May 29th Post

We are in the Erie Canal and cruising up the Mohawk River. The name of the game is “Log Dodge” as the river is filled with the spring debris from the runoff. The weather has been rain for the last three days but, in the river, it is flat with a downstream current, wind and waves not being a factor. Judi is at the helm about 50% of the time now and we are now adept at locks, after 16 in a row. We are now 320 feet above sea level, 415 NM from Plymouth, and tomorrow we will be at the maximum elevation on the Canal of 420 feet above sea level.

We have met a few other boats doing the loop and a number that are returning to Canada from the winter in Florida.

We expect to be in Lake Ontario by June 1st and then on to the St. Lawrence and the Thousand Islands, downriver to Montreal.

Catskill Marina

May 25th, arrived at lovely Catskill Marina. Trying to figure out out to add some photos. They are posted on facebookfor those of you that are interested. This is a lovely spot. Sipping my Cosmo and hubby is off cooking dinner on the grill. What more could a girl want. TTFN

Mid May Update

We are on our way. We departed Plymouth at 12:30 on May 17th to the rousing support of many of our great friends. The first afternoon took us to Onset, MA where we spent a quiet evening after Chinese food with friends. It was a great time to leave as the seas were flat, no wind and the Cape Cod Canal was cooperative.

We are now in Port Washington, NY some ~200 miles from Plymouth. We stopped in Point Judith, RI and Branford, CT where we met up with old sailing friends.

The trip down the sound has been really the shakedown cruise for the loop. A few minor problems have cropped up and been addressed. We are enjoying a lay day here at the North Shore Yacht Club awaiting a $3.95 drive connector for the tachometer to be shipped from Michigan. I decided to purchase two new ones, a great expense of $7.90.

The weather has been very nice except for Monday when it was 35 degrees in the AM. We hope to get through Hell’s Gate tomorrow AM then round Manhattan and head up the Hudson.

The SPOT tracking is now on so you can see where we are when you click on the link on the blog site.

Stay tuned.

March/April Post

Not very much happened in March as the weather was not conducive to any outside work so much of the time was spent making lists and checking them twice. April has brought high winds and chilly temperatures. We have been loading food, clothes etc. on to the boat in preparation for our mid-May departure.

The only navigation improvement that has been added from the last post is a Comar AIS system to provide commercial vessel information on the charting program. We think it will be useful on the Great Lakes and rivers.

JEJUDA is scheduled to be launched on May 11th and we are planning departure the week on the 17th. The tides in the Cape Cod Canal are favorable for the early part of the week. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

The 1st leg of our trip will take us from Plymouth to New York City (~200 miles) then ~150 miles up the Hudson River, through the Erie Canal (~140 miles) to Lake Ontario via Oswego New York. While we have no set schedule we will probably be in the great Lakes in mid June. Stay tuned.

Febrauary Update

Well winter continues its icy grip on the northeast, however March is almost here and we are getting excited about our upcoming adventure. We continue to tweak various items on the boat and make endless lists of what we should bring, where things are stored, and what is necessary to bring etc. Naturally the storage of my tools and repair parts is far more important than Judi’s clothes. Right!

The paper charts, electronic charts and various cruising guides have been assembled and are now on the boat. Upgrades to the onboard computer systems have been installed and tested.

We have spent many hours looking at the route we will take and have finally mutually decided that when we reach Gurnet Point Lighthouse, at the mouth of Plymouth Harbor, we will turn right and go south. After that all bets are off.

We will post more as May approaches.