SEPTEMBER 7-9: BLOCK ISLAND AND HOME

September 7-8:  We decided to break the last leg of the trip up with a two day stop in Block Island.  It is a long 10 hour trip today so we left as soon as it was light.  We are joining our friends, Joan and Reggie Patota, who arrived at Block a couple of days earlier.  After rafting with their boat, we enjoyed drinks and a welcome dinner on board their boat, Patriot. 

The next day, we went ashore and dragged the poor captain to several shops before rewarding him with a gelato.  The wind picked up overnight so we all voted to stay aboard and enjoyed Joan's cooking again.

September 9:  The end of the line:  As we headed home down Narragansett Bay, we reflected on how much has happened since we left Rhode Island on June 4, 2011.  From the loss of our beloved buddy, to a cancer scare and a break in the Loop.   But we keep coming back to the same conclusion, it was an unique experience and best of all, we met some wonderful people.

Thanks for following this blog even though the last section was a repeat chronicle of the first leg of our journey.  Best wishes to all!

SEPTEMBER 3-6: LOCK LESS!

September 3:  We left Waterford at 7:00 a.m. on a dreary, overcast day and headed to the Troy Lock which is our last lock on this trip.  YAY!

The sun eventually came out as we traveled down stream on the Hudson River.  Except for encountering a few large barges, our journey to Kingston, NY was uneventful.  We docked at the Kingston Town Marina which was our home for 10 days when the Erie Canal was closed.  Thankfully, we will only be here for one night.

September 4:  Down the Hudson today to Croton-on-the-Hudson.  Previously, we have stopped at Halfmoon Bay Marina but chose this time to anchor out in the bay.  After a choppy ride in to shore, we walked the short distance to one of our favorite restaurants-Ocean House-and had another great meal there. We were the first customers in the door-talk about an early bird special-but did not want to dinghy back to the boat in the dark.

September 5:  We timed our departure today to arrive at the junction of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers at slack tide to avoid fighting the current at Hell Gate on the East River.  The railway bridge at the entrance to the Harlem River only has a 4 ft clearance and usually opens on demand.  However, when we called the bridge tender to request an opening, we were informed that the bridge was undergoing repairs and would only open at noon.  That meant that we had to hold on station for 1.5 hours!  Yikes!  That also meant that our planned schedule to arrive at Hell Gate went to hell in a hand basket!!!

After the bridge finally opened, we battled the current on the Harlem River and reached Hell Gate and the East River at exactly the worst time.  We were bucking a 5 knot current and making less that 3 knots of speed.  Fortunately, it was for a relatively short period of time but we were thankful to arrive at Port Washington and spend a quiet night on their free moorings.

September 6:  Today our last stop in Long Island Sound was Port Jefferson.  We anchored here when we left on the Great Loop in June 2011.

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 2: LOCKS & MORE LOCKS

August 28:   With our gear shift fixed, a relieved Duddon Pilot crew left Brewerton to continue our journey down the Erie Canal.  The Captain is now a very happy camper as the gear shift on the bridge works as smooth as silk!

We traversed several locks to overnight at a free dock in Rome.  No Coliseums or visits to the Vatican...just a bunch of rowdy teenagers whose presence kept us from leaving our boat.  The Cops finally came around
 9:00 p.m. and chased them off.

August 29:  We were pleased to leave Rome and head for Little Falls.  What a difference in location.  The town has built a very nice marina with clean showers and friendly volunteers who are willing to drive boaters to local restaurants and shopping.  We went back to the Canal Inn restaurant and enjoyed a five star meal.  The restaurant has such a good reputation that it draws customers from a 30 mile radius.  It has been in business for over 30 years so it must be doing something right.

 Little Falls is situated in a low valley surrounded by hills.  A great stop!

 There was a vintage car rally the night that we were in Little Falls.  The Captain posed next to his choice of car-a 1957 Chevy.  He regrets selling his red and white 1955 Chevy two door Coupe. 

This guy was guarding the cars.  He looks fierce but was an absolute cream puff.

August 30-31:  A few more locks and a quiet night stop at a rural lock wall saw us up early to head for the Schenectady Yacht Club.  We were fortunate to arrive just before a major thunderstorm which kept us boat bound for the rest of the day.

This stretch of the Erie Canal follows the Mohawk River and is more scenic with the Adirondack Mountains in the distance.  I have purposely not blogged too much on this section of our journey as we covered this territory when we did the Great Loop.  Hardly to bore the troops too much!

September 1-2:  This is our last stretch on the Erie Canal.  We only have 16 miles to go today but have to traverse 6 locks.  All the locks since Rome have been bringing us down to sea level.  The 6 locks today will drop us over 170 feet.

Even though we have been through over 200 locks, each one is a little different and several in one day are a lot of work.  The ropes that boaters have to hang onto are also very slimy as are the lock walls.  We will be pleased when we are done with locks. A very tired crew pulled into Waterford and were lucky to get the last slot on the mooring wall. We will stay here for two nights.  Boat cleaning, laundry and food shopping will need a whole day.

AUGUST 23-27: OSWEGO TO THE ERIE CANAL

August 23:  The weather looked promising this morning for our crossing to Oswego a distance of 40 miles or so.  The wind was on our stern so we did have a bit of a rock and roll trip but not too bad.

We crossed Oswego harbor and headed into the first lock of the Oswego Canal.  The Oswego Canal is 24 miles long and has 7 locks.  It connects to the Erie Canal and supports 8 hydro electric plants.

After locking through the first lock, we noticed that the first railway bridge looked too low for us clear.  The vertical controlling height is supposed to be 20 feet but the Captain concluded that we could not make it under this bridge.  So we had to dock quickly at a very rough wall and proceed to lower our mast.  Not a simple task but a necessary one if we did not want to demolish our radar and GPS systems.

Lowering the mast allows us to obtain a vertical clearance of 15 feet which was plenty to clear the bridge.  We were unprepared for this low clearance as we made it through all the bridges on the Oswego and Erie Canals on our last trip.  We concluded that the water levels must be higher than normal right now.  We docked just below the next lock for the night.

August 24-27:  Winter Harbor:  Confident that we would not have any more low bridge clearances, we proceeded to lock through the remaining locks on the Oswego Canal and entered the Erie Canal at the Three Rivers Junction.

After one more lock, we tied up at the fuel dock at Winter Harbor and were pleased to find that diesel was only $3.70 a gallon.  A huge relief after the high prices of fuel in Canada.

We stayed at Winter Harbor last time and plan to stay here a few nights to provision, do laundry and see if we can get our shift gear cable fixed.

AUGUST 18-22: ONTO KINGSTON AND OUR LAST STOPS IN CANADA

August 18-20:  Kingston:  We left with Charis and headed on the last leg of our journey to Kingston.  We crossed the Colonel By Lake and the ominously named Styx River.  Both of these waters were created by flooding the land when the locks were installed.  While the channel is well marked and deep enough, there are numerous tree stumps and other obstructions visible just outside the channel.

After five more locks, we at last approached the Kingston Marina which will be our home for the next few nights.  Having been to Kingston on our Great Loop trip, we will not post too much about the town this time.  It is a great town and we revisited our favorite haunts and restaurants.

August 21:  Bracky Bay:  A fellow boater in the marina recommended this anchorage in the Thousand Island Chain so we decided to head there and anchor for the night.  It proved to be a well protected anchorage with only a few boats there for company.

August 22:  Leaving Canada:  The weather is predicted to turn nasty later today so we made an early start  and headed to Cape Vincent which will be our first stop back in the USA.

The last lighthouse in Canada.

 Crossing the border into the USA.

 After clearing US Customs, we walked around the small town of Cape Vincent which holds a festival every year to commemorate the War of 1812.

 The most promising eating establishment in Cape Vincent was the Irish Pub at the Roxy Hotel.  Established in 1894, the hotel and pub have been well restored and feature intricate wood carvings such as the ones on the door below.  We enjoyed an inexpensive dinner in their restaurant. 

 A red sunset at night is a sailor's delight-so we were hopeful that the morrow would bring good weather.

AUGUST 13-17 STILL ON THE RIDEAU CANAL

August 13-14:  Westport:  We traveled the huge distance of 8 miles today from Portland to Westport which has a more substantial downtown.

The Duddon Pilot at the town dock in Westport.

Ice cream shops and bakeries...what more could we want!

August 15:  Davis Lock:  Another few locks and we arrived at Davis Lock which is our overnight destination.  This stop is reputed to be so quiet that city folk will not be able to sleep there.  The lock walls were packed with other boats so it was far from quiet!

August 16:  We were in the second group to lock down when we had a scary experience.  As we entered the lock to tie, the shift gear on the bridge broke.  The Captain was unable to steer the boat.  Fortunately, we were going at idle speed.  By using the bow thruster, the Captain was able to get the boat close enough to the lock wall so that we could secure the boat.  After we informed the lock staff of our situation, they assured us that they could get us out of the lock without us having to use the engine.  So we were pulled out of the lock by means of a long line and tied up to the dock below the lock.

Captain Peter sprang into action and dismantled the bridge shift gear with only minimal assistance from the Admiral.  We discovered that the metal pin that attaches the shift cable to the gear mechanism was broken.  Fortunately, there was enough of the pin left to reattach it to the shift gear.  After this hectic exercise, the Captain was comfortable enough that he could engage the gears and drive the boat.  Albeit nervously, we were on our way again.

We had made a reservation for the night at the Kenney Hotel dock at Jones Falls but first we had to get there and that meant negotiating four more locks including the three stair locks at Jones Falls.  Safe to say that we made it without further incident but we were relieved to arrive there in one piece.

Here is a boat coming down the first of the three stair locks.

And finally down to the last one.  The total drop is 45 feet.

The Hotel Kenney is a lovely old hotel.  Very laid back but with an elegant charm.  We had dinner there with   fellow Loopers Ken and Ann from Charis who docked in just before us.

View of the Kenney Hotel from the top of the dam.

August 17:  With Charis in the lead we left Jones Falls and headed to Lower Brewers Lock which will be our last stop before Kingston and the end of the Rideau Canal.

Charis heading through the Brass Point swing bridge.  At a vertical clearance of 4 feet, we definitely have to wait for an opening.

Charis entering the last of the larger lakes that link the Rideau Canal.

The course narrows down considerably as we approach our last lock of the day.

The Duddon Pilot on station as we wait to tie up at Brewers Lock for the night.  We shared cocktails with Ann and Ken before turning in for the night.

AUGUST 7-12: THE RIDEAU CANAL

The Rideau Canal:  The next phase of our journey will be on the Rideau Canal.  The canal is about 126 miles and stretches from Ottawa to Kingston on Lake Ontario.  There are 44 locks in total.  Thirty two locks will raise us 274 feet and then the rest will lower us a 165 feet.  

"The Rideau Canal was conceived in the wake of the War of 1812.  The concept was to provide a secure water route for troops and supplies from Kingston to Montreal in the event of another war with the United States. 

 In 1826, Britain sent Lt. Colonel By of the Royal Engineers to supervise the building of the canal.  Thousands of Irish immigrants, French Canadians and Scottish stone masons were among the laborers who helped push the canal through the rough bush, swamps and rocky wilderness of Eastern Ontario.  

Opened in 1832, the Rideau Canal was one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century.  When the fear of war passed, the canal soon became a major artery for regional commerce.  This role continued for several decades but began to decline with the completion of the St. Lawrence canal system and the introduction of the railway and steamboats.  Today, the log rafts, barges and steamers have given way to pleasure boats."  Parks Canada

In a holding pattern above the dam while waiting to enter a lock.

Boats entering the lock.

Tying up to the lock wall.

All the locsk (except one) are still operated manually by Parks Canada staff.

8

View from the top of the lock.

One of the quaint lock master's offices.

Parks Canada employs students in the summer to assist with the lock operations.  

We took our time slowly heading up the canal.  Some nights were spent docked above or below a lock in a rural setting.  Others were spent in the small towns along the route.  Smith Falls, pictured below, was one such small town that offered shops, restaurants and a museum dedicated to the building of the Rideau Canal.

Downtown Smith Falls

 Dining and drinking options!

 A mural dedicated to the famous Col. By who built the canal.

 Sections of the canal became quite narrow.

 But then opened up into large lakes.  We anchored just off Col. By Island where the Captain tried his hand at fishing.  He actually caught 3 fish but all were too small so were  returned to the lake.

 Not only boaters enjoy this lake.  We noted several sea planes.

The lake is dotted with small islands on which Canadians have built summer cottages.

August 12:  We traveled the great distance of 6 miles to the small town of Portland.  Tied up to the town dock and went on a walk about. Not much there at all so we stayed only one night.

JULY 30-AUGUST 6: OTTAWA

July 30:  Hull and Ottawa.

The Rideau River spilling into the Ottawa River.

The Captain performing galley duty.

A diminutive Captain standing next to a statue of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.  Canadians love their hockey and Maurice Richard in particular.  He was known for his speed on the ice and his powerful shots.  During his long 18 year career, he played for the Montreal Canadiens and was the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games.

The Canadian Parliament seen from across the river at Hull.  

Ottawa Staircase Locks.  This is a set of 8 locks that raises boats from the Ottawa River to the beginning of the Rideau Canal.  Once the first lock is entered, boats must continue up through the next 7 locks as one lock empties into the next one.  Today, we were just scouting out what lies ahead of us.

We spent the day visiting the Canadian Museum of Civilization.  The museum's collection portrays the history of Canada's people from the original native people to the arrival of European settlers, the expansion westward  and the development into current day modern Canada.

With more than 3.75 million pieces, the museum has the country's most impressive collection of artifacts of human history.

A large wing of the museum is devoted to art and artifacts from the native peoples who are called the "First Nations".  "Within Canada, "First Nations" (most often used in the plural) has come into general use-replacing the deprecated term "Indians"-for the indigenous peoples of the Americas." Wikipedia.  

Impressive collection of totem poles

decorative plates

and many masks.

July 31:  Up the staircase of locks to downtown Ottawa. As the entire process of ascending the stairs takes over 3 hours, we were advised to proceed to the blue line at the bottom of the locks to ensure that we would be in the first batch of boats to lock up.  The blue line is a painted line at the entrance to all locks.  By tying up at the blue line, boaters indicate their intention to lock through to the lock master.  Even arriving at the blue line by 8:00 a.m., we were the third boat in line.  The locks do not operate until 9:00 a.m. so we had a cup of coffee and waited.  We were concerned that other boats would arrive later and jump ahead of us into the lock.  Not to worry though, as on the dot of nine o'clock, the lock master decided that as the largest boat in the group that we should proceed first into the lock.

A good thing that we had our foul weather jackets handy as the rain came down in buckets.  Here is the poor Captain holding onto the stern line as we endured the torrential downpour.  It did not let up once during the 3 hour endurance test of locking through 8 locks.  We were some seriously wet puppies by the time we reached the top of the staircase.  Even the usual crowd of tourists that gather to watch the boats locking through were absent.  Smart enough to seek shelter from the rain, eh?

Looking back down the staircase.  After the last lock, a decidedly tired and wet crew pulled into the first available slot on the canal wall.  The canal wall was almost completely full and we were lucky to get a place. It was not the greatest spot but we hoped the small boat in front of us would leave in the next day or so and give us both more space and access to power.

 Once the rain stopped, we took off to spoil ourselves with some local treats-almond croissants and coffee. Yummy!  The Byward Market is in the oldest surviving part of Ottawa and is a food lover's delight with fruit and vegetable stalls, cheese and meat shops and every imaginable type of small restaurant. 

August 1-6:  Enjoying the Capital City.  

The next day the sun came out and the boat in front of us left giving us more space and access to power.  Here is the Duddon Pilot on the canal wall in downtown Ottawa.  It is not often that boaters can dock right in the middle of a large city.  Our Canadian mooring and locking pass enables us to stay on the canal wall with only a $10 fee per night for electricity. A great deal!

The next few days were spent playing tourist.  A visit to the Canadian Parliament is a must.  Seen here from where our boat is docked.

In 1841, Lower Canada (now Quebec) joined with Upper Canada (now Ontario) to from the Province of Canada.  For many years, the seat of government alternated from Montreal to Quebec City to Kingston  none of which proved desirable for a variety of reasons.  Then in 1857, Queen Victoria was asked to choose a permanent capital.  Surprisingly, the Queen choose the rough and ready lumber town of Ottawa.  Not only was Ottawa a good political compromise, it also lay a more secure distance from the American border.  After the war of 1812, Canadians became concerned about a potential invasion from the South. (Per Parks Canada)

Free English and French tours are offered of the Parliament building.  The following photographs do not do it   justice.  We had a terrific student guide who covered the history and architectural details of the building.

The House of Commons.

Library of Parliament a showpiece of High Victorian Gothic Revival.  Its floor features a beautiful pattern of cherry, oak and walnut.  Hundreds of flowers, masks and mythical creatures are carved in the paneling of white pine.  In the center of the circular domed room stands a white marble statue of the young Queen Victoria.

 
The Changing of the Guards occurs every day at 10:00 a.m.  Patterned after the tradition at Buckingham Palace,  it is quite a show with Scottish bagpipes, a band and the guards in their resplendent red coats.

We purchased a 3 day bus pass that allowed us to hop on and hop off the double decker bus at various stops throughout the city.  Like any major city, Ottawa has its fair share of museums and we took in a few.

One of the first stops was the War Museum which housed a large number of WWII tanks, armaments and historical narratives from the various wars that Canadians have been involved in ranging from the Indian Wars, to the Boer War to more recently in Afghanistan.

From a captured T-34 Russian tank

The city abound with sculptures.  The Captain is seen here with the "Dancing Bear."

And the Admiral with Oscar Peterson, a Canadian musician, who was ranked as one of the world's greatest jazz virtuosos.

The Canadians very proudly and prominently honor their war dead.  There are many statues and memorials to remind people of their sacrifices for freedom.  Here Canadian military personnel stand guard at the tomb of the "Unknown Soldier."

We paid a visit to the Canadian Mint which included an interesting narrative on how their gold and silver coins are minted.  Below a gold bar only available for viewing!

August 6:  Leaving Ottawa.  Our time in Ottawa finally drew to a close and we left to travel the Rideau Canal.  The canal is very narrow at this point and we have a number of low bridges and locks to contend with as we head to our ultimate destination which is Kingston.  Today, however, we are only going 23 miles to Hurst Marina but we have 6 locks and 3 swing bridges to deal with.  

Negotiating the narrow channel outside Ottawa.

One of the 6 locks on our journey today.