Trenton-Peterborough - June 23-28

Tuesday morning we checked the weather as rain and wind was predicted. The rain passed early and we decided to move on. We allowed the end of the rain to take our focus off the wind. Wow, what a challenging day! We fought our way into and out of 6 locks. You never know how the wind will affect the boat until you are in the lock. Sometimes it can be a battle to get the boat against the required wall. Upon entering Lock #6, (our worst of the day,) after getting near the assigned starboard wall, we ended up against the port side wall twice. In reaching for the cable on the starboard wall with the boat hook, the first mate could not hold us against the wind  and the boat hook was pulled out of her hands and dropped into the lock. This scene played out twice before securing ourselves to the lock wall. The Lockmaster was able to retrieve one boat hook but the other sank. Bummer! They say the lockmasters talk to eachother. Evidently this is true. Upon arriving at Lock #7, the Lockmaster came down and greeted us before the lock suggesting that the wall before the lock may be a nice place to spend the evening. We readily agreed as we had enough drama for one day. We had a lovely evening out of the wind below the lock. 

We woke up Wednesday morning to calm winds and blue sky. Two other boats pulled up as we waited  for the first lock opening of the day. One of the boats was Greg & Reenie on Thistle (Loopers) who we had met in Picton. We traveled with Thistle for the day through 6 locks a total of 17 miles. The last two locks of the day were what they refer to as a set of flight locks. The first lock lifted us 25 feet, the doors opened and we passed directly into the next 25 foot lift. We stopped by early afternoon at Campbellford Wall at the Old Mill City Park. We unloaded the bikes and peddled back to the flight locks  to cross the suspension bridge over the river to Ferris Provincial Park. We rode for miles (most of which we were kind of lost) on dirt, rocky and grassy trails. The captain was good enough to to explain to the first mate that we were in bear country and you don't need to be faster than the bear, just faster than the slowest bicycle. Great! Once we found our way out of the park, we entered town and the captain was rewarded by finding the famous World's Finest Chocolate Factory Outlet Store! The evening entertainment was a band playing at the park where we were docked. 

On Thursday we left Campbellford with Greg & Reenie on Thistle. We traveled together through 6 locks and a total of 20 miles to the small town of Hastings. We tied up to the Lock wall. It was a little rainy but Sheli still got a walk in and Greg & Reenie tried their hand a fishing. We went to a small restaurant named Banjos for dinner with Greg & Reenie after which we had a rousing game of Farkle on the back deck of the Pura Vida. 

Friday's travels took us 39 miles and through one lock. We crossed Rice Lake which is a popular fishing lake (many of Steve's relatives had come here in the past for summer fishing vacations) We pulled into Little Lake at Peterborough and dropped the hook. It was such a beautiful day so we took the dinghy for a ride along town. The water was crystal clear so it was easy to see the rocky bottom. 

Saturday morning we cruised 2000 feet to the Peterborough Marina. Whew! Once settled in we walked to the local Farmers Market where we had a yummy Canadian Bacon sandwich for lunch. We also explored the town. Great place! By evening the rains came in but this did not deter us from attending the free concert in the park next to the marina with Greg & Reenie from Thistle. We donned our full rain gear to go enjoy an awesome concert by Randy Bachman, formerly from the group Bachman-Turner Overdrive. What a hoot! 

The rains continued all night and most of the day on Sunday. We spent the morning working around the boat (oil changes and cleaning). In the afternoon Greg & Reenie joined us for soggy walk under our umbrellas to town to see the movie Jurassic World in 3D. 

Monday we plan to move on. Greg & Reenie will be staying in Peterborough a few more days and then traveling home to California for a couple weeks. Our paths will most likely not cross again on this trip. We will miss them as we had a lot of fun together.

 Lock duty!

 Relaxing below Lock 7.

 Entering Lock.

 Thistle entering double (flight) lock.

 View back from top of flight lock.

 Suspension bridge near Ranney Falls. 

 Biking adventure!

 Happy captain!

 Pura Vida on wall at Campbellford Town Dock.

 Sheli & Reenie opening the lock doors.

 Greg & Reenie fishing.

 Canadian Bacon sandwich. Yum!

 Rainy concert. 

Alexandria Bay-Trenton, Ontario -June 19-22

Friday morning we left Alex Bay, waved goodbye to the Boldt Castle and set course to Canada. We traveled along the U.S. side of the St Lawrence Seaway until we hit Wolfe Island Cut where we crossed into Canadian waters. After traveling 32 miles for the day we took a slip at Confederation Basin Marina in Kingston, Ontario.  As required, the Captain and only the Captain was allowed to leave the vessel, proceed to the designated phone at the end of the dock and call Canadian Customs & Immigration. After giving them our information and answering a few questions we were given an authorization number that we are to display on our side windows while transiting the country. Kingston is a very vibrant town with many young people out enjoying a beautiful summer Friday evening. We enjoyed dinner at Jack Asters on their rooftop patio. Loved Kingston!

Saturday morning Sheli took her walk while Steve went to a local coffee shop with wifi to check weather and emails. Afterward we threw off the lines and headed out. It was another glorious day to cruise with warm sunshine and calm water. We traveled west 40 miles to Picton, Ontario. Picton has a small harbor surrounded by hills. Very pretty!  We tied up to the wall at the Picton Marina and Park and immediately knew we liked it here.  Today we passed our 5000 mile mark since leaving home!

We walked Sunday morning to the Free Methodist Church in Picton. We thought we would head out after church, but decided we liked the area so much we would stay another night. We jumped on our bikes and took a long ride through the nearby countryside. It was a great day of exploring the area and town.

Monday morning we left the pretty harbor of Picton and traveled 41 miles to Trenton, Ontario. This is where we will enter the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Trent-Severn Waterway is 240 miles long and runs from Trenton on Lake Ontario to the Port Severn on the Georgian Bay. We will pass through 44 locks during this stretch which will also be our final locks of the trip. 

 Kingston, Ontario 

 Customs & Immigration phone

 Picton harbor 

 Good advice!

Oswego-Alexandria Bay - June 16-18

Tuesday morning we woke up to rain. We spent the morning on boat projects....Cleaned our fender balls from the lock slime, applied a fresh coat of finish on our teak table, and laundry. By afternoon the sun came out so we took a walk around the town of Oswego. 

Wednesday morning we met up with the boat Kat in the Hatt by 8am to buddy boat across Lake Ontario. The crossing was awesome as the sun was out and the lake was calm. After traveling 30 miles together we split off for the last 10 miles as they went to Kingston and we turned onto the St Lawrence Seaway. We are taking a short side trip to travel through some of the area of the Thousand Islands. (We're sure we won't cover them all!) By early afternoon we tied up to the free dock at Cape Vincent. The water is so clear here we actually took a quick dip in the river to cool off! Refreshing 60 degrees! It was a beautiful warm summer night overlooking the pancake flat river with Wolfe Island, Canada in the background with its wind generators sleeping in the still air. What a view.

Thursday morning after Sheli took her power walk around town and bought a muffin for the Captain, we headed east on the St Lawrence Seaway. What a beautiful 27 mile cruise. We cruised past rock out croppings, small islands, big islands, islands with small cottages and islands with castles. We took a slip at Bonnie Castle Yacht Basin in Alexander Bay. We had an incredible view from our slip of the Boldt Castle on neighboring Heart Island. We took the dinghy across the river to tour the Boldt Castle and its grounds. What a place, what a story. The short version is:  In the early 1900's George Boldt was one of the wealthiest men in America. He spent many years reshaping the island, building many out buildings and then the great castle all for his beloved wife. Prior to completion of the castle, Mrs Boldt died unexpectedly.  George Boldt sent a telegram to the island to stop all work on the castle. The hundreds of workers, put down their tools and left the island. It is said that George never stepped foot on the island again. From 1904 until 1977, the castle continued to deteriorate to a state of disrepair. In 1977, the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority assumed ownership and began the rehabilitation of the property. We explored around some other little islands on our dinghy ride back to the Pura Vida.

Friday we plan to cross into Canadian waters. Once there our cellular and Internet connections will be very limited. So for the next several weeks we are not sure how often we will be able to update our blog. Side note.....The captain is already tired of listening to the first mate sing "O Canada"!

 There has been much discussion if paper charts are needed with today's electronics. We have carried many and finally found a need for them.

 Garmin screen shot on Lake Ontario. Cold and deep too!

 Sunset in Cape Vincent.

 Clam waters!

 Island home. Some large.

 Some small.

 St Lawrence Seaway is an International shipping channel.

 Boldt Castle with Children's Playhouse in front.

 Power generation plant for Boldt Castle.

 Boat house for Mr Boldts many boats.

 Boldt Castle.

Oswego Canal - June 15

Monday morning we left our dock at 8am. We were followed into our last lock of the Erie Canal by another Looper boat named Kat in the Hatt and a non Looper Silver Tuna going to Saugatuck, MI. Seven miles later we turned north onto the Oswego Canal. The Oswego Canal is 24 miles long and has 7 locks which will bring us down to Lake Ontario. As we approached and contacted the Lockmaster at Lock #1 we were informed that we would be delayed as they were repairing the lift bridge at the lock exit. We tied up to the wall just outside of the lock and were advised that they were fixing the bridge just enough to get our group through because there were rumors of shutting down the canal due to flooding. Twenty minutes later they were able to lock us through and raise the bridge. Whew!  We continued down the river dodging logs and debris. We cleared through our last lock at 4:30pm and pulled into the Oswego Marina. We later learned that we were probably the last boats to get through the Canal as the New York Canal System shut down all travel through the Oswego Canal. The canal will remain closed due to flooding for an undetermined amount of time, possibly a week or more! We are so fortunate to have gotten through before this closure! We know there are at least a dozen other Loopers above the Oswego Canal that are now held up due to this closure. 

 Wild water over the dam.

 Captain finally working!

 Approaching Lock #8. 

 Wild Oswego River.

 Kayaking anyone?

Erie Canal - June 8-14

Just before noon on Monday, we pulled into the Erie Canal Welcome Center at Waterford. At the Welcome Center we picked up information on what to expect while traveling through the Canal and walked up the hill to the lock to purchase our 10 day pass from the lockmaster. The locks are numbered, beginning with Lock 2. The first flight of locks (2-6) are referred to as the Waterford Flight. An engineering wonder, the flight features five locks where boats are lifted the greatest height in the shortest distance of any canal in the world. (169 feet in less than 2 miles) The locks on the Erie are quite different than what we experienced on the rivers last fall. Instead of bollards, these locks have either cables, pipes or ropes to secure the boat against the lock wall.  We were fortunate that Paul & Cindy were still part of our crew as we ventured through the 6 locks. After having traveled 35 miles for the day, we took a slip at the Diamond Reef Yacht Club. Later many of the members seemed surprised that we made it in their channel. That would have been good information to have known earlier as we did dredge their channel for them as we came through it. One of the owners loaned us his car to go to dinner. Nice!

Tuesday morning, Paul & Cindy stayed on board and helped us spin the boat by hand (Huck Finn it) and then we slowly worked our way out. We dropped Paul & Cindy off at a Marina across the river so they could take a taxi 6 miles to the Albany Airport to catch their flight home. We continued up through the canal and locked through Lock 7 a 27 foot lift. Shortly after leaving the lock, a severe thunderstorm came through with a vengeance. Rain, wind, thunder, lightning! We could hardly see the front of the boat much less our surroundings. We were forced to use our chart plotter and GPS to stay in the middle of the channel. After the storm, we decided we had enough fun for one day and stopped at the nearby Schenectady Yacht Club for the evening. We traveled a whopping 12 miles that day. Soon after stopping we received a call from Paul that their flight had been canceled. So they rented a car and drove 12 miles to come spend another night with us. (Sweet! We had transportation to dinner and great company!)

Paul and Cindy snuck out before dawn on Wednesday to catch their flight home. We traveled 44 miles, through 5 locks to the town of Cananjoharie. We stayed against the barge wall as the free dock was full. We tied all four of our 50 foot shore power cords together to get electricity to the boat. 

Thursday we traveled 29 miles, through 5 locks to the town of Ilion. We stayed at the Ilion Village Marina. We took a walk into the Village and bought some supplies at Aldis on the way back to the boat. 

On Friday (the Captain's Birthday!!!) we traveled 40 miles, through 4 locks (the last 2 of which we locked down) to Sylvan Beach free town wall. Sylvan Beach is a small lakeside town on the east end of Lake Oneida. The town has a beach, a small amusement park and lots of visitors on summer weekends. We are now at the 43 parallel, which means we are as far north as at home. Shortly after arriving, we dropped the dinghy and took a ride out on Lake Oneida. It was a short ride due to another storm heading our way. The storm hit hard, but we were safely back on board. The special birthday occasion again called for peel and eat shrimp!

Saturday, our friends from Just Us arrived in Sylvan Beach. We had a great afternoon on the beach together and later picked them up via dinghy for dinner at the Crazy Clam.

 Sunday, the winds were calm so it was a perfect day to travel across Lake Oneida which is 20 miles long. We stopped a couple miles short of the west end, dropped the anchor and enjoyed lunch and swimming. It was great to swim in fresh water again! We continued on to Ess Kay Marina in Brewerton for the evening. And again, another rainstorm came through which left us uncertain on future canal (flooding) conditions. 

 Lock #3 on the Erie Canal. 

 Part of the original Canal. 

 Guard Gate being lifted to allow us through. 

 Lock & Dam.

 Rain/flood debris building against nav aid.

 While most locks have swinging doors, this one lifts overhead. Yes you do get wet going in! 

 Many locks only have nasty ropes to hang on to. Need gloves!

New York City-Erie Canal - June 3-8

Our destination on Wednesday was West Point only 20 miles upstream from our anchorage at  Haverstraw. We took a slip at Cornwall on Hudson Yacht Club about 11am. At 1pm Ken and Kate Sampson came and picked us up for a tour of West Point. The Sampsons are long time friends of Sheli's Uncle Willl & Aunt Janie Byker. Ken is a retired U.S. Army Chaplin and therefore gave us a great personal tour of West Point. It was awesome to see West Point both by water as we passed by on the Hudson and by land. The Hudson Highlands is a beautiful area! In the evening, Ken & Kate treated us to dinner at the Canterbury Brook Inn. (Serving authentic Swiss Cuisine - What a treat!)

Thursday morning we continued north 36 miles to Kingston, NY. Our cruise was beautiful with many lovely homes along the Hudson. At times, the river was 130 feet deep! We are not in the shallow Intracoastal anymore! We took a a spot at the floating dock at the Hudson River Maritime Museum at Rondout. After getting settled  we rode bikes to the laundromat. It was an adventure peddling up hill while hauling the laundry. It was a good workout. We will be staying here for a few days because our friends Paul & Cindy Takken are flying in for a visit. Paul's sister Renee and husband Richard live in Kingston which makes this a good location to see them and us. They flew in late in the evening and stayed with Renee and Richard. 

Friday morning, Paul, Cindy and Renee picked us up at the boat and we all went for breakfast at a local diner. After breakfast, Renee gave us a tour of the historic Old Dutch Reformed Church in Kingston where she is the pastor. We then dropped her off at her house and the four of us took her car to Woodstock, twenty minutes away. Woodstock was the sight of the huge weekend music festival in 1969. Based on the reputation of the festival and some of the locals we saw while there, we are pretty sure some of them never left. Peace baby, Far out! However, today it is a quaint town in the Catskills with fun and interesting shopping. At night we returned to Renee and Richard's home for burgers on the grill. Yum!

Saturday morning we went to the local Kingston farmers market. Paul bought a $20 mystery bag filled with goodies from a local cheese vendor. We added a few other items such as bread, meat and crackers also from the market which we then shared for lunch at Renee & Richard's house. In the afternoon we took Paul, Cindy, Renee, Richard and their Indonesian friend Dewee for a boat ride on the Hudson.

Sunday we attended Renee's church and heard her preach. Afterwards with Paul & Cindy as crew, we headed north once again on the Hudson River. We traveled 51 miles and dropped the anchor at Houghtailing Island. Once again it was windier than predicted and the captain was not happy! But the anchor held and we had a pleasant evening grilling out and playing cards. 

We woke up Monday morning to even stronger winds than the night before and the captain was still not happy! Argh! We pulled up the anchor early and headed out. The good news is that we were traveling with the wind at our back which made for a comfortable ride. Our travels took us past Albany, NY and on to Troy. At Troy we locked through Federal Lock #1 which as a lift of 17 feet. For the first time since October we are out of salt water and back into fresh water! A couple miles later we turned at Waterford onto the Erie Canal! Another chapter in our voyage begins!

 Nice place along the Hudson.

 Landscape is changing!

 West Point 

 Ken & Kate Sampson.

 "Stormin Norman" Schwarzkopf's gravestone at the Cemetery at West Point. 

 Cadet Chapel at West Point.

 Pack mule hauling the laundry.

 Old Dutch Reformed Church.

 Inside Renee's church.

 Peace, Love, Woodstock!

 Cindy, Paul, Richard & Renee.

 Erie Canal!