Thank goodness! Boating... not boat-yarding!!! So glad to report that we're southing ourselves ASAP. We're gobbling up miles on the ICW. Trying to blog on the Blackberry. Reporting from Daytona. Photos for fun. We'll see. ... read more

Woohoo! Dec. 1st is the first day of the boater friendly half year in the south. That doesn't mean there can't be a severe storm, but the chances of the tropical variety are very slim. There haven't been any serious warnings in Florida for weeks. Now we start with the winter gales and chilly (read COLD) weather with wind warnings at night. That's only fair for December. It's strange to have a 60 degree Fahrenheit range,; more continental weather than coastal. We have had weather in the 80's one day and 20's F with hard frost warnings the next night. Hard frost is at least 4 hours below 27F. Considering our Canadian context... we are NOT complaining. Just happy when the sun shines. The diesel stove was lighted for the first time in months this week, ... read more

Do you remember the reliable old formula in English class for writing a good story? Apparently you do. Your feedback on our blog has been that you want more of the w's, more often. Who? Chris, Frank and Ginger Bear, saluting family and friends on our journey What? On a road trip back to Melodeon from Ontario Where? Started in the parking lot of a wifi challenged inn in Mocksville, North Carolina and finished in wifi deluxe Hilton in New Bern, NC. No more wifi dysfunction. This blog will be posted tonight. When? Real time, October. This time last year we were a short week away from shoving off. Why? Because, for us, the best thing about boating is the people you meet travelling, as well as the people you rediscover at home. If you get ... read more

... you might want to visit this lovely old city for a few days. It's touted as the oldest city in North America. Yes, we did make it to St. Augustine by anchoring in the harbour south of the Lion's Gate Bascule Bridge, despite warnings about currents from our cruising guides. As we were out staring hopefully at our newly set anchor, we had an awesome experience. A pair of huge manatee swam slowly past the bow of the boat, noses out to breathe before they disappeared. We took it as a good omen and also congratulated ourselves for observing the SLOW SPEED Manatee zones posted in many places on the ICW. The St. Augustine City Marina staff and facilities are very welcoming. $10 a day to tie up your dinghy gives access to lovely showers, ... read more

Manatee? We'd read about these 'gentle giants'; 1200 pounds of mammalian, warm-blooded, breast-feeding, air-breathing, family-oriented, sea-dwelling life-force. I once knew a professor in university who was excited about getting the opportunity to do manatee research in Florida, but that was the extent of my prior knowledge. The reality was a 'huge' wake-up call. At every bridge and juncture you see manatee warning signs on the ICW in Florida. But we didn't see any. Friends drove us to visit the manatee centre in Fort Pierce but the manatee, who usually hang around the waste heat areas of the power plants, were nowhere to be seen. This scenario, in a strange way, brought to mind our Canadian tragedy of homeless people trying to take shelter around steam pipes in big cities to stay alive during bouts of sub-zero ... read more