Selkie

We continued our journey to our most southern Lake Michigan destination for the summer, Suttons Bay in Grand Traverse Bay for two nights. An intermediate stop was the bay by Northport, Michigan. We left our anchorage at Lake Charlevoix’s South Arm at 8:30 am to make the 10:00 am Bascule Bridge opening in Charlevoix. We […]

The shore of the northeast part of Lake Michigan, from Traverse City north to Mackinaw, is my favorite part of the lower peninsular of Michigan. It’s home to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, where monstrous sand dunes a few hundred feet high rise out of the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. It’s where many […]

There has been a lot of activity since we brought Selkie to Mackinaw City more than a month ago. There have been a lot of celebrations. That is what happens when you have family that hasn’t seen each other a lot since COVID started. I don’t know how many people came up to one of […]

We’ve had quite the summer. We wrapped up our trip to Harbor Springs and headed north in some rather rough weather to Cecil Bay, where our family cabin is. We anchored in front for the night. It was one of our best nights at anchor. The sunset was spectacular. We then spent two memorable days […]

We entered the US after 6 weeks of crossing southern Ontario a few days ago. Crossing the border between St. Joseph Island and Neebish Island was a seminal moment for us. We felt like it was coming home. It really was coming home. The people, water, terrain and scenery were the same. The difference was […]

We’ve come a long way over the past two plus months to where we are today. We are anchored within three miles of the US border, still in Canada, and will transition through Customs via a new app, CBPRoam that’s similar to the CanArrive app that we used to get into Canada. Libbie and I […]

Anchorology: ā’nk-or-ô-lō-gee “The art of anchoring in quiet, bucolic settings abounding in wildlife, including fish, beautiful songbirds, soaring raptors and wonderful trees, with the ability to stay or move on, based on whatever suits the anchorer.” (The “ology” part is a nod to a good friend, Spence, who is an excellent writer and used to […]

We spent a peaceful night at Sparrow Lake in an idyllic bay called Duck Bay. We needed our rest because the next day was going to be one of the most exciting days of our trip yet. We were going to do the Big Chute Railway or as everyone calls it, “The Big Chute. It […]

We had to make an emergency stop last Friday. There was nothing wrong with Libbie or me. But a problem did develop with Selkie, hence an emergency stop, or “E-Stop”. But before I get in to that, I have a confession to make. We bought another boat. We were feeling a little limited with our […]

Everything is backwards now. We’ve spent ten days on the Trent Severn, and until yesterday it was all up hill. Yesterday, we reached the pinnacle of the Trent Severn Waterway with our passage through our second Lift Lock, the Kirkfield Lift Lock. That meant the red buoys were the right (“red right returning as the […]

We were in Buckhorn this morning by Lock 31 across the lock channel from the Mainstreet Bar and Grill. It was a hoppin’ spot last night. So hoppin’ that they did Karaoke from 8:30pm to 12:30am. Terrible karaoke. It was a miserable night for us, at least until 12:30 am. We finally got to sleep […]

We had a short day moving from Healey Falls to the bustling metropolis of Hastings, a distance of 12 miles in over two hours. We agreed with a buddy boat that we would stop there, as we were faced with a very breezy 40 mile crossing on a shallow lake. Whereas 50 mph gusts weren’t […]

It was a great day Saturday. We had some interesting experiences with new kinds of locks, beautiful waterways, watching people swim and fish, and just generally enjoying the day. We spent the night before at Lock 6 by Frankford. The night has been perfect…except for the mosquitoes. In terms of mosquitoes, they were of the […]

As some may know, the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW) had been closed to traffic due to high water levels. Some people had arrived at Trent Port Marina a week ago anticipating they would continue on, only to be held up for a week. So one could imagine the relief that was felt when things reopened […]

Have you ever heard the term, “Flyover Country?” According to Wikipedia, “Flyover country” refers to the part of the country that some Americans…only view by air when traveling and never actually see in person at ground level.” Flyover Country can have a derogatory connotation, as it infers a place isn’t worth the time to visit. […]

Crossing a big body of water takes some planning. In order to cross, you need to watch the weather. You need to arrange for a dock space at your destination. You need to know how to report to Customs when you arrive and before you do anything else. You need to be aware of other […]

Going through the locks was very much part of the New York Canal System experience. The locks are often associated with dams that not only are used for generating hydroelectric power, their more important function is to control the water level below and above the locks. Without these dams, the canals would not function. Most […]

Commerce. That’s what the Erie Canal was about back in its beginning when it was finished in 1825. It put New York on the map as a gateway to the upper Midwest through providing access to the upper Great Lakes. One doesn’t remember that except for the bustling methods of transportation that have replaced it […]

The Hudson could be a great psychiatric patient with her many moods and multiple personalities. Heading north, it’s a little astonishing how quickly the metropolitan feel of Manhattan gives way to a more wilderness feeling, with the occasional statue, bridge, military academy, nuclear power plant, airline controlled water landing site and riverfront small town sprinkled […]

One of the things Libbie and I had struggled with was naming our dinghy. We didn’t like what we had come up with so far. Baby Selkie. Selkie Junior. A Little Dinghy. None really had the panache we were looking for. A tradition in my family has been to name a boat after a family […]

We’ve had a busy few days since leaving Cape May. I’m finishing this post a few days behind schedule, but there is a lot to report on our trip up here. This will be the first of 2 posts to catch us all up. We left Cape May for Atlantic City, about 43 miles and […]

We are learning how Selkie sounds. New sounds. So far, nothing bad. But when you are in a boat, you hear things you otherwise would not hear at home. You hear sounds transmitted through the water. Other boats. Boats docking. Boats moving slow or fast. Big ships. Small runabouts. Waves lapping against the hull. Sometimes […]

It was a great overnight at our first anchorage on the Loop at Rhode Creek. The next morning I woke up to no Libbie in bed. I found her on the back deck, with rod in hand casting lures. No surprise there. Libbie has been testing the fishing waters to no avail. But to repeat […]

We’ve done the deed.  We’ve moved onto Selkie.  We are on her for the next 3 months. We flew from Austin yesterday after spending 10 days visiting Betsy and Garrett, and watching our grandson while the new parents went to a wedding for a few days of well-deserved adult time.  We arrived in the evening […]

Libbie and I finished our ski instruction for the year. It was a difficult year by many standards but also one of our best seasons yet. It was difficult because of the weather with no significant snowfall from Christmas until the end of the season, but one of the best because we continue to grow […]

I’m on my way back to Tahoe, via Minnesota where I meet Libbie and we see Katie’s family. I am writing this sitting in Washington Reagan airport waiting for my flight and reflecting on the past two days. (And no, there is no sign of my laptop, so this blog entry is happening on my […]

Soooo…. Here’s the thing.   Murphy got me but good.  In my last blog entry, I spoke a more than a little about this guy, Murphy and his law.  And I spoke of how I have this thing about thinking about things that could go wrong with Selkie.  And it’s cost me some restless nights  (And yes, Mr. […]

It’s starting to get real. I’m flying to Baltimore Tuesday, April 5, 2022 to get Selkie. I finished my ski instruction job last Monday to give myself some time off before I head to Selkie. Part of that time has been spent attending the Winterwondergrass Festival at Palisades Tahoe (the resort formerly known as Squaw […]

And so it begins… I’m getting excited.  I have a trip scheduled to go to Selkie the end of January.  It will be the first time I have seen her since I was on board to purchase her.  It still seems amazing to me that Libbie and I took that first big step to do […]

One big question we are getting as people find out about Selkie is, “Where is Selkie?” Selkie is on the East Coast in Baltimore. “Why is Selkie in Baltimore?” The simplest explanation is that our plan is to do America’s Great Loop. What is the America’s Great Loop (otherwise known as “The Loop”)? It is […]