CRUISING CHALLENGES - June 18 to 20, 2016

Almost every cruise involves some sort of unexpected challenge(s). They can be mechanical, weather, health, accident or any combination. These challenges force one to repair, fix, overcome, adapt, postpone, ignore, get help from friends, pay for help, buy parts…. Often, handling such challenges involves something we’ve already covered - “Boaters Helping Boaters”.

In our cruising lives, here is a sampling of some of the issues we’ve faced:

• alternator issues
• electronics issues
• a crew member / guest broke his ankle
• I cracked two ribs
• battery issues
• towed one boat off a sand bar and another off the rocks

This Down East Circle Route adventure is no different. Here are the current challenges:

• Sir Tugley Blue has a rigid inflatable dinghy like ours. A week after they left on this trip, they launched the dinghy and found the injection moulded hull on their one year old dinghy had developed a crack. They have been pushing Walker Bay hard for over a month for a replacement hull with great frustration. It now appears a new hull will be sent to Quebec City, but it is causing a delay of possibly up to two weeks
• Wings: About 5 or 6 years ago, Bob had a hip replacement. Recently, Bob’s other hip has started to give him trouble and he has been surviving on Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Another better prescription is waiting for Bob in Quebec City that we all hope gives him more relief and better mobility
• Tug’n: I had spent a month in late April and May installing new equipment on our boat four to five days a week in small spaces and awkward positions. By the time we were ready to leave in late May, my back was causing me some grief. A visit to a useless chiropractor in Bobcaygeon proved to be a waste of time. However, a visit to a brilliant and highly skilled chiropractor in Montreal has started me on the road to recovery.

Here’s hoping all these challenges are resolved in a timely manner with no measurable impact on our cruising plans.

Since departing Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay on May 27th, through to June 18th in Montreal, we had only anchored out twice and Fran & I were really missing the peace and tranquility of anchoring. Sir Tugley planned on staying in Montreal a further week or more while they finalized arrangements for the replacement hull for their dinghy and Wings decided they’d stay at the marina for a couple more days while a heat alert was looming for Montreal.

We spoke to local boaters and got some great tips on where they go to anchor nearby. Off we headed on Saturday mid day to Parc National des Iles-de-Boucherville. This was a short 7 nautical mile journey to a group of islands that is something like Montreal’s equivalent to the Toronto Islands, without the docks, yacht clubs and marinas. There are narrow channels between the islands and because they are in the St. Lawrence River, a current is constantly flowing through the channels. 

As it was going to be a sunny, hot weekend, boats were streaming to the islands. When we got there, the channels were lined with boats anchored on each side of the channel, either individually or rafted in groups of 2, up to 5 boats across. The current keeps the boats neatly lined up one behind the other. We meandered up a channel that had been recommended to us, weaving between the boats and found a spot to anchor Tug’n. Once secured, we enjoyed a lovely lunch in our cockpit and watched the steady flow of water craft all the rest of the day. There were cruisers, runabouts, sea doos, canoes, kayaks, paddle boats all moving up and down the channels. Most of the power boats had “bikini clad bow fluff” on display and no one seemed the least bit concerned about getting too much sun. All canvas bimini covers were stowed and everyone was out to get as much sun as possible. What entertainment. We spent the afternoon reading in our shaded cockpit and watching the boats and people. Our happy hour and dinner were also spent in the cockpit. By 2100 hours, the vast majority of boats were gone leaving only a handful of us for the night. 

The scene was repeated again on Sunday, but with slightly less traffic as it was Fathers’ Day. I got wonderful phone Fathers’ Day phone calls from Rina, Morgan and Rina and some of the grand children. While there was a heat alert in Montreal, at anchor we had a steady breeze, shade in our cockpit and periodic dips in the water. It isn’t quite like taking a swim in a lake. Here you have to be concerned about the current and not getting too far away from your boat. We followed examples of others and tied our life ring with its 50’ line to a cleat on the stern of our boat. Then we’d get in the water and hold onto the life ring and enjoy the cool water. To get some exercise, we’d move up the floating line a little and start swimming. At a modestly fast pace, you’d stay still in one place with the floating line right beside you for when you’d had enough. 

On Monday, June 21st, Bob and Jan on Wings joined us at the anchorage. Originally, we’d planned on moving further down the St. Lawrence to another anchorage, but the weather forecast made us change our minds. 

Weather is all important for boaters. We usually get the forecast a couple of times a day. Historically, we’d get the marine forecast over the VHF Radio through Weather Radio Canada. These day’s it is easier to go to Environment Canada’s web site and get the info. Below is a copy of the forecast for today. The red banner saying “Gale Force Winds” got our attention. A forecast like this forces a boater to evaluate what the impact will be and determine what preparations they should make (move or stay; put out more anchor rode; store any loose gear; have an escape plan if something unexpected happens etc).

We’d quickly concluded we were in a good location. The wind direction was going to be basically the same as what we’d had. We had some pretty good protection from the wind via the shape of the shoreline and the tall trees lining both sides of the channel. All we ended up doing was lengthening our anchor rode (chain) to a little over 5:1. This means for every foot of depth, we’d have 5 feet of chain let out to help keep our anchor well secured to the mud bottom.

Once you are feeling prepared for the weather to come, you go about your days activities and wait for the “weather” to arrive. You get period updates to the forecast. Hopefully the forecast turns out to be the worst case scenario and what you actually experience is something less. In either case, weather stories are always told and retold when you have get togethers with other boaters. Based on the fearsome stories you hear from others, it’s a wonder any of us ever heads off on a boating adventure. 

In our case today, there were indeed very high winds (although we were well protected, so for us it didn’t feel so bad), we did get thunder storms in the evening and we did get rain, but never as bad as forecast. After midnight, all was calm. A successful conclusion to three nights at anchor at Boucherville Islands!

Anchored in a narrow channel at Boucherville Islands

Fran in for a "life ring dip"

A Fathers' Day sunset

Storm clouds roll in

MONTREAL - June 15, 16 & 17, 2016

The previous night we’d spent in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield tied to a government dock in the downtown, right beside a lovely park where a local band was providing live entertainment while we dined on filet mignon, roasted potatoes and salad. This town of 40,000 was named after Colonel Charles de Salaberry who served with the British army during the War of 1812 and Valleyfield came from the Valleyfield Mills, a paper mill south of Edinburgh in Scotland. Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is also home of Jean-Luc Brassard, the freestyle skier who won the gold metal during the 1994  Winter Olympics in the sport’s debut as a metal event. 

Today was our last leg of the journey to Montreal. We did four more locks and learned that locking in the St. Lawrence Seaway can mean lengthy delays making it hard to plan arrival times and activities. A municipal employees strike meant the main marina in Montreal’s Old Port was closed to us. After a call to fellow boaters Bernard and Monique (who live in Montreal and boat out of Beacon Bay Marina where we do) we successfully made reservations at Marina La Ronde on Isle Ste. Helene, the site of the Expo 67 Worlds Fair and a walk, bus ride, and two subway rides away from Old Montreal. Our late arrival meant the office was closed by friendly local boaters helped us get settled and helped us find the keys and passes marina staff had left.

Isle Sainte Helene was named after Samuel de Champlain’s wife and over the years it was used as a public park,  a prisoner of war camp in WWII and eventually the site for Expo 67 that was held on the theme of Man and His World. The La Ronde amusement park continues to be used for that, and much of the rest of the island is now Jean Drapeau public park.

Our time here on Thursday and Friday was spent going back and forth to Old Montreal walking the streets to enjoy the lovely architecture, tour the Nortre Dame Basilica, taking a horse drawn carriage ride, enjoying the wonderful mix of local restaurants and the picture perfect weather. 

Montreal’s history spans some 8,000 years. At the time of the first European contact, the area was inhabited by Iroquois First Nations. Jacques Cartier was the first European explorer to reach this area in 1535, while he was in search of a passage to Asia. Seventy years Later Samuel de Champlain unsuccessfully tired to create a fur trading post, but the Mohawk of the Iroquois successfully defended their hunting grounds. 

A mission named Ville Marie was built in 1642 as part of efforts to create a French colonial empire. Ville Marie became a centre for fur trade & the beginning of New France until 1760, when it surrendered to the British army following the French defeat at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. This was followed by British immigration, expanding the city. Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832 and the city’s expansion was spurred by the opening of the Lachine Canal. Montreal was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849 and by 1860 it was the largest city in British North America and the undisputed economic & cultural centre of Canada. Between 1883 & 1918, annexation of neighbouring towns resulted in Montreal becoming mostly a Francophone city. 

Montreal’s population surpassed 1 million in the early 1950’s and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway spurred more growth, bringing skyscrapers, museums a much larger harbour. Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics cemented Montreal’s international status. Historically, business and finance in Montreal was under the control of Anglophones and the rise of Quebec nationalism in the 1970’s caused many institutions to move their head offices to Toronto.

Sir Tugley Blue exiting a Seaway Lock

Montreal & Mount Royal looming in the distance

Marina La Ronde

Notre Dame Basilica

Horse drawn carriage ride - Old Montreal

Lunch at Jardin Nelson

THE MIGHTY ST. LAWRENCE - June 13 & 14, 2016

Over the next two days we travelled a lengthy section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It exists as a result of the collaboration of Canada and the US, creating the longest deep draft navigation system in the world allowing large ships to travel 2,300 miles into the North American heartland. The economic benefits have been staggering. Moving goods by ship is by far the most economical and efficient method available. Annually, more than 160 million metric tons of goods are moved through the system (iron ore, coal, limestone, cement and grain are the dominate goods). When cruising this system, every day you bear witness to the benefits of the undertaking. 

However, one also thinks about the enormity of the project of building the seaway and of the impacts on residents at the time it was built. In total:

• 6,500 people were displaced by the St. Lawrence Seaway
• 530 buildings were moved
• countless other homes, schools and businesses were demolished
• part of highway 2 was rebuilt on higher ground
• homeowners affected were given three options: take the money; have their home relocated; get a new home

At 8 am on July 1, 1958, a large cofferdam was demolished allowing the flooding to begin. Four days later, all the former townsites were fully underwater. Parts of the New York State shoreline were flooded by the project as well, but no communities were lost on the US side. At the time, many homeowners were upset with the monetary offer believing property values were already depressed well ahead of time as people anticipated the project would proceed. Lost Villages included Aultsville, Dickinson’s Landing, Farran’s Point, Maple Grove, Mille Roches, Moulinette, Santa Cruz, Sheek’s Island, Wales and Woodlands. 

Created in 1958 from buildings relocated directly from the “Lost Villages” is Upper Canada Village, near Morrisburg, Ontario. Collectively these buildings represent a living museum run by the Lost Villages Historical Society. The Village endeavours to depict life in rural English Canada set during the year 1866. There are over 40 historical buildings including an authentic working woollen mill, grist-mill and saw mill, blacksmith, tinsmith, cabinet maker, cooper, bakery and cheese maker. Staff dressed in period clothing demonstrate all aspects of life at that time and discuss their various roles, routines and rural life. The park also incorporates a memorial to the Battle of Chrysler’s Farm, one of the final battles of the War of 1812. We toured the village and were delighted to see a good turnout of school children enjoying a wonderful educational experience.

Other thoughts we had while cruising the St. Lawrence Seaway:

• There are seven locks to transit between Prescott and Montreal. On average a lock holds 21 million gallons of water and it takes only 10 minutes to fill or drain a lock
• The first lock, heading downstream from Lake Ontario (Iroquois Lock)  is called a “control lock” and the “drop” varies with the water level on Lake Ontario. We entered the lock with great anticipation and excitement, receiving two lines from the lock staff to wrap around our cleats and control the boat during the lowering. Just after they collected our $30 fee, the lower gates opened and we were told to exit the lock. We had a great laugh realizing we’d only dropped about 5”. Subsequent locks have much larger drops.
• At the Eisenhower Lock (the first of two US based locks) we were first in and the procedure is that you use two of your own lines and tie up to a single floating bollard that lowers with you when the water goes out. Wings came in behind us and they were instructed to raft off our boat (tie up to our boat). We had a wind coming in behind us and with the two boats tied together with only one bollard holding us, Wings had to keep her engine going to hold us straight and parallel to the lock wall. It turned out to be quite stressful for the first while before we got the hang of it.
• Cruising the St. Lawrence, you are in a river with a lot of water moving through it. In wide sections the current is light. In narrow sections, we’ve experienced up to 3 1/2 knot currents so far. So, running the engine at a normal rpm to give us a speed of 7 1/2 knots, in the river we’ve hit 11 knots, which for us was quite thrilling. It becomes a little more tricky getting off the river and into a marina and on a dock. So far, everyone is doing really well. 
• Following the canals, channels and small lakes by boat is the only way to really appreciate the enormity of the St. Lawrence Seaway Project. We feel extraordinarily fortunate to be completing this trip.
• This afternoon, we crossed the boarder between Ontario and Quebec and raised our Fleurdelise courtesy flag. Normally a vessel visiting a foreign country will fly a courtesy flag of the country they are visiting. While Quebec is of course in Canada, we were told one will get a much warmer reception by flying a Quebec courtesy flag, so that is what we are doing.

A BIG Laker

A really BIG lock (Snell Lock on the US side)

Two ships passing in the night (well dusk anyway)

Upper Canada Village - a working Saw Mill

A working wool mill

Dinner for two in the cockpit

A perfect sunset to end the day

GANANOQUE, THE THOUSAND ISLANDS & PRESCOTT - June 10, 11 & 12, 2016

For well over a century, the Thousand Islands has been a top North American tourist destination, not only for the wealthy who built and are still building their mansions, but also for those of more modest means who come to enjoy the beauty of the area by staying at cottages, resorts, camp grounds, taking boat cruises or cruising in their own boats. On a summer’s day, hot breezes will carry the fragrance of sun-baked pine and juniper, and a moment later, a cool, clean gust will blow. In a hemlock-lined bay, the cold dampness and the scent of rich earth will float out from shore.

There are actually 1,864 islands in the Thousand Islands, but the French were the first europeans to see the area in 1615, gave them the name Lac des Milles-Illes or Lake of a Thousand Islands and the name stuck. By the 1800’s they were so well travelled that naming the islands became a chore that fell on Captain Wm. Fitzwilliam Owen in 1815. Since the War of 1812 had just ended, he chose to look on these British-territory islands as a chance to commemorate the men and ships that made history in that war. The western most islands became the Admiralty Islands with individual names such as Forsyth, Lindsay and Bostwick, acknowledging British admirals of those war years.

Southeast of the Admiralty Islands are the Lake Fleet Islands, celebrating the names of ships and gunboats that served on the upper St. Lawrence River & the Great Lakes. They have the most colourful names including: Dumfounder, Deathdealer, Bloodletter, Psych and Scorpion as well as more sedate names such as St. Regent, Niagara and our favourite, Camelot.

Finally, west of the Ivy Lea bridge are the Navy Islands named after captains of the Lake Fleet Ships. There are Mulcaster, Popham, Collier, Downie and Owen (after the name giver himself).

A walk on an island will expose you to the diversity of the island ecosystems; the smooth, sun-warmed granite, evidence of ice-split rock from the winters past, deep carpets of moss on shady slopes and mixed forests. There are many sounds to entertain your ears; the slap of the waves on granite shores, the call of the loons at dusk, song sparrows and more. One of my favourite sites are the great blue herons gracefully making their way amongst the islands.

Today, we left Kingston under a lovely blue sky with a 10 knot breeze from the west. This is the beginning of the mighty St. Lawrence River. It is so wide at this point, you don’t notice the current, but it will be felt before too long. We chose the scenic Bateau Channel to make our way to the first group of islands in the Thousand Islands National Park. This route takes you past all manner of cottages, houses and mansions providing endless entertainment for your eyes. 

Today we chose to tie up to one of the first islands in the Admiralty Islands you see after exiting the Bateau Channel called Aubrey Island. We had it to ourselves and enjoyed some wonderful sunshine and protection from the chilly winds off Lake Ontario (water temperature was only 53 degrees F). After lunch, we launched the dinghies and headed off to Gananoque. The town’s name is aboriginal and means “town on two rivers”. The site was settled in 1789 by Colonel Joel Stone who established a mill. The best way to remember the pronunciation of the town’s name is: “The right way, the wrong way and the Gananoque.” Locals just shorten it to “Gan”. It is considered the gateway to the Thousand Islands and it’s Thousand Islands Playhouse offers live theatre to sold out crows all season. We took the opportunity for a walking tour through town and an ice cream before continuing our outing with a dinghy tour of the Admiralty Islands. 

We make a special stop at Half Moon Bay. The tradition of worship in Half Moon Bay began in 1887. People came from neighbouring islands and from Gan to meet for a Vesper Service early on Sunday evenings during July & August. Situated on Bostwick Island in the Admiralty group, the place is a natural bay of carved rock thanks to the work of retreating glaciers. The location is named Half Moon Bay because of its crescent moon shape. Popularity of the services soon attracted campers for miles around. Folks arrive in small boats and cram into the bay. Check out the pictures below.

Tour boats are extremely popular in this area and Aubrey Island docks are on their route, so we were treated to sizeable waves every hour or so as the tour boats don’t slow down for anyone or anything. While we enjoyed a lovely afternoon and evening there, we had no debate about leaving the next morning.

Saturday June 11, 2016

On a grey and drizzly morning, we headed further east through the Admiralty and Lake Fleet Islands. With chilly winds blowing and occasional passing showers, we enjoyed the comforts of our heated pilot house to watch the scenery of the beautiful islands and magnificent cottage/homes, some more than 100 years old, pass us by. After considering various tie up locations, we eventually decided upon Grenadier Island. Grenadier Island is a large island, part of which is private and part of it is included in the Thousand Islands National Park. It has a golf course, plenty of camping locations and docks for many visiting boaters. We found docking where we joined about 10 other boats and enjoyed a lively time there with a wide range of music, lots of children, fishing, barbecuing etc etc. One can only image how busy this place would be in the prime time of July and August. Eventually, the wind died, the sun shone and we had a lovely late afternoon and evening.

Sunday June 12, 2016

The sun shone briefly when we first woke up, but it was short lived. The temperature dropped to about 9 degrees C, and moving on down the St. Lawrence River seemed like the best idea at our 0830 Crew Meeting. We were underway by 0900 and continued on the small craft channel for the next hour or so before the river narrowed and we merged with the wider commercial channel where the big ocean going freighters play. 

The St. Lawrence Seaway is a system of locks, canals and channels in Canada and the United States that permits ocean going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. After decades of back and forth negotiations between Canada and the US, Canada announced in 1951 it would “go it alone” and build a seaway on its own. The United States came on board with the plan in 1954 and work was finally completed in 1959, the system was finally completed and large, deep-draft ocean vessels began steaming into the heart of North America. The Seaway was completed at a cost of Canadian $470 million of which Canada covered $336.2 million. To complete the project, six villages and three hamlets in Canada were sacrificed and flooded. 

Today we travelled some 20 nautical miles of the St. Lawrence Seaway to Prescott, Ontario. We passed our first ocean going ship. We experienced a two knot current that pushed us along at about 9.3 knots vs our normal ~ 7.5 knots. We had 20 knot winds with gusts to 37 knots and passing showers. We saw many more large homes and mansions along the water all from our cozy heated quarters in our pilot house. Upon arrival, we were off to a local pub name O’heaphys for soup and other delights. Later, we enjoyed long, hot showers and got back aboard Tug’n for a G and T, cheese and crackers and a Netflix movie, leaving the dull cold weather outside…

Beautiful slate roof on a Gananoque Church

"Services at Half Moon Bay". Mural on wall
of Library in Gananoque

Pics of Half Moon Bay

Osprey pole to attract a nest so the birds won't
build on navigational aid

A small house on the St. Lawrence

Griffon - Canadian Ice Breaker in service since
1970. Based in Prescott. Home of "Prescott
Coastguard Radio"

Lunch at O'heaphys in Prescott

KINGSTON - OH WHAT A DAY - June 9, 2016

Kingston is located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River, approximately mid way between Toronto and Montreal. The famous Thousand Islands are just east of Kingston. 

Growing European exploration in the 17th century and the desire of Europeans to establish a presence close to the local First Nations occupants to control trade lead to the founding of a French trading post & military fort at a site known as Cataraqui in 1673. Fort Cataraqui became a focus for settlement and after the British conquered New France, the village was renamed Kingston. 

Kingston was named the first capital of the Province of Canada on February 10, 1841. Its time as a political centre was short lived but it remained an important military installation. Archaeological evidence suggests people lived in the Kingston area about 9,000 to 3,000 years ago. The more permanent encampments by First Nations people (The Hurons) began about 500 AD. By the time the French arrived the area was occupied by the Five Nations Iroquois. 

In the early 1780’s, the area became a receiving centre for Loyalist refugees who fled north because of the American Revolutionary War. During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British Naval Fleet which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based in Sackets Harbour. In the 1840’s, the Upper Canada Government built Fort Henry to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Fort Henry is a popular tourist destination today. 

Queens University was founded in 1841 and the Royal Military College of Canada was founded in 1876. Another other iconic structure in Kingston is the Penitentiary, established in 1835 and operated until 2013. 

On Thursday, we woke to a beautiful, but cool sunny morning. At the prearranged time of 0830. the six of us headed off to the Pan Chancho Bakery on Princess Street for lattes and breakfast. What a great bakery. Fran and I enjoyed the blueberry scones with our monstrous lattes and afterwards we picked up a loaf of freshly baked bread. 

While the crews of Wings and Sir Tugley were heading off on the Trolley Coach “get on, get off” tour of Kingston, Fran and I called long time friends from our Mimico Cruising Days, Ray and Rachel. They had just returned late last night from three days in Rhode Island attending a granddaughter’s graduation. We were thrilled to hear they were game for a get together. 

Ray and Rachel joined us on Tug’n for a tour and visit. Then we headed off to lunch at Sima Sushi on Princess Street. Wow, what a treat that was. Their Sushi was as good as we’ve had anywhere. We had such a wonderful time with Ray and Rachel reminiscing about our previous times together, including the 1997 Lake Ontario flotilla of 75 boats that went to Bonavista, Newfoundland to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Cabot’s landing there. Ray and I participated as crew on a 27’ sailboat for two weeks of that adventure.

After lunch, they took us on a tour of Kingston’s Queens University campus as they wanted us to see what had changed since our daughter Ria and her husband Patrick attended in the late 1990’s. We saw the new Smith School of Business and its recently enlarged facility funded by a $50 million donation from an alumnus, the new Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, the centre for teaching weaving, pottery & music, and much more. Ray is a 1951 grad from Queens Commerce and when we entered the business school building, he found a summer student in the office and convinced her to give us a guided tour. Along the way, we found a hall with photos of Ria and Patrick with their graduating classes from 1999 and 2000 respectively. What a treat! Queens certainly impressed us as a well funded school with amazing alumni support and their gorgeous campus with their limestone buildings are so very well maintained.

That wrapped up our great catch up visit with Ray and Rachel. It had been nine years since our last get together and today was indeed a very precious time together.

After dinner, we attended a Celtic concert at the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Club House performed by The Kingston Ceili Band. They had an accordion player, a flautist, a fiddler, an Irish drum player and a guitar player and they sang a wonderful collection of Irish, English & Scottish songs as well as songs by Gordie Lightfoot and Sting. They also handed out songbooks for some sing along songs. An amazing rendition of Oh Danny Boy was sung by a member of the audience. Another member of the audience got up and danced to a great jig played by the band. We are hoping we hear a lot more of this type of music in Nova Scotia, Cape Bretton, PEI and Newfoundland. Here’s hoping. 

Oh what a day!

Ray & Rachel visit us on Tug'n


Stephen & Fran with weaver who made blanket we bought at Queens


Queens Centre For The Performing Arts

The Kingston Ceili Band entertaining us

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, COLLINS BAY & KINGSTON - June 7 & 8, 2016

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, COLLINS BAY & KINGSTON - June 7 & 8, 2016

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Tuesday June 8, 2016

We had a lovely night at anchor by Green Point after the wind settled down. In the morning, the sun shone and with next to no wind, it was picture perfect (only I forgot to take any pictures). As Wings and Sir Tugley were three hours away, we got to do some chores. The first was to put our new water maker (reverse osmosis equipment) to the test. We hadn't had a chance to do this in Georgian Bay and the water quality in the Trent-Severn had us waiting until we were in Lake Ontario. 

The high pressure tubes contain filters that were sitting in a long term pickling solution (preservative), so after start up, the instructions had us run it for 30 minutes to eliminate all this solution, before putting water in our tank. I’m delighted to report that the equipment started up and ran as it was supposed to and in the course of an hour, we made about 35 gallons of water. This will be very helpful when we get into salt water where we’ll be wanting to rinse the salt off the boat after a run.

Sir Tugley and Wings caught up to us around mid day and we continued our journey along Long Reach and Adolphus Reach (two parts of the “Z” of the Bay of Quinte). The body of land to our starboard side (between us and Lake Ontario) is called Prince Edward County. This land was long settled by First Nations peoples and they county has significant archeological sites including the LeVescounte Mounds of the Point Peninsula Complex people, built about 2000 years ago.

European-Canadians were settled here when the county was created by Upper Canada’s founding Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in July 1792. It was named Prince Edward County after Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (Commander-in-Chief of British North America) and 4th son of King George III.

For many years, Prince Edward County was closely associated with Hastings County on the mainland. Its longtime militia unit called the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, known locally as the Hasty P’s. The militia’s most famous member was writer Farley Mowat. He wrote “And No Birds Sang” about his experiences with the Hasty P’s during the Second World War’s Italian Campaign.

Prince Edward County has long been a favourite of cottagers, boaters and retirees. It has also become a wine region in the past decade or so.

We made our way into Prinyer’s Cove on Prince Edward County for the night. This anchorage was a regular stop for us and most other boaters from western Lake Ontario making their way to Kingston and the Thousand Islands. It is extremely well protected from most winds and offers deep, clean water and a lovely setting to enjoy. We've spend many an enjoyable stay here with boating friends David and Joan, owners of a sailboat named Big Kanu

Wednesday June 8, 2016

We woke to a grey, cold day that clearly promised some rain. We were underway by 0745 for a 20 nautical mile run, first to Collins Bay to pick up some boat equipment purchases from the local chandlery and then on to Kingston. Most boaters rely on electronics today; chart plotters (like a GPS for a car, but with nautical charts on the screen instead of roads; auto pilots; radar; weather info; monitors for engine rooms, bilge pumps and on an on. Electronics can be a big help, like having an extra crew member or two. Electronics can also be a big headache. Here is an example of a headache:

• Auto pilots require a heading sensor. When they work properly they are properly aligned with magnetic north and they allow you to engage the autopilot to steer the point to a waypoint (destination) or a series of waypoints. Whey they are not calibrated properly, their functionality is less than desirable to possibly ineffective. Following installation last year, we had several months of trial and error in our set up and location of the heading sensor (free from other magnetic influences on our boat). By September it was all sorted out and working well
• Today, as we approached Kingston, it started to misbehave. It took five minutes or so for me to remember that just west of Kingston there is a well known “magnetic anomaly” that will throw off a regular compass, an auto pilot heading sensor and anything else that relies on magnetic north. Over the course of a few miles our heading sensor moved about to an unnerving extent. I have my fingers crossed all will be normal when we depart Kingston harbour.

This afternoon and evening the weather got cloudier and the showers came and went. We went out for a lovely lunch at the Aspara Ankor, a Cambodian/Thai restaurant close by the harbour. It was very authentic and wonderfully prepared and presented and was quite a treat. In the afternoon, we wandered around downtown Kingston picking up a few things here and there. On our way back to Tug'n, I looked over the harbour and saw a familiar boat and remarked to Fran that it looked like an Oceania 30 Trawler like the one my Dad used to own. Fran spotted a custom teak box on the upper deck, just like Dad had. We walked out on the dock to take a closer look and saw lots of confirmations that this was indeed "Celebes", the boat Dad owned between  ~ 1983 and 1996 . The cabin door was open, but a knock on the hull and a "hello skipper" yielded no reply. So, Fran snapped a couple of photos of me, standing beside Celebes, but don't look too closely as she isn't in the greatest shape. Still, it was a treat to see the boat again and savour a few great memories of her.

Happy hour was aboard Wings, followed by a take out pizza from Wooden Heads Gourmet Pizza and a movie on Netflix. Another great day!

Fran beside a 4 wheel ad for Kingston Brewing Company & Dragon's Breath Beer


Stephen at Kingston's Centennial Basin beside his a boat his Dad
owned in the 1980's & 1990's

Stephen beside a great old Canadian Pacific steam locomotive by 
Kingston's Centennial Basin

END OF THE TRENT-SEVERN WATERWAY - June 5 & 6, 2016

Sunday June 5th was a “weather day”. The rain started in the middle of the night and continued much of the day, along with very high winds, so it was an easy decision to stay put at the Frankford Lock #6 and get some other chores done. Only two boats moved on and later in the day, two more joined us for a total of seven boats. This is the most traffic we’ve seen so far. Of the seven boats, we had three Canadian boats and four US boats. 

Mid afternoon, our gang gathered on Tug’n for a board game called Sequence. It was the ladies against the men and this time round, the men won it in a best of 15 rounds. The other big excitement of the day was a severe thunderstorm watch just after dark. Dave, from Sir Tugley came by to warn us and we put out extra fenders and checked the lines. The bulk of the storm passed north of us, but we did have a fair bit of lightening for about 15 minutes.

Monday June 6th, 2016

We were all up and organized in good time. Initially the sun shone, but then the strong winds returned and the clouds rolled in. Our short “crew meeting” at 0900 confirmed our plans to continue through the remaining six locks. We caught the first lock of the morning at 1000 hours and the remaining locks were well coordinated with each one open for us when we arrived. We were through the 6 1/2 mile run and six locks in just 3 hours. 

So, here are the Trent-Severn Waterway numbers:

• Total length - 240 miles or 209 nautical miles or 386 kilometres from Port Severn to Trenton
• 44 locks, lift locks & a marine railroad
• We climbed / rose 264.9 feet from Georgian Bay to Balsam lake (high point of the waterway)
• We descended 597 feed from Balsam Lake to Bay of Quinte / Lake Ontario
• An 11 day trip including one weather day

We all headed into the brand new Trenton Port Marina on the Bay of Quinte to help Wings raise their mast back into position. This job was completed within an hour. Wings and Sir Tugley had decided they’d stay at the marina overnight, while Fran and I decided we’d like to head out into the Bay of Quinte and anchor. The Bay of Quinte is very familiar boating territory for us as we boated out of Mimico Cruising Club in Toronto for 22 years and most years our summer vacations were in the Bay of Quinte and the Thousand Islands. 

The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter “Z” on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario. The name Quinte in the Mohawk language is the name of an early French Catholic mission located on the north shore of what is now called Prince Edward County. 

The Bay, as it is known locally, provides some of the best trophy pickerel or walleye angling in North America, as well as most of the other sport fish common to the great lakes. The Quinte area played a vital role in bootlegging during prohibition in the United States, providing large quantities of booze being produced in the area. It was shipped via boat on the Bay to Lake Ontario and finally arriving in New York State where it was distributed. Illegal sales of liquor accounted for many fortunes in and around the Belleville area. 

Fran and I headed out from the marina in Trenton at 1500 hours intending to anchor at Massassauga Point or Sandy Cove as the locals call it. The wind was 20 to 25 nautical miles per hour (Knots) from the south west, so this anchorage would be fine. As we made the turn at the point we saw one boat near the shore. Part way in, we found ourselves mired in an unbelievable weed bed in what was supposed to be 12 feet of water. The weeds had grown all the way to the surface and getting good holding with our anchor would be difficult. In all our years of boating in this area, we’d never experienced weeds like this. After a brief attempt at finding clearer water that was close enough to shore to be out of the stiff winds, we quickly determined this was not going to work. So, off we headed further east to look for an alternative. A planned 11 mile trip to an anchorage turned into a 25 mile trip, but we found a calm, comfortable anchorage at Green Point, at the northwest end of Long Reach in Bay of Quinte. The sun shone while we enjoyed a glass of wine and a lovely dinner at about 1830 hours. 

Around 2030, we got a text from Dave on Sir Tugley. They’d just had a squall go through the marina with winds up to 50 miles per hour. We saw the dark clouds to our west and quickly put out more anchor rode (chain). Twenty minutes later we got winds of 20 knots with gusts to 34 knots, some rain and a 90 degree wind direction change. Our sizeable anchor and all chain rode held us fine, but another look at the forecast shows we can expect high winds, some rain and possible thunderstorms up to midnight. In the end, we had a lovely night at anchor, enjoying the boat peacefully swinging back and forth, less and less as the wind petered out.

Great Blue Heron on the Trent

Sir Tugley Blue on last stretch of the Trent

Sir Tugley & Wings passing under "Gateway to the Trent" sign

Wings is happy her mast is back up in its proper position