July 2, 2010 Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario

July 2, 2010 Deseronto, Ontario

Stephanie- The fireworks last night reminded me of the song titled “fireflies,” which I predictably began to sing, (pretty much the only song I know the lyrics to.) Dad awoke early and pulled the anchor and set sail before Sara or I were even awake; always the early riser. The Lucy III headed west down the beautiful Bay of Quinte for Belleville and eventually the Canadian Forces Base Yacht Club at Baker Island in Trenton, Ontario. We saw before us a promising day, and, as if to prove this, a clear, unfaltering azure sky. I was, as always, exhausted for no apparent reason, feeling zombie-like as I groped the sides of the boats' walls to keep from stumbling in the turbulence of a wave. By the time I had washed up in the cabin and finished applying all of my intricately-arranged makeup, we had almost arrived at our destination. As I helped Dad and Sara arrange all the lines so that we would be ready to dock, we spotted the marina and military base we would be staying at for the following two nights. The first piece of scenery that caught my attention was a great checkerboard tower, which we later discovered to be a lighthouse for the Canadian Forces. In the distance, I could see lots of greenery and infinite beauty. The marina was nice and the food was excellent at the Yukon Galley on base. They allowed us to use a crane to lower both masts for passage in the Trent-Severn Waterway and its low bridges.

Marc- This was an excellent stopover location. We were able to do the mast lowering as described by Stephanie with lots of help for our friend Jay Gehrig. Once the rig was secure, we moved the boat to a new dock and then I called Enterprise for the rental car. The service was excellent and the local office was just on the edge of the base. We used the car to do some shopping and sightseeing in town. We also made a stop at the best laundromat we have seen in our travels.

July 1, 2010 Canada Day !

Sara -
Having slept in, I awoke to my dad's shuffling and my sister's singing. “Happy Canada Day,” I called drowsily from my bunk to delighted exclamations of “Oh yeah... Canada Day! Whoo! Canada Day!” from Steph, a Canada-obsessed, McGill-headed high school sophomore.
After a satisfying breakfast of crepes and an hour of waiting for Steph to finish showering, we motored out of the Collins Bay Marina, all those lovely Canadians we'd met there waving us off and Dad calling out our blog's address, while Steph and I waved smilingly, pajama-clad (to my fashionable sister's horror, that was my outfit for the day).

Once out of our sweet sanctuary, the wind decided to test Steph's Zen-ness (I've been trying to teach her not to freak out about things too much). Sadly, she succumbed, totally freaking out as the wind wrapped the sail's ropes around our bikes and, as she attempted to fix this, her white sweater was dirtied. “Da-a-ddy!” Her anguished cries reverberated around the boat. Dad frowned, offering help. I grumbled.
After Dad had cleaned Steph's sweater, she flounced off to do her makeup and we were allotted a moment's peace. We took turns steering the boat and adjusting the sails, but Dad did most of the work as I chomped on the best gum in the world (peppermint Orbit), reading On The Road by the brilliant Jack Kerouac whose style reminds me of my beloved J.D. Salinger's.
Assured that her sweater was no longer in danger, Steph joined us in the cockpit with a repentant smile, and snuggled in a corner with a blanket, Pringles, and her iTouch on which she watched that new Sherlock Holmes movie. Dad steered, relaxing into routine. I read, annoyedly ignoring my newly and, I was afraid, fleetingly-sane sister. As I focused my attention back onto Kerouac's masterpiece of a novel, I quickly forgot all about Steph and her sweater, and forgetting, forgave (if accidentally).

Deseronto, a quaint nowheres-ville (as my mom calls all sparsely populated places), was celebrating Canada Day as we motor-sailed in and anchored near a moon-bounce surrounded by balloon-carrying parents and cake-eating kids ( we later learned that the cake was free, so after consuming a delicious dinner of poutine, we got some too). Tired and too lazy to walk to town, we took the dinghy back to our boat where we were soon joined by our friends Jay and Joan who have been traveling with us on a catamaran with their three fantastically enthusiastic chocolate labs, Molly, Marley, and Rosie. Their whipped cream and our brownies made for a delectable dessert. Bellies contented, Steph and I proceeded to jump off the boat (with trepidation at first but then with great gusto). As we first started doing a couple summers ago in idyllic Lake Champlain, we shampooed each others hair and attempted not to drop the soap into the dreaded sea monsters' lair (Steph kept going on half-jokingly about how horrible monsters were slumbering beneath us and would get exceedingly angry if we let anything sink down to them). Splashing and screaming and laughing hysterically about sea monsters, we stayed in that surprisingly warm-ish water for about an hour. Later, as Steph and I were playing UNO, Dad called us up to watch the fireworks which, to our amazement (as we didn't think such a small town could afford such a spectacle), were breathtakingly brilliant bursts of glittering color, their dying embers floating off like fireflies.

Sailing again with the Holts 6-28-2010 and Departure from Clayton 6-29-2010

Marc, Sara and Stephanie- We have enjoyed a great afternoon sailing with our friends, Shep and Emily Holt, who came over from Grindstone Island to join us. There was an excellent breeze to sail about the River. Both Shep and emily knew where all of the unmarked rocks were and just how close we could approach to any island with reference to any charts or electronics. I am not sure who enjoyed themselves the most.

-Our friends Jay and Joan Gehrig arrived on their beautiful Voyage 380 Catamaran today. We joined them for lunch at Koffee Kove in Clayton, New York and then sailed off to Gananoque, Ontario to clear customs and enjoy a new ice cream shop. The Gehrigs will meet us with us on their boat Windsong in Kingston. The winds were right on the nose at 25 knots for a trip to Kingston so we opted to sail around Grindstone Island and head northwest instead. We had no problems tacking among the Canadian Islands that almost all are part of Parks Canada. After clearing customs in town, we headed off in search of one of these islands for the night. We chose Mermaid Island and were warmly welcomed by a boating family. This proved to be a very nice spot for the night. We explored the Island's trails and then Sara and Stephanie enjoyed a refreshing swim. I even saw a mink racing across the pink granite rocks jump into the river.

Marc

Memorial Day Sail 2010

-All aboard for our first trip on the Lucy III. The whole family was present and participating in the provisioning, loading and setting the sails. We departed Clayton for Grindstone Island to visit friends. All systems worked well as we eased out of our slip in the inner part of the French Bay docks. The locals are friendly here and the staff is excellent. We received many favorable comments on our traditional looking yawl with all of the gleaming brightwork (Sue had just applied a topcoat of high gloss polyurethane to the teak trim). We set all sails and headed North on a beam reach. We arrived at our destination in Aunt Jane's Bay an hour later and received a warm welcome from our friends the Holts and Larsons. This was followed by a wonderful picnic on the porch of the cottage. Later, Sue and I enjoyed a sunset return sail to Clayton. This was a nice touch to celebrate our anniversary. Sara and Stephanie returned later after enjoying a bonfire on the beach roasting marshmallows and making smores. The Larsons were very kind to return them to the marina later in the evening.

Spring 2010 Pre-Launch preparations

May 14, 2010 French Bay Marina, Clayton , NY

-We are getting the Lucy III ready for a pre-Memorial Day Weekend launch. The bottom is repainted and the new forward hatch with photovoltaic panel is in. Many details remain to be completed including wiring the new panel and a makeover of the forward cabin. We have replaced the exhaust system. French Bay has advised that we will have a mooring until we leave for our cruise at the end of June. The goal is to depart from Clayton on June 27th and head for Canadian waters.
Marc and Stephanie

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May 21, 2010 French Bay Marina, Clayton , NY

-Sara and I have returned to Clayton this week to complete final pre-launch preparations for both the Lucy III and its trusted zodiac. Sara cleaned and painted the bottom of the zodiac and we launched it and did a test run of her 6 h.p Yamaha outboard. She did belch some smoke to start until the storage oil had cleared. Lucy III required some more wood trim on the new front hatch as well as some deck paint in a few spots. We also loaded and set up all of the bunks. Most of our electical circuits are now working. There are a few lights that refuse to light. I was able to get the main 12 volt lighting circuit working again. I tracked down a loose wire well hidden under Sara's desk. The rigging was checked and all pins were made ready for the riggers.

Marc

The Thousand Islands and then some.

August 14, 2009: Clayton, NY. Lucy III has remained at the Islander Marina in Clayton for the past two weeks while we returned to Boston for work and camps. Our return on Friday was without mishap. The traffic was minimal (only a six hour drive) and the weather was outstanding. We arrived in Clayton and found the boat riding comfortably on the mooring. We enjoyed dinner and dessert in town before taking the dinghy out to the boat only to find that various bugs had found a new home for the evening. After managing to get inside without most of our uninvited flying guests, we started the electric fans to cool us down. The girls did some reading as is their usual practice. Sue and I tried to make plans for the weekend.

August 15, 2009: Islander Marina, Clayton, NY. The morning began with an incredibly beautiful sunrise: goodness gracious great ball of fire. We decided to proceed to breakfast to the Koffee Kove early as we had arranged for a tour at St. Lawrence University at 9:45. The food was as excellent as on our last visit here and we were soon off to visit yet another college. Our route took us along many country roads past distressed farms and with farmers not normally seen in Massachusetts. The Amish reside here and travel by horse carriage as they do in Pennsylvania (they are apparently moving here since farms are rather inexpensive in this region). We stopped and purchased a beautiful “Lazy-Susan” style basket for our dining room table from a friendly gentleman. Our tour of St. Lawrence University was great. Both Sara and Stephanie were impressed. The campus was very nice with an excellent library and cafeteria in the new student center. The Sports complex was also extensive for such a small school ( 2100 students). Sue and I wondered how they could afford facilities such as these. The response from our guide was generous alumni. Our return took us to Ogdensburg, NY and the shore road back to Clayton. Next on the agenda was a visit to the summer home of our friends Shep and Emily Holt on Grindstone Island via the Lucy III. We had no difficulty crossing the St. Lawrence River and finding their beautiful yellow bungalow style cottage and boathouse. They are set on a peninsula with the boathouse on the protected shore with crystal clear waters. We pulled right in only to find two dogs in the cottage. We decided to wait awhile and enjoy the scenery. The Holts returned within fifteen minutes and they welcomed us to truly special part of the world. Sara and Stephanie enjoyed swimming as the water was warm here and weed free. Our hosts were very welcoming. Much of the conversations concerned our shared pursuits of ice skating and boats. We promised to return next Summer, with our masts raised, to take their family sailing. Our return to Clayton was in time for dinner aboard Lucy III and ice cream ashore.

August 16, 2009: Islander Marina, Clayton, NY. We arose early once again and proceeded to the pier to off load much of our summer gear including 4 bikes and lots of clothes. Arrangements were made to store the dinghy at the Islander Marina and the Lucy III next door at the French Bay Marina. Haul out is planned for next Monday. Stephanie chose “Bella's” as our breakfast restaurant. This bakery and restaurant was great with seating right along the river. It is not unusual to see antique wooden boats and (soon thereafter) giant ships on this river.

Back to the U.S.A.

July 31, 2009: Kingston Marina. We've been back to Boston for a week and now return with Sue's parents. The Nason's are staying at the Kingston Sheraton next to Confederation Park and the beautiful City Hall. The rest of us are back aboard the Lucy III for one last night in Canada.

August 1, 2009: Kingston Marina. Perfect weather, 80 degrees with Southwest wind of 10 knots and unlimited sunshine. We prepared to depart with the help of the very helpful marina staff. In no time our fuel tank and water tanks were refilled and our holding tank emptied. We filled the fridge with drinks and some snacks before setting off to join Sue's parents for breakfast in town. The Saturday Public Market behind City Hall was an excellent stop for a few last minute items. We drove around town and the Queens campus before going to the Rideau Canal locks at Kingston Mills. Our timing was great since four boats were locking down to the Lake Ontario level and everyone could view the process in and see this 19th century engineering still working flawlessly. Our next step was splitting the crew up for car and boat. Sue and her Mom travelled by car and two ferries from Kingston to Clayton, New York via Wolfe Island. The rest of us took to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River by boat. The excellent weather brought out many boaters, both sail and power. There were several sailboat races taking place on our route that were exciting to watch. Kingston Harbor was alive with many sailboats out to enjoy this day. As we motored out to the East in the St. Lawrence river we pasted the Canadian Military Academies and the imposing Fort Henry on the port side. On our starboard side we also viewed many windmills and a beautiful lighthouse on Wolfe Island. The traffic was mainly pleasure boats until we crossed into US waters East of Wolfe Island. Here we encountered oceangoing ships able to fill the 700 foot St. Lawrence Seaway locks, and many power boats. The log indicated our speed at 7.3 knots due to a favorable current.

Our arrival at Clayton was a bit problematic since we needed to clear customs and we had arrived on the busiest day of the year here: the Clayton Antique Boat Festival. Clayton is famous for its beautiful wooden boats and the town docks were full of them. Fortunately one boat freed up a space at the town pier and we made our way to the US Customs VideoPhone check in. The phone is set up in front of the harbormaster's office. We never saw the harbormaster or any Customs people. The phone check in requires everyone on the boat to check in, not just the master (this is different from most rules in entering a foreign port). We rewarded ourselves to Ice Cream after being officially back in the States. The next step was to find the Marina. I had double booked us as the reservation process was lax here. We had both a mooring and a slip. Our Slip at French Bay did work out very well after some confusion as to any reservation.

After settling in, we met up with Sue and drove to Alexandria Bay for a tour of Boldt Castle and an excellent dinner on a barge. The Boldt family built the most beautiful 125 room castle now owned by the State of New York and open to the public. Lucy III is now on the Islander Marina mooring for two weeks as we return to Boston for more work and summer camp.