16-30 June
Fulton, NY to Peterborough, Canada
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| Date | Location | Log and Pictures | ||
| We've been underway for almost two months now, passed thru 32 locks and seven states, traveling 1,476 statue miles of the planned 5,600 miles. We've been on the trip for 61 days, 44 underway and 17 in port. The slow move through the Erie reduced our average miles per day to 24, but we have maintained about 7.8 miles per hour for the 189 hours we've been steaming. | ||||
| 6/16 | Fulton NY | Up early to shampoo the carpets ... a fun job! Also used the courtesy car at Winter Harbor to pick up a futon that we placed on the back deck; much better than the old love seat that was there. Underway about noon, steamed to Three Rivers and turned north into the Oswego Canal. We have traveled 160 miles of the Erie and will travel the full 24 miles of the the Oswego Canal, reaching Lake Ontario at Oswego tomorrow. The number #3 lock wall we are staying at is quiet. We're planning and looking forward to the visit from Lauren and Cynthia on Saturday. | ||
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| 6/17 | Oswego, NY | Up at 8 am for coffee and a walk into Fulton. The town has been upgraded with new office buildings and a nice park. The only thing missing is businesses to fill all the buildings. After breakfast in town we headed for the final 4 locks on the Oswego Canal, arriving in Oswego on Lake Ontario about noon. We're looking at the Lake with 4 foot seas and happy to be staying here tonight. | ||
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Views from the top of lock 3 in Fulton showing the dam in the distance and the Oswego River at the northern end of the 40 foot drop of the lock. |  |
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| 6/18 | Another change of scenario starts soon as we head for Lake Ontario and the 1,000 island area. The New York canal system we traveled has been beautiful and we've enjoyed meeting the people and hearing their stories --- everyone has a good one. Today saw a 64' Burger berthed close by that looked like one I tried to buy 3 years ago. After talking to the owner found out it was in fact the boat I had bid on. It is a small world. | |||
| 6/18 | Great day as my daughter Lauren and her friend Cynthia flew in for a five day stay on the boat. John and Sharon Paddock kindly picked them up at the airport and brought them to Oswego where we're docked next to Coleman's Irish Pub. We had lunch together and later in the day many of the loopers stopped by for drinks. We finished the evening at Coleman's Irish Pub with the gang that included Kathy and Ross from Pilgrim and new friends we've met and traveled with for a few weeks. Only problem with docking on west side after lock 8 in Oswego is the very shallow water (4.5 feet). Rough weather last night caused enough rocking that propellers were touching the bottom. We'll see tomorrow if there was any damage. | |||
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John, Sharon, Lauren, Cynthia, and Barny at left. Ross and Kathy aboard for cocktails shown at right. |  |
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| 6/19 | Sackets Harbor, NY | 20 boats were waiting in various locations around Oswego to make the trip across Lake Ontario, as the Lake had been very nasty over the last two days. Several started early and were soon back tossed and trampled. We were underway at 9 am to check for damage to the propellers due the rocks at our berth. We discovered a slight vibration so a rock at the berth bent the starboard prop. The town of Oswego does not have the facilities on a Sunday to fix us so we headed out at noon for Sackets Harbor at a speed just below the vibration. The seas were laying down. Great trip and when we finished at 5 pm in Sackets Harbor the water was like glass. We walked the town, the most beautiful we've seen in New York. I had a banana split in a glass and really enjoyed it. | ||
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| 6/20 | The lemon for the day was the damage we observed to the starboard prop when it was pulled from the shaft, damage sustained at the mooring at Oswego. A diver removed the prop this morning and it will be returned and installed tomorrow morning and we'll head out to Clayton NY. We made some lemon-aide from that lemon and enjoyed an incredible day in Sackets Harbor, that included swimming, kayaking, and more ice cream. | |||
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| 6/21 | Clayton NY | Propeller and divers arrived as promised and we were underway into Lake Ontario by 10:30 am, headed for the St Lawrence Seaway. Over 15 knots of wind made the Lake feel like a washing machine. We pounded into 4 foot seas for the first few hours, then took them abeam and finally astern as we entered the Seaway. We actually did a little "sailboat tacking" to improve the ride. We simply hunkered down and made the trip. By 2 pm we were partly sheltered by the mainland to the south and the seas laid down a bit. We moored at 3:30 pm in Clayton with a foot chop in the harbor and 15 knots of wind. Happy hour was welcome. Clayton is home to the largest wooden boat museum in the US and we're looking forward to touring the museum tomorrow morning, especially after seeing many wooden boats powering around the harbor. | ||
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| 6/22 | Alexandria Bay, NY | Up early, we toured the Clayton, NY Antique Boat Museum, then got underway at noon for Heart Island to visit Boldt Castle. Both the museum and castle were spectacular and some of the pictures can be see by clicking here for the boat museum and here for Boldt Castle. After the visits we pulled into Alexandria Bay NY and tied up to the Village Dock. We found a good rib house and had our farewell dinner with Lauren and Cynthia who are heading home tomorrow morning to their first jobs after college graduation. | ||
| 6/23 | Grananque, Canada | We said good-bye to Lauren and Cynthia this morning as they got in the cab for the trip back to Maryland. Underway about 9 am we followed Pilgrim through the Canadian side of the 1,000 islands. The most beautiful steaming day to date. We arrived at Grananque, Canada about 2 pm and cleared customs and moored at the Municipal marina for the night. Tomorrow we leave the 1,000 islands area and head for the Bay of Quinte en route Trenton and the Trent-Severn Waterway which will take us to the Georgian Bay. | ||
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| 6/24 | Collins Bay, Canada | Motored the boat off the pier at Grananque against 15 knot winds and headed to the Bay of Quinte. Winds were high but seas stayed under 2 foot until we reached Kingston. We decided to by pass Kingston and find a good anchorage as we've been too long away from the quiet of nice anchorages. Found one in Collins Bay 9 miles west of Kingston and put the hook down for a peaceful evening. | ||
| 6/25 | Hay Bay, Canada | This morning the local water police stopped by our anchorage and stated the local marina complained we were anchored in the waterway to their marina. Police agreed with us that we were well outside the channel. This complaint from the Marina was the first unfriendly event that has happened since arriving in Canada. Underway later in the day for Hay Bay where we anchored off Ram Island and a local Restaurant that was rated highly in the local guides. Unfortunately the Restaurant was closed by the new owners and they just rent cottages, but we had a great visit with them anyway. | ||
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Cliffs along the Bay of Quinte, that we traveled today, and a view of Ram Island from the bow of the anchored Apolonia. A peaceful anchorage after a quiet ride up the Bay. |  |
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| 6/26 | Frankford, Canada | Now just above lock 6 in Frankford on the Trent Severn Waterway. After leaving Ram Island the day was so pleasant we just kept moving past Trenton and did the first 6 of 44 locks in the 240 mile Trent Severn Waterway, made up of locks, rivers, and lakes. The first 35 locks lift you from 243 feet above sea level to 840 feet, than the later locks drop you to Port Severn on the Georgian Bay at 570 feet above sea level. The lift locks, 2 each, and the Big Chute, a railway "lock" are unique and you'll see pictures as we get to them. Below are two pictures of the first lock. Note the blue painted line on the wall. That is where you tie up when you are ready to lock through and is generally the only communication you have with the lock master until you get in the lock. The last picture is a stern view of the Bay of Quinte which we left as we entered Trenton. | ||
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| 6/27 | Campbellford Canada | Lovely views as we traveled another 5 locks and are now moored at the City Dock, Campbellford, Canada. We stopped to change engine oil and do a bit of boat maintenance. While the Erie Canal we traveled in New York took just 8 years to construct, the Trent Severn Waterway took 90 years, being completed in 1920. Dreams die hard as the initial reason for construction of the waterway, to transport commerce, was being handled by the railroads. Now the canal is mainly used by pleasure craft. | ||
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At right we are traveling in a man made canal just to the right of one of the rivers on the Trent Severn Waterway. At left one of many waterway views. |  |
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| 6/28 | Trent River, Canada | Now past lock 17 at dock in a Town called Trent River. Very quiet with no services. It is hot. It feels like Virginia ... high temperature and high humidity. Even the Canadians claim it is unseasonable warm for this time of year. We've seen small cottages with every variety of yard decoration and large homes as we've traveled the waterway. We're settling down for the night and looking forward to some open water in the morning on the way to Petersborough. | ||
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| 6/29 | Peterborough Canada | Another hot day as we headed for Lakefield, planning to stop for the weekend, as this weekend is a major holiday for Canada; 1 July is Canada Day. Everyone says you don't want to be locking thru the Trent Severn on a holiday weekend when all the "rent-a-boats" are out on the waterways. Lakefield did not have a place for the boat for the weekend so we stopped 10 miles short of there at Peterborough at a local marina. We'll do some maintenance and pick up Carey who will join us for two weeks. Looking forward to her visit. The travel today gave us views of unique boat houses, stone mounted waterway markers, and expansive farm land adjacent to the waterway. This evening Barny bought me dinner at a great restaurant, 38 Latitude, to celebrate my birthday, age unknown. | ||
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| 6/30 | Peterborough | We're settled in Peterborough until Sunday to enjoy the holiday. Four other boats doing the loop are doing the same thing, moored just down the dock from Apolonia. |
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