We left Saturday July 18th, from SYC, after a marathon day of getting everything ready (including installing a new folding table that Sebastien made out of our dining table at home; don’t worry, we have a new one!). Scream is in his envelope and on deck, the ice box is full, bags are unpacked and stowed.

We dropped the hook in Hoople bay, just in time for sunset. Lots of mosquitoes, lots of wind, a bit of rain, but a good night, fuelled by the excitement of being on the river once again, for a new adventure.

Sunday July 19th

Rise and shine, up and at ‘em, we want to get past Iroquois as quickly as possible. We got there around 1 pm and the light was green! No waiting and a smooth passage. Just in time too because a Laker was heading in; had we gotten there a bit later, we would have had to wait our turn. Once on the other side, the difference is remarkable; the wind is stronger and colder and some whitecaps.

We had thought to drop the hook near Prison Island, but there is a warning of foul weather on the radio, including a tornado watch. We decided to push on and we made it to Prescott, chased by some strong winds, waves, and a very nasty looking growing black sky. Turns out we got a bit of wind, about 6 drops of rain. Prescott is like a milestone; the river widens a bit, you can smell the Thousand Islands, we’re officially on vacation! This year, rather than Shakespeare in the Park, a lovely blues band was there to welcome us. Not bad for a tornado warning!

It was a quiet night in the bay, so we all slept like babes!

Monday July 20th

The engine whisperer

We had a quiet night, no storms, and a late morning. Spent a slow day in Prescott; refuelled on energy, gas and water.

The boys even had a spin on their trots!

We left around 3 and headed up towards Brockville. Lots of folks in Brockville, our favourite spot off Smith was busy, so we tried a few others. Correction, we pretty much went around all the Brockville group islands 

The engine started puttering off Skelton – did not like the slow speed or the accelerations, so it made anchoring a little interesting. We tried to use our reciprocal at BYC but the harbour was full, so we ended up back to Smith and found ourselves a little spot. Sebastien did a little maintenance on the engine – they don’t call him the “Atomic 4 whisperer” for nothing you know….he gave it a 75% improvement score.

We had a very quiet and calm night, beautiful sunset, and all of us slept like babes, lulled by the flow heading into the passage past Smith.

Tuesday July 21st

The curtains work!

Pleased to announce that Liam slept until 7:30 this morning! I like to attribute it to my new curtains 🙂

Another good thing is our little mosquito repellent lamp; about 10 000 cadavers in the cockpit this morning…I’d say it works more than to repel them!

On and off bouts of rain this morning, but it’s warm so not complaining.

We moved to the municipal marina harbour, where the slips are free for 3 hours. Sebastien has gone to Canadian Tire to get some supplies (filters, etc) and we are waiting for the current bout of rain to pass before going to stretch our legs a bit.

While Sebastien finished his whispering to the engine, the boys and I walked around in Brockville; we saw the train tunnel, which was the first in Canada and used to be in service for the Brockville-Ottawa line. Brockville is much livelier than Prescott, and I dare say a bit prettier.

With an engine that purrs like a kitten we are back at Smith’s for the night. We had a good swim, and Whisper got a bath. And we have Scream back in action now; Liam took it for a spin with daddy before supper. Gotta go, it’s movie night at anchor tonight!

Wednesday July 22nd

Right on schedule

Once again, on our way up river, we stopped by to say hello to our hold friend Willow, and she is….you guessed it….shedding!

But Pillow was more than happy to play with us.

We met a very nice Park interpreter, Mariane, who showed the boys the tadpoles and frogs.

Wonderful exhibit on insects and butterflies this year; if you are in the area of Mallorytown Landing, it’s worth stopping by.

The boys also tried out their new baseball mitts and practiced their throwing and catching skills.

We are heading to the Gananoque area, for the Navy islands, hoping to anchor off one of our preferred spots, Sugar Island.

Lots of energy in the air, dark skies, some waves, but all good. We got a bit of rain past Rockport.

We made it to Sugar in time for supper, had a good swim and the sky is clearing.

Sweet dreams sailors – tomorrow we hit the 40 Acres!

Thursday July 23rd

A little sad to leave Sugar Island, but it’s for the promise of a great day of sailing in the first playground, the Forty Acres.

And the promise delivered!

Steady 4 to 5 knots, with some peaks at 6 knots, even while dragging Scream. Considering the most Whisper can do is about 7 knots…

It was a wonderful day of sailing – this is why we work so hard all year, so we can play hard in the wind and the waves. Today we got paid :). Whisper was heeling, the waves were crashing, the sails were full and we were flying. Quite exhilarating, a little bit tired at the end of the day, and the boys said they loved it 🙂

We passed Wolfe Island – a very long island, covered in wind mills, and a ferry runs between it and Kingston. On the other side of the island there is Big Sandy beach – we might give it a try later this week.

As we neared Kingston, the waves got bigger and we got a taste of the next playground; Lake Ontario!

Lots of lasers racing in front of the Fort. They are so quick!

After 6 days, it’s time to empty and fill up….so we made a pit stop at KYC. We are being whizzed-by by power boats – they would be so jealous of our fuel bill  The sky is a little grey but it will clear up and I realized it was my first time in Kingston where it wasn’t pouring rain! Yeah 

We got a dock in Confederation Basin and even saw one of the 3 youngsters who spend their summer there on their boats (we had met them last year – one of them has an Ericsson 27 just like Whisper but it appears it is not getting as much love as ours…).

A treat tonight – Curry Original. Yummy! The boys said this was the best restaurant in the world!

On our way back, a little country rock concert in the park, a beautiful sky filled with stars, and a good night sleep for the happy sailors!

Friday July 24th

Fishing!

The boys have been very patient and now it’s their turn. After a good breakfast, off they went with Scream for some fishing. They came back empty handed but with huge smiles, so not a total loss by any means.

While they were out fishing, I took a walk down to the grocery store to fill up on fresh items. I love walking down the Tragically Hip Way – guess what I will be playing when I get back to the boat while fixing supper! When I got back to the boat, I could tell the weekend was starting – the quiet basin was turning into a busy lot of vacationers…it will soon be time to head out…

Saturday July 25th

The Fort

The boys were awesome and walked all the way from Confederation Basin to Fort Henry and back. We had a nice visit to the Fort, although the second year in a row, it kind of loses its magic. It was the Military Tattoo that night, so lots of activity in the fort, geared toward that parade. We did see the baker making some bread, and she told us she had been alone in the fort since 5 that morning making white bread, cinnamon bread and chocolate chip cookies. All were available at the Garrison so we did take some bread and cookies along with us when we left…but not before attending Victorian school with a rather stern schoolmistress! Next year, I think we will skip the Fort and head to the Maritime museum near KYC.

We left Kingston after a visit at Vandervoort’s (wonderful hardware store with lots of marine items – on princess st) and a quick lunch at Five Guys, the new burger craze, (simple and delicious!). It really was time to leave the city; lots of boaters, lots of noise (there was some sort of biker convention in the park near the harbour), lots of tourists, even the firemen had put the rescue crane and rescue fireboat in action. Not exactly the vibe we were seeking. So we said farewell to Kingston and went on our way in the lake, we motored as Sebastien seems to have caught some little bug. We made it to Amherst Island, where we dropped the anchor in Stella bay. Quite a few other boats already there, and one of the cottages was having what looked like an after-wedding outdoor party. The boys did manage to do some fishing before supper, and before the rain. Their casting skills are really improving. I think it’s high time they get rewarded with a catch!

Sunday July 26th

How dangerous can coffee be?

We left Stella and headed towards the Adolphus Reach. Lots of fog this morning. We turned into the lake to try and get a little bit of sailing, but there really was no wind today. So we went back into the reach and made our way towards Picton. Little lunch on the way, and Seb’s floating plate finally got a little respect with cheese, crackers, grapes and Rosette de Lyon. While under way, both of us needed a little jolt, so Seb volunteered to make some coffee. And where does the danger come in might you ask? Well, pouring out used coffee grinds from a french press down the sink, while the water cooled engine is running, of course. A short while after he noticed that the engine’s water temperature was rising more than usual. I did tell you about his whispering skills already…so, in the middle of the Adolphus Reach, our captain stopped the engine checked the water filter, and lo and behold, it was full of…you guessed it…coffee grinds! It helps to know that the water intake is very near where the water from the sink empties out. I learned something new today! So, note to self, don’t empty the french press when the engine is running.

We did make it to very lovely Picton (thanks Mike and Cindy for the suggestion), and got a mooring ball at Prince Edward Yacht Club. We went for a walk downtown Picton, a very quaint, lovely town. Seems to be a good spot for those who enjoy antiques. Tonight we have a new neighbour on the next mooring ball – a lovely heron. Saw some turtles on some logs as well.

Monday July 27th

Sandbanks

To be honest, I’ve never been interested in the Sandbanks, even having never been.

I have always imagined long beach, people packed like sardines, with their coolers, their chairs and their dogs. I hate dogs.

But we need to stretch our legs, and someone at the PEYC said it was a short cab ride.

So we packed towels, snacks, the squirt guns, etc and we took a cab. The boys were squealing from all the excitement, and not only for the car trip without a car seat!

We get there, indeed a long sandy beach, but no palm trees. Only leafy trees. And Lake Ontario in all it’s beauty. You can tell, far out, very far out, the change in color where the depth changes. Because the main thing about Sandbanks is just that – a long, shallow swimming area. You can literally walk for hundreds of feet into the water and still only be waste high. For kids, and their parents, this is awesome.

It is a beautiful beach, and there are indeed thousands of people lined up with their chairs, and their coolers, BUT, no dogs!

It was a great day at the beach, complete with the requisite popsicle at the end of the day 

Did I mention our kettle toppled over on our sail in the 40 acres? I now tie it down…. Well, on our way back from Sandbanks, we asked the cab to stop at Canadian Tire in Picton. She told us “if you are back within 5 minutes, I won’t charge you for waiting.” Ah well, Seb could be on the Amazing Race, he ran in the store, picked a Cuisinart kettle, as all the camping kettles were sold out, back int eh cab, all in 3 minutes flat. No charge. 🙂

We asked our cabbie to drop us off in the village area, and we refueled at LCBO, Sobey’s and walked back to PEYC. That rolley-polley was a good investment!

Loved Picton – we will be back for sure.

Heading out and made it to Loyalist Cove under sail, staying for the night to spend some time with our friend Paul before he and Laurie leave for the winter down south.

Hot shower, boys in bed, time to enjoy the wifi.

Tuesday July 28th

Loyalist Cove (Bath)

Maintenance day today. It is blistering hot but luckily there is a pool! The boys practiced swimming without their life jackets. They are getting better and stronger every day. Sebastien helped Paul with some work on his boat, did some work on ours (changed the filter, etc.) but did manage to join us for a swim.

We will be leaving early tomorrow morning, hopefully with wind. The moon is almost full, and I am hoping for clear skies tomorrow night in Main Duck Island as there is no light pollution. Main Duck is just that, nothing. Lots of snakes, turtles, a beach of shells, vegetation, but that’s it. But it’s a nice way to split the lake crossing.

Wednesday July 29th

The radio is looking pretty bad for tonight, with 40 knot winds, so we decided against Main Duck, not wanting to be stuck there for a few days, and we left very early heading straight across the lake to Oswego. Little to no wind on our way (we left Bath around 8 am), once we passed the cut of the North Channel and into the lake we had some pretty good waves, about 1 meter, very close together. All of us but Sebastien felt a little seasick at some point, but the sea bands and the Gravol helped:). We tried sailing but the wind was shifting and we weren’t progressing, so we motored. Made it into Oswego around 5h30 pm, feeling rather proud of ourselves. One positive note about Oswego is the easiness to clear customs with the videophone. Goes downhill from there with the most ridiculous yacht club ever, and after giving us the runaround for a dock, a slip, a dock, a mooring ball, no a dock, no a mooring ball, oh wait no, because this mooring ball belongs to someone (who was rather unhappy and not very pleasant), we just gave up on our reciprocal and headed for the municipal dock in the river. Right in front of the hotel. At least we didn’t have to pay tickets for the evening outdoor band….

The next morning we headed for Paradise.

Thursday July 30th

Paradise

Boaters, if you are on the south side of Lake Ontario, you must try Little Sodus Bay. We had a fantastic sail from Oswego, 1.5 feet waves, some whitecaps, a great, strong, steady wind. The lake was deep blue and it was awesome. We got to Little Sodus and you have to enter by a breakwater channel, lots of current, little stressful, but right away we noticed the colour. The water is turquoise, it’s like the Caribbean. Found a great anchorage in Meadow’s bay. And the water is so warm! Easily in the mid 80s. We went into town; there is a dinghy dock right off Main street. It’s a very cute little town, people are very friendly. We had a snack at the Fly by Night Cookie Co. Yum! There is a lovely small beach facing in the bay near the Marina, but the state park on the other side has a much better beach facing the lake.

Friday July 31st

Manty

This morning Sebastien went to the store and near the dinghy dock, he found an inflatable Manta Ray in the weeds. The boys went nuts! It’s officially part of the family now, and has been named Manty. It will live at SYC when we get back.

This afternoon we left for Big Sodus Bay, a bit further west. We got some rain on the way, but really, we have been having the most amazing weather this week. We tried the suggested anchorage off Thornton point, but we were getting rocked quite a bit so we changed spots and went around the other side in second creek bay. It’s a little better, but there is a lot of traffic here.

Tonight we had a beautiful full moon, lots of stars. Big Sodus is rocky, busy, not so great. Probably good if you don’t have any kids – lots of restaurants etc.

Saturday August 1st

The BIG lake

Today we attempted to leave Big Sodus Bay. In the bay it was already a bit rocky, but when we got to the breakwater channel we could tell it was going to be big. But we had no idea. When we got out on the lake, we had waves 2 to 3 meters high, winds gusting at 10-15 knots, coming from the north. And so many sailboats out there. Some of them with their spinnakers out! Turns out there is a regatta here this weekend – I tell you, they are getting their money’s worth! We decided to turn around and head back into Sodus. Our Captain did an awesome job steering us clear in all those waves – kudos to Sebastien! We tried a few places in the bay to find a good sheltered anchorage – no small feat here since everything comes in from the channel. We had a great sail in the afternoon, playing with a few other boats, matching them tack for tack, until they got caught in a buoy….Liam wanted to go help them get untangled but they managed it on their own. And we won the play-race. Liam lost his bubble maker :(. Poor thing he was so sad.

In the late afternoon, the wind died down, and it looks like it’s going to be a quiet night, and the forecast looks good for tomorrow so we are planning an early start to head back to Little Sodus Bay.

We did go for a walk in Big Sodus late in the day, and were very lucky at Krenzer Marine, where they kindly let us park the dinghy for free. We checked out the beach and picked some rocks. The water is so warm it’s unbelievable for such a big lake. We had supper pierside, some ice cream in the park, and headed back. Oh and the irony; after 2 days of being prey to all the power boater and jet ski etc and their wake, we got yelled at as we were leaving from the docks because we were going too fast and making a wake!

Overall, Big Sodus is ok, but definitely not on my top 10 list….

Sunday August 2nd

Back to Little Sodus

We left Big Sodus on Sunday morning – this time the lake let us leave and we had a nice sail to Little Sodus.

We got there in time to anchor for lunch, and wait for Amelie and Denis, who are on their way home after about 5 weeks on the road across Canada and the US. We went out on the lake, but there was little to no wind, so rather than motor around, we decided to head back in for a swim. Liam finally got to play with his inflatable boat and practice his rowing skills! We then got set to go have supper with Amélie and Denis at their campsite at Fair Haven State Park.

Monday August 3rd

Wind, Aground & Steaks!

We had an ok sail out on the lake, but the wind was a bit weak, so we headed back into Sodus, where there was lovely wind and we had an even better sail.

We knew we were heading back east on the next day, so we wanted to refuel and empty so Sebastien went to the Marina while I went to the State Park beach with the boys and my sister. The boys loved swimming in the waves and Thomas found it hilarious to stand just right so that the waves would crash and splash him in the face.

Sebastien came to join us after all the emptying and refilling (gas water and what not) and found a spot at the municipal dock. I went to restock at the village grocery store (tomorrow we are planning an 11 hour passage so this means the king of snacks will be going through all my provisions of cookies, crackers and chew bars!). If you go to Little Sodus, there is a grocery store / butcher shop / general store just 2 blocks from the dinghy dock – very good steaks and not expensive!

As I was nearing the dock, I noticed that Sebastien seemed preoccupied, and not by getting the BBQ ready. The wind had shifted and the Bay basically drew out toward the lake, dropping the water level enough to have Whisper tied to the dock and aground. Sent a line up the mast, Scream on double duty and we got Whisper clear – and anchored well away from the dock.

Beautiful sunset, great company and a delicious meal shore side…for both my sister and I and our respective crews, it was the turning point and signalled the end of the vacation – we were heading back home the next day.

Tuesday August 4th

The BIG lake….the waves, the bucket and the corkscrew…

Rise and shine, up and at’em, time to get set up to cross the lake. Beautiful sunrise, the lake looks quiet, rigged up Scream and propped the engine on the rails. More efficient and less stuff on the deck.

Time to wake the boys for breakfast. Thomas woke up saying he loves the song in Rio. It’s gonna be a good day :). We had breakfast and off we went. Pretty strong wind out on the lake, sometimes reaching 20 knots, waves starting at about 0.5 to 1 meters, and as we went along, it kept getting stronger and the waves were getting higher, sometimes reaching 2 meters. Thomas and I started feeling queasy, even Liam for a while there was pretty pale green. When the waves hit the side of the boat, it gives a rocking motion to the boat that’s not the most comfortable. And after a while, the boys get bored; so distractions are in order. Once Thomas had made good use of the bucket (I will spare you the chunky details…), he had a good long nap. Sebastien had a great idea and we had movies out in the cockpit. Once Thomas woke up, we played him Rio of course. Our DVD player got rocked, splashed, and still works! Phew.

We sailed across from Little Sodus until about Wolfe Island about 9 hours – once we turned after Main Duck, the waves were hitting us from behind and the side – time for the corkscrew….erk….so we added the motor to try and get there as fast as possible and kept a bit of sail to stabilize. The waves were at least 2 meters, coming from all directions, but mostly from the side and back, so very often we were surfing. The trouble is that they are very close together so you don’t have a nice lull rhythm but rather a rocking in many directions. After about 11 hours we made it into Cape Vincent.

For a while there we could see something was brewing in the sky and when we docked in Cape Vincent, our neighbours said, “relax, you made it in time.” Turns out they were calling for a good storm. Well before the storm, we had a wonderful sunset, had time to make the burgers, some rain, and were greated with a double rainbow. Out on the concrete dock, we still felt like our body was rocking in the waves. Never get used to that feeling of hitting land. Once again the boys did great, but this time, hats off to our Captain; the conditions were not easy and it was a LOT of work to steer the boat but we made it safely and right on schedule.

Well it was indeed a good storm, mostly wind, but we got rocked and banged most of the night. Cape Vincent is a very cute town, lovely park, easy access to stores, showers and laundry etc, but what a crappy dock. But hey, it’s free! The next day was beautiful sunshine, and while Sebastien did the oil change we didn’t have time to do in Little Sodus, the boys and I went to visit the dept. of fisheries small aquarium (and short, interesting and free visit).

Wednesday August 5th

Time to hit the road

After crossing the lake, I woke up feeling like a truck had run me over. Every inch hurt. It’s amazing to think we were sailing on the same tack for nearly 9 hours, and I like to think that both passages were quite an accomplishment for us, but I can’t say it was my favourite part of the trip. A passage obligé. In the morning, we took the time to get the energy levels back up, and after lunch, we were ready to get going. We were planning to leave Cape Vincent and anchor off Picton Island near Grindstone. Shortly after passing Carleton Island, the sky was getting a bit dark and we could see that right where we were heading, it was pretty nasty. So after checking old faithful (AccuWeather), we started playing hide and seek with the storm. Not easy in all the waves, a bit stressful, and once again our Captain steered us with a steady hand. I was distracting the boys in the rain; they

started asking a bunch of “why” questions, so we ended up having a great conversation on all the wonderful things the brain accomplishes without us really paying attention to it. After the strong winds, good heavy downpours, and many turn arounds, the gap finally opened up between the weather cells and the sky cleared for us. We made it safely out of the area, kept on past Grindstone. We passed Clayton and made note that we need to come back here next year to visit the Antique boat museum. We passed Alexandria Bay and Boldt castle, and headed back to Canada through Rockport by the American side of the 1000 island narrows (actually the shipping channel – so impressive to see the lakers go by in such a narrow passage). We saw the usual Ospreys but also spotted some falcons. We also saw Fair Jeanne, a tall ship that lives in Ottawa and spends the winter in the Rideau locks after they close.

After calling in to customs from Rockport, we made it just in time before sunset to anchor off Grenadier Island. Beautiful big sky, filled with stars – this is always one of my favourite spots. One of our power boat neighbours at anchor was DJ for the night, with a laser light show projected in the forest. Not sure the loons appreciated. But I did hear them once the music died down.

Thursday August 6th

Fishing in Grenadier

We took a slow morning, giving the boys time to fish off the dock. We always make lots of instantaneous friends when we start fishing, and this time was no different. And the boys finally caught fish, a lot of fish. Too small to eat, but big on the excitement and generating smiles.

A bit of a swim, some lunch, and we were off. We pulled in to Prescott to refuel and get fresh water, and continued on to Presqu’ile, a small bay just before the Iroquois locks.

Tonight is our last night on vacation – tomorrow we will surely make it to SYC.

Friday august 7th

Homeward bound

This is it – we had anchored about 30 minutes away from the locks so the time it takes to lock will determine what time we make it home.

We got to the dock and the lockmaster told us it would be our turn in about 15 minutes.

For once, it was really worth it – the water dropped nearly at least a foot compared to the usual few inches.

Off again, but alas, no wind, so we will be motoring back. We came in to SYC around 2h30 pm, and it took about 3 minutes (if that!) for the boys to run back to their engineering project on the beach they had left behind 3 weeks earlier. Clearly happy to be home they are.

As for us, we are happy to be back, sad the trip is over, grateful there are still many good