My last post was while we were in Kingston with Mark and Beth. Since then we have returned to the US and spent time with great friends, Lisa and Alan Davis and their extended clan, at their summer camp in White’s Bay. After a short cruise up to Sackett’s Harbor, we are taking a couple days to regroup, replan, replenish and relax. We have had to handle unexpected repair issues and adjust our summer cruising goal. We hope to get the repairs completed next week. Meanwhile we will be researching our upcoming cruising area, the Trent Severn Waterway.
Kingston-
We took the Hop On, Hop Off tour bus ride around the city to get a feel for the area. Then the boys chose to return to Fort Henry while Beth and I wandered the city enjoying the old churches and homes.
Mark and Beth took an early flight out on the 11th and Tim and I left for Cresent Yacht Club in Henderson Bay to meet up with Alan and Lisa. After a wonderful dinner in Henderson Harbor with the Davis family, we spent the night on a mooring ball off Cresent Yacht Club. The following day we enjoyed a brisk cruise south to White’s Bay where Alan’s family has had a summer camp for decades. Here we dropped the anchor in crystal clear water and joined the rest of the family for a day of kayaking, water skiing and relaxing. What a sweet spot to spend one’s summer. The following day the whole clan including the Roberts’ family next door joined us as we moved on up to Sackett’s Harbor. After lunch at The BoatYard, the White’s Bay group headed home and Tim and I settled down to make some decisions about our future.
After reading low water level advisories and emailing the Rideau Canal Authorities to confirm them, we’ve had to come to the realization that we won’t be able to follow our planned route of going to Montreal, Ottawa and then down the Rideau. Water levels between Kingston Falls and Newboro on the Rideau are down to 4’9” in areas and that is just to close for comfort for us. We heard from friends that another boat just went through with only 2” to spare. No thanks. The area has not gotten the average rainfall expected and it doesn’t seem likely to improve over the next few weeks. We don’t want to begin the route if we can’t complete it on the Rideau, so we have had to come up with plan B. We also still need to replace the starboard engine’s starter and have not been able to find an OEM starter at a reasonable price and time frame. One was found in England for $1100 and a 2 week ship time. Ugg. Sooooo, current plan is to go to French Creek, Clayton, NY tomorrow and spend a few days getting the starter replaced. We will pick up Kitty, our next guest, in Kingston, Ontario on 8/3. Kitty will join us as we head north west on the Trent Severn Canal. She’ll stay with us through 20 locks to Peterborough at which point we’ll get her back to Toronto. Tim and I most likely will turn around and begin heading back to the 1000 Island area and Clayton. It’s not what we had hoped for, but it will still be a beautiful trip and a great adventure.