Hot 'n sunny Sunday in Port Clinton - so good to be back, driving Ruby (after neither of us driving for 8 weeks)!!! And with my shoulder injury and not driving for over 4 months, I'm happy to be behind the wheel once again!
Went to 10:30 Mass and happy to be back with Father Jonathan and another wonderful homily. While we were gone, we attended Mass in Port Dalhousie and Kingston, ON, Alexandria Bay and Newark, NY + 3 weeks livestreaming from Port Clinton and Boston.
Stopped at Coffee Express for iced coffee and shared a chicken salad croissant. On home and set to work sorting laundry, checking out Flo and Big Red (all good with them) and getting our stuff organized a bit.
Been watching the Weather Channel and Debby......scary stuff going on as we're in the thick of hurricane season!
Zoom tonight missing Janet. Theresa talked about the horrific storm that passed thru Lake James on Friday and all the downed trees at Michael's and their neighbor. Joan talked about the big gaming weekend she and Janet attended last week. Doris and family are going to Myrtle Beach. Lydia was thrilled that Carlos Yulo won 2 gold medals from her native Philippines in the Olympics.
We went for a walk after it cooled down (8:45) and met Bill and Debbie on their yacht. They are from Cape Coral, FL and their 1st boat was destroyed by Ian.....their current boat (a beautiful 2004 Viking) was having engine problems as they were cruising on Lake St. Clair and for 5 weeks they've been here at Superior trying to figure out the problem. They also have a home in Louisville and today, friends (Debbie and Robert) came to cruise with them for 2 weeks - they'll be outta here in the morning! They've gotten to know Port Clinton really well.....and those 5 weeks we were gone!
Mark was up early this morning and put together the stats for our trip....
2024 Summer Trip on Catrina
54 days
40 different locations where we spent the night
142 hours on the boat engines
1,479 miles on the boat
10.4 mph average speed overall
Longest day - 15 hours, 25 minutes (Welland Canal)
2nd longest day - 11 hours (Sand Lake on the Rideau Canal to Kingston, ON)
Longest mileage day - Buffalo to Geneva State Park Marina - 130.5
Fuel use - 557 gallons
Fuel cost in US dollars - $2,741
Gallons burned per hour - 3.9
Miles per gallon - 2.7
Generator hours - 39
Locks - 95
Slip fees in US dollars - $3,269
Some unique thoughts I jotted down during our trip:
In Canada...ice is minimal (had to ask in some places); boaters rarely put the name and/or where their homeport is; have to pay for plastic bags;
Pay at restaurants with little pay machine instead of giving a bill in plastic folder. The waiter would stay there till we completed the transaction
The Murray Canal - taking a long pipe with plastic cup on the end to take our $
The raccoon at Bluffers Park, ON staring at me thru window screen on Catrina - he was wandering the dock at night
Geese. geese, soooo many geese - the marina at Port Credit even had a fox on the dock (with a wagging tail when folks walked by to keep the geese away)!
Great walking/biking trails, coffee shops, (Arch top coffee shop in Port Credit didn't allow computers) in so many towns
Best docks - Hamilton, ON
Nicest marina office/boater lounge/FREE laundry/entertainment certain nights, 12 kinds of ice cream - Trenton, ON
Canadian marinas only offer 30 amp service 95% of the time; we have 50 amp in the states. Mark now understands why Catrina was built with two 30-amp plugs as she was built in Canada.
Bugs - minimal (certainly no mayflies 😀)
Very pleasant weather - with cool mornings and evenings - warm afternoons (only 2 really hot days). Wore our sweatshirts/long pants frequently
Lots of weeds in marinas
Paid the most for pump out in Alexandria Bay, NY - $30
Gorgeous FLOWERS everywhere!!!
And best of all.....visiting friends Louise and Robin in Whitby; Ron and Lois, Larry and Sue in Cobourg; Rory in Hamilton; Paul and Kathy staying with us for 5 days while cruising the 1000 Islands; John, Brian, Emma, Lucas, Evan, and Isaac! FUN times and great memories!
And a huge shout-out and thanks to my Captain and the many hours he spent planning this trip - so many logistics - the routes we were taking, where we would be each night + making reservations; who could or could not accommodate Catrina (width); all those locks, his patience with me and so conscientious about what I could or could not do with hand/shoulder; bringing me many a latte which was so appreciated; and on and on.....he's a purple-award winner for this trip!!!
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