June 19, 2015

We left Campbellford at 0900 to catch the first opening of the locks. Luckily there were no boats locking "downstream" so we were able to lock through right at 0900. We made excellent time, locking past Lock 18 at Hastings and continuing along Rice Lake, which was very calm, and up the Otonobee River towards Peterborough, whose current really didn't slow us down. We arrived at Scott Mills, Lock 19, at the bottom end of Peterborough at 1930, quite happy with our day. The weather was nice with sunny skies and no rain.

June 20, 2015

We were up and locking through Locks 19 and 20 in the morning. We arrived at the lift lock, Lock 21, around 1030. Our daughter, Jodi, and her boyfriend, Chris, were meeting us at noon to experience going through some of the locks. They arrived at 1100 but who cared! We hadn't seen them since last November! The four of us had lunch out at a Peterborough restaurant, getting back to CS'ta Time around 1400. We did the lift lock together and then Jodi and I bailed at the top of the lock. We were driving her car to Lakefield, Lock 26, where we were meeting the guys. Jodi and I did some window shopping in Lakefield, only 8 miles up the river, while we waited for Jorge and Chris who arrived at 1730. They hit one low spot just before Lock 24 when Jorge ran aground in the mud. He just backed off and they were on their way again. We enjoyed supper at one of Lakefield's restaurants before saying good-bye to the kids.

The view from the top of the Peterborough lift lock.

Jodi and Kim at the lift lock.

CS'ta Time's name (in pink) on the Graffiti Wall at the lift lock.

The lift lock.

 

June 21, 2015

We had a down day, staying at Lakefield and enjoying the area. Did nothing strenuous for the day. Around suppertime, the cruise boat Kawartha Voyageur showed up at the lock and who should be on it but members of HYC . . .

Sandy, Linda and Jorge at Lock 26, Lakefield.

June 22, 2015

We left the lock at Lakefield at 0800. The plan was to only go 6 miles to the next lock and visit there but Young's Point didn't promise too much in the way of entertainment so we decided to go further, making our way to Buckhorn. We arrived and tied up at lower Buckhorn Lake, before going through the lock. We toured the small town before retiring for the night.

June 23, 2015

We locked through Buckhorn but stayed at the lock on the top side. The winds were incredibly strong and we didn't want to chance traveling Buckhorn Lake and Pigeon Lake trying to make it to Bobcaygeon with the mast down. It was another down day, doing not too much.

June 24, 2015

It was good that we waited at Buckhorn. This morning was very calm and sunny. We had a totally uneventful trip, leaving Buckhorn at 0800 and arriving to Bobcaygeon around 1130. The day was sunny and warm. We wandered around town checking out antique shops and boutiques but not buying anything. Duchess of Chaos caught up with us and we visited with them in the early evening. It was a relaxing day in general.

June 13, 2015

The Lake Ontario crossing went very well. We left Oswego, NY at 2200 as planned. Shawn and Leanne followed aboard Suenos. The conditions were forecast to be light winds and calm seas and everything was as predicted. We did encounter a bit of fog but nothing too serious and with the radar we were okay. Shawn and Leanne headed towards Coburg about half way across the lake and we continued to Prinyer's Point. We then continued on to Belleville, arriving at the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club at 1100. A great crossing!

Our first sunrise back in Canada.

A herb garden for visiting boats.

The boating community is certainly small. One of HYC's former members now boats out of BQYC and when he heard a boat from Barrie was visiting, well he had to check it out. It was none other than . . .

Jorge and Maurice Pelletier!

 

We enjoyed drinks and memories of his time at HYC.

BQYC.

 

BQYC had courtesy bikes which Jorge and I helped ourselves to and toured around Belleville. We met so many nice boaters here and were enjoying ourselves so much we stayed 3 nights!

 

City Hall.

We had lunch here.

 

June 17, 2015

 

Time to leave Belleville and we did so at 0835. We arrived in Trenton and started the Trent-Severn Waterway around 1100.

Welcome sign to the TSW.

We weren't the only ones enjoying the waterway.

 

We locked through stopping just before Lock 7. The locks were on reduced time schedules, not yet summer hours, so the going was slow. They were only working 1000 to 1600 and you had to be at the lock by 1530 in order to make the last lock. We were 10 minutes late so had to wait until the next morning.

 

June 18, 2015

 

Of course the lockmaster took the boats at the top of the lock first so it was more like 1100 before we had locked through the first one! We were already behind the 8 ball. We decided to stop in Campbellford just before Lock 13 as we anticipated not being able to lock through. We chatted with the couple aboard Duchess of Chaos (a trawler) who we had seen off and on since Castleton-on-Hudson. They have five adopted children onboard and two dogs . . . you know where the name of their boat came from! Lovely people from Kentucky who are doing "the loop".

 

Tomorrow the locks start on summer hours and we are hoping to make it to Peterborough for noonhour on Saturday. Our daughter Jodi and her boyfriend are meeting us there to experience the lift lock.

June 7, 2015

We bought our lock pass for the Erie Canal and started on our way.

A different view of Lock 2, after buying our pass, a 35' lock.

 

We didn't want to leave Waterford as it was a quaint and quiet spot. Today was the start of the summer Farmer's Market with lots of neat little stands!

We bought pizza from this truck for lunch for the first part of the Erie Canal.

Approaching Lock 2. (There is no Lock 1.)

 

 

We left Waterford at 1100 and locked through stopping west of Lock 8 the first day. The locks provide free docks so we took advantage of them.

 

June 8, 2015

 

We made it to Canajoharie today, stopping midday and just before Lock 14. The forecast was for rain making locking through rather unpleasant. And rain it did! Just shortly after we tied up.

 

June 9, 2015

 

We decided to spend another day in Canajoharie as heavy rain was again forecast. During a dry hour or two in the afternoon we toured the boiling pot. 

Canajoharie means "boiling pot", apparently the pot is a round pool formed by rocks at the bottom of these falls but because of the heavy rains recently the pot is under water.

The Academy, under renovations.

 

June 10 and 11, 2015

 

We continued our travels along the Erie Canal, staying west of Lock 20 on the 10th and then staying at Sylvan Beach on the 11th. We decided to stop at Sylvan Beach at 1300 as Lake Oneida was choppy and we didn't want to cross the 20 miles with the mast down in winds of 10 to 15 kts.

June 12, 2015

As the winds were forecast to be very light today, we left Sylvan Beach at 0530. Our goal was Oswego and we made it in record time. At one point while transversing the Oswego River our SOG was 8.3 kts. Gotta love it when the current is with you! We tied up in Oswego at 1430, between Locks 7 and 8. One of Janyce and Steve's daughters lives on Oswego and we were able to have a short visit, aboard CS'ta Time, with her and her two kids after we arrived. Shawn and Leanne were also already here and had their mast up and sails on (their destination is Port Credit so no need to keep their mast down). We enjoyed supper aboard Suenos and made plans to leave together tomorrow evening. Winds are supposed to be almost nil, the rest of the week shows increased winds to 15 kts. That would be great with the mast up and sails, but not with the mast down. Shawn and Leanne are okay with little or no wind as their main sail has a serious rip in it, so they can't use it anyhow.

June 13, 2015

We had lunch at . . .

A little taste of home in Oswego.

CS'ta Time tied up at the wall between Locks 7 and 8 in Oswego.

 

Last night while on Suenos, a cold front moved in, dropping the temperature considerably and bringing with it fog. The temperature is still cool and there is still fog at the mouth of the river and Lake Ontario. It is now 1600 and we plan on locking through Lock 8 and tying up on the other side in preparation for leaving tonight. Our destination is tentatively Belleville, CANADA!

May 28, 2015

We left the mooring ball at 79th Street Boat Basin, NYC, at 0850 and motored all day to Greens Cove in Haverstraw Bay where we set the anchor at 1530. The day was mostly overcast but very little rain and little wind. We had a quiet uneventful evening.

May 29, 2015

We weighed anchor and were out of Greens Cove at 0915. Again it was a motoring day as there was no wind and no waves. We had sunny skies and today it was hot, 29C. We actually went further than what we set out to travel today. We set anchor just outside of Kingston at 1735. We decided not to go into Kingston as we had on the way down due to a 56' fixed bridge. The anchorage was very calm outside the Kingston entrance.

West Point.

Appalachian Mountains along the Hudson.

Ditto.

 

The entrance to Kingston, NY.

 

May 30, 2015

This morning we weighed anchor at 0900. The wind had picked up during the night and we had a very enjoyable motor sail to Castleton-on-Hudson. It was another sunny and warm day (although not as hot as yesterday). We tied up at the dock at Castleton at 1500. This was where we left our mast supports on the way south. The plan was to take the sails down but due to the strong winds we were only able to take the main down around 2000. We took a mooring ball just before dark.

May 31, 2015

Just as was forecast, the winds came down from the north around 0900 and the outside temperature dropped from 21C to 11C. And it started to rain as well! It was a good day to curl up on the settee with a blanket, book and cup of tea!

June 1, 2015

The weather wasn't much better today. Jorge changed the engine oil and filter and took the boom off. We went ashore by dinghy and Jorge dug out our mast supports from behind the yacht club and from underneath the mast supports of other boaters. Not much else happened that day.

June 2, 2015

Today was still overcast and cool but no rain. We left the mooring ball and tied up at the dock in the late morning. We were able to dry out and take the geneo down. Preparations were well underway so we could take the mast down the following day. Shawn and Leanne (who had left their boat here while they were in Canada for a week) returned and I made supper for them.

June 3, 2015

Jorge spent the morning finishing the prep work for taking the mast down, which was accomplished without incident by lunchtime. We then helped another couple take down their mast in the afternoon. Supper was at the Village Inn.

Dinner at the Village Inn.

June 4, 2015

Shawn and Leanne's mast was ready to come down this morning. It was a bit trickier than expected as this was a new boat to him and he had never taken this mast down before. After a few glitches it came down. We helped with a fourth mast before we left Castleton at 1100 and headed to Waterford. For a change we were the first to be ready and left before the other sailboats. We went through the federal lock at Troy and then 2 miles further to Waterford where we tied up at a free dock around 1500. We enjoyed happy hour with a couple aboard a trawler headed to the North Channel. We were happy to be able to give them some suggestions and info about Canada.

June 5, 2015

We had been in contact with Janyce and Steve who live in nearby Albany. We first met them 5 years ago in Costa Rica and then hooked up with them in 2013 on our way south with the boat. As they did two years ago, they picked us up in Waterford, drove us around to do some errands, had us to their home for lunch, to do laundry and then also for supper! Funny how good friendships can happen over sharing a table for lunch in a restaurant in Costa Rica.

Jancye, Kim and Steve aboard CS'ta Time in Waterford.

Steve, Jancye and Jorge.

 

One of our errands was to refill our propane tank . . . at Robinson's Hardware.

 



Judd Robinson, owner. A relative Jim?

Jancye and Steve set a mean supper table.

June 6, 2015

Happy Sail Past HYC!

Shawn and Leanne arrived in Waterford yesterday but as we were out with Janyce and Steve we didn't see them until today. They were starting the Erie Canal today but we were staying one more day. A very important soccer game was being played this afternoon. After a walk to the grocery store and then another walk to the wine store, we went in search of a sports bar televising the game. I am happy to report Jorge's team (Barcelona) won the European championship.

Tomorrow we are planning to start our trip through the Erie Canal.

CS'ta Time at Waterford dock, tied up like a salami as Jorge would say.

We are on the Hudson River, north of NYC. How did we get here, well . . .

May 15, 2015

We left Old Point Comfort in Mill Creek, Hampton (Norfolk, Virginia) just before 0800, heading to the marina for fuel. Upon arrival we were met with a sign "Pumps Closed". Plan B, we headed across Hampton Roads to Willoughby Harbour only to be greeted by a fellow boater on the dock who informed us there was no fuel here, go back across Hampton Roads south of where we were for a marina. Plan C, we headed to Little Creek Inlet as it was, at least, on our way out of the Chesapeake. We were successful in getting fuel and water. We left the marina at 1050 and headed to the Atlantic, crossing Highway 13 (where it becomes a tunnel) at the small boat channel area. We had decided to take the Delmarva coast off shore and avoid all the crab pots in the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay! We had good weather and motor sailed the entire way, making good time, instead of our predicted 30 - 31 hours we made it in 26 hours. The winds were with us for a change.

Check out the sailboat at the stern of the ship.

More weird looking military machines.

May 16, 2015

We arrived in Cape May at 1100, fueled up and then slept for a few hours. We had caught up to Shawn and Leanne as they had travelled the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Our plan was to travel from Cape May to Atlantic Highlands (Sandy Hook) together as they had never done an overnighter on the ocean and they had no radar but we did. We had happy hour with them, discussed the passage and planned to leave Cape May the following morning.

May 17, 2015

As scheduled, our two boats left Cape May at 1000. There was a bit of fog, visibility being about 2 miles for a couple of hours but otherwise the passage was uneventful. The seas were unbelievably calm and we had no wind, a total motor trip, taking 20-1/2 hours.

Sunrise along the Jersey coast.

 

May 18, 2015

We set anchor at 0630 behind the breakwall at Atlantic Highlands. By 0700 we were asleep only to be awoken by the sound of strong winds and waves. Upon investigating (popping his head out of the companionway and checking the instruments) Jorge discovered the winds were blowing 25+ kts and it was so foggy we couldn't see the boats anchored next to us. Boy, we made into the anchorage just in the nick of time!

We all went out for dinner to celebrate Shawn, Leanne and Daeyten's first overnighter.

Shawn and Leanne aboard Suenos, celebrating their first ocean overnighter.

Jorge and I decided to stay in Atlantic Highlands for a few days and rest up, doing some laundry, groceries and I got a haircut, the first in almost a year.

May 21, 2015

We left Atlantic Highlands at 0940. Luckily there was no fog this morning, the last two mornings we had been fogged in until noon hour! We made it to NYC, 79th St. Boat Basin and took a mooring ball for a week. We again caught up with Shawn and Leanne as they only spent one night in Atlantic Highlands.

Arriving in New York City from Atlantic Highlands.

We had been in contact with Lynn and Sally (who we had meet in Atlantic Highlands on our way south in Sept 2013) who live in Long Island. We agreed to meet them for lunch tomorrow.

May 22, 2015

We meet Lynn and Sally at the marina and enjoyed lunch with them in Manhattan. As their sailboat (Freedom 40) winters in Rhode Island and was ready to sail to its summer home in Long Island, they asked us if we wanted to join them. Of course! We drove from Manhattan to the ferry in Orient at the end of Long Island to Conneticut then drove to Barrington, Rhode Island that day/night.

May 23, 2015

We were underway from Barrington at 0800. We had a wonderful sail for the first few hours after which time Mother Nature took a nasty turn and brought on high winds and rough seas, both on the nose! Flashes of the south side of Puerto Rico appeared before my eyes, however with much colder temperatures - we were all in long johns and winter coats! Lynn wisely chose to cut the passage short. We were originally supposed to sail to Block Island but we turned into the bay at Point Judith and took a slip at the marina.  Block Sound was just too rough and the Block Island anchorage was not good for these conditions. So instead we had an early happy hour!

Lynn and Sally.

Jorge and Lynn.

May 24, 2015

Lynn had us up just before 0600. He was keen to go until he read the "small craft advisory" on the weather forecast.  Okay, so we wait for better weather. We had breakfast at the grocery store/cafeteria and then spent the rest of the day chatting, reading and snoozing. Basically relaxing. Good thing we waited for weather, a local boater who had come into the marina in the afternoon described "out there" as being "sporty"! Supper was fresh lobster bought at the local fish store.

Jorge, Lynn and Sally at grocery store/cafeteria for breakfast.

Jorge and Lynn with supper.

May 25, 2015

Again Lynn was eager to get going. We were up at 0500 today! How could you tell this was his first time out on the boat this season? Today the weather was good, no small craft advisory, winds 10 to 14 kts. Well, there was no wind, go figure, blowing a gale yesterday and nothing today! We motored the whole day under sunny skies and much warmer temperatures.

We arrived at their summer slip on Long Island by 1300. After closing up the boat, Lynn and Sally drove us back to Manhattan. We had a short happy hour aboard CS'ta Time. Everything was okay leaving her on a mooring ball for four days. We then walked and found an Italian restaurant and ordered pizza, after failing to get one delivered to the marina.

We said farewell to Lynn and Sally after making arrangements to get together again, soon, somewhere.

Southern Belle at her summer slip.

May 26, 2015

We were tired from the four days spent with Lynn and Sally so we had a very lazy morning, not even getting off the boat until 1400. We wandered around really aimlessly, in and out of Central Park, along the streets, sightseeing and not doing anything too strenuous.

Trump Hotel.

New Yorker's take their cycling seriously. They even have traffic lights for bikes!

May 27, 2015

This morning was almost a repeat of yesterday. However in the afternoon we walked along the waterfront to 48th Street. Jorge wanted to tour the aircraft carrier, submarine and shuttle. That didn't tickle my fancy so I took a book and read in the park and people watched while Jorge got his fill of machine stuff.

May 28, 2015

Our week was up on the mooring ball. Time to move on. We left NYC and headed up the Hudson, setting anchor in Green Cove, Haverstraw Bay.

The temperatures have continued to warm up, with today's high almost reaching 30C, a far cry from last Saturday when we were in winter coats with Lynn and Sally.