Underway again with a new outboard

My buddy Dave and I finally departed port on Saturday and headed off for a short week of anchoring in the the same area as Sheri and I visited a week earlier. The ride over to our usual first stop in Blind River was nice although it became very windy towards the end and we were glad to be at the safety of a dock once again.

One noteworthy item on this segment of our summer adventure was the acquisition of a new outboard for the new inflatable tender we added this season. Wanting to be more capable while at anchor, we decided to upgrade our aging Zodiac with a new hard bottom inflatable which we did while still in Florida. As you may recall it was transported up here on top of the car and successfully attached to the back of our boat like the old one while we are underway. After launching the dingy for the first time and attaching our existing 6HP outboard, it was quickly apparent that it was just not powerful enough to move the new boat along at any reasonable speed. A new motor had been considered while still in Florida but we felt like giving the old one a try before moving up. I called the dealer in Florida and asked what he had to offer and he indicated that the motor I was interested in was in short supply and that it could be a few months before he could get one. As it turns out, I remembered seeing a Mercury dealer the day before when we were over in nearby Cedarville for dinner and went back there on Tuesday to see what they had. Well, lo and behold, he had exactly the motor I was looking for and made me an exceptional deal including a generous trade in on my old motor. He had to perform some prep work and had it ready for us on Thursday to pick up.

And now for the rest of the story. The new motor is a 9.9HP Mercury 4 Stroke and even though it's only 60% more powerful, it is much more than that including an extra 25 pounds heavier. The old motor at 57 pounds was manageable when attaching to to the dinghy but the new one was just too heavy to manipulate by hand. It just so happens that the original owner had a similar size outboard and had mounted a small hoist that could be used to lift the motor on and off the boat when the tender was launched. The hoist had been stowed in a locker for all the years we have owned the boat so it was a welcome relief knowing that we had a solution to handling the heavier motor. The other piece to this challenge was getting a lifting harness that attaches the motor to the hoist and keeps the motor in an upright position when it is being handled. A suitable harness was ordered and luckily arrived Friday before we left. We tested everything out except actually putting it on the dinghy while at anchor which will be our "moment of truth". Here's what the setup looks like.

Stay tuned.

New grandson has arrived!!!

Eric and Katie blessed us with a beautiful new grandson….Gavin Eric Fredrick.  He arrived today at 1:41pm weighing 7 lbs. and 20”. 

First and second picture….Big sister, Kaylee (age 3), about ready to give her baby brother a kiss and take his picture!

Third picture….What can I say, a VERY proud Grandma!!!!

 

I arrived in Ohio on Wed. so Gavin waited for me!  I’ll be here helping them out until July 21st….what joys!!!

And sorry….but more pictures will undoubtedly follow!   Hopefully, they’ll be home on Sunday.  Fun having little Kaylee to myself for a couple of days!

Love to all…..  and a Happy Fourth!

Want to see what 2100 horsepower looks like?

US Customs and Border Protection on the Great Lakes. Each of these outboards list for about $23K each. Your tax dollars at work.

Toilet fixed

Shortly after Sheri headed out this morning I started the task to replace the defective toilet pump that had been an issue since we launched two weeks ago. All in all it was far easier than expected and only took about an hour and went without a hitch.

The marina we are at for a few days sits on the St. Marys River which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron and beyond. This being the case, we are treated to a parade of all the ships that are going up and down that waterway. Here's view from our stern.

My buddy Dave should be arriving at any moment and will have a few Costco supplies in tow. We will hang out here another day and head out on Friday for Canada and some anchoring.

Back at a dock for a few days

Our trip back to Drummond was much smoother than expected but due to their continued lack of dock space due to dredging we decided to make the short hop over to DeTour Village and stay there for a few days at a nice dock. One unfortunate surprise was that our car battery was dead due to an interior light that was left on while we were away. Fortunately we were able to get a jump start and all was good. Sheri took the car and I took the boat and we met at the Detour Marina an hour later. we decided to grab a quick bite at a new place so we drove to the quaint village of Hessel about 20 miles away and found what we were looking for.
Having Sheri on the mainland side of the ferry will give her an hours head start on Wednesday when the splits for Ohio to attend to a new grandchild. Al's friend Dave arrives Wednesday and they will be off for another week before the next crew change occurs. The planned itinerary will be much the same as we just finished.

As we sit at the dock in De Tour Village Marina we are continuously entertained by the large ore carriers passing to and from the Soo Locks. Last night we saw the freighter Paul R Tregurtha that was shown on Season 2 of the Discovery series "Mighty Ships". It's one of the 1000' lakers that ply these waters between Duluth and Detroit.

Heading back to Drummond a day early

With the first scheduled crew change coming Wednesday we decided to head back to Drummond Island a day early so Sheri could get ready to leave for Ohio on Wednesday where she can help with the new family arrival. In the meantime Al's friend Dave from Chicago will arrive on Wednesday and join him until 7/6 when the next crew change happens. The itinerary for Dave will be similar to what we've been covering the last 10 days along the near north shore.

While we've been at anchor in Turnbull we've had much socializing with old and new acquaintances from the Blind River area. One couple we met lives in Traverse City but bases out of Blind River. Coincidentally, they also lived and boated in Seattle a number of years so Al had some reminiscing to do.

We had some great sumsets and a few interesting bird shots but nothing spectacular. We also had a first yesterday and that was a hail storm that was accompanied by some heavy rain and high winds and lasted about 30 minutes. We're expecting a bumpy ride back to Drummond but we've done that before.

Back on the hook for four more nights

After a restful night at a dock in Blind River we made the short over to Turnbull Island for three nights and will make a last anchorage at Meldrum Bay on the other side of the North Channel before heading back to Drummond Island and our first crew change of the summer when Al's friend Dave from Chicago comes up for a little more than a week. I will be back in search of some more great bird shots starting tomorrow so stay tuned.

Being a weekend we hooked up with several folks we know and many new ones from Blind River and spent several afternoon hours partying on one of their boats. The level of partying was not so intense that people were falling off the boat but fun none the less.

Bird phots are not so special on this stay so far as evidenced by the seagull shots taken from behind the boat. Here are a few.

The birds just keep coming

This morning I set out to try and find some more birds in and around the Turnbull Island group and was treated to a pair of bald eagles albeit not in the best of lighting conditions. I also got a great shot of a merganser as well. After that we headed back to Blind River for a pump out and some shore time. The winds are also predicted to pick up in the next 24 hours.

Turnbull was looney

We decided to make the short hop over to Turnbull Island for our second anchorage before heading back to port for a recharge. When we arrived we were the first boat in the anchorage an picked a perfect spot. Almost immediately we spotted a pair of loons and quickly set out with the big camera for some prize winning shots. Loons are very skittish and will cause one to follow them around for hors as the dive for food. This place is a nice spot for wildlife with many birds and an large bald eagle nest which unfortunately appears to be unoccupied at the moment. Here are some shots from today.

Our first post while at anchor

As described earlier we now have Internet connection capabilities while we are away from marinas and conventional wireless access. We are using a 4G wireless hotspot we purchased last week when we were in the Soo (Canada) and it is really cool. We left Blind River yesterday around 1PM and had a short and smooth passage over to one of our favorite anchorages in Longpoint Cove. We are here with four other boats and enjoying the rest and relaxation after the hectic launch and provisioning that happens at the beginning of each season.

While sitting here at anchor on Tuesday morning in dense fog I spotted a large bird on a dead tree across the bay, grabbed my binoculars and sure enough it was a bald eagle. It was barely visible but I confirmed it was a baldy. It flew away shortly after that so no photo op was possible. That's the first one of those I have seen in all the years we've been coming up here.



Took some long didtance shots of some local bird favorites. I will get closer as the summer procedes.

Just a gull

Merganser

Loon

Our first Canada port of call

We left Drummond on Saturday with sunny skies and calm winds for the 40 mile trek to our normal first Canadian port of call at Blind River, Ontario. The weather was very nice upon our arrival and we made our way into town for some light shopping at the local grocery store. We dined once again in the quaint cafe located at the marina and settled in for a restful night's sleep. That lasted about two hours until a big rain and thunderstorm hit about 2AM and lasted several hours.

We're off today for our first of four anchorages at one of our favorite spots in Longpoint Cove.

Went Golfing Today

Sheri and I decided to do something different today so we went to the local golf course on the island and gave it a try. Only Al golfed and Sheri acted as a fore caddie looking for errant tee shots and holding the pin on the green Considering it was a new course Al shot a 92 and had two birdies. The course is called The Rock and is situated completely hidden in the woods including a one mile cart ride to the first tee. We paired up with another couple and had a very pleasant experience. After golf we ate dinner at the local restaurant having a terrific whitefish "all you can eat" special (Al only). This evening we were treated to another great Drummond Island sunset. Tomorrow we are off to Canada and will make our usual first port of call at Blind River, Ontario where we will be reunited with our buddies Roy and Daryl who run the marina.

Our trip to the Soo

On Wednesday afternoon we headed up to Sault Saint Marie (Michigan and Ontario) for some admin and to finish our provisioning before setting out. We arrived around 5:30 and after checking into our hotel we headed off to the downtown area for dinner and some sightseeing. As you may or may not be aware, Sault Saint Marie is the home of the famous Soo Locks where all ships heading to and from Lake Superior must pass through. Before the settlers arrived there was a significant set of rapids that connected Lake Superior and the Saint Mary's River and then lake Huron. These rapids made transport between the lakes a bit of a problem moving the valuable iron ore from the mines to the west to smelters in the south. Some crude locks were built in the late 1800s but the current system got its start around 1912. Currently there are four US locks that can handle the big 1000 foot lakers that make the run during the 10 months the waterway is open. The total drop/lift is 21 feet and there are plans underway for a new set of locks to the build in the near future. We were fortunate to see both an upbound and downbound ship in the locks at the same time when we visited SSM on Wednesday.

Lake Superior level

Lake Huron level

On Thursday we headed over to the US Customs office to conduct our interviews with both the US and Canadian authorities so we could get NEXUS cards that will make our passage to and from Canada much easier as well as travel elsewhere. The NEXUS card is part of the trusted traveler program and involves a lot of paperwork, fingerprinting, and other requirements to me met before it is issued. We had a speed pass to go into Canada for the past five years but decided to go with this program because is more comprehensive.

Note room number on men's room at US Customs office



After we completed our NEXUS processing we headed across the bridge to Canada to get a wireless data card for the PC so we could have Internet access anywhere we may be in Canada as long as there is a cell signal. The plan we got is monthly and can be cancelled at the end of the season and restarted next year. The device we purchased supports 4G, acts as a wireless hotspotm and should be relevant for several years. On the voice side our Verizon service has a US/Canada option that cost $20/month and gives us normal cell voice operation all summer while in Canada.

After returning to the US we loaded up the car at the SSM Walmart and headed back to Drummond for our first night on the boat. We hope to be underway on Saturday weather permitting.

Boat launched, only one small problem

After getting all the prep work completed on Tuesday we launched the boat mid-morning on Wednesday and it was one of the easiest we have ever had. We also had a beautiful day with no wind and sunny skies. After moving to our slip that we will occupy for a few days we started checking all the systems and for the most part everything worked perfectly except for one rather important item and that was the head (toilet for you land lubbers). Our head is electric and has two functions. First, the water intake pump section gets lake water to fill the bowl and second, the macerator section  grinds up solids (use your imagination) and then sends that slurry to the holding tank along with the flush water. It seems that our head has an inoperative water intake pump and therefore cannot fill the bowl with flush water. Fortunately, the macerator and holding tank section works so the head can still be used but must have flush water added separately via a sauce pan from a nearby sink. We actually have a spare pump assembly but need an O-ring where it attaches to the toilet base. The parts are on order and should arrive in a week or so.

We have rarely had a season go by without something but so far this one has been as good as most. On Wednesday afternoon we headed up to Sault Saint Marie for the night (by car) to take care of some admin on Thursday.

June in the Northwoods, brrrrr!

When I checked the weather this morning I was amazed to see that there was a frost advisory until 8AM. Hopefully this will be the last day with that type of weather event.

We spent Tuesday moving cargo onto the boat while it was still in the building and taking care of some minor maintenance items. As always, we found the boat to be fresh as a daisy and everything exactly as we left it last summer.

Today is launch day and we will report in after the boat is in the water.

Let the Cruise Begin!!!

Stuffed Car

With a car stuffed to the gills we departed our home in Florida on Friday 6/8 and headed north where we would embark on our fifth cruising adventure on the sparkling waters of the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel of Lake Huron. Actually, this will be the first season where we will probably not actually be in one of the Great Lakes since we are starting the cruise in the North Channel versus southern Lake Michigan as in years past.

Ferry ride to Drummond Island

On the way up we stopped for visits with Alan's nephew and family in Dawsonville, GA and some Allstate friends west of Nashville. We spent one night in Toledo, OH and finally arrived at our final destination on Drummond Island on Monday afternoon at about 4:45. We checked in with the marina and had a chance to offload some of the bulkier items in the car onto the boat before we retired to a local motel for a good night's rest.



Crossing Big Mac

We will be staying on Drummond Island for for one more night before heading up to Sault Ste. Marie by car for our last motel night to take care of some admin and the last of the provisioning. Our boat is scheduled to be laiunched on Wednesday 6/13 and and we should be sleeping aboard on 6/14. We will be off for a short trip to Canada before returning to Drummond Island on 6/27 where Sheri will head of to Ohio for some Grandmothering with a new addition to the family and will be replaced by crew/friends from Chicago and Seattle until she returns on 7/21. At that time we will spend the last four weeks of our summer cruise visiting our usual spots before returning to Drummond Island and storing the boat for another season.