Seems dark in this car!

When we were in Tarpon Springs we noticed a little bug that seemed to have two ends, the same. Upon closer inspection we realized that there were two bugs attached to each other. We didn't pay much attention. We saw a few more as we travelled to Punta Gorda. When we started our journey across Florida the numbers of these bugs became insane. They floated towards the car as we drove. The crossing smeared our windshield with so many bugs that it seemed to block out the light at times. We had to clean the windshield four times in three hours. The squeegees at the gas stations were all wore out from so many people using them. These are affectionately named "Love Bugs". Apparently they were imported to kill mosquitoes. Wow, I guess they are better than mosquitoes but you need to increase the amount or air in your front tires just to handle the extra weight when these bugs hit your front end.
We got to spend some time with our friends (all except those Texas people on "The Pearl" They were way down in the Keys in our boat). We will look them up when we get some more time in good weather. Thats it for now.

Pete and Cheryl from a motel room in Grove City PA. Seems cold up here! Maybe we should go back south.

Too hot, Too humid, Too shallow, Everybodys goin north!

We spent a couple of days at Boca Grande. Some call it "Bring another Grand". At $2.75 per foot per night it is no land for old Canadians. We called up a local boat yard and told them we wer'nt quite broke yet. This might be a good time for us to pack it in till the weather cools down. The generator and the A/C make things comfortable in the V-berth but with both of us sitting there looking at each other there is no one to drive the boat. We just pulled Surona up on the hard land and we are headed north (after we visit with friends if we can find them). Greg and Leslie, if you are reading this we are looking for you and afterward we would enjoy seeing Steve and Linda. If you guys are reading this, email us re location.

Holy Crap that's a lot of cash for overnight docking!

When you have A/C you need a generator. We gave Honda $999 plus tax, got some gas, did a test run and got under way around 10 am. Waived good by to the Beemer again and pointed Surona south plying our way down the intracoastal waterway, exploring that slender corrodor of water gently sculpted out of the seaway floor. The weather was a little on the warm side but a nice breeze met us as we passed the mansions with their manicured lawns and their Royal Palms gently swaying. The motor gave us one little pause and then picked up the beat and droned on like there had never been a problem. Dolphins swam in the surrounding waters but few stayed alongside for any length of time. The water in the Gulf Intracoastal Water Way (GIWW) is shallow if you venture out of the dredged channel. We tested this while waiting for one of the 6,778 basquille bridges to open for us. I purposely drove out of the channel to see how deep the water was. Same result as previous tests. The nose went down and the back went up. We were stuck. We wiggled back to the dredged portion and went under the opened bridge. Sometimes I wonder if Cheryl will ever grow up.

We chugged on down the waterway enjoying most of what we saw. I think sometimes in these areas there are boat owners who race around as fast as possible silently sceaming "DEATH TO THE MANATEE". Signs everywhere ask boaters to slow down but still some can't do it. At the same time many boaters are courteous and slow down for us leaving little wake.

The winds were out of the west when we decided to anchor out for the night. We faced her into the wind in Boca Ciega Bay and cinched up bow and stern anchors so she wouldn't swing back and forth in the wind. We were protected from everything but a southeast wind. The winds swung quickly to the southeast. The anchors held like troopers but the waves were hitting us on the side, bouncing us up and down making a lot of noise. I tried to undo the rear anchor line and pay out a little. The stress on the line was so great that I almost lost my anchor while Cheryl tied another line on to the end. After two extra length of lines were tied on we finally let the stern around enough to give us some peace. We watched from a couple of miles to the west as a thunderstorm passed over Largo and Tampa Bay. I fired up the Honda, flicked on the AC and went to sleep.

The next morning we gathered up the anchors and headed south in search of adventure on the high seas. The day was pretty uneventful. Around 4 we thought we needed a shower to get rid of the salt and the heavy humididty of the day so on the advice of Greg and Leslie we pulled up to the dock at The Crowsnest Marina in Venice. The water was clear. we could see sheepshead fish swimming around the boat. The showers were nice and the next morning we borrowed a couple of rickety "loaner" bikes and picked up some breakfast on the beach where a bunch of seniors were doing Yoga. We came back, paid up ($1.75 per foot after Boat US Discount) and headed south. The weather man said a light chop on the inland waters today. I spent quite a bit of time wiping this chop out of my beard and Cheryl was always having to clean her glasses as waves splashed over us in the wind. We hit the worst as we entered Gaspirilla Harbour as the wind peaked out at 28kph and the waves rose to around 4 feet. Uncomfortable for 5 in the afternoon so we went in to Boca Grande Marina and tied up, happy to be out of the rough seas for a while. This place charges $2.75 per foot with no discounts. Welcome to the land of the wealthy in Southwest Florida. No place for a coule of penny pinchers from Wyevale.

Easter Sunday, Tarpon Springs

Bad weather seems to be following us. As we left Wyevale and headed south to Buffalo we travelled in snow storms, that continued around Lake Erie. Our valiant steed, our rental car - a Toyota Yaris, kept us warm and comfortable as we put on the miles. We spent the first night in Grove City. Headed out in the rain in the morning and throughout the day as we travelled to Elizabethtown Tenn. The thunder, lightening and rain continued throughout the night.

Next morning, it was cold and miserable when we got into the car. Thought we should go south to where the weather suited our clothes. We made our way thru Mississippi where I had a conversation over the back of a pick up truck with a fellow mason. Said I hadn't seen anybody sitting picking a banjo. Just good people getting by. We continued to Columbus Mississipppi to pick up the BMW. Stopped in to see some folks we had met when we were there earlier with the boat.

During our visit the sky clouded up and we got some hail for about half an hour. Then we watched a 250 foot cruise boat docking at the Columbus Marina.

We went back to our motel that was strategically located between The Waffle House and Chilis (very good ribs). Everyone was sitting outside. Seems they were expecting some bad weather and didn't want to miss seeing it. Everyone was tuned to Channel 4 , the weather station. The tornado watch was now a tornado warning. There was circular rotation at the high altitude levels but there was no touchdowns. We watched as the storm front approached. Winds and rain like I have never seen before. I hadn't seen such intensity from mother nature. The lightening was never ending, you couldn't tell where one ended and the next began. There was no delay between when the lightening struck and the thunder clapped. Add to this the wailing of the tornado warning sirens.

The following morning only one lawn chair and lounge chair were in the pool. No other proof of our exciting evening.

There was a report of a donkey being lifted by the winds, his reins yanked out of his owners hands, and the donkey dropped 300 yards away. And the donkey was calmly grazing at the time of the report. It was on the news..... so it must be true.

Time to get out of tornado alley and make our way to the Florida panhandle where they only have hurricanes.

Back to the boat. Air conditioning installed, fuel line cleaned out, grocery shopping completed, laundry done, refueling and water fill up, Ready to go again

Perry, returning to boat.

We went home to surprise Michael for his 40th Birthday party. Left Monday to return to the boat. We travelled to Columbus Mississippi to pick up our car. Just in time for the severe thunderstorm warning to change to a tornado watch and then to a tornado warning for Columbus. High winds, lots of rain and hail up to the size of ping pong balls. Lightning was endless. The warning sirens were wailing. And us with a room on the second floor of a Days Inn.

We would watch the weather channel and then go outside to watch the storm.

By 9.30 pm the worst was over and we fell asleep. After driving all day, we were so tired that we had to sleep. I do love the weather channel down here. They sure are accurate. They break into the regular shows to tell you what is going on.

Today we got an early start in the hopes of making it all the way to Tarpon Springs. We ended up calling it a day and stopped for the night at Perry, Fla about 3hours away.

Tomorrows another day.

Team Surona "Stop draggin my keel around"

Yes we are a little tired. After an oil change, a rudder compass swing and a new AIS unit we got under way. The guy at the dock said "No y'all don't have to travel all the way up to Carabelle to start your crossing. Y'all can go out into the Gulf right here". He told us to stay to the west of the marks you see and favour the greens on your way out and you'll be fine. All went well up until just before we entered the channel that leads out. When these people dredge the silt from the channels they leave what they call spoil, or the dredgings piled underwater along the sides. Following his directions we stayed west and upon entering the channel we located an underwater pile of sand. Luckily, we had experience in cultivating the ocean floor. This time no heed was taken as to possible deviations in the bottom. Cheryl is always saying "Go for it" so we were wide open and we hit the sand at a breathtaking 6.5 Knotts and momentum thrust the nose down, the back up and we slid over it like seasoned dozer operators.

We edged her out the channel and pointed her nose to Tarpon Springs, 150 nmiles away ATCF (as the crow flies).

We left the dock at Noon, and traveled the 10 miles to exit the channel at the barrier islands. After swinging the compass, pointed her east at about 2:00pm. Wind speed 10 knots with gusts to 15, south and east, off our front starboard quarter. With the engine we were able to average 6.8 knots (powersailing). ETA was to be 10 am.

For some reason swinging the compass failed to bring any positive results. It wouldn't work properly so we had to man handle her for the next 160 miles. We sailed 40 miles offshore with no landmarks on the horizon to steer by. It wasn't until the stars came out that navigation was made easier. We discovered that the flashing lights that went to the airport were unreliable. The real stars still moved as the night progressed.

We dined on a gourmet meal of canned beans under the stars.

During the afternoon we watched flying fish, porpoises, pelicans, and we were pleased that the buzzards that had followed us from Chicago were no where to be seen. We took turns sleeping and steering. Hour on and hour off with Peter doing most of the work. The waves were 1 to 2 feet which were pleasurable. In light of what we went through a couple of days ago this was a piece if cake. We had a half moon and a sky full of stars.

At one point it looked like torpedos were surrounding our boat. The porpoises had returned. Phosphorescent knives, sliced through the surface and under the boat. We were concerned about hurting them, but that was unnecessary.

Through the night we shared the helm, preparing for the upcoming daylight hours.

The entrance to Tarpon Springs poses a few challenges to the unfamiliar sailor. At the same time as we tried to understand our charts, the motor decided to lose RPM's. Top this off with a mine field of crab pots for as far as the eye can see. Stress? What stress? Stress has become a way of life.

I think the motor sucked up something bad out of the tank, but I will look at that tomorrow.

As we entered the channel into Tarpon Springs, the motor went into what seemed like a death spiral. I put the sail up in the hopes of coaxing her into the marina - 5 miles up the river. And somewhere, I am sure someone said "release the hounds" and 200 mad power boaters approached and overtook us.

To a boat sensitive to sucking up tank algae, tremendous wakes compound the agitation that we really weren't looking for. The motor died, the sail carried us, and one power boater slowed down. We coaxed the motor into running again and were able to arrive Tarpon Springs City Marine, where the pelicans are obviously on drugs. Few things look more stupid than a pelican on a post.

It's 4:15 p.m. Night. Night.

OK we'll go to Baypoint but just for one day!

After our busy day on the Gulf of Mexico we were in the mood for a little R&R from sailing. We were anchored at The Panama City Beach Marina where they raise the boats out of the water and keep them under little Quanset hut like roofs. (see pics). Another unusual thing they do here is around 4am they have someone hired to drive in reverse around the marina with their vehicle going "BEEP, BEEP,BEEP,BEEP...... They stop the odd time to lift something (maybe a Sherman tank) and slam it back to earth. I may have heard this the odd time at home and not known who did it. Now I know. After hearing this one night, I didn't feel like waiting for a second to see if this was some sort of tradition. We called over to our friends at Baypoint and asked if they had room at this Marina. Greg (who secretly wants to be a marina manager so his wife says) said c'mon right in. Leslie says call when you get close' they will instruct you.

We untied and started off to find this out of the way marina. As we started into this channel leading to the marina we had no idea that 20 other boats felt that this was a good time to come screaming towards us and past us from all sides, from behind and from ahead. No rules governed their behavior. My ADD picked this time to kick in and in the flurry of chaotic activity. I located a part of the channel where the length of my keel exceeded the depth of the water. Surona plowed to a halt in the middle of unleashed pandamonium. Having cultivated my share of sea bottoms in my time I was familiar with this activity. I calmly cut the wheel to the left and then to the right. We moved slightly ahead but it took a few minutes to aim the boat in the right direction. We needed deeper water but it is so deceiving, Its all flat on top! We met another friend who told us that in his experience sailing was what you did between groundings.

We eventually made it into Baypoint Marina. Once again here were the walls of white fiberglass. Yesterday some one was delivering a boat to a boat show in Orange Beach Alabama. They had just come across the Gulf from Clearwater in 20 hours in a boat they said will sell for just over two million dollars. Very pretty. I pictured myself running aground in that baby.

What a bunch of people. Everyone has time and everyone has stories. I expect to see George Woods standing here talking. If he ever came here he would never get away. It doesn't matter how big, how new or how little your boat is. Like I said I am into my third day here. I intended to stay one day. I just met a guy who intended to stay one day and a month later he is still here!

We are off to check out "Hunts" oyster bar. Someone lent us their car. They say they know Cliff from Meaford. Apparently at one time these people were going through the channel in Killarney when unbeknownst to them all their anchor chain came loose and paid out. He noticed the boat slowing down so he poured it on! He dragged the anchor and a couple hundred feet of chain until he came to a stop I think, somewhere around The Sportsman Inn. He tore up a waterline feeding George Island. So into every day a little rain must fall. These things happen.

Can't think of anything else to write about.

His boat name is Roy El. Maybe some one reading this has met them. If you did you wouldn't soon forget them.

Why does anyone need radar if they never intend to travel at night?

We spent a couple of days enjoying the town of Pennsacola. It was founded in 1559 by Spaniards originally. We walked a mile or so to a great Seafood Restaurant called the Crab Trap for Grouper Gumbo and the next night found us in Chili's For Ribs. We checked out the next afternoon and returned to Fort Mcrea to prepare for our 52 mile crossing to Panama City. Now it gets interesting.

We spent a quiet night after the jet activity quietened down. We got up at 7ish and we set out for Panama City Beach around 8 for a three hour tour.... a three hour tour or in our case, what we thought was a fifty two mile shot straight across the Gulf of Mexico. Around noon we hadn't progressed very far according to my charts. Greg, from Amalia said somebody told him it was around a hundred miles. I checked around noon and my chartplotter says 56 miles to go to the entrance to Panama City Harbor! It is still five miles more after you reach the entrance.

The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew...you know where this is going. The waves built to around six feet with the odd real wild one. They were striking us on the right rear corner and tossing the boat sideways so we were surfing down the waves and wallowing in the troughs. Winds were around 17 knots with gusts to 22. The boat as usual did a great job! We were bobbing around, sometimes surfing like a Hawian sometimes wallowing like a bar of Ivory. Not too bad but it makes for a long day.

Now somebody said you won't have any trouble if you just stay a mile off shore. That wasn't the straight line however so I ended up around 15 miles out at the furthest point. Cheryl remembered this one mile thing vividly as we bounced around.

We watched the sun set. As twilight became darkness we searched the inklike horizon. Still 8 miles to go to the entrance! The rule is NEVER enter an unfamiliar harbor after dark. I still don't know how Cheryl let this happen. We found lots of flashing lights. The question was which ones should we follow? Once we were able to make sense of which markers were which we got Surona pointed in the right direction. Now the waves were hitting us on our Port side! I found the whole day a little stressfull! The Radar guided us in and right up through the maze of Flashing lights to the Panama City Beach Marina. This morning I asked the Chartplotter "How far back to where we anchored last night"? Now it says 86.7 nautical miles. I guess we should have got up earlier!

My first mate stood up valiantly through the whole day. Secretly, I think she might have been holding back a few comments.

We may take a day or two at Baypoint Marina. Bad weather to come in on Tuesday. The next leg will take us outside again from Panama City to Port St. Joe.

From The spaceous salon of the sailing vessel Surona this is Peter and Cheryl signing off for today.

Mobile to Fort Mcrea to Pensacola (on the dock) at Palafox Pier

It took a little longer to put up the mast than it used to. I guess I am getting older. Up and down the mast a couple of times. Cheryl kept forgetting to remind me of the parts I needed.

Things were really humming around Dog River! About fifty trawlers (real ones) and shrimp boats and mussel fishermen were all over Mobile Bay. They were moving a mussel bed. Some type of reaction to the clearing up of the water in the bay. The water in the bay is getting cleaner so they can replace the old Mussel beds that were damaged by the oil spill. Though the water is all silty and muddy I haven't seen any sign of damage from oil or even any oil. The bay must be about 35 miles North to south and maybe 25 miles east to west at its widest point.

Silt over the last gazillion years has left the bay only about 6 to 9 feet deep all over with many areas less than 6 feet deep.

It was like sailing into another world as we entered the GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal Water Way). We hadn't gone two miles before the water became clearer and porpoises surfaced in the canal! We went about another twenty miles until we reached the site of old Fort Mcrea. This place was a small channel that was too shallow at the east end for us to go out. As we arrived four Blue Angel jets circled us. I have no idea how they knew I was even on my way there. Funny how important people just attract attention!

This was just around the corner from where we have to enter the Gulf of Mexico for a fifty-two mile run to Panama City. We didn't want to attempt this in the windy rainy weather we woke up to so we turned Surona North up into Pensacola Bay to wait for better weather. Rain is forecast for tomorrow but Thursday looks good.

Dog River, Showers and my mast!

The ceremony was short, sparsely attended but nonetheless dignified as the two little black buttons were pushed and Mini-me collapsed, slowly lowering the radar deflector and the Loopers flag to the deck where the saga of the valiant little mast whose one opportunity at greatness entered a cocoon like phase until once again low bridges make his rise to the occasion necessary. Minnie Me served well from Chicago to Mobile. A service any whisker pole would be proud to attempt.

The day before we had a welcome surprise as we looked back to see that "Amalia" had decided to accompany us to Dog River. I think that Greg's background in management may have told him these people shouldn't be left alone when attempting complex operations.

We found the big mast over beside the marsh grasses where it had spent the last 6 months. With the help of Cheryl, Greg Leslie and Mike we hoisted the mast and carried it to where we could work on it conveniently. The crane would arrive at 9:am the next morning so there was lots to do. I think I was carrying more weight than Cheryl but we won't go into that now.

The crane operator said that we shouldn't be surprised by the noise that is made if the mast slips in the strap. I nodded stupidly not knowing that he was yanking my chain. He suggested that we tie a secondary line down around the lower spreaders that would prevent this from happening. I thought "that will work". Everything went without a hitch. We felt so good we went to the Yacht Club for lunch and had some cold beers. Of course the beers made us old folks sleepy so we had to have a little nap. Greg showed genuine concern when he said "I hope this doesn't have a negative affect on Happy Hour".

So here I sit with todays blog finished and just some little things to finish up. We have to put the sails on, do some rigging tape on the spreaders and buy some charts of the Pensecola area. Then we just have to wait till the weather is right and we are on our way. We now have a mast that is too high (52ft overall) so we will not attempt any intercoastal waterway routes. Some bridges are only 50 ft.

Peter and Cheryl, Surona, Mini-me (retired), Greg Leslie and Amalia

Bates Lake to Mobile (54 miles following the river,92 miles after dodging logs)

We have invented a new short form for texting. LFL (looking for logs). This is the section of river that slows down as we near the ocean. All the debris that has come down the river from halfway up into Alabama settles here before it sinks or just floats over against the shore. No danger of boredom today as we weave our way back and forth across this minefield of logs, branches and some stuff that has started to grow in mats.

We asked one tow pushing 4 barges if we should pass him and he said ok so he slowed down a little and we started our pass which took a long time at 7 knots. We felt like the little train that could as we gained on him foot by foot. He called back on the radio "Is that all you got". I let Cheryl answer "yes". Not a comfortable thing for a man to admit. The day before I had asked a tow captan how many horsepower he was controlling. He said a measly 2,000 but earlier in his career he had driven them as high as 6,000 horsepower. I asked "What will you do when you retire, buy a boat"? He answered"Iam agoona set on my porch and watch the grass grow" nine days from today! We congratulated him and wished him well.

We entered Mobile Bay around 2pm and motored about five miles to the Convention Center where they let us tie up for free along the shoreline at the dock used for Cruise boats. A little bumpy due to traffic but not bad. Still no showers for 5 nights. I washed my feet in the toilet bowl. Cheryl said thanks. The boat is getting a little small.

This is our first taste of tide activity. Information for these is readily available on the internet. Yesterday afternoon was high tide and last night at around 4am was low tide. It rises and falls about 1.2 feet here. You can't tie up very snug if your water level is going to fall.

Today the mini me mast comes down at Dog River and tomorrow the bid guy goes back up! She is going to be a sailboat again!

Today we will be saying goodbye to our friends on Amalia. Just like those other Trawler people on Yesterdays Dream and Selah they make great travelling companions. Even though I am always having to slow down so they can keep up it is nice to meet people like these. None of them have seen the last of Surona. In the famous words of Steve Franco "You can run but you can't hide".

We are off to Dog River Marina it is 8:45 am.

Pete and Cheryl and Surona

Bates Landing

Well last night we were at Mile 100, Old Lock #1. If you started at Mobile you would be 100 miles up the river by now. We anchored at a nice place with lots of fishermen and a launch ramp. Skipper Bob says only 5 feet deep at the entrance. I marked 34ft. Either the Army Corps of Engineers have been working to clear the entrance or the high water in the river has cleared it all by itself. Stranger things have happened! The place we stayed two nights before (Bashie Creek) had a water level drop of around 3 feet overnight. In this anchorage the trees show evidence of water levels being 4ft higher than present. The dam at Coffeeville is supposed to lower us down 20 feet. It lowered us four feet. When these people tell you you are at high water they aren't kidding! We saw our first fridge washed up on shore today.

The alarm for temperature came on yesterday. We slowed down and it stopped but there was still steam coming out of the exhaust. I pulled over five miles downstream at Bobby's Fish camp and checked the strainer. I cleaned out a whole bunch of crap. After I put that all back together the same steam problem persisted so I reduced speed and limped along for twenty miles with little to no water going through the system. Hats off to Synthetic oil! I finally rafted up against "Amalia" in the anchorage and dismantled the through hull fitting. Sticks and plant life were competing for space in there. Little water was able to seep past the opening and subsequently the first 90 degree bend held debris that wouldn't go around the corner. At Demopolis the debris had formed mats almost thick enough to walk on or so it seemed. In order to get pumped out I had to sail straight into a huge patch of this crap. I got a run at it and coasted up to the dock. That worked but I think I sucked up a bunch when I tried to pull away. I got it all cleared out and the water shot up over a foot in the air. This morning the motor ran like a sewing machine. I see why Yanmar powers many hundreds of vessels.

Through the day yesterday we listened to some interesting conversations. One of them went like this when one large empty tow wanted to pass a slower loaded one. "How you wanna do this"?

"Ah think its lookin pretty good rahght heare"

"Tell u what....Ahm a goona get you some...lemme know. Ahh got some reverse, ahh got some neutral...lemme know

"Ahh think its ok now....juss eeese on pass"

"Ahh ahhpreciate it"

"Safe Trip"

In the anchorage I was accused of being a Yankee from Canada by a fisherman. I told him I had to come a little south just to go Hunting. Maybe its these people in this John Deere Trawler causin me trouble.

I have observed that you don't need teeth to fish in Alabama.

These people are great!

Gotta go...Happy hour!

Jim we are nearly in straakin distance of Mobile!

Pete and Cheryl "Surona" and "Amalia" and Greg and Leslie

Demopolis

We arrived at Demopolis yesterday. After Columbus we anchored one night at Sumter Landing. A highly recommended anchorage. It was well protected and very pretty.

On our way to Demop. the alternator belt broke. I tried to keep the boat moving down the river with the current while Peter found the spare belt and got it onto the motor.

The temperature yesterday and today was well above 30C. Just a week ago I was complaining about how cold it was, and now ..... you got it. It's too hot. I gladly spent the afternoon in the air conditioned laundry room where it was comfortable. We have re-provisioned the boat, and my nails are done. We are ready to proceed down the river. We will be anchoring out for the next 4 to 5 days, so we may be out of internet service and unable to communicate.

The flood waters are down significantly and they continue to fall. Now we hope there will be enough water to allow us to get into the anchorages, and yet not too much that we can't safely anchor. Boy, we seem to be hard to please these days. It's too cold, it's too hot. Too much water. Not enough water

We are travelling with another boat now "Amalia" with Greg and Leslie, and expect another boat to join us "Emerald Lady" haven't met the people myself yet. It sure is nice to be travelling with another boat.

With the flooding, we are having to dodge the debris. Some of it is significant..... logs. Some of them are hard to see.

There is a lot of debris in the marina. We will need to be careful when we go to the pump out dock in the morning.

Our plan is to go to Bashe Creek, 70 miles downriver. At 7 miles per hour that will be a 10 hour day. We will need to get an early start.

We will be in touch soon

Cheryl and Peter, Surona

Columbus (Mississippi) Marina

I'm trying to remember back to BAY SPRINGS when we moved the car down from Grand Harbour. The day was cold and the lady at Bay Springs told me to take the courtesy car for as long as I wanted so long as it was full of gas when I returned it. I took her literally so I told Cheryl we were going for a drive at 11: AM. We went up to Pickwick, used the good Wi Fi at Jack's restaurant (Iuka) and did some communicating. We went over to Grand Harbor and picked up the car and with this Gypsy GPS the Murrays sold me we proceeded to follow a course similar to that taken by either migrating geese or that used in evasive training in the military. Our course was south then east then north then east then south then west then south...you get the idea. After what I believe were brief glimpses of each ocean and a moment at the Arctic Circle we arrived at Columbus Marina where we left the car. We arrived back at Bay Springs Marina at 8:pm after circling passed to the west and north, through Boonville and Tishomingo. I think I do better on the river, it is harder to get lost.

That night it went down to 0 degrees Canadian. This little Walmart $30.00 heater is the best money we have spent. This kind of weather has a tendency to really thicken your Peanut butter and honey.

The next morning we were up and away and off into the fog with a Jim Murray Jack rabbit start that left us peering into the fog as we approached our first lock of this leg. Linda Murray spoke of a pleasant surprise on the Tenn-Tom but she didn't elaborate. We discovered that the lock masters help control traffic on the waterway by calling ahead to the next lock so that that lock master will, if possible have the lock open and ready for you to just drive on in, no waiting and milling about for hours. By 12:30 we had passed through four locks and were looking for a Marina to tie up in for the night. We went to the Smithville Marina and met 85 year old Jesse who still runs the Marina, owns two farms and rents out several trailers and homes on the property. Jesse had a little spasm which he blamed on the computer and charged me $333.00 to tie up over night. Almost as much as lunch in Italy, eh Sandra. Jesse's son fixed things up with Mastercard. We had a quiet night and an early start at 7:15. We were thru the first lock by 8am. The first lock master has parents living in Walters Falls. The weather is up around 22 Canadian and the trip is peaceful with hardly any traffic. That lasted until we intersected with the Butahatchee River from the east. It was flowing fast with lots of debris. We spent the rest of that peaceful warm day dodging logs, branches and one cooler. We tied up that afternoon in Columbus where we met friends of Linda and Jerry Hawke on a boat called C Horse. They had met on the eastern ICW when the Hawkes were doing their loop.

We met another colourful gentleman who explained that his father was from Canada. When he became fed up with snow he attached the snow shovel to the top of his car and drove south until someone asked him "What is that for?". He knew then that he was far enough south.

People here are staying put for a while due to extreme high water on the Black Warrior River where it flows out into the Tenn-Tom about 100 miles south of us. We drove down to have a look and the river is really high there with fast current and big debris. The park across from the marina has benches mostly submerged. We want to wait at least until the Black Warrior crests before we head down further. We may go down another 24 miles to Pirates Marina Cove and check then as to water levels. We just got the "Spot" device working so watch for those communications. I am going to go for a long walk now to stay in shape, maybe as far as the "Waffle House". Where is that sun screen? Sorry I couldn't resist. Have a good one

Pete & Cheryl on Surona

Away we go Again

Yesterday we left Grand Harbor and started down the TennTom.

We had a daytime high of 17F. It felt balmy. If only all the days could be like this. We went down the portion they call The Cut, or The Divide. It is 24 miles of ditch that they dug out of the land to connect the Tennessee River and the Tom Bigbee River. Apparently they dug out more for this than the Panama Canal. The colour of the water was a dirty brown colour, reminding us of the Mississippi. Down the ditch there a lot of run off areas from what they call disposal areas. The running running into the ditch was the same brown colour. There also was a tremendous amount of debris in the river around the Aqua Yacht area, and frequently as made our way down. After clearing "the ditch" the water became some of the clearest we have seen so far on the trip.

We travelled a relaxing 38 miles, with no barges, and arrived at Bay Springs Marina. Just as we were arriving with about one mile to go the sun disappeared and the storm clouds opened up and soaked us. Then stopped. It was sort of a Bay Springs welcome. Some of the people at Bay Springs are not very hospitable. The guys we originally met yesterday were not very helpful, however the woman Peter talked to today was most helpful.

Today is just too cold to travel on the river. Currently 6F. Friday and Saturday are looking like better travel days.

We are using the courtesy van to go back to Grand Harbor and move the car to Bay Springs.

Arrived at the Boat

We got onto the boat Sunday. We arrived in the general area on Saturday late afternoon, but it was cold and too late to try to get settled on the boat. Rented a room for the night in Iuke.

Sunday we proceeded directly to the boat. Got the heater working. What a treat. The temp was just a little above freezing. Everything on the boat looked great. However you wouldn't believe the mould that has made its way on the boat. The head (bathroom) was the worst. All of the wood was covered in mould. A bleach based cleaner made short work of the cleanup.

Sunday we did the grocery shopping for the boat and began to settle things onto the boat.

Peter looked after the important task of getting the TV hanging on the bulkhead. We were able to make our first meal on the boat and watch movies our first night.

Monday was laundry day and more settling. Late in the day we had the laundry finished and the remainder of things from the car onto the boat.

There is some business stuff that needs to be finalized and then we hope to set out tomorrow, moving down the river. Sounds like we have 2 good days of weather coming up.

Typically now the temp drops to about 36F at night and gets up to mid 50's or low 60'sF during the day. Still cool on the water. We need to get going down the river towards the warmer weather.

Iuke, Mississippi

We spent the night at a small hotel in Iuke. We are about 20 miles from the boat.

It is cool here. Down to 36 F at night with a daytime high expected of about 65F. We will get things settled onto the boat today.

Laundry, groceries, TV monitor installation. Not sure what the boat will be like and how much cleaning will have to be done.

It could take a couple of days to get the boat ready to travel. That may coincide with the warmer weather that is coming mid week.

Blog, Blog, Blog

We are on the road, back to the boat.

We wanted to start the blog once we got to the boat; but no ..... the natives are restless.

We left Canada a week ago Thursday and have been making our way down to boat. Took a shortcut to South Carolina. First stop to visit with Kathy and Martin at Surfside Beach which is very close to Myrtle Beach. They gave us the tour and then we had dinner out. We tried to stay up to watch the Oscars but had to retire before the end because Martin and Kathy were falling asleep. They had a 7:30 am golf game scheduled.

Then we were off to see if we could find Jim and Linda Murray, Edisto Island South Carolina. They couldn't hide; we found them. Even though we arrived unannounced, they invited us to stay 2 nights with them. They took us to tour Charleston and then the following day a tour of Edisto Island. Their southern hospitality is amazing and they made it very hard to leave. They have a beautiful southern plantation home. The driveway looks like something out of Gone with the Wind. Driveway lined with live oaks draped with french moss. We are surprised they can pry themselves away for their boat trip.

Cypress Trees Plantation is right on the intercoastal waterway, too bad for them because we will want to return and visit on our way back home.

For a $10. finders fee we will tell anyone how to reach them.

Currently writing from Valdosta on our way to Alabama.

Happy New Year

You probably have assumed that we have returned home for the holiday season.

We needed to get back to our offices for a little while and get caught up and there was the entire Christmas Season to enjoy with clients, friends and family.

We left the boat at Grand Haven Yacht Club/Marina at the top of Alabama. We are hoping that the weather warms up by mid February so that we can return and continue on our trip.

We will not be keeping this updated until we return to the boat. It perhaps would have been nice of us if we had shared this information with everyone when we left the boat. Oh well, we will live and learn.