Preparing for the trip

Captain Jerry has been making the final preparations to North Star, our 32 foot Cape Island down east trawler. We are anxious to leave our landlubber lives behind and begin our long awaited journey around the Great Circle. Join us as we travel 10, 000 kilometers: through the historic Trent Severn Waterway; the pristine waters of Georgian Bay; the North Channel of lake Huron; and hop from beach to beach on lake Michigan. We will visit Chicago and begin our trek along the rivers: Illinois; upper Mississippi; Ohio; Cumberland: Tennessee; Tenn-Tom Waterway and the Black Warrior. We will have transited through 68 locks at this juncture. We have chosen the inner route from Mobile Alabama to Tarpon Springs Florida and the shorter Ocheechobee Waterway to reach the East coast of Florida. We will skip over to the Bahamas to wait out the winter before heading North on the Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway.
The 10 years of researching and planning are finally at an end and we invite you to come along on our adventure.























Friday, January 20, 2012

Rotunda Florida

Life continues to be a beach for me while the Captain is happily painting the superstructure of the boat. It is a long process because he is using sand from the Panhandle of Florida to make the non skid paint. It is a much finer sand than what was already there so it should be a little easier on the bare feet.  The Captain is not the least bit interested in sitting still on a peaceful quiet beach reading a book.  Not a problem, I can do it for both of us.
We went to visit friends, Nancy and Richard, yesterday in Rotunda. They have rented a beautiful two bedroom house with their friends from Ontario. They have a heated pool in a screened in Florida room.  Their shower is just a little smaller than our boat.
We then drove with Richard to Clearwater where we picked up Randy to go to Don's Salvage.  This is a marine wreck yard that carries thousands of used boat parts. It is like walking through a graveyard and dump. The crew of the North Star loves that sort of thing. Oddly enough, I was the only female in the whole place. Jerry was disappointed because he wasn't able to bargain like the old days.  He says he is never going back.  Stay tuned on this one.
The drive to Clearwater is so nice with a beautiful view from the Skyway Bridge and the bridges over Charlotte Harbour.  It made me anxious to get back out on the water and start moving again.
Today I am provisioning and laundry but I will still have time to beach myself. I sit in a chair so that no one tries to roll me back in the water. I do find I get less exercise when I bring my beach chair on the bike but I do get more reading done.
Tomorrow, I am off to the street bazaar on Main Street on this side of the bridge.

The house in Rotunda near Charlotte Harbor

heated pool


boat parts at Don's Salvage

Typical Florida Restaurant

Richard, Randy and I at the Crab Shack for lunch

The Captain at work

The Crew's tools of the trade at Bowditch Point beach
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1 comment:

  1. ninichickJanuary 21, 2012 at 10:39 AM

    I personally think you are having way too much fun for guys your age. Lucky you!! We are knee-deep in snow again....just when it had all melted. We are really feeling sorry for ourselves in this frozen tundra...okay, not frozen, but not warm either....we're just jealous, okay!

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