Kismet in Torch Lake

Dining with Friends On the Torch

On the Torch at Last! We enjoyed a relaxing day floating on the hook on Torch Lake, as the day unfolded, we had done a few boat chores, caught up on some reading and before we knew it we were getting ready to join our friends, Jim and Cindy, at their cottage for dinner. We brought up the anchor and had a nice cruise down the lake, back towards the bridge on the west side of the lake, right across from the famous sand bar which is always a big party scene. Although Jim and Cindy have a nice dock…

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Kismet Cruising Torch River, Michigan

Have You Ever Been to Torch River?

We launched the boat at Whitewater Township Park in Skegemog Lake and quickly pointed the boat in the direction of Torch River. Jim and I started our boating adventures in the early 90s on a 21-foot Four Winns Sundowner. On many weekends during our short Michigan summers, we'd trailer it to Torch Lake for a relaxing few days on the hook. Jim was studying for tests at the time and I'd catch up on reading, we'd fill up a cooler of mostly finger food and we'd be happy campers for a long weekend away from the rat race. This weekend we…

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River, Charlevoix, Michigan

Winding Down Memorial Day Weekend in Charlevoix

Boating activities in Charlevoix Michigan. Winding down Memorial Day Weekend in Charlevoix Michigan with a dinghy ride around the little island and an afternoon at anchor in Oyster Bay (below). These are just a few of our boating activities when visiting Charlevoix when it was our home port. We drove up to Petoskey to visit our friend, Martin. Lunch at Whitecaps and a visit to Martin's home. Monday started with a Memorial Day parade and presentation at the bandshell. Nothing quite brings home the meaning of this holiday weekend more than the five-gun salute to close the ceremonies. On our…

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Charlevoix City Marina and Park, Charlevoix, Michigan

Charlevoix the Beautiful

Just as the Chamber of Commerce slogan suggests... Charlevoix The Beautiful. Charlevoix was our homeport for many years so we consider it a home away from home. It seems this friendly little town exists in its own little bubble and embodies all that small-town America promises. With concerts and festivals in the downtown park during the summer and a high-tech fountain for the kids to play in... all found right on Round Lake. An idyllic and picturesque town if there ever was one, a people's place, for land lovers and boaters alike. Here's Kismet (above) very right next to her old slip,…

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Keri 'D" Away Boat, Charlevoix, Michigan

Our Biggest Fan in Charlevoix

Charlevoix is home to our biggest fan. Every time we see Rob, on Keri 'D' Away, we're reminded how often he reads our blog and seems to know what we're up to on our boat. On our recent visit to Charlevoix we ran into Rob, and his wife Keri, at the downtown marina; Rob was a little perturbed that the blog wasn't more up-to-date. (We were a little behind in catching up with our adventures in the Florida Keys this year. There was so much to write about it seemed to take forever to do the posts.) Rob will be…

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Hal, Charlevoix, Michigan

Charlevoix Used to Be Our Homeport – Welcome Home Kismet!

Missing our old homeport! Today we trailered our boat up to Charlevoix and launched her at Ferry Avenue Lake Charlevoix Municipal Boat Ramp. This ramp is just outside of Round Lake, on Lake Charlevoix by Irish Marina. As you can see (below) we were operating in a cloud of bugs that were hanging out at the boat ramp. The most bugs we've had on our boat at one time EVER! We have all known people who possess what seems like a magnetic force of attraction because of their outgoing personalities, broad smiles, and positive demeanors. They are the type of…

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Crew on Kismet, Power Island, Michigan

West Arm Grand Traverse Bay – Kismet’s First Cruise in the Bay

New Tug's First Time Cruising the West Arm Grand Traverse Bay!  The crew on board Kismet today were excited for the tug's inaugural cruise on West Arm Grand Traverse Bay. Skyler, Sarah, and friend David joined us for an afternoon trip to Power Island (also referred to as Marion Island). We put the boat in at Elmwood Township Marina, their facilities are exceptional. It was the perfect day for a cruise and lunch at the island. Power Island is a 202-acre property located in the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay. It's approximately nine miles west of Downtown Traverse City and…

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Traverse City Sign

Going Home to Traverse City for the Summer

Going Home for the Summer. When trailering a big boat, you don't have as many options for stopping at just any restaurant while traveling between cruising destinations. We often have to look around for a bit to find a good spot to eat, one that we can also park the rig easily. Sometimes the best thing is to find a restaurant close to a mall parking lot. Lots of room to park in those kinds of lots, usually way in the back where there is less noise and traffic. Walmarts are usually good places and are known to be accepting of…

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MTOA Rendezvous, Fernandina Beach, Florida

MTOA Low Country Boil & Crazy Hat Beach Party

Lots of Crazy Fun at the MTOA Low Country Boil As you can see there were a lot of fun and creative hat constructions during the Crazy Hat Beach Party and MTOA Low Country Boil event on Wednesday night during the MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous. MTOA members pulled out all the stops and showed up in some very colorful and creative hats. We'll let the photos speak for themselves – the MTOA Low Country Boil sure was a lot of fun.         We think Robert, here with his wife Kaye, on C-Life,  should have won first prize for his…

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MTOA Rendezvous, Fernandina Beach, Florida

MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous – Amelia Island, Florida

Pirates Galore at the MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous Since pirates played a major role in the settlement of Amelia Island the local gang helped kick off the start of the MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous, in Fernandina Beach, at the first-morning meeting. MTOA is only one of a couple of the boat clubs we belong to. The club is non-profit and member-operated – the yearly events are lots of fun. Every time you volunteer to contribute to the club or an event, you gain a turtle pin. It's not hard to see who the hard workers are as the turtle pins…

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Shrimp, Fernandina Beach, Florida

Our First Ever Shrimp Boil on the Docks

MTOA's Southern Boaters Put Together a Shrimp Boil Friends Ellen and her husband, Roy, on Our Turn, came up with the idea to have a simple, but festive, shrimp boil on the dock tonight and procured shrimp from these fishermen (above and below). This was only the first 150 lbs she bought, it was such a popular topic on the docks, people wanted to buy more the next day, so Ellen ended up purchasing the rest of the catch these guys had to sell, another 150 lbs. This all transpired the day before the rendezvous started, people were still arriving and…

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Eating Ice Cream Cones

Fernandina Beach Marina

We were happy to meet up again at Fernandina Beach Marina with the crew on Mosey (above), we last saw them in Marathon in February. Also in attendance at the rendezvous was the crew of Active Captain (below). We had left the marina for a little cruise and to get a pump out. The paper mill (see the smoke behind the boats) was an interesting sight. Fernandina Beach Marina for the MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous.     On the way out of the marina for our pump out, we got some good photos of Roy, Ellen, and Lucy, on Our Turn (above).…

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Launching Kismet, Fernandina Beach, Florida

Fernandina Beach, Florida – Here We Come

Our last stop in Florida this year is Fernandina Beach to attend the MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous. We've never had the pleasure of visiting Amelia Island when going up or down this coast, but we've only heard good things about this friendly little resort town. We were surprised that, since we got there late in the day, we were able to park and stay on the boat in the marina parking lot overnight without being hassled. We think Fernandina is making a few exceptions during the rendezvous because it is a big event for this town and they'd like MTOA…

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Kismet Cruising Canals, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Idling Up New River – Dinghy Ride – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

We ventured out on a long dinghy ride today – up the New River and into a few side channels. We were just a short distance away from the marina and it was hard to tell we were so close to such a big city as Fort Lauderdale. We must have been gone several hours as there are a lot of waterways to cover on the river with a few little offshoots to explore. As an extra bonus, we got to see all different kinds of boats – old, new, big, small, and some very unusual ones. Jim said that…

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Crew of Sea Gator, Marathon, Florida

Rendezvouing with Sea Gator in Marathon

When I was in the planning stages of putting together our book, Women On Board Cruising, an acquaintance introduced me via email to Pat Erhman, a long-distance cruiser, along with her husband Rick on their boat, Sea Gator. I was so happy about the introduction because Pat and I corresponded quite a bit over the course of creating the book and I hoped someday our paths would cross on the water. Today it finally came to be. A friend, another contributor to the book, Ellen, ran into Pat in Marathon earlier in the season and told her we were also…

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Key West Harbor, Stock Island, Florida

Stock Island Stay

We can't say enough good things about Key West Harbour, on Stock Island. Our second stay here, for the month of March, was ideal. Great slip right by the tiki hut on the outer rim, open-air showers under the hut, and a spot to enjoy happy hour under the other hut. Life is good. We were happy to meet up with Brenda and Vern, on Trouble II, they were our neighbors at Key West Harbour in the winter of 2010.

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Better Than Sex Restaurant Sign

Better Than Sex?

On this particular day, we had just consumed a huge lunch at our favorite Cuban restaurant, El Caney on Stock Island. Later that afternoon, we drove to downtown Key West to take a long walk and watch the sunset. We really weren't hungry for dinner, but we thought maybe we'd just get dessert somewhere. That was when we remembered several people telling us about a dessert restaurant named Better Than Sex, they only offer dessert on their menu. "Why not," we said, "how about we just have dessert for dinner?" Music to the ears of our server. As you can see…

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Shrimp Boat, Stock Island, Florida

Bringing Home the Shrimp – Stock Island, Florida

Not only did the fishermen "bring home the shrimp," but we also brought it home, to the boat that is. Freshly caught shrimp for dinner tonight, what could be nicer? Fresh seafood all within a mile of the marina. Fishbusterz usually has a full array of fish and shellfish available. The Lobster Company, closer to the marina, has more including stone crab claws, a new favorite of ours. This is just one of many reasons we love to stay on Stock Island. The shrimp boats raft off each other in the basin behind Fishbusterz. We originally thought there were docks…

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Dinner with Friends

The Charlevoix Gang Converges on Key West

We're all dock mates from our long-time homeport of Charlevoix, Michigan (the only people missing is our dear harbormaster, Hal, and his wife Mary Ann). Although we have not been back to Charlevoix by boat for many years the friendships have endured. Our first get-together this winter was hosted by Jean and Gary on the porch of their downtown Key West rental. Porch dining was a first for us and somewhat of a tradition in this eclectic little town where many houses feature a big front porch. Jean and Gary cooked us an amazing dinner with crab cakes and salad…

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Fishing Dock

A Favorite Haunt – Stock Island Lobster Co.

One of our favorite haunts this winter was the Stock Island Lobster Co., just a short walk from our marina. Unfortunately, the whole month of March was very windy and the boats did not get out to get their catch like they, and we would have liked. Some days they had nothing to sell and others they could only sell a limited amount to us, but we did get some lobster a couple of times and some snow crab claws another.

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Jim, Key West, Florida

Tropical, Eccentric Key West

Not only does it boast a colorful, tropical splendor but Key West is a little unconventional with its kooky signs and unusual, creatively painted or put-together, bikes, and vehicles. Here is something new we saw in Key West this year. Not sure what to call it but doesn't it look like fun? A solar bike with storage to boot. Who would have thought?  Lots of sunshine in the Keys, so why not? One of our favorite signs in Key West is Love Lane. The crew on Illusions (Ranger Tug R27), Mike and Jess arrived in Key West with their friends,…

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