O Canada - eh!

Saturday, June 30, 2018
Day 454
5,946 miles

The last day of June saw us arrive in Canada!  First, how we got here.

On Wednesday afternoon the head mechanic at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY inspected the engine mounts on the boat to diagnose the issues we were having.  The good news is no parts had to be ordered.  He also discovered that the screws on all four engine mounts were loose, which was the probable cause for our transmission high pressure and vibration.  He said he would be back on Thursday to do the needed work.

  The 1000 Islands region on the St. Lawrence River was an area I had wanted to go to on True North, but the the time planned for that was now being used for repairs.  So Mike and I rented a car from the Syracuse airport (15 minutes away from Winter Harbor) Thursday morning and took off for Clayton, NY, where the 1000 Islands region begins.  (Greg drew the short straw and had to stay back on the boat to supervise repairs.)

Downtown Clayton.  Mike is the blue dot down on the right.  These benches provide a prime spot for watching the activity on the St. Lawrence River, or as the locals call it, simply "The River".

Our day started at the Antique Boat Museum.  It is the premier freshwater nautical museum in North America, showcasing over 300 beautifully preserved wooden boats.  Located on the St. Lawrence River, some of the boats are in the water tied up to docks, and others are housed in several buildings on the 4.5 acre campus.   In 1965, an antique boat show was organized in Clayton, which became an annual event and grew in size.  The museum was built to permanently host the show and give the public a chance to view the boats year round.

This boat reminded Mike of his Grandpa Grace's boat on Higgins Lake

All the boats have been meticulously restored.  The wood just gleams!

The Chris-Craft Boat Company began in Algonac, Michigan

The museum also restores old wooden boats

An early model jet-ski

We then took a 3 1/2 hour boat tour of the 1000 Islands and Boldt Castle.  While on the tour, our guide had a running narration of fun facts and history of the area.  He was quite entertaining and a bit corny.  Here's one example:
While telling about pirates in the area, he said, "How much do pirates charge for corn on the cob?"
"A buccaneer".  He kept us laughing.
Fun Fact:  Ever wonder how Thousand Island Dressing got its name?  It was first made here.

Meandering through the islands

There are homes on islands on the U.S. side

And on islands on the Canadian side.  There were so many pretty and unique homes, but my pictures just didn't accurately reflect the size and beauty.

The smallest of the 1000 Islands.  To qualify as an island, the land (or rock) must be above the water line all year round and have at least one living tree.  This one checks those boxes.

This is a postcard but shows a much better view of the area than any of my pictures.

We were allowed an hour and half to tour the grounds and buildings on Heart Island, the home of Boldt Castle.  George Boldt was 13 when he immigrated to the U.S. from Prussia.  He started in the hotel business as a kitchen worker in New York City.  He eventually owned 2 hotels in Philadelphia, but the majority of Boldt's wealth came when William Waldorf Astor hired him in 1893 to manage his luxury hotel - The Waldorf.  In 1897 he convinced John Jacob Astor (William's cousin) to merge his hotel with the Waldorf, thus creating the Waldorf-Astoria.  Boldt was the most successful hotel magnate in America, being the first to put a restaurant in a hotel and introducing room service.
(On a side note, John J. Astor perished on April 15, 1912.  He was a passenger on the Titanic.)

Again a postcard to get a good aerial view of Heart Island

From the brochure

Boldt bought Hart Island in the 1000 Islands, off of Alexandria Bay, New York.  He renamed it Heart Island and in 1900 began construction to build a 6-story castle as a present for the love of his life, his wife Louise Kehrer Boldt.  Louise passed away suddenly in 1904.  George sent a telegram to the construction crew to stop work and leave the island.  He never returned.

George Boldt

Louise Boldt

In 1922, Edward John Noble, inventor of Life Savers candy purchased the castle from Boldt's children.  He opened the castle (which was unfinished) to the public but never continued construction.     For 73 years the structures on Heart Island sat empty, and were subjected to harsh weather and vandals.  The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority bought the island in 1977 and has spent over $15 million restoring the castle, outbuildings and grounds.

Our approach.  This is just the power house!

The grounds surrounding the castle were gorgeous.  Hard to see, but the outline of the flowers are hearts.

Heart motifs were incorporated all through the castle

Dining room

Grand Staircase

This is the Alster Tower - the next structure scheduled for restoration.  Boldt intended it for recreational purposes and a guest house.  Beyond the rail is a 2 lane bowling alley.  The Tower was the only structure on the island that was completed and the family stayed here while the castle itself was being constructed.

Our stop in Brewerton turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the loose engine mount screws were discovered which also led to shaft realignment. And the tour boat trip was a good way to see the 1000 Islands region without having to take True North the 60+ miles north to the St. Lawrence River.

The final shaft alignment was finished by 9:30 on Friday morning so we left Winter Harbor Marina and 2 miles later we entered Lock 23, our last one on the Erie Canal.  We turned north and entered the Oswego Canal, which ended 24 miles and 7 locks later.  Oswego, NY sits on the south eastern shore of Lake Ontario.  Just like when we drive from Michigan to Florida and it seems like it takes forever to get through the state of Georgia, it feels like we have been in New York for a LONG time while traversing the Hudson River, the Erie, and Oswego Canals!

Our route this last week:

Starting at bottom right, follow the line up from Kingston to Troy.  Go left to just before Syracuse and turn north to Oswego.

Oswego, NY - our last port in the United States until we get back to Michigan.

There were 5 other Looper boats in Oswego when we got there.  Most were heading to Clayton, which is a run along the shore of Lake Ontario north to the St. Lawrence River.  Due to the lake condition forecast for Saturday, they all decided to wait until Sunday.  We were comfortable with the wave report of 2-4 feet so we set off for the 70 mile trip across the lake to the Bay of Quinte in the providence of Ontario, Canada.  We have gone out the pier heads into Lake Michigan hundreds of times, but these pier heads marked our crossing of another Great Lake - Ontario.  With our engines secure on their mounts and aligned shafts, True North was able to scoot at her normal cruising speed of about 23 mph. Thirty -one miles farther and we docked at Trent Port Marina at 1:30.

Another foreign country, another quarantine flag until we clear customs.  

We will begin our journey on the Trent-Severn Waterway (A Canadian Canal system) on Sunday - which happens to be Canada Day, a major holiday.

Unique and Random Photo of the Day:

Mike said if we bought this boat we wouldn't even need to change the name.  

I like the way he thinks!

Erie Canal - Part 2

Wednesday, June 27, 2018
5,813 miles
Day 451

Fresh water!!  No tides!!  No salt covering the outside of True North!!
The Erie Canal has given us all these gifts.  We said goodbye to the dolphins outside of New York Harbor (sniff-sniff) but have said hello to deer and geese and mallards and even an eagle.  These combine to reassure us that we are getting closer to home.  In fact, by car, we could be in Ludington in 10 and 1/2 hours.  By boat, we are still 20-25 days away.

                                                 "Home of my heart, I sing of thee! Michigan, My Michigan,
                                                         Thy lake-bound shores I long to see. . ."
                                                           (Winifred Lee Brent - 1862)

                                   "A song to thee, fair State of mine, Michigan, my Michigan.
                But greater song than this is thine, Michigan, my Michigan. The thunder of the inland sea,
                                 The whisper of the towering tree, United in one grand symphony
                                                              Michigan, my Michigan." 
                                                              (Douglas Malloch - 1902)

We left Mohawk Harbor Marina in Schenectady, NY on Sunday morning.  With an 80% chance of thunderstorms forecasted, we only went 18 miles and 3 locks (8,9 and 10) to tie up in front of Riverlink Park in Amsterdam, NY.  The thought was to get at least a little farther along.  The other boats on the dock all had the same weather report.  The storm never came. 

At Riverlink, we were docked in front of a restaurant that was the site of a graduation open house.

I took this picture from the flybridge, so you can see with the black line and our electrical cord over the side that we were sitting way below this wall.  We had to use the ladder built in the wall to get off the boat.

Mike wearing a bib because I didn't trust him eating ribs in his new shirt.  Notice the glass says "Saranac".  It is a brewery here in NY, but another reminder of home as Mike and Greg lived in Saranac, MI when they were young!

In 7 hours on Monday we traveled 42 miles and locked up 7 times (11,12,13,14,15,16,17) to reach Little Falls, NY.
Kirk Douglas was born in Amsterdam, NY and on our way to Little Falls we passed Fonda, NY.  Although Henry Fonda was not born there, it is where his family roots are from.  Our own little Hollywood Star tour.  Little Falls is the home of Salada Tea and we received a free box upon checking in at the harbor dock.

Pretty Little Falls Harbor

A common sight - grilling on the back of the boat

These are guard gates on the Erie Canal.  They can be lowered to control flooding.  This is the 4th one we went under, just before Little Falls.

While in Little Falls, I walked into town and got a close up look at the guard gate we had just gone under.

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, so it has taken me a little while to figure out why every lock has a nice picnic area.  The locks close at 5 pm, so boaters often have to tie up overnight to the wall in front of the lock as it is impossible to go any further.  It is usually a grassy area with picnic tables and sometimes a charcoal grill.  There is no way to get anywhere in a hurry on the Erie! 

We welcome little diversions with the slow going.  In a lock, a fellow boater hollered, "Where are you headed?"  He surely meant our destination for that day, but I replied, "Michigan".  He said, "You probably aren't going to make it there today!"  We all laughed.

Then, as we were approaching Lock 17, we noticed a boat coming up behind us.  Then over the radio came, "Mike, Mike, Mike, is that you?"  It was Joe Hamilton, whom we had spent January-March of 2017 beside at Marathon Marina, and December of 2017 beside at Legacy Marina in Ft. Myers.  We had a great radio chat.  He is delivering a boat for a customer from Connecticut to Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The boating community really is a small world.

Joe Hamilton passed us before Lock 17.  Right before I took this picture, he had radioed and said his generator was out and did we have a 12volt plug for a phone or iPad.  Greg did and Mike went on the bow with the cord wrapped around our boat hook while Greg inched True North up to the back of Joe's boat.  A successful transfer was made.  I was so intrigued with watching the process I forgot to take a picture.  It would have been a good one!

Notice the door in the two pictures above.  Lock 17 is only one of 2 locks in North America where the entrance gate is lifted above the water rather than entrance doors that swing open.  I was able to snap a picture of the door lowering behind us.  Lock 17 was also our highest lift on the Erie - 40 ft.

Mike holding on to the rope attached to the lock wall.  I'm supposed to be holding on to the rope at the back of the boat, but this locking stuff gets in the way of my "roving reporter", "intrepid photographer" duties!

We had to wait for the fog to lift enough to see the channel markers (buoys).

About seven miles outside Little Falls the Erie Canal leaves the Mohawk River and becomes a true canal running alongside the narrow winding river.  The other side of the Canal parallels Interstate 90.  And judging from the trains that constantly go by, the rail industry is alive and well.

Jim Dawson shared a saying about boating with us - 

You are either watching the show, or you are the show.

This is usually in reference to docking struggles, of which we haven't been that kind of show.

But we have been "the show" to people who line the locks just to watch the process on a sunny day, as you can see from the photos above and below.

Tuesday brought us 50 miles and 5 locks (18,19,20,21 and 22) to Sylvan Beach, NY.  After lock 20, we reached our highest point on the Erie - 420 ft.  Which means we have locked up that many feet since entering the Hudson at New York City.  We went down in Locks 21 and 22.  Sylvan Beach is at the edge of Lake Oneida.  Being from a tourist town, I recognize one when I see it, and that is Sylvan Beach.  Although much larger (20 miles across), Lake Oneida reminded me of Hamlin Lake back home. 

Lake Oneida from Sylvan Beach

Under gray, rainy skies we crossed Lake Oneida on Wednesday morning to continue on the Erie Canal.  We are currently at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY.  The last few days we have been traveling at only 8 mph due to a missing screw on one of our engine mounts.  This was pointed out to us after an oil change back at Shady Harbor on the Hudson.  We also noticed a slight rise in the transmission pressure, which may be due to the engine mount, or maybe not.  (I say "we" - ha!  The guys noticed it!)  We are having the service department here at Winter Harbor take a look.
Seventy-five percent of the other Loopers we have met are on trawlers who always travel at 7-8 mph or maybe 10-12.  Instead of having True North zip across Lake Oneida at her normal 22-24 mph cruising speed, we stuck with the 8.  I feel like a real Looper!  :)


                                              Unique and Random Photo of the Day:

Our view coming out of Lock 17

We're On The Erie Canal!

Saturday, June 23, 2018
5,680 miles
Day 447


Mike and I returned to True North on Wednesday and Greg on Thursday.  We spent Friday tinkering with a depth finder that wasn't working.  Well, Mike and Greg did the tinkering while I visited with a Looper boat that we hadn't seen since last summer in Ludington - Craic.
Shady Harbor in New Baltimore, NY is a nice marina but we were more than ready to be on our way Saturday.  The marina didn't open until 9 am and we needed a pump out before we left, so it was about 10 when we headed north again on the Hudson River.  Our original plan was to go 22 miles to Waterford, spend the night on the wall at the visitor's center and start west on the Erie Canal on Sunday morning.  Brian Donovan, the owner of Shady Harbor came to see us off while we were at the pump out dock and encouraged us to skip Waterford and continue to his other marina in Schenectady - Mohawk Harbor Marina.  The carrot he dangled in front of us was an Elton John Tribute concert at the marina.  "It's only 5 and a half hours - you can make it!"

The Erie Canal connects the Hudson River with Lake Erie, shortening the time necessary to get goods from the East Coast to the Great Lakes and beyond.  Construction of the original canal began in 1817 and was finished in 1825.  It was basically a ditch filled with water.  Mules or horses would walk beside the ditch and pull the boats through.  Before the Erie Canal was built, Philadelphia was the busiest port on the east coast and also the most populated city.  It didn't take long after the canal opened for New York City to claim that distinction.
The current canal was built between 1905 and 1918.  Which makes 2018 the centennial celebration and the fees for pleasure craft using the canal have been waived!  You have to be thankful for the little things . . .


Entering the Troy Lock, before the Erie.  This lock is maintained by the Army Corp of Engineers, so is technically not a part of the Erie Canal.


Another milestone!  At Waterford, NY, we turned left off the Hudson River to enter the Erie Canal!
(We've heard that the Champlain Canal to Lake Champlain is very pretty, but you have to be able to get under a 17 ft. fixed bridge, which True North cannot do.  We hold our breath every time we go under a 20 ft. bridge!)




The Corning Museum of Glass - a floating demonstration barge.  It was in Poughkeepsie when we were there and we tried to get tickets but they were all sold out.  My Dad was a glass blower for Dow Chemical Company.


It was tied up on the wall in Waterford, and we had to wait for the lock to open, so I got to hear some of the presentation.  As you can see, it was a cold, rainy day to travel.  It seemed as if every time we went into a lock where Mike and I would have to be outside holding the boat in place, the rain came down harder!


The audience on the Corning Barge.


Each lock had a sign as we were exiting that told how far we went up - Lift: 33.55 ft.
And the distance to our next lock: .28 miles
On the inland rivers, the locks had names.  On the Erie Canal, the locks are numbered.


Leaving Lock 2


Lift:  34.5 ft.
Next Lock: .28 miles
We went into Lock 3 with another boat - Gold Loopers Monterey.  They remembered meeting us in Marathon in the February of 2017!  In this lock we saw for the first time something that we had been warned could happen.  Rob, on Monterey, had cleated a rope from the pipe in the lock wall to his boat. (wrapped the line around the cleat and left it unattended).  Somehow the line got caught and he had to quickly get a knife and cut the rope.  With the tension released, his boat immediately rocked back and forth.  We never have a line without someone (Mike or I) holding on to it in a lock, so we don't think this could happen to us.

Couldn't get a picture of the sign from Lock 4.
We were held up at the Troy Lock as the lock was in the up position and so the chamber had to be emptied for us to enter.  At Lock 2 on the Erie,  a boat was already in the lock going up, so we had to wait for that chamber to empty.  At Lock 3, a boat was in the lock, but headed downstream so it was a short wait.  Finally at Lock 4 - 7, we experienced what we had anticipated (and heard) about the Erie Canal - the lock master contacts the next lock master to inform him (or her) that we are coming and we were able to motor right into those locks without a wait.


We went up 33.25 feet and the next lock was only .16 miles!
It was always interesting for me in a lock, standing in the back of the boat (the lowest part), to see what appeared once the chamber was filled and we floated to the top.


Lock 6 marked the end of the "Waterford Flight".  Boaters need to be sure when they enter Lock 2 at Waterford that they can make it through Lock 6 before the locks close for the day (usually 5 or 6 pm) as there are no anchorages or marinas or dock walls within these five locks.



Ok - I'm not going to post a picture of every lock sign we go through, but our first day on the Erie was exciting enough to do so today.  The Erie Canal goes all the way west to Buffalo, NY.  (a boat has to clear 15 ft. to do the western Erie).  We will go through 24 locks before we turn on to the Oswego Canal.


We were a little surprised that much of this portion of the Erie Canal is really just the Mohawk River.


The 5 and 1/2 hour trip turned into 8 hours with the delays at several locks, but we docked at Mohawk Harbor Marina at 6:10, just in time for the Elton John tribute concert.  Brian Donovan was there to greet us.  It was a 45 minute car ride from Shady Harbor for him!
We were cold and wet and hungry, so we didn't use the offered wrist bands to walk around to the front of the stage (this is our view of the back of it from the boat) as we could hear the music just fine.
"B-B-B-Benny and the Jets . . " and "Philadelphia Freedom" rang out while I made chili and we all took hot showers.
The band closed with "Saturday . . . Saturday . . . Saturday nights all right".  As the crowd sang along, it was the perfect ending to our first Saturday on the Erie Canal.

Unique and Random Photo of the Day:


It even has a steering wheel inside!
Different boats for different folks!