2015
May 9 - Pre Trip Preparations

We purchased Willow B in October 2014 and opted to dry dock her at Hingham Shipyard Marina in Hingham, MA for the winter. The staff at the marina were always attentive to our needs and were always a pleasure to work with.

She was hauled, her hull was scraped and pressure washed before she was winterized and shrink wrapped. I am pleased that we had her shrink wrapped against the elements, as close to NINE feet of snow fell on her over the 2014-2015 winter.

It was worth every penny.

The Plan is to bring her home on her own hull. Launch Date is set for May 27, 2015. We have asked the yard to do a bottom job including zinks before they splash her.

Parts and supplies have been purchased. We don't know exactly what is on-board, so we must await arrival in Hingham Shipyard Marina before final purchases of spares can be made.

The captain is due to make the trip to Hingham, MA for the launch.

A week has been scheduled to check her out and tend to the maintenance items and preparations for her voyage home.

This voyage shall begin in Hingham, MA and end in Franklin Furnace, OH.

The trip is roughly 2700 statute miles. The route will take us thru New York City, up the Hudson River to Albany, NY. Then it's thru the Erie Canal to Buffalo, NY. Across Lake Erie, up and around Michigan via Lake Huron and Lake Michigan to Chicago. Then it is on to the Illinois River, then down the Mighty Mississippi, then up the Ohio River to Franklin Furnace, OH.

The following is a very rough estimate of the mileage broken down into 7 legs.

Leg 1 - 250 Miles - Hingham, MA to New York Harbor (via Cape Cod Bay, Cape Cod Canal, Buzzard Bay, Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound)
Leg 2 - 140 Miles - New York Harbor to Erie Canal (via Hudson River)
Leg 3 - 350 Miles - Erie Canal (Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY)
Leg 4 - 900 Miles - Buffalo, NY to Chicago, IL (via Lakes Erie, Huron & Michigan)
Leg 5 - 340 Miles - Chicago, IL to Mississippi River (via Illinois River)
Leg 6 - 220 Miles - Down Mississippi River to Ohio River
Leg 7 - 650 Miles - Up Ohio River to Franklin Furnace, OH.

We are hoping to average 60-75 miles per day. This means we are looking at 35-45 full travel days to make this voyage. Now this is what the calculator says. Real nautical life dictates that I add at least 50% to this number for stops, WEATHER, maintenance, repairs, locking through and on, and on, and on. I believe we are realistically looking at 60-90 travel days, which is an average of 45 miles per day.

Shawnee State Park Marina shall be Willow B's new home. It is at Ohio River Mile Marker 363

May 27 - Launch Day

I arrived at Hingham Shipyard Marina today @ 9:00 AM after a restless night. Sherie (Manager) advised that Willow B was scheduled for launch in the early afternoon.
I had a little time to kill so I walked around the marina and storage yards in the area. There was about 500 boats to look at just in this Marina!!!



After about 2 hours of wandering around, I found Willow B. I recognized the goofy radar mast from a distance. She had a bottom job completed as was scheduled. The zinks on the prop shaft & rudder were replaced as requested as well. Again, great things to say about Hingham Shipyard Marina. What great folks.

I tugged on the rudder post & prop shaft, looking for play, which did not present itself. Thats a good thing, right? We are off to a good start!!!

As I had an hour or two to burn, I figured I should grab lunch and be ready for what the afternoon might bring. The nearest burger joint was Wahlburger, which was a great treat. I am a big fan of the Wallberg Brothers. I enjoy their movies and TV shows.

Burger & Beer, how can you beat that? AND they do make a great burger to boot...

Later, the crew picked up Willow B like they have done this once or twice before. Nothing but professionalism. Comments were made that she was so heavy for a 35 footer. I was pleased, as this spoke to her heavy construction.



She Floats! So far, so good...

Willow B was splashed and immediately moved to a slip, which I leased for the week. The transient fees were $100/day. They gave me a break and only charged me for five days. Even with this break, it is a wee bit steep for my pocket book, but it is what it is. Again, Great folks to work with.

I gotta get all my parts rounded up tomorrow as I must return my rental car tomorrow afternoon.
I do have enough projects to last me until Rana (Navigator) and Ethan (Engineer) and Sweetie Pie (Head of Security) arrive next week.

I don't know about you, but I LOVE the classic Jack Hargrave design. The Prairie is know as a Mini Hatteras. (and it shows)



Once she was berthed, I boarded her for the first time.

I was pleasantly surprised!! She was actually as my surveyor had described! I began going thru the systems and ensured all the thru hulls were where they should be (open).

I did find 2 great big (8D) batteries which will easily power the refrigerator & ice maker with plenty of power left over. We have enough power even if I can't locate a raw water pump impeller for the generator. Another good thing, right? I checked the state of these big batteries, they were fully charged after 6 months on the hard.

Another good thing!

I think I have the fuel system figured out, as there is a return line as well as a fuel feed for each tank. Which means if you draw off the Port tank and return to the Starboard tank, it can dump fuel overboard. Not a good thing. Last I checked, the Coast Guard kinda frowns upon such. Both tanks are plumbed to a single Racor 500 primary filter.

The main engine started without issue!!! Whoo Hoooo!!! I immediately went aft and we were moving water out the exhaust, which means that we were cooling. And that's a good thing. I watched the main come up to operating temp and level off. I figured "This is just too easy!"

Next was the generator. It took me close to an hour or so to get her started. Oh, she popped right off once I got all the associated switches in the correct position. BUT... When I went aft, I saw only exhaust flowing from the thru-hull. NO water.

Cant win 'em all, Right?

I worked for a couple of more hours troubleshooting, and decided the raw water pump impeller was shot. I searched the spares and found another raw water pump, which was marked, NEED TO REBUILD. I will find a replacement impeller ASAP.

NEXT was the Climate Control (aka A/C). It took me even longer to figure out what needed to happen to make this thing run. BUT I got it started blowing COLD air! Once again, I thought "This is just too easy!" BUT... The raw water pump never came online. Here I go running down ANOTHER raw water pump issue... I figured I have had enough for one day. I plugged in to shore power and partook of a few 'barley pops'....

I fired up the 2 VHF radios and the Radar. They all came up and operated as expected. The Radar is less than perfect, but with a small array, it is as expected. I didn't get a chance to check out the fresh water system.

The Auto-Pilot powered up. I was surprised that the unit was more current than reported by my surveyor. It even has a remote!!! I gotta download the manual and get this animal figured out. I REALLY want the Auto Pilot to function correctly for the trip home.

The refrigerator is working well. Once I flush & fill the fresh water tank (100 gallons) tomorrow, I can test out the ice maker and head.

So far, Everything has been pretty much as expected, except for the Hingham Shipyard Marina staff. They were beyond my expectations and have been great to work with.

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


May 28 - Checking Out the Systems

Today started way too early.

I wanted to ensure that I get all my running by car done, as the car goes back to Hertz this afternoon. It didn't help that I was up 'til the wee hours this morning.

Never again.. I mean it this time!

I started with pulling the Generator Raw water pump impeller. All I saw when I opened it up was a bunch of little pieces of rubber and a brass hub.



I called around and located a replacement. I installed it and lo and behold, we have circulation. The genny is now running cool.

I figured I better do a little rummaging thru all the lockers. And wouldn't you know, I located not one, but TWO spare genny raw water impellers. One is brand new and the other is marked used, but is serviceable... I also located another, larger impeller, in a Perkins box. This would be the spare for the main engine.

I also located logs from way back in the early 90s, as well as the original loan documents when Willow B was purchased new for the tidy sum of $40,000.

After a short break, I was bound and determined to bring the A/C online. I started rummaging around in the A/C closet and happened upon a power cord that was about half covered up. I figured, 'What the Heck', when I plugged it in it arced a bit which tells me that it is drawing power. I walked outside and witnessed a wonderful thing. Water was being pumped out of one of the thru-hull fittings. When I entered (Entered makes it sound like I just opened a door and walked in... NOT!!!) the engine room...

Let me paint this picture, first I roll the carpet back.



It is cut up in sections to facilitate removing only the part that covers the desired floor hatch.



THEN there is only about 30" between the floor and the bottom of the boat. Not a good fit for this fat guy. There are 3 hatches that open in the saloon, and one hatch in the galley.

Where was I? Oh yeah, I saw that the A/C raw water pump was doing its thing. I crawled out of the 'hole' and fired up the A/C. It ran perfectly and immediately cooled Willow B down.

Whoo Hoo!!! Another Major Success!!! My day is getting better.

I figured I got cool happening below decks, why not shade up top too? So I pulled the bimini out from under the bridge storage only to find that it has seen better days. It is usable, but barely. The Admiral & I jumped on the interweb and I very quickly decided to make it on what we have. Oh well, a minor set back. It will shade us, it just looks like hell.

Next I filled up the 100 gallon fresh water tank. I was very pleased to find NO leaks. I pressurized the fresh water system and again, NO LEAKS!!!

[Insert Happy Dance Here]

I purged all the air out of the system and out poured the pink Anti-Freeze. I flushed the 100 gallon tank by running the water out of the galley & head faucets and drained overboard. I refilled the fresh water tank again. It tasted okay, so I'm gonna let it set overnight and flush it again soon.

The Head (aka toilet), which is an electric Jabsco, functions great. It was stated at winterization that it was seized. They just didn't have the right breaker turned on. Its all good!!!

Once I had water pressure, I fired off the Ice Maker. It came to life immediately, but I'd just have to wait for it to cool down before I would know if we were good to go. Sure enough a while later it dumped pink ice.. Kinda looked like those pink urinal mints.



I'm gonna let it run ice until it starts producing clean (ish) ice.

I kinda wanted to end the day there, BUT Nooooooo, I just had to push it...

I flipped the breaker for the water heater and immediately saw a jump of 10-12 amps being drawn.

THIS IS GREAT!!!! I GOT HOT WATER!!!

HOT SHOWERS ALL AROUND!!!

Oh, Its just me... Nevermind.

I pushed it yet again and started investigating the Auto Pilot's left push. I opened the lazarette (under the rear deck) hatch and centered the rudder. Then I went thru the pre-sets to ensure all worked as it should. All was fine. I engaged the Auto Pilot and it immediately turned the rudder to Port (left). I wasn't sure if I saw it right, so I repeated the procedure. Sure enough, the rudder went to Port. With the rudder centered amidships, the rudder position sensor (thingy that tells the Auto Pilot what the rudder is doing) was set up Starboard (right). I pulled the tie rod and adjusted the rudder position sensor to agree with the rudder.

I once again set everything and this time when I engaged the Auto Pilot, it held its position. I manually turned the rudder both ways and the Auto Pilot brought everything back where it should be.

Now, I may have to make minor adjustments to fine tune it, but I do believe the problem is solved and the case is closed.

The ONLY negative to the day happened when I went to install the Garmin Blue Chip (updated navigation charts) into the onboard GPS. The GPS was no where to be found. I can't even locate the power cable for it. I figured with a day filled with so many positives, How could I be bothered with something as small and insignificant as a missing piece of navigation equipment. Heck I have my iPhone!!!

Oh and one other thing... I stumbled across the Hobbs (hour) Meters for both the Main Engine & Genny. They are in the A/C closet. (Oh and the A/C closet is 1/3 of the ONLY Clothes hanging locker that has been repurposed as the A/C Closet. The Navigator will love this... Sorry, but the cool temp is fantastic!) I purchased Willow B with the belief that the Genny had less than 800 hours and the Main Engine had less than 1800 hours. The Hobbs for the Main indicated 2982 hours and the Genny indicated 1760 hours. Huh, how could this be so??? Was I told an untruth? Were the Meters read incorrectly by mistake?

Remember when I mentioned all those old logs I came across? Well the Main was, indeed, rebuilt less than 1800 hours ago. AND the Genny was rebuilt less than 800 hours ago. So this boat checks out completely.

The thru hull packing gland on the prop shaft is dripping way more than it should, I started to grab it with a pipe wrench and kinda snug it up a little. But I figured, I had such a great positive day that I think I'm gonna let it be until later.

The ONLY real negative in this whole experience is the fact that the Navigator, Engineer & Head of Security aren't here.

I will post more pics of Willow B, but she really needs to be spiffed. Don't want her first impression to be a bad one.

WHAT A DAY!!!

Cold beer to toast this fine day.

Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings....

Until Then,
Willow B
Standing by CH 16


May 29 - The ShakeDown Cruise - Short but Sweet

This morning I awoke to dead calm winds... After visiting with the Admiral on the phone, I decided that since I have gone through the majority of the systems, Today was the day for a shakedown cruise.

All fluid levels acceptable, check, bilge blower on, check, cast all lines, check and pulled away from the dock.

All went well. I figured to head to Boston Harbor and just look around. I wanted to visit Gloucester, but it would have been an all day trip. And I didn't want to get that far away YET.

As I was missing an on-board GPS, I was using Garmin Blue Charts App on my iPhone. What a joke that idea turned out to be. With an iPad, okay but with that itsy bitsy screen and MY eyesight? NOT Gonna Happen...

I ran out about 10-15 miles and just turned around and headed back to the dock. I wanted to test out the Auto Pilot on this trip too, but it too will have to wait for another day...

I did learn something MAJOR that the Navigator is gonna absolutely HATE...

Willow B Loves to ROLL!!! Nice & SLOW!!!

Barf-O-Matic? I hope NOT! But we will see soon enough.

Beam Seas is gonna be great fun. NOT!!!

I did notice that the winds picked back up to 10-15 knots. This was my biggest fear as I had to back into my slip. Now folks, it has been close to 17 years since I captained a single screw inboard boat. AND that was a sailboat!!!!

Lemme paint you a real brief picture...

Brief, Me??? Yeah, Right... Funny huh?

Anyway, When docking any boat, the key is to move no faster than you are willing to hit said Dock.

In reverse, the rudder is absolutely useless, AND to compound this, there is such a thing as 'Prop Walk'. Prop walk is most evident in reverse when the rudder is useless. Sounds fun, huh?

I believe this is the biggest reason so many single screw boats don't leave dock. Its difficult to dock unless you are up to speed on your close-quarters boat handling skills.

The best technique to effectively back a single screw rudder boat is called 'Back & Fill'. Essentially you back slowly with the rudder hard over to the side that the boat prop walks to. (Clockwise props walk to Port when backed. Counterclockwise props walk to Starboard when backed). Willow B is a Counterclockwise propped boat.

So, I am backing with my rudder hard over to Starboard. When she prop walks far enough, I place the engine in forward and give her a little burst of power then go back to reverse. This little burst in forward with a hard over rudder will push the stern to Port. Repeat as neccessary...

Got It? Good...

Anyway, There is a 24' Grady White immediately ahead of me and an Ocean Yachts 38' Convertible to my port. To get into this slip, I must back around the Grady White with out bumping the high dollar convertible.

The current was slack(ish) and the wind was somewhat against me as I backed down. This was a good thing.

The Hingham Dockmaster was moving boats around with the launch. He called me on the VHF radio and told me 'If I wanted, to tie off @ the fuel dock and he will tender me in'. I told him that my insurance was current and lets just see how it plays out.

There is nothing more stressful than docking a single screw with an audience. And I had an audience. It took me a while, but I got her in. I didn't even have to call Boat US to file a claim. By the time I got her alongside, I was covered in sweat. I looked like I jumped in the water.

Not too shabby for my first dock in 17 years!!!

The wind is gonna be up for the next 3-4 days, so I'll just hang out here.

I went thru a couple drawers up in the Vee Berth. Lo & Behold... My GPS that I have been searching for! I powered it up and it looked good. The pre-loaded charts are only of the East, Gulf & West Coasts. No inland waterway charts.

No Problem. I anticipated that and brought my own. BUT, they don't fit.

This has been the ONLY negative since beginning this journey. Not too shabby.

Oh well... It'll get us down thru New York Harbor and started up the Hudson River before the detail runs out. I think between this GPS, the handheld I brought and Garmin iCharts on the iPhone, we will be okay.

I noticed the bilge pump running non stop this afternoon. And that, my friends, is NEVER a good thing. It usually means that you are taking on water faster than the bilge pump can pump it out. Not the case here. The output hose fitting on the smaller bilge pump broke. This turned the bilge pump into a bilge water circulation pump. Another simple fix. I just removed the plastic fitting from the bilge pump and walked to the ships store down the block and purchased 2 brass fittings. These dudes should have been brass in the first place!! Anyway, it took all of 20 minutes to install the new fittings and re-mount the bilge pump in place. I also found this bilge pump's screen was pretty well plugged up. So once the screen was cleared, the pump functioned as it should.

Note to self, Check bilge pump screen monthly...

Another Good Day...

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


May 30 - More System Checks

First things First! The Head & system.. (Toilet & Holding Tank) I broke out the Manuals (RTFM Right?? (Read The Fricking Manual))

Willow B actually has a Type I MSD (Marine Sanitation Device)!!!

It has it's own treatment system with Odor Control & Chlorine Injection. It was also customized by one of the Previous Owner(s). This animal is the most complex system on board by far. This thing has 2 Y-Valves. Why 2?

I located a control box a couple of days ago in the AC closet. (aka 1/3 of the Admirals hanging locker) It turns out that it is the electronic control box for the MSD System. I think that I have this thing figured out now.

We still have 'No Discharge Zones' that we will be traveling thru, but much of the route, I can run this little puppy.

I have not been real happy with the smaller bilge pump. This is the little guy that pumps the last 3-4 gallons of water out of the very bottom of the bilge. There is a much larger bilge pump to back this little dude up. I DO NOT want to see this pump run!

Anyway, this little pump is a diaphragm pump with a strainer upstream of it. Good design. It just seems to push a little water then burp a little air, push a little water, burp, water, burp.... You get the picture. Yesterday I replaced the pick-up hose upstream of the strainer as it seemed too spongy (soft). This apparently did not solve the issue. I crawled back into the 'hole' and found the strainer cover cracked, so this was the source of my air (burp). I either missed the crack or caused it earlier. JB Weld is my friend.

BUT when I looked overboard there was this pretty little rainbow growing from my pump discharge. I couldn't get to the panel quick enough to shut the pump down. Mind you, I am currently berthed in Hingham Shipyard Marina surrounded by beautiful high dollar marine assets. They wouldn't hesitate to call in the water cops on 'That crappy little boat polluting OUR Pristine Harbor'. Just know I will deal with this issue discretely. And noooo!!! I didn't pour a bunch of Dawn Detergent in the bilge... [grin] It does work amazingly well on sea gulls and such. Just ask the oil companies. Better yet, just watch their good will commercials.

Anyway, bilge pump functioning. Check...

Next up. The Dink (aka Dingy, Tender) It is on Weaver Brackets and leaning against Willow B's transom with a line (rope) thrown around it to keep it from falling off.



I scraped off the previous owner's MA registration numbers and cleaned all the old glue off. It looked good, Then I went in to get my OH registration numbers that I saw just 2 days ago.

They are GONE!!! This boat has a BUNCH of hiding places and one of them ate my numbers! They are no where to be found.

Get this tho, when I thought I knew about all the nooks and crannys, I find yet another with a full socket set and full set of combination wrenches all the way up to 1 1/4". What a find!

Man! It's like Christmas! All kinds of sh... stuff!

I figure the numbers will show up eventually. So I shifted gears and attached my jack plate/motor mount.



Lemme explain, The dingy is a Livingston 9' Catamaran style boat. It is designed to accept a 15" (short) shaft outboard. My Tohatsu 5hp is a 22" (sailmaster) extra long shaft outboard. So I built a jack plate that raised the motor about 7 1/2".

Once I got the jack plate mounted up I pulled the lower unit off the little Tohatsu to replace the water pump impeller. I rigged a temporary motor mount off the bridge ladder so I could pull the lower unit.


Here we go again with water pumps, Right?. I think I worked with like 7 or 8 different water pumps in the last 4 days.

Four days already? Really? Time flies when you are having fun!

The job went easily enough without any hiccups.

Then I mounted the outboard on the dink, hooked up the fuel line and it fired up on the second pull.

I couldn't stand it. I grabbed a life jacket and paddle and off I went. I had to see how this dink would run with a 5 hp pushing it. It looks fast just sitting there.



It took a little (okay,okay, a lot of) time to get planed out. I tightened the steering & throttle friction knobs, and moved forward. Those of you familiar with boats know what I mean. The dink had to climb up over the bow wave. It couldn't do this with my fat a$$ sitting in the back of this little boat. The wind is blowing 25 mph with gusts to 30 right now. Needless to say, I need a shower. Salt water spray everywhere. It was fun. Motor ran cool & didn't break down. Dink didn't sink.

All in All, Good Day... No, a Great Day.

I locked in the Weaver Davits and rigged a block & tackle to rotate the dink in place.



It all worked great. The little outboard has one way that it can lay on its side, and this works out perfect with the orientation of the davits.

I gotta go. Its Saturday at a Marina. You know what that means... It's Happy Hour!

Shout Outs go to my new friends in Hingham. Please forgive me if I screwed this up. Way too many Barley Pops...

Pat aboard Lucky Too (47 Riviera)


Jan & Skip aboard Knave III (31 Eastern)


The folks aboard Miss JAE II (Sea Ray 36 Sedan Bridge), We never officially met. Just kinda said howdy, I'm from....


George & Peggy aboard Concetta Rose (Nortic Tug 34)


Michael & Barry aboard The Sea Queen (Crownline 28)


Tom Elliot & Family aboard Simple Pleasures (Young Brothers 35)

Wayne aboard Invictus (Ocean Yachts I'm guessing 45-47)
(This is the high end boat I didn't hit backing down yesterday. You are welcome Boat US)


And... the ENTIRE Hingham Shipyard Marinas Crew
Namely: Cherie, Vince, Donna and Pete, the Launch Captain (remember the La Oil Workboats)

Sure wish the Navigator was here to meet all these fine folks.

What a Great Night!

Cheers to All!

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


May 31 - Willow B is Ready, well Almost...

Its Sunday morning and the rain is on its way.

Today will find me changing the oil in the Main Engine and Generator.

That's about it. I just realized that I ran out of projects.

The rain should hit by 2:00 this afternoon and last until Tuesday afternoon. It will make for an interesting couple of days...

George aboard Concetta Rose dropped to say goodbye this morning. He was getting off the water ahead of the weather. While we were visiting, Dianne aboard Guided Discovery came by. This was our first meeting. Guided Discovery is a Outer Reef 63 out of Saratoga, FL. Her husband is away assisting with a delivery leg of a new Grand Banks 55 a friend of theirs purchased.



Here's a shot of my radar screen. It is hard to see. But those targets (black splotches) @ 11:00 and trail down to 5:00 are the rain clouds headed my way...


While searching thru my stores I brought on board, I came across this...

I bet this stuff works on oily, greasy bilges that make big rainbows.... Just Say'in.

Here it is @ 2:20 Sunday afternoon and Pat and I were visiting in reference to Plymouth Harbor when the skies got dark and we got hit with a 45 MPH wind that dropped the temp an easy 20 degrees...

Gonna be a cold, wet couple of days.

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 1 - Waiting for the Crew to Arrive

We survived the storm. Willow B's topsides is waterproof. Well, mostly...

There is one portlight (window) that leaked. I figured it would as it looks like it was slathered with silicone sealer and I knew I would need to attend to this issue at some point. BUT it is gonna wait til it dries and warms up.

Here it is noon on Monday and I have reverted to scrubbing the interior bright work (Wood). It is cleaning up well.


This is what the helm looks like


AND the electronics above the Helm... That's the Auto-Pilot below the radio. All three of these are repeated up on the Bridge.


The Garmin GPS is portable between the lower helm and bridge.>br>

Here's a shot of the U-Shaped Galley. That is a microwave oven mounted down low. It needs to go. A new microwave is on it it's way as well as other stores.

On another cleaning related note, an old friend who used to own and operate a commercial shrimp boat down in La, advised that Wisk laundry detergent will create a fresh clean smelling bilge. Thanks Clay, it is on the list. This is much needed as the AC/Heat system spreads the bilge aroma throughout.

I am still trying to understand all the systems onboard. I have 2 Y-Valves on the MSD system. I did figure out that one is for the water intake to draw seawater from a thru-hull fitting.

Another issue I haven't worked out completely is the multitude of Battery Selector Switches. I have 4 of these dudes onboard. What has me scratching my head is that I only have 3 batteries onboard. AND one of these batteries is unused as it is dedicated to the stern thruster, which is missing the thruster itself.

There is also 2 separate charging systems to charge these batteries. In addition to these chargers, there is a high output alternator on the main engine as well as the generator itself...

WOW!!!

I watched the Prairie 29 boat for many years because they were well, if not, over built. But I never would have dreamed all the different systems squeezed into this hull

Weather Window Update

The Original Plan:

The Crew is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. We cast off Wednesday @ 07:00. We must cast off early enough to ride the Cape Cod Canal Ebb tide.

Willow B criuses @ 6 knots. The Cape Cod Canal (which we must travel thru) is only 7 miles long. The Ebb currents run at 4 knots for approx 6 hours then 4 knots Flood (the other way) for 6 hours, then 4 knots Ebb... well, you get the picture.

With the Ebb tide (current) we would cover this 7 miles in 45 minutes. This means if we time this canal wrong, we will be traveling at 2 knots... (6 knots - 4 knots head current), and it would take us 3 1/2 hours to cover this 7 miles.

The lobster pots (traps) would pass us! This would suck! (Nautical terms)

OR:
1.We hole up and wait 6 hours for the next Ebb tide, which will put us into Onset Bay Marina after dark on our first day on a new (to us) boat.
2.We stay put in Cape Cod Bay overnight and chance our weather window to Long Island Sound closes for 3-4 days minimum.

No, thank you very much! Besides, I think the crew will talk Mutiny!

New Plan:

We delay 24 hours, until Thursday @ 07:30. The weather will continue to calm behind the front that's blowing thru now.

The Cape Cod Canal tides are about 1/2 hour later too. We could be dealing with rougher conditions on Saturday, but Terra Firma (New York itself) may well keep these seas down as a North wind @ 5-10 is predicted. If not, we will be forced to remain on the hook @ Block Island and wait for a more favorable weather window.

Check out this Block Island link and decide for yourself if this is such a bad thing!!!

Besides, after the Crew spends the day driving 850 miles in from South Ohio, we will NEED a day to stow gear and rest up before we begin this voyage.

This break will be a good thing...

If we get the gear stowed early enough, there is a few local activities all are sure to enjoy.

All but Sweetie Pie. She will do her job and ensure Willow B is safe while we are away.

Tomorrow I plan to do a bit more spiffing and remove the old microwave in preparation for the new. Maybe I will have the electrical system worked out by then.

The rain should end here tomorrow around 17:00.

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 2 - Crappy Day

It started @ 06:30. Head Issues!! Not THAT Head! I'm NOT hungover. I got Toilet Probs.

Macerator Locked Up & Joker Valve blocked open... Two separate issues!!

The Macerator is to pump out the holding tank & The Joker Valve is between Toilet & holding tank.

I bought a new macerator instead of dealing with trying to make the old one seal up and NOT leak Crap (proper term is effluent) into the bilge. Don't need any help with the smell already present.

I ordered the macerator portion of the Jabsco toilet as well, just in case the Joker Valve doesn't do the trick... It will be here in the AM.

AND the crew is 5-6 hours away. I'd at least like to have a cleaner smelling boat when they get there. So much for an easy day.

What's the rule?? Oh Yeah, Crap runs downhill & don't chew your fingernails...

I'll let you know what happens.

Back to Good Day.. NO More Stinky!!!

Woo Hoo!!! [insert happy dance here]

I replaced the macerator downstream of the Holding Tank (MSD) & the Joker Valve. The bad water is staying where it belongs. (That is a VERY good thing)

I don't know how many impellers I replaced so far. I hope it has been enough.

A Full day spent on this issue today.

The crew is approx 90 miles out. They should be here by 19:00. The rain seems to be over. The radar (Weatherbug, not mine) shows that it is south of us.

The seas are currently 4-6 and we are still under a Small Craft Advisory.

Wednesday 2-4 seas on Cape Cod Bay diminishing to 2-3 Thursday.
Friday Buzzards Bay forecast is SE Winds 5-10 with Seas 2-3.

So the plan is to Cast the Lines Thursday @ 07:00 and cross Cape Cod Bay & Cape Cod Canal. Grab a Mooring Ball @ Onset Marina.

Friday, if all looks well, we will cross Buzzards Bay and a little stretch of open water and Friday night should find us @ Block Island. The forecast for Saturday is not as favorable to cross into the Long Island Sound. We will see...

The entire staff @ Hingham Shipyard Marinas are great to work with. I can't say enough good things about these fine folks.
Speaking of fine folks, The tenants of Dock I are the greatest! I really enjoyed visiting with everyone Saturday night. It reminds me of the Anderson Mill Marina on Lake Travis, TX. Boat Folks are boat folks, no matter where you are...

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 3 - Willow B is Sitting Deeper

Well, the Crew showed up yesterday around 19:30 in a SUV packed so tight with sh... err stuff that the rear view mirror was unusable.

We went out last night to enjoy a meal at Wahlburgers. I was very glad to see everyone, but I just didn't know what we were gonna do with all the gear. I figured we would look like those Chinese junks with stuff hanging off everywhere.

Well we just finished up stowing all the gear not 15 minutes ago. It is 17:30 now. Everything found a home!

In the middle of stowing gear up front, the Admiral noticed the carpets getting wet.

Dammit!!!!

We had a 'Head' accident. I can NOW really say that I understand the MSD system plumbing. I mean it THIS time! Really.

Oh well just a 1 1/2 hour fix. Good enough!!!

Unfortunately, we had zero time available to go on any side trips. I kinda wanted to treat all to a whale watching excursion this afternoon. I guess we will just keep a weather eye crossing Cape Cod Bay tomorrow.

The Navigator made up a quick lunch of summer sausage and cheese served on crackers, with beer and/or wine. This was a great light meal. For dinner, she prepared a hearty, spicy casserole that was great. Sure beats the hell outta ham samiches, which I've been living no for the past week.


Here's a shot of the Navigator's Pantry

That WAS her hanging locker. The heavy canned goods are on the floor & bulk items on the shelves behind. I thought it worked well. Organization... Who thunk it.. I couldn't a done it. We all have our talents!


The Engineer & I also got the numbers on the dink as well as the name on Willow B. The transom location is out as the dink is there. This works for us as temporary signage for the transit home. The lettering is 4" as per Coast Guard regulations.

We even installed new windshield wiper blades!!!

Dianne & Les aboard Guided Discovery did the Great Loop over 2010, 2011 & 2012. They gave us lots of pointers. And gifted the Navigator with a bottle of wine. Tomorrow Cape Cod Bay seas will be around 2', The Cape Cod Canal tides are favorable for us between 12:00 and 17:00. Friday Buzzards Bay seas will be around 3'.

We are set to cast the lines in the morning.

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 4 - Hingham, MA to Onset, MA A Whale of a Day!

Day 1 of cruising comes to a close here in Onset Marina, Buzzard's Bay, MA. What a great first day!

Willow B treated us great. We cast the lines @ 06:00 in Higham Shipyard Marinas.

Willow B is comfortable @ 6 knots with the little Perkins humming @ 2500 rpm. The Auto Pilot (Cappy) worked well enough.

We plotted a course to the tip of Cape Cod, which was about 20 miles out of our way. Pat, aboard the Lucky Too, stopped by for a visit last night and advised that we owed it to ourselves go out of route and see the whales.

We ran to just offshore of Provincetown, MA. We were told the whales are curious and will rise up beside the boat and roll over to look up at you. He said their eyes are HUGE. We stopped and hung out for about 20 minutes when I spotted something dark in the water about 1/2 mile away. By the time I got the binoculars around, it was gone. I kept scanning the area and immediately saw another, smaller whale (calf?) roll in the area. Nothing more. We hung out there for another 30 minutes or so. I got worried that we would miss the Cape Cod Canal Ebb tide, so off we went.

The tireless crew of the intrepid little ship weren't quite so tireless.

My Crew...


Navigator...


Engineer...


And Security...

What a motley crew....


We ran into the East end of the Cape Cod Canal and the currents were a blast. We rode a 3 knot tide which changed our speed to 9 knots made good.

There were fishermen lining BOTH banks fishing for Striped Bass. They were using what looked to be 50 lb tackle.We saw a few fish turn the water and these were BIG fish!!!

We grabbed a mooring ball @ Onset Bay Marina. We got here @ 16:30 after running about 65 miles today.

Onset Bay is a picturesque New England setting.


The local fire department is doing drills this afternoon.. I had a cigar and barley pop and watched from the bridge.

Where are my crew, You ask? Here They Are!!!



They earned it!!!

Lets see what tomorrow brings...

Until Then
Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 5 - Onset, MA to Block Island, RI

We Fueled up at Onset Bay Marina this morning.

If anyone is transiting the Cape Cod Canal, do yourself a favor and stop at Onset Bay Marina. What a great bunch of fine folks.

Anyway, we took on 25 whole gallons. Apparently the fuel gauges on Willow B are not correct. I don't how much fuel was on-board when I purchased her, but I knew I had at least 50 gallons. So I don't know what my fuel burn was yesterday. I will know when I fuel up next.

We left Onset in near perfect conditions! But it didn't take long for that to change... We had very light winds with a 1' following sea. The Engineer & I tweaked Cappy until the course was held. Buzzards Bay found us in 1-2' following seas for half the morning.

BUT THEN...

We left the protected waters of Buzzards Bay and The Atlantic Ocean her way with us. The seas were quite confused. (Nautical jargon for freaking waves hit us from all sides)

Midday found us with 2-4' beam seas crossed with a 1-2' following sea.. Not so bad... Right?

The crew got quiet.

But wait, it gets better... (or worse, depending on who's tellin this tale)

14:30 found us with 2-4' beam seas with a few 5's with 1-3' following seas thrown in just make the Navigator get even quieter. I started to jog a zigzag course to take the beam seas more on a quarter in an attempt to quiet the rolling. It took a bit longer to get here, but way less roll was the result I was looking for.

16:00 found us with solid 3-5' beam seas with a few 6's thrown in just for grins comfused with 2-3' following seas. Willow B handled this in stride. Never once did a drop of salt spray make it to the decks. What a dry ride.

To mix it up a bit more, we met this 50' fast trawler traveling in the opposite direction. We passed within 50 yards of each other on the one whistle.

(Boat captains communicate their intentions to one another by whistle, or horn blows. It cuts down on confusion if you know what the other guy is doing.

1 whistle=Port Side
2 whistles=Starboard Side
3 whistles=Here I come Backwards
4 whistles=WTF?

(No Really... Look it up!)

Where was I? Oh yeah, One whistle...

This makes a difference because we were getting hammered with big water hitting us on the Port side. So when this dude passes on our Port side, he was throwing a 4' wake on top of this already confused sea state of 3-5' beam crossed with 2-4 following. When I realized that his 4' wake was stacking, I ordered Cappy hard to Port, when he didn't respond quickly enough, I went to take the helm, but it was too damn late.

When we took this mixing bowl of bumpy dead on the Port beam, Willow B just naturally rolled waaaay over a few times. Stuff went flying off the bridge helm onto the deck. Security's food bowl slid across the bridge deck two or three times before shattering. All we could do was hang on and watch the chaos unfold.

Oh well, I apologized to the crew and took the blame for that. 'My Bad!'

Once we got on the north side of Block Island and it got all smoothed out, relatively speaking, I tuned the VHF radio to the weather forecast. We learned that Buzzards Bay (behind us) was under a Small Craft Advisory.

The Navigator turned to me and asked if we were considered a small craft. I had to advise her, truthfully, we were a damn small craft.

NOT A BIT FUNNY!!!

I figured if spray didn't get any higher than Willow B's rub rail, it was a good day.

We pulled in to Block Island's Great Salt Pond and hailed the Harbormaster to inquire on a mooring ball. He directed us to the City Mooring Field. The Engineer snagged the mooring line with greater confidence, knowledge and skill than yesterday afternoon in Onset.

We put Willow B to rest at 19:00.

I thought all went well. It WAS bumpy, and Willow B, as predicted, loves to roll.

BUT she is a gentle, boat in seas. There was never any snap rolls or any misbehaving of any kind.

I must admit, The Crew fared way better than I thought they would. We got through the day without many bumps and bruises.

BUT, I have been ordered to find a more favorable weather window to complete the 25 miles of open water before we are safely in the protected waters of Long Island Sound.

We covered approx 65 miles today in 11 hours.

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 6 - Gonna Hang out @ Block Island a While

I told ya there was gonna be a Mutiny!

NOAA is calling for 3-5' Seas today and 2-4s tomorrow. This boat ain't going nowhere, no way, no how. So we are going to waste.... i mean, Enjoy this wonderful day discovering Block Island.

The generator started acting up last night. Ran smooth & pumped water good, just seemed to have a bit much exhaust smoke/STEAM. Note to self, don't run generator until we troubleshoot the issue.

We are currently running a refrigerator on battery power full time. I foresee no problem adding an electric skillet and microwave to the 12-volt load.

This means we are completely relying on the main engine alternator for power and the main engine heat exchanger for hot water... Oh, AND the main engine is our sole provider of propulsion.

Did I mention that we really need the main engine??

On another note, Willow B seems to be yawing a bit much. She plows like a pig! describes it better. (She don't really like to go in a straight line) I think we got too much weight forward. Other indicators, Shower pan and cockpit both pool water in forward corners.

The main anchor rode is all chain. They told me that it is 5/16", but it is seems to be closer to 3/8". I have 200' of that on the main anchor and 30' or so on the 2nd anchor hung off the bow rail. (The anchor is hung on the rail, not the chain) I'm guessing that is about 250-300 pounds of unnecessary weight way up front.

Another note to self, remove anchor chain and replace with 9/16" or 5/8" nylon rode. I did bring a 200' length of 5/8" 3-Braid with us as I didn't know what the inventory was on-board.


Here's a shot of half the crew taken in Onset.

This is definitely before the weather turned cold on us.



And a few shots from the bridge deck here @ Block Island...

Definitely a quiet, cloudy morning.

Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 6 - Hanging Out @ Block Island

A little history lesson...

In 1614 Adrian Block sailed to the island & gave it his name.

There is evidence which dates back thousands of years that the Narragansett Indians inhabited the island. Their name for the island was 'Manisses', which translates to 'Island of the Little God'. Us white folk just moved right on in and killed them off. Then Block Island was settled in 1661.

Kinda warms the cockles of your heart, don't it???

Any way, we spent a good day ashore. Before we even stepped off the Dingy Dock Ramp, we met this old local gent. We visited a bit and learned a little about the Island.

The primary industry is tourism. (Imagine That)

Their season starts early June (weather dependent) and runs for 3 whole months, then it slacks off and drops to nearly zero by the time school starts. So the prices reflect this short season. Gotta make a year's salary in 3 short months! They have these fast catamaran ferry boats that run back and forth hauling people on and off the island.

Anyway, this gent was headed home, and graciously offered us a ride into New Shoreham (town) which was about a mile away.

New Shoreham, RI was incorporated in 1672, and is the smallest city in the smallest state. There is about 1,000 full time residents living on the island. During the season this population swells to 15,000 to 20,000. There is anywhere between 1,500 to 2,000 boats anchored, moored or docked during the season.

Boy am I glad we are here before the rush, which should begin next week or so.

Anyway, there are some BIG hotels here which overlook the Atlantic.


Here are a couple of such places.


This is an example of the 'Tourist Traps' (shopping opportunities) which line the streets.

We stopped by the Oar Restaurant and had lunch. The only other restaurant that was open for the season and close by was Dead Eye Dick's. They are widely known for their Swordfish & Lobster fare. Not for the tighter cruising budget, like mine.

We enjoyed our walking tour of the Block Island.

Tomorrow NOAA is calling for 2-4' seas so we hope to be off the mooring early. We are planning to make 50 miles, then decide to push on or stop there.

The first 18-20 miles are on unprotected waters of the Atlantic, so the crew ain't saying much but I know they are nervous about it as yesterday is still fresh in their memory.


It was flat calm when we took the dingy over to the dock. Upon our return, it was rough in the Salt Pond, so I had the Engineer take the Navigator to Willow B and come back for me. (I wanted to make sure they made it before I got on board) We all got on board while staying dry.


Dead Eye Dick's Update

We decided that we wanted an evening meal off the boat.

The Oar, been there done that. The only other nearby option was Dead Eye Dick's Restaurant. It was VERY high end, but what the heck, tonight is to be our last day in the New England area.

What a Treat!!!

We started off with a Crab Cake appetizer. Then on to the Main Course... Swordfish served over Lobster Mashed Potatoes with Asparagus Spears. Followed up with a dessert of Pretzel Crusted Fried Brownies drizzled with Caramel and a side of Vanilla Ice Cream.

WOW!!! What a treat! This ranks up there with the best meals I have ever had.

Block Island did NOT disappoint.

The winds have layed down to zero. The clouds have broke. NOAA is still calling for 2-4' seas tomorrow. It is settled, we are headed for Long Island Sound in the morning.

Willow B
Standing By CH 16


June 7 - Block Island, RI to Westbrook, CT

Willow B dropped the Block Island mooring ball at 06:00 and headed west for Long Island Sound.

We had approx. 20 miles of unprotected waters to cross before entering Long Island Sound. We were met with 1-3' seas @ 9 seconds off the Port Beam. (This means that it was 9 seconds between the waves) What a gentle ride!!! This was a BIG contrast to 2 days ago. We were met by many large craft and I was able to convince Cappy to relinquish the helm to me so that I was able to cross wakes on the bow, instead of the beam. This maneuver was appreciated by all aboard. Once we entered into the Long Island Sound, we had only 1-2" following seas for the remainder of the day.

We DID have about 20-30 minutes of a 'WTF' moment... While Cappy had the helm on the bridge, I decided to remove the solar screens from the forward portlights and check out the windshield wipers for functionality. Well Cappy didn't like it one little bit when anything happened from the lower helm on his watch.

When I turned the wipers on...

AN ALARM SOUNDED!!!

It then became an 'ALL HANDS ON DECK' mad dash to see what in the hell was happening! We started pulling hatches open.. No water in the bilge. All on-board systems checked out. Well, we weren't sinking, and all systems checked out. I relieved Cappy from bridge duty and allowed control from the lower helm and he stopped alarming. Seems Cappy has way more say as to what happens while he is in control of Willow B!!! Who am I to argue with such a great asset???

We soon went back to relaxed mode.


The Navigator spotted balls of bait fish shoaling all around us. No gulls, just water being churned. I didn't recognize these northern fish, but they were 10-12 inches long and they were in a tight ball. We saw these 'balls' for 45 minutes or so. BUT at 7 knots, we probably saw the same ball 2-3 times...

We made 7-8 knots as we had a following current. We made Duck Island, which is just offshore of Westbrook, CT, at about 14:00 and searched for an anchorage 20-30 miles further, but failed to locate a suitable protected anchorage,so we shut down early.

Duck Island has a jetty (breakwater) to our east and south.


This is our Eastern view...


This is the island itself...


AND this is our southern view.

This is the perfect anchorage as the winds are easterly now and turning southerly around midnight. Oh by the way, the Engineer did a heck of a job deploying the anchor today. It is quite different than a nylon rode deployment. Willow B's windlass functioned as expected.

When we arrived there were about 30-40 boats at anchor behind Duck Island. By 18:00 there were only 4. I expect to spend the night by ourselves.

We have approx 65 miles to our next planned anchorage, just shy of Rikers Island, NY. There we will schedule our next move, which we must time the tides to bring us thru Hell Gate and New York Harbor and up the Hudson River. On another, way more important note, the Navigator manned the paper charts today. We had the Long Island Shoal to dodge. The GPS didn't offer any assistance. We relied on paper chars to maintain our distance from this shallow water area. Not really shallow, but when you are used to running in 150'-200' of water, 35' seems damned shallow!

WOW!!! What a great job she did.

We crossed the shoal at buoy R8 off the Connecticut River Inlet. From there a course was plotted that would keep us off the shoal, yet keep us offshore as well.

All in all, today was a great day. Tomorrow shall be a long day making Port Washington Anchorage.


Tidal Lesson Learned

I anchored in 8' of water behind Duck Island earlier.

THEN...

The tide went out and took all the water under Willow B with it. When I looked @ the Depth finder, I was seeing a reading of 2 1/2 feet!!! This ain't good folks!

I weighed anchor and backed down into deeper water and reset the anchor with enough scope to account for the high tide that will happen in 6 hours.

I fired up the radar just so see what was around us as I navigated in the dark.


Here is a shot of the breakwaters. The mark in the middle with the line going up is Willow B.

The large black lines are the breakwaters we are behind. Beyond them is the Long Island Sound. That little blip at 8:00 close to the bottom of the breakwater is a 23'sailboat. (the only other boat in this anchorage)

Thought you might like the visual...

Willow B Standing by CH 16


June 8 - And We Wait for the Next Weather Window

There is a nautical saying.

Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight.
Red Sky in Morning, Sailors take warning.

This morning (just after sunrise) the Navigator took the dog out and noticed the east sky was RED.


The Camera did not capture the sky as it actually was. Guess what THAT means, folks. We are staying put, right here!

The weather is due to turn this afternoon and as I can't be sure that I will be able to locate a suitable shelter, there's no sense pushing it. There is a Small Craft Advisory in effect, with wind gusts to 25 until Tuesday afternoon. Granted we are in Long Island Sound, which is only 15 or so miles across north to south. With winds out of the south, they can't build big enough to hurt us that bad, but with such precious cargo aboard, We considered crossing the sound and running along the south shore...

We will wait.

We will be here, safely tucked behind Duck Island, on the hook until Wednesday, when the winds, once again, drop to below 20.

There are always housekeeping chores and maintenance to be done. The Engineer will gain valuable knowledge in the next couple of days. Lots of time for brushing up on boat handling skills in the dingy & Knot Tying.

Willow B
Standing By CH 16


June 9 - Westbrook, CT to Bayside, NY

We rocked and rolled ALL night.

Dawn found us looking at calm winds & seas. The forecast called for 1-2' seas, so @ 06:00 we weighed anchor and bid Duck Island a fond farewell.

We only made 4.5 knots good. As our day was gonna be so slow, bucking a tide, we located an anchorage well short (20 miles) of our intended harbor of Little Neck Bay. By 10:00, however, we crossed a water change and our speed increased to near 7.5 knots. As we approached our short anchorage @ 14:30, we decided to push on to Little Neck.


The Coast Guard sent out a Broadcast for Long Island Sound about a severe storm producing lightning and damaging winds. We immediately turned south and headed for a private protected harbor. By the time we navigated the shoals and got inside, the storm already screamed by. We just turned around and got back on course.


We saw the New York skyline off in the distance as we came into the East River.


We saw lighthouses in the middle of the East River.


We grabbed a mooring ball @ Bayside Marina in Bayside, NY on Little Neck Bay. Little Neck Bay is just East of Throgs Neck Bridge.

Remember the Nautical Saying:

Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight.
Red Sky in Morning, Sailors take warning.


Well, here's a shot of the sunset today...

We are hoping for a good day as we would like to spend the entire day on the bridge deck to enjoy the sights New York City has to offer.

We have spent the last couple of days in the cabin watching the electronics. By the way, we tweaked Cappy and we believe his attitude is better. (Holding course much better)

Willow B
Standing By CH 16


June 10 - Bayside, NY thru New York Harbor to Cold Spring, NY

We dropped the mooring @ 06:00 and timed the East River Ebb tide just right!

We had a great ride (with the tide/current) up the East River. All hands were on the bridge deck. The views were spectacular. Just as we passed Rikers Island (NY's main correctional facility)(PRISON), we noticed 2 little islands, North Brother Island (20 Acres) and South Brother Island (6 Acres). The channel runs between the two.

North Brother Island, on our starboard side, had a few old buildings.


The Engineer asked that we circle this island and check it out. Which we did.


And here's the old ferry landing...

The Navigator pulled up the history of the island.

The old buildings was a hospital complex. What was a hospital doing on such a small secluded island?, you might ask. It was a small pox quarantine hospital.

Typhoid Mary was quarantined there for 20 years or so...

There is a very good reason as to why this island is haunted!!!

Clearing North Brother Island, we crossed the inlet to the Harlem River. THEN we entered 'Hell Gate'! Our speed picked up to 10 kts made good! The turbulence was something. I was cranking the helm from lock-to-lock, trying to keep Willow B off the shallows.

We were advised to bear left around Roosevelt Island. As larger traffic would use the deeper channel. Too BAD. We ran the main channel. Good choice too!!! People were out jogging on the river front and were waving to us.


There was a cable car that crossed the channel to Roosevelt Island.

Ferrys and helicopters were EVERYWHERE. Three sea planes landed right behind us.

Then we entered New York Harbor.


The Japan Coast Guard had a cutter at dock.

The Staten Island Ferry (4-5 of them) were the largest ferries by far.


The Empire State Building made its appearance as well...



We turned the corner and there was Lady Liberty!

Pictures do NOT do her Justice! Especially this one.

We circled Liberty Island and were immediately followed by a US Parks Service go fast boat.


We eased over to Ellis Island and dropped anchor to wait for the tides/currents to change favorably for our run up the Hudson River. I felt very secure as I believe we were being watched very closely. I didn't say anything to the crew.

The tides/currents became favorable around noon, so we weighed anchor and headed north up the Hudson River.

The Hudson was GREAT! We saw a whole bunch of cool stuff.


Like the Intrepid, a Concord (long pointy & fast) plane, and bunches of tall mast sail boats.

But mostly, we saw a whole bunch of damned fast ferries and tour boats and helicopters. It was a real cool ride.

Once north of New York City, the view immediately got very scenic. Mountains all around us.


At this point the Hudson River was 1/2 mile wide and 120' deep. We continued up until almost dark. This is where we came upon West Point.

We rounded Constitution Island and docked at Cold Spring Boat Club, in Cold Spring, NY.

What a quaint place. We needed to refresh our stores, so the Engineer & I walked to the nearest grocery store. It was about a mile walk, but what a walk it was!!! There was little shops, eateries & pubs everywhere. The walk thru town was quite enjoyable.

Everyone asked about our home port of Portsmouth, OH. (I guess they knew we weren't from there with our Texas Accents and all) When we told 'em we were just bringing Willow B home, they were interested in our journey.

We took on fuel at Englewood Marina, just north of the George Washington Bridge in New York. We took on 53 gallons. We traveled 41 hours since ourt last fuel stop in Onset, MA, which gives us a fuel burn of 1.3 gallons per hour. At 6 knots, this is 4.6 miles per gallon. When figuring fuel range on a boat you NEVER figure miles per gallon. You will run outta fuel, because you will meet currents that will slow you down, therefore you burn more fuel. The correct way to figure your range is gallons burned per hour, regardless of miles traveled.

So, as Willow B carries 100 gallons of fuel,she can run for approx 75 hours without stopping for fuel. Now I NEVER want to cut it that close, so I figure she will make 60 hours between fuel stops with plenty of reserve.

This number of 1.3 Gallons per Hour is NOT what I was hoping for, but it will do.

I am pleased with Willow B. She is a good ship...

Willow B
Standing By CH 16/13


June 11 - Cold Spring, NY to Saugerties, NY

The Crew took a morning break. We cast the lines @ 10:30 and put Cold Spring, NY on our stern.


We headed upriver and was met with an Ebb current. We made an average of 4.5 knots all day. The crew didn't seem to mind as the sights were fantastic.


There were many, many lighthouses (Lights) on islands in the middle of the river.

Cappy was slacking and wandering 30-degrees Port-to-Starboard. We issued a stern warning with a a serious threat of a keel hauling if things didn't get better damned quick. I think the Navigator figured out Cappy's issue. It seems the Rum stores have turned up short upon inspection. The course is now maintained within 1-2 degrees, once we placed the beverage locker under lock & key.


It was imperative that Cappy toe the line as were met with mucho big traffic.

All is good aboard Willow B once again!

THEN, just to piss us off, Cappy put us down the shallow side of a shoal (Pig Bank)at can #84. We weren't watching, as we grew to trust Cappy since the adult beverage issue was resolved earlier in the day. I relieved Cappy and throttled back. At 1/4 throttle, I ATTEMPTED to cross the 'Pig' back into deep water.

The sounder kept rising, 30, 25, 20, 15...

At 12' I pulled back to idle ahead.

At 8' I went to neutral.

At 6' I went to full reverse!

At 3' we went agound and came to a sudden, but soft stop!

Then we floated free...

I centered the rudder and S-L-O-W-L-Y BACKED OFF.



Grounding #1 is in the books.



Here we are in The Hudson River, which at this point is close to a mile wide and 50-60' deep in the channel and I fricking go aground!!!


This is the Saugerties Light.

We made Lynch's Marina in Saugerties, NY @ 19:00.

We visited with Bart, the Dockmaster, for an hour or so on the dock. During the conversation we learned he is 54 years old!!!

I would have bet the farm that he was 70-75. WOW!!! I never mentioned that I was 55.

A local couple (Steve & Susanne) just coming in from a sunset cruise were kind enough to offer us a ride into town. It was about a mile, BUT it was WAY uphill!! We dined @ the Pig Restaraunt which was an excellent fare. The walk back to Willow B was brisk, as it was downhill all the way.

We were on shore power so we decided to fire up the A/C. This wasn't to happen. I don't know if Cappy and the A/C cooling pump got together, but I have a failed cooling pump to deal with soon. As the evenings are cool (mid 60's), this maintenance item has been noted in the logs, and will be dealt with later.

I counted them up and Willow B has at least 12 pumps to move liquids and 10 of them have rubber impellers! The issue is the winterizing solution, which is commonly used, is bad for rubber impellers, but good at not letting anything freeze. So the lesser of the two evils, is replace the impellers.

Another day in the books.

Willow B
Standing By CH 16/13


June 12 - Saugerties, NY to Troy, NY

We cast lines @ 07:30 this morning. Saugerties is history and Willow B is headed north once again.

Today we are met with a Flood current. We traveled at 7- 7.5 knots made good.

We stopped in Catskil Creek with plans to take a taxi to WalMart to replenish our stores. We landed, and the local marina (O-B Creekside Marina) which had all items we were looking for. The prices were a bit higher, but was worth it as we were under way, once again within 30 minutes or so. AND we were supporting a small business instead of raising the Walton family's stock portfolio.

This marina was one of the last places to de-mast (if headed North) or first place to re-mast (if headed South) sailboats as they can't fit under the fixed bridges further up on the Erie Canal.


The big boat traffic stopped at Albany.Here's the last of the big stuff.


AND cool buildings in Albany...


AND the USS Slater, which was a Destroyer Escort. This Dude was loaded down with guns and depth chargers!

We had about 7' clearance above the radar mast & antennas to pass under a lift bridge, without asking the Bridgemaster to lift for us, here in Troy, NY.

We landed @ Troy Downtown Marina at 16:00. ALL municipal marinas and docks in New York State are free.

There is a Severe Weather Warning out and there's lightning flying everywhere as I type this. (18:00)

I am glad to be securely docked ahead of this storm.


Here's a shot of the Weatherbug Radar


And here is a pic from the Aft Deck... No Red Sky here...

The Navigator did a fantastic job with the camera...

Willow B
Standing By CH 13


June 13 - Troy, NY to Scotia, NY

Happy Birthday Sonya!!! We love and miss you.

Last night we met the crew of The Betsy, based out of Waterbury, NY. They transited up just a few miles to enjoy a BBQ treat in Troy. What a great gang. I just went to assist them to get off the dock @ Troy Downtown last night and we ended up visiting for hours. (this was before the storm blew in). We bid them farewell. More later...

It was hot and humid, just before the storm, so I called Genny into action. About 15 minutes after Genny was running, a great amount of steam was emitting from the starboard thru-hull. Genny was NOT happy. Well dammit, Another water pump issue!!! We put Genny to rest and just suffered thru the heat. We couldn't open the port-lights because of the storm blowing rain sideways.

Once the storm blew past, about 01:00, I opened the forward hatch and the port-light by my rack (bunk, bed), just let some of the humidity out and maybe catch a cool breeze.

About 02:30 or so, I was awoke by yelling & screaming. By screaming, I mean a male REALLY screaming in fear!!! I looked out and saw a fight in progress on the same bridge in the foreground of yesterday's pic of the storm. I couldn't make out all the words, but someone was fixing to get tossed off the bridge. I called the local (Troy, NY) police department and got no answer. So I called 911 and told dispatch that someone was about to make a big splash & they might save themselves a lot of time & paperwork if they sent a unit to break this up.

I awoke the Navigator and we watched the interaction between these 2 bozos and the local law. It was a good show.

I couldn't get back to sleep for hours and was going over the maintenance issues with Willow B in my feeble little mind. It dawned on me that the source of Genny's overheating was probably due to a malfunctioning thermostat. AND the reason for the A/C cooling pump not operating the previous night was due to me NOT connecting into the correct shore power inlet. So first thing this morning, I did surgery on Genny and performed a thermostat-ectomy under less than sterile conditions. The biopsy, did indeed, prove this was a necessary procedure, and not elective surgery.


As part of Genny's recovery, I put her on a Captian Morgan drip.

Genny is happy once again!!!

We cast the lines and headed upriver at about 10:00.

We make the first lock (Troy Lock, Lock 1 or Federal Lock) by 11:00. The Lock is pretty much filled up by a tour boat that has about a foot clearance on each side. The Lock Master asked that I make a Port tie.

Here we go!

Willow B doesn't like to dock Port-To. Starboard-To is her good side. As Willow B is a Left Screw boat, she likes starboard. It took a bit, but the crew was diligent in getting secured Port-To. It wasn't pretty even a little bit. The crew thought the dingy just lost an engine! But I just rubbed it on the concrete a little bit.

The Lock Master said, "Well hell, You should have told me!" I told him next time I will, Thank you very much!

Note to Self... NEVER EVER ask Willow B to go to dock Port-To again. Starboard? No Problem. Port? Ain't Gonna Do It. If I have no other choice, I'll go elsewhere.

Anyway. We lived thru Lock #1. Just barely tho... I know, I know... Mr Couvillion, QUIT Laughing!!!

We docked (Starboard) at Lock 2, which is the first lock on the Erie Canal itself. I called for The Betsy on the VHF as we were near their home port, but received no answer and we didn't give it a second thought.

When Lock 2 opened and gave us the green light, we followed 'RA' in. They went to the Port wall.


RA was a home-made craft that WAS a trimaran. I say was, because she was missing her port outrigger. So now she looked like one of those outrigger conoes you see in Hawaii, She is solar powered. There were large solar panels all over her roof. She had a Torqueedo electric outboard, as well as a gas powered 8 hp outboard as backup. They were running the gas outboard to lock thru.

The Starboard wall was a piece of cake for Willow B and Crew... The Engineer was quite apprehensive but we lived thru Lock 2 with a bit more grace.

As we left Lock 2 and approached Lock 3, we heard "HEY WILLOW B!" It was the Captain of The Betsy hollering out his drivers window of his car. He advised that he just barely made it home before the storm hit last night. We waved our good byes and off he went.

Willow B and crew were old hands and locking thru by the time Lock 3 had us raised and released.



We locked thru 6 locks within 2 1/2 hours. Locks 2-6 were .16 miles apart. We would literally leave one lock and run directly into the next. Lock 7 was 10 miles upriver and had power problems. They were were closed til 15:00. This worked out for us as we were bucking a tide and could only make 5 knots. We made Lock 7 with no problems.

When we arrived, there was a sailboat ahead of us. When we got the green light, the sailboat didn't move, so we went around and found the sailboat at anchor in the middle of the channel with the Captain fast asleep in the cockpit. As we exit Lock 7 we were advised Lock 8 closes in 1 hour and it's 10 miles upriver. Well it is time to find a place to stop for the night. It is illegal to spend the night on the hook on the Erie Canal.

There is ties on the Lock 8 approach walls that we are welcome to use, BUT Hurricane Irene tore them up bad enough that we wanted to find another suitable harbor. We call ahead to Lighthouse Marina and are told that if we eat at the restaurant the dockage is free. Well, as we approach, we see a high dollar establishment. There is NO WAY that we could get out of this restaurant for less than a $100 dollar bill. The Navigator called this high end establishment and they want to charge us $60 for transient dockage AND we must dine as well.

It didn't take but a moment to decide that we will just take Lock 7's busted ass wall.

As we push on westward we spot a Bald Eagle cruising tree top high down the Canal. Then another being harassed by a little ole falcon. As the falcon would dive bomb the eagle, the eagle would flip up-side-down and grab at the falcon with it's talons. The falcon persisted until they were out of site. All that eagle needed was one shot and he would have a meal.

We found Scotia Landing, in Scotia, NY. As it is a municipal marina, there is no charge for overnight transients. If you want power, there's a $10 fee. We called the number on the sign and got no response, so we just put Genny to work. She ran 7 hours without any complaints.

We got word that Locks 24-30 are still closed due to flooding.

Today was another successful day aboard Willow B. We should hope all our days go as well.

Willow B
Standing by CH 13


June 14 - Scotia, NY to Amsterdam, NY

We slept in this morning as our next planned stop (Amsterdam) was only 15 or so miles. The Navigator was restless, so she headed into Scotia and hit the local grocery store to stock up on liquid refreshments.

It seems Cappy & Genny consumed way more than their fair share. It was either them or us, but that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

The local water ski team is about 100 yards from us and began their practice at about 09:00. Their Ski Nautique was marked (wrapped) with US Champion Water Ski Team.



They waked us big so I just threw out more fenders and rechecked the lines and didn't worry about it. After all, we were in their back yard.

They were pulling up to seven skiers. Those kids did a good job. They put on a show for the locals twice a week. I figure that was just practice for competition. They also had 2 ramps for jumping. We had lunch at Jumping Jack's Burger Joint which was about 2 blocks away.

We cast the lines around 11:30 or so and locked through only 3 locks today before landing @ Riverlink Park, Amsterdam, NY.

We managed the locks like we knew what we were doing.

Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what it is about... These shots were taken from Willow B's bridge deck.


Secure against Starboard Wall ready to lift..


And Up We Go.....


Higher...


Higher...


To the Top...


The Captain was making adjustments and adding fenders (rubber bumpers).


The Gates Open and We Exit the Lock...


Into the Erie Canal...


This is a Flood Gate... (called Guard Gates)


Closer view.

It is lifted to 20' clearance under it. Our air clearance is 18 1/2 feet. Anything lower, and we will need to drop the radar mast and antennas.


The Erie Canal opens up to form small lakes, here & there.


Dan's Riverlink Cafe is a BBQ house. Dan came out and met us when we landed. He owns the BBQ House and oversees the operation of the marina for the city.

We visited for an hour or so.... Here's how our initial meeting went...

Welcome to Amsterdam!!! Don't spend a dime here if you don't want to.
Dockage is Free
Power is Free
Water is Free
Pumpout is Free
Laundry is Free
If you need a ride into town for anything just ask and one of my drivers will take you and pick you up. Free.
Oh, and by the way here's the password to Free WiFi.

What a pleasant surprise.

We are docked with a Pearson 42' Sail Boat, a Nordic Tugs 37, and a Sea Ray 58.


The Sea Ray is being delivered out of Boston, MA to Port Clinton, OH. They left Boston 3 days ago!

This beautiful beast burns 50 gallons of fuel per hour at cruise. I didn't ask her cruise speed. I'm guessing it is some obscene number that creates a 6' wake.

At dead idle, she makes 6 knots. THATS my cruise speed!!!

Anyway, we have weather blowing in tonight and probably rain until noon tomorrow. We shall see what tomorrow holds for us.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 13


June 15 - Amsterdam, NY to Herkimer State Historic Site

Last night while @ Riverlink Park, there were 3 kids, 13-14 years old harassing all of us on the 4 boats docked here. They wanted to board us. Saying stuff like I gotta go to the bathroom, Let me on... I told 'em to stay away from Willow B, they asked why. I told em, they didn't wanna know what I had onboard... It makes big holes in little punks.

The owner of the Belinda B got kinda rattled and he went up to talk to Dan and had him call the local police. When the Police arrived, I asked them about New York laws concerning self defense.

They are about the same as everywhere. On boat, weapon in hand, feel threatened, BOOM!!!

I told em, I'm not saying I have a weapon onboard, and I'm not saying I don't. The Belinda B captain spoke up and said that he did NOT have a firearm on board as he was heading up into Canada. We were told by the Police to just do what you need to do to be safe.

We awoke to an overcast, drizzly morning. The rains should be cleared out by 09:00 or so. This gives me time to do a systems check. I checked the boat, no bullet holes or graffiti AND no paperwork to fill out at the local PD... I guess that means we are all good to go.

We left Amsterdam, NY @ 09:00 and made 6 Locks today. What a great day. It was cloudy and kinda cool. It was just right.

The crew spent the day on the bridge deck. Cappy was relieved of duty for the entire day. We dodged floating debris all day.

You know how us country folks always stop and pick up a 5-Gallon bucket on the side of the road? Well I beat that today. We came upon a fender. What a Find!!! This dude is 10" diameter and 24" long!!! Perfect! AND this wasn't 10 minutes after I mentioned that I need to pull another fender outta the Lazerette.

The water level is high due to the rains lately. Willow B is carrying 7 fenders on her Starboard side just so we can cover her rub rails when at the bottom of the locks and cover her sides at the waterline when her rub rails are 2' above the concrete lock walls.

We stopped at a private dock that everyone said we should not use. I told 'em it's easier to ask forgiveness, than ask permission. We are on a T-Head dock 60' long at Herkimer State Historic Site. Once dinner was prepared, we walked up to explore.



General Herkimer settled the Mohawk Valley and claimed 5,000 acres. In 1777 he rallied 800 men to defend the Mohawk Valley from the British Attack on New York.

This home site and graveyard is quite sobering. For those who have been to the Alamo Missionary in San Antonio, TX it is just like that. Just to know that you are walking where great men lost their lives for what we as Americans enjoy today. We hope that we honored these men by acknowledging and appreciating them for what they gave their lives for.



I think this is a phenomenal completion to a great day aboard Willow B.

The mosquitoes came on with avengeance when the sun set. Looks like Genny is gonna run throughout the night. I sure hope she plays nice tonight...

I can't wait to see what's around the next bend.

Until Then,
Willow B,
Standing By CH 13


June 16 - Herkimer State Historic Site to Rome, NY

Today's travel was very un-eventful. Which is a good thing... We locked thru 4 locks today. The first lock (Lock 17) was the highest single lift on the Erie Canal. It was a 41.5' lift. And we HAD to make a Port side tie. It was a mad dash to move the fenders over. The navigator was fending off the stern with a broom handle to keep the dingy outboard from scratching up their nice concrete wall.


As we wait for the Green Light to enter the lock...


Once entered, looking at our exit before the lift...


The door is dropping behind us...


We are all locked in...


A long way to the top...


UP we go....


Higher...


Higher Yet...


We're getting there...


We are there... 40.5' rise.. It took 30 minutes to make the ride up.


And this is Little Falls, NY along the canal... We entered the actual man made canal today... Up until now we were on the Mohawk River. Locks 18 & 19 we got rained on.


The last lock (Lock 20) we had a small tug & barge for company.

We are @ Rome City Dock. This is a free dock with free electricity. The problem is that it is 50 amp service. We have 4 power cords on board. They are ALL 30 amp cords. We have no splitter, YET! Oh well, we have Genny.

Locks 23 thru 27 are closed for a week, due to flooding. Lock 23 is 50 miles from us now. 28 of those miles are across Oneida Lake. This means we have 4-5 days to enjoy and explore Rome, NY and Lake Oneida.

Oh yeah, I forgot... I took on fuel yesterday. My gauges indicated both tanks @ 1/4 (25 gallons total) When fueling was completed, I took on 48 gallons. I had over 1/2 tanks left from just north of New York City. We ran 41 hours and burned 48 gallons, which worked out to 1.2 Gallons per Hour. The bridge tach indicates 2600 rpm and the lower tach indicates 2450 rpm. I'm splitting the difference and calling it 2500 rpm. My speed (or lack of) is just under 6 knots in slack water. I pushed the throttle ahead and ran @ 2700 & 2800, but only gained about a 1/2 knot and produced way more noise and a bit of vibration. At WOT (Wide Open Throttle) she turns 3300 rpm. AND plows the bow. Willow B likes 2500...

On another thought, The main engine holds 9 pints (1 Gallon & 1 Pint) of Lube Oil per the Perkins Manual. I verified this with the oil change in Hingham, MA. She uses a pint per 15 hours running time. No major oil leaks showing on the block or the PIG Pads in the drip pan. AND NO SMOKE whatsoever. They call for oil change every 200 hours. Does this mean that I am perpetually changing the oil as I run? I'm kinda thinking of oil filter replacement interval of 200 hours and let it go. As we have a bit of slack time, I will investigate this further.

We will see what tomorrow brings...

Until Then,
Willow B,
Standing By CH 13


June 17 - Rome, NY to Western Lake Oneida

The Navigator and Engineer grabbed a taxi this morning and headed for Wal Mart to refresh our stores. I learned that there's a whole passel of boats a couple of days behind us. They were pretty much going to stage up at Sylvan Beach, which is just short of Lake Oneida, on the east side.

So... as soon as the crew was onboard, we cast our lines and headed west. We made the last 2 locks before Lake Oneida. Get this... We locked DOWN!!! This means we were headed downstream and did NOT have a current against us.

We made a full 6 knots on the Erie Canal for the first time. Man, we needed chap stick to deal with the wind burn.



Sylvan Beach was a pretty community with all sorts of stuff to spend money on. We watched and waved as we passed by and entered the lake.

The Engineer decided he wanted to fish, so we backed Willow B down to 1200 rpm and made 3.5 knots, gave Cappy the helm and we trolled across the lake.


Here's a couple shots of Lake Onida


Check this one out...


Or this one...

At 1200 rpm making 3.5 knots, we didn't even make a ripple in this calm water...

We dropped the hook in a grassy cove on the north western shore. I am not real happy with the holding of the MAX Claw. I'm gonna tug against it once more before lights out. If it don't feel good, I'll haul it and splash the danforth, which will probably do a better job in this weed bed.

The winds are light and predominately westerly for the next 3-4 days. The plan is to wait on the hook right here for the locks to reopen.

Anyway, another great day aboard Willow B.

It appears tomorrow (and maybe the next) will be a maintenance day.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 13


June 18 - On Lake Oneida

And here we are on the Hook on Lake Oneida. It's Noon-ish and the crew is already restless and ready to go. BUT there is nowhere to go.

Genny seems to have a small issue. She is running fine, but my concern is just a bit of steam from the wet exhaust. Not much, mind you, but enough to concern me. I checked for temperatures with a remote infrared thermometer and found no temps above 175-degrees anywhere. Remember that I removed a faulty thermostat earlier and this solved 95% of this issue.

A related side story... The crew took our Winnebago on a summer trip to the SouthWest Desert a few years back. We were in Tombstone, Tuscon, Pheonix, Flagstaff... Well you get the picture. It was 115-degrees most of the time. The generator kept dropping out. I could not keep this thing running. I went thru fuel filters, rebuilt the carburetor at a campground @ the Grand Canyon. Nothing seemed to help. Finally I drained the multi-viscosity oil and refilled with 50w racing oil. I had no further issue. The generator ran 24/7 for close to a week, only shutting down long enough to check the fluid levels.

Well, when I changed Genny's oil, I purchased and and used what the service records indicated had been used for years, multi-viscosity... I replaced Genny's oil with what the main engine is using. Shell Rotella 30. We will see what happens next time we bring Genny back into service.

We received an Update From New York State Canal Corp:

If it don't rain again, the Erie Canal west of Lake Oneida shall remain closed until the End of Next Week. We ain't going anywhere folks. Good thing we topped the fuel tanks.

Until Then,
Willow B NOT Standing By...
Gotta save the batteries...


June 19 - On Lake Oneida

Willow B is still on the hook. Supplies are running dangerously low. I let the batteries run too low to start either engine, so now we have NO power. We have resorted to eating the dog's food and drinking lake water. The crew is wandering around deliriously on deck.

NOT!!!

Today was a beautiful cool day. I believe the high was 69 or 70. There was no wind to speak of. We are running the generator for 1 1/2 hours morning and evening to recharge the batteries. The fridge is consuming 90% of the power. So the beer is COLD!!! NO new news from the Canal folks. We watched 3 more big boats cross the lake. I'm betting they are stacking up like cord wood. We are down to about 20-25 gallons of water. When we get too low, we will make for a marina and take on 100 gallons. We played Gin Rummy most of the day. Willow B was scheduled for a bath tomorrow, but the forecast is calling for rain Sunday. I got out of another deck swabbing! Willow B, NOT Standing By...


June 20 - Still On Lake Oneida

Three Mile Bay, on Lake Oneida, is like Lake Buchannan's Shaw Island or Lake Travis' Devils Cove. OR any other party cove/island in America.. The morning started out with one boat, Willow B. Then by 10:00 there was 35-40, and by 14:00 there were about 80 boats of all sizes and shapes. Of them were 10-12 testosterone belching go-fasts. I mean REAL fast. These dudes were 35'-50' long and run 70-80 mph... They didn't take long to cross the lake! Now, here it is @ 20:00, and we are all alone once again. We did manage to go thru our last of our fresh water today. We made reservations for tomorrow at Brewerton Boat yard. They are west of Lake Oneida on the canal and offer Power, Water, Pump Out, Ships Store, and stores/eating joints/bars nearby..

The crew can set foot on Terra Firma.

Until Then
Willow B
NOT Standing By...


June 21 - Lake Oneida to Brewerton, NY

We made a Move to Brewerton, NY City Dock. We ran outta fresh water and the crew refused to drink lake water. Imagine That!!! Yesterday we made a call to Brewerton Boat Works and asked about a transient slip. We were told that he could squeeze us in. When we arrived at the marina, the dockmaster waved me over to a slip that was tucked away behind a couple of boats. I told him that I didn't want to use my boat to scratch all those nice pretty, shiny, high dollar anchors sticking out. I tied alongside the fuel dock and took on 100 gallons of fresh water and threw away a couple bags of trash and off we went. We tied on the Brewerton City Wall. There is no power, but you can't beat the price!!! (FREE)

With us on the wall is:


​La Vie - Beneteau 36
Rob purchased La Vie in Virginia and is ferrying her home to Toronto. His 2 crewmates jumped ship and grabbed a bus home. They had to return to work and couldn't wait for the locks to open. He has a relief crew due in Wednesday PM.


​Country Dancer - Catalina 47
Gary and Jodi have lived aboard for 3-4 years. Notice the many potted plants (garden) on deck.


Denize II - Beneteau 46
Peter is from New Zealand and Banu is from Istanbul. They origionally headed for Northern Europe, but said the political unrest caused them to change destinations. So they sailed to US. They plan to sail to Dilluth, MN and transport Denize II to Seattle, WA by truck.


​Pearl - Nordic Tug 37
Bryan & Ellen are from Essex,CT and have a wonderful history and stories.

We are all waiting for the canal to reopen...

Until Then
Willow B
NOT Standing By...


June 23 - Brewerton, NY to Balswinsville, NY

We locked thru Lock 23 and Lock 24 today. What a thrill it was to actually move West a little today. We heard that they were holding boats on either end of the Erie Canal to even out the traffic once the canal re-opens. We think it will be another couple of days, anyway. We are currently tied along side Lock 24 west wall in Baldwinsville, NY.

We stopped for fuel at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton when we left the wall. We wanted to top the tanks off as this was the cheapest fuel around. The diesel was $2.89/Gallon. NOT too Shabby. I fueled up 8 days ago and have been sitting on the hook or tied to the wall with no power for the last week or so. We only took on 24 Gallons. Our calculations show that Genny consumes .17 gph. This means that she runs almost 6 hours on a gallon of fuel.

The wind was blowing 30 with gusts to 40 this afternoon. This was the conditions we docked in today. As Willow B docks starboard, this was a down-wind dock. I just backed (prop-walked) Willow B into the wind and dropped a line off the stern cleat. It all looked like it was supposed to. Piece of Cake. We had guys wanting us to throw the lines to them. I told them to hang loose, and we made it look like we actually knew what we were doing!!!

It is a great small town and everything is close by. They have water, electricity, restrooms & showers here on the wall. The wall is full with East-bounders as well as West-bounders. The East-bounders will be leaving tomorrow morning. This will ease up the crowd, so I will be able to connect Willow B to shore power for the first time in 10 days or so... We have been living off batteries & Genny for all this time.

They even have an outdoor theater where there is a concert tonight. The local high school has a championship band and they play in the park regularly. Tonight we got to enjoy them from the boat. We just opened the portlights and enjoyed. This sure beats where we have been in the last week!!!


Here's a shot of our little neighborhood in Baldwinsville, NY.

Willow B is the 4th from the right.We were the next to smallest boat. The only boat smaller than us was a McGregor 26... What a great place to be shut down!!! Lots of cool folks from all walks of life.

We will see what tomorrow brings.
Until Then,
Willow B once again NOT standing by...


June 26 - Balswinsville, NY to Lyons, NY

The Erie Canal is still flooded. BUT the NY Canal Authority ran two pilot (escort) boats to take us thru.



They ran us at 5 knots to keep the faster boats from waking and flooding the houses and camps along our route between Lock 24 & Lock 25. We had about 18 boats west bound and there were 10-12 headed east bound. What a ride. Most everyone was impatient. I dropped the radar and bimini earlier due to the low (15') bridges. We would drop the VHF radio antennas when needed, then raise them once cleared. There was one 45' boat loaded down with sand bags. He had thousands of pounds of sand on his decks in an attempt to clear the bridges. He destroyed his hard top on the bottom of one of these bridges. A Mainship 40 snapped off his VHF antenna as he passed under one of these bridges. So mix in a little pissed off with the impatience and this is what we had to deal with. We just throttled back and let them get outta our way.


We ran with George (Catalina 34) for the rest of the trip. He purchased the Catalina in MD and is ferrying her home which is in Canada about 50 miles north of Cleveland, OH.

The second wave of eastbound boats met us. Someone flying a Canada flag blew by the Canal Authority escort and passed us doing 30 knots or so. The canal authority took off trying to catch him and then the boats following the Canal Authority escort took off throwing HUGE wakes as well. What a Cluster.

We heard back that the boat that blew the Canal Authority escort was caught in the lock with the authorities standing by. When they say 5 knots, they mean it!!! Oh well, we made 10 hours anyway... Weather is headed our way, but we shouldn't have any more canal closures.

We were welcomed in Lyons, NY with free city wall docks along with free power and water. The local fire department offers showers and internet as well.

We will see what tomorrow has in store for us.
Until Then
Willow B, Standing By CH 13...


June 27 - Another Weather Day in Lyons, NY

We awoke to impending weather. We decided to lay up today and let the weather blow thru today & tonight. It has rained on us all day. The worst of the rain pushed just north of us. Once this weather system blows thru, we should have a great weather window to make Lake Erie. Lake Erie is currently experiencing 6' seas, and will need a few days to settle down for our passage.


This morning, we toured the Hochkiss Essential Oil Company. This area was once known as 'The Peppermint Capitol of the World'. Upon the completion of the Erie Canal (back in the early 1800's) Hochkiss started marketing Essential Oils. Of these oils was Peppermint Oil.


He traveled to New York City in an attempt to find a market for the peppermint oil. The uppity big city folk wanted nothing but the finest oils from Europe.

Back then, most of the oils were produced in England and distributed through Germany. Hochkiss traveled to Germany and the distributors found it was the purest they have ever seen. They purchased everything he could produce, and sold it back to New York City. Hochkiss Peppermint Oil won 17 awards world-wide over the years. Wayne county NY embraced the business and ninety percent of the farm crops was peppermint. The farmers would raise, dry & distill the peppermint and sell the crude oils to Hochkiss. Hochkiss would, in turn, refine/filter, bottle and ship it out.

In the off season,Hochkiss would hire the farmers to make the wooden shipping crates.


To keep the large bottles carrying the crude to Hochkiss from breaking, they would weave willow strips into bottle covers and then place these into large metal 'cans'.

A 22 oz bottle of Oil wholesaled for $5 in 1840. 20 acres produced 50 oz of crude oil.

Anyway, we are looking forward to traveling tomorrow...

Until Then
Willow B, Standing By CH 13


June 28 - Lyons, NY to Spencerport, NY


Here's a few pics of Lyons City Dock along with the flotilla... 10 of us...


AND Bob Stopper snapped a few of us...



Don & Cathy aboard The Last Rambler are a couple we spent much time with and will keep in contact with...

We got buckets of rain last night. At 02:00 the wind got up a bit, so I added 2 more heavy lines to the 4 lines already out. The canal was already up a foot. By daylight the canal had come up 2' since sundown yesterday. When I called the Lyons Lock (Lock 27) this morning @ 08:00, they weren't sure if they could lock us thru due to the high water. We were told to stand by. I gotta admit, that was the longest 15 minutes of this entire voyage.

BUT... we got the green light and all is well.


Bob also caught us entering Lock 27...


Looking down the lock wall at us... Notice the Radar tied along side the starboard bridge rail and bimini folded forward. We are running under 14' clearance bridges.


Leaving Lock 27. Ya think we have enough fenders??? The water is high enough that we are running 4 high and 3 low fenders.


We normally have the fenders pulled as soon as we leave the lock wall, but you can see Lock 28 ahead of us in the background. This is us at full steam, 2500 rpm and just shy of 6 knots. No Wake Zone... They Ain't Talking 'Bout Us.

We ran 11 hours today!!

While locking thru Lock 32, the Lock Master had a harpoon with a 20' handle for picking up debris and such. He harpooned a piece of wood. Not a big deal, right?? Only this piece of wood WAS half of Fair Dinkum's (rental canal boat) rudder!!! The Lock Master said it was the darnedest thing he had seen in many years. Backed into the Door WOT (Wide Open Throttle) Reverse!!! Said when they left the lock with half a rudder, they were all over the canal, running in a serpentine pattern.


Willow B was definitely cruising in a true canal today... Pittsford, NY is a gorgeous little town that really had a nice canal district. If the timing had been right, this would have made a GREAT overnight stop. BUT, we are on a mission to get the Engineer home by July 3. I know this might be pushing it a bit, but we are optimistic. If we weren't optimistic, we would NOT have began this journey, now would we???


While passing thru Pittsford, we paused just long enough to watch a local kid pull in a 12# fish. I was standing as high as I could on the bridge and looking down into the water with binoculars to see just what it was. He was fishing with a fly rod with a 8# leader.


By the time he had it landed, there were 20-25 people gathered around watching. It was a Carp, but what a fight it was. The high temperature was 62 with rain/drizzle early AND late. We could have gone further as the next few lift bridges are open until 22:00.


We all were just tired of being cold and wet, so we shut down in Spencerport at the city wall. Again, free dockage, free power and water. The Bridge Master met us at the dock with much local info and the code to get into the restrooms and showers. A great sounding Jazz band just got started across the canal from us.

The Spencerport Lift Bridge has 2' clearance when closed....


BUT lifts 12' We will pass under tomorrow morning

Fair Dinkum is docked here on the wall tonight. I will take note of how they do tomorrow morning. You can bet Willow B will give them a wide berth.

What a great day! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings,

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 13


June 29 - Spencerport, NY to Amherst, NY

There is no sign of Fair Dinkum, the canal boat with half a rudder.

All of our new friends have either moved on ahead of us as they have waaaay longer boats (40'-60') that cruise faster or dropped off to enjoy the hospitality of the many canal villages who cater to us 'boat folk'.

So Willow B is alone once again. She has taken very good care of the crew, and is a reliable vessel. We left the Spencerport Wall and steamed west as far as we could.


We have just about transited all the canal, and are looking forward to open water once again. We locked thru Locks 34 & 35, which are back-to-back.I mean that there was only a 60' high door between these two locks. We lifted 25' up, then moved forward 50' and then lifted another 25'. They didn't start out slow as the previous 33 locks did, they opened the valves fully and the turbulence was something.


We had water foaming up everywhere. And this was fresh water!!! Previously, while locking thru, I eased Willow B forward or aft by idling forward or aft with the engine to keep us were I wanted to be. On these 2 lifts I was 1/4 throttle forward and aft just to ease the strain on the Engineer, AND he had a couple wraps on a cleat!!!!


What a Ride!!!

We have one final lock to lock thru before we enter Lake Erie. We must transit a canal and stay out of the Niagara River as we are too slow to buck the current. By noon tomorrow we should bid The Erie Canal a fond, heartfelt farewell.

We are in Amherst, NY at a private dock. We were greeted by Cynthia who told us to help ourselves. We seem to have a good weather window to transit Lake Erie for the next 2-3 days as winds are light and predominately out of the south.

A little Mechanical post script...

While filling the water tank, the Navigator asked if we ruptured a line as the bilge pump light is on and has been on for way too long. I thought, 'No wonder it is taking so long to take on water, I'm filling the bilge.' I pulled the hatch and there were no signs of a leak. We were just very low on water. BUT why was the bilge pump on for so long? A little investigation found the bilge pump strainer was clogged solid and the pump had over-heated. I pulled the diaphragm pump apart and found no obstruction there. Once it cooled down, all functioned correctly. Once re-assembled the pump worked correctly. I plan to watch the bilge pump closer to ensure all is well. If not, we have a spare. Note to self: Check Bilge Strainer WEEKLY.

What will Lake Erie bring us??

I can't wait for find out.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 13


June 30 - Amherst, NY to Dunkirk, NY

The Crew awoke to a wet morning. We were prepared for storms during the night, but we were happy to see that nothing materialized, except a light rain this morning. As we checked the systems, the Navigator noticed RED footprints (shoe & bare) all over Willow B's decks. It seems the dock paint transferred to her decks. Once underway, the Navigator swabbed Willow B's decks. And did a fantastic job at that!

While transiting the Niagara River bypass canal, we were outran by a guy in an electric wheelchair. We only had about 5 miles or so of this embarrassment to endure. Those 5 miles of embarrasment lasted for nearly 2 hours.

We made the Black Rock Lock. (say that 3 times fast) This canal bypassed the Niagara River Inlet @ Lake Erie. The current at the Inlet was running 6-7 knots the wrong way.


It was ripping past this bridge. We now know where Niagara Falls gets all that water.

We took on fuel at Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo, NY. We only took on 49 gallons! I have yet to take on more than 1/2 tanks. We did the math and Willow B consumed 1 gallon of fuel per hour since our last fuel up!!!

We made Lake Erie by 12:30 and found flat calm waters. By 14:00 we had 1' rollers, but they subsided by 15:30. We brought Cappy back into service as we now have a little elbow room.


AND a little time to hang out...


The water on Lake Erie is turquoise.


Here's a shot right thru the swim platform.

We landed @ Dunkirk, NY Municipal Wall. (FREE again!!!)(helps on the cruising budget) As long as Willow B doesn't have asphalt on her decks in the morning, we will be all good. Dunkirk is a sleepy little town with folks busily going on their way. They barely acknowledge our presence. This is in contrast to what we have been used to for the last 3 weeks or so.

We did meet Carol 'Kiwi' Donovan, from New Zealand, who is currently traveling cross-country in an effort to visit EVERY National Park in the US. She has already set 2 records like this. One for sighting and identifying a member of every species of birds on earth. That's a whole bunch of birds.

She's 70 years old and shows no sign of slowing down.
We visited until the rains sent her back to her RV.

We are 120 miles from Cleveland.

They are calling for winds @ 10-20 and seas @ 2-4's out of the west with T-Storms tomorrow. We will see how tomorrow unfolds before us.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing by CH 16


June 31 - Dunkirk, NY to Ashtabula, OH (nope) Erie, PA (not there either) Barcelona, NY

The Crew awoke early, eager to put miles behind them. The morning was wet and cool. Imagine That!!!

06:15 - The lines were cast and Willow B was met with 1-3' seas on her nose.

07:30 - West winds @ 10-15 and the seas upped the ante to 2-4's @ 3 second period. (This means the waves are 3 seconds apart) The Atlantic Ocean was WAY rougher, BUT, the seas were more like 9 second period. We are averaging 3.7 knots good. OR bad, depends if you are a Glass Half Empty or Glass Half Full sort of person.

08:00 - The bilge pump quit again. Seems we are shaking the slime loose down there. Function was restored once the strainer was cleared. Wisk (thanks Clay) was liberally added to the bilge with the pump off to agitate for a while.

08:45 - Willow B is still bucking 2-4's, but from 2 different directions. Due West and NorthWest. You'd think it would be worse, but they seem to be filling in the gaps. Every once in a while they stack, but no big deal. YET!!! Kinda like putting a rubber ducky in a washing machine. Every once in a while the flukes on the secondary anchor (hanging from the bow rail) raise as if to be blowing in the wind.

09:15 - A second line was added to the Dink to stabilize it. WE really didn't want to deal with a loose dingy in these conditions.

10:45 - The Bimini (Shade on Bridge) blew out. It was flapping like a flag up there. It was on it's last leg, I knew it was a matter of time before it blew out... I was hoping it would make it home. Gonna try zip ties later.

We are in 100' of water, but it feels more like Big Lake (a 7' deep lake in SW Louisiana) on a rough day. Just really bumpy. What a contrast from yesterday! We have taken more spray over the rail in 1/2 hour than we did the entire day in the Atlantic between Buzzards Bay and Block Island.

Our optimistic destination tonight WAS Ashtabula, OH, but we are gonna settle for Erie, PA.(half that distance) 11:30 - Checked weather again and it was NOT settling down, but building. Coast Guard Erie broadcast a message to all Mariners. (thats us) 'Winds Building to 30 this afternoon!'.

That tears it!!! We're Done. We turned and headed Due South towards Barcelona, NY... It is between Westfield and the lake. As we made the turn we went beam to these tight seas and dumped a chair over in the salon and heard a thump on the bridge. An ice chest tried to swan dive off the bridge deck!!!

12:15 - As we were only 3-4 miles offshore, it didn't take long for us to make Barcelona. Willow B is securely docked @ the City Pier.

The Engineer and Head of Security are jumping ship today. I sure hate to see them go. (The weather and seas did NOT influence this. This was a planned departure, we just had to stop short due to mother nature.)

The Navigator's folks are driving up from Southern Ohio tomorrow to fetch them. I just realized, we lost half of the crew!

We also had a mail call. We had dinner at Jack's Drive-In here in Barcelona, NY. What a great little joint with live oldies music on the porch out back.

It was good to catch up with all the happenings back home.

They are calling for calm seas tomorrow. Whoever 'THEY' are, I'd like have a sit down with them. We will see what tomorrow looks like before Willow B moves again.

Until Then
Willow B
Licking Her Wounds & Standing By CH 16


July 2 - Barcelona, NY to Geneva, OH

It appears we lost another water pump impeller last night. The raw water cooling for the Webasto Air/Heat. The strainer is clear and the pump seems to be running. Willow B has spares, but I am not certain of this one,. The temps have been around 60 in the mornings, so not a issue YET.

06:15 - This Intrepid trawler cast her lines and is, once again, headed west at a blistering 5.3 knots. The winds are light and NE. The seas are N less than 1'.

08:00 - Willow B has left New York waters and is currently in Pennsylvania.

09:00 - The winds remain light and NE. The seas are NE @ 2', so we have a quartering following sea. A bit rollly, but not near what we had yesterday.

The remaining crew has taken to card games. (I suck at Rummy)

11:00 - No change in the winds or sea state, although the clouds have cleared and it is a 65-degrees. Willow B is 2.5 miles due north of Erie, PA. We are averaging 5.7 knots. It is still too cool to enjoy the bridge deck, so we are below on the 'Lido' deck enjoying the warmth.

We passed 40-50 fishing boats of all sizes and shapes out trolling on 'East Bank?'. I'm guessing they are chasing Walleye...

Many years ago, when fishing offshore of TX, in the Gulf of Mexico, we would run at least 20 miles offshore to find good water/depths (fish). We just received word that Erie Canal Locks 23-27 are once again closed due to flooding!!! We know exactly how that feels.

11:30 - An east-bound LARGE 2-masted sailing ship flying a Canadian Flag, is passing us on the 2-whistle side at a range of 1.5 miles. Judging by the crew standing on the poop deck, we estimated her length to be 100-120'. We are trying to steady a camera enough to get a good pic.


Please excuse the pic, BUT this dude was 1.5 miles away... At 1.5 miles its huge!!! The bow pulpit alone appears to be 35-40'.

I have been watching a vessel on radar dead ahead of Willow B. It has been there for 4 hours or so. I finally caught up and am within 3/4 mile of it. It turned out to be a 50-55' sport fisherman dragging baits!!! Man, we ARE slow...

A 36' charter fishing boat flying the Jolly Roger (Pirate Flag) just passed 1/2 mile on the 2-whistle side east-bound dragging baits as well.

12:00 - The winds are now NE @ 10 knots. The seas are follwoing @ 2-4's. Willow B & Cappy are both handling the following seas well. AS the crew is still learning Willow B's systems and tendencies, we have learned about yet another.

When the dishes in the galley's overhead storage begin to rattle... Seek Safe Harbor!!! We are 28 miles from our intended destination of Ashtabula, OH. We have identified a couple of intermediate 'safe' harbors, should the need arise.

WE heard the charter boat, flying the Jolly Roger mentioned earlier, make radio contact with the big Canadian sailboat.


It is the USS Niagara.!!!

She is one of the only two remaining ships from the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. She is 110'long, with a beam of 32' and a draft of 9', with a displacement of 297 long tons.

She was sunk in 1820 for preservation and raised in 1913. She was refitted in 1988 with much new equipment. She now carries twin 200 hp diesels, and is crewed by 20 professionals & 20 volunteers. So much equipment was added and/or restored/replaced that it can not be determined if she is the original Niagara or a replica. That is sad if this is the 'Original'...

She is now designated as 'SSV' Sailing School Vessel. She is also considered an 'Outdoor Musieum Piece'.

14:00 Willow B bids Pennsylvania farewell. We are now in Ohio waters... BUT a looong way from home! 14:30 - The winds are N @ 5. The seas are NW @ 1-3'. Willow B will not be stopping @ Ashtabula, but will press on another 10 miles west to Geneva State Park in Geneva, OH. This will put 70 miles under her keel today. Our ETA to Geneva is 18:45.


As we closed in on the Geneva State Park Marina, we were overcome with big go-fast boats bound for the July 4 celebration @ Put-In-Bay.

Geneva State Park Marina is NOT your ordinary state park. There's probably 200 full time slips and a 1,200' wall with power and water for us transients,priced at $1.40/ft per night. Not too shabby. And the area is beautiful, with town (eateries and drinkeries) nearby. The crew of Willow B planned an early evening of grog with plans to cast the lines early in the AM.

Until tomorrow...
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 3 - Geneva, OH to Kellys Island, OH


05:45 - Willow B is on the move again. The sun broke the horizon just as we left harbor. The barometer hasn't moved since yesterday, so we should have another good day aboard Willow B. We left the marina with the charter fishing fleet this morning. They were setting planar boards (so they can troll many lines spread out) 1-1.5 miles out. So just a few minutes of running and they are on the fishing grounds.

We are making a valiant attempt at making 75-80 miles today. Our optimistic goal today is South Bass Island, but will probably have to settle for Kellys Island, 10 miles short. We did not consider the full moon overhead this morning, else we could have shoved off @ 04:00. Oh well, lesson learned.


07:30 - We are cruising offshore of Perry Nuclear Power Plant. 09:00 - North-East winds remain light @ 5. Seas are following @ 1-3.

09:40 - We are currently 10 miles north of Willoughby, OH. With Cleveland skyline in sight.

12:00 - East winds @ 10, Seas are follwing @ 2-4. We are 15 miles north of Cleveland's skyline. We can just see the tops of the Perry Nuke stacks behind us. It's pretty much a non-event day, so far. And That IS a Good Thing! Mechanical Note: I was afraid Cappy was working too hard in this following sea. I opened the lazarette hatch to watch the rudder movement. Me fears were unneccessary. The tiller arm is barely moving port-to-starboard. We are all good... Cappy is doing a better job than if I was hand steering...

The GPS and Cappy do NOT agree on the exact compass course we are traveling. (In slack, smooth water, I mean) Presently, we must plot the course on the GPS and manually point Cappy in the general direction of where we want to be. Then we manually direct Cappy to Port or Starboard to match the Magenta line on the GPS. I'm guessing the flux-gate compass is off by about 10-degrees. It is way down in the hull as far away from metal stuff as possible, about half way between the main engine and the anchor locker. I pulled the hatch to check out the flux-gate compass.

I was correct!!! It has a single teeny tiny screw installed securing it in place (NOT). This is also where spare hoses are stored. Not a good plan as some of these hoses are metallic. This is a simple fix, but it is gonna have to wait for smoother waters. Better yet, tied alongside a dock.

12:45 - For the First time since leaving Hingham, MA we have no cellular signal. Imagine That!!! Our current position is N41 45.771 W81 50.583 or 17 NM due north of Lakewood, OH. 17:00 - The wind remains E @ 10 & the seas remain 2-4's and following. Willow B is 17 NM from her destination of Portside Marina on Kellys Island. We show an ETA of 20:00... 18:00 - The wind has increased to 15 knots & the seas have increased to 3-5's, still following. We only have a few hours to go, but it is not really what you would call comfortable. (The dishes are rattling)

20:30 - We are assigned a dock @ Portside Marina... The problem is it is a back-in port side dock. (all docks are back in). I requested a starboard side dock dock, as I was a single screw without thrusters. They located a suitable dock for Willow B and she greased it right in, like she knew what she was doing. I believe she was tired from the crossing as the crew surely was.

Willow B has traveled 84 nautical miles today. This is our longest day yet. Our destination is South Bass Island mooring field. We hope there is room for us in the morning.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 4 - Kellys Island, OH

The Crew enjoyed shore leave last night. Kellys Island has a lot to offer. It can be witnessed as everyone on the island is moving very slowly this morning.

Willow B will not be moving on to South Bass Island (Put In Bay), as planned. A phone call confirmed, what we suspected, there is no room. We are not about to anchor out in a crowded harbor. Way too much can go wrong. One boat dragging an anchor can create a cluster. AND with so many people off their boats in the evening, it is compounded BIG time.

The Crew, however, will go to Put In Bay today by high speed ferry.

Mechanical Note - We connected to shore power this morning and lo & behold, we have A/C!!! The pump came up and is functioning as expected. Whoo Hooo!!! It is just a matter of time before it quits for good.

We will see you tomorrow
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 5 - Kellys Island, OH to Detroit, MI

08:30 - Willow B is underway once again. She seems soooo slow after riding the Jet Express ferry to Put In Bay yesterday. It was a big catamaran with jet drives. This dude cruised at 30 knots!!!

The winds were light and seas less than 1' following all day.

We got inundated by gnats first thing and they hung with us all day. I bet we washed thousands of bugs off Willow B's decks. AND We haven't started on the bridge yet. It got so bad that we ran from below all day. We had to keep all ports & hatches sealed, so we ran Genny to power the AC all day.

11:30 - Willow B was between East Sister (Canada) and West Sister (US) Islands.

13:15 - Crossed into Michigan waters. Passed 1E light @ the Detroit River Inlet.

We passed 2 US Coast Guard Cutters in the Detroit River.


This is the Makinaw as she passed

We were against the current all day. We never broke 4.5 knots. Long uphill day.

Detroit skyline with the Ambassador Bridge in the foreground.
--- OR---
The Ambassador Bridge with Detroit skyline in the background.


Either way, here's the pic.

Ever wonder why GM vehicles cost so damn much??


Here's one reason...

That BIG building that looks like 5-6 buildings... That's the GM building on the waterfront in Detroit. Probably the most expensive real estate in the city.

Okay, I got off my soapbox, and stowed it again....

19:30 - Willow B is docked @ Miliken State Harbor, in Detroit, MI. The harbor has a 8' fence with locks on all the gates. We ain't leaving the boat!!! At dark, we are going lights out!!!

Tomorrow brings us Lake St Clair and points north...

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 6 - Detroit, MI to Port Huron, MI

What a BAD night. Fireworks were going off intermittently throughout the night. There were a few sharper bangs now and again.

Gunshots???

More Than Likely!!!

After all we were in Downtown Detroit!!!

There were tricked out trucks with built-in 8' speakers in the bed playing rap and all such garbage throughout the night. There were bicycles tricked out with led lighting everywhere. Local folk fighting and yelling all fricking night long!!!

07:15 - Willow B on the move once again.

08:30 - We entered Lake St Clair.

09:45 - Stopped for fuel in Grosse Pointe, MI.

We took on 65.8 Gallons of fuel. Willow B has traveled for 53 hours, since leaving Buffalo, NY where we fueled last. Willow B's consumption is 1.2 Gallons per Hour. Genny ran for only 8-10 hours since leaving Buffalo.

As we are expecting weather Tuesday, we will once again go to dock and not drop the hook as planned. Lake Huron offers little in the way of marinas/harbors.

12:45 - Willow B is leaving Lake St Clair and entering the St Clair River bound for Lake Huron.


The water here is pristine . They say that in Lake Huron and north Lake Michigan & Lake Superior, you can fill your potable water tanks and you will not find fresher water anywhere. I ain't gonna do it!!!


We did cross paths with another, much smaller, but cool sailboat. By the number of hands on deck, she had to be a local charter.

We also met up with a few cargo ships.


Some were Ocean-Going ships.


And some were Great Lakes ships. These vessels had high bows and sterns, but were low sided, with the wheelhouse up on the bow. The Edmond Fitzgerald was one of such ships.

20:00 - Willow B landed @ Desmond Marine in Port Huron, MI., just short of Lake Huron.

The Captain ran outta tobacco products at 10:00 this morning. A BAD thing to let happen!!! Once securely at dock, the Captain headed out on foot to the nearest store. It was about 8 blocks away.

On the walk back, I came upon the local police (2 units, 4 cops) questioning a gal with a stroller. I crossed the street about a 1/2 block away and went around them. They rolled up and questioned me. It went like this...

Cop: Where are you going?
Captain: Desmond Marine.

Cop: Where are you coming from?
Captain: The Marathon convenience store.

Cop: You don't look too steady on your feet.
Captain: No Sir, I'm not.

Cop: How much have yo had to drink?
Captain: Two beers Sir. (which is the truth)

Cop: You look like you have had more than two beers.
Captain: Yes Sir. I've been aboard a boat for over 30 days and my sea legs are the issue.

Cop: Can you walk a straight line?
Captain: No Sir.

Cop: And why is that?
Captain: I've been aboard a cruiser for over 30 days, ferrying it from Boston, MA. to South Ohio.

Cop: Who's cruiser is it?
Captain: Mine.

Cop: Why were you at the Marathon?
Captain: I ran outta tobacco @ 10:00 this morning. Look in this bag. (It contained 2-2 liter bottles of Diet Coke for the Navigator, 6-Packs of Salem 100's and 10 packs of Cigars)(I bought everything the store had).

Cop: Can I see your ID?
Captain: Yes Sir. (I dig out my DL)

Cop: This shows you are from Ohio.
Captain: Yes Sir, Thats where I live.

Cop: You passed Ohio in Lake Erie.
Captain: North Ohio, yes. I'm bound for Portsmouth, Ohio, on the Ohio River.

Cop: How you gonna get there?
Captain: Up Lake Huron around Michigan, down Lake Michigan to Chicago, Down the Illinois River, Down the Mississippi River past St Louis & up the Ohio River 650 miles to Portsmouth, OH. I'll be half way in 2 days if the weather holds.

Cop: You sure are unstable. (I was rocking while standing there)
Captain: Look guys, My feet are blistered from walking in these damned shoes. Please come by Willow B, we are docked at Desmond Marine, by the fuel dock, and the Navigator will verify everything. We have receipts to show our progress. But I gotta get back to the boat before I can't walk on these blisters.

Cop: Ok Sir, Be Safe. (Hands DL back)
Captain: Yes Sir, Have a Good Night.

They never showed up to question the Navigator...

Weather may keep us in harbor tomorrow. If the winds are out of the west, we may run thru it. Willow B can handle a pitch. She has proved that more than once.

Tomorrow will tell soon enough...
Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 7 - Weather Day in Port Huron, MI

The weather doesn't look good at all...

The dink has been secured with a second line (once again) in preparations for the impending weather. The bimini (repaired with zip ties) has also been secured as well.

The Red Pin is our current position.


We are sitting right here in Port Huron until this stuff blows thru....

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 8 - Port Huron, MI to Harbor Beach, MI

06:30 - Willow B is on the move once again. It took 45 minutes or so to clear the draw bridges as there are 3 bridges within 1 mile, and they can not be open at the same time.

We were met with a head current in the St Clair River yet again. We made a whopping 1.2 knots in the St Clair Inlet trying to make Lake Huron.

Lake Huron met us with 2-4' seas off the starboard bow. Again, 2-4's ain't so bad, but they are VERY close together. Maybe 3 seconds. We are now steaming @ 5 knots. This mixture makes for a bumpy ride.

10:30 - Clay (Friend who is a Lock Master in La) just looked up our friends onboard Country Dancer & Denize II via AIS and they show to be only 8-10 miles ahead of us, but further offshore than we are, and are sailing at 7-8 knots.

They are both bound for Duluth, MN. Denize II will be hauled and transported overland to her new home in Seattle, WA. Country Dancer is making for Duluth to visit family and friends for a few weeks, then she is heading back to Lake Michigan, where she will continue on the Great Loop. She may catch us before we cross the Tennessee River where she will turn south and take the Tennessee River to the Tom Bigbee Waterway down to Mobile, AL.

The crew aboard Willow B is torn, as we would love to meet back up with Dancer, but do NOT wish to delay our transit home.

14:30 - The seas settled to NE @ less than 2'. I love it when the forecast is correct.

18:30 - Willow is docked in a transient slip @ Harbor Beach Marina in Harbor Beach, MI. We tried to drop the hook twice and pulled up nothing but weeds both times. So if we can't make it hook up now, someone loses sleep worrying about dragging anchor. $30 is CHEAP to not have too worry.

Today was a very uneventful day. AND we like it like that!!! Another 60 miles under our hull.

Tomorrow will take us across Saginaw Bay and points north.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 9 - Harbor Beach, MI to Harrisville, MI

06:15 - Willow B is headed north once again. Lake Huron is Flat Calm and overcast this morning. We have not seen the sun in 4 days. We should land in Harrisville early.

Mechanical Note - The primary anchor is an adjustable Max Claw. I will add pitch to it in an effort to force it thru the weeds. The secondary anchor is an aluminum Viking. (danforth knock-off) It is no more than a lunch hook. I ain't even gonna go there. (It's just railing decoration) If the Max Claw doesn't bite securely, we will harbor up in municipal marinas. Transient dockage price in Michigan Municipal Marinas is regulated by the state @ $1/Foot.

09:30 - Still Flat Calm. The skies are still overcast and the flies have settled upon Willow B.

10:00 - We are now crossing Saginaw Bay. We have been running the coastline in 30-60' of water. The depth dropped off steeply to 175'. Cappy is doing a great job of holding our course. The Navigator and Captain are taking turns standing watch/resting.

10:30 - We are in 210' of water. The winds are less than 5, Seas are... well there are no seas. Smooth ride.

11:30 - I see shadows!!! The Sun has broken through the clouds, but it is still too cool to enjoy the bridge deck.

12:30 - We are in 240' of water. The winds are north @ 10, the seas are still flat calm.

Mechanical Note - Pitch was added to the Max Claw anchor. This added pitch should give it more bite and hopefully dig down thru the grass. We will attempt setting this afternoon. If the set is acceptable, this will open up many more possibilities on the northern end of Lake Michigan. It seems that marinas are scarce at this Latitude.

An anchor I can trust will also make transiting the Illinois, Mississippi & Ohio Rivers that much more easier as there are out of the way anchorages everywhere with fewer marinas.

Side Note - With the pitch added to the anchor, it now does not rest correctly on the bow roller/pulpit. If it performs as it should, I will cut the adjustment tab away. Getting rid of this tab will allow the anchor to ride correctly once again. I currently have a piece of carpet under it to protect the pulpit.

13:30 - We have shallowed up to 160' of water and the north side of Saginaw Bay is in sight.

17:00 - We liked the looks of the Harrisville Marina that we didn't even try to drop the hook. And what a great decision it was. Good folks out enjoying the day... Lots of transients, lots of locals. Everybody with stories!!!

We saw a Pacemaker 64 (Lady J) docked @ Port Huron. Then they passed us yesterday on the way to Harbor Beach. They were on the hook and watched us try to hook up twice, before we moved to the marina for a slip. Today I watched a boat catching us on radar. When she got to within 6 miles of us she shut down and when they began moving again, they were much slower, but still gaining on us. When we pulled into the harbor and got our slip assignment, the Lady J called in and asked for a spot to drop anchor while they troubleshot an issue. They lost an engine. They went on the hook for a while, then limped in for a slip. They have a mechanic coming. While visiting with Don, he mentioned that he can run 12 knots on one engine. I told him that he'd outrun me by twice on one... I told him that I will see him tomorrow 60 miles north.

We have lots of folks to visit with and a few sundowners to consume.

Until Tomorrow
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 10 - Harrisville, MI to Presique Isle, MI

06:00 - This Intrepid Trawler is headed north yet again.

Lake Huron isn't only flat calm, it's flat as glass!!! The forecast is calling the same for the next 3 days. The barometer has actually risen a bit since yesterday. As there is a big boat festival north, dockage tonight and tomorrow night may be difficult to locate. So far, the marinas are being booked up behind us, but as slow as we are, I fear that they will overtake us today. We have identified a couple of promising anchorages we will shoot for. It would be grand if the anchor actually held once we get there.

07:30 - Fish should be busting the water everywhere. There's millions of 'May Flies' on the water everywhere!!! The birds are here by the hundreds, but not working. I think 'they' are eating the flies.

10:45 - Willow B is now 1.5 NM East of Thunder Bay Island. The winds remain light, the seas remain calm.

12:30 - No more clouds. The wind is S @ 10, seas SSW @ 1. As the seas are quartering the stern, Cappy is working a bit more to keep Willow B's heading. The ride remains pleasant.

I think we have identified the bugs. They look like mosquitoes, except they don't bite. Juvenile Mayflies maybe? They have kept us below so far today. As Lake Huron is COLD, it is a bit chilly. Which is a good thing. We don't have to bring Genny into service to keep cool.

13:00 - The seas have built to 2'. Willow B has 3 hours to go before we try out the re-pitched anchor.

15:00 - Pulled in to Presque Isle State Harbor, Presque Isle, MI. for fuel. We took on 53 Gallons of Diesel. This was the best price around, at $3.09 per gallon,so we fueled early. I can't get used to seeing fuel gauges read so low, even when I know they are wrong...

Willow B ran 44 hours since she was fueled last. This makes her economy 1.2 Gallons per Hour. Again, This is not taking into account what Genny consumes.

Cappy just hits the rum now and again. Just a nip...

We did not take a slip, nor did we anchor. There's free mooring balls!!! How easy is that???

I really want to test the anchor out BEFORE we really NEED it.

There is a minor plumbing issue to attend to this afternoon AND Willow B really needs her decks scrubbed down. Way too many darn bugs to suit me.

Tomorrow should find us very close to the Makinaw Strait.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 11 - Presique Isle, MI to Mackinaw City, MI

06:00 - Willow B is headed North West today.

Mechanical Note - The minor plumbing issue turned into an 8 hour job last night. The MSD (Marine Sanitation Device) (aka the Crapper) system is very poor design and has been modified many times over the years by the previous owners. This beast of a system has no less than 4 fricking pumps, 2 Y-Valves, 12 volt as well as 120 volt systems, 3 relays and all manner of wiring, circuitry and control boxes. There are lines that feed a 1 1/2" line into a 3/4" line and hard 90-degree fittings throughout.

What a CRAPPY system!!! Pun intended...

One of the modifications was the point of failure. We have everything pretty much sealed up. Once home, the plan is to completely remove this system and replace with a basic holding tank, retain 1 'Y Valve, and 1-12 volt macerator pump. Plumb it ALL with 1 1/2" line. Done and done. Easy fix, right? Not so much out here...

11:00 - The winds remain light and the seas are calm. What few swells there are, are out of the west.

We are meeting many boats headed the other way. Did you ever notice how the design of boats have changed over time? Most of the newer (less than 10-15 years) production boats 30-70' all look alike. They have gone to that European sedan look. They all look the same. Just like a Tennis Shoe...


14:30 - Made the turn by Poe Reef Light, and entered Duncan Bay.

When we made the turn west we were met with west winds @ 10-15 and west seas @ close 2-4's. Choppy ride. We are jogging, so we aren't meeting them on our nose. Softens the ride a bit.

15:30 - The winds have picked up and the waves seemed to have gotten even closer. If they get any closer than they are now, it would be a smoother ride...

Here's a short video of what 2-4's Look like from the Lower Helm.

The video was shot with my iPhone and it is NOT fast motion... The bow raised over a wave and before the bow could drop another wave was already under us. These 2-4's are the wettest seas we have been in to date, but then, we haven't seen Lake Michigan yet. You can also hear the dishes begin to rattle.

It has been repeated many times that the saltwater guys come up here and treat these lakes like what they are used to and sink their boats. Respect the Great Lakes!!

I have a theory on the short choppy waves building and ebbing quickly with the wind in such a short distance. Could it be that fresh water is less dense than salt water. Therefore is more at the whim of the wind?? I have seen the Gulf of Mexico get rough, but it doesn't build immediately, like this fresh water does. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

15:00 - Willow B is due north of Cheboygan, MI. We have abandoned the bridge deck and have battened all ports and hatches in an effort to keep the water on the outside of Willow B.

16:30 - Still only 2-4's and we are running windshield wipers!!!

17:30 - Willow B is snug in her slip @ Straits State Harbor, in Mackinaw City, MI.

The winds were still strong when we entered the harbor. The Harbormaster assigned me a slip all the way in sourrounded by boats with a cross wind. I told him this one on the end suits me just fine. He told me that he would have to get a brush to clean the goose poop. I told him to forget about the crap. It was an easy dock. Starboard-to at that.

We are just across the harbor from the now retired US Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackanaw.


To appreciate her size... Check out those itsy bitsy windows across the bridge.

I remember seeing a documentary on the Discovery Channel years ago. She was built in 1943-44 in Toledo, OH specifically for Great Lakes service. She is 290' long, with a beam of 74' and a draft of 19.5'. She is too wide for the locks on the St Lawrence River, so she was land locked here on the Great Lakes until 1959 when wider locks were built. She has a cut-away (spoon) bow to ride up on the ice to break it. To do this she carried about 350,000 gallons of heel & trim ballast water. She even has a prop up in her bow. Cool boat, to say the least.

Anyway... Forecast is calling for calm winds and flat seas tomorrow. Yeah, Right, I've heard that Before... We are going to attempt to cross the North end of Lake Michigan tomorrow. Crossing now will hopefully allow us to use Wisconsin as a wind break.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 12 - Mackinaw City, MI to Manistique, MI

06:00 - Willow B is headed WEST. Not northwest, but Due West.

06:30 - We are passing under the Mackinaw Bridge. This is the LAST bridge into Canada that Willow B will see. EVER!!!

07:00 - We are passing thru the Straits of Mackinac. We bid farewell to Lake Huron and Hello Lake Michigan.

We are steaming for Manistique, MI. We have an eta of 18:00.


10:00 - Passing White Shoal Light

12:30 - Northern Lake Michigan is flat calm today, errrr this hour.

The winds picked up just after sunrise, and with the winds came the bumpy water. The winds laid flat and the seas flattened out within 15 minutes.


13:15 - Passing Lansing Shoals Light (This is the second lighthouse today)


Sometime after the Lansing Shoals Light, the Captain was relieved of duty and the Navigator took over.

It was just that kind of day!!!

18:15 - Willow B landed @ Manistique MI Miunicipal Marina.

We pulled in 15 minutes after the staff left for the day. The crew walked to the nearest supermarket to replenish the stores. Willow B's topsides were scrubbed from the rub rail up. The fenders were scrubbed (Erie Canal grime and dead bugs) and stowed, as they haven't been used since Lake Erie. About 100 pounds of bugs were washed overboard.While the Captain scrubbed the topsides, the Navigator scrubbed and cleaned the cabin.

Willow B shines, well as much as a 36 year old boat can...

The crew wants to make Baileys Harbor, WI tomorrow before the weather turns. BUT a quick glance at the weather, it looks like tomorrow will be another weather day.

We will make the call in the morning.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 13 - Manistique, MI

Willow B is most definitely grounded today & probably tomorrow as well!!!!

It may be a few days before Lake Michigan will allow this Intrepid Cruiser to ferry her waters once again. The winds are forecast to be directly out of the south, not south-west as had hoped.

It will be 14:00 or 15:00 before the weather hits today. Looks like another maintenance day or two.

We will keep a weather eye out and wait for our window...

It looks like Willow B shall remain in port tomorrow (Tuesday). We are hoping to make Bailey's Harbor, WI on Wednesday. Thursday appears to be a weather day as well. The long range forecast indicates Friday, Saturday & Sunday are good to go.

The plan is to have Willow B docked at Larsen Marine Service, in Waukegan, IL by Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. The stuffing box packing gland on the prop shaft is now leaking far too much for comfort. The repair is NOT something I wish to attempt with limited tools OR supplies. I was optimistically hoping it would make it home.

Willow B has a small primary bilge pump, which is doing a great job. She also carrys a large backup. I also brought a portable electric pump from home as another spare. This is a very simple repair, but the lack of maintenance (neglect) over the years has frozen the entire stuffing box in place. I fear that an attempt to repair may result in an even greater leak requiring Willow B to be hauled.

Larsen is a full service marine service center with great references AND they have a lift (in case anything goes wrong) to get Willow B out of the water to complete the repair.

If we need to completely replace the seal, (may be the case) The rudder must be removed, then the prop shaft must be removed. If that happens, New shaft carrier bearings will go back in as well, as well as repacking the rudder stuffing box.

I called Larsen this morning and they said that they have the packing material in stock and will have the lift standing by.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 14 - Manistique, MI

Per National Weather Service:

Rest of Today - Winds N @ 15-25 Increasing to 30 this afternoon. Seas 2-4 building to 4-7 with occasional 9.

Tonight - Winds N @ 30 becoming NE @ 10-15. Seas 3-5 with occasional 7.

Wednesday - Winds NE 5-10. Seas 1-3.

I wrote this because 2 boats just pulled in. A Grand Banks 45 & Benneteau 43. The bridge on the Grand Banks was wet. The crew on both boats came in wearing their life jackets. They were pretty shook up.

This little cruiser is gonna wait for tomorrow morning and run in 1-3's. The forecast beyond tomorrow looks iffy. We will take it as it unfolds before us..

The Grand Banks docked at the fuel dock and pumped out. The crew asked me if I would move my boat down so they could tie up by their friends. I told 'em I'm already secure and I'm not moving.

The Grand Banks moved south of me to give the Benneteau room ahead of me. Good call for me, because the big Grand Banks tied up with 3 little 1/2" lines, 1 forward, 1 aft and 1 spring. If the Grand Banks breaks loose, it will blow away from us.

Willow B has 4-5/8" lines out and I may throw more if the wind gets up any more.

This has been a great trip so far. AND we only have 5 days of running and we will be south of Chicago and in the rivers. There is no sense pushing and running in poor weather. We will wait and see what the weather holds in store for us in the morning.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 14 - Manistique, MI to Baileys Harbor, WI

08:15 - The winds have dimished enough for us to make a run (crawl) for Baileys Harbor.

We have identified a couple of harbors to duck into if things make a turn for the worse.

09:15 - Winds are light, Seas are E @ 1'. These are beam seas until we make a more westerly turn. This will put the seas quartering on Willow B's Port Stern. Cappy is gonna hate it.

Navigational Note - These are rough numbers, but it appears that we ONLY have 840 miles to go before we are in our Home Harbor of Shawnee State Park Marina in Portsmouth, OH. IF Willow B averages 50 miles/day, that puts us home in 16 1/2 travel days. IF Willow B travels average 60 miles (what we have been doing) we will be home in 14 days. BUT make no mistake about it, while on Lake Michigan the lake shall dictate our travels.

10:15 - Willow B has made the westerly turn and now we are running SW. The winds are still light, the Seas are 1-3's quartering as predicted. The ride is more comfortable.

13:00 - The winds are E @ 5-10, The seas are NE (mostly following) @ less than 2. The clouds have broken, but it is still chilly out.

15:00 - We have left the state of Michigan in our wake and are now in Wisconsin waters.

17:00 - The winds and sea state are both calm. As we made a late start, today due to the weather, we have another 3.5 hours before making Bailey Harbor. Our ETA is 20:45.

NOTE: Willow B has crossed into Central Time Zone...

19:30 - Willow B is secure in Baileys Harbor, WI.

What a great little town. Most of the small towns we have visited are dead or on their last leg like most of the 'Rust Belt' towns around here. Big business has pulled the plug and went overseas. The small businesses are all that's left and they are dying off one at a time. BUT... This little harbor village seems to be doing well. Too bad we couldn't have made it here before being grounded for 2 days.

Tomorrow's forecast is calling for 2-4's out of the SE. We will see what tomorrow has in store for this Intrepid Little Cruiser. Oh by the way... Diesel is $2.48 here. We will take on 50 Gallons in the morning.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 16 - Baileys Harbor, WI to Kawaunee, WI

07:30 - Took on 47 Gallons of Fuel this morning. At $2.48 per gallon, I couldn't pass it up!!!

08:30 - Willow B is on the move again.

Forecast is Winds S @ 10-15 building to 10-20. Seas S 1-2 building to 2-4. There is weather SW of us heading this way. It should hit around 18:00-19:00 tonight. We are making for Kewaunee, WI. ahead of the weather. This is a 40 mile leg, and Willow B should make it easily enough.

Navigational Note: We received word that the Illinois River is running big time due to the flooding of late. We were advised to wait a few days before transiting. As we are 3 days out, we should be good to go.

12:30 - The forecast was correct. We are quartering into 2-4's. Willow B is handling it well.

13:45 - The wind has picked up a bit and along with it, so have the bumps. Willow B is quartering into 4-6's.

We are 9.5 miles from our destination of Kewaunee. The dishes are rattling. We know what that means. The bad weather looks to be moving slower and won't hit until late tonight.

16:30 - Willow B is snugly in a slip in Salmon Harbor Marina, in Kawaunee, WI.

She is no worse for wear. All systems check out as expected. All is good here... The forecast is calling for 3-5's dimishing... When it diminishes, we will be moving again.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 17 - Kawaunee, WI to Port Washington, WI

06:15 - Willow B is on the move once again.

We ran from the bridge all day to dodge all the folks pre-fishing for the Lake Michigan Salmon Tournament. We must have dodged a hundred boats running planer boards. Every fishing boat on the lake is out fishing.

The trip today was quite uneventful.

As soon as we left harbor, we were met with 4-6' seas. BUT... They were rollers or swells at 9-10 seconds between. So it was a smooth, rolly ride.

Get This... We are still running against the current. We have been against the current since leaving New York Harbor! The sun comes up, we run 12-14 hours, the sun goes down. Just another day. There is only so much you can say about another day on the water. You can tell we are ready to get off the lake, huh?

There were no slips available in Port Washington Municipal Marina. BUT as we were only staying overnight, they put us in one of their launch ramps. The ramps were closed until tomorrow. The plan is to head south as early as possible anyway.

We enjoyed a walk thru town and a good meal ashore. We had a leisurely stroll back to the marina and admired all the boats along the way. We turned in early.

The weather should be calm tomorrow.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 18 - Port Washington, WI to Milwaukee, WI

We were all set to leave @ 06:00. Then we checked the weather before leaving dock...


Look what Mother Nature blew in over night... It's a big boy... They are calling for 75 mph gusts..

06:15 - The crew is adding lines.

06:30 - The leading edge just hit. With it came high winds. BIG time!!

The fleet was out offshore tournament fishing. There was everything from 20' to 50' boats running in ahead of this thing. Most of the bigger boats stayed out.

This lake wide tournament is called 'Fish Day'. It is the worlds largest one day outdoor fish fry. Most lakeside communities all around Lake Michigan participate. We will be hanging around today and will certainly partake in the festivities. NOT!

08:00 - I visited with the Port Washington Marina folks and they did NOT have a spot for us for tonight.

Remember, We were docked in one of their launch ramp lanes and they will re-open their ramps tonight @ 01:00. In short we were kicked out with no place to go. We looked out and the lake seemed calm enough to make a run (crawl) for Milwaukee. It is only 20 miles, so we checked the forecast (I'm gonna have to find another weather resource) NOAA called for 1-2's building to 2-4's.

09:00 - Willow B is on the move once again, bound for Milwaukee.

The 1-2's built to 2-4's, then to 3-5's, then to 4-6's with a few 8's thrown for good measure. Willow B took this on her nose for just over 4 hours. Then 1/2 hour on her Port Beam. The crew spent the day on the bridge. What a ride.

14:00 - Willow B is securely tied in her slip @ Lake Shore State Park, Milwaukee, WI.


I say securely, because look at what's headed our way again!!!

We sure dodged this one.

On the bright side... There is a Summerfest here in Milwaukee, with a fireworks show tonight @ 10:30 over the harbor!

We have front row seats IF we don't get blown away... Anyway its been one hell of a day, to say the least.

Tomorrow's gotta be better.

Until Then
Willow B
Standing By CH 16


July 18 - Milwaukee, WI to Waukegan, IL

Today is a very solemn day aboard Willow B...

06:15 - Willow B is on the move for the last day of this year.

The wind and seas were calm all day AND we didn't have a head current.

This morning we got word that the Illinois River and parts of the Mississippi River are currently closed to all recreational vessel traffic. Record high river levels are being broken daily.

This ban is 'Until Further Notice'.

The Mississippi River drains the Central US. That's a whole bunch of water to drain, folks. It ain't going down anytime soon.

Willow B actually made 5.8 knots all day!!! What a great way to finish out the voyage.

14:00 - We docked at Larsen Marine Service in Waukegan, IL.

Today and tomorrow the Crew will be winterizing Willow B. Tomorrow afternoon she will be ready to be hauled. She is going on the hard into inside storage to rest until June 1 2016. We will then pick up where we left off, and make our second attempt to bring her home. This blog will be updated in a few days with a short recap of the voyage, thus far...

Give the Crew a couple of days to lose their 'Sea Legs'.

The theme of this voyage has been high water.

Record floods seem to happen on odd years.

If that is true, 2016 will be our year.

Until Then
Willow B
Over and Out


Recap of Boston, MA to Waukegan, IL Trip

The crew took Clay's advice and soaked the stuffing box with Vinegar every evening for the past week.

The bronze fittings look like new and the stuffing box was then easily adjusted.

All raw and potable water onboard Willow B was drained/pumped overboard. All water lines were purged and filled with Antifreeze. All batteries were fully charged and the grounds were removed. All food, beverages, clothing and linens were packed for transit to Ohio.

By early afternoon the crew left Willow B in capable hands and were headed home in a rented car. The trip home by auto was 450 miles and took only 6 1/2 hours.

Next June Willow B must travel roughly 1100 miles to get home via Illinois, Mississippi & Ohio Rivers. This 1100 miles will take 220 hours of running time. (Roughly three weeks)

Brief Summary of the voyage home thus far:

323 - Hours Ran
1,615 - Approximate Miles
5 Knots - Average Speed
335 - Gallons Fuel Purchased
The fuel burn was just over 1 Galon per Hour

Review of Waters Covered: (Rough Numbers)

250 Miles - Hingham, MA to New York Harbor
140 Miles - Hudson River from NY Harbor to Troy, NY
350 Miles - Erie Canal - Troy NY to Buffalo, NY
900 Miles - Great Lakes - (Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake St Clair, St Clair River, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan)

Willow B performed exactly as expected. She is slow at 5.8 knots cruise (which is below her theoretical hull speed), but a very stable, seaworthy platform.

I researched cruisers for many years before learning of the Prairie 29. After researching and talking to owners, I decided this was my ideal boat.

I believe once 220' of chain is removed from the anchor locker, the yaw issue will improve.

That is a task that will wait for Willow B to arrive at her Home Port.

Needs for completion of trip next year:

- Rockna 15k (33#) Anchor
- New Bimini Fabric
- Upgrade Holding Tank
- Add 1" Pitch to Prop

See ya June 2016

Until Then
Willow B
Over and Out...

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