Our First Post

              O God, thy Sea is so great and my boat so small

 

July 24,2022 Trent West Canada, Trent Port Marina: We arrived in Canada on Friday afternoon and have made our way to the south entrance of the Trent Severn Waterway, which has been our goal for the past two weeks. All batteries are now working as is our new Inverter, so I am happy to say, we are in a beautiful place both geographically and operationally. The Trent Severn is one of the canals and waterway that we are most excited about exploring during this adventure and here we are…. knocking on its door! Trent–Severn Waterway - Wikipedia

 

So how did our week go, well. As always there were a few hick-ups along the way, but we had a fun week and meet three nice couples from New York. I know you will all be shocked, but it all began around Docktails. We spent four fun evenings enjoying their company. If you recall our last post, we were at The Thousand Island Club Marina on Wellesley Island in Alexandria Bay NY. We were waiting for a part (battery relay) to arrive so we could have them installed to finish the battery issues and we were hopeful the parts would arrive early in the week and be on our way. Unfortunately, we found out Monday mid-day that the part was delayed until Thursday. So, it was time to move.

 

July 19, 2022, Travel Day 19, Alexandria Bay to Clayton New York: Distance 10 Miles, 1.5 Hours Total Travel Time. The new Friends we had meet at The Thousand Island Club were headed to Clayton NY for an overnight on Tuesday morning, so we decided to join them and head south for a few nights. We all hit it off well right from our first evening and we just kept enjoying our times and tales. Since they were departing for Clayton, we figured we would join them for two days, until the parts arrived, it was a great call. Tuesday, we awoke to a beautiful day, with unlimited visibility just an enjoyable day for a cruise. We were ready to leave The Bay after 2 weeks. We took and our time and cruised at five knots and enjoyed being back on the St Lawrence. This was our first travel day since July 4^th, so it was great to be underway. Our friends who were on their annual cruise to the area had stopped for the day at a local cove to hang with some of their friends and try and stay cool. I know it has been hot back in Maine, but the last three weeks in upper state New York it has been: hot, humid, and not a breath of wind. Certainly not comfortable however a wonderful time to be “stuck” on the St Lawrence.

 Clayton was a most enjoyable town, one of the most vibrant we have seen in northern New York. They have done an excellent job at investing in the downtown and had a delightful hotel built next to a terrific  town marina which is where we stayed. It was right at the end of Main Street, and you could walk everywhere. Tons of great shops, a couple of nice tasting rooms, (bourbon, beers, and wine) plenty of restaurants and most impressive was an antique boat museum that is spectacular. Antique Boat Museum (abm.org). The leaders of Clayton have done an outstanding job in bringing back vitality to what 15 years ago was a rural, economically depressed city. Good for them! We had a fun time in Clayton and came back for a third night (Thursday) once we got the boat repaired.

 

Track of Travel Day 19

Pictures along the way. Homes on the St Lawrence River

 

July 21, 2022, Travel Day 20: Clayton to Alex Bay & a return voyage to Clayton: Total Distance 20 miles, 3.5 hours Total Travel Time. We had been in touch with the repair shop Wednesday as we eagerly tracking the package. Carol the office manager had agreed to meet the UPS driver when he got to town as the normal delivery to their shop is after 2 PM. They bent over backwards to help us, and the plan was for us to arrive by 10:30 AM, when the driver was due to arrive in town, get the part, and install as quickly as possible. We had a backup of staying in Alex Bay if it was after 3 PM when the work was completed, but we really wanted to be making progress to Canada. Luckily, Bruce finished by 2 PM so we jumped aboard and headed south. Unlike the morning when the wind was light and at our back, it was now blowing twenty-five kts minimum and right on the nose. Her Idea does not like 25KT winds! We were taking water over the bow and several times came up over the bridge, that sure is a shock, as we are driving from fourteen feet in the air! Luckily, our friends who had gone back to their hangout to stay cool for the afternoon passed us on the way into Clayton and got to the dock in time to help us land which was immensely helpful. What was not, was they had twenty people watching us try and dock the boat in a very gusty breeze was fine in the end and a safe landing it was. Thanks again!

I know we will see numerous amazing places and have many wonderful experiences on this adventure however the people we have and will continue to meet along the way is going to be so fantastic. You know we are people persons, but I have to say it is just so enjoyable to get to know different folks, from various parts of the country, I so look forward to that aspect. In meeting our friends from The Thousand Island Club, The Groot’s, Akins, and DeMay’s was such a memorable experience, just fun loving, down to earth, hardworking couples.

 

Track for Travel Day 20

 

    Tankers with a cool mural painted on it

    Large ships 

    Our new Friends 

Sunset last night in Clayton

July 22, 2022, Travel Day 21 Clayton New York to Prinyer Cove Ont. Canada: 38 Total Miles, 6.5 Total Travel Time. Our original plan was to travel to Kingston Ontario, enter Canada, and spend the night there which is a large city with a lot to do. However, we were unable to find a slip for the night and decided to head down to Prinyer Cove which turned out to be a fantastic location. Very private and the owner of the marina could not have been nicer and more accommodating. He and his wife run the place and it felt like a B&B. They have a beautiful location, located down a narrow cove, very private and very secluded. They offered all the amenities of any other marina we have stayed in however best of all, it had their individualized touch. The was one of the best places we have stayed. It also was the second night (NYC Brooklyn NY, being the other location) that we did not have another looper present. Sometimes Plan B is better than Plan A and Prinyer Cove was certainly one of them.

It was an interesting trip across the North Channel of Lake Ontario. A large (4-5 mile wide) body of water with tons of boating activity, plenty of wind and 3–4-foot waves. It is amazing how tightly placed the waves on the lakes. We are used to the ocean, and they are 5-6 feet apart, here on the lakes they are 2-3 feet apart, so a 42-foot boat is dealing with many waves, they come quickly! The other major change about the Canadian lakes is the navigational buoys. They are much smaller and harder to pick out. Also, many are plastic, so they do not ping on the radar as ours (steel Buoys) do in the ocean. We use our binoculars all the time trying to identify the marks, it keeps us terribly busy and on our toes. We each have our own set of binoculars, so when you pick yours up, they are set to you field of vision.

When we arrived at the marina, we had to contact the Canadian Customs and let them know had arrived. Most all the information we had done in advance on an APP, and it worked great. They had all our passport and vaccine information in advance and so we only had to call and answer all their questions. Meredith unfortunately had to leave her plant with Donna in Clayton, (enjoy Donna Akins, I know it will be well cared for!)  I was just not cool with bringing her plants into Canada, Meredith accommodated me. By the way, I did not mention the Louisville Slugger when they asked me if we had any weapons! We were on hold for 50 minutes, but we completed the interview in less than 10 minutes once we got a live officer, a great overall process.

The good news about traveling in Canada is they have lots of buoys in the channels and it is easy to navigate where commercial traffic is around. I said it before, but an oil tanker is a very large ship when it passes. We were able to get into Prinyers early enough and have a wonderful evening and they had a great barbecue set up. The last bit of advice the owner gave me when he left for the evening was that at sunset, the mosquitoes come out. I assured him being from Maine (where it is the state bird), I assured him would be all buttoned up 15 minutes before sunset, which we were. We sat in the air-conditioned salon that evening and watched Netflix, wonderful way to end the day. All batteries were fully charged when we arrived and all systems were working, YE-HAW!

 

Track for Travel Day 21

 

 Big Bay

Prinyer Cove

Another beatiful Sunset 

July 23, 2022, Travel Day 22, Prinyer Cove to Quinte West, Ontario CA: 43 Total Miles, 6 Hours Total Travel Time, we departed Prinyer Cove just before 8:30 for another long day traveling thru the North Channel of Lake Ontario, and this would be our last day on the lake. We went through two large bays, The Bay of Quinte and Big Bay (original ah!). The bays are wide, this section was between 2-3 miles wide, but meander likes rivers so for an hour you are with the wind and the next hour you are bucking it. We cruised along at 7 knots and enjoyed the scenery. Once again it has been extremely hot here so when the wind is in your face its very pleasant. The seas built during the day and by 1 PM, they were 3-foot waves every 3-feet, so it is choppy. Pretty uneventful day and had excellent visibility. Getting to the end of the lake and looking forward to our next section made for a very satisfying day. We got fuel when we arrived and a pump-out, so we are good to enter the Trent Severn Monday morning.

Now I have not talked diesel fuel yet, but I will spill the beans one of these days, I know curious minds want to know. When I asked about fuel costs, the young lady said on the dock said “oh it went down yesterday”. Perfect, I am thinking that is  great, she then said, “it’s only $2.70 a liter”. I then realize, I do not have a clue of the actual cost. First, I am thinking how many liters in a Gallon (it is 3.8) and what the Canadian Dollar value to the USD, (it’s $0.77) what the math??? Well, Canadians are now paying $10.26 CD for a gallon of diesel at a marina, therefore we are only paying $7.90 a gallon. The last time we filled up in New York it was $6.75 a gallon, just FYI.

 Glad we are only going to be in Canada 6 weeks!

 I was so happy to see the last quarterly earnings of the big oil companies, which is just not right, just saying!

 

Track of Travel Day 22

    

Today (Sunday) we took a lay day, doing laundry and a deep clean of the boat and a last trip to the store before we head into the rural part of Canada. We are staying at a great marina owned by the town of Quinte West called the Trent Port Marina. A wonderful facility and several great enthusiastic students working here extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Downtown is a 5-minute walk and has everything one would need, terrific location to stock up.

On a personal note, I must say this Blog is almost becoming like a job. It has been a ton more work than I expected, but I do really  enjoy sharing and documenting the adventure. It is a terrific way to share this amazing journey with you all and hopefully be something that someday, Crosby and Bode will finally forgive us for not being in Kennebunk this summer when they were there. We promised we will be home next summer which if The Good Lord is willing, we will be there. Going forward I may not posting every week, but I will steer the course and keep it going.

As we were pulling in to get fuel, a fellow looper took these this photos of us.

 

Fair Winds and Cheers