Life Four Point Zero – Page 15

September 6, 2017October 28, 2022

Flushed Out, We Say Good Bye To Lake Erie Ep. 83

I’ll just get it out at the beginning. Leaving Detroit behind and entering Lake Erie, we were both a bit apprehensive. Apart from the tasty mojitos at Put-in-Bay on our way through last time, Lake Erie had not been very kind to us. Bugs, hurricane-force winds, shallows – I would have been perfectly happy finding a portkey of the kind Harry Potter would discover to take us directly to Lake Ontario. But being mere Muggles, we were going to have to do this ourselves.

The action adventure got off to an immediate start as we were pushed down the Detroit River, running with the strong current directly into an opposing wind, what we affectionately call the Buzzards Bay effect, as it is reminiscent of being flushed out the Cape Cod Canal into Buzzards Bay with it’s prevailing SW winds and step square waves.

The waves settled down after we got out of the current effect of the Detroit River and we turned to port to make our easterly progress. The destination for the night was Pelee Island. But before we could enjoy this uniquely Canada island, Mother Nature had some more tricks up her sleeve. We watched as the skies darkened to the west of us and a distant crack of thunder could be heard. Canada Coast Guard came on the radio to warn boaters about strong wind conditions in Western Lake Erie. At the end of the broadcast, they let the word ‘chance of waterspouts’ linger in the air waves as they signed off. Immediately, we started pulling up the NOAA radar page for the region and checked other weather sources. Sure enough, there was a heavy rain system marching across the Michigan/Ohio border, from Toledo and on out into Lake Erie, intersecting directly with our course. NOAA does a great job with these radar images, providing estimates of rain fall starting with light green coloring (light rain), to yellow, and finally to red which indicates very heavy rain. They will also box off areas on the image to show where there’s a risk of severe thunderstorms or waterspouts. Here’s an example of what they look like.

September 3, 2017July 1, 2021

Life in the Fast Lane Ep. 82

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are working on our next blog post, but in the meantime we have been busy off the boat moving our youngest into college. He will be attending Wentworth Institute of Technology, in downtown Boston.

It’s amazing how much distance you can cover in a car going 70mph! It was a 12 hour drive home from Toronto, and then 14 hours back a week later. We are settled now on the boat and getting ready to tackle Lake Ontario, as we make our way east from Toronto, albeit at a much slower pace. The upside is that we gained a passenger in the process, our dog Journey!

More to come soon.

Our new passenger, Journey, nestled into the quarter berth

August 20, 2017December 28, 2017

A Word From The IT Department Ep. 81

If you subscribe to our blog by email, please be aware that the email you receive does not contain the links to the blog’s videos. It just shows the text and pictures of the blog entry. In order to see the videos, please be sure to click on the top header of the email that contains the title of the blog. This will take you to our blog website, where you can see all the content of the blog entry, including the videos we work so hard to bring to you. We are working with our somewhat unresponsive IT department to get this issue fixed. They seem to be slow at returning our phone calls, and we apology about the inconvenience!

If you simply go directly to our website to read the blog, then you can ignore this message.

August 19, 2017December 28, 2017

Thumbin’ It Ep. 80

I’m not sure if being born in 1963 qualifies me as a child of the 60’s, as I was still in diapers during Woodstock, but the concept of thumbing your way across the country is certainly appealing. In the present context, that means hitching a ride on the winds of the Great Lakes around the coast of Michigan. And what better coast to hitch along than one that Michiganders whimsically portray as the outline of a thumbing hand!

Map courtesy of: thefiresidecollective.com

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August 9, 2017October 28, 2022

Explorations of Lake Michigan Ep. 79

Our last post was from Mackinaw City just before we were to leave Lake Huron to pass under the Big Mac (the suspension bridge that connects upper and lower Michigan and also represents the line between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan). The waters here are called the ‘Mackinaw Straits’ and since this is a relatively small passage between two huge bodies of water the conditions must be considered before navigating through in anything other than a large ship! We passed under with sunny skies and light breezes which was just fine with me. This image shows our ports of call for this episode – our anchorage/dockage locations are marked by the stars and the arrows show our path of transit. Facts on Lake Michigan can be found at the end of the blog.

July 31, 2017December 28, 2017

Big Mac Attack Ep. 78

When an island has everything you need – beautiful clear water, rocky pink shores with deep woods, wild blueberries that grace your pancakes in the morning, and bonfires around which you develop new friendships – it is hard to say goodbye. But that was the Benjamins, and although goodbyes don’t come easy, they are a reality in the cruising world.

Nearby, at Hotham Island, we had been tipped off by a fellow North Channel cruiser that if we played our cards right, we could be invited ashore for happy hour. As it turned out, the invite came easily, as Elaine came kayaking around the anchorage with a friendly welcome and an invite. The rules were easy enough. Bring something to drink, bring a small food item to pass, and take home your own garbage. Sounded good to us!

Norm and Elaine’s little slice of heaven

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July 24, 2017October 29, 2022

This Benjamin is worth more than 100 USD! Ep. 77

We have been in Lake Huron since our previous posting of 12 July 2017 and it has been almost 100% wonderful! We couldn’t ask for more than that – we always expect weather or water conditions that are less than fun or perfect; however, if most our time is comfortable then we are over the moon! To follow our progress, visit this site and follow our boat, ‘Thalia’: https://farkwar.com/boats/thalia

Continue reading “This Benjamin is worth more than 100 USD! Ep. 77”

July 21, 2017December 28, 2017

North Channel, and North Of Cell Towers Ep. 76

It has been a little while since our last blog update, but we just wanted to let folks know everything is fine and things are going well. We are simply in a more remote area that has not allowed us the ability to post much content. We are presently in the North Channel area, Canada’s treasure chest of beautiful islands in the extreme north of Lake Huron. We plan to be back in US waters, in Mackinaw City, Michigan in one week, and we’ll post a new blog update with lots of bandwidth-demanding video by that time, if not sooner. We hope all is well with you and that summer in your area is splendid!

In the meantime, here’s one picture as an example of the beauty we have been experiencing in this area. It is Flowerpot Island, off of Tobermory, Ontario. The soil erodes in such a way that it creates these standalone pinnacles, or what they call flowerpots.

Flowerpot Island, off Tobermory, Ontario (Georgian Bay)

July 12, 2017December 28, 2017

Thalia 4, Bugs 3 (Final) Ep. 75

It was a close matchup, with the bugs giving it all they had versus the stalwart crew of Thalia. But in an extended overtime session, Thalia eeked out a hard fought victory, and there was much partying in the streets to celebrate!

We left you last time with Karen’s update on our first day out on Lake Erie, as we worked our way west from Buffalo. That was Day 1 of the bug wars. Day 2 dawned bright, sunny, calm, and with many hopeful wishes for a bug free day on our way from Presque Isle to Fairport, OH. But alas, the bugs came out with an early lead and held strong until the final bell. Then, Day 3 dawned with more hope, hope that was dashed early despite the fact that we pulled out all of our ideas as a ‘highly evolved’ species to overcome those little buggers. At the end of the day, bugs were up 3-0 in this best of 7 matchup. Continue reading “Thalia 4, Bugs 3 (Final) Ep. 75”

July 6, 2017October 28, 2022

Erie Canal Complete, Great Lakes Ahead Ep. 74

Original western terminus of Erie Canal was in Buffalo where this sign stands today.

We have finished the Erie Canal and we’ve stepped our mast so Thalia can regain her pride as a sailing vessel as she leaves the Erie Canal in her wake and tips her bow into the first of the Great Lakes – Lake Erie!

Erie Canal by the numbers – The Erie Canal is 338 miles long, has 34 locks that lifted for a total of 420 feet of elevation, there are 16 lift bridges that needed to open for us (all from Fairport to Lockport in the western section), and too many quaint upstate New York towns to mention! We will mention our favorite, however, and that is the lovely Pittsford!