June 9 – 10 Lock 8 in Oswego, NY to Brockville, ON

June 9 Lock 8 in Oswego, NY to Gananoque, ON

We were up at 06:00. We were so looking forward to the last lock which was right in front of us. After breakfast, we untied from the wall and motored right in to the lock at 07:00. The folks that we had been with the night before were in the lock with us. One was going to Clayton, NY, another one to Sodus Bay, NY and the other was going to Kingston, ON and then up the Rideau Canal to Ottawa.

Lock 8, Oswego

Hooray, it was our final lock. I looked back and snapped this photo of the welcome sign for the New York Canal System. I missed getting it last fall and wanted to include it, even though it is a bit faded. 🙂

Here are some more photos of Oswego I snapped after exiting the lock.

Highlights of our day are captioned below:

The dock at the hotel; we paid to stay there two nights last fall in the pouring rain

A ship tied off by the Port of Oswego Authority

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station

Oswego Harbor Power Plant

Once we passed by the West Pier Lighthouse and the breakwater, we were in Lake Ontario. Heading home to Canada was feeling real. 🙂

Goodbye Oswego, New York

A beautiful warm and sunny day on Lake Ontario; so different from our rough ride last September. Looking over at Galloo Island

Coming in to the St. Lawrence River; just like glass

Windmills on Wolfe Island

Haven’t seen a laker on the St. Lawrence for quite awhile

A bald eagle nest

Check out this house with the shark on the roof on Carleton Island, USA

Quebec Point; out of US and into Canadian waters

Removing USA Flag and putting up Q Flag (sure is different with the mast down)

Lots of logs in the river

Gananoque

We arrived at 15:45 and pulled in to the Customs dock. Mike went in to check us into Canada. Woohoo back on Canadian soil!

Taking the Q flag down

We couldn’t believe how high the water was! I know some of our followers cruise in the Islands every summer and come in to the day dock so they will really notice the water levels from the photos. Where the Thousand Islands Cruise Ship docks, the crew had to wear boots to get on and off.

We motored over to the day dock, and check out these photos of the high water!

We walked up to Scot’s ice cream trailer. The kids knew we were in Oswego and that we would be crossing Lake Ontario but weren’t sure if we would be stopping in Wolfe Island or Kingston that day. So they didn’t know it would be on that Sunday. Scot was down on the waterfront serving up coffee and gelato and more goodies. We waited beside the trailer as he waited on customers. When the last one left, without really looking up, he sensed someone was there and said “what can I get for you?” When he finally did look up, he said “What?! You’re here? you guys tricked us!” and he flew out the door to give us a big hug. I so should have videoed it on the phone, it was great! He snapped a photo of us with him and sent the iMessage to all our family, letting them know we were back in Canada.

Here’s more photos of the ice cream trailer.

Jody got the message and called right away. She had taken Margie home from the waterfront to swim in the pool and Margie wanted to come down right away. She was so happy to see us.

Scot closed up his trailer for the day at 17:00 and we went up to their place for supper. They ordered Chinese food and it was yummy! I took a photo of Margie with their new little kitty, Rocky. He is so tiny and sweet.

We asked Margie if she would like to spend the night on the boat and go to Brockville the next day with us. She was super excited to do that. We came back down and waded through water again to get to the boat.

We motored over to Lindsay Island around 19:30. We were in awe of the high water.

We decided to use the mooring ball which I picked up. However, as I tried to pull it up, it got caught under the boat and yes, you guessed it; got caught around the prop. Mike had to get in the water and go down a few times to get it untangled. And yes, it was cold. He also got cut a few times on the barnacles that are down there. Poor guy. He finally got it free and we tied on. Quite the excitement for Margie. Mike finally got warmed up and we all enjoyed a lovely sunset.

And we also had the St. Lawrence Cruise Lines ship tie up on their ball for the night. It was pretty all lit up at dusk and on the calm water.

Gananoque is a lovely little town that is bustling with boaters and tourists all summer. It is known as the “Gateway to the Thousand Islands” and the tour boats that take you over to Boldt Castle on the US side of the islands are always busy. Whether you go by tour boat or your own boat, it is a beautiful castle with a great, albeit sad love story. And should you find yourself there and walking around the town in the summer, don’t forget to stop in at the Mountwood Milk Bar and enjoy a coffee, gelato or shave ice (both natural and organic). I’m sure you will love it!

Man, it had been a long day. We travelled 60 nm and were ever so thankful for the beautiful day and our calm crossing of Lake Ontario. We were so excited to be back in Canada. 🙂

 

June 10 Gananoque to Brockville

We all had a great sleep and even slept in for a bit! The cruise ship was still there when we awoke but left shortly after.

We ate breakfast, then untied the mooring line and left at 08:30. Goodbye Lindsay Island.

Here’s a few highlights of our day:

New condos going up on the waterfront in Gananoque

And new docks at the Thousand Islands Boat Museum

Usually so many rocks showing here; now almost all under water

Mike’s favourite anchorage in the Navy Islands

The main channel was 176 feet deep and we saw this huge chuck of grass floating

Water up to the bottom of the windows on this boat house

Beautiful homes

I asked Margie if she was enjoying her lunch

We caught a great current!

Margie helping Grampie steer the boat

Coming in to Brockville

Brockville Municipal Harbour

We tied off on the wall at the Municipal Harbour on Blockhouse Island at 13:00. It was a short day for us. Margaret and I got off the boat and I snapped a couple of photos of her in the big red chairs.

The water is very high here too. One of the workers that came out to help us as we were tying off said that the the high water in 2017 broke a 100 year record and this year was above that. Boats at the yacht club and marina cannot even have power. They expected it to crest sometime later that week.

Other things we saw and did in Brockville are captioned below:

It looked like rain, so we took our umbrella as we walked to the store and the park

Tall Ships Landing with condominiums, boutiques and restaurants across from the wall where we were tied

A tall ship was in the harbour

A cruise ship from Nassau was docked too

Walking through the old Railway Tunnel

Downtown Brockville

A town bike all decked out

Margie at the park (Amber’s kids enjoyed it here too last summer when they came on the boat to the Thousand Islands with us)

We passed by Don’s Fish and Chips Take Out. These guys enjoyed it on their tailgate

Just as we were getting back to the boat, it started to rain and then it poured! Scot and Jody were on their way from Gananoque to pick up Margie. It is only about a 35 minute drive and he said it was even hard to see. When they arrived, it was still raining but not quite as bad. We were going to walk over to Don’s Fish and Chips but because of the rain, I went in the car with them. It was raining hard again as we were going back to the boat. But we had a big umbrella. 🙂 The fish and chips were good, as usual. Scot took a photo of us and I don’t remember what we were talking about that was so funny but Mike and I are having a good laugh! I took one of them too enjoying the meal. Oops, Jody just leaned back just as I snapped it.

If you haven’t been to Brockville, you should take a drive or sail up the St. Lawrence River. Whether you go by car or boat, make sure to make a stop at Don’s Fish and Chips. You will see why they are famous with their tasty fish and home cut fries. And don’t forget to take a walk through the old Brockville Railway Tunnel that first opened in 1860. It has been restored to a lovely walk way with lights and sounds. Downtown also has an old world charm to it. The drive along the shoreline from Brockville to Gananoque is very pretty, viewing some of the Thousand Islands and cottages. Travelling by boat is a real treat. We have boated there for almost 20 years and the scenery and swimming are incredible.

Scot and Jody untied us from the wall when they left to go back to Gananoque at 18:30 and it was a short motor over to Smith Island where we anchored for the night. Of course, it was raining hard again as we set the anchor. 😦 We travelled 30.9 nm and were happy to be even closer to getting Persuasion back to her mooring ball at Stormont Yacht Club. And that would be the following day. Yay!