Goodbye Thousand Islands - Hello Rideau

After Sackets Harbor, it was time to take a little break.  We have been moving the boat for eleven straight days, so we needed to take a Chrisy day - any given day that Chrisy declares "the boat is not moving today." Cape Vincent proved to be the perfect spot.  The town dock was ideal. With nice proximity to town, it offered 30 amp power and pretty good protection from the waves coming off the freighters in the channel.  We broke out the bikes again and had a nice ride down to the lighthouse. One Chrisy day turned into two as we decided to stay put and ride out a pretty good storm. We were thankful for our dock when we heard a few days later that the storm caused some serious damage in a nearby harbor. 

Egret hanging out at the Cape Vincent town dock - the calm before the storm.

The basic Thousand Island strategy is to explore the US side - cross over the border - clear customs, and then explore the Canadian side.  We're pretty big fans of the Canadian side, as there are well-maintained parks/islands that have moorings and docks.  We also get to meet all the nice French Canadians who are always welcoming and fun. Before we crossed over, we stopped at Wellesley Island,  a New York state park, and we anchored off of Picnic Point on Grandstone Island.  

Cruising around these waters, it's always possible to get stopped by a combo operation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the US Coast Guard. They cruise along the boarded in these massive inflatable boats and sneak up on you from behind. You hear them first when they turn their siren on. We were stopped four years ago, and you guessed it, it happened again this year.  With their bulletproof vests, pistols, pepper spray, and a bunch of other stuff, these folks are pretty intimidating. They're actually more like puppy dogs.  They ask you for a few papers and ask a few basic questions about life preservers, etc., and then send you on your way.

They even pose for a selfie at the end of it.

That wasn't the end of it.  Two days later, when we were pulling out of Gananoque, Canada, pronounced Gan-an-ah Quay, we were stopped again. This time by a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We showed them our paper verifying that we had passed a previous inspection, and we were on our way. Sorry, no selfie this time. 

Our anchorage at Picnic Point, Grandstone Is. US

At our dock under the bridge on Georgina Is. Canada

When you have cocktails on a dock, it's obviously called "docktails." Camelot Is Canada

One of our cruising buddies was a professional photographer - out for a walk on Camelot.

After a quick reprovisioning stop in Kingston, Ontario, we are off to the Rideau - the whole reason for the trip.   The bridge that we pass under to get to the Rideau is under construction and only opens on Sundays. We have perfect timing, but we will be traveling in a group of folks who have been waiting for the opening.

Off to the Thousand Islands

We made all of the correct turns, and Egret made short work of the Erie and Oswego Canals. After traveling 10 straight days, we arrived in Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario and breathed a sigh of relief.  It feels great to be out of the rivers and canals and let Egret free without worrying as much about logs and depths.  

Egret hanging on a lock wall before the doors close.

A view off the stern after being dropped.  All of these locks work with massive pipes and valves. After everyone enters the lock, the doors close. If we are dropping, a valve is opened on the downstream side of the lock to release the water in the lock. If we are rising, the valve on the upstream side of the lock is opened, and water is introduced into the lock. On the Erie, we took 20 locks that lifted us a total of 420 feet, followed by two locks that dropped us a total of 50 feet.  There were seven locks on the Oswego Canal for a total drop of 118 feet.

A gorgeous day on the Mohawk River section of the Erie Canal.

Lock 17 is the only lock on the Erie that has a massive "guillotine" gate that slides down once you're safely inside the chamber.

This lock was followed by a road with a drawbridge that needed to be raised once we cleared the lock.

Egret resting on the lock wall after Oswego Lock 6. We're in an aqueduct three feet higher than the river.

Millie got a chance to get off the leash and run around at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Park, and we got to ride our bikes.

Dinner onboard: spinach pasta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and a drizzle of fetta cheese. Mom always said that the chef gets an extra 10% when a meal is presented onboard. This meal didn't need the 10%.

A coastal freighter getting ready to leave the St. Lawrence River.

Our route through the Erie, up the Oswego, and out into Lake Ontario. Our first stop was Sackets Harbor and then on to Cape Vincent.

Oops

Yesterday will be a day that Chrisy and I will talk about when we are in our nineties, sitting in rocking chairs, can't remember each other's names, but we will remember what happened on May 29, 2026.  

The day started innocently enough. Hoping to make it 80 miles from Kingston up the Hudson, left on the Erie to Schenectady, we departed at 7:40 AM - twenty minutes before Roger's panic time.  The trip also involved seven locks, which, at 30 minutes per lock, adds a chunk of time.  We buzzed up the Hudson to the Albany Yacht Club, where we took on more diesel and headed to the Troy Lock.  They were ready for us, and we made it through in great shape, getting out of the lock at 11:30.  

To set the scene for the next leg of the trip, one needs to imagine Chrisy and Roger cruising at 20 knots up the Hudson. Our focus moves from the buoys, to the water - to make sure there are no logs or other debris, to the chart, and then we start over again.  It's not very relaxing, but there is a rhythm to it. Sadly, there is one major disadvantage: we are focused on the chart in a very micro sense - no big picture when you're going 20 knots.  

I've been telling people for months that our itinerary is up the Hudson and left on the Erie, right on the Oswego, etc.  Well, you guessed it.  We missed the Erie. Nose in the charts, eyes on the buoys, we blasted right past it.  Wait, that makes it sound like we recognized our mistake and turned around in a quarter mile.  No - No. We continued on in this state of blissful ignorance for another half hour and even went through a northbound lock.  In fairness, the lock that we went through is called the Waterford Lock, and the first lock on the Erie is also called the Waterford Lock.  Shortly after going through the Waterford Lock on the Hudson, we FINALLY realized our mistake, which meant that we needed to turn around and go through the Waterford Lock - again.

The VHF conversation with the lock master went something like this:

Waterford Lock, this is  Egret - we would like your next opening to get a southbound drop.

Waterford Lock - didn't you just come through northbound? 

Egret - well yes, but we seem to have missed our turn on the Erie Canal.

Silence. I'm not sure, but I might have heard some gut-wrenching laughter.

To add insult to injury, we had to wait about half hour to allow another southbound boat to catch up and go through the lock with us.  Well, we finally made it back to the town of Waterford (the junction of the Hudson and the Erie) where we were greeted by boaters who left Kingston after us, traveled slower and and arrived hours before we did.   

Enough of our wows of 5/29!! Chrisy and I have spent hours reflecting and our rocking chairs await for more hours.  We have pledged not to make the same mistake again, otherwise, if we would miss the turn off of the St. Lawrence River onto the Richeleu River we will end up in the Atlantic Ocean and never be heard from again.

First - some pre Oops pics:

On approach to NYC 5/28

We had never been through the Harlem River. NYC never disappoints!

Heading under the Tappen Zee.

Sunset at Halfmoon Bay

West Point

The Admiral

Our buddy boat on the Hudson.

Finally, our track on our Oops day - up and down the Hudson.

And we're off 2.0

Pre-departure Memorial Day

Here's our route - counterclockwise - Hudson>Erie>Lake Ontario> Rideau>Champlain> Hudson>Home

Millie is ready to roll.

Egret happily resting on her mooring at the Niantic Bay Yacht Club

 

The happy couple with Steve and Margo.

Look what I found.  Here's the beginning of the unpublished final post from the Great Loop:

If I don't write the final blog entry, are we still on the Loop?  We are in a bit of denial that our journey is over and Egret is safely back on mooring 19 at Conanicut Yacht Club.  Getting back to Jamestown after being away for one year and one week has obviously invoked a sense of accomplishment.  After six thousand miles, the boat is running well, and all the systems are functioning.  If you've been a steady reader of the Blog, you know that for us, traveling on the Great Loop has been a bit addicting.  We constantly meet new and interesting people, travel to new places, and meet and overcome new challenges.  There's a rhythm to it all that is also very appealing and will be missed. 

But it's nice to be home.  It's nice not to worry about cell phone coverage, access to grocery stores, weather, or running into rocks.  Our bed is a little bigger, but it doesn't rock around all night.   We spent the first few weeks back with trips to Portland and Burlington to visit the kids, which was super fun.  Then off to Philly for a slew of doctor's appointments and some fun catch-up time with friends.  Never try to fit an entire year of doctor's appointments into a week.   

A quick statistical summary of our trip:

We traveled six thousand miles, through two countries, and nineteen states. Of the 371 total days away, we spent 289 on the boat and 82 off the boat.  Of the 289 days on the boat, we spent 181 in marinas, 70 at anchor, 30 on free docks or free walls, and 8 on moorings.  Over the six thousand miles, we used almost 3 thousand gallons of fuel and put 560 hours on the engine.