Sailing Home from South Carolina to Canada

We drove to South Carolina to see what we hoped would become our new boat. We also had made arrangements to stop and see many boats in States along the way from Ontario Canada to South Carolina. One we entered in the rain and got more wet inside than out. Some were obviously much older and worse for wear than the internet pictures posted of them were.  There really are all kinds of vessels out there for sale and all kinds of people selling them.  After meeting with the Broker and owner of the boat we had come to see, we were hooked. Stepping onto this vessel just felt like coming home. It would take a little elbow grease and a few bucks to get it into the shape we needed for a liveaboard but the bones were there. The hull was the most stable we had been on. It is a 45 ft pilothouse ketch built by Micheal Dufour (prior to Dufour being bought out). It was made in order to get the Lords of London Seal of Approval, in the style my husband would artfully call "built like a brick s***house". Solid as a rock.  She had brand new unused sails, a watermaker, solar panels, wind generator, new transmission, new prop, and that blessed second helm in the pilot house. So we negotiated a price that we could live with knowing how much we would need to still spend on her. And she was ours !
We headed back home to Canada to call the broker who helped us import our Catalina a few years earlier. He said it would be $200 to him and tax on the sale price to the Government and we would be all set to sail her home. Checking flight prices we decided it would be cheaper for the 3 of us to drive to SC plus we could then bring our own boating equipment which we would feel safer having. But we needed a vehicle to do so. Internet to the rescue again. We bought an old van for $400, loaded it with our our boat stuff, told our daughter to jump in and off we went to Georgetown South Carolina. It was a 1550 km drive and cost us $200 for gas. We later sold the van for $200 before we left so that gave our gas money back :)
We did a detailed daily blog of this entire trip home  www.kyleandshelley.blogspot.com  but the basics I will include here.
We took 3 days to clean up the boat and make it ours. Then we spent from July 16 thru to August 10 bringing her home to Canada.  We travelled 1297 nm. Our route started in Georgetown SC and continued thru Mrytle Beach SC, Wrightsville Beach, Beaufort NC, Norfolk VA, Atlantic City NJ, NY NY, up the Hudson River thru the Catskills were we demasted to enter the Erie Canal, Erie Canal, Oswego NY and then down Lake Ontario to Home.

 Photos Below -Entering NY City, Demasted and traveling in the fog up the Erie Canal, The Lengendary $400 van, passing Lady Liberty to enter NY Habour, motoring up the Hudson River, New York City

Time for a Larger Vessel

After spending a few years on our Catalina 36 we decided that in order to live full time aboard we needed to upgrade. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Catalina. If our intentions were to stay in the Great Lakes and use it every summer, we would have kept it forever. But these are not our intentions. As of the writing of this blog input we have 698 days til "retirement". For us that means we plan to sail south and then eventually east...who knows where or for how long ?? Since we cannot actually afford "retirement" and are way too young for pensions we need to have any boat upgrades paid for now while we are still gainfully employed.
So we made the obligatory lists...his and hers....he wants electonic "gadgets" of all sorts and more sail options ..I want a new stove, a second head and a shower...you see how this goes :) Then we compared, altered (by this I mean choose what we could not afford to live without montarily) and finalized our plan to boat shop.
Most importantly was how big of a boat could we handle with just the two of us and also afford to keep buy and float ?
As Canadians, we soon realised that anyone with a boat in our area believed because their boat was "not used" part of the year and "lived only in fresh water" that it was worth a great deal more than a similar boat south of the border. NONSENSE ! We had purchased our Catalina south of the border, in Massachusetts, had a very easy transaction and loved the boat. We could and certainly would explore that option again.
At first we thought we might like a Catamaran. We searched and scoured the internet. Again looking for something we could afford that fit our list of needs/wants. We found a model we really liked and discovered there were two for sale. One in Florida and one in Texas. Florida is a quick cheap flight from our home near Toronto Canada so we set off to see it. We arranged ahead of time for both a sea trail and a haul-out with a surveyor. Sea trail went well. Off to a good start we got quite excited. The next day the surveyor gave us the bad news....delamination in more than a dozen places in the hull. We asked for a reduced rate in the price realising it was going to cost thousands to repair. Owner said no, we walked or rather flew away back to Canada.
Really liking this particular boat we decided to try the one in Texas. We could have just paid someone to just look at it for us but after the first one my husband wanted to see for himself. Off he went to Texas. Guess what ?? Same problem !!! So on that note we scrapped the Catamaran idea and went back to searching for a monohull.

 After much debate, time and money we found her ! A 45 ft Dufour Ketch with a pilot house. It was living in Georgetown, South Carolina.

Winter Interlude - Diving Bonaire

 What does a donkey sanctuary,

 thousands of flamingos,

and rocks painted yellow, have in common ? Bonaire !!!

What happens when sailors are faced with long Canadian winters ?
They go south and dive of course.
The choice this time was a dutch owned island named Bonaire. Part of the commonly referred to as the ABC islands together with Aruba and Curacao. It is famous for its donkey sanctuary, flamingos and its diving.

 The most popular vacation and attraction for divers heading to Bonaire is their "drive and dive"packages. There are 86 different dive sites. Many of these sites are assessible from shore. Thus you take a vehicle, look for yellow painted rocks that mark entry points to dive sites around the island and go for a dive. It is simple and fun.

You can dive on your own schedule. You can dive alot or a little. The choice is yours. Anyone who has experienced "unpleasant" co-divers on dive boats can really appreciate this style of vacation.

Continuing West towards our Home Port

From Rochester we continued 34 nm west to Oak Orchard YC. We had never been to Oak Orchard before but it was highly recommended by others so we gave it a try. We had neglected it in the past for 2 reasons. One we were afraid that depth at the entrance would not be enough for our 7 ft draft. Two we knew there was a fixed bridge we would have to go under and we had conflicting information on its height. We needed 53 ft. The sailboat accompanying us ensured us that is would be no problem. Since he needed 54 ft we let him go first :)
The club was a self-serve and quite charming. Between the docks in the river and the shore there is a space that is essentially a turtle preservation.

 As you can see from the picture, the club building is up a hill. The river area behind the docks is very narrow. It did fit our 36 ft boat, however I would suspect that the 45ft one we now own would not be able to visit this tranquil place :(

 This is TopGun we are following behind. We figured it he made the bridge we were safe too :)



A short 20 minute walk from the club is a place called Brown's Berry patch. They have incredible homemade pies, fudge, ice cream and gifts. Outside they also have an area with many activites and a petting zoo for both big and small kids. Highly recommended !

As they say "all good things must come to an end", for us that meant it was time to head back to our home port of Hamilton Bay. It was another 82nm. We left early  in the morning and had a great sail complete with a rainbow to welcome us home. 

A couple days in Rochester NY

The entrance to Rochester is deep (10-20 ft) and extends 0.5 miles out into the lake. Once inside there are lots of options for slips, incuding 2 yacht clubs and 4 other marinas. The area is full of wonderful people and places. There is a grocery store that delivers to your boat and many local restuarants that provide free transportation as well.

Friends of our reccommended we try an Italian Restuarant named Mr Dominics'. It was excellent ! They even provided us all transportation back to our boats in their delivery van. If you can call ahead to make a reservation. They are always full. The food is fresh and plentiful. The service is wonderful and friendly. This family owned and operated eatery is well worth your time, but come hungry.

Some of the largest shopping malls and in America reside in this town. We did some back to school shopping and snatched up many deals.

Also worthy of a visit is the George Eastman House - International Museum of Photography & Film. Mr. Eastman was the founder of the Kodak Company. The grounds are beautiful to explore and there are lots of hands on displays for both young and old children.





Continuing West down Lake Ontario

From Fairhaven NY we sailed West 46 nm back to the Rochester Yacht Club. We have met friends on other boats sailing in our direction so 4 boats set out together. For 2 days we were"trapped" in the bay with high winds blocking easy and safe access thru the breakwall. But as "luck" would have it now there were no winds. So we fired up the engines and off we went very early in the morning hoping the winds would pick up through the morning.

This is our Catalina 36  with Kyle at the helm. It was not long after this picture was taken that Kyle was down in the engine compartment taking weeds out of the impeller. The few days of high winds had made for quite a bit of weeds floating in the bay. We found these weeds in our impeller :)

These two boats came from Lake Erie for a summer circumnavigation of Lake Ontario. We ran into them many times through out the summer.



A Couple More Days in Fairhaven NY

From Main Duck Island back to Fairhaven NY (Little Sodus Bay) it was a 39 nm trip. The winds and waves were getting higher as we approached. A check of the forecast told us that once we passed thru the breakwall we would be basically "stuck" in the bay for a couple days. The breakwall entrance is narrow, shallow (7-8 ft) and sits in a perfect North-South line. Thus when the strong easterly or westerly takes over the lake the water between these walls is like a washing machine. Once inside the bay however is was extremely calm and smooth sailing.
There happened to be other members of the Royal Hamilton YC vacationing here too. So we tied up next to them and enjoyed a couple days of drinking, swimming, eating and laughing.
FYI - A good way to let the kids go swimming at night is to make them wear a wetsuit so they do not sink and tie some glow sticks around there necks :)

Heading Back

We started to make our journey back home via Georgina Island and then Main Duck Island before heading back to the American side of the lake. Georgina Island is 23 nm from Brockville and part of the National Parks. It has docks that sit directly beneath the Thousands Island Bridge. On the island itself there are camp facilites, trails, pinic shelters and outhouses. We met some nice families whom we joined for a night of campfires and marshmallows.

We sailed a further 43 nm to Main Duck Island the next day. Main Duck is 2 miles long, 0.8 miles wide and unhabitated. For those travelling between Canada and the USA it can provide a safe refuge from storms.
http://www.cruising.ca/guide/docs/gd-main_d.html
When we first arrived in Collins Bay YC near Kingston Ontario we met a man who had a lot of experience going to Main Duck. Since we had never been, he shared with us the GPS coordinates of an old sunken barge in the bay to which we could tie up to and sleep well. When we approached these markers, now 2 weeks later, there was this man whom we had met. So we rafted to his boat and our families had a great day together.

After a great night of drinks, food and new friends we headed 39nm across Lake Ontario to Fairhaven NY again, as we promised ourselves we would.

Brockville Ontario -Turn Around Point

Twenty days on the water brought us to Brockville Ontario. We decided that this would be the spot at which we turned around if we wanted to make it home within the month of holidays we had booked. We were 216 nm from our home port in Hamilton. We tied up at the Brockville YC and met some friends from home who were in the area to dive the wrecks.
When diving and sailing in this area you need to keep in mind that this very narrow river is the main shipping port that leads to the Atlantic Ocean. As such the freighter traffic can be quite steady. It is not for the faint of heart.

The divers from the boat on the right could be very near where the freighters are.

Singer Castle and a Anchor Out

What's a sail without visiting a castle ?
The Singer Castle on Dark Island NY was built in 1903 by the Bourne Family. Mr. Bourne was the Director and President of the Singer Sewing Machine Company and held the position of Commodore of the New York Yacht Club.
http://www.singercastle.com/
The island has a dock out front where you can slip and tour the island.

Before heading back to Canada to meet friends in Brockville for more diving we had quiet night at anchor. With the water temperatures reaching the high 70s F ( which is extremely warm for Canadians :) swimming was the thing to do now.

Taking a Dive into the St Lawrence

Well you knew sooner or later we were going to pick up a buoy and go diving. There are hundreds of wrecks in the St.Lawrence River. Many dive companies charge to take people diving in this area. However since it is a national park anyone with a boat can tie up and go under.Kyle decided to dive a wreck called the Keystorm. It is a 256 foot long steel hull cargo vessel.  She lies in American waters on the south side of Outer Scow Island Shoal near Goose Bay.  There are 2 buoys marking the wreck. The northern one takes you down  25 feet to the pilot house and usually has light to medium current. The southern buoy takes you down to about 45 feet to view her 4 huge open cargo holds and loading booms. Her stern engine room and props lie at 103’.
Summer water temperatures in the St.Lawrence River reach 75 F and the visiblilty is great thanks to the zebra mussels. For those new to this region please note that the zebra mussel shells can be quite sharp cutting thru gloves.
For those interested in diving this region there is a lot of available information online.
http://www.dive1000islands.com/index.html

Clayton NY & Alexandria Bay

Time to visit America again. There are many small and wonderful towns along the river. Clayton is one of them. It is a summer resort town with a population of only 2000 or so people. It is also home to the Antique Boat Museum. Many old wooden boats can be seen in the waters in this area as there are restoration places here that do some of the finest work. And as luck would have it, they have a yacht club too.

10 nm miles further up river from Clayton sits Alexandria Bay. While there are only 1200 permanent residents here, there are thousands more in the summer heat. Dock space with depth is extremely limited here. So needing a guaranteed 6 plus feet of water under us we actually ended up docking at a resort. I know it sounds crazy but the Riveredge Resort has 15-20 ft deep overnight slips and you get full use of the hotel and resort.
Boldt Castle is also on Alexandria Bay. At the turn-of-the-century, George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, set out to build a full size rhineland castle in Alexandria Bay, on picturesque Heart Island.  The grandiose structure was to be a display of his love for his wife, Louise. However before they could ever live in the castle Louise died(1904). The castle was empty for over 75 yrs until money was raised to rebuild it.  For those interested click this link
http://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/index.php/about/

A Little Interlude

Kyle, Kelly and I love theatre. We subscribe to our local theatre and have season memberships in Toronto. So when we heard there was a theatre on the riverfront that was performing a production of  Les Miserables we headed over. The Playhouse  in Gananoque, Ontario has a dock out front where they allowed us to stay for the night. We enjoyed the show and spent a couple days checking out the local sites.

Then we hit the road again. Anchoring out for a night.

The Thousand Islands

Time to get out of the city and back to nature. Awe the Thousand Islands :) The name is actually wrong because there are more than 1800 islands in this area. The islands are a national park and are the start of the St. Lawerence Seaway that leads out to the Atlantic Ocean. As such there is no shortage of boat traffic in the area, large and small. One side of the river is Canadian, the other the United States and the islands between go back and forth in ownership.

The first island we decided to spend a couple nights achored behind was named Beaurivage Island (which means beautiful shoreline in French). It was 15 nm from downtown Kingston. It is off the main shipping channel and the achorage is very protected.

We anchored close enough so that we could swim or dingy back and forth to explore the island. We spent 2 nights there and did not want to leave. We swam, barbecued, fished, and pretended the outside world did not exist.

The depth in the achorage was about 10-12 ft in the center with a weedy bottom. The depth in 1000 islands can change in an instant and caution must be taken. Because many bottoms are just plain rock with no holding power for anchors it is also necessary to make sure something is holding it. We both teach scuba so we usually just put on some gear and go look at the anchor to be sure we get a good night sleep.