Oswego, NY to Kingston, ON

July 16

Second time is a charm. Up at 5am and the conditions are good for crossing Lake Ontario. We are off by 530 am and heading for Kingston. The winds were light and waves 2 to 3 feet. A good day for Lake Ontario. We cruised at 15.5 knots and arrived at Kingston Yacht Club around 9am.

We cleared customs and headed for our slip at the Confederation Basin. The boat is staying in Kingston for the week as we have to go back to work tomorrow. Last leg of our Down East Loop Adventure is next weekend when we travel the Rideau Canal system. Woohoo more locks in our future.

Oswego, NY

July 15

Early rise at 530 am to cross Lake Ontario and the dock is already a buzz with conversations of 5 foot waves and high wind conditions. Oswego is a big fishing charter town. Noah counted 10 fishing charter boats in the marina. 2 boats had already gone out and returned back in. There were 5 foot waves beyond the breakwater. The other charters were cancelling their trips. Guess we are staying until the winds drop out.

I enjoyed some early morning coffee and reading. Noah slept until 730. We decided to go to breakfast at the hotel and then swim again in the pool. By early afternoon it was pretty clear that the winds were not going to drop out so we headed to the movies to see Despicable Me 3. Noah loved it. We all had a good laugh.

Dinner out again. Why not. Then back to the boat for a dance party. Noah suggested that we celebrate our trip by each identifying 3 things that we liked out our trip. Good fun. We each came up with more than 3 and we made a great list. Noah had 7 in total.

While we were initially disappointed about having to stay in Oswego another day we ended up having an awesome family day and we even got to relax a bit. Wow today actually felt like a vacation!

Brewerton, NY to Oswego, NY

July 14

We completed lock 23 and then made our way towards the Oswego Canal.

There is a junction of 3 rivers (Mohawk, Oneida and Oswego)where you choose between the Erie and Oswego canals.

The locks are busier today as there are 3 other boats in each lock with us. The Oswego Canal has 7 locks in total and the distance between each lock is much shorter. Noah stayed inside again as he has more options for playing and helps him to pass the day. We have done a lot of long days this trip as we have a lot of miles to cover to get home. Noah never complains. He is a great traveler and really helpful. He has set up a inside helm inside the boat so that he can help his dad drive the boat.

Sterling was wishing that he had a real inside helm as there were several major downpours today. The rain was pelting down and it made it very difficult to see. Noah and I had to go up to help Sterling navigate the river as it is a narrow and shallow river with a lot of logs and debris in the water to maneuver around.

We were fortunate as just south of us on the river there were severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and 60 mile an hour winds. We had the rain and some wind but thankfully not that much. The river has risks of its own as it would be very easy to run aground or hit a massive log. Thankfully we got through these 2 heavy rain storms unscathed.

We exited lock 8 around 230 and arrived in Oswego. We fuelled up and decided that due to wind conditions on Lake Ontario we would stay the night in Oswego. Plus we were pretty tired.

We docked alongside the Captains Quarters hotel. It was a great hotel with a very nice pool so Noah and I went for a swim. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant Alex's on the Water. It was a casual menu with great food and service.

Early to bed as we hope to leave early tomorrow morning to cross Lake Ontario.

St. Johnsville, NY to Brewerton, NY

July 13

Another day of locks. We hope to complete lock 22 and cross Lake Oneida.

We got on the go at 730 am since we have a lot of ground to cover. We tried a new routine and Noah stayed in the cabin all day. I was with him except when we were in a lock and then Sterling was on the stern and could chat with him.

Noah and I had a great day. We worked on his collages. He has been documenting the trip by making collages of the places we visit. We did a 200 piece puzzle and played go fish. It was lots of fun.

We exited lock 22 just after 4 and made our way to Lake Oneida. The weather was good so we crossed the lake and arrived in Brewerton NY at 6 pm. There are really nice docks at the Waterfront wall that you can tie up to for free. We stayed there for the night and went to the Waterfront restaurant for dinner.

We were all tied as it was a long day. We have covered some serious miles.

Waterford, NY to St. Johnsville, NY

July 12
A full day of locks in the Erie Canal. We got going about 8 am and did an 8 hour day. It was a long day and we only got 9 locks done. There are 23 on total.

We had heard that the Erie Canal locks are very dirty and boy are they ever. The water is filthy and I where gloves to hold the lines in the lock as they are covered in green slime.

The locks are very high and they likely average around 20 feet per lock.

It's not a very scenic system and I found myself taking very few pictures.

We stopped for the night at St. Johnsville New York between locks 15 and 16. We went for a little walk before supper and found some ice cream for Noah. Eat dessert first!. Then we had a great soccer match on the lawn.

Second sleep over night and we finished up Happy Feet 2.

Kingston, NY to Waterford, NY (Erie Canal)

July 11

We slipped our lines at 830am and continued north along the river.

It was another hot and sunny day. We cruised at 14.5 knots. The river is very calm and feels so different from the ocean. We are now in freshwater. Up to Kingston it is considered brackish. 

The river area is pretty with rolling hills. The train runs along side the river and there are so many bridges joining the two sides which are both New York state. New Jersey is only on the other side across from Manhattan. 

We cruised up to Albany where we arrived around 1215. After fueling the boat I walked into town to get groceries as there won't be much along the Erie canal. Sterling and Noah played soccer and enjoyed some time off the boat. 

By 230 we were off again heading for Troy lock and the start of the Erie canal. Troy lock is the gateway to 2 canal systems, the Erie or the Champlain. Given our height at 18 feet we cannot do the Champlain canal which takes you through Vermont. So into the Erie system we go. 

Our goal is to get the first 5 locks done tonight before they close at 6pm. There are 23 locks in total so this will give us a good start. The 5 locks are very close together and take 2 hours to complete. The climb on these 5 locks combined is 130 feet. 

It was smoking hot so I was in the blazing sun on the bow for 2 hours. Noah did the first lock with me and then he went up top to get some shade. 

We finished up just before 6 pm and found a spot on the wall just past the second guard gate. We were near the town of Waterford and there was a new subdivision right behind us. 

After freshening up and a BBQ supper we went for a walk to stretch our legs. Back to the boat for movie night and sleep over Happy Feet 2. Thank goodness for the generator we are very self sufficient and have air conditioning. Very comfortable. 

New York City to Kingston, NY

July 10

Early rise this morning so we can head out of NYC before all the ferry traffic starts. We left Liberty Landing Marina around 630am. It was a beautiful sunrise and it was pretty cool to leave NYC while it was quietly getting up . The Hudson River runs along Manhattan and the upper west side. We saw a cruise ship arriving as we headed off on our journey north along the Hudson River. 

About 2 hours up river we stopped in Ossining for fuel. This is where the Sing Song prison is located.

There are constant bridges crossing over the Hudson. Noah was keeping a tally and lost interest around 20.

We cruised the river at 15 knots. Along the way we passed West Point and Cassandra College. It was a sunny hot day. We arrived in Kingston NY around 1230. We booked a slip at the Rondout marina which has a pool. Woohoo 

Noah and I gave the boat a good washing. We are a good boat washing team and then we hit the pool. 

Sterling got the dinghy and engine ready and then late afternoon we rode over to the main part of town. We visited the Hudson River Maritime Museum and went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. 

Back at the marina Noah played on the play structure before bed. 

Old Saybrook, CT to New York City

Friday July 7

 

We woke to heavy rains so we took our time getting going. The rain slacked a bit so we headed to the fuel dock. We topped up the tanks and began our journey into Long Island sound. The Sound runs along side Long Island and it is about 100 miles. We need to cover 85 miles today and arrive at Hells Gate (the entrance to the East River around 4 pm to travel with the current. 

There was a bit of fog and light rain but the conditions were not too bad. Then around 11 am the conditions got worse with heavy rain and fog. The forecast had changed and they were calling for thunder storms. We needed to find a safe harbour for shelter to wait out the storm. It was a long hour and a half and a very wet one too until we were safely hooked up to a mooring buoy in Northport harbour. 

Lunch time and change our clothes.. Time to regroup. I figured NYC would be out of the question for today. But then an hour and a half later the storm had passed and the sun was peeking out. It was only 230 so we still had time to get to NYC.

We started off ago to head into to the Sound. With the fog lifted we could actually see now. The Sound is about 5 miles wide in this section so we were actually close to land but who would have known earlier in the storm. 

We were on the approach to the East River around 330pm.  We started to see the Manhattan skyscrapers pretty far out. We crossed Hells gate on time and I must say that I am not sure what all the hype is about. It was nothing. I guess everything pales in comparison to Reversing falls and 20 foot tides. 

Noah kept a tally of the bridges we crossed under. There were in 12 in total. We were all pretty excited to be arriving in NYC by boat.

Traffic in the East River was pretty busy with tankers ferries and water taxis. Sterling did a great job maneuvering us through the traffic. We were heading for Liberty Landing marina on the New Jersey side. It's located just past the Statue of Liberty where the East River empties in to the New York harbour. 

We were tied up in our slip by 515. Good job crew. 

The marina is very nice. They also have great dockside staff and the location is perfect right on the edge of Liberty state park. 

We enjoyed a BBQ supper on the boat and then we went for a walk along the sea wall around liberty state park. 

We stopped at the Empty Sky 911 memorial and learned about immigrants arriving from Ellis Island. The night time view of the Manhattan skyline was amazing. 

We are so excited to be here. Woohoo 

Sandwich, MA to Old Saybrook, CT

July 6

We got to enjoy Sandwich Massachusetts this morning before heading into the canal. I had an early morning run along the canal. It is a popular spot for fishing. The banks were lined with people who had biked down to fish for striped bass. 

After breakfast Noah and I went to a playground. 

We left Sandwich around 930am and headed into the Cape Cod Canal. It's about 7 miles long and you can only travel at 9 knots. Noah and I travelled on the bow and enjoyed the scenery. 

There is an interpretation centre that we visited on the Canal.. It is run by US Army Corps of Engineers. Like the Rideau system it was built to provide safe passage and move goods.

We left the canal and entered Buzzard s Bay. The Bay can be gusty and it was busy with lots of recreational boats. 

From their we entered Long Island Sound and cruised at 15 knots up to Old Saybrook Connecticut.  We arrived at the Saybrook Resort and Marina around 330. The dockside staff was amazing.. What service they had us all tied up and shore power hooked up in minutes.

We all went for a swim in the pool and then we headed to the patio restaurant for dinner. We had a delicious dinner. 

 

We met another Meridian 411 out of Newport Connecticut. 

Portsmouth New Hampshire to Sandwich Massachusetts

July 5

Up before 5 am again today.   I got the breakfast and lunch picnics made while Sterling prepared the boat for our departure.

We unhooked from the mooring buoy at 545 am and we were off.  It was smooth sailing all the way to the entrance of the Cape Cod Canal.  Literally smooth sailing, the ocean was like glass.  So calm.

We cruised at 15 knots for 102 miles.  It was a straight line down the coast for 102 nautical miles.  It was another long day but leaving early really helps.  We cruised 10 miles offshore and there were still lobster bobbers, but they were infrequent.  We were also getting into more trawling.

Given that we lost a few days at the beginning due to bad weather we decided to bypass Gloucester and Boston Massachusetts. 

We arrived at Sandwich Marina, the eastern entrance of the Cape Cod Canal at 1230 pm.  We made great time and now we had the afternoon to relax.  It was sunny and hot and we hit the beach.  We found a crab in the water and did some beachcombing and castle building.  So much fun.

After the beach we did our grocery shopping to stock back up the boat.

Then we went out for a nice dinner at the Pilot restaurant.  We had excellent seafood.

Rockland Maine to Portsmouth New Hampshire

Tuesday July 4th

Happy 4th of July. Up at 5 am off the dock by 545 am. This time I have a picnic lunch made for us.

We are heading for Portsmouth New Hampshire.

15 minutes out and we noticed a significant vibration on our port engine. Back to the dock. Great someone has taken our spot so we need to slip in in front of a sailboat. Back on the dock before 7am.

We mounted the Go Pro camera to the boat hook and put it under the boat to film. We discovered that there is a line wrapped around our port engine prop. Great.

We arrange for a diver and he is here is less than 40 minutes. He dives under the boat a cut the line loose. Only $125. Not bad for a National holiday.

So after a later start at 1030 am, we did a 100 nautical mile day and went all the way to Portsmouth New Hampshire.

There is a channel leaving Rockland that was a bit stressful.  It was a fairly high traffic area and it was full of lobster bobbers, so we were back to leap frogging our way through. 

Once out of there it was smooth sailing.  We charted a course offshore that was a straight rip for 80 nm to New Hampshire.

We travelled about 10 miles offshore and cruised at 15 knots.  The ocean was like glass.  We could not have had better conditions.

We arrived at Castle Island at the mouth the Portsmouth Harbour around 630 pm.  We went on a mooring buoy at the Portsmouth Yacht club.  It is a very nice facility and the Island has beautiful historic homes dating back to the 1720s.

There was a 4th of July private party going on at the Yacht Club.  We enjoyed the music while we had a late BBQ dinner on the stern deck.

After dinner, we rowed to shore in the dingy.  It was good to go for a walk and stretch our legs.  We checked out the historic homes.  It was a quaint island community and I expect that the real estate prices would be very high.

Jonesport Maine to Rockland Maine

Monday July 3rd

Up before 5 am. It is a sunny day and the waters are calm.

We slipped the lines at 515 am and headed for Rockland Maine. The winds were moderate and the waves 2 to 4 feet. There was a bit of a swell on. I had to sit up on my perch and watch like a hawk for lobster bobbers. They are everywhere. We have charted a route further offshore to try to avoid them but you can never avoid them. They are just spread out more so that you have better maneuvering.

Noah is such a great traveller. He slept a bit. Played cars and watched a movie.

88 nm and 7.5 hours later we arrived in Rockland and docked at the Landings. While Sterling fuelled the boat Noah and I headed to the restaurant for lunch. We were starving. It was after 1 pm and we still hadn't had lunch.

The weather is great here. Hot and sunny. We had to turn on the AC. After lunch we walked around town. We got ice cream. Went to a puffin preservation centre and a lighthouse museum.

We were at a full service marina so we did some laundry, got water and charged all the electronics. Noah and I even washed the boat while Sterling repaired the dingy. The support for attaching it to the boat has come apart already. Great. Sigh.

Lobster dinner at the Pearl. May as well enjoy Maine's largest export.

Great dinner. Off to bed. Another early rise.

Jonesport to ... Jonesport

Sunday July 2nd

We had a great sleep on the mooring buoy. Woke up to fog. Not any where for a while.

We launched the dingy and rowed to shore. I went for a run while Sterling and Noah walked around the small town. About 750 people live here. It is a lobster fishing community.

Around 2 pm the fog lifted and we decided to head out through Mooseabec reach.   We got in the reach and it was constant lobster pot bouts. What a nightmare. They are everywhere. We got caught up in a bad place close to a navigational aid and there were so many pots we couldn't get out of it. We caught something and our engine was not performing well at 1000 rpms. We had to make our way back through the nightmare reach and back to port.

This was so stressful  

Once we got into the Harbour we did some manoeuvres and everything was working fine. We had however lost our nerve and had to regroup so we tied up to the wharf.

The fog rolled bag in and we decided to wait until the next morning to leave. Better weather is coming.

Sterling did a nice BBQ chicken for us for dinner and the sun finally came out. We ate on the back deck. We fueled up that night at 7 pm. We had to wait for high tide to get to the fuel dock. We went for a little walk before bed and got Noah some ice cream at the corner store. People are very friendly in this town.

We are hoping to leave in the morning. They are calling for good weather. We have charted a route that has us going around an island instead of through the crazy moosabec reach full of lobster pots. The new route adds over an hour to our time but we don't care.

Eastport to Jonesport

Saturday July 1

Happy Canada Day.

It is very foggy here this morning. It was also very cold last night. We needed to bundle up and put the heat on.

We are waiting for the fog to lift so we can head out. We watched a US Navy ship dock as it is in Eastport for July 4th celebrations. It was so foggy that we could barely see the ship and it was only half a km away.

Around 1130 am, we decide that the fog is lifted enough to head out. There is a short cut through Lubec channel but the current is strong there and it has lobster pots in the channel so we decided to go back out around Campobello island. This way is longer and brings us back into Canadian waters for a short time but it is safer to go this way.

Pretty foggy down the coast and there is a lot of current. At one point we crossed over a riptide. It was the strangest thing. I could see a wall of waves like a surf and then after that the water was flat calm. Bizarre.

As we got closer to Jonesport the lobster pots started. Noah and I had to spot them for Sterling. They are everywhere.

We arrived in Jonesport around 430 pm and tied up to a mooring buoy at the Jonesport Shipyard. It was a great mooring it was a small floating dock with a mooring ball. $25 a night.

The owner was a very nice man named Sono. He was originally from Sweden. He and his wife own the shipyard. He was so generous he even brought Sterling a 5 lb bag of mussels.

We put on our Canada Day shirts and got out our basket of decorations. Noah decorated the boat and we had a Canada Party. We played some Great Big Sea and had lots of fun.

The fog rolled in about an hour after we arrived and it is thick.

Very cold tonight. The heat is on and we need to bundle up. They had fire works here tonight but it was too foggy to see them.

Grand Manan New Brunswick to Eastport Maine

Friday June 30

Abrupt 7 am wake up when the fishing boat we were rafting on started its engine.  The Harbour Master had told us that the boat was not moving today but it was. The crew suggested that we move to a floating dock to tie up so we headed over there. As we approached the dock, I looked down and said not much water here. At the same time Sterling noticed that we had about 2 feet of water below us. OMG. Tide was going down and there was definitely no water there. We got the heck out of there and rafted to another fishing boat.

We were waiting for the winds to die and the fog to lift before we could leave. I decided to take a nap since I am not feeling well.

Around noon we left Grand Manan to head for Eastport Maine. We were not planning to go to Eastport as this is back tracking but we were asked to check in there for customs.

It was a foggy crossing and we ran into quite a bit of current off Quoddy Head. Current and wind do strange things to a boat's performance. Rather than going through Quoddy Narrows we rerouted towards East Quoddy lighthouse instead.

We arrived in Eastport around 3pm. But we got an hour back. Time zone change back to 2 pm. We had a smooth customs check in. Sterling had called in advance and given all of our information so we were in the computer already. We had to get a cruising license and we need to check in at every port.

We tied up to a mooring buoy in front of the Eastport Chowder House. ($25 a night). We launched our dingy (this season we have a new dingy) to row in to town to get provisions. Wicked current here (apparently the world's second largest natural whirlpool) so it was very difficult to get to shore.

Guy on the dock selling a 5 horse power propane engine. We are now the proud owners.

We ate dinner at the Chowder House. Awesome chowder and then Bob the owner loaned us his truck to go to the IGA. Such nice people. Very generous and helpful.

Back out on our mooring buoy all stocked up and ready to head out in the morning.

Saint John to Grand Manan

Thursday, June 29
Well after an adventurous start of delayed planes, rerouting through Toronto and lost luggage, Noah and I finally arrived in Saint John at 2 am. We had a sleep in and got me some antibiotics as I have a sinus and ear infection. We are ready to go. Sterling arrived a day before us and has the boat ready to go.

We could go through the Reversing Falls at 2pm so we took our opportunity to head out. Due to the high tides and the current you can only go in and out of the Saint John river twice a day.

We headed for Grand Manan. The trip was about 3.5 hours. The conditions were fair. Light winds at 10 knots and we were able to cruise at 15 knots.

We arrived at the North head of Grand Manan at a fishing wharf. It we rafted to a fishing boat and tied up for the night. The Harbour master was a nice woman. We didn't even have to pay.

We walked up to the local pizza shop and had a delicious pizza for dinner. The pizza shop is in an old post office and there was a cute gift shop and candy shop there as well. We bought a great door mat made from rope for the boat. Noah got a small bag of candy and a wooden fishing boat for his collection.

The pizza shop is family run and a really nice place. Great place for dinner.