Category: Cruising Canada and Great Lakes – 2019

Friday, June 7.

Today I come to you from the beautiful and immensely picturesque Rideau Canal. As I’m writing this, Captain Tim is guiding us through a channel that is barely twice the width of our boat. We have stopped several times to reverse the props and spin off weeds that have accumulated due to the shallow depths. At the moment, we are actually on Little Cranberry Lake and are cruising north into Whitefish Lake.

So, tonight we sit on the boat, generator humming while the heater warms us. Yes, it really is June. Hard to believe. We are tied to the dock at Gananoque Marina. The power cord is plugged in, but there is no electricity coming to the boat. They cut the power around 4:30 in case the wind driven water reaches the electric stands. It’s 50 degrees outside, the wind has actually stopped, but the rain has not. Tim and Maggie just returned from their 1/3 mile walk up the dock for a potty call and back. Maggie was greeted with a warm towel and Tim stripped off his wet gear and both are now comfortably enjoying the rest of the evening.

We left Clayton around 9 this morning and made the short 2 1/2 hour trip across the St. Lawrence to Gan. We wanted to get an early start since the weatherman said rain was on its way. The four of us took a stroll through town, taking in the quaintness of this small Canadian town. Tim and I came here several times last year by ourselves and later with Mark and Beth Atherton then with Roy and Karen Shaw. It’s a sweet town. We had to make a stop at the Gan Brewing Co. to see if Maggie’s favorite brewmaster was in. She wasn’t, but the guy who poured for us was more than happy to chat since we were the only customers. He’s American but has his Canadian work permit and a Canadian wife.

Photos from Clayton

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Beautiful gardens, colorful murals, and interesting modes of transportation in Gan.

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Something we didn’t see last year are the funky new barrels along the main road through town.

Maggie’s favorite- Gan Brewing Co.

It’s Wednesday morning now and the rain has temporarily stopped. We’ll use this break to take some scenic walks before it returns. Our plan is to hit the Farmer’s Market in the morning and then begin the Rideau Canal. There is a promise of sunshine on Thursday and we’ll be ready for it.

Today is a perfect blogging day. Yes, that means it is raining. After a near perfect day crossing Lake Ontario yesterday, today has started foggy and drippy with a forecast of clearing this afternoon. No problems, it just means I have a great opportunity to catch up on the blog. Continue reading Clayton, NY. June 2, 2019

We had just settled in for the day here at the Davis camp, fireplace warming the cabin, watching the rain and wind on Lake Ontario when the call we’ve been waiting for came in. The Oswego Canal will be opened tomorrow, Wednesday, May 29 at 7am and Subject to Change is scheduled to hit the water this afternoon. Yee Haw!! Once the happy dancing stopped, we started to focus on reality. There is a beautiful weather window opening up for Wednesday and Thursday. After that, the weather goddess slams it shut again. Even if we get on the boat this afternoon and start checking the systems, then provisioned the boat on Wednesday, we still have a day of travel to get to Oswego and Lake Ontario. The best we could do is be waiting in Oswego Thursday night to cross the lake. But reality tells us that we would miss the last opportunity to cross for several days. So it looks we’ll stick with the fireplace tonight and begin the next leg of our adventures tomorrow. Continue reading The Oswego is going to open tomorrow- Tues., May 28