Day #10: Trident Yacht Club, Ontario

Pretty Homes Everywhere You Look

Bicki Stands Bow Watch as Nellie Navigates the Shallows

Do you stay within the channel markers or do you venture outside them?  Staying inside the markers is safer.  But safety has a cost.  For one, it guarantees the scenery won't be as good.  Going outside the markers--off the beaten path--is more interesting but also riskier.  Treacherous shoals abound and all it takes is one bad decision to sink the boat.  Which path do you take?

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

--The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

The Navy Islands to Trident Yacht Club, Ontario

Today's destination was the Trident Yacht Club as we've been invited to attend their opening day festivities.  Our 12 mile, circuitous path to get here was definitely outside the markers.  DBH

Day #9: On the Hook in the Navy Islands, Ontario

Umm, One of Us has a Problem

With the hook down in the midst of the Navy Islands we started on the maintenance to-do list.  The wind was blowing, but not enough to concern us.

There's a basic presumption among cruisers that markers, be they channel or hazard, are well attached to the bottom.  That's why when I looked up and saw a rock hazard marker 10 feet from the bow, my eyes got big as saucers.  We started Nellie, prepared to weigh anchor, and got the navigation instruments running.  Then we realized Nellie hadn't moved.  The conclusion?  The marker was adrift.  So, now we've got another problem.  Somewhere upstream of us is a barely submerged, unmarked rock.

Sunset in the Navy Islands

Gananoque to the Navy Islands, Ontario

Another long day at sea, 6 whole miles...  At this rate, by September, we may make it to 200 miles ;-)  On the hook just southeast of Ninette in the Navy Islands, Ontario. DBH

Day #8: Tough to Pronounce Gananoque, Ontario

According to a reliable source, it was printed on the front of a t-shirt, the town's name is pronounced Gan-A-Nock-wee. That's a First Nation term for town on two rivers. We can take solace in the fact the we're not the first to trip over the name. Since 1783 at least fourteen variations of its spelling have appeared in public records.

We Woke to This View of in the Anchorage

In our travels through the Straits of Mackinac Georgian Bay, and now the St Lawrence, we keep tripping over relics of the War of 1812. Today we came across a historical marker in Gananoque commemorating an American raid on the town in September of 1812. In researching the war I was surprised to learn that all sides claim victory. Perhaps Donald Hickey, a Historian at Wayne State College, Nebraska, has it right:

"Everybody's happy with the outcome of the War of 1812.  Americans are happy because they think they won. Canadians are happier because they know they won. And the British are happiest of all because they've forgotten all about it." 

Much Like Georgian Bay, Every Island Big Enough to Support a House has One

Hmm, That Sounds Like Fun :-)

Admiralty Islands to Gananoque, Ontario

It was a short two mile run from the anchorage into Gananoque. There were a bunch of rocks along the route but we managed to miss them all. Tonight Nellie is moored in the Gananoque Municipal Marina. Our year's total mileage is 118. DBH

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