Tuesday - July 26, 2011

Lat 44 25 19; Long 78 16 24; Fuel 185 gal; eng 984.12; Lakefield

This was a momentous day for us. We left Lakefield and continued up the Trent-Severn Waterway. It was really windy, the lakes were quite choppy. As we passed through the lock at Buckhorn, we completed the Loop as we crossed the point where we actually had reached two years ago. The completion of the Loop is determined as the point from which you theoretically cross your wake even though it may be from a previous trip. So, once we reached Bobcaygeon, we raised our Gold Looper Flag to indicate that we completed the Loop and had our picture taken. We have a weak link on the Internet here so postings of pictures of the last three days will have to wait.

Sunday - July 24, 2011

Lat 44 18 42; long 77 48 02; Eng 976.18; Fuel 225 gal.


After a day of rest we moved along the Trent-Severn, leaving Campbellford traveling through locks 13 through 18. I love using the Canadian charts again. They are so clear and well marked as to the channel, the canal locks and buoys and they are in colour so you can determine the colour of the buoys from the chart. Sometimes, traveling through the US, it was difficult to determine colour without a very close look at the chart in order to see the R or the G. My eyes are not as good as they used to be.

It is interesting that we are usually the only boat to go through the locks. It is not busy at all and the lockmasters seem to confirm it has been a slow year at least at this end of the Trent-Severn. Passed through a flight lock today which basically is two locks together. You enter one, let it fill and then enter the next lock immediately. Lots of nice scenery along the waterway, lots of cottages.


One of the lockmasters asked me to compare the Erie Canal to the Trent Severn. The Trent Severn, in my view is far superior for a number of reasons. The lockmasters like to converse with the boaters. The hanging cables are all spaced evenly along the walls on both sides of the chamber and are attached at the top and the bottom of the wall. In the Erie, you never knew what you would find until you got into the chamber. Sometimes there were hanging ropes, sometimes there were cables but they were not evenly spaced and the ropes were not necessarily long enough to reach the boat deck so you could be left hanging in a lock where the water was going down. Finally, the locks were grubby, we had to clean a lot of dirt off our boat after transit. Part of the reason was the ropes hanging over the boat but generally it was just dirtier.

We ended our day in Hastings – a small town on the Trent Severn where we met a couple doing the Loop who were from Australia. They were doing the Loop in stages on Happy Hours V because of US Visa requirements etc. They bought their boat in Florida so they wouldn’t have any problem with the cruising permit required for foreign flagged vessels. Unfortunately, they had been in Hastings for over two weeks waiting for a water pump. Their vessel had an engine for which there was only one place to obtain parts and that was in California. The pump had got stuck in Customs and is supposed to arrive tomorrow or Tuesday. What a place to be stuck in. You can walk around the place in about 30 minutes and there is not much to do in the way of entertainment. There was no car rentals, no buses, no way out of town, so they just waited for the part.

Monday - July 25, 201`1

Lat 44 18 50; long 77 57 43; eng 976.15 fuel 213 gallons – Hastings

We said goodbye to our new friends from Australia. We left them waiting for their water pump and gave them the name of South Bay Cove, should they be looking for a marina when they get to Georgian Bay and hopefully we would see them there. Our journey today took us across Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River past Peterborough where we went through the Peterborough Lift Lock. A very interesting experience as you just tie up and wait for the tub to go up rather than the lock to fill with water to take you to the next level. The water is already in the the tub. They put a little more water in the second tub which is even with the upper level water and this extra weight causes it to descend while lifting the tub that your boat is in. It is quite a sight looking down from the top after the lift has occurred.

The scenery remains quite pretty as we move along and it is quite wild. However there are a lot of cottages along the route also.

Around 4:30 we stopped at Lakefield, a nice little town in the Kawarthas. You may also have heard of it because Prince Andrew went to school at Lakefield College. A walk around town indicated there were some interesting stores, particularly a few craft stores and an antique store which had a lot of old bottles.

Saturday - July 23, 2011

Got up this morning and went to the local market where we bought a few local things and some fruit. We then walked to Tim's for coffee and breakfast - great to be back in Cansda where you can find a Tim's at just about every corner. Went over to Canadian Tire and bought a 12 volt cooler which will give us some additional room in the fridge and which we can you when we drive across Canada after this trip. On the way back, it was again getting hot so we decided to stay put for another day as we had electricity to run the air conditioners. I know, we are wimps but the heat is really oppressive. It was very hot down south, but it didn't seem to have the same effect as here in Canada, probably the humidity. Anyways we took anther day off and read the papers, did the laundry, walked around town and just lazed about.

Friday July 22, 2011

Lat 44 11 90; lat 77 35 48; Fuel 235.5 gal; eng 967.27

Left Frankford this morning. The temperature had cooled considerably from yesterday so it was much more pleasant on the water. We traveled all the way to Campbellford where they had a town dock along canal with electricity. Went through locks 7,8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Locks 11 and 12 were flight locks that is there was one lock immediately the first. We moved directly into the next lock. The trip along the waterway is quite beautiful and the scenery is spectacular. The lockmasters are all extremely nice and like to talk about their lock. We had to tie up to the blue line at one lock for a while so we got off the boat and walked around the grounds which were very well kept with flowers and green grass. Of course the whole Trent Severn is a National Park so it should be well kept, but each lockmaster does something to the grounds which personalizes the grounds.

Brenda and Pug taking a walk

Thursday July 21, 2011

Lat 44 06 073; long 77 34 44; fuel 246 gallons; eng 964.36
Left Trenton around 9:30 this morning to start the journey through the Trent Severn locks. It was already hot and projected to get hotter through the day. The locks are the easiest that we have encountered with the hold lines spread evenly through the locks on both sides and the lines are tied at the bottom so basically you just loop a line around the hold line to stabilize the boat. The lock masters are all friendly and willing to talk about themselves and their job and interested in where you are going . Around 12:30 it was really hot and we were just going through lock 6 which was about 7 miles form where we started. However lock 6 had electricity so that meant that we could start our air conditioning and cool off, so we decided to stop for the day. The next spot with electricity was 7 locks away and probably about 5 hours. The heat was oppressive so stopping for the day was the best decision. The rest of the day we just read, watched the ball game and rested.

Tuesday, Wednesday July 19, 20

Lat 44 17 38; Long 76 36 41; fuel 132???; eng 957.06

After driving back to the boat on Monday, we decided to stay an extra day at Collins Bay Marina in order to do a few things around the boat. Had to wash the boat because of the all the bugs that now come out at night and seem to die on the deck. The boat spiders have also returned with a vengeance. After not seeing one since we hit salt water, they came back as soon as we hit the Erie Canal. I’m not even sure how they got on the boat because I usually wash the boat down every couple of days. Found one on the top deck that was as big as a quarter.

We now have our dog on board (Pug) who has stayed with our daughter and her husband for the last year. Both of them went on a trip so fortunately we were close enough to take her back on board.

Before leaving we filled up on water and had a good pump out since the possibility of obtaining one or both along the Trent-Severn Waterway may not be high. We left at 9:15 with the intention of getting to Trenton about 60 miles away. Rather than going outside we went inside along the North Channel, and The Bay of Quinte. As we traveled the winds started picking up and in fact crossing Big Bay was a little choppy but not something we had not seen before. Listening to the radio, it seemed that those who were running outside were into 20 25 knot winds coming from the west. We had wind but it was blocked by theLat 44 17 38; Long 76 36 41; fuel 132???; eng 957.06

After driving back to the boat on Monday, we decided to stay an extra day at Collins Bay Marina in order to do a few things around the boat. Had to wash the boat because of the all the bugs that now come out at night and seem to die on the deck. The boat spiders have also returned with a vengeance. After not seeing one since we hit salt water, they came back as soon as we hit the Erie Canal. I’m not even sure how they got on the boat because I usually wash the boat down every couple of days. Found one on the top deck that was as big as a quarter.
Before leaving we filled up on water and had a good pump out since the possibility of obtaining one or both along the Trent-Severn Waterway may not be high. We left at 9:15 with the intention of getting to Trenton about 60 miles away. Rather than going outside we went inside along the North Channel, and The Bay of Quinte. As we traveled the winds started picking up and in fact crossing Big Bay was a little choppy but not something we had not seen before. Listening to the radio, it seemed that those who were running outside were into 20 25 knot winds coming from the west. We had wind but it was blocked by the Amherst Island and other island between Collins Bay and Trenton. All in all it was a pleasant trip and we arrived at around 4:30 at the Park Dock. Nice little place right at the opening to the Trent Severn waterway so we can just move out and start at Lock 1 immediately.





The dog is now in its normal place - on Brenda's seat

Sunday - July 10, 2011

The weather was great, the winds were slight, so we set off across Lake Ontario at 8 in the morning. Set auto on my pre-determined course and sat back. Our friends in Boomer did not have any charts or chip so they followed us across. We made the crossing in about 3 hours and went directly to Collins Bay Marina where we were greeted at the dock and helped to tie up. We are now going home for abut 9 days and will return on Monday the 18th to continue our journey up the Trent Severn waterway.

Saturday July 9, 2011

Went to leave the docks this morning and just as we had turned off the dockside electricity, another looper came in and indicated that Lake Ontario was a little rough. The winds were high so it was logical. Decided to wait another day which was probably all for the good because we got an e-mail message from Kingston marina indicating that they did not have not have any space for the days we wanted. We got on the phone and managed get a space at the Collins Bay Marina by phone. There is the difference between a marina run by City bureaucrats and a marina run privately by a family, service. In any case we stayed around for another day, went for a walk into town, managed to find a Tim's and had a good cup of coffee.

Friday - July 8, 2011

Went to open the new chart plotter chip to plan our route across Lake Ontario last night and I noticed it was the wrong chip. Decided to stay over and drive back to West Marine to exchange it for the right chip. Took a nice drive along the southern part of Lake Ontario on our way to and back from Watertown. That's about all we did today. Bade Boomer came in around 7 after a long trip from Sylvan Beach, so we helped them tie and went to dinner. Tried to get a reservation at Confederation Basin in Kingston but they only accept docking requests by written form. Welcome back to Canada! Never had to do this in the 10 months we were in the US. Pure BS. Anyways printed off the form and faxed it to them. Of course, when I saved the form, I could not write on it so I was required to print it off. Would have been so much easier if I could fill it out on the computer, save it and send it by e-mail, but that would seemingly not work for the Municipality of Kingston. Don't ask me what someone would have done if they did not have a computer on board or access to a fax or printing machine.

Wednesday - July 6, 2011

lat 43 11 35; long 75 44 62; eng 940.56; fuel 320 gallons; Sylvan Beach

Filled the tanks to find out exactly how much fuel I used from New York when I last filled the tanks. The gauge was showing 75 gallons. Either I was dumping fuel overboard or my bilges were filled with a about 250 gallons of diesel. Anyway, it took only about 100 gallons of fuel to fill the tanks so my fuel gauge has gone on the blink. Will manually calculate fuel usage each day now.

Sylvan beach was another nice marina along the Erie Canal. We crossed Oneida Lake in about 2.5 hours and pulled into a marina on the other side of the lake at Brewerton New York. Easy day. Decided to drive to Watertown, a little east of Brewerton in order to pick up charts and a chart plotter chip for Lake Ontario. in planning the trip over a year ago, I never planned for the trip across the lake. I have charts for the entire Trent Severn Canal but none to get from Oswago New York across the lake. Can't believe I was that dumb!

In any case we got the chip and the charts, came back and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Tuesday - July 5, 2011

lat 43 02 04; long 74 51 96; fuel 87 gal; eng 931.15 Little Falls

Left Little Falls and continued down the canal. I have to say it is really pretty and in the fall it would be beautiful with all the colour. It was a straight forward ride, little else to say. Each lock is similar now and getting easier to go through.

Monday - July 4, 2011

lat 43 02 04; long 74 51 96; Fuel 86 gal Eng 931.15


American Independence Day. Lots of boats on the water. We traveled through 10 locks after starting at 7:30 and ending at 6:30. A long long trying day. The locks are very tedious sometimes as you have to wait to get in and sometimes holding the boat against the wall as the lock fills wears on you. Traveled with Grianan our new friends for the entire way. Great scenery but as a I say a lot of locks. Along the way we passed Coconut and Bade Boomer who were tied up to a wall. We pass them, they pass us, eventually we may travel together.

Once we tied up at Little Falls, had something to eat and went to bed.

Sunday - July 3, 2011

Woke up this morning to thunder. Listened to the weather report and thunderstorms were expected all day. Therefore, no travel. better to stay at the dock and hope a sailboat mast is more attractive to lightening. Lightening has a tendency to destroy the electronics on a boat so better to be careful. Just laid around and read, watched the Jays play Philly.

Saturday - July 2, 2011

Locking through







We left the Troy marina around 10:30 but not until after I almost broke a leg stepping between two sections of the dock. Went right down to my thigh between the docks. Only sustained some bad scratches, bruises etc. We also went to the local market which is held every Saturday morning at 9. Bought a lot a vegetables and some other items including some delicious pesto and salsa.

Traveled through seven locks today and they are quite similar to the locks on the Trent Severn but a little bit bigger. Took us a little while to get use to the locks tyuagain and the proper method of tying up, but after the 3rd lock we were OK and had our system down pat. Key is to go slow into the lock and grab the first line and then the second. We stopped at the Schenectady Yacht Club at Schenectady, New York for the night where they have a great dockmaster who did the Loop a couple of years ago and then stayed here to manage the marina. A most pleasant fellow and a nice marina along the canal.



Flood gates are up

Had dinner with our new friends we met the night before in Troy. We barbequed our food. After dinner we discussed traveling through the Trent-Severn Waterway, Georgian Bay and the North Channel and gave them the benefit of some of our experiences. Reminded them that the bottom of Georgian Bay consists of hard mud unlike down south where it is soft. Stay in the middle of the channels no matter what. However there are a lot of places in Georgian Bay happy to help with any repairs required.

Friday - July 1, 2011

Lat 42 12 84 long 73 51 85; fuel 121 gallons, eng 908.00


Left Catskills marina around 10 on a sunny day. This was a great marina in a beautiful setting, easy access to the slip and the town. Would come here again. We traveled down the river past Albany and stopped at Troy New York at the Troy Municipal dock. Met another Looper couple who are just starting the Loop and we went to dinner with them at the local eatery.

We are just about to enter the Erie Canal locking system with the first lock just down the way.

Thursday - June 30, 2011

Lat 41 30 15 Long 74 00 26, Fuel 148 gal; engine 902.39, Newburg


Left Newburg around 9:15, not without some difficulty leaving the dock. I got a little scratch on the gel coat which will have to be fixed on our return to South bay Cove. Wind blowing in as we tried to move out from the face dock. First time I have done that. Got out in the river and set the throttle at around 1650 and for some reason we were traveling at an average of 9.5 knots up the river. Didn’t make any sense since yesterday we were traveling at the same RPM’s but only going around 7 knots. The tidal current and the face wind must have had something to do with it since we arrived at our next destination – the Catskills marina at around 2. Who was there to greet us but Bade Boomer who had been taking their time going up the river. We are moving a little quicker since we have to be back in Toronto on the 16th for a wedding and are trying to get into Canadian waters in plenty of time.
The trip down the river is extremely beautiful, passing by the old homes of the Vanderbilts and the Roosevelts at Hyde Park. We also passed by the CIA, not the oone you normally think of but the Culinary Institute of America, America’s foremost chef school. They do serve the public on certain days of the week but reservations are required some time in advance. In any case there was no place to anchor and the climb up the hill would have killed us much less the climb back down. The river banks are quite steep and lots of big houses are perched on the top of the banks.

Wednesday June 29, 2011

Looking back at New York







Lat 40 42 60; Long 74 02 47; Eng 894.12; 160 gal, Liberty Landing, New Jersey

We left Liberty Landing this morning at around 10:15 with no idea where we would stop. Moved out into the river and started heading north. Took us some time to reach the end of Manhattan but that was not he end of New York City since it stretched for several more miles until we got almost to Tarry Town. In case you don’t remember, Tarrytown is the home of the headless horseman. We considered anchoring around Tarrytown in the but since it was only 12:30 we continued to press on. Brenda thought that Newburgh was only about 20 miles upstream which would give an arrival time of around 2:30. It was a little further than that and we arrived at around 5:30. Passed by West Point but could not stop as no place to anchor. They apparently have tours.

We settled in and then went to dinner at a dockside bar with great ribs and chicken.




Along the river






West Point

Tuesday June 28, 2011

We went over to New York around 10 and found the Path which will take us back after the musical tonight to New Jersey. It was right beside the World Trade Center. Then we went uptown to wander around a bit.

We made a visit to the Museum of Folk Art and saw the quilt exhibit. Very impressive – the quilts were all made in the 19th century and very beautiful. Three floors of quilts were displayed with lots of description as to their origins. Walked uptown to Central Park and along the west side to the Museum of Natural History. As it was around 3 we joined into the last walking tour around the museum and while it did not go everywhere it did it a number of highlights. The leader provided some good information about the museum and its displays including the dinosaur exhibits, the gem display, the space display etc. There was a lot more to see but it was around 5 when we finished so we left to go pick up our tickets for the musical at the Marriott located at Times Square. Picked up the tickets had a nice drink in their revolving restaurant and then went to 44th street (about 2 blocks) away and saw a great musical. Lots of songs that everyone of our generation would recognize. It is much the same as Jersey Boys. The music is great.

Left the theatre after the musical, caught the subway (E line) down to the Path where we caught a train to the Grove Street Station in Jersey City and then a $7 cab ride back to the marina in less than an hour.

Monday June 27, 2011

A garden in the city





Caught the ferry over to New York around 9 and then the subway to Times Square where we then walked up 7th Avenue, intending to buy some tickets to a show or musical. Brenda ran across two people who were hawking tickets on the street which is something you find quite often in New York. We were going to see what was on sale at Times Square but the lines are usually long and you take your chance with what you can get. In any case we went to their office and order two tickets for Tuesday night to the musical “Baby, It’s You” which we thought would be good. Based on the story of the woman who discovered the Shirelles among other groups. Lots of songs by the Shirelles and others.


After that we continued walking around, went over to the Empire State Building where I got into the line up to go up. Brenda decided she didn’t want to go up and was going to go around the corner to the Starbucks and wait for me. I got into the line up, went through security which was like at the airport and then waited and waited to buy a ticket. Finally gave up and came back downstairs to find Brenda waiting for me on a bench right outside the Empire State Building. She couldn’t find Starbucks which right around the corner.




We grabbed our hop on/hop off bus since the ticket we purchased yesterday was good for two days and went for another ride around the downtown. Nice way to get off your feet and see the city again. Different announcer and different point of view. After the ride we walked past the Museum of Modern Art and discovered the Museum of Folk Art which had a special display of quilts. Unfortunately it was closed today, but we decided to return tomorrow as one of Brenda’s interests is quilts.

Sunday June 26, 2011

Self portrait

Today we went over for our first visit to New York (which really is Manhattan Island) by catching the ferry from Liberty Landing in New Jersey to New York. As fortune would have it, it dropped us off at ground zero. We took a walk inside the building overlooking the construction work on one of the new towers and a part of the memorial. To say the least it is something that brings sad thoughts to your mind.






We then figured out how to catch the subway up to Times Square and then walked around a bit. Subway was easy to figure out since most lines run north/south with the a few lines running east to Brooklyn. Most of them will take you close to the key tourist sites. They are very clean and very little graffiti. Some of the stations are older but it appears they are gradually repairing them. Never felt any problem on the subway as there are a lot of people traveling the subway. The fare collection is easy and done by buying a fare card with a number of trips included. Toronto should catch on to this idea but that might put few of the sleeping fare collectors out of work.


We went on a hop on/hop off bus tour around the downtown area of Manhattan which took us through Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho, Noho etc and down to the battery and back. Got a real feel for the structure of the downtown part of the City. Passed by a vegetable gardening area in the battery with the owners tending their vegetable gardens. A lot of the buildings in New York have interesting ginger bread carvings on them and a look to the sky shows a lot of unique artwork on the buildings.



Obviously, a lot of people rent apartments in Manhattan, and they try to individualize there balconies if they have one.





After lunch we took the uptown tour past the museums, central park, through Harlem, past Columbia University, Grant’s Tomb etc. Both tours were quite interesting and they had very good conductors knowledgeable about the City. Of course some of it was memorized script but quite often they threw a little personal knowledge in. Took a walk around Central Park and was amazed by its size and that the City managed to preserve it. As this was Sunday the place was filled with parents and their kids. I think living in a city like New York, forces people to use the facilities available in the city to the maximum extent possible, as it is more difficult to leave the city, few roads lead off the island and because it is so expensive in New York, a lot of people don’t have cars.


Central Park


We were quite tired from the bus trip and the walking so we caught the subway back to the ferry terminal and went back to the boat and had dinner in the local restaurant. Very Expensive! Brenda is still amazed at what we paid for her one little lamb chop. But that is New York. The marina is the most expensive we have encountered along the route - $4/foot and we are not even in New York. However if we didn’t want to stay here we could have moved on.

Saturday - June 25, 2011

Staten Island Ferry



Lat 40 25 05; long 74 01 76, fuel 111 gallons, eng 890.24 Atlantic Highlands Marina

Hurrah, the fog has lifted and we are out of here. Being a weekend Sandy Hook Bay was filled with fishing boats, a lot of fishing boats. Had to work our way slowly around them, between them, being careful not to run into them, although they seemed not to care since some of them would start up and cruise right past as if our boat did not exist. Finally got into the shipping channel and moved up into the New York Harbor. This was even crazier than the out in the bay. Lots of large ferries and tow boats traveling at high speed and throwing up big wakes. In addition they do not veer from their course and if you happen to be in the way, well your tough luck because they will run you over. You have to be aware of your entire situation all the time. However I heard it is worse on the weekdays. As we moved down the harbor we went right past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Finally we arrived in Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey. Stopped and got a pump out and filled up with 150 gallons of fuel. Our slip was right in front of the restaurant and about 20 steps from the ferry which takes you over to New York. Runs on the half hour. Went to lunch at the restaurant and had a great anniversary lunch. Back to the boat for some rest and then I cooked dinner.


Here's Brenda

Thursday, Friday June 23 and 24

Fog – lots of fog, couldn’t see the breakwater, so we waited because it was to lift around 10. Never did lift and there were thunderstorms, so we decided to stay here even if we could not get off the boat. About 6 feet of tide and didn’t want to bring the boat in closer to the dock for fear of losing my bowsprit and anchors. No side docks in this slip. We did a lot cleaning up on the boat and in the engine room. Friday was the same. Nothing like anchoring out in a marina.

I don't think I would come back to this marina again. The staff are not very helpful and they put us in a slip with no dock access. Name of the marina is Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina.