Ram Island, Ontario – Trenton, Ontario - July 9, 2008

There was a storm last night, with a lot of wind. There were a few gusts up to 50 mph. We dragged about 150’ before our anchor caught again. Bob and Margaret started their engine in case they needed to break away from us. After our anchor dug in again, Bob dropped his anchor to help keep us in one place. The 9 boats that were rafted together started to drift and ended up breaking into 3 groups of 3.

We left this morning at 9:00 a.m. in overcast skies and light drizzle. Luckily, the heavy rain had stopped. We arrived in Trenton, Ontario at 1:45. We stayed at one of the marinas that was next to a park. The park was very pretty, with flowers, benches, memorials and a gazebo. Concerts are held every Sunday and Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at a band shell about a block away.

We went walking in downtown Trenton. We found a NAPA store where Darrell picked up a part for the boat. Then we had a late lunch at a café in the area. We stopped in the library where we checked our e-mail before going back to the boat. We played cards with Bob and Margaret tonight. Margaret and Beth are not having very good luck.

Trenton is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Trent-Severn Waterway is made of a number of canals and locks connecting lakes and rivers. There are 44 locks over 240 miles. Trenton is 243 feet above sea level. We will be locking up for the first 35 locks and will eventually reach a high water point at Balsam Lake at 840 feet above sea level. From then on we will be locking down until we arrive at Port Severn and 576 feet above sea level.

We plan on starting the canal tomorrow.

Ram Island, Ontario – Trenton, Ontario - July 9, 2008

There was a storm last night, with a lot of wind. There were a few gusts up to 50 mph. We dragged about 150’ before our anchor caught again. Bob and Margaret started their engine in case they needed to break away from us. After our anchor dug in again, Bob dropped his anchor to help keep us in one place. The 9 boats that were rafted together started to drift and ended up breaking into 3 groups of 3.

We left this morning at 9:00 a.m. in overcast skies and light drizzle. Luckily, the heavy rain had stopped. We arrived in Trenton, Ontario at 1:45. We stayed at one of the marinas that was next to a park. The park was very pretty, with flowers, benches, memorials and a gazebo. Concerts are held every Sunday and Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at a band shell about a block away.

We went walking in downtown Trenton. We found a NAPA store where Darrell picked up a part for the boat. Then we had a late lunch at a café in the area. We stopped in the library where we checked our e-mail before going back to the boat. We played cards with Bob and Margaret tonight. Margaret and Beth are not having very good luck.

Trenton is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Trent-Severn Waterway is made of a number of canals and locks connecting lakes and rivers. There are 44 locks over 240 miles. Trenton is 243 feet above sea level. We will be locking up for the first 35 locks and will eventually reach a high water point at Balsam Lake at 840 feet above sea level. From then on we will be locking down until we arrive at Port Severn and 576 feet above sea level.

We plan on starting the canal tomorrow.

Ram Island, Ontario – Trenton, Ontario - July 9, 2008

There was a storm last night, with a lot of wind. There were a few gusts up to 50 mph. We dragged about 150’ before our anchor caught again. Bob and Margaret started their engine in case they needed to break away from us. After our anchor dug in again, Bob dropped his anchor to help keep us in one place. The 9 boats that were rafted together started to drift and ended up breaking into 3 groups of 3.

We left this morning at 9:00 a.m. in overcast skies and light drizzle. Luckily, the heavy rain had stopped. We arrived in Trenton, Ontario at 1:45. We stayed at one of the marinas that was next to a park. The park was very pretty, with flowers, benches, memorials and a gazebo. Concerts are held every Sunday and Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at a band shell about a block away.

We went walking in downtown Trenton. We found a NAPA store where Darrell picked up a part for the boat. Then we had a late lunch at a café in the area. We stopped in the library where we checked our e-mail before going back to the boat. We played cards with Bob and Margaret tonight. Margaret and Beth are not having very good luck.

Trenton is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Trent-Severn Waterway is made of a number of canals and locks connecting lakes and rivers. There are 44 locks over 240 miles. Trenton is 243 feet above sea level. We will be locking up for the first 35 locks and will eventually reach a high water point at Balsam Lake at 840 feet above sea level. From then on we will be locking down until we arrive at Port Severn and 576 feet above sea level.

We plan on starting the canal tomorrow.

Kingston, Ontario Canada – Ram Island, Ontario Canada - July 8, 2008

Margaret and Beth went to the Farmers Market this morning. This Farmers Market has been held 3 times a week for more than 100 years. The produce here was wonderful. Beth picked up some green beans and the largest radishes she has ever seen. They are not woody, they are solid and have a mild taste. Darrell and Beth are looking forward to radish sandwiches!

We left the marina at 10:45 and cruised to Ram Island in Hay Bay, Ontario. We anchored at 4 p.m., with Bob and Margaret rafted up to us. This is a popular anchorage, there were 9 boats rafted together quite near us.



Bob and Margaret made dinner tonight. It was very good!

Tomorrow we plan to get to Trenton and the beginning of the Trent-Severn Canal.

Kingston, Ontario Canada – July 7, 2008

This morning Darrell worked on the engine. He replaced a solenoid and ignition switch.

Beth and Margaret walked to the grocery store to pick up some supplies. This grocery store charged for plastic bags if you didn’t bring your own. Luckily we had heard about it, so came prepared. Maybe stores in the US should think about doing that.

In the afternoon, we took a trolley tour of Kingston. Some of the things we learned:

Kingston was established in 1673 and is the oldest city in Ontario. It was originally a French Trading Post. The population is about 117,000.

10 of the 19 total Canadian jails are located in Kingston.

Kingston was the first capital of Canada, from 1841-1844.

Queens University is located in Kingston. It was established in 1841 and is the oldest university in Canada.

The Royal Military College of Canada is also located in Kingston. You get a free 4 year education, graduate, then serve in the military 5 years.

After the war of 1812 an agreement was made between Britain and the U.S. to limit the number of warships in the Great Lakes to 3 each. Each country scuttled more than 200 warships in the St. Lawrence Seaway and eastern Lake Ontario. As a result of that, this area of the St. Lawrence River is considered the fresh-water diving capital of the world. Most of the wrecks are accessible to recreational divers.

The four of us went out to dinner tonight.

Alexandria Bay, NY – Kingston, Ontario Canada - July 6, 2008

We left our anchorage in the United States this morning at 8:10 and were tied up in Rockport Ontario at 8:45. Only the captains are allowed to leave the boat to clear customs and you are supposed to fly a yellow flag until the process is complete. By 9:10 both L’Attitude Changer and Bellissimo had been cleared. While cruising in other countries it is customary to fly a small flag of that country. We are both flying our Canadian courtesy flag.

While in Rockport Darrell and Bob bought Canadian fishing licenses. A seasonal license for Lake Ontario was only $42. Margaret and Beth are looking forward to many good walleye meals.

We left Rockport at 10:00 on our way to Kingston. The scenery is absolutely beautiful. There were so many islands, some very rugged looking with granite outcroppings. Others with trees everywhere and more that are just chunks of rock.

Canada operates 21 parks in The Thousands Islands of the St. Lawrence River. Most of these parks are an island, accessible only by boat. They have docks, restrooms and picnic areas. There is a small fee to use, $0.70/ft per night. We went past several and most of them had boats docked. There are also several beautiful places to anchor.

Water depth varies dramatically. We saw some sailboats tied up to a granite wall of an island and lighthouses in the middle of the lake indicating only 2’ of depth yet 20 ft away the water could be 150 ft deep.

We passed the town of Gananoque, the Canadian Gateway to the Thousand Islands. The St. Lawrence River becomes much wider here as it opens into Lake Ontario.

We arrived in Kingston Ontario at 2:00 and were docked at 2:15. The Kingston City Marina is huge and is located in downtown Kingston. It is right next to a very nice park and the Visitor Center.

Alexandria Bay, NY - July 5, 2008

After Beth dropped her phone in the river last night, our plans for today changed a little. We went back into Alexandria Bay this morning and were able to find a spot at the city dock. Darrell called T-Mobile and found that the nearest place we could get a phone was 20 miles from here. This town isn’t large enough to have any car rental agencies and a taxi was going to be quite expensive. We went to the Chamber and one of the ladies called her husband and asked him to drive Darrell to Evans Mills. Her husband graciously agreed. Bob was looking for a new depth sounder so went with Darrell in hopes of finding one.

We left Alexandria Bay at 1 p.m. with a new cell phone for Beth and a new depth sounder for Bob. We went to Singer Island, about 10 miles away and planned to tour that castle. We arrived at 2:30 and were told we would be in the 3:00 tour. 3:00 came and went. They kept putting us off, saying there was a tour boat coming and we would be with that group. We weren’t allowed to go by ourselves. Finally at 3:30 we requested a refund and left. We watched with binoculars and the tour boat didn’t tie up until 4:00.

The Thousand Islands are breathtaking. There are islands almost everywhere in this area of the river. To quality as an island, there must be at least 1 tree on it and it must be visible 365 days a year. Some are very close together, some are large and others small. Most have homes on them and you can only get to them by boat. Some of the larger islands have 2-3 homes. Many of the smaller have 1 house.

Every picture in the slide show is that of an island. Some have homes and some don’t.

Here is a picture of the smallest island we saw which had a house.

We decided to go back to our anchorage of last night, just beside Boldt Castle. Another night with a beautiful view.

Tomorrow we will go to Rockport, Ontario to clear customs.