That sense of urgency we were feeling after Fulton, MS was kicking into high gear now. After Demopolis we were leaving the Tombigbee to join the Black Warrior River, the final river on our trip.
‘Gators on the Black Warrior River
Leaving Demopolis Yacht Basin we started seeing alligators. Lots of alligators! They seemed to be everywhere, just enjoying the warm sunshine. This is pretty exciting stuff for a couple of yankees on a mastless sailboat!
We passed the remains of the US 80 (Rooster) bridge, where the tugboat Cahaba was caught by the current and capsized while being swept under the bridge in 1979. Miraculously there were no major injuries, but I suspect everyone needed clean underwear.
Thanks to advice we received from locals in Demopolis we spent a peaceful night anchored in the mouth of Bashi Creek.
Coffeeville Lock, the last one
Pressing on the next morning, the excitement of the day was going through our LAST lock, Coffeeville. After all the locks we’d been through, or in some cases over, this was a big milestone. From this point forward tides would begin to effect the water, and it would get increasingly salty as we moved south.
We anchored for the night in the Alabama River Cutoff, just over 50 miles from the Black Warrior River’s mouth.
The ships are getting bigger
Our destination for the day is Mobile, AL! In fact we were both focused on being at Turner Marine by nightfall. As we approached Mobile Bay we encountered a lot of tugs and ships.
US Navy in Mobile, Alabama
This is a very busy port, with international shipping, Naval yards, tugs going in every direction, and that’s before you get to the bay! We had definitely become the small fish in a big pond.
Our first dolphin escort
Once we got into Mobile Bay things settled down a bit. Not due to fewer ships, but much more room. We were off the channel the big guys use, so it was pretty peaceful. Dolphins welcomed us to the saltwater as we chugged along to our destination. What could be better?
Pearl Lee at Turner Marine
We wound our way through a long narrow channel that was deep enough for us and finally reached Turner Marine. At first they were putting us on a dock with no finger pier, but with our dinghy on the back of the boat, and a tall bow pulpit at the front, this just wasn’t going to work for us. After a bit of “negotiating” they directed us to a side tie area.
Although we somehow beat our masts there by a few days, we eventually became a sailboat again. We stayed here a bit to rest, see the sights, take a trip to New Orleans by car and watch the Chicago Cubs win the World Series.
In order to maintain our independence and lifestyle, we added a solar power system to Pearl Lee. While solar power can make us more independent, you must consider power generation, storage and consumption as a complete system.
LED Light Bulbs
Warm white LED bulbs
We started by cutting our power consumption. We found LED bulbs for our original interior light fixtures on Amazon. These use less power, and give off less heat, a real win-win for us. We wanted to keep a warm glow similar to incandescent lights, so we stuck with “warm white” or 2700k color. You might notice one bulb is brighter than the other. That’s no accident, it allows us warm, soft light when one is lit, but nice, bright light when both are lit.
We finally got some time and decent internet so I was able to add to our Racine to Parts South gallery. We may find ourselves stuck here for a few days due to weather. If so, I’ll write a bit as well.
It’s been a very busy year getting moved and readying Pearl Lee for our journey. I’ll try to get caught up in the coming weeks. We had a massive yard sale where we liquidated nearly everything to move from a four bedroom house to a 43′ boat. I resigned from a great job at a fantastic company, Rockford Toolcraft. We moved onto Pearl Lee, our Endeavour 43 sailboat in early July. Since then getting her ready for our journey became our full time job. We still managed to have some fun here and there and met some really nice people. Below is a partial list of what we accomplished in just over a year since buying her. All of the work with the exception of sail making, and welding was done by us. More details on some of those projects will be coming.
New Sails
New Mack Pack sail covers
New engine mounts and alignment
New stern tube (the prop shaft runs through this)
New stern tube hose and clamps
New prop shaft
New cutless bearing (supports prop shaft)
Prop straightened and polished
New prop shaft packing (keeps water out)
All seacocks overhauled (valves for underwater openings)
New bow thruster prop (helps when docking this beast)
Bow thruster painted
New zincs for prop, spurs and thruster (electrolysis protection
New VHF radio with AIS (shows commercial traffic in relation to us)
New remote VHF station at helm
New chart plotter/GPS @helm (we have several backups)
New DSI depth sounder @helm (shows bottom detail, we also have a standard depth sounder)
New stereo (can’t cruise without music)
Interior lights converted to LED (less power and heat)
Navigation lights converted to LED
Helm compass overhauled
New portlight seals as needed
Re-bed portlights as needed
Re-bed hatches
New hatch seals
New primary bilge pump (we also have a large backup)
New relocated bilge pump float switch
New solar panels, 2×280 watts (supplies all our electricity)
New solar charge controller (charges batteries from solar)
New primary anchor (Rocna Vulcan 55kg for those who care)
New primary anchor chain (275′ of 5/16″ G4)
New windlass (anchor winch) solenoid
New windlass switch
Overhauled windlass
New galley faucet
New water filter/purifier (make sure our water is clean at the faucets)
New water intake filter (keeps sediment out of our tank)
Our friend Wm Jones sent us this customized version of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You’ll Go”. We really like it and hopefully you will to.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
(Original) by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to great places!
You’re off and away!
Flower Pot Island
You have brains in your head.
You have feets in your shoes.
You can steer yourselves
any direction you choose.
You are on your own. And you know what you know.
And you are the you who’ll decide where YOU go.
You’ll look up and down maps. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “We don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
Close enough
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Sturgeon Bay
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And then things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just ride along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the far sailors
who sail to far sites.
Little Current
You won’t lag behind, because at 43 feet
you’ll have great hull speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you sail, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
Washington Island
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
(Un-slumping yourself
is done usualy with rum.)
You will come to a place where the reefs are not marked.
Some buoys are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could scrape both bowsprit and keel!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
Airplane in Killarney
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their wind to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
You’ll drop anchor and make fish for stew.
Have a beer or some rum
But what ever you do
Remember your partner came there just for you!
Somehow you two will escape
all that waiting and staying
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything that you might face.
Ready because you’ve got Sailor Jerry induced grace!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do just for fun
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t
Because, sometimes they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though wind loudly howl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks prowl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your Pearl Lee may leak.
On and on you will sail,
And I know you’ll sail far
and face your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that life is
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
Town dock at Little Current
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
GUYS, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Keg or Tom or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your sail boat is waiting.
So…get on your way!
We found our Endeavour 43 during a lunch time internet search in the spring of 2015. She was located in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. Little did we know what an adventure that advertisement would kick off.
Pearl Lee about to get wet
After contacting the broker and explaining our distance from the boat he sent us 150 very detailed photographs. He showed her, warts and all, and it was clear he was not hiding anything. After a few conversations via phone and email we decided to make an offer with contingencies for our inspection, a professional survey and a professional mechanical inspection.
There was only one wrinkle, we didn’t have passports yet. It was one of those things that just kept getting put off, but now we needed them fast. Kristi contacted Congressman Adam Kinzinger and he was able to help by getting us an appointment immediately. We dropped everything and rushed to Chicago, and spent most of the day traveling, waiting, and finally getting our passports. Even with our congressman’s help, it required a large surcharge for this service.
Now we were off to see the boat. She looked just like the pictures, no real surprises good or bad. She needed work, but it was work we could do, so we decided to move ahead. Next came another trip to LaSalle for the survey, which didn’t reveal any deal breaking defects. The yard put her in the water and the mechanic checked her out. Everything worked as advertised, so she became ours. We spent the next four weekends traveling to Westport Marina in LaSalle, ON on Friday after work and back home Sunday evening, working to make sure she was safe for the trip to our home port in Racine, WI. I’m sorry to say I can find no reason to recommend Westport Marina. There must be better facilities in the area, but that’s where our boat was when we bought her.
After a lot of research we decided to buy new sails from Mack Sails. UPS screwed up no less than three times getting our sails to us, but we finally got our sails thanks to Travis at Mack Sails being bulldog persistent in dealing with UPS. We were delayed a day but that made dinner with some old friends possible, so it wasn’t a total loss.
At first light on a crisp clear morning we backed out of the tiny marina and headed up the Detroit River. Phase two of our adventure was beginning.
At first light on June 20, 2015, we started the motor, and crept out of tiny Westport Marina in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada to begin our journey to Racine, WI. We motored up the Detroit River full of excitement as we looked at the Detroit skyline. We were planning to cruise through Lake Huron’s North Channel, so we stayed on the Canadian side of the river. Although chilly, it was a gorgeous day for a beginning.
A Lakes Freighter approaching
Eventually the river opened into Lake St. Clair. A couple freighters were coming into the river as we were exiting, so we gave them plenty of room. We were starting to be troubled by Perky’s hiccups. “Perky” is our Perkins diesel, and as she rumbled along she would occasionally miss a beat, just for a fraction of a second. She kept going though, so we vowed to have a look when we stopped for the night.
Leaving the river behind
The weather was fine and we were motoring, so we made a bee line to the St. Clair River. Perky kept up her hiccups, and we kept going. Well, that is until Perky had a bigger than usual hiccup and died. We tried to restart, but the starter was dead. Suddenly we were adrift on the St. Clair River with freighter traffic coming up behind us. We managed to drift to the edge of the channel, and dropped anchor. Tom scrambled below to find the problem while Kristi radioed the approaching freighter so he’d know we were disabled. The freighter captain said he had plenty of room and even throttled back a bit as he passed to minimize his wake.
We found that in our panic at the engine stopping we had left the transmission in gear, so the starter didn’t engage. Once we shifted to neutral, Perky started right up. Yea! Time to haul up 120 feet of chain and a 45 lb. anchor. This is not a good time to find out that while your windlass (a winch for anchors) “works” it has no power. Kristi tried to pull it up manually, but after she mistakenly got the chain wrapped around her ankle, we traded places and Tom pulled the chain while Kristi manned the helm. It was a very scary moment for both us, but no harm done. It’s tricky getting the throttle setting just right to counteract the river current, but not overrun the anchor.
We were a little shaken, and tired, but we were on our way again. We reached Sarnia Bay Marina a little later than intended, but with our first day behind us we felt good.
Over a well deserved dinner we decided to stay an extra day for boat work. In addition to Perky’s ailments, and the powerless windlass, we found that Otto, our autopilot, occasionally turned randomly, which required that one of us be at the wheel at all times. So, we had our “day off” well planned for us.
Dinner at Sarnia with Pearl Lee in the background
The next day we checked fuel filters, bled injectors and tested Perky under power at the dock. We found that the previous owner had wired the windlass to 6 volts instead of the 12 volts it required. At least that was an easy fix. Otto, however, remained mystery as we prepared to clear the Blue Water Bridge and head into Lake Huron.
We bid goodbye to Sarnia and headed north towards the Blue Water Bridge and Lake Huron. The current under the bridge was pretty stiff and we were glad that the previous owner had upgraded to a larger engine. We made forward progress, but it was slow. We learned much later that the trick is to hug the West bank where the current slacks a bit. That would have been nice to know before leaving Sarnia.
Relaxing with the salt mine behind us
Once we got into Lake Huron we headed straight for Goderich. There were thunderstorms predicted for that night and we wanted to be off the lake before they hit. We made it to Maitland Valley Marina with no problems. If you’re headed there, just look for the turquoise salt mine. The friendly staff helped us tie up just as the first thunder could be heard in the distance, and rain started to sprinkle down.
We ended up having quite a storm, but it was short lived and the marina was very well protected.
Walking to Goderich
Once the storm subsided we decided to walk into town because a reviewer said it was a nice walk. Nice, perhaps, but it’s long, and steep. There is a long stairway leading up the bluff to town, followed by a fairly long walk to get to the downtown area. If you were in a hurry, and in good shape, you might be able to walk it in under 30 minutes. The town was very nice and has some wonderful old architecture. We got rained on a little, but not too bad and ended up having a nice meal before heading back to Pearl Lee.
We found out we had only experienced the edge of a very large storm and the following morning reports of large waves kept us at the dock. So we spent a sunny, warm day relaxing and planning our next step, heading to Port Elgin.
Early in the morning, on June 24, 2015 we backed out of our slip at Goderich, turned right on Lake Huron and we were on our way to Port Elgin (pronounced with a hard G, as in “gun”). With little to no wind, and small waves we motored north. It was sunny, but a bit cold with wind finally kicking up just as we wanted to dock (why does it do this?).
Docked at Port Elgin
As we negotiated the channel and breakwater into Port Elgin Harbour, people on the dock were shouting and pointing in three different directions which caused some confusion. We bumped the fuel dock slightly due to bad directions and somewhat unfamiliar controls, but eventually made it into our slip for the night. Lessons learned, pay no attention to the bystanders, and when in doubt go back out. You can always approach again once you have things sorted. With nowhere nearby to go, we relaxed and got ready for the next day’s trip to Tobermory.
Drizzley cruise to Tobermory
Fog, drizzle and very cool temperatures marked our trip to Tobermory. We didn’t see another boat out all day and at times felt like we were the only people on Earth. We motored along fog shrouded islands, feeling our way forward. We were very thankful for our full cockpit enclosure which kept us dry and relatively comfortable.
Docked at Tobermory
Finally, rounding Bonnet Island we could see Tobermory Harbour. As we got closer it seemed more and more like a 19th century fishing village. The staff was helpful and professional in getting us squared away. Once we were settled we explored the town a bit. If you want fish or fudge, this is your town. We did a bit of shopping and had an excellent whitefish dinner. This was one of our favorite stops, and we both wanted to stay longer because there was so much to see, but with limited time, as Kristi said, “If the weather is good, we have to move.”
We went to bed knowing that the next morning we were off to Killarney.
