The Swansons Boating Page

Once upon a time, we owned a boat (actually several boats). The last two were named Carpe Diem. We chose that name because purchasing boats seemed to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance. (We also named our motorhome Carpe Diem.) The last Carpe boat was a Carver 32-foot aft cabin cruiser, vintage 1984. We cruised with her in July 1998 to the North Channel .

In previous years, we travelled in our other Carpe on the Great Lakes. For instance, in 1997, we visited Lake Michigan for two weeks, and, on a separate fall trip, spent a week on the Trent-Severn waterway in Canada. While living in the Great Lakes area, we often enjoyed cruising the North Channel area of Canada. Our last (1998) trip was three fantastic weeks in the North Channel, including a visit to Gore Bay to attend a rendezvous of the Great Lakes Cruising Club.

Sandi was a Contributing Editor for Great Lakes Cruiser Magazine, before they closed their doors. In the magazine, she chronicled our 1995 tugboat cruise through the Great Lakes. The series was titled "The Voyage of Big Toot"!. She has also written stories about many of our ports of call.

We found our membership in The Great Lakes Cruising Club to be very valuable.

One of our favorite books of all time was written about a boating trip on the Thames in England. We had a similar boating trip in 1993 on the Thames, but ours wasn't nearly as funny as Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome [4k JPG]. One great excerpt from this book talks about towlines, or just about any line on any type of boat.

We also enjoy reading Patrick O'Brian's [1914-2000] Aubrey and Maturin series. We were deeply saddened by his passing, knowing that there will be no more chapters in the remarkable lives of Aubrey and Maturin.

`Nice? It's the only thing,' said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. `Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolute nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: `messing -- about -- in -- boats; messing -- --'

The above quote (our favorite) comes from The Wind in the Willows. This is a MUST READ for English-language books. Be sure to read the chapter "Piper at the Gates of Dawn".

The Swansons Boating Page

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