In Mackinaw City, Michigan

About 2 weeks ago, the weather on the North Channel really turned: much cooler temps, and lots of windy days. The water temperature dropped to 17oC in no time...no more lake showers for us. In view of this, and the fact that Michael was not feeling at his best with a bout of pneumonia and an antibiotic treatment that got him very tired, we decided to head West and down to Michigan.

We crossed the US border a couple of days ago, and are currently on lake Huron in Mackinaw City (click on the link below), known for its bridge to the Upper Peninsula of MI and for its fudge apparently...we will take a ferry to visit Mackinac Island and the famous Grand Hotel tomorrow, and then head to Harbor Springs on lake Michigan where Sirocco will be stored this coming winter.  Although the air temperature is back to being warm, and the water is as clear as on the North Channel, we are finding that there is much less interesting cruising to do here than there was on the North Channel or the Georgian Bay: we got spoiled!

So we are getting to the end of the season, and it has been quite a trip to remember for sure. We are done much earlier than anticipated, but again, with the weather, the water temperature preventing any swimming (except for the thick blodded Canadians or Minnesotans), and Michael's upper respiratory issues, we will be heading back to North Carolina within the next 2 weeks.

Hope to see many of you soon!
Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

From the North Channel – Anchored at Eagle Island

As we were warned, the weather on the North Channel starting in mid-August can be a bit questionable due to high winds…we have had 3 instances of this since August 6. Twice, we were lucky (or wise?) to reserve a dock in advance of the wind storm. Third time, we said heck with this and let’s ride it at anchor! So we did. Sirocco has done very well in 30 knots winds and 50 knots gusts, thanks to the 75 lbs. anchor Captain Wonderful installed at the beginning of the season.

We are anchored behind Eagle Island since Wednesday mid-day and plan to scoot out of here early tomorrow Sunday. Winds are lighter this evening and should be under 15 knots until mid-day tomorrow. So we’ll head west to an anchorage called Beardrop Harbor, about 25 miles away.

We found a heated storage in Harbor Springs, Michigan, on the Michigan lake side. If the weather continues to be windy and cooler as it has been in the past 2 weeks, we think we’ll be crossing the North Channel to the US before the end of September. On the way, we plan on stopping at and visiting famous Mackinac Island for a day. We have about 130 miles to go to get to the storage area.

In other news, Michael had not been feeling that great for a while with a nasty persistent cough. We finally got to a little town with a hospital last week and he got an X-Ray. It looks like he had pneumonia, and a pretty good one too by the size of the spot…he is now on his last day on antibiotics treatment and has been feeling much better. Yet he still tires easily. He’ll need a check-up as soon as we get to a US city with an urgent care/hospital. Therefore, we have not been moving very aggressively and mostly staying quietly at a dock or at anchor multiple days. Long naps and lots of sleep have been his main activity!  

We are seeing a lot of US boats here from Michigan mostly, some from Minnesota and Ohio. We also have come across lots of “loopers” who are clearly on a schedule and keep moving every day. They do not seem to take the time to really explore and enjoy these stunning waters and anchorages. When we are asked if we are loopers, we say we are half-looped! We have done the North Carolina-North Channel portion of the Great Loop. We are not that interested in the Illinois/Mississippi Rivers. Sirocco has done the Great Loop 3 times with the previous owners. So it is the 4^th time for Sirocco in these waters.  We ran across a couple who knew Sirocco when it was called Good Times and of course knew the previous owners. How about that!

Voila. This will do it for today.

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco.

It has been a while since we could update this blog and post new pictures, as cell phone connection has been very spotty at best. We are in the wilds of Northern Ontario afterall.

First off, we want to let everyone know that Annick will be a grandmother in January 2013:  son Cedric and wife Lizzie are expecting a little one for early January. This means more frequent trips to Rochester in 2013.

And now for our boating adventure update.

North Georgian Bay and the North Channel: a mecca for boaters. This is where Walter Cronkite used to sail, and only here. We understand why now. Absolutely spectacular scenes, one after another. Large granite rocks, emerald blue waters, stunning coves and anchorage areas etc… Larger and more open waters on the North Channel than in the 30,000 Islands area of the Georgian Bay. We were told that the French River area was the most spectacular; although spectacular, we found it rather in-hospitable to boaters (lots of uncharted rocks…). In turn, we found Collins Inlet leading to Killarney very enticing.  

Killarney – A straight linking the northern part of the Georgian Bay to the North Channel – Small town of about 400…mostly marinas catering to transient boaters. Famous Herbert Fisheries Red Bus for Fish & Chips. Incredibly clear blue water. This is where we met up with our friends Dale & Wendy, and their 2 adorable little dogs Coco and Karma. They joined us for a week of exploring the North Channel.

We moved about 40 miles into the North Channel to reach the Benjamin Islands. Another  well-known spot around here. We stayed at a beautiful bay on Crocker Island (one of the Benjamin’s), where in order to make room for the large number of transient boats, it is mandatory to stern-tie to anything that will hold your boat, while putting your bow anchor out as far as you can go without impeding the flow of boat traffic. One of the nights we were there, unfortunately, the wind gusted up to about 30 knots directly on our beam. It took 3  1-inch lines to secure the boat to the shore (what fun this was!): Annick was glad to have Dale on board to help with the process!

We moved on to an area called Baie Fine that is in the La Cloche Range. It just looks like Fjords in Norway. From there it was a few days anchoring out in various anchorages in Frazier Bay, all with small sand beaches and super clear water. All great for doggy runs…

We were back in Killarney on Saturday 8/4 to drop Dale and Wendy off to their car. We had a very good time with them with great food and wines. They gifted us wonderful meats (filet, steaks, pork loin), cheeses, and beaucoup wines... We thought we would go back at anchor after they left, but the wind forecast for the next few days was bad. We were lucky to take one of the very last docks available, after hopping from a mooring ball to the fuel dock for one night. Wind was as advertised on Sunday: 30 knots with gusts to 45 knots…, and M. had to reinforce our floating dock with 2 1-in lines to the shore. We had 12 lines on our boat too! A 63 ft. Viking ripped their dock, had to power out, and ended up on the fuel dock 2 feet behind us: tight quarters... The marina lost 175 ft. of dock that day. Everyone was looking for shelter, but all docks we booked in the 2 neighboring towns of Killarney and Little Current. We also witnessed a May Day call where 4 canoers went in the water off Killarney. A rescue boat from our marina was dispatched and brought everyone back to shore alive and safe. We witnessed lots of activities that day. We take strong wind advisory very seriously, as it can really whip up here.

From here, we are going back to the North Channel for at least the next 2 weeks. We have decided to not come back down and retrace our route to the US/Syracuse NY, because this boating mecca is so gorgeous, we want to spend more time here next year. We are looking for heated storage in Northern Michigan. We will then keep moving along the North Channel until we can cross to Lake Huron or Lake Michigan for storage, likely in mid-September. Weather will dictate our schedule.  Summer of 2013 we will drive from storage to the North Channel down the Georgian Bay and back to the US/NY state. Then???

Don’t forget to view the 2 new picture albums on North Georgian Bay and the North Channel.

And thank you for traveling with us via this blog. You can click on location below too.

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco.

From Covered Portage Cove (near Killarney), North Channel

We have not had any cell phone or internet connection in quite a while.
Today finally, I can connect briefly. So sending this to let everyone know we are well and enjoying our trip tremendously. The North Georgian Bay is spectacular, but I would have to say that we almost like the Southern part even better. We started exploring the North Channel a week ago. It is spectacular too, and the waters are big and open. Very different from the Eastern Georgian bay shores. Higher hills, whiter granite rocks, and more conniferous trees around. Very wild and certainly not many cottages around. Will post picutres of both the Norhtern Georgian Bay and the North Channel as soon as I have access to a fast internet connection to upload large data files.

Greetings to all!
Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Hopewell Bay, Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada.

(half-way up the Georgian Bay).

Since my last report, we have travelled from Port-Severn to Parry Sound (via a stop at Hope Island) to our current anchoring spot on Hopewell Bay. Weather has been remarkable for the past month, albeit a tad windier than we expected. This is not a problem during the day when we are moving the boat, but makes finding a suitable anchorage a bit trickier. Fortunately, this region of the Georgian Bay has lots of anchorage possibilities. We met Bruce and Cathy, a Canadian couple who live in Midland in the lower reaches of the Bay. They have cruised the area for 50 years.  Bruce gave us many tips as to where to anchor, and where to spend time. His advice and pointers have been most useful. We have enjoyed anchorages not mentioned in the port book and apparently known to locals only.

So far, we have not seen many US boats. We have been hearing the same from marina operators and store owners along the way. Where are all the USA boaters going this year? We finally ran into a few when we stopped in Parry Sound (refueled, pumped out, provisioned…yeh! Fresh veggies again, laundry):  the marina we stayed at was hosting a Rendezvous of the Great Lakes Cruising Club.  Boats from Canada and the USA participated (about 85), many quite large (45 to 65 feet) and in impeccable conditions. We actually met a couple from Cary, NC (Raleigh area) who keep their boat up here and have cruised the waters of the Georgian Bay and the North Channel for the past 15 years. Just like us, they enjoy the clean, fresh waters and the spectacular landscapes.   

One observation we have made is that many Canadians do not follow the “watch-your-wake” rule when passing another boat from either direction We had observed this on the Rideau, where the passages are narrower, but here it is just incredible that they pass you 30 yards away when there is 1000 yards of open water available…and they wave at you while throwing you their wake. Hmmmm…wonder what boating school they went to.  

Another unpleasant experience we have encountered here are the sailors (sorry our sailor friends): they often act like they own the water. Three times in one day we had sailboats cutting and tacking right across our bow at the last minute while there was plenty of deep good water all around.

As we were coming in from the Bay, we were about 500 feet from the entrance channel so narrow that only one boat can proceed at a time. We reduced our speed to navigate this narrow when a 36 foot sailboat passed us on the port under full sail (main and jib). It proceeded to pull in front of us about 100 feet then it immediately dropped both sails causing us to take evasive action. It then approached the channel on motor at a crawl (way slower than we were proceeding when they passed us). Immediately on clearing the channel up went the sails. I should mention that there was really no room to do so as they started a rapid series of tacks. When we could finally get clear of them, they had the audacity to wave.  What seamanship! We are not impressed.

We are seeing many seaplanes (float planes) taking off and landing just in front of Sirocco. Pretty cool. It appears to be the second mode of transportation around here (first being boats).

And then there is the evening concert of Bumble Bees…the little red Honda Generators are all around us. Many boats, large and small, carry them, so we are not alone.  We have been using ours instead of the large generator towards the last half of the batteries charging cycle. It is very economic and effective.

Finally, I had posted a picture of radishes we bought here to show how humongous they are here in Canada. Well, not just the radishes are huge: the flies (all types) are huge too! And one evening, Annick spotted what she thought looked like a small black bear swimming across the anchorage. Once he stepped out on land, this animal looked like he was about 100 lbs, but had a big flat tail. His head resembled more that of a beaver. After researching this on the net, we found out that beavers here can attain 120 lbs! Bingo: we saw one!

We are continuing to move slowly further North as we are due to pick up our friends Wendy and Dale (Ottawa) in Killarney on July 28^th. We will then explore the North Channel for a week with them on board. We have been told by many that if we liked what we are seeing so far, we haven’t seen anything yet!

As always, visit the picture albums on Picasa (link on right hand side of blog page).

Click on the location at the very bottom of the page to see where we are.

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada

On the Georgian Bay (southern portion)

A quick note as we are on our way out of a marina we stayed for 2 nights. Lots to do: provisioning, cleaning, small repairs etc...

Check the pictures added as they tell the story: this is God's Country. So magnificent! Just can't quite describe the spendor around us. Never seen anything like this. Weather has been splendid too.

Will write longer at another time more convenient.

Leaving Parry Sound in an hour and heading a little bit North, progressing along the Eastern shores of the Georgian Bay to eventually be in the North Channel in 2 weeks time.

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Hope Island, (South) Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada.

So far, so very very good!

But before we got to where we are “reporting” from, we finished the last 50 miles or so of the Trent-Severn waterway. The Trent-Severn finally becomes picturesque after Orillia, and even better after the second lift lock at Kirkfield (49 feet lift). We happened to be the first boat in this lock going down, so we got the whole height perspective up front. A bit intimidating looking at the river down below… We also locked through the “Colossal” lock at Swift Rapids, a single chamber with a change of 47 feet (a drop in our case as we were going down river). Impressive when you are at the bottom and look up the walls!

After a couple of overnights over Canada Day weekend (July 1rst) at a very quiet lock with no road access, amidst farm land (no fireworks or fire crackers there), we were off to take the “Big Chute”: a railroad type of lock where the boat gets lifted in slings and travels a short distance over land, including a road and a steep downhill (feels like a small …and slow roller coaster, to reach the next section of the waterway below. Quite an exciting experience. Check the pictures.

We finally made it to the Georgian Bay (Southern part) on Thursday out of Port Severn. Getting out of Port Severn into the Bay was quite the navigation challenge, as advertised. But with great care, thorough preparation, all the charts, and total attention, it was not that bad: we knew where the rocks were and stayed where they were not!

We headed to a suggested anchoring spot on Hope Island, off the track of the “charted small craft navigation route” that most transients follow. A local traveler that we met along the Trent-Severn had recommended this spot. And we are glad we listened to his advice: crystal Caribbean blue waters, a small sandy beach and sandy bottom, about 30 feet plus visibility. We had never seen our anchor and anchor chain at work as we see it here! Just like the Caribbean’s with the added advantage of fresh water (not sticky salty). Although the water temperature is a bit cool for us (70oF)... Oh well, short invigorating showers!

  

We have just spent 2 days in paradise. Off Saturday to another anchoring spot a bit North and East from here, weather permitting (thunders storms are  forecast). We plan on reaching Parry Sound later next week (about 50 miles further up the Georgian Bay).

As always, visit the picture albums on Picasa (link on right hand side of blog page).

Click on the location at the very bottom of the page to see where we are.

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Port-Severn, ON
Thursday July 5th

Hope that our American friends had a great 4th of July celebration yesterday.

We made it through the Trent-Severn and 45 locks...we are at the mouth of the Geogian Bay.
Yesterday 4th of July was spend doing light travel to get positioned to start The Bay. We took "THE BIG CHUTE", a rail-road type of lock. Boat gets into slings and is lifted up, and the entire sling machine (a boat lift) travels on rail-road tracks across dry land and even across a road (!). At the end, the boat is lowered back in the water and floats away. Very neat and unique for us. I'll post pictures at a later time.

The scenery on the Trent-Severn has been very, very pretty since we passed Orillia: lots of blue waters, nice cottages, many of which are built on rocks or islands, some pink granite, and even narrow & deeper channels similar to Fjords in Norway. We are to see more of this on the Georgian Bay this month.

Boat is running fine...for now, until next event: It's a boat!&$^#@^&. Drinking water has been hard to find in the last week, so we are saving our fresh water tank (filtered and potable) and started taking showers in the water now that is is warmer. Quite pleasant actually, and you don't have to rush your shower to save water!

We are headed to our first island on the Georgian Bay today, Hope Island (Google it). At anchor from now on mostly; no more docks and no more locks.

So long to all.
Annick & Michael aboard Sirocco.

From Fenelon Falls on the Trent-Severn, Ontario, Canada.

Recap of the week.

We spent 2 days & 2 nights earlier this week at a lock dock in Hastings, ON (Sunday and Monday). Winds were stiff on Monday (25 MPH with gusts to 40 MPH) so Annick did not want to go. We had a great breakfast at a little family restaurant and a …boring rest of the stay.

Tuesday was a 10 hour-day as we made our way to Lakefield (Lock 26) for an overnight: nice and pleasant park- like setting. On the way, we took the famous 65 feet LIFT lock at Peterborough: an engineering marvel to look at (see pictures), except that we were not impressed by the ever-changing locking procedure. There are 2 side-by-side chambers. When one is at the top, the other one is at the bottom. One chamber moves up while the other one goes down (driven by pistons). We were directed to wait for the right chamber, so we positioned Sirocco just to do this. At the very last moment, a young summer student shouts (couldn’t they use a P.A. system???) to tell us to go to the left chamber, already occupied by a large tour boat. Of course, we were ready for a starboard locking, and now we have to do a port locking, and there does not look to be a lot of space for Sirocco to squeeze in. Michael The Wonderful exhibited great skills to bring her in the chamber, and stopped her just as there were a few inches between us and the tour boat (see pictures). We could not move any further, but we were in the chamber. So off we went…up and up and up: Impressive.  As we went up, the Kawartha Voyageur (overnight regional cruise boat we have come to know on the Rideau) was coming down. We were happy to find a very peaceful dock at the lock in Lakefield for a good night rest.

Went from Lakefield to Buckhorn (Lock 31) on Wednesday. Very windy day again. Scenery becoming increasingly picturesque, with rose granite rocks and islands. Very, very beautiful.

Yesterday, Thursday we drove to Fenelon Falls (Lock 34).Very few locks to go through, and long lakes much like the Finger Lakes in NY State.  An easy ride that day, as the winds had finally subsided. We are staying 2 overnights here (max allowed stay), enjoying the A/C as it has become rather hot, and the lock docks are getting very full for the long holiday weekend (Canada Day is Sunday July 1 – Monday is a Holiday here, and many weekend boaters are out). Not sure where we’ll find a dock on Saturday and Sunday evenings…

Our impression so far of the Trent-Severn: it is a very long waterway; it takes a long time to drive through because of the many, many locks; many of the locks are deep, and takes time to fill/empty; the lock staff is as helpful and friendly as on The Rideau; many of the locks are in little towns where basic conveniences are available (Michael got a haircut as I am writing this, and he even found an optometrist to repair his sunglasses). The scenery becomes interesting and very picturesque at times after Peterborough. Too bad one has to go through so many locks and common looking winding rivers to get here…    

Now for the excitement of the week: You knew there was going to be one, didn’t you?

After we arrived in the Fenelon Falls lock yesterday afternoon we shut down the engines in the lock as normal.  After locking up, neither engine would start.  So what do you do when you are in a lock, and you are expected to get out swiftly so that the incoming boat traffic already lined up can get in the chamber, and you have no power? You call for help to walk Sirocco along and out of the lock, to the nearby dock. I am certain the passers-by watching boats lock in and out had an amusing spectacle: the big ass boat which had to be pulled by humans alongside the dock like mules used to do in the old days on the barge canal…

Michael decided to let the engine room cool down (must have been 130^oF down there) before investigating what the issue might be. We decided to take a walk and go see Kawartha Voyageur which had just arrived and docked further up. As Michael chatted up with John, the Kawartha’s captain, he told John that we could not restart the engines after the lock. John immediately got on his radio, hailed his mechanic Brian, and asked him to come down to Sirocco and see what was going on. Now that’s when it helps to hang around the BIG GUYS! Brian, in his spotless and perfectly pressed white shirt with epaulettes, looking very nautically official, went in the bilge with Captain Wonderful. By then, the temperature was almost bearable.  Annick was sent up to the bridge to try and start the engines. They both started without a glitch as usual…Brian did not even have to use a wrench or a meter. We now understand that we should be running the bilge blowers when the weather gets hot (it was 95^oF yesterday), otherwise we may experience a vapor-lock when attempting to restart the engines. We never had this problem in hot and humid North Carolina nor even along the Chesapeake Bay last summer, because we never needed to restart the engines after shutting them off like we do in locks. Live and learn Diesel 101!

So all is well now. Until next time. Happy Canada Day and Fourth of July to all our Canadian and American friends. We’ll celebrate both!

Check the added albums and pictures on Picasa.

Click on the location at the very bottom of the page to see where we are.

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

From Campbellford on the Trent-Severn, Ontario, Canada

Proceeded to leave our beloved Rideau Canal last Monday. It took 3 days instead of 2 to reach Kingston as we stayed put at one lock on Tuesday due to 30 knot winds. Taking locks with that high a wind is not fun, especially with just the 2 of us on Sirocco.

Arrived in Kingston at noon on Wednesday, so we had the entire afternoon to do some shopping, including getting an "internet stick" from one of the Canadian wireless provider (Telus). Had a wonderful early dinner at Le Chien Noir, a bistro-style restaurant in the heart of Kingston. Their Poutine is out of this world - made with melted brie, duck confit and a reduced brown sauce (not gravy please) over French Fries...to die for, and we may, as this is not dietary and loaded with bad fat, but OH soooo good!

Left Thursday morning and travelled the 65 miles through the Bay of Quinte to reach Trenton late afternoon. Trenton is at the southern end of the Trent-Severn Waterway. It was very windy that afternoon. As we approached the municipal marina to prepare for docking, the port engine quit, never to start again. Captain Wonderful landed perfectly on the long dock despite the wind, aided by one good dock hand. After gathering our thoughts and setting up for the 2 nights planned there, we realized what had happened. And it is embarrassing for Annick, the assigned fuel manager on-board, and Michael, the Captain who is supposed to check everything.

Sirocco is equipped with 3 fuel tanks: one main and a port and starboard one (wing tanks). Wing tanks are smaller and typically reserved for the generator and for emergency. Late last season, since we had not used the wing tanks (our generator was busted), "we" (the Captain) switched the engines to the wing tanks to use up some of this fuel and not let it sit too long. Well, when we drove Sirocco off the dock this season, Annick forgot to carry over this vital information and all fuel calculations were done assuming the engines were on the main tank...so we simply had ran out of diesel on the Port tank  and the Starboard tank was not far behind. We got VERY lucky that this happened just at the marina as we were docking. It could have been much worse, caught in a windy situation with both engines down until we figured out the fuel supply issue. But all is well that ended well. Although the port engine diesel line was air-locked and we had to call upon a diesel mechanic to show Michael how to remedy this situation. A good learning experience: never trust the First Mate and ensure the Captain is checking all critical information! We did have a good laugh after the overall embarrassment.

Trenton is a little town with not much going on, except that it is at the beginning of the Trent-Severn and it has an outstanding grocery store with quality products that easily rival the Harris Teeters or Wegmans of the USAs. Their fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and cold cuts are just outsdanding in flavor and ripeness. Can't find this is the USAs for sure. We loaded up! We generally find that fruits and vegetables are more flavorful in Canada, likely because they are locally grown and people demand this quality. Forget about the look; it is the taste that matters! 

The municipal marina is located right in the middle of the town, so easy walking distance to everything. We had great Italian food on Friday evening at Tomasso's and got the boat ready for departure the next morning: all fueled and watered up, pumped out, etc... At around 3:30AM, as we are sound asleep, we are both awakened by voices and stumping noises. Annick thought there were guys on the dock horsing around, but Michael, with all his hearing deficiencies, knew right away someone was ON THE BOAT! He jumped out of bed to find 2 young men on our aft deck peering through our glass door to the salon. He yelled at them to get off the F....ing boat or he'll call the cops. They jumped out through the aft deck canvas (which we had left open because of the heat), hopped into a parked car and took off. We went back to bed but sleep was difficult to find after this troublesome event. We reported the incident the next morning to the marina's manager, who filed a police report. Unbeknown to us, the city of Trenton monitors the transient docks with a video camera and the hope is the police will be able to get a license plate to find these guys. They certainly were up to no good and we got relatively lucky.

Left Saturday morning and went through the first 12 locks to arrive at Campbellford (31 miles covered of 250 to Georgian Bay...not there yet, and 36 more locks to go). The locks are much deeper than on the Rideau, but otherwise pretty much the same procedure. So far the lock attendants have been helpful and friendly. The scenery, as advertised in this section of the waterway, is not as picturesque as The Rideau. The picturesque is to come later.

All is well. We are enjoying discovering new territories. I have added a few new albums and pictures.
So long, until next time on the internet.

Annick & Michael aboard Sirocco.

P.S.: You can view our location on Google map by clicking on the link (green) at the very bottom of the blog. Zoom out to get the perspective of our travel.

It’s a boat@#$&%**!

From Westport, Ontario, Canada.  Still on the Rideau system.

Since last writing, “WE” (a.k.a. Michael) have had to wrestle with minor and more serious boat issues. Michael was able to finally and totally repair our fresh water leak last Wednesday. He had onboard in his magic supply of parts the length and size of tubing required, YEH! We found the connectors at a nearby marina.  It is such a luxury to have (almost) plenty of water for showers and dishes. A treat for me!

We also identified the cause of a “ticking” noise in the port-side rudder area. We noticed this noise but had no vibration on the rudder shaft as we were crossing Lake Ontario earlier. Some vibration at low RPM on The Rideau from the propellers too. Lots of weeds we thought, and proceeded to clean these up. But the rudder noise was still present. We happened to know one of the lockmaster here who is also a diver. So Michael asked him if he would dive under our boat and check. Ian came prepared with his scuba gear and underwater video camera system. The camera picture can be viewed from up on deck while he is transmitting during the dive.  A real neat tool! Ian was under for no more than a few seconds when he pops back out and says:  “I think I found your problem. There is a huge rag wrapped around your prop. Give me a big knife.” After shredding the culprit, we saw that it was a LARGE plastic tarp with metal grommets and a line still threaded through…therefore the ticking noise. Ian checked for other issues, and found everything in great condition, except for a missing zinc (anode) on a shaft. One more repair crossed off THE list, YEH! And we did not have to spend hundreds of dollars either, YEH! YEH!

As soon as these 2 issues and repairs were addressed, Michael The Wonderful  tackled the electrical issue we have had this year. I have not mentioned this yet, because it was not clear as to what was happening.  We have been experiencing a drain on our inverter system batteries, to the point where only about 20% of the system’s capacity was available before it demanded to be charged again due to low voltage at the batteries. This meant either running the generator a lot, or plugging-in to shore power at a dock. Forget about anchoring for extended period of time, defeating the purpose of the inverter system (for our no- boater friends, the inverter allows us to run all our AC type of appliances on battery DC power, such as coffee machine, micro-wave, lights, and our3  refrigerators/freezers). Yes, we like our comfort and this is why we have the kind of boat we do. At any rate, after hours of trouble-shooting for a potential short or damaged batteries during the winter lay-up, it appears that we do have a short draining our batteries. But the short may not be with the inverter system at all (a RELIEF!), but rather with a faulty shore power connector.  Repairing either the inverter itself or having to replace one or more of the inverter batteries may have forced us to scratch our plan to travel through the Georgian Bay and the North Channel, a real bummer. Now the problem may not be as critical to repair since we have another shore power plug we can use until the faulty one is repaired. Michael will hopefully finalize his evaluation and conclusions in a few days. Right now, the inverter and batteries seem to be behaving as expected as we are plugged in at a dock using a “good” shore power plug.

And now for more drama…you did not think this was it, did you? We are spending the weekend at a boaters Rendezvous in Westport, a quaint harbor town on the Rideau. Our friends Dale and Wendy are here on their boat, as well as a few other acquaintances we have made over the past years boating these waters. We just happened to have 8 people over on the aft deck early yesterday afternoon (Friday) kicking off the weekend. The weather has not been the greatest, but who cares, right? Increasingly ominous clouds are making their appearance, teasing us with the threat of a thunderstorm. A few rain drops hit the waters, nothing unusual. All of sudden, 40 to 50 mph squall winds hits us broadside and we all yelled: ”the stern is loose” as we see the back of Sirocco moving AWAY from the dock at a rapid pace!  

The stern cleat had been ripped off the dock; fortunately, we had just enough other lines holding Sirocco that allowed for just enough time for the men onboard to jump on the dock to grab any line they could and yell for additional help. More men nearby came and in the end it took 7 guys and a few more quickly added lines to get Sirocco stabilized. Wendy went up front on the bow to fend off our anchor from our neighbors’ canvas…, all this during a North Carolina type downpour and a fierce squall. Everyone (except Annick…busy finding, tying and handing out additional lines) was drenched to the bones. What an experience this was! The real cause turned out to be a poorly installed cleat. It had been mounted with 2 inch screws instead of being properly bolted through the dock!

So the squall hit and went fast, our guests and rescuers left, and Annick gets set to do dishes. NO WATER PRESSURE! NO WATER PERIOD. What’s the heck??? Water pump is running like mad of course.  Water leak was fixed, right? Michael and I crawled down in the bilge, and immediately heard a not-to-be-mistaken huge water leak noise. Mister Wonderful skillfully diagnosed this leak as a NEW one, on the cold water side etc…found the right tubing at the little hardware store up the harbor, came back running with excitement at having found the right part, and fixed it. DONE!

Recap of Friday afternoon at quaint little Westport:  survived another fierce Rideau-type squall while ripping the municipal dock apart, and a drowning of a water leak. And boating is meant to be relaxing?  

Check the added pictures on Picasa.

Until next time,

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

At The Narrows on Big Rideau Lake, Ontario, CA

We have been at a dock since last Friday. That day, the weather turned and it has been raining, much cooler, and windy since...rather miserable for a solid 4 days now. We are staying put and hope the wind will subside by tomorrow so we can drive Sirocco on the lake (no lock to take) to Portland where we can fill up with water. Good books, some knitting (Annick), paper work and bill paying (Michael), cooking (both), and boat repairs (both...oops I mean Michael) are all keeping us amused; or at least occupied.

And water we need! Because we have had a fresh water leak for quite a while. It was gradually getting worse, to the point where we were losing as much water as we actually were using. Not pleasant when you save every drop during showers, only to feed the bilge fresh water all along...may be I should have bathed in the bilge??? At any rate, after many investigative attempts on Michael's part, our friend Dale located the source of the leak on Saturday. As you would have it, not an easy access. I wish I could announce that it is all repaired, but alas, repairs so far have mitigated about 75% of the leak, but there is still a leak. So Michael will be working on this once again later today and tomorrow.

In return, Michael was able to get Dale's satellite TV system back up and running again. So our team has a good plumber and a good electronics repair man. Let's see what can fail next and whether we have the tools and skills to fix it...
   
So long, and until next time,
Annick and Michael Smart aboard Sirocco.

Newboro, Ontario, Canada

We made it “up The Rideau” through 13 locks so far and have only one more to go through today, a small easy one. This last leg will bring us to The Narrows on Big Rideau Lake, where we like to hang out. We have been taking it at a leisurely pace since we have until Friday evening to be at The Narrows.  And there is hardly any traffic on the system yet, making locking efficient. The season is barely starting. Friends Dale and Wendy will join us on Saturday on their boat for the weekend.

We stayed 2 nights at the Newboro lock dock. No internet and no satellite TV either, as the dish’s line of vision is obstructed by the many trees surrounding us. ..This welcomed down-time gave Michael an opportunity to spend time in the bilge (without the heat from the engines), and measure and order the sound-proof enclosure for the new generator. Without its (needed) sound enclosure, the generator sounds about as loud as the old one with an enclosure that obviously was rather ineffective. Let’s hope we get the new enclosure installed SOON.

We have been walking over to Stirling, a fishing lodge nearby with an internet router. This is how I get to post this update and download a few new pictures. No internet at The Narrows though, but we’ll have satellite TV.

We are on our favorite portion of the Rideau for another 10 days or so. The loons are back for this rendez-vous, as sophisticated-looking and as shy as ever. They are having their babies now, and Annick is looking forward to see the females carrying their little ones on their back in a few days.  Wish we had a camera with a decent telephoto lense to share these sightings.  We had the pleasure to hear a family of minks a couple of nights ago, washing and making their night-time ruckus near our swim platform.  Add to this noise a flock of 20 Canadian Geese and their little ones, and this made for a less-than-peaceful early morning. But the sounds of nature are wonderful, aren’they?

Thanks for reading our postings and traveling with us.

Until next time,

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Jones Falls on the Rideau Canal, Ontario, Canada

It is Monday afternoon, Memorial Day weekend.

We left Ess-Kay Yards on Saturday May 26 with a brand new and working generator. The installation went very well overall and the captain is pleased with his choice of yard. So far, it is performing as intended. 

We spent Saturday driving through the locks of the Oswego River and docked overnight in Oswego, positioned for a lake Ontario crossing.
Sunday turned out to be a perfect day for crossing, so we did. The crossing was a piece of cake: 6 hours of very calm waters. We arrived yesterday afternoon on our beloved Rideau Canal system in Ontario, Canada.

We are traveling every day a few hours through locks to reach the Big Rideau Lake on Friday. This is "our territory" on the Rideau and we will be meeeting our Canadian friends Dale and Wendy there for the weekend (alas, they both work and can only boat on weekends). We should stay in the area until mid-June. I probably will not take nor post many pictures, as there are many from last year on Picasa. Same lansdcape, same waters, same loons, same ducks, same herons, etc....

Until next post,
Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Brewerton, NY - It's a go!

We are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow Saturday 5-26 headed to Oswego, NY.
All systems appear OK; new generator is in and running.
We spent the day mostly doing the final provisionings. See the pictures added to the Brewerton album. Sirocco is loaded....we could survive a nuclear attack. Don't come and visit too soon as the guests quarters are used to store lots of goodies. Every space on board has been claimed....but it appears we still have freezer space that could have stored ice-cream...shucks! Too late.
We are off tomorrow early, getting the engines a test-drive on Oneida Lake and then, if everything seems right, headed towards Oswego on Lake Ontario, ready for a Lake Ontario crossing on Sunday or Monday. Yahoo! Finally!

It is late and I must get some rest, Captain demands...
Annick (and Captain Michael asleep)

   

Brewerton, NY at Ess-Kay boatyard

I (Annick) just returned from Rochester yesterday Monday morning 5/21. I stayed at Cedric's and Lizzie's new house in Brighton, a well established neighborhood of Rochester with quaint, tree-lined streets. Very pleasant; convenient to a lot of businesses and shops. We are very happy for them and their choice. The back yard is small, yet perfect for the size of the house and for them to learn what it takes to keep it up. I also got to see 5 sets of old friends, which is always fun.

While I was away, Ess-Kay (the boatyard we are at) took the old generator out of Sirocco and moved the new one on the aft deck. To move the generators out of/in the boat, we had to be on dry-dock. Great planning to clean and wax the hull, and to do the bottom paint touch up. A bit difficult to live on-board as we cannot use the water to shower or do dishes. The marina's facilities are very close-by. So we decided to tough it up and not go to a motel.

I was back at the boat less than 45 minutes Monday morning before Michael and I got started on the hull. A bit of a daunting task for a 51 ft (LOA) boat. But with 2 ladders, 4 elbows and grease, and lots of rags, huffs and puffs and determination, we managed to get the entire hull cleaned and waxed in one day (about 8 hours). Had you told me we had one day to do this, I would have laughed. We crawled to the shower, headed out to eat, and crashed: our lower backs were killing us. This morning, it is our arms and shoulders...

We got to see a 90 ft 1972 Burger docked behind us last night. She left this morning. Captained by a professional, it is doing the loop for the ...13th time! So we may see GO FOURTH on the Georgian Bay and the North Channel later this summer. We met 2 other boats headed the same way we are.

Today  the new generator was moved from the aft deck down to the bilge. Interesting task with metal rollers and 3 strong men. They got it done in just a few minutes without any tears or scratches (that I know of) to our stairs or wood cabinets. Hoses, fuel and electrical connections are being worked on today and tomorrow. I haven't heard any swearing down below, so I assume everything is progressing without issues.

Also, today was bottom painting for Michael and I. Touch up only, but far too many spots. I got to do the sanding and he gets to put the paint on: how did I agree to this? He is the Captain...but I thought I was the Admiral. Age makes a difference too, apparently. Sanding this boat was not a walk in the park. I swear we have a 90 ft boat disguised to look like a 45 footer. As I was moving from front to back, there seems to be always more boat to sand. I wonder what my body is going to tell me tomorrow. Michael is painting as I type this note and rest, and Sirocco is starting to look great.

Weather has been rather nice, albeit for a few cold days last week. And little to NO HUMIDITY here, YEH!   

Not clear we'll be able to leave on Friday to start our journey to Canada. This will be pushing it as we still have to provision, including vacuum-seal meat and freeze it, get a hair cut, do laundry, put the car in storage, and test the generator on the nearby lake before leaving Ess-Kay for good. The first day of our journey will take us from here (Brewerton) to Oswego (on Lake Ontario), where we will be positioned to catch a calm day for a lake Ontario crossing.

Until next time,
Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco.

We are near Syracuse, NY where we picked up Sirocco last Saturday, after 7 months in storage.

The 3 weeks prior were rather busy, as we toured the East Coast (by car) to show my brother Jean-Marc and Sylvie as much as we could of the US. We drove over 4,000 miles in a little over 2 weeks time... going from New Bern, NC to Naples, FL where we spend a week. We saw alligators in the Everglades, dolphins and flying fish off the coast of Fort Lauderdale on friends Henry and Jan's boat. Back in New Bern, we did some shelling on the beaches of North Carolina, and then drove up North to NYC for a 5-day visit that included the 9/11 Memorial. We forgot how long it takes us nowadays to recover from such a busy schedule...we were exhausted when they left back for France. But we all had a memorable time.

We are now getting ready for the next chapter of 2012: 5 months on our boat. Sirocco is getting a new generator this week at a shipyard near Syracuse. After the usual annual maintenance and spring cleanup and preparations, we hope she will be ready by May 25. Our plan this year is to cross Lake Ontario, stay up on the Rideau Canal for the first 2 weeks in June while we wait for the temperature to warm up, then navigate the Trent-Severn Waterway (also in Ontario, Canada) the latter part of June, and reach the Georgian Bay around July 1. We will drive up North and explore the magnificent (we are told) Georgian Bay through July. And reach the North Channel and stay there the first 2 weeks in August. After this, we would do the reverse to return to Lake Ontario via the Bay of Quinte/Rideau/Thousand Islands region.

Google Map these locations for fun (Bay of Quinte, Rideau Canal, Thousand Islands, Trent-Severn, Georgian Bay, North Channel) to check on the geography.

We'll try to post updates and pictures as frequently as possible; not clear what the wii-fii situation will be en route. I have added a Picasa link to the blog (upper right-hand side) to view pictures. Upload will be dependent on finding wireless routers that can handle lots of data...

Annick is spending a few days in Rochester with Cedric and Lizzie, discovering their new house, and meeting with a few old friends, while Michael is staying on board supervising the generator replacement.

And the wine is chilling again on Sirocco!
Hoping for calm seas.
Annick & Michael on board Sirocco