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Mexican Night Onboard Moondragon

Moondragon – Thirty-one People Onboard for Mexican Night! The winter party was just down the dock from us on Moondragon, an old Chinese Junk boat (circa 1970). Boaters have the best parties! Never so true as last night with this group of boaters in Victoria, BC. Even though we have only been here two weeks, we felt like part of the family here at Coast Harbourside Marina. Thanks to hosts Dennis and Lynda for a fun night (many margaritas) and to the Jolly Mon Band for the fabulous music and sing-a-longs. Can you spot Jim Favors? [huge_it_maps id="12"]       It was…

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Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel Marina

Looking Forward to a Month-Long Stay at Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel Marina We choose Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel Marina (above) for a month-long stay because it is in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. From the marina, it is a 5-minute walk to the legendary Empress Hotel, Parliament, the legislative seat for British Columbia, and all of downtown Victoria. Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel Marina was recommended by fellow Ranger Tug owners Mark and Jodie, on Irish Mist, they are from Ontario Canada. They gave us the idea to spend a month on our boat in this marina in Victoria. We were also lured to Coast Victoria…

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Cruising to Victoria, British Columbia

Destination – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada We left Anacortes, with Skyline Marina in our wake (above), mid-morning for the cruise to Vancouver Island with a final destination of Victoria, British Columbia. We had planned to leave either on Sunday or Monday, depending on which day the weather looked best. We would have waited longer if needed. We don't like nasty weather cruising and by that, I mean mostly high wind and waves. When Sunday arrived, Jim thought Monday looked like the best day, so we waited the extra day. As it turns out it was perfect. It was a little lumpy the…

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Seattle Boat Show in Full Swing – 2016

Lots to see at the 2016 Seattle Boat Show! As luck would have it, we would still be in Washington State during the beginning of the Seattle Boat Show. Anacortes is about 80 miles from Seattle, so it was a nice road trip for the day. Ranger Tugs/Cutwater had a huge presence at the show and a very nice display of all their Ranger Tugs and Cutwater lines. We haven't been to a boat show in quite a while. The last one we were at in Seattle was in 2008 when we spent the winter in town waiting and watching our Fathom…

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Winter Cruising Begins in Anacortes, WA

Have You Ever Tried Winter Cruising? After spending two months at home for the holidays, we returned to Portland, OR for a week to visit with family before hooking Kismet and the trailer up to the truck for the first time this year. Our immediate plan for Winter Cruising is to drive to Anacortes, Washington, on Fidalgo Island, and stay at Skyline Marina until the end of the month of January. We have reservations at the Coast Hotel and Marina in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada for the whole month of February. Fellow Ranger Tugs owner and friend, Bob, on Nellie Too, met…

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Winterizing Kismet for Storage in Portland, OR

Time to Think About Winterizing Kismet! All good things must come to an end… well temporarily anyways as we think about winterizing Kismet. As the colder, wetter months arrived in Portland, we started to turn our thoughts to flying home for the holidays. Jim found a secure storage lot for our boat near Salpare Marina. As the time approached, we prepared a few to-do lists – a list of things to pack to take home, a list of errands to do before we left, and the most important list of all, Winterizing Kismet, just in case. Although the temps are fairly…

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Port of Cascade Locks on the Columbia River

Port of Cascade Locks – Our cruising destination this week lies in the heart of the Columbia Gorge Port of Cascade Locks is one of the oldest towns on the Columbia River. In their journals, Lewis and Clark described this section of the river – the Cascade Rapids – as the “great rapids of the Cascades.” This stretch of raging water was formed by a huge landslide long ago and is more than two miles long. In 1880, because of the hazard vessels faced navigating the rapids, the US Government started to build locks to provide safe passage around the rapids. The older locks were completed in 1896, and…

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Willamette River Cruise to Downtown Portland – Day Trip

Cruise from Columbia River to Willamette River In an effort to get several cruises in before the weather turns on us, we planned a cruise from the Columbia River to the Willamette River. We left the marina with our son, Ross, and grandson, Silas, for Portland within ten days of our arrival. This will be Silas' third boat trip on Kismet. His first trip was when he was just four days old. The second was in Traverse City last summer. We think he is starting to be old enough to appreciate what our tug can do on the water. [huge_it_maps id="2"]…

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Government Island
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Government Island – Friends On Board in Portland, Oregon

Government Island is Just a Short Cruise from Salpare Marina. Having just arrived at Salpare Marina, in Portland, Oregon, at the beginning of October, we didn't want to waste any time getting out on the water while the weather was still good. A good day presented itself and we called our friends, Patti and Eric to come down to the boat for a cruise out to Government Island. It really was a great day, with blue skies, calm water, and a sunny warmth shining down on us. (Glad we did because there were not many days like that during our six-week stay)…

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Salpare Bay Marina – On the Columbia River – Portland, Oregon

Salpare Bay Marina is located on Hayden Island, in the Columbia River, north of Portland, OR, across from Vancouver, WA. Salpare Bay Marina is home for the crew of Kismet for six weeks while we visit family in Portland Oregon. We've stayed at two marinas in Portland over the years with our trailerable tug. Our first visit was in 2011 and we stayed at the Riverplace Marina. While it was fairly exciting to be in the thick of things in downtown Portland, with beautiful walking paths along the river, restaurants, and shopping within a short distance of the marina, our main problem with that…

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Staging Storing in Portland, Oregon

Staging Storing Whenever we plan a major trip, usually once a year if we can manage, it usually involves what we like to call "Staging Storing." We often need to stage our boat somewhere near our intended future cruising area well before we actually start cruising. Whether it be storage or docking somewhere nearby to avoid weather restrictions, to avoid higher costs, or we think we'd like to take in some interesting activity short of our final destination – making plans to stage and store the boat is an important element of trip planning. Our cruising plans for the next year will be focused…

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Off to Portland Oregon, with Kismet in Tow

First North, then West to Portland Oregon After months of packing, planning, and organizing, we finally headed out this morning. First to 131, driving north to the Mackinaw Bridge. After we crossed the bridge, Kismet's bow was turned west towards our final destination of Portland Oregon. Not only will we get the boat out to the west coast before the snow flies, but we plan to spend time with our son, Ross, and his family, in Portland for several weeks before flying home for the holidays. This is just the beginning of a year-long adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Because of the…

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change, Jim and Lisa Favors Kismet
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“Change is the Only Constant in Life” – Heraclitus

Change is Good! The phrase, "Change is the only constant in life,” was written by a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus of Ephesos (around 500 BC). I’m sure when he wrote these now famous words he was not thinking about the cruising travel plans of Kismet (a Turkish word that stands for "fate" or "meant to be"). Lisa and I have made a complete overhaul of our 2015/2016 fall and winter cruising plans, it must be "kismet." Our original plans, of cruising the Rideau Canal this fall, then heading to Florida for the winter, have changed dramatically. We’ve decided to trailer Kismet west, across the country…

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Keys Disease in Full Swing for Crew of Kismet

Suffering from Incurable Keys Disease! When trailering our boat to the Keys, we had the added benefit of having our truck nearby, making it easier to stay a distance from downtown Key West. As we've mentioned many times before, our favorite spot is Key West Harbour Marina, on Stock Island. The best of both worlds when visiting Key West. Keys Disease is kind of like a virus that once caught stays in your system forever. It shows up like clockwork as soon as we hit the string of islands south of Florida.         Taking the Conch Tour Train was…

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Parrot
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Key West Harbour Marina – Stock Island

Staying at Key West Harbour Marina affords us the best of both worlds. We've stayed at Stock Island several times before. We keep going back to Key West Harbour Marina because it just makes sense. We usually stay a month in the Key West area and the downtown marinas are too expensive to stay long. Not sure we'd appreciate the crazy activity of downtown Key West for more than a few days. Staying at Key West Harbour Marina affords us the best of both worlds. Because we trailer our boat to Florida, we have transportation while in the lower Keys. So, we…

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Ranger Tug and C-Dory
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Ranger Tugs, C-Dorys and Rosboroughs – Marathon, Florida

Ranger Tugs, C-Dorys, and Rosborough's are everywhere! The number of small trailerable boats on the east coast of the United States is growing. During the past ten years, while we've been extensively cruising the eastern waterways, we've seen this movement snowball. Ranger Tugs, C-Dorys, and Rosborough's, and a few other, small live-aboard-type trailerable boats are everywhere. During our almost month-long stay in Marathon, we were surprised at how many "pocket trawlers" there were scattered at the marinas on the island. There is a certain amount of excitement among the boaters we've met recently and that of course translated into a casually organized cocktail party at…

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Blackfin Resort Marina – A Diamond in the Rough

We left our anchorage in Curry Hammock to face a fairly windy day cruising to Blackfin Resort Marina in Marathon. This is our first stay at Blackfin Resort Marina. We walked through the marina when we were visiting the Keys before because we are always on the lookout for places to stay. It helps with future trip planning. Blackfin is a fairly rustic and laid-back establishment, but it's big on delivering an authentic Keys experience. We had all the amenities we needed for our month-long stay. The marina is within walking distance of the local shopping area. We enjoyed a heated swimming pool, clean shower…

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Wilson Key Anchorage
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Doing Research On Two Anchorages Between Key Largo and Marathon

Research and Local Knowledge As with most things in life, we find it comforting to return to places we've been before. Revisiting takes a lot of the guesswork out of the trip-planning process. This is especially true when traveling by boat. With that said, it can also be exciting, rewarding in fact, to try something new. I do a lot of research before we venture out on the road to launch the boat in a new territory. Before heading out I check several mapping resources, such as Active Captain and Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net. I then review the charting resources. These include Navionics and my…

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Keys Eco-Tours? John Pennekamp State Park
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Keys Eco-Tours? See Captain Sterling – John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Looking for Keys Eco-Tours? See Captain Sterling at Everglades Eco-Tours Our first stop in the Keys this year was John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Time for another Keys Eco-Tours. This was a new stop for us and we're glad we had the opportunity to check it out. We left Boca Chita while it was still quite windy, but manageable. When we got to where the waterway narrowed down a bit, we passed under the Jew Fish Creek Inlet and Bridge, in Key Largo, Florida, and passed the Anchorage Resort and Marina. We've stayed there in 2010 when we helped the…

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Kismet Docked at Boca Chita Key, Florida
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Boca Chita Key — Safe Harbor Before the Start of the Keys

Boca Chita Key, an Island Paradise! Kismet is on the wall at Boca Chita Key. Twelve miles south of Key Biscayne sits this beautiful Bahamian-type island. It is part of Biscayne National Park and consists of 32 acres of land, a beach, and a harbor. It includes a beautiful 65-ft. ornamental lighthouse that sports an observation deck overlooking the beautiful harbor, nearby islands, Key Biscayne Bay, the ocean, Miami, and Key Biscayne Island. Down below the lighthouse sits an old canon salvaged off a nearby shipwreck. There is a nice hiking trail and picnic facilities with several grills. There is a little campground, an open-air pavilion, and saltwater restroom facilities. This island always…

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Ranger Tug Kismet Anchored, Hurricane Harbor, Florida
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Sky On Fire – Hurricane Harbor – Key Biscayne, Florida

Hurricane Harbor Provided Us with an Idyllic Sunset! Leaving Miami in our wake, we pointed our bow toward Key Biscayne Island. Jim did some research and found this beautiful anchorage, a spot further enhanced by a flaming sunset. The sky was on fire, I must have taken a hundred photos as it morphed with varying shades of sky blues, oranges, and hot red tones. Soon after we threw the hook into the harbor, we had a visit by local law enforcement. Hurricane Harbor is adjacent to a popular boater's weekend hang out, located just outside the entrance to the harbor, consequently, there…

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Ranger Tug Kismet Cruising Miami, Florida
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Miami – A Last Glimpse Back at the Skyline

Leaving Miami Behind! We departed Fort Lauderdale today to cruise through Miami to our end destination, Hurricane Harbor, an anchorage Jim found off Key Biscayne Island. So, we left a multitude of cruise ships in our wake in the wide expanse of Port Everglades before we entered the narrower part of the ICW heading to Miami. It's an exciting area to cruise through with the beautiful homes lining the waterway, yachts of every shape and size, and finally the towering buildings of Miami. If you happen to be cruising by at sunset, even better. We left Miami behind us as we entered Biscayne…

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New River View, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
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Rendezvous with Ranger Tug “Pour House”

Fort Lauderdale has it all. On our way for a week's stay in Fort Lauderdale. This Florida boating destination has it all... lots of canals to explore, a beautiful beach to walk on the ocean, shopping on Las Olas Avenue, a beautiful River Walk for leisurely strolls along New River and now we can add one more thing to our ongoing Fort Lauderdale list... the warm and welcoming home of Carolyn and Harry House, (homeport for their Ranger Tug, PourHouse). We left our anchorage at Lake Sylvia to secure our reserved dock space at Cooleys Landing, on the New River at the head of the River…

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