Travels with KOKOMO II

Oct 4, Stuart, FL

2010-10-04T16:29:00.008-04:00

We're home!

We moved about 70 miles from Melbourne, Florida, past Sebastian, Vero, and Ft Pierce to Stuart.

Sunrise at Melbourne as we leave the marina.

Several porpoise find us and play in our wake. Some around Sebastian, some near Vero and some in the Indian River as we approach Stuart.

Approaching our home from the water.
KOKOMO is on the lift.

A good summer trip. About 4500 miles from Stuart and up the Intercoastal to the Chesapeake Bay and Washington, DC, then to NYC, Lake Champlain, Montreal, the St Lawrence Seaway to the 1000 Islands then the Erie Canal to the Hudson River, NYC, the Chesapeake and Intercoastal Waterway back to Stuart.

We're glad to be home!

Oct 3, Melbourne, FL

2010-10-03T16:29:00.007-04:00

We moved about 70 miles from New Smyrna Beach, south through the Intercoastal Waterway. We went through the Mosquito Lagoon, then past Titusville, Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center), Merritt Island, Cocoa and Eau Gallie to Melbourne where we are staying at the Melbourne Harbor Marina.

Not much traffic on the water today.
Here we meet a small tug near Titusville, Florida.

This small freighter is aground in very shallow water.
Probably will be here for many years.

Linda enjoys a breeze.

Approaching Melbourne Harbor Marina.

Sunset from KOKOMO II over the sailboats at Melbourne Harbor.

Wind was mostly 10 mph all day until the last hour. Then 20-25 with a two foot chop on the Intercoastal. The Melbourne Harbor Marina is in a very sheltered enclosed harbor and we are happy to be here for the night. Good power, two restaurants including a Chart House. No internet.

Oct 2, New Smyrna Beach, FL

2010-10-02T15:49:00.013-04:00

Interesting boat next to us in the marina is built in the style of a WW II landing craft. This version for civilian use.

We talk to the crew and they are delivering the boat to Maine.
Hope the good weather continues for the rest of their trip.

We left St Augustine with rain threatening and saw a 'waterspout' just as we pulled out of the marina.

Waterspout.

Light rain continued most of the morning and then cleared off before noon. Rain all around us today.

St Augustine Lighthouse.

Headed down the Intercoastal Waterway past Ft Matanzas (1748) and Matanzas Pass (inlet) and then past Ponce de Leon Inlet at New Smyrna Beach.

Ft Matanzas from the Intercoastal.

Fort Matanzas as seen from the land.

Cyclists are having an event and keep up with us for more than 30 miles.

Large tugboat at a residential dock.
Now there is a project.

STARLIGHT PRINCESS serves lunch and dinner for tourists in Daytona.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse.

The Grill at Riverview is the restaurant at the marina.

We are spending the night at the Riverview Hotel and Marina at the base of the bridge in New Smyrna. There is a nice restaurant here 'Grill at Riverview' with live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays. Gators (7) play Alabama (1) at Alabama tonight on CBS at 8 pm.

Oct 1, St Augustine, FL

2010-10-01T15:17:00.012-04:00

Today the weather is beautiful again. Clear sky and temperature in the low 70's. We moved from St Mary's, Georgia, east into the Intercoastal and then south into Florida. Then past the industrial paper plants at Fernandina Beach. There were several very shallow spots in the Intercoastal, then across the St John's River (which leads to Jacksonville) and down the coast to St Augustine, Florida.

A paper mill plant near Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Two freighters at Fernandina.

Another paper mill.

Mud flats. Very low tide.

US Warship 66 in drydock near Mayport.

St Augustine was founded as a Spanish outpost in 1565. The famous fort, Castillo de San Marcos was built in 1672.

St Augustine Inlet. Fishermen on the beach.

St Augustine Light.

Old town St Augustine as we approach.

The old Spanish fort at St Augustine is Castillo de San Marcos.

As we came past downtown area, we went under the newly remodeled 'Bridge of Lions' which had to stop traffic and open for us because it still has just 22' of clearance. The bridge has been under construction for the last four years and is finally completed. And it looks just like the old 'Bridge of Lions'. It has been completely updated at a cost of several times what a new high bridge would have cost. The old bridge does look good.

We are staying at the St Augustine Municipal Marina which is right downtown. There are several good restaurants here and this is one of our favorite stops on the entire Intercoastal Waterway.

Sept 30, St Mary's, GA

2010-09-30T15:16:00.011-04:00

We moved from Brunswick, Georgia, past Jekyll Island and then Cumberland Island, then past the Kings Bay Submarine Base and up the St Mary's River to St Mary's, Georgia.

The sky is clearing - we hope.

Approaching the docks at Jekyll Island Resort, a crab boat cuts in front of us.

Jekyll Island Resort.

Cumberland Island once belonged to the Carnegie Family and heirs Thomas and Lucy Carnegie build a mansion called 'Dungeness' in 1885 (designed by Peabody and Stearns of Boston) and then several more mansions for family members. The property was acquired by the US National Park service and is now a Cumberland Island National Seashore, (a National Park) and available for tours and camping. There are a herd of wild horses here.

Linda spots a wild horse at Cumberland Island.
We have been looking for them for several years. A rare sight.

Tug pushing a barge in the Intercoastal.

Porpoise play in our wake again.
Great to have them with us.

Kings Bay Submarine Base.

Submarine at the dock as we pass by.

St Mary's is a small town first settled by the Spanish soon after St Augustine, Florida, and then re-settled in the mid 1700's by the British. Now it is a staging center for trips to Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Lang's Marina.

Downtown St Mary's, Georgia.

St Mary's has a beautiful park an the waterfront.

Lang's Marina as we leave St Mary's in the morning.

Here Georgia is on the north side of the river and Florida is on the south side of the river. We are docked in St Mary's at Lang's Marina right at the downtown landing. Lang's Marina is the only marina in town.

Sept 29, Brunswick, GA

2010-09-29T16:11:00.018-04:00

We have been watching 'tropical depression 16' which is just below Cuba. It is looking like it will make tropical storm status soon and become the 'named' storm Nicole. Tropical storm status means winds of 40 mph or greater. The storm track is forecast to be 50-100 miles offshore as it passes north Florida and the Georgia coast. We are cautious however, and we know the weather is sometimes unpredictable. So, we are interested in being in a harbor sheltered on all four sides, just in case. We move down the Georgia coast from Isle of Hope, Georgia, just south of Savannah, to Brunswick, Georgia, a distance of 90 miles.

We start out from Isle of Hope about 7 am with a threatening sky.

Very rural with almost no development along the shore.

Our day did have one interesting event. One of the commercial shrimp boats, a 65 footer named SEA FOX was trawling just outside the Doboy Inlet between Savannah and Brunswick in Georgia and gave the Coast Guard a 'MAYDAY' while we were only a few miles away. The captain said they were taking on water and in danger of sinking and needed some pumps - ASAP. Coast Guard from Charleston and the Sea FOX captain went back and forth for a half hour before the Coast Guard finally responded with a helicopter and sent a small rescue boat from the south to the scene.

Coast Guard coming to the rescue.
We hope.

Shrimper like the one sinking.

Final report we had was the captain telling the Coast Guard that the water was above the engines in the hold and that they were still trying to get their trawl gear back in the boat. He was also talking to another commercial shrimper nearby that was trying to help. We lost contact after two hours and are still wondering what happened to the boat and the three man crew.

We arrived in Brunswick about 4 pm after a long day on the water. We had almost no wind or rain. Just overcast and threatening to rain all day.

I-95 highway bridge crosses the Brunswick River, leading to Brunswick, Georgia.

Shrimper sunk in the Brunswick harbor.

Freighter SIDER PINK unloads in Brunswick harbor.

Fleet of shrimpers in Brunswick.

Approaching Brunswick Harbor Marina.
Large yacht on left is SASSY, a 100 foot Hargrave, from Mt Pleasant, Michigan.

We are staying at the Brunswick Harbor Marina which is well protected from the wind on all sides. We are making good progress and are now at the Intercoastal Waterway mile marker 690, only 27 miles from the Georgia/Florida border.

Sept 28, Isle of Hope, GA

2010-09-28T13:48:00.008-04:00

We moved from Beaufort, SC to a small town called Isle of Hope, which is just south of Savannah, Georgia. Beautiful day on the water with clear skies and no wind. Nice change from Yesterday's storms.

Parris Island Marine training center.

Shrimper WILD HOGG trawls and attracts the birds.

Beautiful homes on Hilton Head Island as we motor along.

Haig Point Light.

We are staying at the Isle of Hope Marina where we are using their 'loaner car' for a trip to town for dinner and re-provisioning.

Approaching Isle of Hope Marina.

Large power catamaran AMITY.
Beautiful.

We like staying here at Isle of Hope Marina. Convenient, friendly, new floating docks, good power and a loaner car. Internet did not work for us in the slip. Must have been too far from the router.

Sept 27, Beaufort, SC

2010-09-27T15:13:00.011-04:00

Rained all night overnight. Today we left Isle of Palms early (7:15) with overcast skies and moved about 80 miles in the rain (sometimes very heavy rain) to Beaufort, SC.

As we leave Isle of Palms. Rain is forecast.

New Charleston Lighthouse is square. Looks modern.

We pass by Fort Sumnter in the Charleston Harbor.
Where the first shots were fired starting the 'Civil War'.
And about which the 'Star Spangle Banner' was written.

Charleston City Dock, nicknamed 'Megadock'.
Lots of big yachts here today.

Unusual paint job on this sportfish.
'Click' on any picture to expand.

Tug pulling a dredge and some pipe. Rig fills the channel.

Another tug pulling more dredging pipe.

Dark clouds fill the sky as a front moves through.
We have stormy weather for about two hours.

Not many boats on the waterway today (probably because of the weather) and we just motored along. Used the radar a few times when we could not see very far and had one 15 minute period of high winds. Probably 30-35 mph. Howling winds and driving rain for a while. Ended the day about 3 pm at the Beaufort Downtown Marina and are happy to be off the water for the night.

Sept 26, Isle of Palms, SC

2010-09-26T14:12:00.005-04:00

Today we moved from Georgetown, SC to Isle of Palms, SC which is just a few miles north of Charleston. We only moved a distance of 50 miles. We had a short day today and arrived at the marina about 1:30.

As we leave Georgetown, we encounter two tugs with a barge.

Heavy rainstorm today. We used our radar.

Very uneventful day today on the water except for a few porpoise that came to visit and played in our bow wake. Does not take much to make us enjoy the day.

Approaching Isle of Palms Marina.

We are staying at the Isle of Palms Marina on a barrier island named Isle of Palms. We are at mile marker 454 (Norfolk is -0-; Stuart is 985) About 500 miles from home.

Sept 25, Georgetown, SC

2010-09-25T19:29:00.011-04:00

Today we moved from Myrtle Beach, SC to Georgetown, SC a distance of about 50 miles.

Beautiful homes line the waterway around Myrtle Beach.
Here is an attractive trellis.

We get ready to pass the SARA KAITLIN.
We wait for a wide spot in the waterway and talk to her Captain on our VHF radio to coordinate our pass.

This is the Waccamaw River.
We go through a very pretty cypress forest as we approach Georgetown.

Miles and miles of cypress swamp.

Approaching Georgetown, SC.

Harborwalk Marina office in Georgetown.

We walked into Georgetown and visited several shops that we remembered from the spring. Georgetown has several high quality furniture stores on the main street and must be the regional center for furniture. Then back to the boat for the University of Florida - Kentucky football game shown of ESPN. Florida is looking good.

Sept 24, Myrtle Beach, SC

2010-09-24T19:29:00.012-04:00

Today we moved from Wrightsville Beach, NC south along the Intercoastal Waterway to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a distance of about 70 miles.

Here the Atlantic Ocean is very close to the Intercoastal Waterway.
Glad it is a calm day.

We pass a popular boating center at Carolina Beach.

A car ferry crossses in front of us at Southport.

The first of many 'shrimp boats' along the waterway.

We see several boats that are beached or otherwise in trouble.

Sailboat aground in the weeds.

Larger sailboat still has its sails.

This cruiser has been here a while.

This cruiser has a crushed top.
Maybe it rolled over.

We ended the day at Dock Holiday Marina in Myrtle Beach. As we went to the restaurant here for dinner we found they were having a 'Shag' party featuring the 'beach' music with several hundred adults (our age) participating. This was something Chuck and Charlotte tried to explain to us years ago and we finally got to see what they have been talking about. It seems the 'shag' is unique to North and South Carolina. They have a group 'SOS' (Shag on the Strand) which holds several 'shag' reunion type events during the summer and fall. If you are a member, then it is free food and music. Quite popular with the locals. We loved the music and everyone seemed to be having a great time dancing the night away.

Sept 23, Wrightsville Bch, NC

2010-09-23T16:31:00.007-04:00

Today we moved 80 miles from Morehead City through 4 bridges with opening schedules to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

Entering the waterway through Camp Lejune, NC.

One of the most distinctive homes on the waterway in NC.

MISS ASHLEY is a small tug.

Wrightsville Marina.

We are staying at the Wrightsville Marina where we have good wifi for the first time in several days. Nice restaurant, Bluewater Grill.

Sept 22, Morehead City, NC

2010-09-22T16:29:00.006-04:00

We moved 70 miles from Belhaven through the Pimlico Sound to Morehead City, North Carolina. Morehead City is only a few miles from Beaufort, NC where we have stayed before. Morehead City is where Owen and Dan have gone fishing for Bluefin Tuna on the outer banks with Lee. And we caught one about 300 pounds.

Lots of uninhabited country here.

We pick up some porpoise who play in our wake.
First we have seen in months.

Large freighter in the harbor at Beaufort/Morehead City.

Morehead Gulf Docks.

We stayed in Moorhead City at the Morehead Gulf Docks which are right where all the charter sport fishing boat are docked and right on restaurant row. We got a ride to the grocery from the marina and completed provisioning for the next week or so.

Sept 21, Belhaven, NC

2010-09-21T16:54:00.008-04:00

We left Coinjock at 7:10 and were the last boat leaving the dock. Everyone was out early as we all had lots of ground to cover today.

Miles and miles of waterway and trees.

MISS JEAN, a tug pushing a barge. Not much on the waterway today.

Calm water most of the day.

Belhaven Waterway Marina is a very small place.

We moved a total of 85 miles to Belhaven, North Caroilina, and are staying at the Belhaven Waterway Marina which is two blocks from town. Nice dinner at Fish Hooks.

Sept 20, Coinjock, NC

2010-09-20T16:52:00.010-04:00

As we left the Norfolk/Portsmouth area, there were lots of Navy Warships at the docks.

Stealth Destroyer.

In dry dock.

Aircraft Carrier.

We moved south on the Intercoastal Waterway, through 12 bridges many of which had restricted opening schedules, and then one lock at Great bridge, to Coinjock, North Carolina.

A parade of yachts heading south. IRISH ROVER, Coral Gables, Fla; CARIAD, Georgetown, BVI; MOVIN ON, Wilmington, Del; ASTRELLE, Falmouth, Mass.; followed by KOKOMO II, Stuart, Fla.
We went through several bridges together today.

Several noisy Navy planes were practicing nearby.

Large brush fire at Mackay Island Nat'l Wildlife Refuge on Knotts Island.

We traveled a total of 50 miles.

Coinjock Marina and Restaurant.

We are staying at the Coinjock Marina which is famous for the Prime Rib at their restaurant. There is a 32 ounce Captains cut or 14 ounces for the mates cut. The prime rib did not disappoint. Delicious!

Sept 19, Portsmouth, VA

2010-09-19T16:33:00.016-04:00

We moved 50 miles south today in the Chesapeake Bay in calm waters and ended up at the bottom of the Chesapeake in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Wolf Trap Light

Fort Wool.

There is a large US Navy presence here at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and it is always interesting to motor past part of the US Navy fleet.

Destroyer and Aircraft Carrier.

Another Aircraft Carrier.

Container ship

Destroyer under repair.

Sailboat has beautiful 'red sails' as we approach Norfolk, VA.

We are docked at Ocean Marine, near downtown Portsmouth, and across the harbor from Norfolk where we have docked before. Thought we would try something new. There is a festival in progress just ashore from the marina. Active place on a Sunday.

Ocean Marine Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia

Festival underway across from our marina.

We are at 'mile marker' -0- of the intercoastal waterway. Stuart is 985 miles. We're heading home.

Sept 18, Deltaville, VA

2010-09-18T17:37:00.008-04:00

We left Annapolis at 7 am and moved 80 miles to Deltaville, Virginia. We had been waiting for fair weather and we got it. Seas were two feet as we started out and decreased to one foot in the afternoon. Easy run but long as we arrived after 3:30.

Tanker SKS TANARO heads north.

Large LNG facility being constructed near Cove Point.

Cove Point Lighthouse

Point No Point Light.

Regatta Marina is a nice spot.

We are staying at the Regatta Marina with nice new floating docks, power and internet. No restaurant here but they have a loaner car.

Sept 14-17, Annapolis, MD

2010-09-17T20:03:00.033-04:00

After St Michaels we head west and then north and across the Chesapeake Bay to the western shore and end up in Annapolis, Maryland.

Sunrise at St Michaels.

Crab boats return early in the morning.

Bloody Point Bar Light.

Thomas Point Shoal Light.
The last remaining screw pile lighthouse working in the Chesapeake.
Near Annapolis, Maryland.

Approaching Annapolis.
The US Naval Academy dominates the waterfront.

Annapolis is the State Capitol of Maryland, the home of the US Naval Academy and a large boating and sailing center. Plus it has some early American architecture which has been preserved and so represents a pretty place to hang out for a while. Annapolis is a tourist town and has lots of shopping and restaurants.

Waterfront park.

Maryland Capitol Building.

Downtown Annapolis looking west.

View of Annapolis from KOKOMO II while at her dock.
Right downtown.

KOKOMO II at 'Ego Alley' in Annapolis.

Flowers and 'GO NAVY' flags on most light poles.

Exterior US Naval Academy Chapel

Interior US Naval Academy Chapel

Stained glass window in the Chapel.

Stained Glass commemorating the naval battle
at Mobile Bay during the Civil War.

Naval Academy Museum has a spectacular collection of model ships.

Sailors firing a cannon.

Using a sextant.

Eating a meal with a swinging table to compensate for a leaning ship.

Model of the SANTA MARIA. Used by Colombus in 1492.
This is the official Italian version of the ship.

Model of SOVERIGN OF THE SEAS. British 'first rate'.
The first 100 gun ship ever built. 1637.
No wonder England ruled the seas.

US Frigate Constitution. 44 guns. Launched 1797.
Best for her size in the world.

Naval Academy classrooms.

Bronze of Tecumseh.
Cadets have given him 'blue hair'. Must be cleaned every night.

Naval Academy is in session while we are here. Cadets in formation before lunch is a tradition.

Complete with a band and color guard.

Maryland Capitol close up.

Character in 'fatigues' walking and pulling a trailer with flags.

Evening in downtown Annapoi lis from KOKOMO II.
Beautiful spot for us.

Annapolis is one of everyone's favorite stops in the Chesapeake and has a well deserved reputation.

Sept 12-13, St Michaels, MD

2010-09-12T14:18:00.025-04:00

Rain overnight. Very foggy this morning as we head out. About ninty minutes out (12 miles) we go under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at the Kent Island narrows and then through the basquel bridge with a 14 foot clearance. About 12 other boats go through at the same time. Busy place.

Leaving Tolchester Marina in the fog.

Our visibility comes and goes.

Kent Island Narrows.

After the bridges at Kent Island narrows, we motored on another ninty minutes (12 more miles) to St Michaels, Maryland, one of our favorite stops. We visited here with John and Julie and their six children (our grandchildren) when they visited us aboard KOKOMO II for a week in June. Great memories. Blue crab was plentiful in June and is plentiful now. Locals say it has been the best season for commercial crabbing in 40 years. Locals say they have no explaination, but think it is great.

KOKOMO II at Chesapeake Maritime Museum.

We are staying at the Chesapeake Maretime Museum right on the museum grounds and have complete access to the museum and grounds while we are here. Neat place. We are about two blocks from town. Good power but no internet. Wifi from a neighboring marina. Thanks 'harborinn'.

Hooper Strait Lighthouse was moved to the Chesapeake Maritime Museum in St Michaels and is the centerpiece of their Museum.

Good signage.

Figurehead from a sailing ship.

Downtown St Michaels.

Playground feature of an old fashioned sailing ship.
Good one.

Model ship with ribs showing how it was constructed.

Star Class Sailboat on display at the Chesapeake Maritime Center.
Owen remembers having one of these in 1972.

Graveyard at the church in St Michaels.

1800's cannon sights in on KOKOMO II.

Our second day in St Michaels is beautiful with not a cloud in the sky. We walked the downtown, toured the Maretime Museum and had an exceptional dinner at Bistro. Very nice day. St Michaels is our favorite stop on the 'eastern shore' of Maryland.

Sept 11, Tolchester, MD

2010-09-11T17:41:00.008-04:00

The weather cooperated and we finally left Cape May heading up the Delaware River with winds of 10-15 mph and seas of 2-3.

Cape May Canal as we get underway.

Ferry between Cape May, NJ, and Lewes, Delaware.

The seas diminished to 2 feet or less as we traveled upriver and after one and one half hours of running at 18 knots, we slowed to our normal cruising speed of 8 knots and were very comfortable. After another hour the seas were flat. Big change from earlier in the week where we had 3-4 and 4-6 foot seas each and every day.

Tug.

Lighthouse.

Salem Point Nuclear Power Plant.

Tug pushing a barge.

Tug pulling a barge.

We cruised all the way up the Delaware River to the C&D Canal and continued west until we reached the Chesapeake Bay. Then cruised south another 3o miles to Tolchester, Maryland, a very small town on the eastern shore.

Tolchester Marina.

We are staying at the Tolchester Marina with power and internet and there is a small beachfront restaurant. Seems like a good spot.

Sept 8-10, Cape May, NJ

2010-09-08T13:50:00.029-04:00

We left Stone Harbor with the high tide about 8 am (about 4-5 feet more than yesterday afternoon) and of course skimmed right over those formerly shallow spots. We got to Cape May about 10 am and considered moving on to Lewes, Delaware (south across the mouth of the Delaware River) but there are small craft warnings today so we will look to go tomorrow. Fall weather is windy here.

Lots of working trawlers near Cape May, NJ.

CAPTAIN BUCKY SMITH heads for the open water.

Utsch's Marina

We are staying at Utsch's Marina with power and internet. And we are close to the large 'Lobster House Restaurant' a local landmark that seems busy from morning to night. No reservations. So we got fish from their fish market and will have a seafood feast aboard the boat tonight.

Thursday we were planning to go south across Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware, but the wind is still up and we have decided to stay in Cape May another day. We are fair weather sailors.

Friday morning we left Cape May early (about 6:45) and planned to head up the Delaware River to the C&D Canal and then into the Chesapeake Bay. Went out the inlet and found 3-4 foot seas in the Delaware Bay. Marginal conditions but as we ran the boat up to planing speed and heard all kinds of shaking and rattling on the starboard side from the running gear. Assumed it was damage from running aground a few days earlier and so we turned around and headed back to Utsch's Marina in Cape May.

We pulled the boat out of the water using Utsch's travel lift to see what the problem might be. The bad news was that we found a large amount of rope entwined around the starboard propeller. The good news was there appears to be no other damage to our running from our running aground. So we are back in the water (about 10 am) and have decided to spend one more day at Utsch's in Cape May.

Finding the big gob of rope wrapped around the propeller. We are very glad that this is the only problem.

We walked a mile into town. Cape May has an outdoor pedestrian mall filled with t-shirt shops, restaurants and ice cream parlors. Not very upscale.

They have a trolly tour which we took to see the historic homes (mostly victorian) from the 1870's-1890's.

Linda inspects an antique fire truck now in a local museum.

Cape May is at the very south end of the Jersey Shore. Offshore are some of the best fishing grounds for tuna and marlin in the whole USA, known as the 'canyons'. These 'canyons' are 2000 feet deep and the big fish cruise these areas. The 'canyons' have produced some very big fish. We saw a blue marlin displayed at the 'Jersey Marina' that weighed 1036 pounds. Big fat marlin. By contrast, the Bahamas have a $500,000 reward for the first 1000 pound marlin in the Bahamas that is still unclaimed.

Canyon Club Marina

There are several marina's here that each have 50 or more large sportfishing boats, and the Canyon Club Marina which seems to have 200 such boats. That is larger concentration of these large sportfishing boats than anywhere I know about in Florida.

Sept 7, Stone Harbor, NJ

2010-09-07T13:49:00.008-04:00

Today we left Atlantic City for a 35 mile run outside in the ocean to Cape May, NJ. We were out about 10 minutes and decided that the weather was not nice enough to stay outside, so we turned around and took the inside route through the NJ Intracoastal Waterway.

It is calm inside but the route follows a winding path and will take us seven hours and about 60 miles to go the inside route.

We are following KIDS AGAIN, a 44 foot power boat from Elizabeth City, NC who was berthed next to us at the marina in Ocean City. Tide was high (4-5 feet above low tide) as we left Ocean City and went steadily out as we motored along.

Following KIDS AGAIN through a bridge.

By 1:30 we noticed we were getting into very shallow water even in the middle of the marked channels. By 2 pm we started seeing other boats of our size going aground. By 2:30 we were leaving a muddy trail behind our boat which indicates we are stirring up the bottom as we motor along. By 3 pm there was almost no water in many places in the channel. We were going very slowly and ran aground ourselves, right in the middle of the channel. We backed off and tried again and ran aground again and backed off a second time. After talking to Sea Tow and Boat US, the local boat towing companies, and the deputy on the sheriff's boat, found that this is a common occurance during periods of low tide and the only way to transit the NJ Intracoastal is the four hours before and after high tide and not within two hours before or after low tide especially at times of extraordinary high and low tides as they are having now.

Low tide is apparent by looking at the boats sitting on the bottom.

We decided we could not continue until the tide was up another 1-2 feet, so we found a nearby marina and pulled in for the night. We are staying at the Stone Harbor Marina and had a nice secure spot with power but no internet.

Sept 6, Atlantic City, NJ

2010-09-06T13:49:00.019-04:00

New york Harbor is always one of the highlights of our trip. Today was no exception. The weather was beautiful and the skies were clear.

Newport Marina.

Entrance to Newport Marina.
Path subway to Manhattan, Weston and Marriott Courtyard hotels, large mall with movie theaters, grocery and several good restaurants.
Could be a good place to spend the summer season ($85/ft).

Midtown as we leave the marina.

Downtown as we leave the marina.

Close up of downtown where the World Trade Center stood.

Jersey City is looking good, too.

Abandoned ferry building.

Ellis Island.

Statue of Liberty as we approach.

Few restrictions for pleasure boats lets us get close.

We are half way to Staten Island looking back at lower Manhattan.

Ft Washington under the Verazannos Bridge.

Tanker BRITISH SERENITY offloads some liquid fuel to a barge.

About a dozen ships are anchored in NY Harbor.

We left NYC with calm weather and ran outside about 90 miles to Atlantic City, NJ. We motored some at 8 knots and ran some at 18.

Kammerman's Marina in Atlantic City.

Arrived at Atlantic City after a long day and are staying at Kammerman's Marina with power and no internet. Guide says a restaurant is nearby but it turns out to be about a mile. Too much after a long day. We are happy to be off the water today.

Sept 4-5, New York City, NY

2010-09-04T17:25:00.029-04:00

We left Saugerties about 8:15 as the weather seems to have cleared and we are ready to head south again. Lots to see on the Hudson today.

Hudson River is wide here and pretty with the Catskill Mountains coming right down to the river.

Large building in the distance is a working monastery.

Vanderbilt home in Hyde Park.

Culinary Academy.

Vasser College.

Kingston Bridge.

Small cruise ship GRANDE CARIBE.

Bridge at Newburgh, NY

Hudson a few miles above West Point.

The marina at Newburgh is crowded with boats seeking distance and shelter from the hurricane.

Another large yacht heading toNewburgh.

A ruin known as Bannerman Castle.

West Point.

George Washington Bridge as we approach Manhattan.
There is lots of smoke ahead. Must be a fire.

As we get closer we find a fireboat putting out a fire on Pier 97 at 57th Street and 12 Ave about midtown. It turned out to be over 100 firefighters responding to an air conditioner fire. There was a lot of smoke blowing over midtown until the fire was put out.

Lower Manhattan skyline across from Newport Marina.

CARNIVAL MIRACLE moves away from her pier with help from four tugs.

CARNIVAL MIRACLE gets going under her own power.
And passes us as we enter Newport Marina.

We are having a bit of trouble finding marina space as many boats are in the Hudson seeking refuge from the hurricane and have not yet moved back down the river. NYC is open so we head all the way down the Hudson (over 100 miles) and end up at the Newport Marina in Jersey City (where we spent the 4th of July) and arrive late in the afternoon.

Sunday we head for Manhattan.

We visit the Frick Mansion on East 70th Street, now the Frick Museum.
Built 1914 and one of the better museums in NYC.

Plaza Hotel.

St Patricks Cathedral.

Brazil Day in NYC. 6th Avenue is closed for 10 blocks and there are lots and lots of people here.

Robin and Mike Horner join Linda and Owen for lunch at Bubba Gumps.

Mike and Robin are in NYC for the weekend and are seeing the sights including the musical 'Memphis' before they take the train to Montreal. Linda and Owen hear their praise for 'Memphis' and get tickets for the Sunday matinee. Excellent.

Carnegie Deli 'Hot Pastrami' sandwich and matzo ball soup.
Delicious!

What a way to finish the NY trip.

Sept 3, Saugerties, NY

2010-09-03T15:28:00.015-04:00

The threat of Hurricane Earl has greatly diminished as the storm has taken the more easterly track away from NYC and is expected to go by us tonight nearly 200 miles out to sea. As we have been in Troy for three days we decide to move on.

The bridge at Troy, NY can be raised for large ships.

Beautiful sandstone building was the NY Railroad headquarters building.
Now New York State Education Assn.
Visible as we pass by Albany, NY.

B No 220 being pushed by a tug.

Kayakers.

We moved 50 miles south on the Hudson River toward NYC to Saugerties, NY, which is on the west side of the Hudson between Catskill and Kingston. The harbor here is well off the Hudson and so quite protected from the wind.

Saugerties Marina is a small working boatyard.

It was overcast for our travel today but without any wind or rain. Nice day to travel on the water.

Below are the four famous lighthouses of the Hudson River.

Lighthouse at the entrance to
Saugerties.

Lighthouse at the entrance to Kingston.

We passed two on the way from Troy to Saugerties and two on the way from Saugerties to NYC.

Aug 31-Sept 2, Troy, NY

2010-08-31T10:02:00.041-04:00

We're back in the Hudson River heading south toward NYC.

Spillway next to Lock 1 as we head down the Hudson river.

We moved from Waterford south through the Troy Lock (lock #1 of the NY Canal System) and are watching three hurricanes move north in the Atlantic. The first hurricane is 'Earl' with winds of 135 mph and expected to pass offshore of NYC on Friday. So we plan to stay a few more days in the Hudson River well upstream from NYC to let the hurricane(s) pass us by.

Approaching Troy and the downtown wall.

We are docked at Troy, NY, 150 miles north of NYC, at the Troy Municipal Docks right at the foot of downtown with power and internet.

Downtown Troy, NY.

1900's stone house in Troy is now a Phi Kappa Pi fraternity house.

A chair made from oars, paddles and waterskis.

Interesting bench also made from nautical gear.

Uncle Sam Wilson is a local character from the 1800's.
Sure looks like our USA's 'Uncle Sam'.

There is a business district within walking distance including a used bookstore, several shops selling antiques and collectables and several restaurants. El Porto (Italian) is our favorite restaurant.

There are several interesting boats here in Troy.

Brand new PDQ power catamaran being delivered from Wisconsin to South Carolina. Cruises at 20 mph and burns 10 gph. Two miles per gallon. Very efficient at 20 mph.

Tug MV BEAR heading to the 'Tug Rendezvous'.

65 foot Marlow Explorer HOLIDAY is from Aspen, Colorado.
Note the hard top now lowered as she returns from the Erie Canal.

We have decided to wait out Hurricane Earl here in Troy, NY. This location seems sheltered and we are further away from the storm track here than we would be if we move south on the Hudson. We will rent a car and see some sights. Hyde Park, NY, is about 50 miles south of us and our AAA tour book says there are three 'GEMS' to see there.

Frederick W. Vanderbilt Mansion (1898) from the driveway. Home of one of Cornelius Vanderbilt grandsons. Represents the 'Gilded Age' in America (1865-1925).
Rated a 'GEM' by AAA.

Vanderbilt Mansion from the rear.
We think that is a proper back porch.

Our marina manager, Joe Berlino, also recommends the NY Culinary Institute as a great spot. We agree.

NY Culinary Institute was established in 1949.

We had a great lunch in the Medici (Italian) dining room. There are over 1000 students here in a college atmosphere learning all aspects of the food service industry. We were happy to be 'guinea pigs' while they are learing.

Class room instruction.

Students working in the baking center.

Hyde Park is the Roosevelt ancestral home. Franklin Roosevelt grew up here and returned over 100 times during his presidency.
Rated a 'GEM' by AAA.

Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library. The first Presidential Library was estblished by Roosevelt in 1941 while he was still in office.
Rated a 'GEM' by AAA.

We rate all three as very worthwhile spots. Nice way to spend the day as we wait for Hurricane Earl to pass by.

Aug 30, Waterford, NY

2010-08-30T17:04:00.020-04:00

We transited another 12 locks today and covered about 60 miles in 9 hours. We made it all the way to Waterford, NY, which is the end of the Erie Canal near Albany, NY.

Sunrise at Canajoharie as we get underway.
A bit of fog on the water.

The scenery today was the prettiest on the Erie Canal as we were in the Mohawk River portion of the canal and the hills around us make for a really interesting area.

Further down the canal we enter the Mohawk River Valley and the scenery gets more dramatic.

Volkswagen on top of the chimney of an abandoned factory.
We see lots of abandoned factories along the canal here.

The water is flowing over the dam.

Lock and dam as we head downstream.

Amsterdam has a welcome center for boaters.
We are moving on.

Train heads over the trestle as we head under.

Interesting river bank forty feet high.

Large home overlooks the Mohawk River.

Islands in the Mohawk River as we approach the last 5 locks that will drop us 35 feet each (total of over 160 feet in a mile)

As we exit lock 3, we meet some kayakers.

The kayakers enter the lock to go up. The locks must take all size boats.

We shared these five locks with a sailboat from Sister Bay, WI. They are headed south for a two year cruise. Here in Lock 2, we can see the town of Waterford ahead.

We ended the day on the wall at Waterford with no power. We are picking up some spotty internet here from somewhere.

Waterford Erie Canal Welcome Center.

KOKOMO II at Waterford on the wall. In a park near town.
Free dockage, no power, weak internet. Ran our generator but warm overnight.

Downtown Waterford, NY.

This is Ken Horner's last stop as he will fly out of Albany airport tomorrow heading for Orlando to see Mike and Robin for a few days, then a few days in the Florida Keys before heading back to work in Indiana next week.

Aug 29, Canajoharie, NY

2010-08-29T17:02:00.017-04:00

We ran another 70 miles today and went through 9 more locks on the Erie Canal before finishing the day at Canajoharie, NY where we docked at the town dock with 50 amp power. Another long day - almost ten hours.

Leaving the lock we find a lone fisherman in the middle of our channel.
He moves out of the way.

LIL' DIAMOND is a tour boat based in Ft Lauderdale.
Must be more business here in the summer.

A tourist, Jeff Bancroft, on LIL' DIAMOND takes our picture as we go by and e-mails it to us. That's Ken Horner in our stern.

We transited nine more locks today. As you can see in the above photo, we just leave our fenders down between the locks. Not real pretty, but very practical.

These bouys have moved off station.
Carried away by the current.
If we go between them now - we will end up in the pile of brush.

Our biggest drop. Over 40 feet.
This lock at Little Falls, NY.

Logs removed from the canal.

Tug GOVERNOR ROOSEVELT.

We walked into the town of Canajohharie, NY, for dinner and found 80% of the stores vacant. Sad to see these small NY towns in such an economic decline. Ended up with pizza and wings (only restaurant open) and brought them back to the boat.

KOKOMO II docked at Canajoharie, NY, at the town dock.
Free dock, free power, in a park, no internet.

We were helped in docking by a sailor who had come from Hamburg, Germany, on his 35 foot sailboat.

He had sailed from Spain to the Azores and intended to land in Florida. Instead he got caught in a 4 day gale and ended up making landfall in Nova Scotia. Said 'at least it was the right continent'. Then he sailed down to NYC and up the Hudson. Now planning going around to Chicago and down to Mobile and then a 40,000 mile trip through the Carribean to the east coast of South America then around the Cape Horn in Argentina (the southern tip of S. America) then to Chile and out to Australia and then back through the Panama Canal and home to Germany. Plans to be gone four years. Has a blog: www.hinneru-weiler.de (in German).

Aug 28, Sylvan Beach, NY

2010-08-28T17:01:00.011-04:00

The Oswego Canal is open!

We got word at 8 am this morning that the Oswego Canal has reopened and we were the first boat through heading south to the Erie Canal.

We exit the first lock of the day and find lots of debris ahead.

Still plenty of water over the spillways.

Approaching another lock. Very beautiful day and good to be moving again.

Many of the bouys are covered by floating debris.
Some are off station, but we can see where they should be using our electronic charts.

Several of the locks are in rural settings. This looks like it is in a park.

We transited eight locks on the Oswego Canal today and one more on the Erie Canal for a total of nine locks and covered about 60 miles. We stopped in Brewerton at Winter Harbor Marina and filled up with diesel fuel before heading across Lake Onieda, which was flat calm, and ended the day at Sylvan Beach which is at the east end of Lake Onieda. We had a long day from 8 am to 5 pm. Nine hours on the water today.

Festive time for summer boating at Sylvan Beach.

KOKOMO II is on the wall on the quiet side of Sylvan Beach.

URGER is a famous tug based ion the Erie Canal.
It is here on tour.

Sylvan Beach has a roller coaster and some amusement park rides and is billed as the Coney Island of northern New York. We noticed lots of other boats most with families but some with just young men with high levels of testosterone. We enjoyed our stop but are ready to move on.

Aug 23-27, Oswego Canal, NY

2010-08-24T07:40:00.048-04:00

Raining all night and again this morning. A continuous heavy sprinkle. Weather channel is talking about high water with flood warnings in low areas. The Oswego Canal has been closed. We're on the wall above lock eight waiting for the high water to recede so we can continue.

We approach Lock 8 in Oswego.

We checked with the NY Canal authorities who told us the canals were closed east of Lake Onieda and open west of the lake. We are west of the lake. So we left Oswego and headed north into the Oswego Canal. The canal has eight locks and runs 30 miles north and connects into the Erie Canal which then runs east to Albany or west to Buffalo. We entered the first lock going north (lock 8) and were informed that all the locks and canal were closed until further notice because of the high water. We made it about a mile.

KOKOMO II waiting for the locks to reopen.

So now we are tied to the canal wall between Lock 7 and Lock 8 and still in the town of Oswego. We are next to a park and can walk to town. No shore power but we are picking up someone's strong internet signal.

Oswego River is running fast.

They tell us we will be here until the water goes down. Could be a couple of hours. Could be a couple of days. Pleasant spot except for the bridge repair (noisy with falling debris) taking place about 200 feet in front of our boat.

Day 2. We are awakened at 7:10 by the jackhammers used in the bridge repair. Linda is discussing trying to get the canal reopened so we can move away from the noise. Owen is not optimistic about reopening the canal just for us. Some tension aboard KOKOMO II.

Downtown Oswego.

Oswego City Hall

Courthouse.

Walked into Oswego and toured the Safe Haven Museum commemorating the Emergency Refugee Shelter here at Ft Ontario in Oswego. Then we toured Ft Ontario itself.

Fort Ontario.

Ft Ontario entrance.

Inside the fort

On the outer wall.

View from the fort.

The rain has stopped and it is a beautiful day in Oswego. No word on when the canal will reopen.

Work on the bridge above KOKOMO II.
Lots of noise and dust are being generated by the bridge work.

Day 3. Some parts of the canal are open for transit this morning but not the portion of the canal where we are located.

Field of potatoes being harvested.

We rented a car from Enterprise and headed for Syracuse to pick Ken Horner up at the airport. Overcast today and threatening rain. We hope not. Temperature is high 60's so very pleasant. We did some sightseeing and found a Walmart and a Wegman's grocery store today. KOKOMO II is restocked and ready to go again.

KOKOMO II waiting for the Locks to reopen.
Nice to be in a park close to town.

Day 4. Notice to Mariners from the NY Canal Authority at 6:59 this morning said the Oswego Canal is still closed due to high water and debris. We are learning a lot about the NY Canal Authority. Maybe more than we wanted to know. Maybe the canal will open tomorrow.

Lots of local produce.

A Mennonite family with fresh baked goods.

Owen and Linda at the farmers market

Found a farmers market in Oswego that opens every Thursday afternoon. We are looking for things to do.

Press Box restaurant in Oswego.
Good food. Nice atmosphere.

Day 5. Another Notice to Mariners from the NY Canal Authority at 6:48 this morning that said the Oswego Canal is closed due to high water and debris. Bummer.

Ken Horner is stuck with us in Oswego until the canal reopens.
Our crew is in good spirits.

Day 6. Another Notice to Mariners from the NY Canal Authority at 9:45 last evening that said the Oswego Canal is closed due to high water and debris. We would like to be moving.

Aug 22, Oswego, NY

2010-08-22T13:14:00.015-04:00

Rain today. Probably all day.

We moved 40 miles southwest from Sackets Harbor into Lake Ontario and then almost due south to Oswego. Bill and Owen take the boat for the 3 hour trip and Patty and Linda bring the car. Waves on Lake Ontario were 2-3 with some wind from the southeast so as we approached Oswego the waves dropped to almost nothing.

Lighthouse as we enter Lake Ontario.

Nuclear Power Plant cooling tower as we make landfall
after crossing Lake Ontario.

We had a few waves spray over the top of the boat today. All fresh water, so no need to get the salt off the boat when we arrive. Not a bad crossing and much better than the last three crossings of Lake Ontario that we can remember. Still raining as we reach Oswego.

Oswego Lighthouse is a welcome sight as we enter the Oswego Harbor.

We are staying at the Oswego Marina and they are having a fishing derby here. Participants are fishing in Lake Ontario and targeting salmon and brown trout. They tell us the fishing is picking up considerably from what it has been most of the summer.

Oswego Marina.

Patty and Bill Scarbrough leave this afternoon to head back to California. Great to have them aboard and to share some of the sights of the Thousand Islands. Very pretty part of upper New York. Bill brought some great wines for us to enjoy during our week together. Said he has a wine cellar at home and it was overstocked. Thanks Bill and Patty.

Rained all evening, too.

Aug 21, Sackets Harbor, NY

2010-08-21T15:09:00.024-04:00

We moved the boat about 40 miles from Alex Bay, New York, west on the St Lawrence River, past Clayton and Cape Vincent out into Lake Ontario and then south to Sackets Harbor, NY. Bill and Owen moved the boat while Patty and Linda moved the car.

St Lawrence Seaway Lighthouse near Alex Bay.

Thousand Islands Bridge.

NORNAM McLEOD passes us heading downstream.

Clayton

Clayton Antique Boat Museum from the water.

Weather today is overcast with almost no wind. Lake is flat calm. Makes for a beautiful run. We are staying at the Navy Point Marina in Sackets Harbor, New York.

Navy Point Marina

Coast Guard boat with training dummy.

Sackets Harbor had two skirmishes with the British during the war of 1812. One naval battle and one land battle. In both battles the Americans prevailed through lucky breaks each time. Local legend reports the following: In the land battle, the British landed their army west of town and advanced steadily toward the town. The townspeople retreated in disaray, then regrouped on the other side of the town and advanced against the British. The British thought reinforcements had arrived and withdrew.

In the naval battle The British sent a fleet to capture the American fleet and take the town. After an initial exchange of cannon fire, the Americans ashore had no more cannon balls and the British ships kept firing. One British cannon ball landed near an American cannon and was picked up to be shoot back. It was too small for the American cannon so the Americans put it in a blanket and put the whole thing in the cannon and fired it back at the British. The lucky shot dismasted the main British warship and the British fleet withdrew. Lucky both times. It is good to be lucky.

Tin Pan Galley patio restaurant.

Dinner at 'Tin Pan Galley' in Sackets Harbor on their patio with entertainment. Rain shower moved us inside. Nice place.

Aug 19-20, Alexandria Bay, NY

2010-08-19T07:52:00.030-04:00

We have moved over to Alexandria Bay, NY, about 12 miles east of Clayton.

But we took the long route. First, north around Grindstone Island toward Gananoque and through the 'Wanderer's Channel' of the Admiralty Islands and then through the Navy Islands, the Canadian small boat channel under the Thousand Islands Bridge, then around Wellsley Island and east to Singer Castle where we stopped for a tour.

Bill Scarbrough.

Nice home on 'Wanderer's Channel'.

Winding our way through the Thousand Islands.

Big home on the Canadian shore.

House is on an island in Canada, Back yard is on an island in the USA.
Shortest international bridge anywhere.

Large boat house collapsing.

Home on the main channel.

Singer Castle Sun Room 38 x 20.

Upon leaving Singer Island we encounter our first Great Lake freighter of the day in the channel heading east toward Montreal or out to sea.

MONTREALAIS is a bulk carrier.

We headed back west toward Alexandria Bay and cruised past Boldt Castle which seems to be the tourist focal point for Alexandria Bay.

Boldt Castle power plant is like a fairy castle.

Boldt Castle.

Boldt Castle

Boldt Castle boat house.

We are staying at the Riveredge Marina in Alexandria Bay and walk into town for dinner.

Bill and Patty Scarbrough.

Riverview Hotel and Marina is a happening place tonight with a small charity concert in the parking lot. Total attendance looks to be about a hundred.

Shania Twin plays a concert in the parking lot of our hotel/marina in Alexandria Bay. She sounded just like Shania Twain.
Very good concert.

Boldt Castle at night from our marina.

This is a nice spot. Weather is cool. Small rain shower moved through. Now clear, calm and very pretty.

Next day we visited Boldt Castle. Took the boat to the Boldt Castle docks and toured the grounds and the boat House. The property is now owned by the St Lawrence Seaway Authority and they are restoring the house using the money generated by the admissions and doing a very good job of completing the construction.

Alster Tower was built first and occupied while the 'castle' was being built. Later a playhouse with a bowling alley.

Gazebo.

Balanced from this angle.

Almost lacy and asymmetrical from this angle.

Owen, Linda, Patty and Bill.

Boldt power house. Built in 1899 before the castle.

Boldt had 30 boats stored on this very tall boathouse.

Boldt boathouse.

Tried to have lunch at the Thousand Islands club but found they only serve dinner. They had to cut back on services is my guess. Then we did a little more touring on the Alex bay side before heading back to our Riverview Hotel and Marina.

Charming home on Millionaires Row at Alex Bay.

Home at Alex Bay.

Floating restaurant at Alex Bay. Now closed.

Aug 17-18, Clayton, NY

2010-08-17T15:04:00.030-04:00

Back in the USA!

Had a really nice morning as we left Kingston, Ontario, and headed back east via the Bateau Channel to the Thousand Islands.

Windy on the water. As we leave Kingston, Ontario, we see almost 100 windmills on Wolfe island just offshore that supply power to the Canadian grid.

We took the scenic route through a sub group of islands known as the Admiralty Islands and followed a Gananoque tourist boat through the 'Wanderer's Channel' and then around Grindstone Island to Clayton, New York. Saw many homes on the small islands. Very pretty settings. We are protected from the wind because of the narrow channels.

Our total trip was about 30 miles this morning and we arrived at Clayton just after lunch. Tied up to the town dock with 20 mph wind blowing and phoned US Customs as required. No answer. Kept trying for 15 minutes, and the dock master told us to try again later. We will try again later. We moved another one-half mile west and are staying at the Islander Marina located adjacent to the Clayton Antique Boat Museum. We are in a basin but still somewhat 'bouncy' at the dock. Good power and internet.

Islander Marina.

The winds started to lay down later in the afternoon and we walked into town. Called US Customs again and they answered this time. We checked back into the USA using the videophone at the Clayton town dock and it seemed very easy. Nice way to do it.

Beautiful sunset at Clayton, NY.

Patti and Bill Scarbrough arrive to join us for a week cruising the Thousand Islands.

Clayton Antique Boat Museum.

Boldt houseboat DUCHESS 108 x 24 built in 1904.

Antique boats in the water.

Antique racing boats.

Another great sunset.

Aug 14-16, Kingston, ON

2010-08-14T16:06:00.027-04:00

We moved 20 miles west through part of the Admiralty Islands, a part of the Thousand Islands and then through the Bateau Channel to Kingston, Ontario. Blustery day with winds over 20 mph and a resulting one to two foot chop on the water.

One of the docks we passed had all the 'toys'.
We see nine rubber toys in the water, one more on the dock and three boats. We think there must be several children here.
Probably some big kids, too.

Cable ferry. Cables are used to pull the ferry back and forth with no steering needed. Cables are out of the water to the right of the ferry as it moves to our right. We wait until cables sink behind ferry and then motor past.

Fortification out from Ft Henry. Must be a new roof.

Ft Henry, from the 1800's, across the river from Kingston, Ontario.

Royal Canadian Military Academy across from the Kingston Harbor.

Approaching Kingston and the Confederation Basin Harbor.

Kingston is the fourth largest city in Canada and was the Capitol for a while before Ottawa. We are staying at the Confederation Basin Marina at the foot of the downtown. We are within walking distance of many restaurants and the tourist shops. The town is busy today being a Saturday in the middle of summer.

City Hall, downtown Kingston.

Jaguar 140. Pretty. Rare.

Prince George Hotel (1809) is small scale right in downtown. There are several large chain hotels here, too, but they are very large scale and do not have any architectural charm.

St George Anglican Church.

Customs House.

Sunday is still windy (about 20 mph) with scattered showers. About 10:30 am we moved the boat from the protected wall with no power to another slip where we would have power for our last two nights in Kingston. With no protection from the wind, we had a very difficult time as the wind kept blowing us around so we could not gently ease the boat into the slip. We asked for assistance from the marina and they sent out four dock hands to help us with our docking. And we certainly did put on a good show for the 20 or so spectators from the nearby boats who watched our attempt at docking. And we thought they did seem somewhat sympathetic. It was a harrowing experience. But we did not touch any of the adjacent boats. Whew. Probably happens a lot here because the marina is very exposed to the winds but it was a new experience for to us. Took a while to get calm again after we were safely tied up. This spot in the Confederation Marina has power and internet, but is a 'hike' to shore. Nice brunch at 'Chez Piggy'.

Monday we took the trolly tour of Kingston including a stop at Ft Henry. Ft Henry protects Kingston. First built as a blockhouse in 1812-1813 during the War of 1812 after the Americans attacked and burned Kingston, the fort was expanded into the present limestone structure from 1832 to 1837. This was to protect Kingston and the Rideau Canal and the Naval shipyards from the expected attack by the Americans during the time Canada was a British Colony. Ft Henry is large and formidable and was never tested. It was abandoned in 1871 and restoration began in 1931.

English sentry at Ft Henry.

View from Ft Henry.
Hundreds of sailboats are in the bay today competing for spots in the upcoming summer olympics.

Then a stop at Bellevue, the home of John A MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada, now restored as it was in the 1840's.

Linda greets John A MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada.
He is known affectionally as John A.

Bellevue House.

Bellevue House was rented by John A MacDonald for just over one year. Good period furnishings and young employees of the Nartional Park system are in costume.

Loopers Ed and Linda Brennan, who we met in St-Anne-de-Bellevue, arrived today in Kingston on SHORE THING. They had the same very difficult docking situation because of the high winds that we had yesterday. Very experienced boater. Took him three tries. Took me the same.

Aug 12-13, Gananoque, ON

2010-08-12T20:18:00.034-04:00

The Thousand Islands!

Heading out to the west from Brockville, we see the first of the
Thousand Islands.

We moved 35 miles west in the St Lawrence River through the Canadian small boat channel of the Thousand Islands today. Very beautiful country. The Thousand Islands are located just east of the eastern end of Lake Ontario in the middle of the St Lawrence Seaway and stretch eastward from Lake Ontario about 50 miles. They are mostly granite islands left here when the glaciers retreated a long time ago.

Interesting home from the 1800's near Brockville.

New home.

Cluster of cabins.

Nice cottage.

Many of the islands have homes. Some are small summer cabins and some are large estates.

New cabin on a very small granite island.
We think we see two trees.

Two of the islands have 'castles'. The first we see as we approach from the east toward the west is the Singer Castle on Dark Island. We stayed on this island overnight in 2008 and enjoyed cruising past the island again today. In 2008 it rained all day. Today was overcast but we got a clear view of the house and the grounds.

Singer Castle.

Statue of St Lawrence.

Thousand Islands Bridge linking USA and Canada.

There are two particularly nice homes with created waterfalls as we go under the big bridge connecting Canada and the USA.

Large home - a real showplace.

Another large home in the trees.

We have moved to the Canadian city of Gananoque, Ontario, (Gan-an-OCK-way) and are staying at the Gananoque Municipal Marina. Gananoque calls itself the Canadian gateway to the Thousand Islands.

Approaching Gananoque Marina.

Gananoque info center in the old RR station.

Downtown Gananoque.

There are several large stone churches in Gananoque. Here are two of the largest.

Catholic

Anglicn

There are several cruise boats near the marina taking tourists to see the sights.

CANADIAN EMPRESS

Gananoque Inn and Spa is a very nice spot. We ended up here for dinner. Good food and live entertainment.

Probably would stay at Gordon Marina next time as they are located next to the Thousand Islands Playhouse and very close to the Gananoque Inn.

Aug 10-11, Brockville, ON

2010-08-10T14:01:00.017-04:00

Leaving Prescott we see a large sailing ship berthed at the town breakwater and the largest Canadian Coast Guard ship based in the Great Lakes. We moved another 10 miles southwest against the current on the St Lawrence River to Brockville, Ontario.

-

Canadian Coast Guard Ship GRIFFON.

Stone home along the waterway.

We are staying at the Brockville Municipal Marina which is right at the foot of downtown. There is a park along the breakwater and we are tied to the wall adjacent to the park. We have good power and good internet.

Brockville Marina.

Brockville was first settled beginning in the 1780's by those loyal to England and who moved here after the American Revolutionary War. The town became very prosperous and many fine buildings were constructed in the 1880's that still are in use today.

Courthouse up the hill.

Downtown Brockville.

Victorian houses.

Brockville City Hall.

Brockville is a nice town with several good restaurants, grocery, hardware and a very good used bookstore. The waterfront park is active with tourists. There are two boats just behind us taking people on a two hour cruise to see the Thousand Islands. Lots of visiting Canadian boaters from Montreal at the marina too.

The St Lawrence River, beginning at Brockville, begins the area that is considered the eastern edge of the Thousand Islands and from here the Thousand Islands stretch east for the next fifty miles. Here the terrain changes and the granite islands appear almost continuously in the St Lawrence River. Many of these islands have houses. It is a famous and interesting area. The shipping channel winds through the islands and the large ships and the small islands make quite a contrast. The whole area is very beautiful. On the question of what makes an island, the locals tell us that these granite rocks are just rocks unless they have two trees. If they have two trees then they are islands. Sounds good to us.

Aug 9, Prescott, ON

2010-08-09T15:13:00.019-04:00

We moved 25 miles today, west on the St Lawrence River. Found a large freighter as we left the harbor at Crysler Park and then headed to the Iroquois Lock (Lock #7) our last big Seaway Lock on our trip.

ASPHALT CARRIER is in the channel as we head out this morning.

Pretty farm fronts the St Lawrence.

A large ship is just exiting the Iroquois Lock as we arrive. Iroquois Lock raises us only 4". That's right - only four inches. Hardly worth locking through.
Must be some good reason for this lock during times of high water.

As we exit the Iroquois Lock
another ship waits to lock through the 4".

Fuel barge being pushed by a tug.

Bridge between Ogdensburg, NY and Prescott, ON.
This is one of only two bridges to connect Canada and the US in the whole area.

Very large grain elevator.

Lighthouse near Prescott, ON.

We are at the Sandra Lawn Harbor Marina in Prescott, Ontario right across the st Lawrence River from Ogdensburg, NY.

Approaching Prescott, ON.

Sandra Lawn Marina is in a riverfront park.

Downtown Prescott, Ontario.

This is a nice little town with Shakespeare in the Park several times a week.

Shakespeare is performed here in this waterfront theater.
But not on Mondays. Tickets are $60. Impressive.

The 'bard'?

Aug 7-8, Morrisburg, ON

2010-08-08T15:12:00.004-04:00

Moved through two more large locks (#5 the Snell Lock which raised us 41 feet and #6 the Eisenhower Lock which raised us 42 feet ) today.

A freighter starts out of the Snell Lock as we wait.

Moving slowly

Coming right by us.

NORDIC STOCKHOLM

Staring to move faster.

NORDIC STOCKHOLM was the only boat we waited for today. We locked through both locks quickly after waiting an hour.

Then on to Morristown and the Crysler Park Marina. The marina is nearly full of boats this weekend (mostly Canadians) as the Canadians are actively boating during their short summer and holiday season. Crysler Park is a part of the Canadian National Park system and there is a carnival type event at the marina this weekend. There are several childrens rides, rock climbing, costumed figures, food and live music.

Crysler Park Marina

Pond next to the new outdoor restaurant at the marina.

Dressed as Sumo wrestlers each tries to bounce the other outside the circle.

On our second day, we head off to Upper Canada Village which is a village recreated to look like the 1860's from buildings from the surrounding areas, many of which would have been lost to flooding when the St Lawrence Seaway was constructed. It is a neat village and is much like Williamsburg, Virginia, or Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, with costumed characters acting out their parts in the various buildings.

Linda checking out the large vegetable garden.

Hauling a log into the working sawmill.

The horses stop for a snack as they are unhitched.

Formal plantings in front of the meeting hall.

Cooking kitchen in a wood shed behind the stone house. Helps keep the big house cool in summer. Here in active use.

Oxen pulling a wagon. Oxen are large cattle.
Usually bulls that have been clipped to make them docile.

Crysler Park is hosting an American Civil War re-enactment to draw attention to the fact that 50,000 Canadians joined the Union (40,000) or the Confederate (10,000) armies and fought during the American Civil War.

Tent is of a surgeon at a battlefield first aid station.
Traveling with his family.

Typical encampment.

The general riding with his entourage.

Here come a line of Union infantry.

Confederate cannon being fired.
Union forces prevail.

Union forces turn both cannon on the Confederates.

Confederates turn back a Union Calvary charge.

Lots of smoke and movement. About 70 adults participated in this re-enactment. We are told at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, there will be as many as 20,000 participants and that most of these 70 will be among them. There were no Civil War battles fought on Canadian soil. This re-enactment only draws attention to the fact that many from north of the US joined one side or the other. Canada was not a nation during the American Civil War (1860-1865). England was officially neutral. Canada became a nation in 1867. We learned a lot from the participants who all wanted to tell us their stories.

Aug 6, Cornwall, ON

2010-08-06T15:12:00.001-04:00

We left on an overcast morning threatening rain and motored another 35 miles southwest in the St Lawrence Seaway with the current running 1-2 knots against us. We ran our regular rpm and so made about 7 knots headway and noticed as low as 6 knots several times in narrow areas. No locks today.

We saw several channel markers today that marked shallow areas. The Seaway is 35-40 feet deep in the channel but is much shallower outside the channel.

Grey morning. Small storms all around us.

Windy. We have a 1-2 foot chop on the water today.

We have now left the french speaking province of Quebec. We are still in Canada and have entered the english speaking province of Ontario. We ended the day at Marina 200 in Cornwall, Ontario, where we have good access to the town. The Marina 200 has new floating docks and is much improved since we were here in 2008.

Approaching Marina 200 at Cornwall, Ontario.

The Marina 200 is next door to a large community indoor swim center and the town shopping mall with a grocery store is another block away. The basis is well sheltered with good power but no internet. Again.

There is a bass fishing tournament based out of this marina beginning this weekend.

We are awakened at 6:30 and find lots of two man fishing teams getting ready to fish in the bass tournament.

Tournament starts at 7:00 am and the teams are ready to head out.

As we left the marina and motored along we saw a dozen teams fishing in the river. Several were catching a fish as we came by. Makes me want to do a little fishing again.

Aug 5, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

2010-08-05T15:10:00.001-04:00

We moved about 30 miles southwest on the St Lawrence Seaway through two more big locks today (#3 the Lower Beauharnois Lock which raises us 42 feet and #4 the Upper Beauharnois Lock which raises us another 42 feet) and had to wait for the large boats to go through ahead of us.

As we arrive to enter the Lower Beauharnois Lock we see the stern of a large boat entering the lock. That means we wait over an hour for it to lock up and then for whatever is up there to lock down. The wait turned out to be much longer than one hour.

Big empty lock. We will be raised 42 feet.
We are asked to enter first so other boats can raft up to us for the lock through.

We move all the way forward as instructed. Three smaller boats are rafted to us. There are nine power boats going through together.

We ended up waiting over 3 hours for the Lower Beauharnois Lock with 8 other boats and then all went right into the Upper Beauharnois Lock without any further wait. Following the locks there were two large automobile bridges over the St Lawrence seaway that only had 14 feet of clearance in the lowered position. So all the boats had to wait again for the slowest boat among us (a sailboat going 6 knots) to reach the bridge so we would all go through together. Seemed like a long day on the water.

Approaching Marina Valleyfield at
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.
Good power; no internet.

We finished the day at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and walked into town for dinner. We remembered being here in 2008 on our way down the St Lawrence Seaway toward Montreal.

Beautiful Church in town.

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a very French-Canadian town where all the signs are only in French. The people are friendly and tried to speak to us in English but we could tell that they did not do this very often. The town seems prosperous and very clean. Summer is the time when everyone is walking around in the evening enjoying the good weather. Our french restaurant food was delicious.

Aug 4, Dorval, QC

2010-08-04T17:38:00.018-04:00

The technician from Caterpillar arrived first thing this morning and changed the heat exchanger. So our engine repairs have been completed and everything works as it should.

We have decided that because we have been delayed four days with our engine repair, that we do not have time to see Ottawa and revisit the Rideau Canal and take our time doing so. If we are to keep our original plan, then we would need to be traveling almost every day. So we decide to head directly to the Erie Canal by way of the 1000 Islands area by heading southwest (upstream) on the St Lawrence River. This will shorten the trip by 50 miles and eliminate 40 locks and give us much more time for sightseeing.

So with our repairs complete we head out to find a marina with 50 amp power, water to replenish our tank and internet.

Approaching Royal St Lawrence Yacht Club.

Tug at the marina.

Royal St Lawrence Yacht Club has a nice dining room and a nice collection of burge's (yacht club flags flown from the bow pulpit) on the walls. Burge's are sometimes given to the yacht club by boaters who are visiting. We see a burgee from Huntington Harbor (Jodie's Club) in Huntington Beach, California. Someone was a long way from home.

Success! We end the day at the Royal St Lawrence Yacht Club in Dorval, Quebec, and found everything we needed.

July 30-Aug 3, Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue, QC

2010-08-04T17:31:00.046-04:00

Mike and Owen took the boat and worked their way west around Montreal in the St Lawrence Seaway. We transit two large locks (#1 the Saint Lambert Lock where we are raised 18 feet and #2 the St Catherine Lock which raises us 32 feet) and then go north through Lake St Louis to Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue, Quebec, a total trip of about 35 miles. Several large freighters were ahead of us today and so we wait several hours for them to clear the area. Beautiful sight to see the large ships.

As we arrive at the Saint Lambert Lock we find a freighter waiting to get locked through. We have to wait.

Freighter leaving the lock (left), and freighter waiting to go through (behind). These big boats take 45 minutes to an hour to go one way through. We have to wait.

As this third freighter leaves the lock, we are next.
It has been a long wait.

We wait for one big boat to come out, then one more big boat to go in and then one more big boat to come out. About three hours at the first lock. And we transit two locks today. The wait for the Upper Beauharnois Lock is only for one big boat to come out and so it is only about an hour.

Because of our wait time of 4 1/2 hours at the locks (the freighters have priority) we finally arrived about 4 pm and found a good spot on the wall of the town promenade at Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue. Sally and Linda brought the car around after spending their day doing some sightseeing outside Montreal.

Sally and Mike Stetson.

The wall is full of pleasure boats for the weekend.

Glad we arrived when we did as the town wall fills up with boats here for the weekend. We like Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue with its promenade, shops and restaurants. People are friendly here and very interested in our trip all the way from Florida.

There is a nice farmers market here on Saturday and lots of people on the streets and in the restaurants. Weekends here are party time. As we do not have power here and need keep the hatches open for the cool air, we are involved in the party atmosphere. A bit noisy but we like it here.

Mike and Sally have a car so we go exploring to the nearby town of Hudson, just across the Ottawa River from Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue and find they are having a festival this weekend. Summer here means festivals and art shows somewhere every weekend.

Nascar is popular here too.

Booths at the festival.

Lumberjacks show their stuff.

Mike and Sally left us Sunday morning after three days and headed back to NY State. As we were getting ready to leave, we found on Sunday that one engine needed attention. So we contacted the local Caterpillar Dealer in Montreal who came out and found the problem (Sun) and we ordered the parts (heat exchanger) on Monday. We are stuck in Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue until the parts arrive (Tues) and can be installed (Wed).

We walk the town and find some very pretty homes and the local college.

John Abbott College and McGill University share the campus.

Not a bad place to be stuck except we have no power, no internet and no water to replenish our tanks. We do have great restaurants, two nice thrift stores, several shops, bank, grocery, library, college nearby and good books. We just relax and wait for the repair to be completed. So much for trying to keep to a schedule.

July 27-29, Montreal, QC

2010-07-27T15:14:00.047-04:00

We have arrived in downtown Montreal! Beautiful day on the water. Took us almost 6 hours to go 40 miles because the 1.5-2 knot current of the St Lawrence River was against us.

Leaving Sorel.
Sorel does have a downtown.
We were just a mile east and did not get there.

Ferry crossing the St Lawrence River at Sorel.

Several large industrial complexes are located at Sorel.

VALENCIA EXPRESS with containers heading out to sea.

MSC ANIELLO follows about two miles behind.
That go fast boat is small in comparison.

Church at Verennes, QC. Steeple 206 feet

Coast Guard catamaran with special gear.
Wonder what they are doing?

Approaching Montreal.

Clock tower marks the entrance to the Montreal Harbor.
Current here is 6 knots. WOW!

In Montreal we are staying at the Port D'Escale at the Old Port, right at the foot of the Old Town of Mortreal. The floating docks are brand new this year and we have floating showers and rest rooms right here on the dock. 50 amp power and good internet.

KOKOMO II IN Port D'Escale.
Just above the harbor is the Montreal Old Town Promenade.

KOKOMO II as seen from the promenade.

Old Town Montreal is a great place for a walk in the evening.

Dinner tonight at Toque. Recommended by TV chef Rachael Ray as her restaurant choice for Montreal. 5 Diamond by AAA. We had the tasters menu. (We reserve our opinion as we both both had an upset stomachs in the morning. Bummer.)

After dinner, we walked from downtown through Old Town and found the streets had sidewalk cafes crowded with diners. Lots of people walking, eating ice cream and enjoying the evening. Feels very european.

KOKOMO II below the large floodwall at Port D'Escale.

Tourists near the Old Port.

Notre Dame Basillica.

Went to Notre Dame Basillica for their light show this evening. Beautiful Church. Designed by James O'Donnell, an Irish Protestant living in NYC, who later converted to become Catholic as the church was being finished. Constructed 1824-1829. The interior decoration was patterned after the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and completed about 1880. Organ was added in 1891 and has 4 keyboards, 99 stops and over 7000 pipes. Awesome.

Dinner tonight at Modavie. Live jazz like Diana Krall. Found some gelato. Another beautiful evening walk in Montreal.

'Hotel De Ville' (City Hall) is under repair and has some painted canvas that resembles the building hidden behind the scaffolding and canvas. Clever.

Archway announcing Chinatown in Montreal.

Lychee nuts for sale in Chinatown.

Underground shopping mall.
Part of the 18 miles of underground shopping available in Montreal.

Bicycles available for one way rental.

Sculpture 'Illuminated Crowd' by Raymond Mason.

McGill college campus in Montreal.

Schwartz's Deli is a small place with famous 'smoked meat' sandwiches.
Tastes like corned beef. They ask: "lean, medium or fatty?".
Still only $5.90.

Mike and Sally Stetson join us for our last night in Montreal and arrive about 7pm after a seven hour drive from the New York finger lake area. Great to see them. Dinner on the boat.

July 26, Sorel, QC

2010-07-26T14:31:00.037-04:00

We left the Chambly Basin on a beautiful day with clear skies, moderate temperatures and a nice breeze. We need a jacket or sweatshirt on the bridge today with cooler temperatures and the wind chill from the breeze.

Chambly Basin looking west toward the town of Chambly.

Chambly Basin looking north.
Mont Saint-Hilaire in the background.

Richelieu River is pretty here.
Mont Saint-Hilaire stands out in relatively flat country as we get closer.

Point Beloeil.
Low RR bridge requires us to hug the left shore.

Swift current and a narrow opening.
27 feet of overhead clearance is plenty for us.

There are many small towns along the Richelieu River. Each seems to have a large church with a tall steeple.

Beautiful display of wild flowers on the hillside.
We think they are probably planted by the homeowner.

We only had one lock today and it was just opening for traffic northbound as we approached. Nice floating dock to tie up to inside the lock. This is a much bigger lock than the ones on the Chambly Canal. Very easy transit.

Lock at Ste Ours.
We share the lock with 5 other small boats.

We moved north (downstream) on the Richelieu River, through the lock at St Ours and finally into the St Lawrence Seaway. Our trip today covered 40 miles. We had a current pushing us north that added about one mph to our speed. Probably shortened our trip by 30 minutes.

Approaching the industrial harbor at Sorel, Quebec.

As we approach the end of the Richelieu River, the shore becomes very industrial and we pass under a highway bridge. There are some large ocean going cargo ships here.

Then as we enter the St Lawrence River five large ships pass us heading west carrying cargo to Montreal or into the Great Lakes. The shipping lanes are busy today.

Marina de Sorel.

We are staying on the south shore of the St Lawrence River about a mile east of the Richelieu River. We are at the Marina de Sorel, a large marina behind a fifteen foot stone breakwater. The water level must change quite a bit with the seasonal runoff and the large breakwater and floating docks offer some protection from the elements. As we enter our marina today the wind is blowing from the north west at 20 mph. Pretty well protected marina but a very windy afternoon.

We are only walking in Sorel and we did not reach the downtown area (if there is one). We did walk to a nice meduim sized modern hotel nearby the marina to check out the dining room. Looks ok. We are just relaxing and spending the day on the boat attending to some chores.

We have come as far north as we will go on this trip (46 degrees north latitude). Tomorrow we will head south/southwest to Montreal. Stuart, Florida, is 27 degrees north latitude.

July 25, Chambly, QC

2010-07-25T13:27:00.029-04:00

We left Ste Jean de Richelieu and started north on the Chambly Canal. The Chambly Canal was needed to lower and raise the boats around the rapids of the Richelieu River. The Chambly Canal connecting Lake Champlain with the St Lawrence River was proposed in 1785, started in 1831 and completed in 1843. The Chambly Canal required nine locks to float this section of the Richelieu River.

Park before lock 9 in Ste Jean.

Beginning at Ste Jean we enter a very small lock and are lowered about 10 feet to the next level and then motor along in a narrow canal that has been dug alongside the wide and shallow Richelieu river. We will make a drop in each of nine locks today. Busy day.

Entering lock 9.
About 30 feet wide. Smallest lock we have ever been in.

The narrow Chambly Canal with the bike path.
Wide Richelieu River to the right.

Distinctive boat moored along the canal.

We meet six boats coming out of lock 7 heading the other way.

Park before lock 3 with the town of Chambly behind.

Lock 3 emptying so we can go in. Lots of tourists watch the operation of the bridge and lock and the boats coming and going.
We are the show today.

After lock 1. Approaching Marina de Chambly.

Marina de Chambly is a block from town.

Historic Fort Chambly (1711) is visible from our marina.

We end the day at Chambly, Quebec, and like the setting of the town on the wide Richelieu River with some mountains in the distance and we like the town. Very tourist friendly with flowers everywhere and lots of people biking on the miles and miles of bike paths. A bike path runs all the way from Chambly to Ste Jean, a distance of about 10 miles. The bike path is mostly paved and follows the old path used to tow the barges along the canal. However we did not see any place to rent a bike. There may be a business opportunity here for someone in the summer.

Downtown Chambly.

Pretty homes and flowers.

Playing chess in the park.
Free theater with a magician behind.

Little people with big chess pieces.

Ice cream cone table and chairs.

Lots of restaurants and ice cream shops. We found a very nice large grocery store in town. Everyone speaks French. When they hear our English they switch and are very helpful, but we can tell that everyone here speaks mostly french. This is a very nice stop for us.

July 24, Ste-Jean-de-Richelieu

2010-07-24T13:43:00.025-04:00

We are in Canada! And in Quebec where the official language is French!

KOKOMO II has traveled just over 2000 miles since leaving Florida in mid May. We left Rouses Point, NY, on a grey, overcast and very calm morning and moved about a mile north and crosssed into Canada. The Canadians have a Customs Wharf here and we tie up to the dock and present our papers. The Canadian Immigration and Customs officer was very courteous and we were on our way within minutes. Real pleasure not to be hassled.

Narrow channel as we leave Lighthouse Marina
Wind was blowing near 20 mph yesterday. Calm today.

Ft Montgomery (1817) is in the USA.
At the very north end of Lake Champlain.

We left Lake Champlain and are now in the Richelieu River heading north to connect with the St Lawrence River. There we will head west to Montreal.

Bouy markes the US - Canadian Border.

RR swing bridge in Canada

Ft Lennox (1819) in Canada.
Located on Ile Aux Noix in the middle of the Richelieu River.

Very calm water with fog ahead.

Today we moved 25 miles north to the small town of Saint-Jean-de-Richelieu, Quebec, and are staying at La Nautique St-Jean, a marina on the edge of town.

Nautique Ste-Jean

Downtown Ste-Jean-de-Richelieu, Quebec.

We go to buy an ice cream cone and find we do not have any Canadian money. We find a bank (it is Saturday afternoon) and Linda uses her ATM card to get Canadian cash. Works like a charm. Amazing what technology does these days. Not many stores open in St Jean.

The weather here is nice even though it is not clear and sunny. Temperatures are about 85 and no wind. NYC and New England is still having a heat wave and their forecast high temperature for today is over 100 degrees. I guess we are finally far enough north to get out of the extreme heat.

July 23, Rouses Point, NY

2010-07-23T12:33:00.008-04:00

We moved north with overcast skies today and traveled about 20 miles almost to the top of Lake Champlain. We are only about a mile from the Canadian Border.

Lighthouse Marina

We are staying at the Lighthouse Marina where most of the other boats are Canadian from the Provence of Quebec. Lots of French speakers here. The San Marino is a very nice restaurant here at our marina and one of the nicest we have seen in a long time.

July 22, Plattsburg, NY

2010-07-22T12:33:00.007-04:00

Windy and rainy today as we left Burlington.

Lone Rock Point just outside the Burlington Harbor.

Valcour Island.

Bluff Point Light

Approaching Plattsburg Marina

Several people have told us that there is not much in Plattsburg. And once we got to Plattsburg we found that they are right. We do have a large marina and a nice restaurant, the Naked Turtle, and a fishing tournament in progress here.

July 20-21, Burlington, VT

2010-07-20T08:29:00.034-04:00

We moved 15 miles south back to Burlington, VT. The weather is overcast and breezy this morning and the temperature is cool on the water. Pleasant cruise to Burlington.

Granite shoreline.
Lone Rock Point just before Burlington Harbor.

Approaching Burlington.

We are staying in downtown Burlington at the Community Boathouse Marina. It is completely booked today with a waiting list because of the influx of Canadians to Lake Champlain this time of the year. Most of the boats at our dock are flying a Canadian flag.

Community Boathouse Marina.

We go up the hill in Burlington to the pedestrian shopping and restaurant area and enjoy the summer day.

Now a real estate brokerage office.

Burlington pedestrian mall.

There is a community arts project here like we have seen in many other cities. Artists use the theme and create an art piece which is then displayed and auctioned with the proceeds going to local charities.

Bartender

Race car.

Garden
Linda enjoys the cows.

Farm and lake
We see children climbing on the sculptures and being photographed on many of the pieces. No one seems to mind.

Indian silhouette

Summer and winter

Burlington collage.

'The Cows Come Home to Burlington' has about 20 cows downtown on the pedestrian mall. We think some are very good.

Beautiful evening in Vermont.

Our marina has a good view to the west as the sun sets into the Adirondack Mountains of NY.

Monkeys on rooftops symbolize the past and future.

Children performing in the park.

Bike path along the waterfront.

Ferry operates right in front of our boat at the dock.
From Burlington to NY.

Echo Aquarium and Science Center at the waterfront.

Burlington seems to be a very nice town. T-shirt says 'Whatever happens in Burlington stays in Burlington---but nothing very much happens here anyway'.

July 19, Mallets Bay, VT

2010-07-19T08:27:00.029-04:00

Scattered thunderstorms all over the Lake Champlain today. We stayed in Essex for most of the morning.

Barry Hamilton, who owns this marina, showed us a 38 foot wooden boat under restoration in his indoor repair facility at the boat yard. The boat is a 1927 Dawn boat, possibly manufactured in Maine. It has been under restoration for the last several years and the owner is giving it up to Barry for the storage charges ($3,000). Barry is looking for a solution to save the boat and get it out of his shop ($3,000 and you take it away ?). Anybody interested?

Thirty-eight foot 1927 Dawn

PARADER is partially restored.

New keel is in place. Some planking missing.
357 Chevy gas engine installed but not hooked up.

Here is PARADER in better times. Sept 10, 2004 she won 'Best of Class' at the Basin Harbor, VT, Antique Boat Show. At that time she had a 80 hp Kermath engine.

There are two smaller wooden inboard runabouts also in the shop. A Chris Craft Sea Skiff and a Century. Probably available.

Chris Craft Sea Skiff

Century

We left Essex at mid morning and moved 25 miles north to Mallets Bay which is just a few miles north of Burlington by car. This is the boating center of the area and we see lots and lots of boats here. We are staying at the Moorings Marina and arrive in the rain.

As we enter Mallets Bay

Moorings Marina

Lynn Zinke, a friend of Owen's from high school, lives south of Burlington and comes to the marina to welcome us to the area. We are treated to a grand tour of Burlington. Seems to be a very nice medium sized city with a walking area (Church Street) downtown, a large and attractive university area (U. Vermont) and attractive residential areas.

Lynn takes us to the Shelburne Farms, a 1400 acre working farm established in 1886 by William Seward Webb and Lila Vanderbilt Webb. Shelburn Farms is an historic showplace available for tours and is operating as a farm and has a very fine restaurant and 24 room inn operating out of the main home. This is a spectacular property, like the Biltmore home in Ashville, NC (another Vanderbilt undertaking), and is very popular with guests and tourists in the summer and fall. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who also designed Central Park in NYC and the Biltmore grounds in NC. The buildings were designed by Robert Henderson Robertson.

Shelburne Farms Carriage House

English Style Flower Garden.

Shelburne Farms Inn.
Former main house of Shelburne Farms.

Owen and Lynn Zinke

Lynn Zinke works at Sherburne Farms and we got to hear all about the history and the current operations. We were very glad to see this large and historic property. Very special to see Lynn here in Vermont.

July 17-18, Essex, NY

2010-07-17T16:04:00.045-04:00

Today the weather turned nice again. The rain overnight is gone and temperatures are a little cooler, 89, and the skies are clear. We moved a few miles north and over to the Vermont side of Lake Champlain and into Otter Creek for a 7 mile cruise up the narrow creek to Vergennes, VT. The creek depth was never less than 8 feet for us and completely free of weeds.

Entering Otter Creek

Narrow and natural. Five mph speed limit.

Otter Creek Falls mark the end of the navigable portion of the creek.

We found the Vergennes Town Docks on the north and south side of the basin at the end of the creek. There is probably room for eight large boats here. Five on the north side and three on the south side. We tied up with two other boats on the north side of the creek as this is closer to town.

Vergennes Town Dock

Nice buildings at the dock

Vergennes is famous as the location where several ships were built in a very short period of time to challenge the British as they sailed south from the St Lawrence River during the War of 1812.

Lots of history here.

Vergennes is a small town but nice and most of the stores are occupied. We enjoyed our visit.

Downtown Vergennes, Vermont.

Church on the town square

Library

The town docks are convenient and free but other than one 50 amp (already being used) do not have power. So we relaxed some in the afternoon until it became too warm and then decided to move on to a place with power.

Upon leaving Otter Creek, we head back out into Lake Champlain. It is a very pretty place for our cruise north today.

Lake Champlain

Split Rock Lighthouse

Adirondack Mountains behind.

Lake Champlain is several miles wide with the Adirondack Mountains on the New York (west) side of the lake and the Green Mountains on the Vermont (east) side.

Approaching Essex, New York

We are spending the night at our next stop which is Essex, NY, across the lake again and about six miles north of Vergennes. We are staying at the Essex Marina with 50 amp power and good internet. Our dock master/host here is Barry Hamilton who has been helpful with suggestions on where we should go and what we should see while here on Lake Champlain.

Essex Marina

Rain showers with lightning overnight. Next day we explore Essex. The entire town of Essex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The brochure says 'the ambiance of a 19th century hamlet lives on in Essex where historic shops, homes and inns cluster by the lakeshore within walking distance of the ferry dock'. We did see many stone houses built in the 1800's and some beautiful old trees that overhang the roadways.

Stone house from 1800's

Bungalow made from field stone.

Methodist Church

Stone home for sale

And a few brick homes

Essex is the ferry landing in New york for the ferry from Charlotte, Vermont.

Ferry landing

There are two restaurants within walking distance of the marina. Essex has a population of about 500 in the summer and most homes have a flower garden. Many have a vegetable garden, too.

Downtown Essex, New York

Nice vegetable garden

Adirondack chairs seem appropriate

The views of Lake Champlain from Essex are spectacular.

We are beginning to see a lot of Canadian tourists now on their boats (mostly sail). Locals tell us that the Canadians take their summer holiday the last two weeks of July and the first week of August. Lake Champlain has become a popular spot for them to come and spend their holiday. It also means we need reservations for our stops ahead.

July 15-16, Westport, NY

2010-07-15T17:14:00.034-04:00

We moved north on Lake Champlain about 20 miles to Basin Harbor, Vermont.

Ft Ticonderoga is on the west side of Lake Champlain overlooking the river/portage from Lake George. Very imposing sight as we pass.

International Paper Company plant.
Built in the 1960's and still a working mill.

Our charts show a large bridge crossing Lake Champlain at this location connecting Crown Point NY with Chimney Pt, VT.
The bridge is not here. We do see a ferry.

Mystery solved.

Champlain Bridge. Span is 2184 feet. Built in 1929.
Google says the bridge was closed for safety reasons in October 2009.
And demolished December 28, 2009. A new bridge is to be built.

Champlain Monument and Lighthouse at Crown Point, NY.
Commemorates Samuel D. Champlain's discovery of Lake Champlain in 1609.

The Adirondack Mountains are visible in the distance.

Approaching Basin Harbor, VT.

Basin Harbor is the home of the Basin Harbor Club, a family resort where the staff says people come back year after year to the same cabin on the lake. Here they have an airstrip, lodge, nice cabins, a beach, floats in the harbor, adirondack chairs everywhere, a small marina, tennis courts, a 18 hole golf course and several dining choices including one that is fine dining requiring a jacket and tie. We noticed each cabin had a screen door with a different design of the wood frame of the door. Some showed wildlife, sports figures and geometrics. ( www.basinharbor.com ) Could be a good choice for a family vacation or reunion.

Basin Harbor is also the home of the Champlain Maritime Museum. We arrived about 1 pm and docked in the small marina and tried to hook up to their two 30 amp power setup and could not make it work for us. Hot again this afternoon. Over 95.

Canoes of all kinds.

Wooden Chris Craft

Replica of the USS PHILADELPHIA.
An American gunboat from the 1775. Sunk near here by the British.
She carried 3 big cannon and a crew of 44. The original gunboat has been recovered and is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.
Benedict Arnold was an American hero during this battle.

We visited the Champlain Maritime Museum which has an eclectic mix of exhibits and boats in 12 buildings. There is lots of information on the battles of the American Revolutionary War that took place in this area.

Benedict Arnold was an important part of the American Revolutionary War effort before he tried to turn over West Point to the British later in the war.

There are several exhibits dealing with Benedict Arnold and his valuable and heroic conduct over several years and many battles during the early part of the American Revolutionary War. Lots of info in recovered sunken boats and equipment from that time. Good museum.

As we returned to the boat it became apparent that the electrical issue would not get solved. We would be without power or would need to run our generator in the small harbor. Neither is a good solution.

Approaching Westport, NY.

So we moved three miles across the lake to Westport, NY, which was our next planned stop. Here we have good power and internet and a restaurant at the dock. Things are looking up.

We stayed over a second night in Westport and did some housekeeping items including installing the parts we got while in Ticonderoga. Owen replaced the a/c ducts above the salon which had become flattened, restricting the air flow. Now the air flow is much better. Rain began mid morning and so a good day to do some things around the boat. Not a good day to see the scenery on Lake Champlain. Getting caught up on the blog. The Internet here is very fast and loading pictures is easy.

July 14, Orwell, VT

2010-07-14T17:06:00.027-04:00

Nice rain overnight. This morning is overcast and still rainy and supposed to clear by afternoon.

Our first look at Lake Champlain. Big hills and some mountains.
The water is more like a river than a lake.

Harvesting machine cleaning up the weeds.
Wonder what they do with the stuff? Ethanol?

We moved 20 miles north on Lake Champlain to Orwell, Vermont, where we are staying at the Chipman Point Marina.

Chipman Point Marina.

We are here as this is the closest marina to Ft Ticonderoga, in New York. We, along with loopers Larry and Lola Huggins traveling on LOLA MARIE, borrow the loaner car from the marina (a nice four door Toyota Scion) and cross Lake Champlain from Vermont to NY using the local car ferry, so we can visit Ft Ticonderoga.

Car ferry links Vermont and NY.
This ferry crossing is one of the oldest in the country.

Ft Carillon (now Ft. Ticonderoga) was built by the French in 1755 and housed up to 3500 French troops. It was successfully defended by the French in 1758 who, with 3500 troops, held off a British army of 16,000. The famous Scottish fighting unit 'Black Watch' suffered very heavy casualties in this famous battle. This was France's greatest victory of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War).

Fort Ticonderoga. Now beautifully restored.

Impressive fortifications built by the French in 1755.

French fife and drum corps do their stuff on the parade ground.

Bronze cannon.

Linda with some large mortars.

Uniformed French soldiers demonstrate the firing of a cannon.

The British returned and captured Fort Carillon the next year (1759). As the French retreated, they blew up the remaining powder magazine, largely destroying the fort. The British rebuilt the fort and changed the name to Ft Ticonderoga.

In 1775 a small company of British soldiers still occupied the fort. Three weeks after the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired at Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, Ethan Allen, Bennedict Arnold and the Green Mountain Boys crossed the Lake Champlain from Vermont and captured the sleeping garrison. This was the first important victory for the Americans. All of the cannon and ammunition were taken from Ft Ticonderoga overland to help George Washington during his battle to free Boston from the British.

Ft Ticonderoga was recaptured by the British in 1777. The British abandoned the fort to the Americans in 1789 after the end of the Revolutionary War. By 1820 Ft Ticonderoga was in ruins. Restoration began in 1908 and has been substantially completed and very well done. There is also a garden, Kings Garden, which is a beautiful example of a garden of that era. The whole complex is well worth a visit.

Linda in the Kings Garden.

Beautiful walled flower garden, too.

We take a quick look at the town of Ticonderoga and find it looks relatively prosperous. The local park has a covered bridge and a waterfall.

Covered bridge in the town of Ticonderoga.

Waterfall in Ticonderoga was used to power the factories.

We make a trip to Lowes in Ticonderoga looking for a/c supplies and we got what we needed. Then a carmel frappe for everyone at McDonalds. Great to have a loaner car.

July 13, Whitehall, NY

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Today we moved north another 35 miles. We went under several more 17 foot bridges, including one that was draped and being painted. We went under each bridge very slowly and cleared by only a few inches each time.

Approaching a low bridge

Reminds us of the artist 'Christo' who uses fabric to cover objects.
Like the 'Brandenburg Gate' in Berlin and the 'Islands' in Miami.

We stopped at the town dock at Ft Edward and walked into the main street looking for some a/c supplies. No luck. Town is dying and we think we found a speed trap. Two cars pulled over on main street in the first 15 minutes we were there.

KOKOMO II at Ft Edwards.

Home built in 1777. Oldest in the area.

Downtown Ft Edwards.

We transited 4 more locks (being raised each time) reaching a total of 140 feet above sea level, and then started back down. We went through 3 more locks and are now at the level of Lake Champlain.

Fixer-upper for sale on the Champlain Canal.

Quiet waterway.

A freight train goes slowly by us along the canal.

Approaching another low bridge.
This has 17 feet of clearance and we have only 3-4 inches to spare.

Whitehall Marina where we stayed.

We ended the day at Whitehall Marina and RV Park in Whitehall, NY. Met the dock master who is a retired builder from Sarasota. He said he had a mortgage on the marina and is now the new owner. He was very accommodating and even took us to the hardware store looking for a/c parts. No luck. He was so helpful that we stayed at his marina. Turned out to be ok- but not the best. There was a restaurant here - now closed. Internet working - but spotty. Should have stayed at Lock 12 Marina across the waterway as they have strong wifi and a gourmet restaurant. We could not go out to dinner so we had talapia with Ako's special fresh fish sauce on the boat. Great dinner on a rainy evening.

Lock 12 Marina where we will stay next time because of their gourmet restaurant and wifi.

Lock 12 Marina and adjacent motel do not look like much from the outside but are reported to be very nice on the inside. The owner is also the chef and the food is reported to be excellent.