Kingston Yacht Club to the Rideau Canal

KYC on Lake Ontario was the perfect overnight stop to start NH on her journey into the Rideau Canal. A busy weekend in Kingston meant that Nana and Nandad were unable to secure a slip so they could explore the City of Kingston. No worries they simply decided to start the adventure up the Rideau. 

Now if you don’t know anything about the Rideau Canal Nana won’t hold it against you. Although I feel like I have said this before The Rideau Canal is the oldest , continually operating canal in North America. The Rideau Canal’s southern entry is at Kingston and continues for 125 miles to Ottawa. There are 49 locks operated by Parks Canada and using the same technology from 175 years ago - truly amazing. It really is an amazing system and today NH cruised along side Volare through all the locks. An exhausting if not fascinating cruise. NH goes under the Kingston LaSalle Causeway’s eastern span - actual vertical clearance of 17 feet. Her antenna barely scratching the top!!This brings us into the Cataraqui River. What a trip thereafter with very narrow channel’s, wider lakes, rivers, shallow waters, swing bridges, flight locks - sometimes four together - absolute exhaustion at the end of the day. NH docks at Jones Falls after coming through Locks 42-39.

There is definitely a feel of being out in the woods surrounded by history, culture and nature at its best. It takes about 10 days to kayak the canal and the speed limit is 10 mph which for us boaters means no more than 7 knots - no hurry here. Tomorrow we will continue and may make a stop at Westport which is about 5 miles off channel

Leaving for Kingston ON

Go Nandad! The bike is finally off the boat. NH has to leave Gananoque this morning by 11am and except for having confirmed a dockage at the Kingston Yachy Club all other Marinas in Kingston are booked! So we had better provision. We have been requested to check in at the fuel dock at 5pm and check out by 9am. So as boating is  always a moving target Nandad decided to take the bike to the grocery while Nana had her morning stroll. 

Instead of the blue heron the swans decided to take over the dam area this morning. The small park had some wonderful sculptures of the heron and the trees.

The maple leaf.

It was decided that we would cruise to Leek Island , also known as Thwartway Island,  where Parks Canada has set mooring balls. It was a most relaxing spot and after some reading , lunch and a snooze in the sun , NH was on her way to Kingston Yacht Club - KYC. The Thousand Islands scenery really begins with the Admiralty Islands , reveling granite outcrops with steep faces and forests in between - according to the Waterway guide. Certainly , while passing Polaris Island , Nana simply had to take some more pictures of those homes situated on these islands.

One simply has to admire and ponder.

A perfect afternoon for cruising the Le Fleuve St Laurent with the blue sky, mild breeze and perfect sunshine.

NH cruises into KYC just as the sailboats are coming out for race night.  No worries help on the dock and greetings from the commodore made for an easy docking. The perfect evening to have dinner and watch the boats race. 
Whoops forgot to mention what a great performance at the Stringer Theatre. Again another full house - holds about 350 - with lots of laughter and fun.

(Temporary Backup) Gananoque ON

The little red and white lighthouse marks the harbor entrance. There is a lovely park here and also this is where the cruise boats takes visitors out on a three hour tour of the Thousand Islands. The water taxi is also available to take you to individual islands which you have to book in advance. Lots of kayakers here as this is a wonderful spot to kayak the river. After cleaning the boat Nana and Nandad went to explore and walk the River trail. On our walk we discovered that Gananoque has two theatres The Playhouse Theatre and the Springer Theatre. We have tickets for tonight to see the Perfect Wedding - A Farce of Tiered Proportions. Looking forward to some healthy laughter.

On our walk we came across this private garden and Nana couldn’t resist a picture of Nandad with the guards at the gate. If you look a little closer into the yard you will see what looks like a Mama Bear with her Baby Bear. I guess you never know what you will find!The map below shows three options for trails so of course we picked the blue river walk trail which is a little misleading as it does not quite take you along the river!

A delicious lunch was had at the Old English Pub called Churchill. On the way back to NH Nana noticed this interesting plaque regarding the history of the Raid on Gananoque in 1812.

Tomorrow NH will head for Kingston which will take us to the entrance of the Rideau Canal heading for Ottawa. More on that later.

New Horizon enters Canada

A typical Irish wet, grey day finds NH docked at Gananoque ON.After waiting on the phone for 40 minutes before we left and another 55 minutes when we got there we finally have our clearance number and can happily fly the Canadian flag. 

The cormorants have taken over this red marker as you come into Gananoque. They have even taken over the ospreys spot.

You can barely seen this beautiful grey heron as it sits along the rocks downtown.

Despite the heavy rain, once we had clearance we took a stroll downtown. Tomorrow we will explore more.

 

July 4th

The Thousand Island Club at Wellesley Island was at one time a very busy and prestigious place. It has all amenities including a fabulous restaurant, pool, boat house, gym and game’s room however not a single person using the facility. Lots of boats in slips but few decorated for 4th of July. 
Nana and Nandad gathered with two other loopers to share travel and cruising plans and were able to catch the fireworks from the boat.

Nandad played golf while Nana provided some coaching advise from the golf cart - limited mobility with her right arm will not allow golf, pickle ball or ping pong all of which were right there at the clubhouse. The electric bikes are the perfect way to tour the island but again Nana is not able to grip the handlebars with her right hand and Nandad was nervous she might fall! The dingy would also be prefect to explore the local waters however we were a little low on fuel and did not want to take the risk - rowing back to NH did not seem like an option. 

This is the TIC from a distance as NH leaves for Gananoque CA. We have completed our Covid form and received our QR code which will be necessary when we check in with the Canada Border Services Officer upon entry tomorrow.

Singer Castle and the Thousand Island Club

The journey up the River to Singer Castle , although only 10 miles , was cruising past island after island. As mentioned before there are 1864 islands scattered across the St Lawerence River. The following pictures capture Summerland Island, Sister Island and Dark Island , which is the one Singer Castle was built.

Once again it was such a thrill to dock NH right there at the Castle. 
 Guided tours take you through the Castles unique hidden treasures including tunnels, secret passageways, dungeon , clock tower and gardens. It was constructed in 1905 by American entrepreneur Commodore Frederick Bourne who happened to be the President of  Singer Manufacturing Company. The castle can be booked for events and is reportedly haunted. After completing the tour Nana decided she would not like to stay overnight , with way too many secret passageways she would be afraid she’d get lost. It’s also a very scary castle both inside and out!!

Another beautiful afternoon and NH is now docked at Horison-the Thousand Island Club on Wellesley Island.

Boldt Castle

NH at the dock at Boldt Castle built by George C Boldt, the millionaire proprietor of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, for his wife as a testimony of his love for her. The castle is on the picturesque Heart Island however his wife died before the project was completed and he pulled all workers from the site and never again returned. The castle was vacant for 73 years when in 1977 it was taken over by The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority. They are doing an amazing job of preserving Boldt’s legacy. 

The picture below is the Power House and Clock Tower 

The grounds are beautifully landscaped with lots of heart shaped flower beds.

The picture below gives you an idea of exactly where NH is in relation to some landmark’s. Nana and Nandad will eventually enter Canada likely at Gananoque which is close to Brockville on the map sometime next week. Tomorrow , Sunday July 3rd , NH will visit Singer Castle on Dark Island and spend two nights at Horizon Marina-Thousand Island Club which is on Wellesley Island. 

A perfect spot from the cockpit  to watch the magnificent sunset over Boldt Castle while enjoying dinner  onboard with a glass of wine.