Talbot Lock
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Locking Through – Trent Severn Waterway – Ontario, Canada

Trent Severn Waterway – Canada’s Renowned Inland Passageway – Jim and I cruised the Trent Severn Waterway once before, it was on our first Great Loop trip, in 2005/06. That time we did the whole waterway, this time we will only do the stretch from Lake Simcoe, south to Trenton. No Big Chute for us this time. It will be interesting to do this waterway from north to south. Last time, we were traveling home to complete our “Loop” in Charlevoix, Michigan, so we went from Trenton to Severn, ending up in Georgian Bay. Our end-of-summer trip plans start with the Trent Severn Waterway…

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Pot Luck
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2018 Great Lakes Area Rendezvous – Day One – Potluck Dinner on the Dock

DAY ONE – 2018 Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats Great Lakes Area Rendezvous – We all came for this! A gathering of TugNuts and Tugettes. We love our boats, and there's nothing like a rendezvous to bring this happy group of boaters together to have a good time. We started the festivities before the actual event began, with the BBQ dinner at Lefroy Harbour Resorts, on Thursday night. On Friday more boats arrived at Port of Orillia, by Happy Hour Ranger Tugs littered the docks, every shape, size, and color, and one Cutwater Boat. Several people came but didn't bring their…

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Orillia
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Kismet Arriving for the Rendezvous in Orillia – Ontario’s “Sunshine City”

Orillia, Ontario – Location of the 2018 Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats Great Lakes Area Rendezvous – Our friend, Mark Renshaw is the one who suggested Orillia as the location for this year's rendezvous. Mark is a Ranger Tug owner, and he's from Orillia. Jim was looking for a location on the Trent-Severn Waterway because it is one of our favorite canal systems. Boaters could cruise the beautiful Trent-Severn after the event. Fifty-five percent of attendees were Canadian, 45% Americans It was a surprise to us how many local Ranger Tug owners signed up for the rendezvous. Due to Lefroy Harbor selling…

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Charlevoix
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Round Lake Retreat in Charlevoix the Beautiful – Our “Forever” Homeport

Escaping to Charlevoix for a Three-Week Vacation! – When we arrive home after being away for the winter, we typically have a slew of chores to do at home. That's after we put the boat away for a couple of months. Well, we got through the list and soon our thoughts turned to scheduling summer cruising time in the Great Lakes. Jim and I used to have a slip in Charlevoix, Michigan on Round Lake. It was our home port for many years before we retired and started long-distance cruising. Charlevoix is a second home for Jim and me. We still know…

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Trailering
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Trailering Kismet North for Summer Cruising in Northern Michigan

On the Road Again! – We were dubious about trailering Kismet back home; it was already mid-April. The temperature should be okay, right? We kept a close eye on the weather as there were serious low digits on the horizon for our hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. Ideally, we'd like to not have to winterize the boat when leaving Florida. Not looking too good as our departure day inched closer. We even stayed a couple more days, hoping not to do this chore. However, as serious blizzard conditions headed for Traverse City, our outlook seemed glum. We couldn't wait much longer as we…

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Loading
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Time to Go Home – Loading Kismet in Fort Lauderdale

Think we have the hang of loading the boat now! After six years of trailering our Ranger Tugs R27, we guessed that loading the bigger boat onto the trailer would be harder. The only other time we trailered the boat was in the Pacific Northwest last fall. We took delivery of her in August and cruised for several weeks before loading her again. The boatyard lifted the boat out of the water by a travel lift and placed it on the trailer. That's a good thing because we were a little intimidated by the whole OVERSIZE LOAD requirements, rules and regulations. We wondered how…

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Fort Lauderdale
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New River Rendezvous with Family – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale – One of my favorite stops on the water! I love the boating activity on the New River, and the River Walk for an early morning stroll, or late afternoon explorations up and into Las Olas. I suppose the most fun we have is watching tug boats tow mega-yachts past the cockpit of our boat. We'll sip cocktails and dream of all the places we could go in those big yachts. But, then we'll say, "With that bigger yacht, first of all, you'll need a bigger crew to get around, to clean and maintain. Secondly, loss of privacy…

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Miami
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Passing Miami’s Shoreline on Our Way to Lake Sylvia, Florida

A sunny day on Biscayne Bay for the crew of Kismet as we left Boca Chita. We cruised straight toward Miami, then veering to the east of the towering urban area. Our destination to anchor tonight was Lake Sylvia. After spending a month in the laid-back Florida Keys, Miami's tall buildings stood off in the distance as a stark contrast to our adjusted, and now mellow, attitudes. Our two days on the island provided closure as we prepared to leave the Keys to transition back into city life. We’ve anchored at Lake Sylvia before. It's minutes from Fort Lauderdale where we had reservations…

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Boca Chita Key
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Boca Chita Key – Miami’s Playground!

Within sight of Miami’s towering shoreline sits Boca Chita Key – This breezy manicured isle is the northernmost island in the Florida Keys. Once a mangrove-covered island, it soon became a hot spot for affluent industrialists. Mark Honeywell created the current structures on the island in the early 1900s. Wealthy boaters frequented the boating paradise as a balmy retreat from the fast-growing city life of Miami and Miami Beach. Boca Chita Key, now frequented by day boaters looking for a Bahama-style picnic retreat, can be a busy place. People may come by a small ferryboat, it shuttles people back and forth for…

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Linderman Creek
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Linderman Creek – Adding This Anchorage to Our “Favorites” List!

Linderman Creek Has Our Attention! Linderman Creek is located in the northernmost islands of the Florida Keys. North of Key Largo Florida, not too far south of Boca Chita and Biscayne Bay. Card Sound is a grouping of smaller islands separating the Sound from the ocean. Linderman Creek is a very picturesque anchorage. Another chance to commune in silence with nature before we return to the big city activity of Miami and eventually our destination of Fort Lauderdale. We were looking for a good, well-protected anchorage and had never anchored in this area before. What we found was an idyllic…

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Key West
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In the Heart of Key West – Key West Bight Marina

Key West is always a delight to visit. We cruised down, after our month-long visit to Marathon, for a two-night stay at Key West Bight Marina, in the heart of Key West's harbor. Time to get some of our favorite almond paste croissants, visit with friends, take a walk in the morning for exercise, and again at night to see what was going on with the nightlife in Key West. After all that, time to hit our favorite happy hour spots. Our drill the two days we were in Key West Bight. When we left here, we began our slow ascent…

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snowboaters
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Snowboaters Paradise – Kismet Featured in Southern Boating Magazine!

Call us Snowboaters or Boaterhomers – Using Our Boat On Land And Water! – We're certain you've heard of the term "Snow Birds." Southern Boating just coined a new boating-related term for what the crew of Kismet has been doing for over seven years. "Snowboaters!" We also like to reference our over-land adventures by saying we are "Boaterhomers." Whatever the term you use to describe what we do regularly, as a lifestyle choice, it's working for us in a big way. Using our trailerable boat as both a land vehicle and a water vessel provides us with some amazing flexibility in…

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The Boat Galley
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The Boat Galley – Blogger to Blogger

The Boat Galley Provides Valuable Tips and Tricks for Boaters! – Occasionally you'll come across someone who will inspire you. A few years ago I started to follow The Boat Galley, a popular boating blog created by a talented woman, Carolyn Shearlock, a full-time cruiser. Being a fellow blogger, I can appreciate the valuable content she shares with boaters. The depth of her skills, as a writer and marketer with tech-savvy computer skills, is impressive. Carolyn is a popular force in the boating community. It’s easy to see why—she loves to learn and is eager to share that knowledge with…

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Blackfin Marina
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Finding Our People at Blackfin Marina – Marathon, Florida

Blackfin Marina has a Laid-back, Friendly Atmosphere If you had a doubt about how much fun cruisers enjoy while boating, let’s put that notion to rest. Spending a month at Blackfin Marina and Resort in Marathon (Florida Keys), provides many social activities. Kismet has migrated to this hot spot during winter while escaping the frigid cold of Northern Michigan. We come here to hang out with other boaters who share a love of the Keys. Sometimes we tow our boat south to Marathon and put her in at the public boat launch on the Florida Bay side of the island…

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Marathon
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Old Florida Appeal at Blackfin Marina and Resort – Marathon, Florida

Zooming down the Overseas Highway, through the town of Marathon, you might be at a loss to understand the attraction some people feel toward this small, laid-back, community. Marathon sits on a group of 13 islands in the mid to lower half of the Florida Keys. Many of you have probably seen a movie or TV show depicting life in the Keys as lethargic, perhaps even a little unrefined. Things move at a slower pace here, Folks don't get wound up about things so much. Life is simpler in the Keys – especially in Marathon. Marathon has an "Old Florida" appeal. The…

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Everglades
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Skirting the Everglades National Park – On Our Way to the Keys

We Anchored Twice in the Everglades This Trip – Russell Pass and Snake River – We have cruised this stretch of the Everglades several times during our boating adventures. The remoteness of this part of southern Florida appeals to our nature-seeking personalities. Anchoring in remote locations will give a boater an opportunity to experience wildlife in its most secluded habitats. After settling into an anchorage here, we try to put everything aside for a while. We turn the music off, get binoculars out and sit quietly outside in the cockpit as long as we can before the bugs come out at dusk…

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Marco Island Goodland Anchorages
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Marco Island – Goodland Anchorages – Southwest Florida

Leaving the shelter of Florida's well-protected Gulf Coast ICW, we made two stops before we hit the Everglades – Marco Island - Goodland Anchorages. I don't know what it is about transiting this part of Florida. It's pretty thrilling to slowly leave civilization behind, knowing that we are about to head out into the vast expanse of hot and steamy wilderness that is Florida's Everglades. The first stop was Factory Bay – An anchorage Off Marco Island We usually don't have a problem setting the anchor, and not sure if it was the wind whipping us around or the somewhat crowded…

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Lovers Key
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Lovers Key – Party Central During the Day, Quiet and Peaceful at Night

Lovers Key, at New Pass Inlet, South of Fort Myers Beach, is a Wonderful Anchorage Surrounded by Two State Parks – This is a place we “LOVE” to return to. After a brief stay at Salty Sams, in Fort Myers Beach, we followed Matanzas Pass south, past Ostego Bay. We then crossed Big Carlos Pass on our way to this anchorage between Lovers Key State Park and Pelican Landings Beach Park. We anchored in six feet of water, with the Dog Park (part of the Lovers Key State Park) to our north. The beach park was west of us and…

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Orillia, Canada – 2018 Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs/Cutwater Boats Rendezvous

2018 Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs & Cutwater Boats Summer Rendezvous Port of Orillia – Ontario, Canada on the Trent Severn Waterway Dates:  August 17, 18 & 19th Registration for this Rendezvous is Now Underway. Registration has been extended to May 31, 2018 • LINK TO REGISTRATION FORM • Since 2014, the Great Lakes Area Rendezvous has moved to different areas on, or near, the Great Lakes. This way, we can explore different ports of call. Last year's event was held on Round Lake in Charlevoix, Michigan. This year's rendezvous will be held in Orillia, Ontario, on the beautiful Trent Severn…

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Roosevelt Channel
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Valentine’s Day in Roosevelt Channel with My Sweetie– Captiva Island, Florida

The first Stop After the Flotilla to Cayo Costa is Roosevelt Channel – One of the fun parts of cruising, and anchoring, is discovering new places to throw the hook. Kismet is beginning the slow process of heading down to the Keys. On this morning, we left Cayo Costa State Park, after anchoring with the flotilla of tugs for two nights in Pelican Bay. Our destination is Roosevelt Channel, off Captiva Island, next to the Buck Key Preserve and Patterson Island Preserve. We were buddy boating on this day with the crew of Liberty, another Ranger Tugs R29S, heading to Roosevelt…

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Cayo Costa
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Drone Practice at Cayo Costa State Park, Florida

All Serious Boaters in the Gulf Coast Area Know About Cayo Costa State Park – After a month in Fort Myers, Florida, we are finally pushing away from the dock. In the next few days, we will be headed to Punta Gorda for the 2018 Southwest Florida Ranger Tugs / Cutwater Boats Rendezvous. But first, we headed to Cayo Costa State Park, a beautiful barrier island featuring a nice anchorage with room for all. In addition, boaters can dinghy to the dock off the park to hike or take a short shuttle ride to the beach on the Gulf Coast. A…

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Fort Myers, Florida
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Kismet is Wintering in Florida – Palm Trees, Dolphins and Beach Walks for the Crew!

Our long-range plan last year was to spend the winter in Florida this year. After hauling the new Kismet across the country last fall, we put her away in a storage building in Sidney, Ohio for a three-month winter's nap. We like to be home with our family for the holidays and always leave northern Michigan after the new year. It would be tough, due to ice and snow conditions, to leave Traverse City with a 10.500-lb boat behind our truck. Ohio is a little safer bet. Even if it is in the throws of a storm, we'd be out…

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