Monday, August 31, 2009

Devils Lake, ND

North Dakota.........it's the thin line separating the sky from the water.

Searching for plan B


Making 250 miles a day while fitting in sailing was too hectic a pace. At Devil's Lake, ND we decided to cut back and shorten the days. Here's someone else looking for plan B. We took this photo near Fertile, MN - about 45 mins west of Itasca State Park.

One slip and ninety days later she'll show up in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lake Itasca



Itasca State Park, MN


We finally drove out of the rain by the time we crossed into Minnesota. Here's Lake Itasca the morning after our arrival.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

As close as we got to the Apostle Islands


High wind and rain kept us in the harbor in Bayfield, WI.

Little Bohemia Lodge, Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin


John Dillinger fled through the window here after being surrounded by twenty federal agents in 1934. Johnny Depp sat here during the filming of Public Enemies. Kent and Paula ate a walleye sandwich here.

Friday, August 28, 2009

North Shore of Lake Huron, Ontario

Rain has been hounding us since Maine but this turned out to be a beautiful day on Lake George in Killarney Provincial Park.

St. Lawrence River

I was the only boat that came back in without any fish.

Wellesley Island State Park, NY


The St. Lawrence River was a good opportunity to try out the sculling oar. This is off Wellesley Island, one of the Thousand Islands.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

On the water in Lake Placid

If he could sit up, this would be his view.


The backside of the 120-meter ski jump.

Lake Placid. As good a place as any to lie a-mouldering.


John Brown lived for a short time near lake Placid and is buried on the outskirts at the family farm.

Lake Placid, NY


The trip has become a race to see how far west I can get before I put the Beetle in the water. Fitting the sculling oar to the transom in Orono, ME and a flat tire west of Skowhegan after the garages had closed put me about a day behind. I skipped Lake Champlain and pressed on to Lake Placid. Heavy rain during much of the night. Here's the lake lapping at my tent site.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Camden Harbor, Maine


Wed, Aug 19th I drove most of the day from Portsmouth, NH inland to Houlton, ME. The Canadian border near Houlton marks the beginning of Hwy 2, the route I plan to follow west back to Seattle. The first planned sail was to be in Camden harbor on Friday. I overnighted at Camden Hills State Park Thurs night and woke up to fog and no wind the next morning. This is the head of the harbor.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Judith Point Lighthouse, RI

Judith Point Beach, RI

Where people go to walk off dinner at Iggy's Chowder House - the beach near Judith Point Lighthouse.

What my tent looks like to the boogyman


This is the tent set up without the fly at Fisherman's Memorial State Park near Judith Point. Lighting a candle lantern isn't the first thing that comes to mind when it's already 85 inside the tent. It's a small price to pay for the ambiance.

Maiden voyage


Mark from Beetle, Inc spent most of Tuesday afternoon patiently checking me out on the boat. He's sailed a beetle for 30 years. Here he's wondering if I'll make it through the first week.

Loading the Beetle


I arrived in Newport around noon on Monday with a new boat trailer in tow. I'd barely been in town 5 minutes when a lady rear-ended me at a stop sign. No damage to the trailer, but it put a sizable gash in her hood. I towed the Beetle Monday night to Fisherman's Memorial State Park where Narragansett Bay empties into the sound.

Per Peterson of IYRS handing over the keys to the Beetle


It's a beautiful boat. Spent Monday afternoon at IYRS finalizing the paperwork and loading the Beetle. I received some nice comments at the boat ramp on its first sail the following day.

Raise the speed limit and you could thin it out a bit


Near Wareham, MA. It didn't occur to me while planning the trip that I'd be pulling a heat wave across the country with me. Camping out seemed like a great idea until everything in the truck started sticking to me. Last night I camped in a Best Western.

I'm amongst my people


Cape Cod KOA campground near Plymouth, MA

Sunday, August 16, 2009

It'll Do


Newport, RI
I dropped by the IYRS campus in Newport on my way to overnighting in Plymouth, MA. My boat's the blue one in the middle. A few blemishes to buff out before I pick it up tomorrow morning. I like the shark motif.

Follow Your Dream

Ellensburg, WA
I happened to stop in Ellensburg to recruit crew for my trip. This gentleman elbowed his way to the front of the line when I asked for a show of hands of who wanted to go to sea in a 12' boat with me. He's following his dream.

I'm hoping a suitable name for the boat will appear as a revelation somewhere along the trip. Toad's Express, yup that's got cache.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

The odyssey begins

Day one. Taking the Bainbridge boat to pick up I-90 in Seattle.