Lorenzo & Delois Johnson

We left Kingston, and had a really beautiful trip to Trenton. We did not go back out to Lake Ontario, rather we traveled West in the Bay of Quinte to reach Trenton.
We are docked at the Fraser Park Marina. It is a small Marina and the people here are very friendly and helpful. It is located at the entrance to the Trent Severn Canal, and only 1 mile from the first lock.
We are getting used to the Canadian monetary system. The exchange rate is `almost 1:1, so that makes the prices seem much higher.
This morning, Lois and I rode our bicycles to the A&P grocery store, pulling our little trailer. It was an enjoyable trip, even though we could not find many of the items we were looking for.
We rode the bikes to a convenience store where we purchased fishing licenses. We rode toward lock #1 in the Trent Severn River to purchase our lock pass, but gave up when we were told that the lock access was on the opposite side of the canal. Bill has a rental car, and He drove us to the lock, and we found that we were just a few blocks away when we turned around and went back.
We are leaving tomorrow morning to start our travels through the Trent Severn Canal. We are hoping to reach Campbellford, which is 12 locks and about 30 miles away. The following day (Friday) we will travel to Rice Lake and spend the Weekend there. July 1st is a national holiday in Canada, Canada Day. It is very similar to our July 4th, with one exception. In Canada, all the construction trades go on vacation at the same time, and July 1st starts this vacation season. We are expecting lots of water traffic, and we are planning to sit still and watch it happen. There will be fireworks, partying, cookouts, and lots of celebrations. We are planning to launch the Dinghy and catch some bass for fish and grits.

We had an uneventful trip from Alexandria Bay, NY to Kingston Ontario Ca. We got through Customs without any problems, and now we have our Customs Report # assigned to Us. We have removed our quarantine flag and are flying the Canadian courtesy flag. Glad to have that part behind us.
We are docked at the Confederation Basin Marina. This is a very large city owned Marina. It is behind a huge rock surge wall, which provides good protection from wakes from boats in the bay.
The six of us walked about six blocks to a fish and chips pub for dinner. A great fish and chips meal was enjoyed by all. This Marina is part of a City park, so we enjoyed time in the park on our way back from the pub. (actually we were taking advantage of the park benches to rest from the walk)
The water here is cold, clear and deep. The weather is cool to us, and we are wearing sweatshirts and coats when we go outside. We are also turning on the heat at night.
We will stay here until Monday morning, and then we will head toward Trenton, Ontario Ca. Trenton is approximately 80 miles away, so we will probably use two easy days of travel to get there. The Trent Severn Waterway starts in Trenton. It is 240 miles long, and has 44 locks. It starts at Trenton which is 243 feet above sea level. For the first 35 locks, we will be locking up and eventually reach the high point at Balsam Lake at 840 feet above sea level. From that point on, we will be locking down, finally reaching Port Severn which is 576 feet above sea level.One of the locks is not really a lock. The boat will be loaded onto a railroad car and transported up and over a mountain to reach the lake on the other side. It is called the Big Chute , and only requires 30 minutes to transport a group of boats from one lake to the other. We will not start locking down from the 576 feet above sea level elevation until after we have passed through Chicago, Ill.
Today marks two months since we left Holden Beach. It has been quite an experience. We have seen things that were beyond our imagination, and been places that we had no reason to ever expect to visit. This trip has been better than I hoped for.
There are times when I question our sanity. We have put ourselves in a very strange position. We are a long way from home, living on a boat, and every day we are in strange waters and strange places doing strange things, such as taking a 25 ton boat through and over mountains. We are having a great time, and we were insane for waiting this long to have this adventure. The risks are very few; we can always sell or give away the boat and buy a ticket and return home. So, no need to worry.

Tomorrow morning, we will leave the Welleseley Yacht club and travel to Kingston, Ontario Ca., some 30 miles away.
We have really enjoyed our stay here at this absolutely beautiful place. The people here have been very friendly and helpful. The weather here is still cool, and we have to run heat in the evenings and at night. The temperature last night was 51 degrees. The days have been sunny and very nice, even though we had to wear sweatshirts.
Today, we launched the dinghy and went grocery shopping. It was a very interesting dinghy ride. We went across the main channel, through a marina, and into a residential area. We had to pass under two bridges that were about 5 feet above the water. We went down this long and narrow channel and actually found a dock in the location we expected to find it. Lucky for us, it was indeed behind the supermarket that we were looking for. We went shopping in a big way, loading supplies to last us through our tour of Canada.
We took the dinghy to tour the Bolt Castle. The castle is built on Hart island, and is awesome. The castle was built during the turn of the Century by the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. All materials had to be moved by horse teams during the winter when the lake was frozen over. When the castle was approximately 80% complete, the owners wife died at age 45, and He lost all interest in the castle, and stopped construction. All lumber and most materials were imported from Europe, and unused materials were stored on the site. This Castle was being built in the Grandest of styles, and was left to deteriate after the owner lost interest in it. It is still being restored, but is a really elegant palace.
This area is called the 1000 Islands. Many Islands are very small, with only 1 house on the entire Island. In order to qualify as an Island, the land mass must rise above the water level and have at least one tree growing on it. This is the playground of the affluent. Many Islands are owned by Hollywood actors and other wealthy individuals. The Islands do not have public power, water, or sewer. Also, the only access is by boat, and in the winter time the lake is frozen so travel to and from the Islands is by vehicles capable of traveling on the Ice. Most of the homes are used as Summer homes only.
The natural beauty here is overwhelming. The Summer season is just starting, and a lot of the Summer businesses are not open Yet. Boat is the most popular mode of travel here, and there is lots of water.
We are not sure abut the availability of Internet access when we reach Canada. Our AT&T air Card will not work in Canada, so we will be dependemnt upon WI Fi for internet access. We will do our best to keep You posted.
Chuck, the Carolina Skiff and the hoist worked fine. A few adjustments, and now it can be smoothly launched and retrieved from the salon roof. I wish that You were here to help me celebrate the successful completion of that project.
Starrie and Portia are performing flawlessly. They are the star of this show.
Lois is getting dangerous. She actually knows what She is doing in the locks. She has learned a lot, and I am very prod of Her accomplishments. She is enjoying this trip.

We crossed Lake Ontario today.  Left early, and was across before the winds increased.  We had a smooth crossing and it was quite enjoyable. 

We are docked at the Wellesely Island Yacht Club.  This is a really beautiful area.  There are literally thousands of small  islands, many with a single house built on it.  The waters are very clear and very deep.  We are in The American Narrows, and just a few miles North of us is the Canadian Narrows.  The two bodies of water join at their entrance into Lake Ontario.  We are planning to spend 4 to 5 days here, exploring the area from our dinghy.  Of special interest is the wooden boat museum in Clayton, NY, which is near by.  More later.

We had a good travel day today.  We left Winter Harbor Marina around 0800 and arrived in Oswego around 3 PM.  The distance was short, (34 miles) but we had to pass through 8 locks.  We are getting good at locking through, but I have had enough fun in the locks for a while.  We are docked at the Oswego Yacht Club, and it is a mediocre facility at best.

 Today was cool and rainy, so locking through was even more challenging.

 It was strange to watch the sunset at 9:30 at night.  We are really moving toward the North at a fast rate.

We took a taxi to dinner, and was very pleased with the cab drivers restaurant recommendation .  We enjoyed a very good meal, and returned to the marina to rest and get ready for tomorrows travels.

We are docked a few hundred yards from the inlet to Lake Ontario.  In my mind, Lake Ontario is very significant, because it is the gateway to a totally different boating experience.  The weather patterns are different from what we are accostomed to, and the characteristics of the land and waterways are totally different from what we are accostomed to.

We will leave early in the morning in order to get across the open water as early as possible.  The weather predictions call for higher winds from the West starting in the afternoon.  This is not a good wind direction for our trip.  It will cause the waves to be comming at us from the side, which will make the ride uncomfortable.  We will be out of the Lake and into the Saint Lawrence River before the wind direction and speed change occurs.

We are headed to Wellsley Island in the Alexandria Bay area.  We are going to spend several days there before moving on to Kingston, Ontario Ca.  The good news is that we will not have any locks to deal with for the next week to 10 days.  The next lock we encounter will be in the Trent Severn Canal.  

Lil’ David continues to perform flawlessly.  Lois has really improved Her boating skills.  I am very proud of the progress she has made in this short time.

We have been here at Winter Harbor Marina for 3 days, now.  The trip across Lake Oneida was smooth and uneventful.  The water was cler and surprisingly deep for an inland Lake.  The stay here has been very enjoyable.  Bill and Mary Anne are here, and We have all enjoyed each others company, along with Gary’s Mahitos.  We all are ready to move on. 

This is a very nice Marina.  It has all the amenities, including TWO courtesy cars.  The people we have met here have all been very friendly and helpful.  We have had good meals at the local restaurants, and Lois and Judy have been able to get their Wal-Mart fix, so all is well.

Portia got her scheduled tuneup, due 300 hours after overhaul, and she also got an oil and filter change.  All engine fuel filters have been changed, and other routine maintenance items are now up to date.

  The next leg of our adventure will take us to Canada for 6 weeks, and communication and parts availability will not be very good.

Tomorrow morning, we will leave for Oswego, NY. We have 10 miles and 1 lock to reach the Oswego Canal junction, and then 24 miles and 7 locks to reach Lake Ontario at Oswego, NY.  If the weather permits, we will leave Sunday morning for  The 1000 Islands, on the NY side.  We will  travel across Lake Ontario and head East into the Saint Lawrence River to Alexandria Bay.  We will spend four or five days in Alexandria Bay, and then cross into Canada and travel to Kingston, Ontario Ca. where we will pass through customs.  We will spend a few days in Kingston, and then transit the Bay of Quinte  to arrive in Trenton, and start the Trent Severn leg of this trip.

We expect to be in Canada for 6 weeks, finally arriving in Drummond Island, Michigan around the end of July.  We will clear customs at Drummond Island.

The fun and enjoyment continues.  Lil’ David is performing flawlessly, and we have not faced many unanticipated challenges.   The food, the company, and the things that we have seen have made this trip much, much better than I ever dreamed it could be. 

We are spending the night at the docks at Snug Harbor Resort/marina in Verona Beach, NY.  It is very hot today, which is a change after all the cool weather we have had on this trip. 

We had a very good day today.  Good weather, easy travel and beautiful scenery.  We had a long day, leaving the marina this morning at 0700, and traveling until around 4 this afternoon.  We wanted to reach the Sylvan Beach area, so that we could cross Lake Oneida early in the morning, before the winds started.  Lake Oneida is 4 miles wide and 20 miles long.  We will travel the length of the lake, to take us to Brewerton where we will meet Bill and Mary Anne Osborne.  We have been traveling in canals and rivers for the past two weeks.  Before that, we were in the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic ocean.  You would think that having successfully negoiated these massive bodies of water, we would not be concerned about a 20 mile long lake.  After all, we traveled farther than 20 miles in the Chesapeake with 6 to 8 foot seas kicking our butts.  Older and wiser, maybe??

We reached a major milestone today.  We have reached our highest elevation for this mountain range, and we are now locking down.  We enter the lock while it is at it’s max level, and the water is drained to lower us to the next level.  The scenery has changed also, since we are no longer traveling in the valleys between the mountains. 

We are only 30 miles from the Three rivers junction, where we will leave the Erie canal and take the Oswego canal, for a distance of 24 miles, to Lake Ontario.  Crossing Lake Ontario will take us into Canada.  We are only 2 days from Canada!!!  We will probably take longer than that, because we have to make sure that we have everything ready for this part of the trip. 

We need to ensure that all of the legal requirements are met (passports, quarantine flag, courtesy flag, limits on cigaretts and alcohol, etc.)  We will also have to watch the weather and pick the right day for the crossing.  Crossing Lake Ontario will be approximately 50 miles if we cross to Kingston, and approximately 75 miles if we cross to Trenton.  Wind direction and thus wave direction will be one of the determining factors.

We will probably hang out in Brewerton for a few days waiting for Bill and Mary Anne to finish the work on their boat so that We can all go together.  Final decisions will be made later.  In the meantime, we are going to kick back and enjoy ourselves.

We have had a very good trip thus far.  The only major failure we have had is the satellite TV system .  The only other repairs have been to unplug a clogged toilet and to adjust one alternator belt.  Starrie and Portia have performed flawlessly.  They have an expensive appetite, but they have been the stars of this show.

We had a good day today.  We were able to leave lock 9 and continue our travels.  We are steadily locking up to higher elevations.  It is awesome to be operating a boat in the mountains.  We travel in the valleys between the mountain ranges, and the locks take us to the next elevation.  On a typical day, we will pass through 5 or 6 locks, and cover 35 to 40 miles.

We are spending the night at the St Johnsonville Municipal marina.  This is a very quite facility in a very beautiful setting.  We decided to spend Sunday here also.  We are going to take a lazy day, and cook a big Sunday dinner.

The dockmaster loaned us his personal car to go to breakfast.  Everywhere we go, we are being surrounded by the nicest people imaginable.  The food at this restaurant was very good, just as the dockmaster, Bernie, assured us it would be.

The Sunday dinner was a meal to die for.  Lois cooked cornish hens, Judy provided mashed potatoes and corn bread; Lois cooked some really great cabbage.  She took a full head of cabbage, cut out the center, and packed it with butter and diced smoked sausage.  Then , she wrapped it in aluminum foil and slow baked it in the oven.  The sausage flavor went through the entire cabbage.  Lois made Key Lime pie for dessert.   We really enjoyed the meal and the day spent relaxing was exactly what we needed.

Today was a short day.  We traveled about 6 miles to lock 9, and locked up to the upper level.  The lockmaster informrd us that we should tie to the wall on the upper pool and wait for the flooding to be controlled.  Locks 8 through 16 had been shutdown due to flooding caused by Thursday nights rains.  The Erie Canal between locks 8 and 16 was oficially closed.

The flooding created lots of debris in the water, and the strong currents made travel very risky.  We tied to the wall and settled down for the wait.  The weather cleared around 1 Pm, and we walked about 4 blocks to a Stewarts and we all had ice cream. 

Lots of local people visit the lock to watch boats lock thru and to visit with the people on the boats.  The lock is an integral part of the local community, and visitors are made to feel welcome.

We took an afternoon nap, and around 6 PM walked over the lock and bridge to a restaurant on the other side of the canal in the town of Rotterdam.    We enjoyed one of the best meals that we have had during this entire trip.  The prime Rib was absolutely  great.  We were hoping that the canal stays closed for at least one more day so that we could go back there for dinner again.

When we returned to the lock, we learned that the canal had been reopened, and that two more boats had joined us on the lock wall for the night.

Tomorrow morning, we will head West again.

Pictures of Lil’ David locking thru are posted on gilrakerfishing.com

We are underway again. 

Last Thursday, we were finally successful in renting a car to drive home.  My step mother was seriously ill, and we wanted to visit her.  We finally received our car and left Waterford at 4:30 Pm, and drove all night to arrive at the rest home at 6am on Friday morning.  The brief visit made the trip worthwhile.

We left home Monday morning at 0400, and drove all day.  Our friends were waiting for us to go to dinner.  When we arrived back at the boat, I was surprised to hear Lois remark that she was glad to be back home.

I had ordered some repair parts hoping to repair ur satellite receiver.  I installed the new parts Monday night, to no avail.  Early Tuesday morning, I removed the satellite receiver, loaded in the trunk of the rental car, and headed for the KVH factory in Rhode Island.  We arrived there around noon, left the unit for repair, and went to lunch.  (Lois 46, crabs 0)  We also found a Wal Mart and was shoppig for groceries when We recieved a call notifying us that the receiver was ready.  The problem was corrected with a  software upgrade. 

We returned to Waterford, and I installed the antenna that night.  Worked fine.

Spent Wednesday resting and making final preparations to get underway.  The four of Us drove to Saratoga Springs, NY.  Ispent 2 years at 121 Jefferson St in Saratoga Springs in 1967 and 1968, where I was a student at the Navy’s Nuclear Power School, followed by an assignment as an Instructor at the school.  It was very interesting to visit 40 years later,  trying to find familiar places. 

I returned the rental car Wednesday afternoon, officially breaking my ties to Waterford, NY.

This town has been a very pleasant surprise.  I have never seen a town with people who are as friendly and helpful as they are here.  This is definitely not the big city. 

This morning, we left Waterford to continue our trip.

Locks:

We have to get our boat from sea level to 420′ above sea level.  We are passing through both the Catsgill Mountain Range and the Adirondack Mountain Range.  Locks are used to raise the vessels to and from these elevations.  Each lock will change your elevation approximately 30′.  Today we have gone through 8 locks over a distance of approximately 27 miles, and we now approximately 200′ above sea level.  The fact that we are boating through the mountains explains why we are seeing such breathtaking scenery.  It is absolutely beautiful.  I will attach photos tomorrow, when I have more time.

Very Glad to Be back home

Lorenzo and Lois