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Lady Charli Sojourn Tom & Rose Current 2009 Pictures Quebec City |
Running Free |
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| Joyce and Carl
Berdie invite you to take part in their adventure aboard their 1980
Freedom 40 Cat Ketch called Running Free. They sailed
Running Free for 12 weeks last summer (2008) from Lake Superior to
Rochester, NY. in Lake Ontario. This summer they sailed from
Rochester up the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City.
August 6, 2009 We're back in Minneapolis as of July 25th. We didn't take the Amtrak back due to Canada's train strike so we flew back instead. Carl's back at work & Joyce is enjoying a few more days until the STATE FAIR and then school starts. Tom & Rose & Jim & Ellie, the two sailing couples who lived in our home last month, left everything ship shape for our return. Jim & Ellie are now back on their boat Meta Fog in Nova Scotia & Tom & Rose are now house sitting for Larry Carpenter & Judy Taylor who are sailing their boat in Lake Superior this month. Links to their sailing websites are listed above. Running Free has been left in the hands of Francois Lemelin and the Yacht Club de Quebec. While in Quebec City we benefited tremendously from the friendship of Joe Mainguy and his wife, Joan Murphy, who are bi-lingual and Quebec natives. With Joe's help translating the French conversations in the Custom's office, and with Francois in attendance too, we were able to get our proper permits to leave the boat in Quebec over the winter. July 17th 2009 We've had an incredible time in Montreal. The Port d'Escale Marina is right below the main tourist street, Jacques Cartier, in old town, behind the Circusdu Soleil tents. The 2nd day there, after we finished a great lunch of mussels and were walking home, we ran into our marina neighbors, Brian & Jan, walking down the street. We first met this couple in the Ogdensburg, NY, marina. What other type of lifestyle allows this familiarity in unfamiliar places? After three nights of action packed Montreal, we scooted 25 miles and stayed a calm night at anchor near a quaint village called Contrecoeur. We are now in Trois-Rivieres and are not looking forward to tomorrow and our ten hour day through the Richelieu Rapids to Quebec. City. We have to time the tide and may get in well after dark. The best time to get into Quebec City is at low tide, but the marina we'll be staying at has a lock that can only be entered at high tide. That could mean a l o n g wait before we'll finally be secure. The weather has been unusually cool and I've regretted not bringing my long underwear. We seem to experience rain almost every day. Our first run in with "French Canada" was anchoring at Valleyfield when they were holding the hydroplane races. It rained all day and the races were called two hours early, we were able to get into town because of this. After returning to the boat, we looked across the channel to see hundreds of tents set up for the celebrations. Right after sunset the thunderstorm hit, winds to 41 knots, lightning and lots of rain. I sat anchor watch for an hour or so in the dark. The next morning, we didn't see a single tent set up. We'll try to post some photos in the next couple of days, once we're secure in Quebec City. Joyce will get her stitches out while there also. Her hand is healing well after that nasty docking accident in Clayton, NY. Au revoir! July 9th 2009 spent all afternoon visiting Upper Canada Village, near Crysler Park after clearing into Canada this noon. This is a collection of buildings saved from the flooding of the St. Lawrence Seaway turned into a living village circa 1866. Our passage from Oswego to Cape Vincent averaged 7.7 knots with 8 to 10 foot seas, exciting but quite uncomfortable. The 1,000 Islands reminded us of the North Channel with cabins, castles and homes all over the place. The Antique Boat Museum was a special treat the day after spending an afternoon getting Joyce's hand stitched up. She caught it between a cleat and a mooring line and it meant an ambulance trip 20 miles upriver to Alexandria Bay's ER. A tour of the Boldt Castle and Yachthouse later in Alex Bay was an interesting afternoon for us before leaving the 1,000 Islands for "The River". July 4, 2009 We're cruising again! We left Sodus Bay on July 3, after hearing that they celebrate the 4th on the 3rd. We wanted to see fireworks on the 4th so are now in Oswego NY only to find out they celebrate the 4th on the 5th. We leave shortly for Cape Vincent NY and hope to see fireworks tonight. We arrived in Rochester on Saturday and were able to paint the bottom and get ready for launching on Monday. The boat came through the winter fine down below, but was horribly mildewed on deck. While installing our hot water heater I found the throttle cable was in shreds, and we delayed departure a day while a new one was ordered and then replaced. Between rain showers we were able to motor to Sodus Bay and had a great Prime Rib dinner at Pappa Joes for $11. Leaving Sodus Bay yesterday we flew at 7.2 knot average to Oswego in winds just over 20 knots. We're currently tied to the quay there and after breakfast will leave in winds of 9 to11 gusting 18. August 28, 2008 We're Home!! Was it all a dream? Actually, coming home to a broken water heater, a stack of mail 2 feet high, and a lawn and garden that are totally parched makes it all feel too real. Running Free is on the hard in Rochester, NY. We pulled the broken water heater out (it went about the same time as the one at home, go figure), un bent the sails, cleaned, packed and winterized before renting a Buick to drive home. We spent our last days in Canada with our new Canadian friends. Thank you, Bruce and Lila, for the great time you showed us at your house and the Port Credit Yacht Club in Mississauga. Thank you, Kim and Sandy, in Whitby, for the great meal at Kim's restaurant and the hospitality you showed us at your home. All in all it was a great summer. The wind was behind us when it blew hard, we never had to beat into it the whole summer. The worst negatives were the cold and fog in Lake Superior and the day we got hit by a fly hatch in Lake Huron. We were covered in small fish flies! The poor economy kept many boaters off the water, so we never had trouble finding a slip, or a good place to drop the hook. Each lake showed a distinct personality which was fun to discover: Superior=solitude, Huron=wilderness, Erie=parties, Ontario=yacht clubs and cosmopolitanism. We are looking forward to learning about Quebec and the Maritimes next year. August 9, 2008 We're in Toronto. The sailings been great, the weather cool. The sail from Port Dalhousie averaged 7.2 knots. Port Dalhousie is where the next GLCC Rendezvous will be and it should be a dynamite location. Our computer's USB drives are all acting funky, sometimes working and sometimes not. This has been very frustrating, and will require some rethinking for next year. We are enjoying our third stay at Hanlon's Point Marina in the Harbour Islands of Toronto. We're meeting Sandy Nichol at The St. Lawrence Market. We met Sandy 10 years ago on our Trinidad cruise and it will be interesting to hear about her later adventures in China. August 4, 2008 We've been moving fast. We're in Dunkirk, NY, in Lake Erie. Since leaving Prudy & Charlie's, we've stayed a night at the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, Put in Bay in the middle of western Lake Erie (I didn't see one drunk and don't know whether to be happy or disappointed), Vermilion, Ohio the next day, followed by Cleveland, where we stayed one night at the Edgewater Yacht Club, and the next at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We were there when they opened, and they almost had to kick Joyce out at closing. It's a fun place, once you realize it's not the artifacts, but the listening that makes it great. Geneva on the Lake was the next stop. It was a little bit like the twilight zone in it's '50's feel, small cabins for rent, shops & food stalls more like a Mexican town than Ohio. We arrived in Erie, PA, just in time for the Annual Corn Roast at the Presque Isle Yacht Club and spent a couple of nights there seeing the sights. Tonight we're in Dunkirk and will leave for Fort Colborne, Ontario, tomorrow. The next day we should go through the Welland Canal which will take us down Niagara falls in eight easy stages (locks). From there it's on to Toronto. It's looking like we'll leave the boat in Lake Ontario for the winter. Internet connectivity has become more of a problem so our updates haven't been as frequent as hoped. Hope to have Lake Erie pictures posted soon. July 25, 2008 It's great to renew old friendships. We are currently tied up to Prudy and Charlie Billiu's dock in their backyard near Metro Beach just off Lake St. Clair. Prudy showed Joyce how to bake a cake in a pressure cooker over an alcohol stove in Annapolis in 1977. We stayed here on our 1998 trip as well, (see our Wisconsin to Maryland pictures). We'll be hearing the Detroit Symphony tonight with them at Metro Beach and hope to leave on Sunday if our mail gets here tomorrow. We've been pushing hard since leaving the GLCC rendezvous in Little Current. A night in Killarney to eat the "best fish & chips in the world", watching a family of otters near our mooring and watching a bear swim across the "cut" right behind our stern was followed by a sail to Cove Island. Cove Island had one of those perfect anchorages, where the writer of the cruising guide liked it so much they made it much scarier than it is to get in.. Thanks to the GLCC Harbor Reports for getting us in safely. A short sail from there to Tobermory on the tip of the Bruce Peninsula saw our last day in Canada. A long day's sail to Harrisville Harbor in MI had us being greeted by Billy and Diane Maier, s/v "Outlandish" who we met in the Chesapeake Bay in 1998. Diane brought us dinner and the leftovers have served us well. From Harrisville to Port Austin we motored and spent the night. From Port Austin to Port Sanilac saw us average over 7.4 knots the whole way: WE FLEW!!. Sanilac to Port Huron saw us get the big staysail up and flying. We actually had it up for over an hour before the wind headed us. Today's journey from Port Huron was mostly motoring due to the currents and heavy ship traffic in the St. Clair River. We were lucky to get down it today as it will be closed periodically over the weekend for the "Offshore PowerBoat Races". We have seen lots of fast, loud powerboats. July, 14, 2008 Life is good!! It's hard to believe that we are actually doing this. We've been blessed to have such support from friends, employers, colleagues and complete strangers. We are currently docked in Little Current, Ontario, where Manitoulin Island's only road connection to the mainland is. The Great Lakes Cruising Club is holding its annual Rendezvous, and it's turning out to be a fine party. After leaving the "Soo" we spent one night in Milford Haven, (whose only claim to fame, other than a protected anchorage, was the bigamist that built two houses in the bay for the two sisters that were his wives). From there we went to Bruce Mines and anchored overnight. This is the spot where the Marquee of Queensbury lived and wrote his boxing rules. Then on to Thessalon where we were able to shop and check e-mail from the library using the marina's bikes. The wilderness part of the cruise resumed with stops at Long Point Cove, Oak Bay, Fox Island Harbour and Benjamin Bay (a great sail with 20+ knot winds). After hearing those high winds overnight in The Benjamins, we left the next morning for Little Current where we had the 'pleasure' of paying over $6.00 a gallon for diesel. We have a wi-fi connection here and it has been great fun to do email on the boat and to talk via Skype to friends and family. The Rendezvous has 90+ yachts in attendance from 30-55 footers. Events include dinner dances, seminars on cruising the area, volley ball contests, blindfolded dingy races, a pet show (yes, our birds will be there) and lots of socializing. Our dock actually has two other Freedom Yachts on it-- we've never seen more than one at a time before. We will be leaving on Wednesday and going to Killarney, Ont., before leaving the North Channel area and crossing to the tip of the Bruce peninsula (Tobermory) prior to returning to the west side of Lake Huron (Michigan) for a while where we will meet up with sailing friends from our previous Caribbean cruises June 30, 2008 Moored in the Canadian side of Saulte Ste Marie. We spent most of yesterday racing the 30 knot predicted winds and got tied up about an hour ahead of the the high winds. The friendly marina crew convinced us to stay over for July 1st. (Canada Day), which has all the local party centered right on our marina. and we plan on heading down the St Mary's River on Wednesday. The water temperature in the marina here is a full 27 degrees warmer than Lake Superior and we are looking forward to packing away our long underwear. June 26, 2008, sees us leaving Michipicotan Island (Quebec Harbour) in a fog. We arrived yesterday and entered in the fog as well. Good old dead reckoning has been replaced by GPS Chart plotters and PC's. It sure makes sailing easier. While in Quebec Harbour we saw three woodland caribou, a black bear, a beaver swimming by our stern and many loons. Some locals had put out a salt lick about 100 yards from where we were anchored (by an old fishery) and it provided much entertainment. We also explored three wrecks partially submerged in the harbor. We collected assorted agates on Agate Island in the harbor. The previous day we spent exploring the Otter Head area, anchoring in Otter Cove and running the dingy up for lunch at Cascade Falls. We later explored Old Dave's Harbour and the lighthouse on Otter Island. We've seen only 2 small fishing boats so far. Where are the other sailors? May 12th sees Running Free in the water with hull polished and bottom paint touched up. The new furnace turns out to overheat, so will take some time to get used to setting it on medium when we are cold. Our home on City Dock is being renovated, so we are temporarily at the Apostle Islands Marina on D dock. Cleaning and rigging are next on the agenda.
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