billfish and also weighed in gamefish. The big dolphin for the day was 49.8#.

The main tournament started on Monday and runs through Saturday, June 14. Day 1 and 2 of the tournament was very windy with only a few boats going out on Monday and none of them venturing out Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a better fishing day with over 115 marlins caught and released. Bankwalker – the angler Lizzie Montague brought in a beautiful 449.7# Blue Marlin after 3 hour fight.

Today all 272 boats are out fishing, they have had several catch/release but nothing landed yet.

Ok so here is the outcome of the Marlin tournament….. Big Trouble came in with a 517.1# marlin. They took home $2,585,125….who wants to go marlin fishing next year? I’m in!!!

Leg 15 Beaufort, NC to Chesapeake, VA: June 15

1366 miles behind us and roughly 1800 to go! 😳

Saying goodbye to Beaufort, NC after 2 weeks of repairs after the lightning strike that took out the engine pressure sensors and Garmin.

Heading north on the intercoastal. We are SO happy to be on the water again! Of course, we had beautiful scenery today.

It was a long 8+ hours but after being docked for 14 days it was nice getting out cruising again. We had some weather that blew through but we stayed safe and are now docked at free dockage in Chesapeake, VA. We plan to head into the Chesapeake Bay tomorrow and meet up with relatives tomorrow or Tuesday. I hope and pray that the rest of the trip is uneventful!

Leg 16 Chesapeake, VA to Solomon, MD: June 16, 2025

Hey, hey we are making progress! Added 145 miles to our trip today. We should be really close to our half way point. 😁 If asked today if I would do this trip again my answer would probably be no. Only because of the breakdowns and challenges we have had. Though I knew it was going to be a challenge our lengthy delay in Beaufort, NC was a little too much.

It is great to be back on the water and making progress! I am very thankful for that!

We managed our first lock of the trip the “Great Bridge Lock” on our way out of Chesapeake, VA public docks where we rested for the night. It was uneventful which is always good! Only 35 or more to go.

Getting into Norwalk was pretty cool. Huge industrial area as well as Navy. We have ended our Intercoastal journey as the ICW begins/ends in Norwalk. Heading toward the Chesapeake Bay. Weather is cool and gray. It is nice being out of the high temperatures and high humidity we have had since we left Florida. I had to breakdown today and put a sweatshirt on, temps are in the low 70’s.

There were so many Naval ships being worked on. It was cool seeing all of them. As we moved north toward the Chesapeake Bay the Coast Guard paid us a visit for an inspection. Special thanks to all of you for all you have done and continue to do for us! We passed the inspection with one minor problem that I never knew you had to have…. a waste disposal plan. Trash and oil spill plans need to be in writing. I had no clue, but I do now. 😉

After a bit of delay we made it to the Chesapeake Bay. A little rough today with NE winds but not a big problem, just not a smooth cruise.

We are safely docked at Spring Cove Marina. Made a nice dinner on the grill and prepping another for tomorrow. Not exactly sure where we will be tomorrow evening but we plan to meet up with some of my (Patti’s) relatives on Wednesday or Thursday.

🤞🏼to making progress and safe travels!

Leg 17 Solomon, MD to Delaware City, DE: June 17, 2025

Travels were good today. Shout out to my youngest… Abi HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you had a fabulous day. After posting this I will know if you are really watching our adventure. 🤣

Waters in the Chesapeake Bay were calm and pleasant. We traveled just over 4 hours to Delaware City. The area reminds me of home. I can now see why Door County, WI is called the “Cape Cod of the Midwest”.

I have never been to the east coast and it is a beautiful area! The scenery reminds me so much of home…. makes me miss being at home this summer. BUT I am not complaining this is a trip/adventure of a lifetime, so I am thankful.

We went for a little bike ride to see the area. There was a beautiful bike trail along the C & D canal which we took to St George. There wasn’t much in town but we found a cute little restaurant/bar and stopped to support the locals. We found a little history along the way.

So if you are in need of boat parts you get a free t-shirt from Seaboard Marine if you meet the minimum….needless to say, Tim has a few new T-shirts. 😂 Probably a good thing they were free as we can’t afford to buy him clothes anymore.

The beautiful tree above was along our bike route. After looking up the name I think it was sending me a message…. I should start everyday with a “Mimosa”. It’s a Mimosa Tree aka: Persian Silk Tree. The picture doesn’t do it justice. I wish they would survive in WI. I would love to have one in the landscape.

Tomorrow we head to Lewes, DE assuming we can get a slip. We plan to leave there Friday and head up the Atlantic assuming the weather predictions are accurate and the seas cooperate. Very soon we will be out of the salt air and into fresh water.

🤞🏼safe travels ahead……

Leg 18 Delaware City, DE to Lewes, DE: June 18, 2025

We had a short trip today down to Lewes, DE. The tides are CRAZY here! There is a 6′ tide in Delaware City! It was crazy seeing the current moving so swiftly.

So, we left Delaware City, DE mid-morning on June 18. The weather was not great. Winds were fairly calm and but it was foggy, which was fine. We took our time and used the radar. Tim was able to get on a work call as I played “Captain”. I kept it in the channel and avoided a barge that was heading north. 😂

My family and friends will understand that I am joking when I say “I was able to keep it in the channel and avoided a barge”…. For those of you that don’t know me…. I am capable of handling the boat.

So you may wonder why a share a picture of a part.?. Well, as luck has it, not only were we cruising in the fog, we also had an alarm on the starboard motor. The words out of my mouth were not the nicest so I will keep them to myself. We had “low oil pressure” alarm on the starboard engine.

Running on one engine and navigating the channel in the fog with boats much larger than us, Tim was able to diagnose the issue…. ruling out low oil levels and he 🤞🏼that replacing the pressure sensor would do the trick. (thank God he had a spare on board) AND it worked! A brand new sensor failed causing the error.

Lewes, DE is a really cute town, very quaint, reminds me of Door County, WI. The flowers around town are incredible! We took a short walk from the boat to the historical downtown area. I now have my restaurants lined up for the next couple of days.

We actually extended our stay by one night. Mainly so we could explore some more but also because I have to get laundry done and we want to grocery shop before we get to New York.

It is a great area and we were blessed to be meet up with relatives while were here. It was great to see Tony and Riki Senn during our journey!

We also met up with Fran and Dawn (friends from Marco Island) and enjoyed a really nice guided tour of a local state park, neighboring towns and great food and beverages!

So one advantage to this blog is that Tim doesn’t read it and he doesn’t know that this metal art table is now on his “honey do list” 🤫don’t tell him. I’ll surprise him when we get home. 😊

My beautiful orchid I brought from Florida is still alive (surprisingly enough) There are new leaves and buds. I am hoping it will bloom again next winter.

I have to say it is very helpful having the right connections…..TONY SENN. He was able to get us an extra oil pressure sensor as a spare for the rest of our journey. Now I just hope we transport it all the way back to Wisconsin without needing it!

After enjoying some snacks and beverages we headed back to the boat before the next storm rolled in.

Tomorrow will be a day for laundry, groceries and exploring. Then we head to New York to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I have not spent any time on the East Coast so this is quite the trip.

Leg 19 Lewes, DE to Jersey City, NJ: June 21, 2025

It was a great day on the Atlantic! Calm seas the whole way and no issues! 😃

So as of the end of this day we have 1860 miles behind us and estimating the total trip is 3100 that leaves us with 1240 left to go…. We are getting there!

I have never spent any time on the East Coast. I can now say I have experienced the east coast from New York down to Key West.

I have never had a desire to come to NYC but I am glad we made the trip. We won’t be venturing downtown or partying in the city but for a quiet “country girl” it’s cool to be here.

There she is…… It is really cool to see her from the water and on our own boat! Tomorrow we will be touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Spent the afternoon riding bike in the Liberty State Park that is right next to the marina. It is a beautiful park and the weather was perfect to be out and about. A nice breeze off the Hudson and temps in the low 80’s.

Ellis Island was really neat, to think that my family was likely on that island and I was in the rooms they could have been in back in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s…. crazy.

I’m glad we were able to spend a couple of days in New York City and experience Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Tomorrow we will continue our journey north up the Hudson River. It has been over 6 weeks on the boat/water and though it has been great most of the time we are anxious to get home.

Leg 20 Jersey City, NJ to Coeyman’s Landing, NY: June 23, 2025

The adventure continues… Today was NYC to Coeyman’s Landing (Ravena, NY) 132 miles and though it says over 7 hours that is not totally accurate….more details to follow. Actual time was closer to 5.5 to 6 hours of travel time.

We had a beautiful night last night and went for a walk to enjoy the lights of New York. This morning was beautiful but already steamy.

New York was a combination of haze and smog this morning.

The Hudson River is absolutely beautiful! I am very glad to be off the ocean and seeing more of the sites.

I always wonder how many good people are around. There are so many reports of the negative. I can say this trip has helped me realize there are more good people then there are bad.

Being an owner of a big boat, you never want to see this….

There has been a substantial amount of rain in the area which has caused some local flooding. This has caused a lot of debris to float down river. Debris such as leaves, small branches, some garbage and some BIG logs and stumps.

Yep, you guessed it…. another day, another problem. Though we were watching really close for any and all floating objects, those that are submerged are a bit of a problem, no matter what speed you are going.

Well, we found a submerged log. We realized there was a problem when we heard it and saw a 4’+ branch that was about 4″ around fly up behind the boat. We of course immediately slowed to determine how much of a problem this was. At a slow speed there was no issue… powering up was a problem, the entire boat had an incredible vibration. Well, *&#% a bent prop????

After a few phone calls we found the perfect company to help us out. Alex’s Marine Plus is AMAZING and a yacht club he works with was just as good. Shout out to Newburgh Yacht Club for being such an amazing place.

When we arrived Alex was already there and he had an operator on the way to haul us out to assess the damage. In no time at all they had us out of the water. As they were lifting us out Alex saw a clump of something fall from the prop(s)/rudder(s). Moving us inland to take a closer look we are thankful and blessed. The props, rudders and shafts are fine and no damage to the bottom. Alex thinks whatever fell off must have been lodged somewhere in/around the rudders or props.

To make this even better, I went to pay our debt for the haul-out and the time of the mechanic that so promptly came to our rescue. AMAZING people!!! They both refused any payment saying they didn’t do anything. Maybe in their eyes they didn’t, but in our eyes they made our day! Hence the reason we really were not cruising for 7 hours.

If anyone reading this is ever in the area of Newburgh, NY and you need a marine mechanic or haul out….. Newburgh Yacht Club and Alex’s Marine Plus are the people you want to contact! THEY ARE AMAZING. We will be paying the favor forward!

The rest of our journey for the day was pleasant. Though there was still a lot of debris we made it to our final destination for the evening, Coeyman’s Landing.

The one photo I forgot to post last night was the elusive New York alligator. They will do some major damage if you get too close. 🤣

Leg 21 Coeysman Landing to Schenectady, NY: June 24, 2025

We are homeward bound! The long wait to reach the Erie Canal is over. We left Coeymans Landing early this morning. The only reason we left early is because Tim claims I was stealing the covers and woke him. I strongly disagree…I believe he woke me. 🤷🏼‍♀️either way we were on the water by 7:10. 🥱I didn’t even finish my first cup of coffee by that time.

We didn’t put a lot of miles on today but it sure was time consuming. We reached our first lock by 8:15 am and managed 7 locks. 7 down, only 28 to go!

Up-state New York is beautiful! It is so nice we are at a slower pace now that we reached the Erie Canal. There are 363 miles to the Erie Canal which is the second largest in the world. Only one that surpasses the Erie is the Grand Canal in China which is over 1100 miles.

From the start of the locks to the end in Buffalo, NY we will have a total lift of 565 to 571 feet. Today we were lifted 161 feet. So far the locks provide ropes you can hang onto or cables you can loop a rope around which will slide as the water rises. It’s not a lot of work but with the temperatures in the mid 90’s and the heat index hanging around 104 it was a hot and exhausting day.

We are docked near Schenectady, NY at the Schenectady Yacht Club for the next two days. We had another issue with an engine at the end of our day today. It had to do with a power booster sensor…. Again, I am VERY thankful I have Tim. He had a spare and was able to replace it. We will take the boat out for a run tomorrow to see if the issue is resolved. If not, we call a mechanic. 🤞🏼we are good to go!

Either way, this is our view for the next couple of nights. One reason for the extended stay is making sure the boat is good to cruise. The other reason is that locks 15 – 22 are currently closed due to excessive rainfall in the western part of New York.

We hope to see the Northern lights later tonight. Life is good. 😊

Leg 22 Schenectady, NY to Little Falls, NY: June 26, 2025 Locks 8 – 17

Trip today was pretty good. We traveled about 58 miles in 10 hours. Yeah… slow going but that’s the Erie Canal.

We had a 40′ today that is a lot of current when they start dumping the water in! Hang on tight!

We have been on this journey since May 7th and perhaps it’s not for me. While I am enjoying it, it is also time to get home.

Leg 23 Little Falls to Baldwinsville, NY: June 27, 2025

Well, it’s getting interesting! You always have “those” people in the world that think they are entitled…. we met them today when we caught up to a group that was moving through the locks together. They were no thrilled with adding another to the group but oh well, you have to play nice in the sandbox.

In most locks they packed 8 boats in depending on the size. It is like being in a sardine can. Very little leeway.

Having the boat we do, we were able to reach Oneida Lake and cruise passed all of them as they were in slower boats.

We made it to Baldwinsville, NY and are now passed the Oswego turn off where many of them had to go due to the air clearance on their boat. We are fortunate, we can lower the antennas and flip the radar over and squeak under 11′ air clearance.

This has been an adventure and an experience. No regrets but WOW… nearly 3 months on a boat is a lot!

Leg 24 Baldwinsville to Pittsford, NY: June 28, 2025

An uneventful day and more of the 360+ miles of the Erie Canal. We have not encountered a lot of boats since the Oswego turn off. The bridges on this route don’t have enough air clearance for them.

We had one bridge that was listed as a 16′ clearance…. It was significantly less than that! With the radar and anchor light we couldn’t fit under the bridge. We are very thankful the previous owner had the radar and anchor light installed on a hinged bracket so I climbed up and flipped it over. I had to duck when passing under or I wouldn’t have cleared.

Spent a nice evening in Pittsford, NY. Cute town, there were restaurant across the canal from us with live music so we took a little walk and had a drink. Docking was free and we had power and water hook-up!

Leg 25 Pittsford to Middleport, NY: June 29, 2025

Just looking at this map is exhausting. It has been a LONG 54 days, 2319 miles and 133.5 hours on the water. We have met some “Loopers” that have done this numerous times. Yeah, while interesting and an adventure I will not be doing this multiple times.

Today was another nice cruise. No traffic to really speak of but very slow going. Speeds were 5 – 10 mph as the canal is narrow with some small “makeshift” docks along the way.

We put 55.5 miles on today in 7.33 hours. Tomorrow will be our last day on the Erie Canal with only 44 miles and two more locks to go. The winds are in our favor so we are hoping to put some more miles behind us when we hit Lake Erie.

Leg 26 Middleport to Buffalo, NY: June 30, 2025

Pictures from our evening stroll in Middleport.

Well, it’s a Monday, Tim woke up super early and after realizing it was too early decided to go back to bed. Me on the other hand….once awake I have a hard time falling back asleep. So I was up early and didn’t sleep well. Oh well, it could be worse!

The final leg of the Erie Canal awaits us. This has been a really long and slow cruise across New York. We have several lift bridges today as well as 2 locks. After that we will reach the upper portion of Lake Erie and can start cruising and putting miles behind up at a decent speed.

Lock 34 and 35 are combined. I did not know that until we got here. So the pictures above are actually lock 34 and below are pictures going into and from lock 35.

So a month ago, I mentioned the storm that caused damage to boats including ours, we have had issues on and off since the damage with fuel sensors and oil pressure sensors and other things. Well, we finally reached a spot where we could power up the boat and cruise hoping to make our way to Dunkirk. Well that hope and dream was short lived!

The GREMLINS are still living in the engines….🤬

We found a marina on the north side of Buffalo that has mechanics and the computer needed to diagnose the underlying issues. We will be here until they can figure it out and fix us up.

I hope and pray that we can get underway in a day or two but I am not going to hold my breath. I will keep you posted on our progress……we are so close to home yet so far away.

Buffalo, NY continued……

So the saga continues…. We are still in Buffalo and everyone is enjoying their long July 4th weekend. We had mechanics here on the 2nd and they were able to determine that the ECU’s are fine. They believe the sensors that Tim got were faulty and the SMX screen that displays all the engine data is not communicating correctly.

One new discovery was a broken off bolt on the starboard exhaust manifold. Now that has to be fixed along with the transducer which is not working. So, parts are on order and we wait. As soon as they have what they need, they will pull the boat out and get it all done at once. I can only hope that these are the last of the repairs for a LONG time.

In the meantime, I pass my time discovering critters around the marina.

This is Bandit the mink that came to visit the other day. He was looking to rob the Barn Swallows nest that is under the dock. He was not successful but it was a good try.

Then we have Niagara and Falls who swam across the river from Canada to visit and Dancer the Damselfly who was curious about my book.

And finally this is Escargot, he was trying to hitch a ride to Wisconsin but I thought it best he stays in New York so I helped him move to a safe place.

We took a nice bike ride up to Tonawanda to kill some time. Now Tim is napping and I am bored so I thought I would get the blog up-to-date.

If things go my way we will be back on the water by middle to late next week…. I HOPE!

….. and now the rest of the story…..

After talking to the marina manager and mechanic we will be flying home for a couple of weeks. They are waiting on parts and don’t think they will have them until next week. The repairs will take 2 – 3 days so, we have decided to fly home for a couple of weeks to give them the time they need to do their thing.

I would rather be at home than sitting in a hotel room. Today I discovered not only do we have Bandit the mink but we also have Raider and possibly Hooligan. They were pissing off the swallows by running up and down the dock.

I think tomorrow we are going to head to Niagara Falls and spend the day exploring that area.

Catch-up on the past few weeks.

Niagara Falls was awesome! I am so glad we went, though the weather was cloudy and rainy it didn’t really matter because we got soaked from the falls anyway. We spent a half day or so exploring Niagara Falls, NY then ventured over to Canada to see their prospective. It is truly beautiful from all angles and we would recommend you visit if given the opportunity. I wish we would have had more time to explore the shops and restaurants, but maybe we will have another chance in the future to visit.

By the way, if you do go either put your phone in a clear dry bag or at least a zip-lock bag so you don’t ruin it. Mine was not happy with me, water got into the charging port. Thank goodness I had rice on the boat! It dried up in a few hours and was good to go.

So we ended up flying home on July 9th. The timing ended up being really good not only because the landscape was so bad it looked like the house had been abandoned.

But, also because I had a few personal things I wanted to do along with finally getting Abi and Braden’s furniture to them since they bought a house and were surviving with a couple of bar stools, one sofa and a bed. I figured they would appreciate having a dining table with chairs , nightstands and all the rest of their things that were stored in our trailer.

WOW what a difference a little hard work and time does for a neglected landscape!

Then we have the “honey-do-list” 😊Tim loves it when I ask for help. I think my words are “we need to get _____ done”. He has come to learn that I really mean, “he needs to take care of ____”. So he spent a good portion of his time making repairs to the trailer for Women in the Outdoors. Last year when I towed it to our event the trailer running lights were intermittent which poses a real problem when I’m driving home at night.

So, he took the time to fix multiple wiring issues, light problems, trailer brake issues, put on new safety chains and a license plate light which (news to me) is required. 🤷🏼‍♀️ We bought the trailer used and it didn’t have one, I didn’t know….

He then moved on to his projects which involved an unexpected boulder. When discing one of the food plots he had issues with a rock that was buried. The disc would hit it and occasionally break a disc. When his attempt to dig it up with the tractor failed, he took the new Tonka toy the mini excavator out there and started digging around it. Low and behold he was not digging out a normal size rock. NOPE! This thing is 6′ x 5′ and he thought I would like to have it in the landscape. Well, he was right but our little equipment is too small to pick something like that up. So he rolled it home from the back of the property. 🤦🏼‍♀️For those that don’t know, our property is 80 acres deep. Thank goodness the boulder was not ALL the way in the back.

So that was an all afternoon affair but I must say that is really an impressive rock!

Now there is one more thing on the “honey-do-list” and that is making something that I can use at the Women in the Outdoors event in August. So, I left it up to him to decide what he wanted to make and here it is….

His creativeness kicked in and he made a flower petal firepit. It turned out really cool! I will be taking that to Women in the Outdoors where it and other items will be auctioned off. All the profits will go toward a non-profit organization in Wisconsin.

Tomorrow we will have a change of scenery as we are flying back to Buffalo to continue our journey. We hope all the gremlins are gone and that the rest of the cruise home is uneventful! Stay tuned for more.

😃We made it to Leg 27! July 22, 2025 Buffalo, NY to Erie, PA

Up bright and early on Tuesday (July 22) THANK YOU DAD FOR THE RIDE TO THE AIRPORT!! 🥱 We had an early morning flight from Green Bay to Buffalo, NY.

We arrived in Buffalo around noon giving us time to settle up with Harbor Place Marina, take the boat on a sea trial with the mechanic and head out. I can’t say enough about the marina and the mechanic…. Will (owner) of Harbor Place and the mechanic they contract with “Dockside Maintenance” Brent were AMAZING!!!! SO nice and easy to work with! They spent so much time diagnosing the issues and communicating with us what repairs were needed primarily due to the power surge the occurred back in late May. Oh, and I can’t forget Claudia in the office. She was SO nice she even took care of my orchid when we were back in Wisconsin for the two weeks. It looks GREAT and should be blooming again in no time.

Said good-bye to Buffalo, NY around 2 pm. Though it was a great marina we are glad to be moving again. Leaving Buffalo the current was crazy! They told us we would be cruising into it, and it runs about 10 mph. Watching the water push passed the bridge pilings was crazy!

We had the pleasure of cruising 3 hours with NO alarms! That was so amazing!!! It has been a LONG time since that has happened. It was almost like being on a new boat. 🤣

Made our way to Erie, PA and at this point we really want to put some miles behind us and get home. We are anxious to get home for the rest of the summer!

We docked at Wolverine Marina in Erie, PA for the night and had a nice dinner at Rum Runners, a short walk from the marina. I think my cooking details for the rest of the trip might be few and far between. (Again….. don’t tell Tim! I’m keeping it a surprise! 😊) Eating out every night until we get home is ok by me…..

Leg 28 July 23, 2025 Erie, PA to St. Clair Shores, MI

I must say, it is a good thing I’m posting all of this because I can’t remember what city we have been in much less where we stayed or what we did.

Our day started out a little rocky. While we thought all of the gremlins were gone, we had two alarms this morning as we made our way across the harbor to fuel up. It definitely added some stress to the day. Then we had to make the tough decision, do we head across Lake Erie and hope for the best or have the boat looked at AGAIN.?.? From what we have heard and read Lake Erie can get pretty nasty really quick. The winds were predicted to be calm all day so…..

We decided to cruise and make a decision IF the alarms came back.

We ended up with a beautiful day on Lake Erie! Winds were calm, seas were calm and we made good time! NO alarms after the morning, so we were REALLY happy. Lake Erie could not have been any nicer than it was!

Coming up the Detroit River we made our way under the “Gordie Howe International Bridge” and when you can’t decide if you want to travel the US side or Canadian side…. you cruise right down the middle.

I can now say I was in two countries at one time. 🤣

WOOOO HOOOOOOOO we are SO close to home! Only one state to go!!!! Cross your fingers for calm seas and good weather! It would be great to be home before the summer is over. We have 2655 miles behind us and about 445 left to go.

Tomorrow we plan to head across Lake St. Clair to meet up with a great couple we met in Buffalo. They continued their cruise while we were back home. It will be great to meet up with them for dinner and drinks in Port Huron. We don’t want to go too far tomorrow as it is supposed to be really windy and cruising Lake St. Clair will be enough.

Leg 29 St. Clair Shores, MI to Port Huron, MI: July 24, 2025

It was a windy day but not bad cruising. Lake St. Clair is pretty small so it was an easy crossing into the St. Clair River heading up to Port Huron. Docked at Port Huron Yacht Club on the outside wall along the Black River. A lot of boat traffic but that will quiet down as the night goes on.

Finally did a little grocery shopping to get us through the final days/week of the journey. We met up with Diana and Mark, the other loopers we met in Buffalo. They ended up in the say restaurant as us for lunch and we had already planned to have dinner with them so it was nice to hang out and chat. I don’t have any new pictures from the day but here are some screenshots of our individual routes from New York City to Port Huron, MI.

Leg 30 Port Huron to Harrisville, MI: July 25, 2025

I am please to report that it was an uneventful trip from Port Huron to Harrisville, MI.

Lake Huron was pleasant most of the day, calm to minimal waves. It picked up a little late in our travels but it was still not horrible. We had safe travels to Harrisville, MI with NO engine alarms until after we fueled up and restarted the engines to head to our slip.

So Harrisville is not a very big town. We did not find a grocery store which was fine. There were no restaurants that we found and the state park took about 10 minutes so it was a relaxing afternoon, doing laundry and cleaning. There was however, a really nice concert at the pavilion just up from the marina so we went and enjoyed that for the evening.

Leg 31 Harrisville to Mackinaw City, MI: July 26, 2025

Again, Lake Huron was pleasant, pretty calm and little traffic. We are here three nights as the winds are not favorable to cruising on Monday….More to come tomorrow. We are SO close to home. 😊

We have put roughly 2950 mile behind us and have about 165 left to go. It has been an adventure with it’s challenges. I hope and pray for the final leg to go smooth!

First night in Mackinaw City they put on a welcome fireworks show. We had a great view from the boat, it was perfect!

OK stop laughing…. we all have “THAT” friend! You all know who you are!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

A boat came in today next to us and they happen to be from Sturgeon Bay. It’s a small world, especially as you get closer to home.

We took the boat out to see if the trolling bags we had for the other boat would be enough to get us to the right trolling speed for salmon. NOPE. Need to buy the size up and we should be ok. Ordered them today so we can start fishing when we get home!

It has been really strange not being home this summer. No garden and no fishing…. weird!

Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island: July 27 & 28

I am remiss in posting the final days of our journey. We spent three nights in Mackinaw City at Straits State Marina. Our original plan was two nights but due to high winds we decided it best to stay an extra night.

One day was a nice day on Mackinac Island. For those that don’t know there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island (other than emergency) which leaves your means of transportation walking, bicycles or horse. We chose the easy route…. horse drawn carriage. We have been to the island before so it was just nice to sit back and enjoy the ride.

It was SO exciting to be on our final leg. Roughly 165 miles and we will be home, it’s a good feeling!

Welcome to Sturgeon Bay, WI! It’s a great feeling to be home!

After a few days home we were able to relax and watch the sunset AND my orchid decided it was time to bloom again!

Half of the Great Loop is in the books!

Here are a few facts from our trip:

We departed Marco Island, FL on May 7, 2025

Spent 32 days actually cruising and it took 83 days to get home

We spent 168 hours cruising and covered 3111 miles

We arrived in Sturgeon Bay, WI at 1pm on July 29

WOW WHAT A TRIP!