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.

Back to the Canadian Side of the Lake

After Fairhaven we were getting close to the eastern lake shore so we decided to cross back over to Canadian waters and head on up thru the 1000 islands area. The projected Westernly winds gave us a beautiful 59 nm straight sail across the lake to the Collins Bay YC near Kingston Ontario. It was a long but great sail. We made puzzles to pass the time as the water was very calm. We checked in with the government,  refilled our grocery supply, had hot showers, and got a good nights sleep.

The next morning we moved the boat a few miles to Confederation Basin in downtown Kingston. I had a nephew living in the area so we took him for a sail. We checked out the local tourist sights that afternoon. That evening was dark and rainy so it was a perfect night to sign up for a Haunted Ghost Walk. What a blast ! Highly recommended.

Little Sodus Bay/ Fairhaven NY

17 nm east of Sodus Bay is its smaller cousin Little Sodus Bay which resides in Fairhaven NY. It is small but beautiful. The bay itself is totally protected from the main lake. So once inside the breakwalls you can dock or achor and then take the dingy wherever you wish to go. At the entrance there is a State Park with a wonderful beach. Inside there are restaurants, marinas, achorages, a grocery store, an ice cream shop, resorts and a small self serve yacht club. Kyle says the "best and cheapest chicken wings ever" live here at the Little Sodus Inn Bar. Kelly says the "best cookies ever" live here at the Fly By Night Cookie Company. The cookie company is a house that looks like a gingerbread house inside which the owner bakes approximately 65 types of homemade cookies and pastries daily..YUM.

Rochester to Sodus Bay, NY

We enjoyed Rochester so much that we stayed 2 days and left on the promise that we would come back for a few days the way home again.
Our next stop was 32 nm east, Sodus Bay. Until now we have had sun, warmth and smooth sailing. So as is bound to happen sooner or later it rained. We finally got to try out the expensive foul weather gear we had purchased for just this occasion. Kyle also got to make sure the gimballed stove worked as well as he made himself coffee to warm up and dry out. ( Gimballed Stove means that the stove moves as the boat moves, so if the sailboat is slanted left, so is the stove, this avoids nasty messes)

Our luck held out however and as we approached the Sodus Bay YC the rain stopped. Well after a good rain storm they say is a good time to fish. So we also decided to try out the new Penn fishing reels we had purchased. We have been throwing them out behind the boat when the wind was light and we were only making a knot or two forward motion. But had no luck. We had more luck at the dock. Kelly caught her first baby fish. Although I think it is funny to point out that the child I could never get to put a dress or skirt before decided that now while fishing and living on a boat was a good time to dress up ..LOL

Crossing to America

While researching what we would need legally to go back and forth between Canada and the USA by boat we discovered that our lives would be much easier if we invested the time and money into getting Nexus passes. Nexus/Goes is a "trusted frequent traveller program". For anyone who travels alot it is well worth the $90. Basically you are pre-screened by both the Canadian and American governments to enter eachothers countries at will. They fingerprint, iris scan, interview and background check you. If you pass their criteria you can use your card by calling a phone number from your boat and not have to seek out ports with video phones or immigration offices. By car we have a special Nexus only bridge..that never has line ups. And by plane we iris scan at a machine and do not have to talk to anyone or wait in line...We love it !
Okay enough digression, back to the story. A 59 nm sail across the lake brought us to Rochester New York. What a beautiful little town. We headed for their yacht club which had a pool and internet. Making our daughter a very happy girl.

The restaurant at the club has become one of Kyle's favourites. The surrounding area is well worth exploring. We love Rochester. It is one of our favourite places to go now.

Whitby and Port Hope

From Toronto we sailed another 28 nm east up the Lake to Whitby Ontario. We spent a quick and quiet night at dock in the yacht club.

We enjoyed watching the local swans with their babies.

The old saying "Red sky at night, sailors delight, red sky in morn sailors be warned" did not prove true this day.







We rose very early and made the 32 nm sail to Port Hope to meet friends. This would be our last Canadian stop for a little while. After this we would be heading across the Lake to the USA side. Our boat had a draft of 6 ft. For non-sailors, this means that if there is not at least 6 feet of water under us we are on the ground.  So there are some places that we just cannot go. And thus crossing the lake gave us better options.
Keeping this in mind as we read our guide book for Port Hope it stated that there is a shoal that extends 1/2 mile into the lake that is only 7 ft deep (on good days) out from the mouth of the habour we wanted to enter. It also stated that silting is a problem at the habour entrance. So we proceeded very slowly. As we approached we saw a large yellow shovel dipping down into the water in front of us. They were digging out the silt. Good, but they were also pointing to the wall right in front of them. It took us a few minutes to realize that they wanted us to sail there, not avoid there. Sooo like every true sailor, we hit the mud. Luckily because it was only silt we could easily back out and get unstuck. Not so luckily, we did this more than once. Oh well live and learn. The only damage was to our egos.

Summer ! Time to Check Out Lake Ontario

Sometimes it feels like summer will never it arrive. But it did ! So we decided to take a 28 day, 588 nautical mile sail. And for those who are wondering just how much actual sailing is going on, we spent approximately 115 hours underway.
We packed up the boat and our youngest daughter, Kelly, and headed out under the bridge. We decided to make the first days sail a realtively small one. We headed 29 nm (nautical miles) to Ontario Place Marina in Toronto. Including waiting for the bridge it took us 6 hrs. We left at 4 am and watched the sun come up over the lake. Great way to spend the morning.

The crew was smiling. Kelly because she had slept thru the trip and now got to go play at the amusement park.  And Captain Kyle because our trip to Toronto did not involve freeway traffic at rush hour. Amen :)

We met some friends, played a bit and had a terrific sleep on the boat.
New York has Central Park. Toronto has Toronto Island Park. This is truly a gem not to be wasted so the next day we headed over and spent a night there. We stayed at Royal Canadian Yacht Club. Part of the benefits for joining a yacht club is what they call "reciprocal priviledges". This means that if we are away someone from another club can use our slip for free and when we travel to other clubs we can use their vacant slips for free. It saves a small fortune in dock fees. And around Lake Ontario there are said to be about 50 or so of these clubs.

Toronto Island is noted to be the largest urban car free center in North America. Its total area is about 570 acres. There are a few yacht clubs, an amusement park, an airport and even a clothing optional beach for those who are so enclined. There are both public and private ferries that bring people over from downtown Toronto.

We took out our folding bikes and rode all over the island exploring. Then when we finished that we took the dingy for a tour thru some of the places you cannot get by bike.