Riverview Marina, Catskill, NY

Saturday August 31, 2013
42 12.676 N
73 51.449 W

Deidre says she feels that we are really on our way "back" now because we have turned south on the Hudson. I am not sure about what direction "back" is, but I do know that we have passed through our last lock for a long, long time, and I am happy about that.

We were underway about 8:30 AM and the starboard engine misbehaved again. It had rained just about all night and the morning was heavy with cloud accompanied by a pretty stiff southerly. It stayed that way all day so we decided not to anchor out and take a marina instead. We stayed at Riverview on the way north and decided to return. It is on a creek out of the wind.

Plenty of room!

They allocated us a space "in front of the crane" with "plenty of room". Turns out this was a 60' dock, but hemmed in at each end with perpendicular docks. The wind was blowing the right way, so I let it blow the boat in. Getting out tomorrow may be a bit trickier.

Now we could put up the mast, and since we had a bit of practice all went smoothly.

Catskill is a bit of a sad town so we are planning to eat on board. There are some storm cells coming thru so Tony an I have just beefed up the lines a bit.

Mast down

Mast up!

Waterford, NY

Thursday August 29, 2013
42 47.204 N
73 40.731 W

(My apologies for this delayed entry. We have been very busy working on the boat. And eating, drinking and socializing.)

Coming down, 5 locks in a mile

This morning the idiot son approached the boat and said that if we turned the boat he would try the pump out. I saw this as a bit of a olive branch so agreed. We turned the boat and connected the pump out. It worked, not well, but I think we emptied the tank. As I was removing the hose the "connection piece" fell off. The idiot son then did another of his tantrum, throwing the loose part off the dock. What an unhappy person. We were glad to get out of there.

We had about 8 locks ahead of us, the last in a tier of five. The Mohawk valley was very attractive, winding thru hills and cliffs. The last of the locks were slow and tiring (although amazing and interesting civil engineering) and the captain and crew were pleased to arrive in Waterford. The dock was basically full, but a couple of boats moved and made a 60' space. We shoe-horned Tide Hiker in with plenty of help.

I was very happy to be in Waterford, its one of my favorite places. Deidre made sweet and sour chicken for dinner.


Friday August 30, 2013

There is a cafe in Waterford where you can get 2 eggs and toast for $2.00. We always get a bit more than that, and that is where we headed this morning. Then the work began.

I walked over to the post office and picked up mail and parcels (including a replacement toilet seat!) Lyn, Tony and I then walked 1 1/2 miles each way to a hardware store to pick up supplies. Back at the boat we headed a mile or so in the other direction to do a big shop.

Tony working on the mast

Back at the boat the ladies re-provisioned the boat (4 people seem to eat and drink a lot), Tony started on the mast repairs (re-installing the stainless cap and adding the new anchor light). I worked in the head, changing the toilet seat and replacing the sink drain. Later in the afternoon we were ready to lift the mast back into place, which we managed accompanied by plenty shouts and grunts. It was great to see Tide Hiker with her mast back up.

We celebrated with a couple of beers. That is when Deidre took me aside and said "Isn't there one last 20' bridge just in front of the Troy lock??" Sure enough, that is what the chart said and so I had to explain to Tony (who had done most of the work) that the mast had to come down. Not my happiest memory. We lowered it down (We are getting pretty good at it!)

Dinner was steak on the barbeque, and salad. Very nice.

Some videos:

Not a happy Marina

August 28, 2013
42 50.942 N
74 00 792 W

I visited the "impostor" boat and asked when they planned to leave, as we were effectively "hemmed in". I expected something like "I hope you did not mind being moved while you were away last night" but not a word was said. So I called the harbormaster and left a message.

The Vice Admiral at the helm 

The starboard engine did not start well. Tony and I spent another 30 minutes in the engine room tightening all the connections on fuel lines, with no obvious effect.

Nevertheless, we were underway by 9 AM. It was a beautiful morning, misty and sunny. The canal reverted to an "improved river" and the scenery was quite impressive.

Our target destination was a small marina, about 30 miles away, involving 5 locks. We arrived about 3 PM.

As I was docking the boat I heard a nasty clunk. Soon followed by another boat shuddering clunk. I was concerned that I had hit a rock or worse. No-one else heard it. We secured the boat and settled in. Tony and Lyn went for a walk.

The marina was really an RV park with a dock, but it looked well groomed and pretty. I pondered what had happened under the boat.

The log under the boat

Shortly after I discovered a log sticking out under the boat. It was about 10" thick and 15' long, totally waterlogged, too big for me to pull out. I lashed the end of the log with a line and walked up to the office and asked for help. No help arrived and when Tony arrived back we got it out from under Tide Hiker and dragged it to the shore. It had two obvious cuts where it had encountered our props. I walked up to the office and told them where the log was so they could remove it.

An hour later I saw an employee push the log back in the water. I approached and asked "What the (*&#@!(^% are you doing? The response was along the lines of "What the river delivers it can deal with". That pissed me off a little and an argument developed. I walked into the water (fully dressed) and recovered the log and tied it to a dock. The dumb SOB cut my line with a knife. I can see the situation was deteriorating, and recognized that I was 66 and he was 25 (and had a sharp knife) so I went back to the office and told his mother what he was doing!

The situation was now akin to the Israelis and the Palestinians. I rescued the log and tied it off again (now Deidre was getting mad because I was wading into the water fully clothed), went to the office and made my final offer: "Leave the log tied till we leave in the AM, then you can do what you want with it." (I did have a specific suggestion, but not suitable for publication.)

Back on the boat Tony was washing down the decks. But then "The Idiot" (the son, not Tony!) turned off the water saying "This is a marina not a boat washing facility". It got worse. Our pump out was cancelled, and I got my $5 refunded. It was time to back off. I can get my revenge on the internet. Did these people realize that I was just awarded an "Active Captain" hat in recognition of my incisive comments in the Cruising Guide?

Canajoharie (Once again)

Tuesday August 27, 2013
42 54.560 N
74 34.171 W

Starboard engine did not want to start again this AM. Our latest theory (the fuel cut-off solenoid) was a bust.  It was actually worse this AM because after I got it started it spluttered for 10 minutes and I had to jiggle the throttle to keep it turning.

I emailed and called a few people to get ideas. Consistent response was that we have an air leak in "the suction side of the fuel flow". The issue is finding it. In the mean time one suggestion was to fill the fuel tanks so that the top of the fuel in the tank is above the fuel pump (and hence the air leak) and so air will not leak into the line and maybe some fuel will leak out. So we stopped at St. Johnsonville marina and filled up two tanks to the brim. I switched the engine over to those two tanks after we docked. So we will see in the AM

Another rough day!

The weather improved as the day progressed. The water was super calm. We passed thru 6 locks with minimal delay. Having a "crew" makes live easy. Lock 17 was very deep, with a "guillotine" gate rather than a swing gate.

We passed a dredge and crew in the canal today. It was just about blocking the entire canal, but had left a path on its starboard side (marked with the official markers). It was pretty tight so I slowed down to idle speed and edged around. All went well till we were past and the dredge captain called us on the radio, really pissed off that we had not called him on the radio. I was a bit taken aback. Obviously we had surprised him and he was not happy. But there was crew on the back of the dredge that had seen us approach.

We are back at the free docks in Canajoharie, but this time there was no room on the floating dock so we are "around the corner" on a wall. No power and its hard for Deidre to get on and off, but its OK. We will go into town for dinner.

The Harbor Master loaned us a ladder that we put in the side door and so the girls could get off. We went out to dinner. When we returned to the boat we discovered it had been moved a full boat length, so another large boat could fit in. I was not happy about that because we had been moved into an "inferior" situation, and it was done without my involvement./ We went to bed and I mulled my mood.

"Look! One handed!"

Near Utica, NY

Another very relaxing day with no drama. We were underway at about 9 AM and headed for Lake Onieda. There was a little wind but it was on our tail, and the 19 miles was uneventful. Another 24 miles and we are tied up to the wall at lock 19. It has been cloudy and drizzle sort of day, and its currently drizzling. We are waiting for a break so that we can cook dinner on the barbecue. The break did not come so we cooked inside.

By dinner I was feeling pretty crook. I had been nursing either alergies or a cold for the last couple of days. So I took some pills and was in bed by 7 PM. Even the freight trains every 20 minutes did not keep me awake. The rain woke me some time during the night.

Brewerton, NY

Sunday August 25, 2013
43 27.189 N
76 30.395 W

Not convinced we are staying the night at this specific location, but it is correct for the moment.

Crew in the lock

Another perfect day, cool in the AM but really nice by Noon. Eight locks today, was great to have "crew". Arrived Brewerton by 3 PM but our target free dock was filled up with locals, so we have propped on the other side. Lyn and Tony went for a walk. Not much to report!

Lock gate and "guard gate"

Lilly beds in the river

Lyn and Tony on the Brewerton Bridge

Oswego

Our slip was in quite an awkward spot. When we arrived the wind was south west which helped push Tide Hiker onto the dock, but would just about make it impossible to leave safely. However, because we are truly blessed, during the night the wind moved 180 degrees around the compass to North and Northeast. The change came about 2 AM and woke me up. We had decided to leave at 6:30 AM so we would arrive at Oswego in time to get a pump out and get through the first lock.

Lunch

At 6 AM the wind was steady NE and extracting the boat was reasonably easy. We are now 2 hours underway and on schedule.

Deidre put on a slap up lunch today and we ate in style in the pilot house.

Oswego
43 27 189 N
76 30 398 W


We arrived at the Oswego entrance exactly "on time". The wind seem to settle as the day wore on and by the tine we arrived the lake was placid and blue. The crossing took exactly 8 hours. We stopped at a marina for a pump out (Goodness gracious me! The hose is 50' long! Enough for 5 Canadian pump outs!). Thence on to the lock where the lock crew answered the radio (Goodness gracious me!) and immediately emptied the lock and  opened the doors (Goodness gracious me!) What a slick system. We were tied up on the wall by 3:30 PM and felt at home.

Lyn has been pining for Mexican food so we went out to eat - and it was good.

Saturday August 24, 2013

Back in our "old spot" in Oswego

Busy morning with maintenance and shopping. Tony found the fuel leak on the starboard engine and that issue may now be resolved. Tony also dismantled and greased the windlass, sorted out the wiring on the mast prior to re-installing the anchor light and re-stepping the mast.

Later in the afternoon we toured Fort Ontario. It was a perfect fall afternoon. That evening we went to the movies and saw "The Butler"

Clayton, USA

Thursday August 22, 2013


We are currently anchored in Clayton Bay, waiting on the marina to respond to our (many) phone calls and radio hailing. Oh well, it is early (8:30 AM) and it is a city facility. We have our yellow quarantine flag flying - actually we have misplaced the yellow flag and so we are using one of Deidre's yellow tee shirts.

As you may be able to tell from the above, we were up and out of very early this morning. I had realized that if getting Tide Hiker into the dock was hard, getting her out backwards would be even more fun. So I wantd to do it in the calm of early morning. So I woke everyone at about 6:00 AM and we were out by 6:30 AM. All went well, Tide Hiker behaved herself beautifully.

Clayton
44 14.174 N
76 05.483 W

Tight spot

We stooged in Clayton Harbor till about 10 AM before we were able to organize a slip. But by 10.30 AM we were tied up and plugged in, the washer dryer was going, and we headed into town to "report in". We were now back in the USA so needed to do the Immigration and Customs process at a video phone some way across town. The process was a bit of a pain, the official was a bit "officious" but the task was eventually accomplished. To help overcome the stress of dealing with the bureaucracy, we had lunch out at a nice place in Clayton. Just returned and took down Deidre's yellow tee.

Some inside

This afternoon we visited the Wooden Boat Museum. Basically focused on wooden boats in the 1900 - 1930 era. Lots of wood, lots of varnish. Good couple of hours entertainment. Meanwhile, the weather was lousy, lots of wind and rain.

Dinner on the boat.

Some in the water

Camelot Island

Wednesday August 21, 2013
44 18.080 N
76 06.523 W

This morning our new friend "Bill" arrived promptly at 10 AM in one of his runabouts. He took us for a tour of the area, showing us nooks and crannies of the river we would not have ventured into. It is truly an amazing place. The river is so large and impressive, in many places over 200' feet deep, with lots of islands and channels. There are hundreds of picturesque big and little islands, houses perched on many of them. One hundred years ago, in the era of the "robber barons" this was the playing field for the rich and super rich. I took a million photos. We were back by Noon and fired up the engines and a few minutes later we were pulling up the anchor.

When we "set' the anchor last night it did not bunch an inch! And it held steady all night, allowing a very comfortable night's rest. This morning as we recovered the anchor we found out why it had functioned so well. Up came a 2" diameter electrical cable cradled in the arms of the anchor flukes!

After a moment for the obligatory "oh shit" we sprang into action. We had planned for the possibility of picking up a cable because a) they were on the chart and b) the locals had told us about them (but had said we were "OK") and so we had a large, fully extended boat hook on the deck. Tony grabbed the boat hook and attempted to support the cable, Deidre lowered the anchor. That seemed to work (I could not see, I was at the helm) the anchor was free, but the weight of the cable was too much and so down it went with the boat hook still attached. The boat hook was about 9' long, so only about 3" poked out of the water. Tony swam over and dived to the bottom, released the boat hook and swam back with it. We all felt "problem resolved" but one of the neighbors seemed a bit upset.

We headed west. Another sunny day, breezy like yesterday. Our target was a group of islands 20 miles away where we hoped we could find a spot at one of the "Parks Canada" facilities. I wanted Tony and Lyn to experience a barbecue "Canadian style" so had selected 4 possible islands. There was no room at first place (the facilities are quite limited), the second place a few miles further west looked like it could work. The challenge was that I had to get 49' Tide Hiker into a 49' space in shallow water and a bit of a wind. All went well, although we did hit a sailing boat a glancing blow, no big deal.

The water was very clear and looked oh so shallow. I went for a swim to "survey" the available depths. (Up to my shoulders I considered to be 5' deep). There seemed to be enough water to get out. The bow was right up against the shore and so was a great chance to clean the mustache off, so that was the next job.

We had brought some wood with us so we headed into the "National Park" and found a picnic table and fire place to cook dinner. The forest floor was nice and soft under foot because of the pine needles. We were back on the boat by dark..

Cleaning the bow.

Boat shed!

For the "Not so rich & famous"

Side channel

Just another one

And another

And another

Tide Hiker in the bushes

OK, I will move over, but just this time!

Summerland Island Group

August 20, 2013
44 22 547 N
75 53 701 W

We are anchored "inside" a beautiful group of little islands. The wind and current are both coming from the South West but we are nicely protected. The anchor seemed to bite strongly and we have not moved in the couple of hours since we dropped it. So all is good.

Today we have cruised about 35 NM. In some places the apposing current was as much as 3 knots, so progress was pretty slow. But the weather was fine and the scenery improved as we progressed. We are now into the "Thousand Islands" area and it is very impressive.

There are hundreds of islands in the river, often very pretty, granite with lots of trees. Many appear to be private with houses perched on them. I will attempt another video.

We enjoyed a tasty dinner on the aft deck as the sun set and the full moon rose. The evening got more interesting when a fellow came over from one of the houses in a kayak. Of course I invited him on board but as I was helping him on board I fell off the back of the boat into the water, amusing all and sundry. "Bill" settled down with a cold beer and told us some of the island history. Bill is from Baltimore and his island has been in the family for a while. He left a few minutes ago, promising to come back in the AM with his power boat and take us for a tour. Sounds like fun.

House and lighthouse

Singer castle (as in Singer Sewing Machines)

"No, you move over!"

Gallop

Monday August 19th

44 50 331 N
75 18 667 W

We are underway, just had lunch. We recovered the anchor and got underway by about 8:45 AM this morning. So far have passed thru two locks on the "American side". What a pleasure! I am sure the Canadians are nice people, but sometimes its just nice to be back in the USA. Both locks answered the radio promptly, told us what we needed in concise and unambiguous terms, and got us thru as soon as they could. At the second lock we had to wait for a commercial ship to pass thru, but the lock-master gave us an estimated time and suggested where we could wait.  It was interesting watching the big ship and the experience was worth the delay. I will insert photos below.

Later: We have arrived at our target destination. We decided to take a marina so we could stretch our legs and do some shopping and get as pump out. As usual for Canada, the pump out had a 12' hose and was 10' from the waters edge. "Sewerage grade" hose must be $1.0 million per foot in Canada! I have parts of my body that are longer.

The marina was rated at 4 stars but it would be lucky to be a 2 star. I was disappointed. Lyn and Tony walked into "town" and did a bit of shopping. Tony cooked "pork sweet and sour" for dinner - yum.

Arriving

Departing

Gone

hardly a "Marina" at all.

Lost Anchor Bay (AKA Pilon Island)

Saturday August 17, 2013
45 01.942 N
74 38.664 W

We just lost our anchor and 200' of 3/8 chain. But we should be able to recover it all tomorrow.  The water is only 15' to 20' deep, the water is reasonably clear, the bottom is firm (I believe firm bottoms are best) and we have two full air tanks for the scuba gear. We also have a GPS track of the boats movements and should be able to move the boat back to where we dropped the anchor. How we managed this feat of seamanship is another story, but does not involve alcohol. Its too late to do anything tonight, except try and figure out an excuse.

We were the only boat...

This morning we were up early and underway by 8 AM. We had about 12 NM to the first lock, against the current, and needed to be at the lock by about 10 AM. The locks in the St. Lawrence are "real locks" built for "real ships". Recreational boats are a bit of a nuisance, so they nominate a couple of openings a day. We arrived exactly at 10 AM and we moored at the designated location. A big electronic notice board announced that there was a delay, and that the locks would not open until 1 PM. So we put on the kettle. Ten minutes later the giant gates open and we were hailed and told to get underway. I suspect this is a "French System". There were two locks and we were thru an hour later.

Quite a few ships

It was a perfect day - calm and warm. We needed to get some miles under our belt so we picked an anchorage 59 SM away and settled down for a long day. Tide hiker was managing 5.8 to 6 kts against the current.We are starting to see ships again. Apart from the locks and two lifting bridges, most of the day's cruising was "just river". Late in the day we started to get into islands and multiple channels. More interesting.

We arrived at the anchorage at about 6 PM and dropped the anchor and chain. All of it. I did not allow for the strong current (I was on the controls) and recognize that Tony was not familiar with the markings on the chain. (Tony was on deck.) The bitter end was secured in the locker with two lengths of 1/2 manila, but the boat was reversing too fast and the rope was just ripped out and off the end of the chain went. We were all a bit stunned.

Tide Hiker has a second anchor in place (A Danforth design - I have never used it) and we quickly dropped it and fortunately it held. After we got our breath we launched the dinghy and tried to find the the missing equipment using our bathysope (bucket with its bottom replaced with a piece of perspex) But the sun was too low, so no dice. After an hour or so we called it a day.

Tony barbecued chicken on the grill

Sunday August 18, 2013

On the hunt

We moved Tide Hiker back to where we lost the anchor (per the chart plotted) and re-anchored. Tony donned my "shorty" and diving gear. The current was very strong, so I ended up towing him behind the dinghy in a "search pattern". After maybe 30 minutes he spotted the chain, dived down and secured a line. We returned to Tide Hiker and celebrated with a cup of tea and a slice of jam roll cake.

Getting the chain and anchor back to Tide Hiker was basically grunt work, and all was settled by about 2 PM. It took us a couple of hours to clean up the boat and dinghy. By then the day was shot so we decided to stay another night.

We are about 10 miles from the USA border and we are picking up internet. Hallelujah!!!

Dinner

Hamburgers on the gill tonight, and maybe a movie.

Back to Montreal (Lachine Marina)

Friday August 16, 2013

Our rental! The monster. 

Supermarket shopping this morning, followed by a marine store to get some info on the Seaway. (They had nothing for us, but the lady spent 1/2 hour on the phone on our behalf and tracked down what we needed. We popped in later with a bottle of Australian wine for her.) Then off to look at the Lachine Rapids followed by the big Catholic Church on the Hill and then back to the boat. The Friday afternoon traffic was terrible.Tony and I returned the car and took the subway back. I really feel I know Montreal pretty well.

Lyn made dinner. This is really fun. I really love having them on board. Tony and I just prepped the boat for the AM.

We leave in the AM. We will be heading west on the St. Lawrence. I feel a bit intimidated, the water is quite complicated. Our first lock is "ship size" and recreational boats are (apparently) a bit of a nuisance.

Quebec City

Wednesday August 14, 2013

The hotel

We were on our way bright and early into the morning rush hour, heading east. Quebec City is about 160 miles from the marina so we expected to be there for lunch. The drive was uneventful. The countryside was green with corn and wheat in the fields. It rained. We were checked in to our hotel by 1 PM and headed into the old city.

Quebec City is brilliant. Visiting here made the whole trip to Canada a big win. Its hard to believe that we are in North America. If Quebec City was designed and built by Walt Disney he could not do a better job.

First a bit of history. QC is located on a prominent headland where the St. Lawrence narrows. Its strategic location was identified by Champlain (a French explorer) back in the 1500s. The French settled and fortified the position which miffed the English and after about 100 years General Wolf attacked and conquered the city. (Back in Australia we learned this in grade school). Some time later King Louis of France accepted this defeat in exchange for recognition of French control of Haiti. (I seem to have made some deals like that, just on a smaller scale.)

Street scene

QC is the only fortified city in North America. It has been beautifully preserved for tourists. Walking around QC is lie walking around Luxembourg or Heidelberg or Regansberg in Germany. It houses the most photographed hotel in North America. The architecture, the atmosphere, the setting and view of the river from the top of the cliffs is spectacular. I am at a loss for words.

We learned at our hotel that there would be a free outdoor Cirque de Solei performance that night, so after dinner in town we rugged up and headed to the Citadel. We followed the flow and amazingly ended up "on the stage" of the outdoor theater. I have seen lots of shows (including CDS) but this was just amazing and breathtaking. We have some video that I will try and upload.

Thursday August 15, 2013

Deidre in summer gear

We were on the red double-decker for a tour of the city by 9:30 AM. This is becoming our new standard for a new place. Its not that expensive and you get to see the whole place and get some history. Fun, but a bit cool.

There is no doubt that Quebec in Canada is a funny set up. A business in Quebec MUST answer the phone in French - that's the law! There is no English allowed on signs in Quebec, but French is mandatory on signs in the rest of the country. We found French-Canadians friendly and charming and 100% multilingual. No one starts a conversation in English, but we have experienced some really generous experiences in Quebec.

After lunch we retrieved the truck and drove back to Montreal, getting well and truly caught in peek hour. Montreal seems a bit of a mess. The traffic is horrible, the infrastructure is falling down. Deidre made dinner on the boat.

Montreal (Lachine Marina)

Tuesday August 13, 2013

45 25.787 N
73 40.501 W

(We now have direct access to the web ans so I am attempting to catch up the blog with text and photos.) 

Nice backing job

I had underestimated how far we were from downtown Montreal. We looked at the charts last night and concluded it was about 34 miles away and included two large locks on the St Lawrence and some nasty current (6 knots!). So we decided to go about 12 miles to a marina at Lachine and cab it into town. It was an easy two hour run accross XXX Bay and we were secured at the marina shortly after Noon. (It was a very tight back-the-boat-in spot and I did OK, so now I feel a bit better.)

The good news is that they have WiFi and my fancy aerial is picking it up. So we have internet on the boat for the first time since entering Canada. Getting on line I arranged a rental car and hotel reservations in Quebec City

Soon as we had the boat sorted out we walked into town and hailed a cab and headed into Montreal. We had a couple of hours to look around before we picked up the car. (Tony had visited Montreal many times in his career, Deidre and I had been here a couple of times a long time ago.) We wandered around the old city and the dock and were not particularly impressed. About that time the rental car company called and said there were "no cars".

That call created a bit of a battle and eventually they located a vehicle we could have at a suburban office. It was up to us to get there so we all boarded the underground and headed for the suburbs. The vehicle turned out to be a new 4 door pickup, not perfect but workable. We headed back to the boat and ate on board.

Saint Anne De Bellevue

Monday August 12, 2013

45 24.218 N
73 57.193 W

I am drinking coffee again. This time in a cute little lock town about 10 miles from Montreal. The wholesale price of coffee is sure to come down when we get back to the USA and have internet service on the boat.

Huge door

Today we have only two locks but they are big and slow ones. We wanted to arrive at the Clarion Lock by 9:30 AM when it "opened", which meant we needed to be underway by about 7:30 AM. There was a slight breeze pushing us onto the dock and I completely botched the departure. We hit the boat behind us a “glancing blow” that was fortunately totally absorbed by fenders. We got away without damage, but I was a bit humbled. It was another beautiful day, maybe in the low 80's.

The Clairion Lock is 65’ deep. Looking into the empty lock from the top is quite intimidating. The ride down and out was impressive. I will add a video. The next lock was at Saint Anne De Bellevue about 3 hours away, and we planned to stay the night on a free wall in town. It is a touristy place, but has a good reputation for eating.

The second lock was a breeze and we were tied up by 2 PM and wandered around (Of course, I was looking for internet,

Downtown St. Anne de Bellevue

and here I am.)

The Saint Anne De Bellevue business district is basically all restaurants. I have a hankering for "real French" so we picked the most obvious place and the food was "very ordinary".








Video of the lock opening:

Hawkesbury

Sunday August 11, 2013
45 36.882 N
74 36.158 W

About 10 miles down river is the Montebello Hotel, apparently the largest log structure in the world. It was built in the 30s by about 3,000 workers. There was a short dock available for no charge if you stayed for a meal. We arrived as planned at 11 AM and mooring at the dock was uneventful although the water seemed very shallow.

The team

The hotel was impressive. There was a big crowd lined up inside for Sunday Brunch, but we opted to eat outside on the terrace in the sunshine. Very nice.

back underway again by early afternoon, our target for the night was Hawkesbury, a small town on the Ontario side with a free city dock. It was a perfect day, sunny and warm, and the Canadian boaters were out in full strength. When we arrived at Hawkesbury the dock looked pretty full, but after some arm waving and pidgin French we squeezed into a spot. Lyn and Tony walked into town to spec it out, Deidre and I took a breather. The scouting report indicated the town as “pretty ordinary”

Lyn and Tony had spent a few hours during the afternoon putting together a chicken curry. After the basic cooking had been completed the concoction was put into the crock pot to simmer. The wonderful aroma percolated in the boat for the rest We all seem to be getting on well and to be honest I am already not looking forward to when they leave on September 6.

New Flag

of the afternoons as we cruised down the river. We ate our dinner in the Pilot House table – wonderful. I am really enjoying having Lyn and Tony on board. 

Lyn selected the Sunday Evening movie. 

The dining room

We ate outside