Starting the Trent-Severn Waterway!

 Happy to be starting on journey through the Trent-Severn Waterway!

The bridge is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. 

The first of 42 locks!   Waiting our turn on the "Blue Line".   All the locks have a place to tie up to wait while the lock is busy with other boats.

Here we are in the lock after filling, lifting us up 18 feet.  This pic if from the boat looking back down to the water before we entered the lock.   

Roxie making her rounds insuring everything is going smoothly.  

There are parts of the Trent that are really tight!

We landed at the top of Lock 6 just before a pretty good storm.   It was in a remote location and we had dinner on the boat.

This morning (Tues 6/27) we left Lock 6 long after the rush of the other boats headed out.  We like letting the pack head out before us since we move slower than others and we just like the tranquility of being out here by ourselves.  

Just beautiful....sun, clouds, mountains, water, narrow passages and wide open spaces.  

Heading into the next lock!

We made it to Campbelford and stayed here for two nights.  

Road our bikes to the Suspension bridge over the waterway.  You can see through the grates. Very cool!

View of the waterway from the bridge.

Monument of the Canadian 2 dollar coin. 

Concert in the Park!

On the wall with fellow loopers!

Thursday morning 6/29 we headed out to Hastings.  Went through 6 locks...it was a long day!  

We made it to the Hastings lock but unfortunately there was no space above the lock for us to tie up.  We really wanted to be above the lock so that we could get an early start on Rice lake.  The lockmaster offered to allow us to tie up on the blue line above lock if we were willing to wait until the last lock through!  Yes!

Tied up on the blue line!  

Leaving Hastings Friday morning the charts showed we needed to go between the green square and the red triangle.  Really?!?

As we got closer we could see that it was just an optical illusion.  We could get through there!

Coming into Petersborough the kids are celebrating their first day of summer break and the start of the  Canadian holiday weekend!

Kingston to Trenton

This morning (Saturday 6/24) we were up at 6am and left the dock before 7!  The forecast is rain without wind....good day for traveling up the northern shore Lake Ontario to Trenton.  About the time I got the lines and fenders put away the rain started.  It didn't last long and we were traveling in mostly cloudy skies and the water couldn't have been flatter.  

   

We made it Trent Port Marina.  The marina was very nice.....free laundry, including the soap and softener!  We had dinner at Wahoo in Trenton.  As the day went on more boats came in and tied up before heading into the Trent.  Were going to stay tonight and Sunday night to get provisions and clean the boat before we kick off our trip through the Trent-Severn Waterway!  

Sunday morning most of the transient boats left to start their journey.  We spent the sunny warm day doing laundry, washing the boat and gathering provisions.  Sunday afternoon, several boats came in for the night before starting the Trent.  One more night and we will be on our way!

Monday morning, I worked while Willy helped our fellow loopers off the dock.  Once I was off work, it was finally our turn to begin our journey!

 

Clayton to Kingston

Thursday was another sunny and warm day!  We did receive our package and we are headed to Kingston, Ontario!

The ride over was smooth.  Once crossing over into Canada we had to raise our yellow quarantine flag until we have cleared into Canada.  Clearing in was really easy, once docked a quick call to answer some questions and we were cleared.  Down came the yellow flag and up went the Canadian flag!  

We stayed in Confederation Basin Marina in Kingston, which is right in the middle of downtown.  There is a lively park just off the docks and it was bustling with live music, tourists going on ferry excursions, simply enjoying the park and dining.  Both days were warm with a nice breeze.  We enjoyed exploring the city.  Willy found Kingston had a McDonalds close to the docks and pick-up breakfast on Friday morning!

The park was built around the old train station, which was renovated and now the welcome and information center.  The original train was also on display. 

As we were coming in to port we noticed several of these towers specked along the shore.  We had the opportunity to tour one that was close to town, it was called the Murney Martello Tower.  It was the last of the Martello Towers built.  These were armed with guns and cannons.  There are three levels.  The basement had several rooms for storage and a jail cell.  The living quarters was on the main floor and a  very large cannon was upstairs.  The cannon was on a track which could be moved to fire in any direction.  

Interesting....but the ditch around the fort was not for water....it's called a dry ditch.  

The staircase to the top of the tower.  

The cannon room on the top floor. The roof could be removed for times of battel and rebuilt during quite times to protect the tower from the elements.   

There were several parks along the waterfront and I took the opportunity to see just how cold the water was.  It was chilly!

Cheers in her slip in Kingston!

Friday we had an early dinner at Dianne's Fish & Chips.  We both got fish and shrimp, so good!     

Tomorrow morning is going to be an early one.....we have a 10 hour ride to Trenton, where we will hang out for a couple of days to prepare for entering the Trent-Severn Waterway!

Trip Summary Sandusky OH to Clayton NY 2023

Our first leg of this years journey took us from our home port of Sandusky Ohio thru the Western Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River to Clayton New York. We covered 455.5 NM in 82.8 hours averaging 5.5 knots. We used a total of 145 gallons of diesel averaging 1.75 GPH and 3.1 NMPG.   

Date	Departure/Arrival	Miles	Hours	Locks
05/31	Sandusky to Vermilion	18.4	4.0	0
06/01	Vermilion to Cleveland	32.0	5.2	0
6/2-6/3	Cleveland to Buffalo	152.4	21.2	0
06/05	Buffalo to Tonawanda	12.0	3.0	1
06/06	Tonawanda to Gasport	20.3	4.5	2
06/07	Gasport to Albion	17.8	4.0	0
06/08	Albion to Holley	8.2	2.0	0
06/09	Holley to Brockport	3.8	1.0	0
06/10	Brockport to Spencerport	6.3	1.5	0
06/11	Spencerport to Fairport	20.8	5.0	2
06/12	Fairport to Newark	16.6	4.1	2
06/13	Newark to Lyons	4.8	2.1	3
06/14	Lyons to Baldwinsville	41.1	7.1	2
06/16	Baldwinsville to Brewerton	18.3	4.3	2
06/17	Brewerton to Oswego	26.9	6.7	8
06/19	Oswego to Clayton	55.8	7.1	1
		455.5	82.8	23

Oswego to Clayton NY

Monday morning we were up and ready for Lock 8 to open at 7 to get out on Lake Ontario.  This was the first time we actually shared a lock with more than just one boat.  It was full.  Sorry, too busy to take a pic!

I was able to work while we went across the lake.  It was a bit bumpy at first but flattened out and the rest of the ride was perfect!  We made it to Clayton, NY.  Really beautiful place, quite and peaceful.  We ended up staying here until Thursday, waiting for a replacement light.  

A little backstory here.....in Buffalo we took down the mast and ended up busting our anchor light.  We ordered one right away, but of course it went to Florida.  Once in FL, our mail service packed it up with all our other mail and shipped it to Clayton.  We were expecting to have the package Wednesday, but it didn't come....oh well, if you need to stuck somewhere....this is the place to do it!

We decided to take advantage of the extra time and booked an island excursion that included a stop and tour of Heart Island & Boldt Castle.  The castle was built by millionaire George Boldt, who was famous for managing the Waldorf Astoria in NY.   In 1900 he purchased an island in Alexandria Bay and began to have a 120 room castle built to display his love for his wife, Louise.  What a coincidence!  

Unfortunately, Louise died from an illness in 1904.  George halted all the construction and he never stepped foot on the island again.  For 73 years the castle and island were left without care and was vandalized.  In 1977 the Thousand Island Bridge Authority acquired the property and has since spent 60 million dollars restoring the island and the castle.  

There are 6 floors in the castle, but only the first two floors have been totally restored.  We were able to see the other 4 floors, which showed the wear and vandalism.  

Front entrance

Dinning Room

Ballroom

Library

Bedrooms

 

Outbuildings including the boat house

Unfinished and unrestored rooms on the 3-6 floors. 

Wednesday was warm and sunny!  Summer has finally arrived!   We had a great day and topped it off with dinner at The Channelside Restaurant.  I had the lobster mac & cheese and Willy got a burger, both were delicious!  And the view was awesome.  

Back on the boat to watch the sunset. 

Tomorrow we hope to have our package so we can proceed to Kingston, Ontario!