Moving on to the Hatteras Sept 6 and 7, 2018

Last time I brought you up to date on our boating situation. This time let's bring you up to date on our living situation and plans for the immediate future. 

Last February we moved out of the fancy apartment on Lake Erie into a little rental house in Fairlawn OH. We love this little house because it has a yard and garage for Kermit and a private office for me so I don’t bother Kermit when I am on the phone with clients. It also has a wonderful open concept living / dining / kitchen that overlooks the back yard with a rock fireplace and a wood burning oven. 

It is perfect for us for now. This move allowed us to reduce expenses so we could afford this crazy boating life.

In May, our beloved Jack, the best boat kitty in the world, decided he had enough. At 19 years old he wandered off to cross that great rainbow bridge to be with Rusty. He literally wandered off. 

I searched everywhere on our block, put up signs and Internet notices. I visited the county animal shelter thinking that someone who picked up Jack would soon tire of his temper and drop him off. But no sign of the little guy. He is gone and I am sad. 

We will not be replacing him at this time. I am sure the time will come when I insist on another animal but not for a while. Jack and Rusty were the best traveling animals ever so I am not in a hurry. 

Lots of changes in the last two years. Sell a boat, move twice, then lose a beloved pet and getting back into boating again. After selling our beloved Good Karma 4450 Cruiser, it took a little over one year but we currently own two boats:

1) A 1991 365 Four Winns EX, the Lake Erie boat. This is an express with a nicely laid out interior and open back deck for entertaining. It has twin Crusader 502's with V drives and a counter rotating engine. Think rocket on roller skates. This boat is located in Sandusky OH at Venetian Marina for the summer boating months and in winter storage in Huron OH.

2) A 1983 53’ Hatteras Motor Yacht with three cabins, three heads with twin Detroit Diesels 871TI with stabilizers, inside and outside driving stations, and an 11' dinghy with motor,. Evidently these engines are bullet proof. Mechanics everywhere can fix them. There is a guy, Sam, who purchased the entire Hatteras parts inventory and the lineage of every Hatteras ever sold so parts are not a problem either. When Kermit called Sam, he said, “Oh yes, this boat was launched on such and such date and was previously called such and such.” LOL

This boat is like a little home. It has real furniture and carpets and is decorated to the 9s. It even has a dishwasher, garbage disposal and onboard stacked washer and dryer, the same kind we had in our apartment. Plenty of room if you want to visit (hint!).

The Hatteras is currently located in Sturgeon Bay, WI. I know what you are thinking. "Doesn’t it get cold in WI in the winter? I thought you wanted to be in warmer climates for the winter?" True. That is why we are embarking on another adventure to bring the Hatteras to its new home in Fort Pierce FL.

As with everything we do, this is a logistical adventure / situation / nightmare. Let me explain. Let me start with timing.

We sold two boat trips as prizes at our church fundraiser to some of our favorite people. I am so excited to have these folks on the boat! I always hoped they would agree to come but if it took the fundraiser to get them on the boat I am ok with that!! Unfortunately the Four Winns did not work until Labor Day. So we are coming back to Ohio to take these kind folks out on the boat in two groups on Sept 22 and 29 respectively. Then we will put the Four Winns away for winter storage in Huron OH.

That week is fine anyway. I have two speaking engagements / workshops and Kermit has to spend time with his mom giving his brother a vacation.

In the meantime we need to start moving the Hatteras out of Wisconsin on the water towards Florida. This trip will complete our second Great Loop giving us that coveted platinum flag. I know, everyone needs a goal.

After we purchased the Hatteras we had the boat pulled out of the water for the summer. Kermit went up and waxed the hull and painted the bottom in four days in July. It was a herculean effort. He is even more impressed with this boat’s condition and solid construction than he was before. This will be a good boat for us.

The boat splashed back into the water on Thursday August 30, 2018. Our looper friends Don and Anita Gulsich too this photo for us. It was an exciting moment to think this crazy adventure is actually happening.

The diesel mechanic, Steve, did a little work to replace the oil lines to the turbos so the boat will be ready for us when we arrive in September. We planned to be at the boat around Friday 9/7 to spend a few days learning how to run this boat. We need to learn to dock it, to take it off the dock, to put the ladder down when we dock so we can get on and off the boat, how to drop the anchor and generally build our confidence about this big boat. It is BIG with two stations – upper and lower. Each station gives a different feel and probably requires a different technique. Plus I have to learn all those things too. A lot to learn.

We plan to leave around 9/11 or 9/12 heading down Lake Michigan towards Chicago, weather permitting. Lake Michigan is the big weather question mark for us. Ideally we will be in Chicago 9/15 or 9/16 for a few days in DuSable Marina. Then on 9/19 we head south to leave the boat at Hammond Port Authority while we go home. We return 9/30 or 10/1 to begin the trip down the rivers towards Mobile then to FL. More about that later.

The logistics come in as we prepare the boat and ourselves for departure. We have been gathering boat stuff all summer in a corner of our living room. Most of the previous Good Karma stuff has been absorbed into our home.

I packed up my office files and tools so I can work while on the trip and through the winter. My business, The Interview Doctor, has had a fabulous year exceeding every goal I set for myself. No need to stop. As long as I have a phone, computer and hot spot I am in business helping candidates improve their hiring process.

Kermit packed up the boating equipment we will need ranging from tools to engine parts to safety equipment. At Venetian Marina someone came on our boat and stole Kermit's favorite tool box, you know the one with all those odd tools he accumulated over the last 20+ years. Very disappointing but not surprising I guess. So Kermit had to replace those tools. We are on first name basis with the delivery services since we kept Amazon busy all summer.

Then we had to create a kitchen. We packed up non-perishable food and new kitchen equipment so we can cook on the boat right away.

Then we laid out packed up our clothes for three season. Last time we did the river portion of the loop we were COLD so this time we packed warm weather clothes for FL and winter clothes for the rivers along with a sprinkling of medium weight clothes for layers. And boots and mittens. I am serious. We were cold.

We priced a one way rental car to transport all these goodies to Sturgeon Bay and discovered that renting a 10’ U-Haul was cheaper. So we did. We arranged to pick up the truck on Thursday Sept 6, 2018, load up then travel on Friday.

Kermit had been trying to get the diesel mechanic to visit the boat to show him how to do some important maintenance like replacing impellers, how to change fuel filters and bleed the lines and help us get acquainted with the Hatteras. On Thursday morning Steve, the mechanic, called and said he was only available on Friday. Ok, that meant we needed to hustle to load the truck on Thursday afternoon and leave late Thursday afternoon. So we did!

Bikes, bins, clothes, and lots of lots of luggage made its way onto the truck. We left at 5pm Eastern time, arriving in Waukegan at 11PM Eastern. This put us through the Chicago traffic late a night when traffic is relatively light. As we speak we are almost in Sturgeon Bay to begin this journey.

Our plan is tentative but here goes:

• Chicago 9/15 or 9/16
• Hammond Port Authority 9/19
• NE Ohio 9/20 – 9/29
• Put Four Winns away 9/30 then travel back to Hammond
• 10/1 depart down Calumet River for Day One on river system
• Five days to Alton IL
• Four or five days to Green Turtle TN
• Side trip to Nashville then travel down Tenn-Tom
• Estimate arrival in Mobile / Fairhope AL around early November
• Estimate arrival in Fort Pierce FL mid-November or before Thanksgiving
• Travel back to Ohio for Thanksgiving then back to FL
• Travel back to Ohio for Christmas then back to FL
• Bahamas, Exumas and Bimini March 1 – mid-April
• Back to Ohio for summer in May

Seems complicated but this is the plan. Get your calendars out and see where and when you can meet us. In the meantime we look forward to sharing our adventure with you!