Day #7: Blown Away by the Admiralty Islands, Ontario

What a difference a day makes! With calm winds we charged into the St Lawrence River and began exploring the area known as the Thousand Islands (yes, the salad dressing was named for them).

At the Head of the St. Lawrence Looking Downstream.  It's 744 miles from here to the Atlantic Ocean.

Normally the size of a river's headwaters are fairly unimpressive. Take the Mississippi for example, at its headwaters on Lake Itaska you can literally jump across it. If you tried to jump across the St. Lawrence's headwaters you'd end up 10 miles short of the far shore. Yup, it's that wide.

What You Don't See--Millions of Newly Hatched Milton Island Midges Swarming Around Bicki.  We Moved On, Seeking a Less Buggy Home for the Evening

Collins Bay, Ontario to the Admiralty Islands, Ontario

We only went 31 miles today and yet find ourselves a world away. Gone are the urban areas. They've been replaced with rocky, mostly small, sparsely populated islands. Tonight Nellie finds herself on a well set hook in 10 feet of water on the southeast side of Beaurivage Island. Winds and seas are both dead calm. The sleeping will be good.  Nellie now has 116 miles under her keel in 2018. DBH

Day 6: Blown into Collins Bay, Ontario

Fog in Picton

It was a strange weather day.  Dawn broke with a heavy fog.  Then rain squalls rolled around like billiard balls.  Finally, we were chased off the water when the wind speed climbed into the 40s.  

Rain Squalls over Millhaven

Our milk run along the North Channel turned sour about an hour short of Kingston when the wind whipped waves got uncomfortably steep.  Just ahead of us, where the protection of Amherst Island ended, the seas were guaranteed to be even bigger. 

The Seas Build Just West of Mill Bay

 It was decision time: tough it out or bail out.  Actually, that's not a difficult choice.  This is, after all, a pleasure cruise.  Fortunately, during last night's planning session, Bicki marked Collins Bay on the chart as a possible bailout spot.  That was prescient, because, when we decided to turn tail and run, Collins Bay was only a few miles away.  

Picton, Ontario to Collins Bay, Ontario

It was 32 bumpy miles between Picton and Collins Bay.  Nellie now has 85 miles under her keel for 2018 and 6525 miles since leaving Naples in 2016.  Here's to hoping tomorrow's winds are down. DBH

Day#5: On to Picton, Ontario

Heading South on Long Reach

You can't go far in these parts without hearing or reading about Loyalists.  The Ontario Loyalists were composed of approximately 7,500 American colonists that came here between 1783 and 1784.  They did so in protest to the Revolutionary War.  Starting from nothing, and with nothing more than their own hands, ingenuity, and industriousness, forged communities and a indeed a nation that thrives to this day.

Navigating Out the Napanee

Picton Main Street

Picton Pretty

A Mural on the Giant Tiger Store--it's Like a Miniture Super Walmart

Napanee, Ontario to Picton, Ontario

Nellie made 21 miles today between Napanee and Picton.  Funny how quickly the weather changes here.  A few days ago it was hot enough for air-conditioning.  Today the temperatures never got out of the 60's.  We barely beat the percipitation to Picton but then "the small rain down did rain."  We now stand at 55 miles for 2018.  Nellie is all alone along the municipal wall in Picton, Ontario.  DBH

Day #4: Up The Napanee, Ontario

Belleville in the Rearview Mirror and Adventures Ahead

With no excuses left as to why we couldn't get underway, we got underway.

They say that battle plans last only until the enemy is engaged. Our cruise plan to Picton lasted until we got to the first branch in the river. "Go right", said the chart plotter. We went left; up the Napanee.

The Napanee is Shallow but Well Marked

At it's navigable headwaters is the eponymous town. Among local cruisers Napanee has a bit of an El Dorado reputation--everyone knows it's there but few have seen it. A cruiser we met said they'd explored Lake Ontario for 20 years before venturing up the Napanee. It's now one of their favorite spots.

Along the Napanee Park Wall. It's Saturday and there are Only Seven Cruisers Here. El Dorado Indeed

The Navigable Headwaters at Napanee Falls

Foraging for Dinner is Always a Challenge in the Wilds

Belleville, Ontario to Napanee, Ontario

We left Belleville at 10 am and were tied to the Napanee wall by 2 pm. In-between we made 25 miles to the good. More importantly, we reached escape velocity. The 2018 cruise is officially underway. DBH

Day #3: Last Minute Preparations in Belleville, Ontario

Nellie is ready to go cruising so today was about getting some creature comforts aboard for the crew. First up, propane.



Nellie carries two 20 pound propane tanks. The gas is used for cooking. One tank is always in use while the other is a spare. In the old days you bought propane by the gallon. Today, instead of trudging to a propane distributor, most people simply swap out their empty tank for a full one at almost any convince store. Of course that convience has a big cost. Knowing I'd save a fortune and also wanting to know how much, we first stopped at a convience store. They wanted $19 for a tank swap. Ha! That's $4 over the price of the gas alone. A 21% markup. Highway robbery. So, we drove, and drove to find a propane distributor. We finally spotted one and pulled in. I handed them my tank. They filled it up. They charged me $19...



By volume today's largest addition to the larder was beer. No complaints were heard from Nellie's crew.

No miles today and 10 for 2018. Safely at the dock in Crates Marine, Belleville, Ontario. DBH

Day #2: Sea Trials in Belleville, Ontario

Getting away from the dock is always the hardest part of any cruise; this cruise is proving no exception.  Bad weather and some minor repairs are currently slowing us down.  No worries though, we will reach escape velocity.

We got out on the water twice today.  Our first run was cut short because of a malfunctioning engine temperature gauge--the very same gauge that haunted us last year and the one I thought I'd fixed.  Apparently not.  

The temperature reading should be a lot less than 203°F.  Shooting the engine with an infrared thermometer alleviated our fears.

The second time out we put Nellie through her paces and she performed like the thoroughbred she is.  Bottom line, the engine is running beautifully and the temperature gauge is squirrely.  The gauge isn't a no-go item as there are two independent alarms that will sound in an over heating situation.  

The plan is to provision Nellie tomorrow, pay the yard bill, and get underway on Saturday.  

The sea trial took us 10 miles; mostly in circles.  Still, Nellie gets credit for it.  Safely at the dock in Crates Marine, Belleville, Ontario.  DBH

Day #1: Belleville, Ontario

Today Nellie splashed!  We've been in Belleville working on her since a week ago Monday.  Living on the hard is, well, hard: no running water; no toilet and; you have to scale a ladder to get on and off.

There are lots of wild animals up here in the high latitudes.  I feared for my life when this wolf grabbed my foot.

Getting a boat ready to splash involves myraid activities.  However, one job not normally associated with splashing is rebuilding the rudder, its post, its bearings and, its packing gland.  Certainly this job wasn't on our agenda two days ago when we were initially scheduled to splash.  What changed this was a prelaunch rudder operations check.  Instead of gliding smoothly from side-to-side, the rudder squealed and complained.  Bicki and I looked at each other with knowing glances.  We were both thinking, "We'd rather be on the beach wishing we were cruising, than out cruising and wishing we were on the beach."

We'd never rebuilt the steering system before but figured a good place to start was by removing the rudder.  This was followed by a whole bunch of steps and culminated with the rudder reinstallation.  After splashing today it was a relief that no water leaked aboard via the rudder post and that Nellie's steering worked--at least for the 300 yards to get to the slip. 

Nellie's finally afloat in 2018; and, with running water and a flushing toilet.  Can life get any better ;-)  No miles today but 6,438 miles since leaving Naples, Florida in 2016.  DBH