July 30, 2023

Yesterday, we had planned a layover day to visit a local winery in Westport.  As it turned out, it rained most of the day, so we used the layover day as a rain day and got caught up on our chores like topping off the engine oil.  Westport is one of the sweetest little towns on the Canal.  Happy, friendly people; flowers everywhere; and every type of store and restaurant you might want.  At the Farmers Market, Lynn bought some maple syrup vinegar, which we hope to try on our next home-cooked dish.  I bought a corn dog, one of my all-time mythic favorites, but it wasn’t really great eating it cold.  We had dinner at the Cove Inn, with an outdoor deck overlooking a lovely backwater.

A favorite line of Rod’s – even in a five star restaurant is “ Do you have corn dogs?”
Finally found one!

Of course, Guinness got to share.

View from the patio at dinner – no corn dogs here!

Today dawned with the most perfect weather of the trip: bright sunshine, 70 degrees; low humidity.  We crossed Big Rideau Lake and Lower Rideau Lake at fast cruising speed, in ideal water conditions – just a slight ripple from the breeze.  These two lakes are the site of two of the most picturesque locks on the Canal: Narrows Lock and Poonamalie Lock; and we passed through more of the narrow, twisty passages that are a hallmark of this route.

Freedom waiting to go through the lock.

And Rod working the lock.

Great security system in place to keep the swing bridge from being moved!

The locks are manually operated and so is the swing bridge. Note the fellow walking the winch handle around.

We’ve seen a LOT of southbound boat traffic: apparently there is a major Labor Holiday in Canada next week, and everyone from Montreal is setting out to enjoy this route.  Maybe all this southbound traffic worked to our advantage, because every lock was ready for us as we approached.  We continue to be impressed with the number of boats we see: kayaks, canoes, jet-skis, speedboats, and cruisers.  These Canadians really love boating

Today was an easy travel day – We got an early start – around 7:30, and we reached our stopping point here by Noon. (Just 3 locks today.). We tied up at a pretty waterfront park called Centennial Park in Smiths Falls.  (That is correct: no apostrophe.). And we got the last power pedestal!  When the engine is running, it provides power to the water heater, refrigerator, battery charger, freezer, electric toilet, and the potable water system, in addition to the power required by the engine itself.  When the engine stops, we can run the generator, draw down the batteries, or plug in.  We have a huge power cord that carries 240 volts – 50 amps.  Many marinas here in Canada are not set up with 50-amp power outlets, so we have a splitter (combiner) cable that allows us to combine two 30-amp outlets into our 50-amp cable.  So it is a big deal to snag the last one!

All in all, a pretty perfect day.  PLUS, we got the laundry done while we had a delicious lunch just across the street from the laundromat.

This is from a few days ago but it’s pretty impressive. When the lock above us fills and starts to overflow, this is what we see sitting in the chamber below.

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Friday, July 28, 2023

We’ve now completed our second day on the Rideau Canal, and it has been a blast…unlike anything we’ve done before.  Of course, we’ve traversed the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal to get here, but the Rideau – the oldest canal system in North America – is unique.  

It’s really a system of rivers and lakes connected by twisting, narrow channels, and the water level is controlled by 49 locks.  The locks are much smaller than those we’ve encountered previously – we were traveling with an East Bay 48’, and we could barely squeeze in behind one another.  Contrast that with the others (235’).  And they are narrower, as well…just 30’ as opposed to 60’. 

And these locks are BUSY!  We watched as southbound boats exited one of the lock:  6 PWC’s (jet-skis); two small outboard runabouts, and 4 mid-sized powerboats.  Lynn said it looked like a clown car.  The lock crews – all friendly young people – really know how to cram them in.  The picture below is one we took of a not-so-crowded lock…just imagine it with PWC’s and other small boats squeezed down the center!

And those twisty channels?  You are cruising past huge granite outcropping just 6 feet away.  In other parts, you can almost touch the leaves on the overhanging trees. And the channels open out onto scenic lakes dotted with homes and boathouses.

Most of the trip is at a controlled speed – just 6 mph.  And since it takes about 20 minutes per lock, you cannot travel very far in one day.  Today we covered just 20 miles in 6-1/2 hours.  But HEY! It’s about the journey not the destination, and this is quite a journey.

We’ve now transited 7 locks each day – a total of 14 locks – and we still have 27 to go to reach Ottawa!  

We’re laying over one extra day in Westport to visit a local winery for lunch and a tour.  Sunday is sort of up in the air…we’ll continue north, but it isn’t really clear where we’ll tie up for the night.  No worries, that seems to be what half the travelers here do!

July 27, 2023

Lynn here…

Yesterday, we travelled through the Canadian side of the Thousand Islands and it’s rather disconcerting when you’re in 100-300 feet of water and there are rocks sticking up above the surface less than 100 feet away. We were traveling through underwater mountains. As Rod said, when you touch bottom in the Chesapeake, it goes squish.  When you hit in this area, it goes clank!

And still so many cute little homes on the islands. 

We had dinner in Kingston at a Bavarian restaurant, and made it home before it started pouring. We also experimented making Irish Coffee – quite a mess!

 It rained through the night, but the skies began to clear as we headed up the Rideau Canal. One mile into the canal, we met our first challenge – a staircase of four locks.  

This is how it works: The boats move into the first lock, they close the first gates, fill the chamber, open the forward gates, then move into the second lock, etc. We had decent lock experience in the Champlain Canal last summer and recently the Erie and Oswego Canals, but the Canadian locks are different. The US locks are 70 feet wide by 235 long and most often we were the only boat in the lock. You can see the water surge and prepare for it by holding a line from the wall or wrapping a boat line around a cable. 

The Canadian locks are much smaller – only about 30 feet wide by maybe 70 feet long. And they are busy!  With our boat at 32 feet, we are going to be pretty close to the boat in front or behind us. As we entered the first lock, the sailboat let us go first and we soon found out why. The surge of water in front makes it very tough to hold the line and I lost it the first time. Luckily the lock tender was there to throw us a line and pull us back to the wall and there wasn’t a boat next to us or it could have been awful. She coached me on how to handle these turbulent locks and things got much better after that. We found that if Rod takes a midship line through the window  and I hold the stern line, we can control the boat much better. 

The other difference between the US and Canadian locks is that the Canadian locks are manually operated. They still using the same hand crank mechanisms that were in place when the canal was constructed in 1832.  I was very thankful for the coaching I got today and the rescue at Lock 1. The tender couldn’t have been nicer.

Just so you don’t think we’ve had a bad day, the sun came out, we’re tied in a lovely marina in Seeley’s Bay with a hardware store and ice cream shop. Saw some beautiful swans and Guinness found a swan feather. 

Here’s a family – not sure if you can see the babies – cygnets – in the nest

Tomorrow off to Westport – 7 more locks and the weather looks wonderful – high 70’s and sunny. So, 7 locks done today and only 42 more to go before we finish the Rideau.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Today we toured the Boldt Castle, a spectacular mansion designed by George Boldt as a gift to his wife, Louise.   It’s constructed on an island originally called Hart Island.  Boldt changed the name to Heart Island as a love gesture.  The Boldt coat of arms or crest contains a heart and a stag (hart).  

Building commenced in 1900 and ended in 1904, when Louise died.  It languished and deteriorated for 73 years, until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired it in 1977.  The restoration – which is still underway – is breathtaking.  It is really special when someone with Boldt’s money also is a man of vision and taste.

There’s a series of docks on the west side of the island for pleasure craft like ours, and tour boats pull in and out on the north side docks.  

Mine is the red hull on the far right – gives you a perspective of how large this castle is – 60,000 square feet

Access to the island is only by water, so this magnificent gate is where guests would have entered.


1,000 feet across the bay, there’s a magnificent Yacht House, where we saw more antique boats from the ABM (Antique Boat Museum) collection.

Now, we’re tied up at the Thousand Islands Club, which we’re told has been a river tradition since 1923.  It’s just across the St Lawrence River from the resort town of Alexandria Bay, right in the stretch of the river called Millionaire’s Row.  And it’s about 5 minutes from the Boldt Castle.  Perfect.  

This entire stretch of river has a unique personality.  The homes are often made of stone from the local quarries, and many of the houses feature turrets.  And boy! Do they love their river!  I am amazed at the amount of boat traffic – and it’s a weekday.  

So many cute little homes too! To count as an island, the island must have one tree.

If there’s one downbeat note it is this – the Club’s restaurant is closed tonight.  From what I’ve read, I think we are missing a real treat.  But the way our luck has been running, it will somehow turn out to be a good thing.

Tomorrow we make a big U-Turn and head west – back up the river along the Canadian shore.  I apologize if you were puzzled by our last blog post … I mistakenly said that we would be heading southeast.  Not so.  WSW is the direction we’ll take toward Kingston.  

There are actually over 1,800 islands in the “Thousand Islands”.  Our course tomorrow takes us by about half of them!

TUESDAY, 7/25/23

Yesterday we crossed the eastern tip of Lake Ontario, heading due north from Oswego to the entrance of the St. Lawrence River, then turning east to Clayton.  Crossing the lake was very uncomfortable: the seas were on the beam, and the boat was rolling more than we’re used to.  

Not unsafe; just uncomfortable.  We were glad to leave the lake and enter the river.

Clayton is the gateway to the Thousand Islands and home to the Antique Boat Museum, arguably the finest collection of classic yachts in the world.  We like the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, but this is superior.  It’s an outstanding collection of one-of-a-kind gentlemen’s yachts and historic craft.  Lots of brightwork (varnish).  And an entire building dedicated to racing boats.  Remember Miss Budweiser?

Chris Craft, Gar Wood, and Elco (similar to my brother’s boat) – all classics!

Another in the collection of gentlemen’s’ yachts.

Lynn loved this small sailboat with interesting rigging and a caned seat for the guest.

Last night we had dinner at a stone “chateau” overlooking the river.

They recently changed their menu from a seven course dinner with wine pairings to a more simple menu – last night it was Mexican and it was excellent! Doesn’t look like any Mexican restaurant we’ve ever been to!

The views up here are serene and spectacular: the river is wide and deep, and the banks are wooded.  “You can see Canada from here!”8

Today, we’ll travel northeast (downriver) as far as Alexandria Bay to visit the famous Boldt Castle on Hart Island: built by a multi-millionaire for his young wife who died before its completion.  

We’ll stay tonight at the Thousand Islands Club.  Maybe have dinner in Alexandria Bay.  

Tomorrow, we’ll reverse course and head southeast along the Canadian shore to Kingston, Ontario, the beginning of the Rideau Canal.  I expect that we will have seen at least 900 of the thousand islands!

Saturday, July 22, 2023

I bought Freedom in the summer of 2020, and over the last three years, I’ve taken her from Maine to the Dry Tortugas, up the west coast of Florida, east to Nantucket, north to Lake Champlain, and across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.

Each of those trips was easier to plan than our current journey –which I’ve come to think of as the Little Loop…folks up here call it the Triangle Loop.

We’ve been surprised by the number of folks we’ve run into who set out on this journey with only a skeleton plan – playing it by ear.  That is NOT me.  I am a planner.  I enjoy the process of planning; it is enjoyable to anticipate a trip or vacation in advance; and it increases my confidence as we depart.

But this one was tough.  I am accustomed to traveling the Atlantic ICW, where you can find everything you need in just a few documents, but this has required us to construct our own mile-by-mile guide on a lengthy Excel spreadsheet. (now 14 pages)  We had to note our allowed speed every mile of the trip, and then plug in each marina / anchorage / tie-up spot along the way. And one final complaint: despite all our efforts, the information is STILL incomplete.  We are STILL learning critical pieces of information from folks who have traveled this route before us.

We didn’t bother to stop at Uncle Joe’s Trading Post, but it might have been fun!

Having said all that (sorry for the rant) the last few days have been a PLEASURE.  The Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal were lovely, and the lockkeepers couldn’t have been nicer.  

One of the prettiest locks we went through on thru on the Oswego Canal-

there’s a dam at every lock which makes sense or it would be a rough ride!

After our stay at the Lock 22 wall, we motored on to Oswego, NY, on the shore of Lake Ontario, where we celebrated with a filet mignon dinner that Lynn cooked on board.  She is amazing. 

Today (Sunday), we took a weather delay, waiting for optimal conditions on Lake Ontario, and once again, we lucked out!  The captain on the sportsfisherman in the next slip is a Marine Surveyor!  He checked out the damage from Lock 9 and suggested some repairs we could do ourselves, which we did.  (Rod is amazing, in case I haven’t said that before!)

So we leave tomorrow for Clayton, NY, in the heart of the Thousand Islands!

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Lynn here today….

Quite a few have asked about the locks and what it’s like going through them, entering and leaving, so here’s a little of my experience with the locks,

Last summer going to Lake Champlain was my first experience with locks. We were in a marina next to a couple who talked about their experience and the woman really scared me. It is intimidating to think about being enclosed in a chamber and being moved up or down in as much as 40 feet of water. She felt it was intimidating but I found it to be fun. 

So is it like being in a washing machine or a bathtub?  A little of both. Going up can be a bit rough if the water is filling near where your boat is moored (the lines on the wall). But when you’re dropping, it’s rather pleasant. Our largest lock was a lift of 40 feet but a few were only 8 feet, very easy. 

This was particularly beautiful as we approached Lock 18

We’ve previously posted some pictures of the chambers and the gates, but here’s a picture of the wall that I get to stare at during the filling…about 12 inches away from me and the lines are also really slimy and gross. 

Lots of really creepy stuff on this wall. (You might just have to take our word for this – the photo is so creepy, it does t want to post!)

The lines that we hold during the process are really slimy too. I have gloves but they got dirty very quickly. 

Sorry for the repeat photo!

But the fun part is that I get to contribute to the trip. Sure, I can drive when we’re in a straight, calm area, but when I’m holding the mooring lines, I get to to help Rod move the boat and  steer clear of ladders with bolts that could tear the fenders or openings that could get our fenders stuck.  I feel like part of the team!

Tonight we are tied up at the foot of Lock 22 near the end of our portion of the Erie Canal and it is spectacular. Here’s a view of the lock with our friend’s boat exiting. (We were invited for cocktails once they tied up). 

Our friends’ boat coming to tie up with us at the foot of Lock 22 overnight.

This overnight stay could be one of the high points of the trip. Quiet, no trains, very nice visit aboard their beautiful boat, and a cool night with the hatches open. Lock 22 and only about 80 more to go!

Trivia question:  We completed locks 2 through 10 earlier this week. How many locks did we go through?

OUR SECOND

Tuesday July 18, 2023

That title sounds like an old Pete Seeger song, doesn’t it?  You can Google it!

Forget about all the back-and-forth about seeking repairs. This was effectively our second day on the Erie Canal, and it was lovely.  Personally, I got a complete re-set.  Slow down. Enjoy the journey.

But first, let’s look back to last evening:  We had already posted our blog from Amsterdam Riverlink, when we learned it was Practice Night for Thursday’s Ski Show!  Very cool.  Two tow boats, maybe a dozen skiers.  Here’s a great shot of them doing a pyramid.

We had arrived back at the Riverlink around noon on Monday, after our unsuccessful search for technical help on the boat.  During the afternoon, two other westbound boats showed up: Retriever and Fast Pace.  This morning (Tuesday) we left together to head west.  

The reason that it was a reset for me is that: when you move in a convoy, you move with the slowest ship in the convoy.  And that was Retriever, at 6.5 mph.  And that’s OK. It was a genuine pleasure to slow down and enjoy the beauty of the canals.  Because your speed is ultimately controlled by the locks.  You are going to hit one every 5-10 miles.  If you try to go faster than the other boats, they will catch up to you as you wait for the lock to open.  So it’s best to just SLOW DOWN.  

Another reason to go slow – lots of these in the water!

We traversed 7 more locks today.  Here’s a great shot of Lynn The Lock Queen: dirty gloves and all.  As we enter the lock, she grasps one of the long vertical cables and holds the boat steady as the waters surge into the lock vessel.  I use the engines and thrusters to hold her in position.  The lines and cable are slimy – hence, the gloves.  

Lock #17 is the biggest lock we will encounter on The Erie Canal.  Its vertical lift is 40.5 feet.  It is difficult for the camera to show the scale of this lock.  It LOOMS overhead.   As you pull in, the depth beneath the keel is 14.5’.  When you leave, it’s 55’.  Imagine filling a vessel that is 235’ x 45’ wide x 40’ deep.  How much water would that take?  And the boats simply float up as the lock vessel fills.

The people at the top give you an idea of the scale of this lock

Tonight we are tied up at a town called Little Falls, NY.  It’s a rainy evening, so we opted for KILLER Mexican food from the local food truck.  

Tomorrow we head west again, accompanied by our new boat companions.

Monday July 17, 2023

We’re back on the road.  We decided to cover the damage with duct tape and keep going.  

Here’s what happened:

On Sunday, we spoke to our home marina, and our service manager wasn’t concerned.  But we decided to seek an expert opinion on Monday

*We broke the boat on Saturday

*So, today – Monday, we backtracked east through three locks, but found that none of the boatyards in the area were qualified to help. 

*So.. we simply turned around and headed back to Riverlink Park in Amsterdam.  We will go west for two more days to a boatyard that is very highly recommended.  That will happen Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.  

And the boat is running fine.  Duct tape cures everything.  It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a cut: once I can’t see it, it stops hurting.

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Yesterday was our first day in the Erie Canal, which was much prettier than expected.  Not much industrial development.  A real surprise. 

<— this year….last year —>

The trip begins with Locks #2-6, which appear in rapid succession, roughly one-half mile apart.  The locks are imposing: the vertical lift in each lock was over 33’.  The process is simple: drive in; hook up to the wall; and ride the rise.  As the water surges into (or out of) the locks, it can become turbulent, but not dangerous.  You need large spherical fenders to protect the boat from the rough cement lock walls, and you can use your thrusters and engine to help hold you in position.  When the doors open, you simply drive out.

Here we are in the lock with the gates closed behind us

And here’s looking up at the wall with the mooring line-they’re really slimy and gross!

And here’s the same gate when the lock is full.

We shared these locks with three other boats, including two power cats with 20’ beams

Once we cleared the first 7 locks, we began to leave the other boats behind.  You are traveling the Mohawk river at this point: it’s wide and deep and features wooded shores.  The river was calm, and the skies were pretty.  The major concern was the amount of debris floating down the river: primarily logs and brush carried down by the recent storms.

This barge had a crane to pick up the debris but he had a long way to go

Lock #9 turned out to be a much bigger problem.  As we approached the lock, the lockmaster hailed us on the radio to warn us that there were strong currents and significant debris below the lock.  He wasn’t kidding.  There was a huge log almost completely blocking the lock entrance.  As we moved to avoid the log, the current slammed us into the lock wall, and we damaged the left-hand side of the boat.  

At first it didn’t look like much, but it got bigger as we travelled.

At first, I dismissed it as cosmetic damage, but I woke up this morning thinking that it may be structural.  It’s very important for a boat to have a rigid joint between the hull and the deck, and this may be compromised.  

We’ve decided to backtrack one day to see if we can get the boat inspected by a knowledgeable technician.  It’s possible that we can continue the trip, but at this point, I’d say it is equally likely that we’ll have to have the boat hauled and transported home on a tractor-trailer.   

The good news, of course, is that no one is hurt; and the damage is definitely repairable.  It won’t be cheap, but the wizards at Haven Harbour (our home port) will make it look and act like new.

The other good news is that we are not fretting over the possibility of aborting the trip.  We view ourselves as adventurers, not vacationers, and this is the price of adventure: stuff happens.  We’re not worried about completing the trip: we can always do it next year.  We’re focused on the issue in front of us: making the best decision for the safety of the boat.

We won’t be able to formulate a course of action until we have had the boat inspected.  Looking forward along the Canal, there are no qualified marine service facilities for 100 miles: that’s like 3 day’s travel on the Canal.  So we plan to reverse course and return to Schenectady for an inspection.   Unfortunately, today is Sunday, and the boat yard we want to use is closed.  Hopefully, we will be able to schedule an inspection tomorrow or Tuesday.

Until then, we are at a perfectly fine marina, at the foot of a lovely riverside park in Amsterdam NY.  Not much to do here, but the vista is lovely, and we have everything we need.

Stand by….