Iceman Cruising
| Vessel Name: | Iceman46 |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Sea Ray Sundancer 400 |
| Hailing Port: | Ecarte Marime , Port Lambton , Ontario, Canada |
| Crew: | Wayne Franklin and Lori Tratnjek |
| About: | yearly cruising of between 1000 & 2000 kt miles thru Lakes Huron & Georgian Bay and/or Lake Erie and/or the Eire Canal , Hudson River , Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River , Ottawa River, Rideau , and/or Trent-Severn Canal systems |
07 January 2021
October 21st & forward
I returned to the boat on the October 21st and with Gerald's help the batteries were removed and I cleaned under the battery cases and applied a layer of gel coat. I also looked for a way to run power from the new to be installed inverter to the power panel in the boat cabin. It took quite a while but [...]
31 December 2020
September 14th to September 21st
We left at sunrise for Kincardine and had good seas and were able to cut straight south instead of following the shore line for protection as we had done last year. We visited with Rick and Cheryl and left before sun up in order to miss an early afternoon wind direction change that never happened !! You've got to love weather forecasts !! We were in Sarnia before noon and stayed for a week. I rented a car and we drove to Ingersoll for Lori's car and visited friends a bit before heading to Ecarte Marine for winter storage.
29 December 2020
August 27th to September 13th
We got an early start crossing Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River to Peterborough by 1pm. We plan to stay a week as we enjoyed our stay before and were always on the move. Shopping , walking , dinghy rides and of course wings at Riley's on Tuesday night. The local boaters were always on the dock in [...]
26 December 2020
August 23 to August 27th
On the 23rd we headed for Napanee for a couple of nights and hoped to see boaters we met last year. Not much going on here , few boats and the town was not busy . We walked a bit both days.
26 December 2020
August 19th to August 22nd
We up early and left for Kingston Mills Locks in order to arrive for the first lock . We had to wait about an hour and then locked down through the 4 locks and into Lake Ontario basin at Kingston and we headed for Picton arriving at 2pm and Marianne picked us up and took us to their place. We were there [...]
Orillia to Midland
Well, quite a weekend . We left with Cindy,Greg and DANA (the comedian) on board bound for lock 42 and then on to Port Stanton in Sparrow Lake ,a journey fo some 15 + miles and arrived in time for a late lunch on the dock . The weather was beautiful , sunny and warn . Greg and Dana spent time on the bow after the lock viewing the cottages, homes and mansions . We took a tour of the resort and had a swim before our 8:00pm spaghetti dinner with all the trimings - salad , cheese bread , and desert . Of course there were a few RUM and pepsi's , beer , and wine .
Saturday am broke with some showers and as it cleared slightly we headed for lock 43 and the 47ft drop - big for our travellers and on to the Waubic resturant for lunch ( on the side of the waterway) and on to the Big Chute Marina for the night. We had plenty of time to tour the railway lock and watch its operation . We met Erika and Herbert from Lincoln, IL there and had a great time talking about boating experiences . The weather all day was warnish but cloudy with some misty times and some rain . Greg & I docked boats at the gas dock with a rum in the other hand . Snacks and shiskabobs ended the day and the girls played cards while Greg & I guarded the dock !!!!!!!!!!!
Rain through the night and into the morning was our start to Sunday. We went out for breakfast and then headed for the Big Chute (railway) in the early pm and then to lock 45 and the last of some 153 locks for Karen and I this year . I believe we are approaching 1400 nautical mile about 300 to go. We came into Georgean Bay in light rain and misty fog which cleared as we approached Midland and we did see a little sun before it clouded up again . We went out for the last supper as is our custom with friends on the boat.
Monday morning showed some sun and most of the day was broken clouds . We met locals Fran and Donald and spent time on the dock .
We had a super time with our neighbours aboard which would have been better if the weather had co-operated . Cindy,Greg and Dana left for home about 11:30am.
Laundry and rest and movies completed the day.
Wayne
