A Cold and Snowy LNVT Christmas

 Thistle Dew gets a White Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Card credit: Phil & Nancy de l'Etoile, ex-Brave Duck 37VT67.

From all us LNVT "ex-'s" to all you owners and wannabes, happy holidays and happy new year!

Dave & Vicki Howell

ex-Nellie D. 37VT63

An LNVT in your Christmas Stocking

 

Mike and Micheley Stewart are the newest LNVT owners,  just in time for Christmas.  They purchased Seattle based Cielito but will christen her Fair Isles in the spring. They have big plans for Fair Isle as their first big cruise will be to her new home port in Seward, AK with plans to cruise Day Harbor and Resurrection Bay in the summer. They plan to be active the forum as they pursue a plethora of upgrades including a fuel polishing system.  Mike stated, “It’s really unique to find oneself feeling  so supported and resource rich when taking on a new endeavor such as owning an older boat.”  Another endorsement that you don’t just buy an LNVT but gain entrance to the LNVT community. 

Highland Mary Decked out for Christmas

 

Spring 2022 Gathering

 

Tug Spotting

 

DeCoy 37VT19 was spotted at Savannah Pond Marina by the Mackies, John William 37VT68

A 1985 Dramatic Story of LNVT Delivery

 Joe Mehrkens, Perserverance 37VT33 relates the 1985 story of his 1985 LNVT delivery. 

Happy Halloween from Lucy

 

A Toast to Gambit

 

Steve and Nan Simpson toast to the renaming of Gambit, LNVT 37VT29 at Friday Harbor, WA. 

East Coast Rendezvous 2022

 Kristen and Kenny Bishop, Highland Mary 37VT18, just confirmed they will host the East Coast LNVT Rendezvous mid-May 2022 in Aquila Harbor, Virginia 

Tug Spotting Chesapeake Bay

 

Highland Mary 37VT18 was spotted on the Chesapeake on their way to visit Dave and Bicki Howell (ex-Nellie D 37VT63) in Church Creek, MD. Kenny and Kristin Bishop were  all smiles after a fun 3 day visit. Next stop will be Bob Allnutt’s (ex-Victory 37VT02) off the Potomac River. 

A Tug Fender

after a successful cruise to the Erie Canal, WhimSea 37VT64 returns to winter quarters.  Lots of upgrades are in the works and will be ready when she splashes in the spring.

Cohasset Harbor - A Quiet Night

 Jeanne Ewing-Koenig of Salty Paws reports a southbound journey to NJ after a summer long voyage to Maine

Belfast Harbor Slack Tide

 

From Maine Sailing and Cruising Facebook page. Photo credit Robert Maynes. Titled Belfast Harnor Slack Tide. 

Highland Mary - It’s a Small World

 

LaSalle Returns to Lake Erie

 LaSalle cruising outside of Cleveland. 

LaSalle #23 cruising on Lake Erie

Tom Healy, LaSalle’s owner, reports she has returned to Lake Erie back where she started in 1985.

White Smoke in the Engine Exhaust

John and Sue Mackie, John William 37VT68, are cruising from Michigan to Florida.  Last week, in the C&D canal, John started to feel a severe engine vibration.  He said that when he opened the Tommy Door the engine appeared to be dancing on the mounts and there was a lot of white smoke in the exhaust.  Turns out the fuel injector pump had failed and the white smoke is a result of fuel being injected at the wrong time.  

Alan Seymour’s quest for Dew Point

 

Alan Seymour’s efforts to find an effective method to display Dew Point while on board Sally W was detailed in the Panbo article found at https://panbo.com/monitoring-dew-point-temperature-at-your-helm-why-and-how/.   Alan worked with Ben Ellison to find the right equipment and connections to make the displays work properly.  The quest for dew point is important in Maine where the fog can set in fast and heavy.  The bottom line is the closer the air temperature approaches the dew point there is a likelihood of fog, conversely as they diverge fog lifts.  I suggest if you have any questions on this topic to ask the LNVT expert, Alan Seymour. 

 

John Niccolls - Great Trip to NYC

 

John Niccolls reports a great trip to New York City and is making his way back to the Chesapeake. 

LNVT’s and the Erie Canal

 

The Erie Canal is ideal cruising for an LNVT. The pace is slow, the scenery pastoral, and the towns welcoming. Currently at Fairport, the dockage is $14 including the wall, electric, water, restrooms and showers. Of course the dockage is offset with the need to shop and dine. This is part of the plan along the canal, entice folks with good dockage and they will engage in local commerce. 

It looks like Fairport will be home for a bit as I received a “Notice to Mariners” about lock closures due to Hurricane Fred remnants. It rained in New York State for about 48 hours, water levels are high and locks 24 - 28B are currently closed. Cross your fingers Hurricane Henri doesn’t bend west or WhimSea might put down roots in Fairport. 

Gotta put the mast down to get through the canal. 

Whimsea 37VT64 Spotted

 

Whinsea spotted sailing into Erie, PA by Dave Forsman.

Whimsea Moving East

This just in from Whimsea 37VT64

Just left Geneva on the Lake this morning. Heading east across Lake Erie to the Erie Canal. Originally planned the triangle in Canada but now planning Burlington VT and reverse. We’ll see how timing goes. I’ll head back to home base end of Sept. I found a great guy who will work on the boat over the winter so need to get it there. It’s so good to have WhimSea moving. She has been extremely popular at every port. I expected that a bit but she is the belle of every Marina.

Barb Robertson, barbandstowe@yahoo.com

A Great Loop Journey of 6,000 miles begins with the first waypoint.

 

After years of just talking about it, WhimSea started her Great Loop journey on 31 July.  The start is about 2 months late but she is finally underway.  The 2 month delay was mostly the yard not having time to work on her. The best work was her spa treatment. In fact, she looks so good after the spa treatment the dreaded credit card melting paint job might be put off a few years. On day one of the Great Loop journey I learned there’s no amount of planning to prepare you for the crazy stuff.  The first crazy was a “No Fix” reading on the Raymarine Chartplotter. No problem I’m running AquaMap on my IPAD, until I left the shore and I realized the IPAD I specifically purchased for navigation, was the wrong one and couldn’t hold a  GPS signal.  Fortunately,  I was in very familiar waters with a lifetime of experience and didn’t really need navigation help. I also had attempted triple redundancy and downloaded all the maps to my iPhone and it worked great. The final crazy was the weather forecast, good waves and wind if you don’t mind a chance of waterspouts. Although only a few nautical miles it feels good to be underway at last.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Read All About It

The West Coast Rendezvous made headlines in the local Anacortes  paper, read all about it in the link below:

https://www.goskagit.com/anacortes/news/tugboat-fans-gather-at-cap-sante-marina/article_239c5cfc-e99c-11eb-859b-8b9003e98866.html

NOTAM: Slip Assignment Changes for WA Rendezvous

LORD  NELSON  VICTORY  TUG

Anacortes, WA Rendezvous

18, 19, 20 July  2021

@

Cap Sante Marina

5 Days to Go

 NOTAM      Notice to Mariners   NOTAM

SLIP ASSIGNMENTS HAVE CHANGED ….for some

There have been a few attendance adjustments so and there may be more so please check in on

 VHF 71 hailing “Victory Fleet, Victory Fleet, Victory Fleet”

 Here’s the NEW slip assignment line up:   

C 37 HYKWA 45’ Hans Christian Joe Payne

Laurie Payne

C 35 POLAR MIST 49’ LNVT Ken Smith

Pat Smith

C 33 CAROLINA 41’ LNVT Jose’ Sousa

Ashikin Van-Noor

C 31 WALLY 41’ LNVT Mike Dunn

Guest

C 58 C’EST SI BON 37’ LNVT Craig Kurath

Guest

C 56 EIGHT BELLS 37’ LNVT Tim Bates

Susan Hamilton

C 54 LADY 37’ LNVT Bill Rothert

Macy Galbreath

C 52 MINOTS LIGHT 37’ LNVT Mike Heckinger

Kris Easterday

C 50 TUG E. BEAR 37’ LNVT Mike McCoy

Sona McCoy

C 48 PET TUG 37’ LNVT Lou Steplock

Dick Behan  ( 37’ LNVT ANNIE )

C 46 RANGER 37’ LNVT Dick Moxon Docking Captain VHF 71

Dora Moxon

C 44 HIAQUA 37’ LNVT Randy Miller

Yvonne Bates

C 42 THISTLE  DEW 37’ LNVT Tom Blackwood  Coordinator

Janis Bialko          Coordinator

C 40 RAVEN 37’ LNVT Mike Lawrence

Barb Lawrence

C 36 BRIGADOON 37’ LNVT Dale Hugdahl

Diane Hugdahl

 C 29 Party Barge

Arriving boatless in Anacortes:

GUINEA RIDER Alice Morris

SOUNDER Bob Windecker

Sally Windecker

NELLIE D Dave Howell

Vicki Howell

EQUINOX Bruce Elliot

Margrit Elliot

BRAVE DUCK Phil  de l’Etoile

Nancy de l’Etoile

TUG E. BEAR Ted Shann

Kim Shann

SEEKER Kim Nelson

LNVT    RENDEZVOUS    SCHEDULE

Sunday the 18^th 1:00 PM Docking and Check-in starts at Party Barge 

5:00 PM Potluck supper on the party barge 

Monday 19^th 9:00 AM Tug Talk on the barge.  Coffee & cakes provided

……..    Lunch on your own……..

3:30 PM Dock activities 

5:15 PM Caravan to Blackwood’s Home

5:30 PM Awards dinner at the Blackwood’s.  Dinner provided.  

Tuesday 20^th 8:30 AM Coffee on the dock.  Potluck breakfast.

12:00 PM   Departures complete before Noon

Rendezvous

LORD NELSON VICTORY TUG
Anacortes, WA Rendezvous
18, 19, 20 July 2021
Cap Sante Marina

LNVT Math: What is 17 + 7? 

Answer: 24 boats being represented at the rendezvous.

17 boats will be clustered together on the docks and 7 additional will be represented by their crew sans boat.

What is 20? Answer: the number of days away until the rendezvous

Looks like we are on our way for the biggest Victory Tug rendezvous yet. How exciting!!

Here's the slip assignment line up. It's going to be grand.

C 37 POLAR MIST 49' LNVT Ken Smith
Pat Smith

C 35 SOUNDER 49' LNVT Bob Windecker
Sally Windecker

C 33 CAROLINA 41' LNVT Jose' Sousa
Ashikin Van-Noor

C 31 WALLY 41' LNVT Mike Dunn
Guest

C 58 C'EST SI BON 37' LNVT Craig Kurath
Guest

C 56 EIGHT BELLS 37' LNVT Tim Bates
Susan Hamilton

C 54 TUG E. BEAR 37' LNVT Mike McCoy
Sona McCoy

C 52 MINOTS LIGHT 37' LNVT Mike Heckinger
Kris Easterday

C 50 LADY 37' LNVT Bill Rothert
Macy Galbreath

C 48 PET TUG 37' LNVT Lou Steplock
Dick Behan ( 37' LNVT ANNIE )

C 46 RANGER 37' LNVT Dick Moxon Docking Captain VHF 71
Dora Moxon

C 44 HIAQUA 37' LNVT Randy Miller
Yvonne Bates

C 42 THISTLE DEW 37' LNVT Tom Blackwood Coordinator
Janis Bialko Coordinator

C 40 RAVEN 37' LNVT Mike Lawrence
Barb Lawrence

C 36 BRIGADOON 37' LNVT Dale Hugdahl
Diane Hugdahl

C 22 SEA HORSE 41' LNVT Brent Bierbaum
Peggy Ann Bierbaum

C 20 HYKWA 45' Joe Payne
Laurie Payne

C 29 Party Barge

Arriving boatless in Anacortes:

GUINEA RIDER Alice Morris

NELLIE D. Dave Howell
Vicki Howell

EQUINOX Bruce Elliot
Margrit Elliot

BRAVE DUCK Phil de l'Etoile
Nancy de l'Etoile

TUG E. BEAR Ted Shann
Kim Shann

SEEKER Kim Nelson

Sunday the 18th 

Docking and Check-in starts at 1:00 PM.  Potluck supper on the party barge about 5:00 PM.

Monday 19th

Tug Talk on the barge at 9:00 AM coffee & cakes provided.  Lunch on your own dock activities to follow.
Awards dinner at the Blackwood's. Dinner provided.

Tuesday 20th 8:30

 AM coffee on the dock. Potluck breakfast.  Departures complete before 12:00 Noon

45 Days to go....LAST CALL

Lord   Nelson  Victory  Tug

Anacortes, WA Rendezvous

 

45 Days to go…

 

"LAST  CALL"

 

Ahoy, All Skippers and Crew,

 

The response has been overwhelming.   The marina originally set aside 9 slips for our rendezvous and we are now at 15 boats arriving and 5 more boats being represented with those arriving by land yacht.  The Port of Anacortes has bent over backwards to make adjustments to keep the grouping as close together as possible and I think you will be pleased with how it has turned out.  Just the same, let me invite you now to add your name and boat to the fleet in attendance. 

 

So, for those that have been waiting to see, its:  "LAST CALL"  Get your name in.

 

We'll make up some name tags and also have a few bites to eat so please send:

                        Crew Names and number of hungry souls.

                           To your 2021 hosts:     Tom Blackwood & Janis Bialko      Thistle  Dew

                                                         TRBlackwood@aol.com

Where:  Cap Sante Marina    Anacortes, Washington

When:   18, 19, 20 July    Arrival after 1:00 PM  Departure before 12:00 Noon

---

 

No Glassing Today

John Mackie is adding bilge Keels/roll chocks to John William 37VT68. He reports the glassing project is on hold due to 45 degrees and rain.

Adding Bilge Keels to John William 37VT68

Starboard side ready for glassing in place. Port side cut and ready for glass. Will be transferring layout shortly. Worst part was grinding off bottom paint and barrier coat. Hope to be complete by next weekend .

Big job for one person but I will manage. It took me 4 days to get this far.

John Mackie, John William 37VT68

Anacortes Rendezvous Dates

YIKES!!     YIKES!

NOTAM    NOTAM    Notice to Mariners

Correction to the dates.   My whoops.   Sorry.

The correct dates for the July Anacortes LNVT Rendezvous are:

        Sunday  18th

        Monday  19th

         Tuesday  20th

Thanks to Dick Moxon on Ranger for his keen eye on picking up the error.  Good job Captain!

Tom Blackwood

Thistle  Dew

Anacortes Rendezvous

Lord Nelson Victory Tug

Anacortes, WA Rendezvous

60 days to go....

Ahoy, All Skippers and Crew

       Summer is coming and so are some good times on the docks at Anacortes.  Be sure to let me know your intentions for attendance.  The dates are Sunday through Tuesday, 17, 18 & 19 July and we will be at Cap Sante in downtown Anacortes, WA.  Most all of the activities will be outdoors which should offer some continued support of social distancing even when masks are off if vaccinated.

    So far, the for sures are:

            C'EST SI BON

            PET TUG

            HIAQUA

            TUG E. BEAR

            MINOTS LIGHT

            LADY

            RANGER

            THISTLE  DEW

            RAVEN

            CAROLINA

            WALLY

            EIGHT BELLS

            POLAR MIST

            SOUNDER

            BRIGADOON  (if Canada closed)

    Give me a shout with your best phone number and names of your crew and we will put you on this list and save a slip.  

            Some of the land travelers we hope to see include:  Dave & Vicki Howell (Nellie D), Alice Morris (Guinea Rider) Bruce & Margit Elliot (Equinox), Phil & Nancy de l'Etoile (Brave Duck) and Kim Nelson.

NOTAM:  Notice to Mariners

                    Those of us in Washington, remember to renew your boat registration before June 30

                    http://fortress.wa.gov/dol/dolprod/vehoffices/

On the move...

Nelson's Victory 49VT06 is on the move.  She'll shortly leave Ft Pierce, Florida, where's she's been on the hard and work here way north to her new home in Remlik, VA.

2021 LNVT Rendezvous - Anacortes

From:	trblackwood@aol.com
Date:	April 25, 2021 00:01:31
Subject:	2021 LNVT Rendezvous - Anacortes

On Again…..Off Again…..On Again……postponed …. and now, YES we are ON AGAIN!!

The time has come for the 2021 LNVT Rendezvous.  The place is the same and the boats are the same and the crews, well, we'll be welcoming some new ones.  Hooray for that.  And, best of all, we get to see each other again.  Here are the details.

The location is Cap Sante Marina in beautiful Anacortes, Washington. Our first official day is Sunday July 18^th and check in starts at 1:00 PM. As best we can, we will assign slips prior to your arrival so if you have some special needs, let me know.  To greet you and help you into your slip, look for our newest captain and crew Dick and Dora Doxon aboard Ranger (36).  They have graciously volunteered to be on site early to help us kick off the rendezvous.  Try a call on VHF 16 and/or VHF 72 to hail "Victory Fleet" to give us a heads up on your pending arrival.  We'll have a party float in one of the slips so dinner will be potluck on the dock.  Tug Talk will be Monday morning with coffee and Danish.  There will be a couple of fun activities during the day then, in the late afternoon we will shuttle out to the Blackwood/Bialko house and have a backyard get together there, providing a banquet awards dinner and drinks in hand to watch the sun dip to the horizon; then back to the boats to close the day.  Tuesday July 20^th will start with a little semi-potluck breakfast spread and coffee on the dock with check out completed by 12:00 noon.

The Port of Anacortes has given us eleven premier berthing slips all together on the C Dock.  Your point of contact for making your marina reservation and slip assignment is Tom Blackwood  TRBlackwood@aol.com or (206) 769-7648.  Please provide your best phone contact and your estimated arrival and departure date.  All are welcome to join in.  So, for those that will be attending without a tug, be you an owner, past owner, wannabe or enthusiast, let us know you are coming.  It's important.  So far there is no out cruise planned, however, my bet is that Tuesday night will find a gaggle of tugs tucked in somewhere amongst the San Juans. 

For those coming by land or all the way from the distant shores of the Great Lakes, Mississippi or Eastern Seaboard there is plenty of lodging in town.  For all of us, the Safeway grocery store is across the street, downtown stores are open (still need masks) and restaurants are operating at 50% capacity.  Quite doable.  Should you have a need to contact the marina, our point of contact is Amanda Flierl (360) 293-0694.  The price of diesel at the marina is currently: <100 gallons $2.96, with tax $3.22;    >100 gallons $2.88, with tax $3.13.

Shake off those barnacles and we'll see you real soon.

Toot Tooooooooooooot,

Tom & Janis    Thistle Dew

Fitting a Fortress FX-16 to a 37VT

Jerry Jones, Titan 37VT31, took this video after trial mounting a Fortress FX-16 in Titan's anchor hawse.

The anchor fits well against the hull's stainless steel protective strike plate and appears to be proportionatly sized for the tug.  The very base of the shank, however, is wider than the hawse pipe which prevents the flukes from seating tightly against the strike plate.

Lucy 49VT03 in the news...

https://www.dwell.com/amp/article/lucy-the-tugboat-the-brooklyn-home-company-b0136173

Eight Bells for Al Peterson

It's sad news about Al Peterson, ex-Kedge 37VT43, who died this week at the age of 93.  Al and Rie bought Kedge new in 1986, cruised her extensively, and just, reluctantly, sold her six months ago.  His was a life well lived.  Our condolences to Rie and their family.  The following was written by Al's longtime friend's at the St. Croix Marina.

We lost a treasure when Al Peterson passed away this week. Al had been in poor health of late, but what a great run he had, and what an interesting guy! Al and Rie have been at the marina longer than anyone and they were fixtures on B Dock for several decades. The green "Kedge" was one of the most unique boats in the marina and Al took that vessel on some amazing and adventurous journeys all over the country. He was active into his 90's as evidenced by this photo from August of 2019 when the marina staff took Al and Rie out on Kedge for a final cruise. It was so nice to see Al at the helm where he was truly in his element. We just received the news today, and it wasn't quite the start to 2021 we all were hoping for. Al was one in a million and we will have more information on his life story available for those interested. We'll put together a file and forward it as requested. Also, there is nothing planned for a ceremony at this time. We'll be praying for Rie in these most difficult times. RIP Al St. Croix Marina16 First Street, Hudson, WI 54016