The logs that can be accessed from this page are accounts of boating cruises taken by Ellis and Marilyn Simon over the past 40 years.  The travels were all in power boats, generally operated in “cruising trawler” mode.  They include four different boats.  The first was a 35-foot wood cockpit motor boat which was (strangely) custom built during World War II. It was powered by twin 200-hp Chrysler gas engines.  The second boat was a 37-foot Colonial wood cabin cruiser that was powered by twin GM 4-53 diesel engines.  The third vessel was a 34-foot Mainship fiberglass cabin cruiser, powered by a single 160-hp Perkins Diesel.  The forth and current vessel is a 40-foot Mainship fiberglass double cabin boat powered by twin 300-hp Detroit Diesel diesel engines.  These logs were written with the intention of carrying the reader along on the trip.  I hope they are interesting, informative, amusing, and not too boring.  Enjoy.

 

Chesapeake Bay, 1969  We travel to Crisfield Md in our 35-foot cabin cruiser.  Highlights are the first moon landing, and very rough waters in Delaware Bay.  

Nantucket, 1981   We take our 37-foot wood cruiser from New Jersey to Nantucket and back.  Stops include the Great Salt Pond at Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Tiverton, RI, and Port Jefferson, NY.  Includes a dive on the jetty at Nantucket, the captain’s injury, and taking on water in Block Island Sound. 

New England, 1984  The Amberjack III, a 34-foot Mainship trawler travels from New Jersey to Portland, Maine.  We explore the islands in Casco Bay, Plymouth, Mass, Portsmouth, NH, and Kennebunkport, ME. 

New England, 1985   We expand our cruise range by having several friends help us to move our 34-foot Mainship to Maine.  It is a 36-hour non-stop run from NJ to Portland, ME.  We cover downeast Maine, including Bar Harbor, Camden, Penobscot Bay, and Boothbay. 

How Not to Spend a Sunday, 1985   A boat explodes at the marina fuel dock, sending five injured persons into the water, and teaching us a lot about emergencies. 

New Brunswick, Canada, 1986   We travel north from New Jersey to Maine in our 34-foot Mainship.  We stop at Monhegan Island, and Eastport.  From Eastport, we travel to St. John, New Brunswick.  We traverse the REVERSING FALLS and tour the lower parts of the St. John River.  We go to Grand Manan Island.  

New England, 1991  We travel from New Jersey to Maine and back in our 1979 34-foot Mainship I.  Covers Block Island,  Nantucket, the Cape Cod Canal, the Maritime Museum at Bath, Maine, and the inside passage to Boothbay, Maine. 

Nova Scotia, 1993   We travel from New Jersey to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in our 34-foot Mainship.   

So You Want to Go to Diesel??? 1995   A realistic assessment of the costs and problems in converting a 40-foot twin engine Mainship from gasoline to diesel. 

New Jersey to Florida, 1998  This is our first trip down the big ditch in our 40-foot Mainship.  It includes traveling across Florida through the Okeechobee waterway.  At the end of the trip, we lay the Amberjack up in Fort Myers. 

Florida and the Bahamas, 1999  This log covers the trip from Fort Myers to the Dry Tortugas, then up through the Florida Keys to Key Biscayne.  From there, the Amberjack traveled east to the Bahamas and back to Miami.  

Florida to New Jersey, 1999  After touring the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, we travel north to New Jersey. 

New Jersey to Florida, 2000  This log covers the trip back to Ft. Lauderdale in the fall. 

 

Florida 2004  We travel across Florida with plans to go to the Keys and then the Bahamas.  Our trip is cut short by Marilyn requiring surgery.  It is a good thing, too, for it is the year of the hurricanes.  Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne nearly destroy the Amberjack and make a shambles of Florida. 

 

Florida 2006  We travel across Florida and go north to the Charlotte Harbor area.  The captain gets a lesson on proper maintenance.

 

Florida 2007  We go to Tavernier in the Keys.  This is the trip where we discover Boca Chita Key in Biscayne Bay.

 

Alaska 2008  We spend a month doing a motor tour of the northwestern United States.  The heart of the tour is a two week cruise to Kodiak Island on a Princess liner.  We walk with Kodiak bears.  Pictures included.