Fall, 2018

December, 2018

December passed quickly. We are into winter routine – walking, biking and when possible swimming (the weather has been cold here so the pool heater has been off for most of the month). Barb is sewing – making new boat curtains and Christmas ornaments. She is also gearing up as registrar for the 2019 DFC rendezvous. Dave does his thing around the house – sort of working and sort of playing on IPad. No big house projects this year, but we did have to replant three hibiscus bushes that blew over during one very strong winds storm. Company was limited to Christmas Eve dinner. But we expect company to pick up after New Year’s Day. Christmas decorations were up by the first and will be down by Jan 1. We had a visitor on the dock one day (iguana). The Burrowing Owls are around, but not in our yard, thankfully. We wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope your wishes / dreams for 2019 are fulfilled. Safe, Happy, travels to all.

Dock visitor in mid Dec. trying to stay warm in the sun.

Neighborhood owls Barb sees every morning on her walk.

November, 2018

The weather was up and down during November but we managed to walk, bike and swim most days. Good to get exercise. Barb started sewing, finishing a Christmas tree skirt, Christmas ornaments, and starting new boat curtains. We had some repair work completed on the house and also started deep cleaning in and outside the house. The lanai screening was clean for a few days while on the inside we cleaned cabinet drawers and shelves. Dave didn’t like drying all the dishes:) We continue to love the fresh fruits and vegetables available at the farmer's market and took advantage of tem when entertaining. We took time to visit with friends, but Thanksgiving was quiet with just the two of us (yes, Barb made the full meal and we ate to much). We decorated for Christmas Thanksgiving weekend to work off all the food we ate. The house looked festive. The biggest party was Nov. 28 with 12 DeFever Cruisers over for the evening. We had a great group and thank good friends that helped Barb cook for 12. We hope that everyone had a good November and are preparing for the Holidays ahead.

Monday / Wednesday, Oct. 29 - 31, 2018

We are back into our winter routine – we walk/ bike first thing in the morning and then do errands / house work . In the afternoon, Barb sews, reads books, and we go swimming. The weather continues to be hot. Halloween was very quiet in our neighborhood. The Cornwallis Association held a Halloween party for all children in our area which was a big success, but it meant that there were no trick or treaters on the streets. This helped reduce risk of accidents, and other negative things that could happen on this night.

Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018

We were up and ready by 6:00 a.m. and Jeanette joined us for breakfast to say good bye. We were on the road home by 6:30. We made good time coming south through Atlanta and arrived home about 3:30. We immediately went swimming to relax and called it a day.

Friday / Saturday, Oct. 26 - 27, 2018

We continued north to Chattanooga and a family wedding. We met up with Dave’s Sister and her daughter and family. The rehearsal dinner was interesting and it was good to see some of the family but as the groom’s parents (our nephew) was in charge of the meal, we didn’t get to visit very much.
We spent most of Saturday at the hotel as everyone was busy but us. The wedding was outdoors at 4:00 and we hoped that the drizzle that continued most of the day would stop. We were glad to have an extra layer for the wedding as the temps were in the mid-50s. The setting was beautiful, but warmer weather would have been nice. We left soon after the dinner ended as the music noise level was loud and we don’t dance. We packed our bags and prepared to leave early in the a.m.

Austin and Abigail during the wedding ceremony.

Alva, Todd and Teresa at the wedding.

Our nephew Matt and family (Andrew, Matt, Abigail, Austin, Angie)

Dave's sister, Jeanette with her children - Matt and Teresa.

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018

We drove to the condo in St. Pete today and went out to dinner with our DeFever group. 20 people had been invited, but only 11 showed up. We had a great time. We also found out the condo has no cable service as the association switched carriers and we will need to come up to get new boxes.

Monday / Wednesday, Oct. 8 - 24, 2018

We worked on taking down shutters and opening the house. Lots of laundry, food shopping, and house cleaning. We had to reorganize house stuff as Barb had a four foot rule this year and moved all that she could off the floors in case of a hurricane. We started back into our daily routine of walking and bike riding very early in the morning before it got to hot. Then we do errands and the morning is shot. Barb works on sewing projects in the afternoon, while Dave does some repair or fix on the house or reads books. Then we swim, have cocktails and it is dinner. We did can some tomatoes that we got from the Farmer’s Market and put up some corn from there as well. We also voted early – so as not to end up in lines on Nov. 6. Not much going on here, except to watch the new house being built across the street. No company yet as it is early in the Fall.

Friday / Sunday, Oct. 5-7, 2018

We left Maine and did a three day drive back to Florida. It was a long trip but we didn’t have too many problems. We did encounter backups, but our google maps rerouted around the worst of the slowdowns so that we kept moving. We arrived early Sunday afternoon to hot weather so after unloading the car and removed a few shutters so we had light in the house, we went swimming. The pool temperature was 85 degrees without the pool heater help. We relaxed most of the afternoon, went out for dinner and then to Publix for some food.

Friday / Thursday, Sept. 28 - Oct. 4, 2018

So glad to be in Maine as the Michigan weather was really bad. We had a great visit, did some shopping, worked on quilt project for wedding, and Barb helped Jeanette organize sewing room. We had family over for dinner (Barb cooked), and took family out to dinner. We got to see great nephews some, but they were busy with friends and school most of the time. The boys are growing up quickly.

Wednesday / Thursday, Sept. 26-27, 2018

We left Wednesday and drove down to Benton Harbor to Wolf’s to get more LED lights and looked for a few other things before turning east and heading to Maine to visit with family. Easy drive to New York on Wednesday and Thursday was a little more traffic but we arrived at Dave’s sisters before cocktail hour. We were glad to be settled for a few days.

Final Summary of summer travels on Hallelujah

We moved aboard Hallelujah on June 2 and moved off on September 25 for a total of 116 days. We traveled 1422.65 miles and just stayed in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. We did really well on bridge timing this year, even though there were only 2 bridges all summer, but we passed through them 12 times. Our route tracker did better this summer and we had very little wait time. We spent 47 nights at anchor and 69 nights in marinas. We thought we had more nights at anchor but didn’t. As this summer was one of meeting other DeFever boats, we did pretty good. We had sixteen DeFever boats on a group email list – these were people that we knew were coming into the great lakes or had their boat on the great lakes. Of the sixteen boats on our email list, we met and traveled with nine of them (in the order of Last Dance, Vingilot, Rhonda Jean, Meanders, Cavara, Aurora, Short Vacation, Reality, and Stella Maris). We saw the boat Last Trade (45 DeFever pilot house) in Mackinac City and talked with the owner who was in Texas at that time. We didn’t get to meet him as he was moving the boat from the east coast to Texas and doing the loop during the move. Of the six boats we didn’t get to meet, Subject to Change and Wild Goose were not planning on coming into Lake Huron/ Lake Michigan this summer. We talked with Catalina Jack on the VHF radio as he was near to us in northern Georgian Bay, but we didn’t have the opportunity to actually meet the Bickfords. We also talked with the Hoekstra’s who live in Michigan, but their boat was in Florida and we will see them over the winter. Serenity, Sea Cottage, and Harbour Reach were on the lakes but we were not near them at any time. It was a great summer of meeting and getting to know both DeFever crews and also Loopers. We also saw more wild live this summer than in past years. Being up close to a small bear and a couple of different deer was exciting. We saw and heard plenty of loons but also a variety of other birds including an eagle. We did no fishing but others said they caught some great fish but released them. We also experienced a Canadian wild fire from a distance which slowed and altered some travel plans as areas of Georgian Bay were closed. Our largest docktails on Hallelujah was eleven people – some brought their own chairs as we only have seating for eight. But we had a great time. The weather was good and the people we met great, hoping next summer to have great travels with some of the DeFevers coming this way or here for the winter.

Monday / Tuesday, Sept. 17 - 25

Our last day of travel was uneventful. We did 36 miles into Holland and thanks to a couple of people on the dock we were able to get tied up without too much trouble. The dock we were assigned has no cleats so Barb had to figure out how to loop lines around short poles so the boat was held next to the dock. We spent the afternoon resting, getting the car and seeing our friends on Island Girl. On Tuesday we ran a lot of errands and did laundry. Tuesday was spent first working with Anchorage Marine to finalize the repair list and then driving to Benton Harbor (1 hour south) to get some marine parts not found near Holland. Dave did find LED lights and installed them – what a difference in the Galley! I can see!!! Wednesday was spent working inside the boat as it rained in the morning and we ran more errands in the afternoon. Friday we did engine room work in the morning and Barb cleaned in the afternoon. We are now watching the weather as our tentative haul out date is the 28th, but that isn’t looking good – winds over 30 mph predicted. Saturday included more errands (a trip to Muskegon to get generator oil filters – another 30 mile trek north. Barb worked on cleaning canvas and forward deck area. We started getting worried about Friday haul out so Dave went and move the date up to Wednesday the 26th. Barb reworked her close down list to accommodate new date. Sunday we did more cleaning of outside decks, did laundry, and started organizing inside the boat. Barb took a fall on the fly-bridge and scraped up her left foot and leg. She had to sit for a while and rest. This was second fall of the summer so the decision to move a little slower was made. Monday we were packing office and galley – had to start putting things into the car so there was room to move in the boat. Weather window on Wednesday closed down – winds above 25 mph predicted. Dave wants to pull on Tuesday, so Barb had to do a last haul out list and fit in a ton of stuff to complete in 24 hours. We seriously started loading the car Monday afternoon in hopes that Anchorage could pull us on Tuesday (winds only about 18 mph). On Tuesday, Dave went over to talk to Anchorage while Barb completed packing the aft cabin (our bedroom). Closes, bath items, and curtains (will be remade this winter). Dave came back with news that it was a no go for today haul out. Barb slowed down in packing. At noon we got a call from Anchorage – they could haul us at 2:30 p.m. Barb sped up and we had the car loaded, the boat ready for haul out by 2:00. We moved to the well and Anchorage did a last pump-out and pulled the boat. We moved to a local hotel and collapsed.

Hallelujah coming out of the well.

Hallelujah on land and moving to winter storage in a shed.

Sunday, Sept. 16

Hallelujah leaving dock in Ludington, MI

We left early again and were heading to White Lake to anchor for the night but the winds were picking up from the east so anchoring wasn’t going to work. Instead we continued on to Muskegon and got a dock. Stella Maris was making time today so they went to Grand Haven and were heading on south. We had some waves during the trip but it wasn’t bad – Stella Maris was running without stabilizers so were rolling more than we were. We were proud of ourselves today. Usually we have hands on the dock to help tie up, but not today at this marina. Dave was able to pull the boat next to the dock and Barb got a midship and stern tied off before Dave left the wheel. We didn’t have any problems. The weather turned hot today and we were glad to have electric so we could run the AC (another reason for going to Muskegon). After dinner Barb found Careb (small trawler) with Tom Heatley on board (single handle looper). We had an interesting conversation about the loop and the river system.

Saturday, Sept. 15

Today we did 51 miles to Ludington with calm waters. Stella Maris followed us in a couple of hours later. We had cocktails aboard our boat and then walked to the state dock after dinner to see if there were any loopers – no one there. The marinas are getting pretty empty as it is mid-September.

Friday, Sept. 14

Another early start to travel 41 miles to Frankfort with calm seas and little wind. We again made good time and were tied at the marina before lunch. We spent time on the trip to talk with Stella Maris (DF 44 sister ship). She has had a long summer and many miles each day, but she arrived in Frankfort late in the afternoon after a trip from Mackinac City. We were very impressed with Ian and Trina long distance daily travels. They were docked next to us and we had a good time at cocktails looking over their DF which is new to them and their looking over Hallelujah for possible things they wish do to in future repair work. We went out to dinner with them and made plans for travel the next day.

Stella Maris approaching the state dock in Frankfort, MI.

Sister ships Hallelujah and Stella Maris (both built in 1987) at dock in Frankfort, MI

Thursday, Sept. 13

We are off the dock at sunrise and did 38 miles to Leland, MI. The water was really flat and there was little wind. We had to stand off Leland and wait to get to fuel dock for a pump out, but we were tied and having lunch in a slip just after noon. Barb took a walk around town in the afternoon while Dave took a nap. We didn’t see any looper boats here today so we had a quiet evening aboard.

Thursday / Wednesday, Sept. 6-12

Deer that Dave saw while bike riding near Charlevoix.

We did the 56 mile trip in not so pleasant weather. The winds were not calm and the waves were over two feet but our stabilizers did help. Lark, In His Time and Reality were behind us and we all arrived safely in Charlevoix. Docktails tonight were on shore and there were at least 8 looper boats attending. The weather wasn’t good – glad we moved as other boats made decision to stay. The price was right – two nights for the price of one. We spent our days creating our winter work list for Anchorage, and starting cleaning and organizing for winter storage. Barb washed fenders, we washed the anchor locker and remarked the chain for next year. Cleaned engine room and forward stateroom. Barb also finished a knitting project for our niece. On Sunday we had a gathering for dinner. We went to the Weather Vane with Terrapin, In His Time, Reality, Southern Comfort, and Hallelujah. On Monday the other boats left. We stayed as we had time and didn’t need to rush off. We went out to dinner on Wednesday with Melissa from Sonador (a GLCC friend). The weather window was looking good for a run to Holland MI starting on Thursday.

Some of the loopers at docktails in Charlevoix.

Six DeFever members plus four wantabe members at dinner in Charlevoix.

Sunday / Wednesday, Sept. 2-4

The weather has calmed down so we went 27 miles to Mackinac City. West of the Mackinaw Bridge the waves were still high and we needed so time ashore. Reality went to St. Ignace (on the north side of the Bridge) while Lark, In His Time and Hallelujah went to Mac City. While there was fog as we left Government Bay it lifted very shortly after we were on Lake Huron. In the afternoon Barb walked to the grocery with others to get a few supplies. We relaxed aboard in the afternoon and had cocktails aboard in the evening. On Monday we stayed aboard while winds blew and did some boat work. The town was filled with people as the annual bridge walk was this am. Roger & Lorrie along with Bruce and Sue did the walk. We didn’t move from the boat except to go to the Bakery for great pastries. We went out to dinner with Lark and In His Time and had a nice meal at the Italian Restaurant. Winds were really up today. And it rained all am. White Shoal Light clocked 35 mph at 8:00 am so we knew we were not moving today. Stayed aboard and did more boat work. We had docktails on shore in the late afternoon. On Wednesday we started making plans to leave on Thursday. We did go over to the Island using Shepler Ferry Service. We walked around and had lunch with Reality, Lark, and another looper couple. Barb toured the fort with Roger while Dave sat by the restaurant – we had a drizzle most of the afternoon. WE met Southern Style when we returned to the docks. They came over for cocktails. This turned out to be a regular visit to Mackinac City – four day stay waiting for good weather to make the bend south.

Saturday, Sept. 1

Barb, Sue, Bruce and Dave having fun on a dinghy tour.

We are still in Government Bay anchorage as the winds and waves are still more than we want for travel. We wanted to take a ride to Hessel on the north east side of the Les Cheneaux Islands so down came the dinghy. Bruce and Sue on Lark didn’t have an engine for their dinghy so they rode with us. Off went three dinghies. About half way to Hessel, we came upon a Grand Banks that was sitting near shore submerged. Not a pretty site. The black clouds got thicker so we turned around and headed back to the boat. We made it just in time before heavy rains started. Dinghy was up and covered in record time. We spent the rest of the day inside hoping the rain would stop before tomorrow.

Kurt and Barbarajean on the dinghy tour.

Roger and Lorrie on the dinghy tour.