6132013

First Mate's Log Loop Date  6132013

Once upon a time in a land far away lived a King and Queen and their loyal (not royal pet, Mia). The King had ruled his Kingdom for 39 years and was now seeking places to "boldly go where no man (or woman and cat) had been before".  He decided to forsake his crown

 and travel the great oceans and inland waterway. This would mean leaving home for a year and their beloved son, David but what the heck David was grown and the house would wait for them upon their return. So the wise King and Queen doffed their crowns and donned their sailor's hats

and said goodbye to their home

and sailed off into the wild blue yonder.

OK, so the above is a fairy story, a story of make believe but we are making the story come true. Gary, Mia and I left our home in Pasadena on the 10th June to travel the "Great Loop" in a 36 foot power catamaran, "The Kingston Rover". Our journey will take us approx 6100 miles into lands we have never seen before (Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin,  and Mississippi). We estimate the journey will take about a year give or take a month or two). Our goals are to take photos, see different places, meet different people and not to get divorced. Our 4 month journey from Florida went well despite major problems with the boat. Since buying it we have replaced the generator, drive shaft, air conditioner (thanks to the help from good friend, Chuck), and alternator. So, we can now travel with peace of mind that the boat will survive the journey. I know we will as Gary and I get on well with each other, complement each other and tolerate each other.  Gary has to do more tolerating than I, unfortunately.
We look forward to sharing our journey with you. Feel free to make comments at the end of the blog as we love to hear from our friends and family.

So, welcome to the Johney Blog.

Presently, we anchored on the Toms River in New Jersey. We have had several thunder storms today requiring us to seek a safe place. So far, we have journeyed up the Chesapeake Bay, through the C and D Canal into Delaware Bay and had a rough crossing into Cape May, New Jersey where we spent our second night. At Cape May we decided to travel on the Atlantic Ocean to Barnegat Bay saving us both time and diesel (the inland waterway is very narrow, shallow and windy). The journey was rough so I took to the lower deck along with the cat and only surfaced when the water was calmer (I am a fair weather sailor). We have storms forecast for tomorrow morning so will not get an early start. If the weather allows us we will go back into the Ocean and travel up to New York. I am really looking forward to taking photos of Lady Liberty, Ellis Island and the Manhattan Skyline.


Kingston Rover Map