Happy Birthday to Nelly

Hello to Nelly! 

And Happy Birthday, a very special birthday!  Chag Sameach!  Mazel tov!

We are currently in Meldrum Bay, which is on the west end of Manitoulin Island. MI is the largest freshwater island in the world and we will be sailing in the channel north of it as part of Lake Huron for the next month.
What is here?  A small marina with friendly people.
A restaurant and inn which are lovely in a down home way.  And a small general store.
No phone. No post office.  But beautiful area.

The weather has been wonderful here. In the 70's or low 80's for the last week or more.
Blue skies.  The only thing missing is a bit more wind.
But we are doing a lot of exploring from the water side.

And we really are sorry that we are missing your celebration.  It will be a wonderful party.
Would love to be there.

Hugs to you and all of our dear colleagues.  Please give our regards to all of them.

Bob and Ilona

on sv-Ihana

on our way to the Bahamas. 

Life is good.

a little DeTour

We left the Soo this morning. Tonight we are at the De Tour Harbor Marina, at the eastern end of Michigan's Yoop.  It was a little out of the way ("only a 3 hour deTour ...").
Tomorrow we have a (very) short sail to Drummond Island.  Ilona was there about 60 years ago and always wanted to go back.  I want to go there to hear their famous marching band - I'm sure everyone has heard about the Drummond Bugle Corps ...  [somebody stop him!]

Fun with AIS

Playing with our AIS (Automatic Identification System) which is connected to our MacBook.  Our boat is the yellow-orange boat in the marina - the Kemp Marina in downtown Sault Ste Marie, MI, USA.  The Buffalo is a large laker; we were warned that it would pass within a couple of hundred yards of us (it did) - you can see its track. There is another large boat in the MacArthur Lock.

Technical notes (can be safely ignored): The charting program is Coastal Explorer.  It is a Microsoft .exe program running under XP in a virtual machine under Mac's Snow Leopard OS.  The AIS is connected to a USB port on the Mac, sending NMEA-0183 data to the CE chartplotter program where the AIS info is overlaid on the chart.  I have to configure this whole mess so everyone can do their part in relaying the incoming data through all these things to the CE program.  As CE is a Microsoft-type program, it will do practically everything but is so complicated that real people can't use it, or use more than a small fraction of its capabilities. Sometimes I can figure out how to do this.  Punch Line: Much too complicated to set up and run this in real time; I use the Garmin chartplotter at the helm to notify me of impending collisions when underway. Actually, I use Visual Flight Rules, looking at the chartplotter and its AIS data only for distraction and amusement. [I warned you not to read this.]

Pictures of the computer screen weren't so good.  Sorry - so Soo me / or maybe Suomi?

Ihana at the Soo

Pictures, eastern Lake Superior

Going through the Canadian Lock, Sault Ste. Marie

Under the Soo International Bridge

Laker, leaving the American Lock

International Bridge @ the Soo

Bob on Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior. Are we having fun yet?

Ihana reaches 1000 nautical miles. About 400 of these are on this trip.

Pictured Rocks National Seashore, east of Munising MI

Completed our Lake Superior crossing!

We did it. We're off of Lake Superior.  400+ miles in 12 days.  Went thru the Canadian Lock at Sault Ste. Marie today, are down at and on Lake Huron level, and we are docked up at the Kemp Marina in the Soo (US side). Couple of days here to relax, recoop, restaurant, laundry, sightsee, restock.

People reports:
1. Jim Kimmet, who helped us move the boat all the way across Lake Superior from Duluth to the Soo, will be leaving us tomorrow and heading home to Minnesota. Thanks, Jim!  We really appreciated the help, and the sailing instruction.
2. Met Todd & Kitti Jones ("Gypsy Soul") in Marquette. And again while anchored near Munising. And again at Grand Marais.  And again today in the marina at the Soo.
3. Met Vern & Laura Kors ("Joule") in Marquette. And again last night at the Whitefish Point Harbor of Refuge.  And again today here in the Soo.
4. And now another couple who are on their way back to Bayfield (Wisconsin) after FOUR YEARS of going to and living on their boat on the east coast and Bahamas.
-- certainly not a lonely trip.  And we sure aren't the only ones doing it.

Breakage report:  The fridge seems to turn itself off whenever we run the radar.  We need to reboot it then by turning it off and back on.  Don't know why, but we have this diagnosed and an easy fix.

along the Pictured Rocks to the Soo

Monday – Spent a Lay Day in Marquette.  Laundry, walks, naps. People report: Met a couple with a 47' Island Packet, "Gypsy Soul". Dinner with Bob & Lori Frak, 23' Santana, "Alegria" – they live in Marquette, and we will see them again in the North Channel in a few weeks.  Breakage report: None.

Tuesday – Motored from Marquette to Murray Bay, on Grand Island just north of Munising, MI. Anchored here overnight. People report: "Gypsy Soul" was anchored here. More visiting.  Viewing shipwreck with our lookbucket from the dinghy. Breakage report: None.

Wednesday – Happy 4^th of July. It's our anniversary!  47 years ago today we went sailing on our first date.  I dumped the Malibu Outrigger 3 times; got married anyway. Left Grand Island this AM. Some sailing, light winds.  Will travel along the Pictured Rocks National Seashore today, bound for Grand Marais (Michigan!) for tonight. 

The stretch after that is the most "interesting" – no place to pull in until we reach Whitefish Bay, where we hope that the harbor of refuge at Whitefish Point is not silted in too much for us to get into. Then should make the Soo by Friday; locking through and a marina right after that (US or Canada side?).

As usual, we may be out of cell phone and WiFi range for a few days.  Or not.