Pine Island ON July 21, 2015

Jim and Jola planned to row to Annie at 7:30 for coffee and cookies. At 7:29 it started to rain which probably saved them a wet ride back, as we canceled the trip. I kept fishing without too much success. I caught a little bluegill and proudly held it up for Jim. One pole had a worm and bobber and I was casting lures with the other. It was a lure that caught the bluegill. I tried a number of different lures with no success. Then I remembered that I had bought a worm harness for walleye fishing. I put a worm on it and made a cast. Zap! I caught a huge (for me) fish. I don’t know what it was. It had a big head and teeth and looked really fit. I got my Canadian fishing rules book, but it did not have any pictures. Kerry wanted me to throw it back and since I had no idea what it was I thought that seemed like a reasonable idea. I used pliers to remove the hook. Before I could hold it up it slipped out of my hand and was gone. I did get a picture of it in the net. It may have been a musky. I think Jola was sorry I let it go as she said we could have eaten for three days on it.

Up anchor time was set for 10:00. NOAA warmed of a thunderstorm coming down the St. Lawrence so we postponed ½ hour, then another as it was raining hard until 11:00. We headed for Pine Island. The trip was pretty uneventful. I made one wrong turn but Jim called and alerted me. The trip was 5.5 miles and we arrived at noon. I had trouble identifying the anchorage using my Gamin chart, but pulled out my phone’s chart which made it obvious. It also correctly identified the depth contours in the harbor. Jim’s anchor caught the first time. It took us three times. And each of the two times when we pulled the anchor up to reset it was full of weeds, huge balls of weeds. It took a long time to hack and clean it off before we could try again. Jim suggested we anchor in a little deeper water which should have fewer weeds. It worked – finally. Yea!

Jola invited us over for strata for lunch. Jim rowed over to pick us up. It was pretty windy for him, but we made it both ways. With no real seat, Jim had fashioned a seat of cushions and bumpers. Half way to Annie it came apart and he found himself sitting in a nice little pool of water from the recent rain. We rowed ourselves back to Annie sitting on bumpers. Then Kerry remembered that I had made a 2x4 bumper for use against poles. It turned out to be the right length for a seat, and even has rubber ends which should keep it for sliding off. Good job Kerry! Of course Jim looked at me and said “You had that all the time?”

The new seat and the old seat on the Debbie K.

I was really surprised to see my solar panels charging at over 19 amps amps. Wow! I did not believe they could do that. They really make a huge plus for energy management while anchored.

I normally run the generator for 30-45 minutes in the morning. When the batteries are in the low 70's the charge rate is really high, and they charge up in the low 80 percent really quickly. Running the engine while moving to a new anchorage and the solar panels complete the energy restocking.

 High charge rate from generator

We invited Jim and Jola over for a grilled hot Italian sausage dinner. It is fun to grill on the boat. The ribs last night were delicious. I need to remember to cook the sausage in two batches. Last time I cooked all 5 at one time and there were flames shooting out everywhere from the grease hitting the fire - scared me. It was a really out of control situation for a while. Kerry has a pecan pie for dessert and plans to surprise Jim with it.

The anchorage here is beautiful. We are in view of one of the Thousand Island bridges. The Karpinskis really like it too. Unfortunately there is no phone of Internet here. The winds in the islands start light in the morning, pick up to 12-15 knots in the afternoon, then go light again at night. This pattern  has been very consistent, which gives us peace of mind when anchored. If the anchor holds in the windy afternoon we can feel confident that we won’t drift away at night.

Enjoying a good book sitting in the sun on my seat cushion, which I am fortunate to have!

My strategy for cooking the sausages worked. The grease flames were at a manageable level. We ate inside as the wind made it cool on the upper deck. Jim’s special desert was a pecan pie. We have enough left for a piece today. That would not have happened if Kip was with us. Jim picked out some fishing lures he wants to try tomorrow before he rowed back. It was really beautiful as night settled in.

We could see mosquitoes by the dozens swarming around our screens. We laughed at them because they could not get to us tasty people, even held our hands by the screen to tease them. Well, they had the last laugh. When we went to bed they somehow got in and at least 2 dozen filled our cabin. And our electronic fly swatter choose that moment to quit working. Damn! We had to squish them the old fashioned way, smashing them on the walls with tissues. We finally got them all, stuffed tissues and bags around the door edges, and went to bed, I think, un-bit. Tomorrow we are off to Grenadier Island, just a short hop from here.  

Ninette Island July 20, 2015

Today started with coffee and little powered donuts on Liberty. It was a travel day and we needed to be out by 11:00. Jola, Kerry and I biked to the grocery for milk and other items for our 3 days of anchoring. After stocking up on ice and securing the bikes we cast off, headed for somewhere in the Navy group of islands.

We passed Sugar Island and saw that our favorite anchorage was empty. But before we could turn and get in there another power boat putted in and took the spot. Darn! We just missed it. So, we motored on to Ninette Island and anchored there at noon. It was a 6.5 mile trip. It’s a somewhat big anchorage surrounded by islands.  We picked a more remote corner to drop the hook. Or so we thought. Turns out there is a back door to this anchorage and we were near it. We got a few powerboat wakes throughout the afternoon, but nothing bad. We are able to get phone and internet service from Verizon on an inconsistent basis.

Up until 4:00 it has been a relatively routine day. I did not know if I should write about me catching my flag with two treble fish hooks, Jim forgetting to turn the volume up on his VHF radio, or my getting a call from the Park Service because I had transposed some numbers on my credit card. Not much to choose from. I told Jim I need more material.

Well, then it got more exciting. It is windy today, about 15 knots I would guess. The spot we choose is open to the wind unfortunately. I would have moved but the anchor dug in the first time and it is holding great. My folding stadium type cushion chair blew off the deck while I was getting sun tan lotion. I did not see it until it was 20 yards from Annie, and moving away fast. I told Kerry I was going in after it, but thought better about it, and didn’t. I never would have been able to swim back against the wind carrying a cushion.

Kerry and I are standing at the transom of Annie watching the cushion blow away. I thought about pulling anchor and trying to get it with Annie, but decided against it. Jim is anchored downwind of us so I tried to call him to catch it but there was no phone signal. Just then a pontoon boat was going by about 40 yards away. I hailed them and they agreed to chase my cushion for me. Yea! They returned it to Annie via a boat hook and I gave them some cold beer as a reward the same way. Jim was just watching what was going on. I am not sure he had any idea of the problem.

This is a very special seat cushion. When we were shopping for it, West Marine had blue ones on sale for $50. But, on Excalibur the Princess said everything had to be black or white. So, this is a $100 black one!

Seat cushion being returned by very helpful Canadians! Who is that old, bearded guy?

The wind is calming down nicely now. We plan to grill ribs and I may try my hand at fishing again. I bought each of us 18 night crawlers yesterday. I have fed a couple to the fish already. Jola really wants to cook us a fish dinner so I hope we can be successful. Tomorrow we plan to anchor at Pine Island where I caught some really big bass when we had our houseboat charter.

The ribs were delicious. Liberty can be seen anchored downwind. 

Gananoque ON July 19, 2015

It is an absolutely perfect day in Gananoque. Low 80's temperature, blue sky, 12 knot breeze blowing through the boat - just what you dream of in the winter.

The most interesting thing to talk about today is Sky, our neighbor's dog. Sky is an American Lab (I think) on the sailboat next to us. I gave Sky a Milk Bone biscuit yesterday and we became great friends. He has managed to beg a couple more from me. What's neat is that Sky is trained to do his business on the bow of the boat. This picture provides evidence of that. And, even better, Jola tells me that when he raises his leg it goes right off the boat into the sea. That is one trained dog!

I agreed to have coffee with Jim at 7:00 but overslept. First time that has happened. We did meet up a bit later. Jim stopped over to consult on my hatch leak. He does not feel it is the hatch/deck seam leaking so I applied more of Captain Tolley around the suspect parts. Marianna Orro is in the North Channel and asked about the Captain. Apparently they have some need for it too. We have talked about cruising Lake Michigan with them next year.

Kerry had her mind made up that we were cleaning the rear cockpit of our boat, and so at 9:00 we were scrubbing away. It took longer than expected, but all the bugs are gone. I applied a special wax made by Woody Wax to the non-skid on the boat. It is supposed to seal the non-skid and help keep it cleaner. We shall see. Annie is shining in the afternoon sun.

We took a nice bike ride along the Gananoque River and then shopped downtown for a while. Then it was showers and laundry. laundry is $3 for wash and $3 for dry. We thought it would be cheaper in town but it was $3.25 a load there. 

This is an interesting two weeks in the Thousand Islands. The Cruising Guide called this the Invasion of the French Navy. In Quebec, the trades all shut down these next two weeks, and everyone goes on holiday. Many other business have adopted the practice too. So, many boaters migrate to the Thousand Islands during this time. It can get really crowded. Yesterday this marina was packed, with many French speakers. In trips past they have "snooted" us pretty good, but most have been quite friendly so far.

Over cocktails on Liberty we came up with a plan for our remaining time in the TI. We will spend 3 nights anchoring, then go to Brockville for 2 nights, then two more anchor nights, Alexandria Bay, anchor, then Clayton a day earlier than planned. We hope this will insure we get a dock at Clayton as most places will not reserve a dock on the Antique Boat Show Weekend. Along the way to or from Brockville we will stop at Singer Castle. 

Gananoque ON July 18, 2015

My friends the bugs were back in force this morning so it was my usual morning routine - perk a pot of coffee and enjoy a cup while washing thousands of the little buggers off Annie. They don't come back during the day (usually) so it is not wasted effort. Don't ever cruise without a battery operated electric fly swatter. You'll learn to love the loud "crack" when you hit a bug.

Bugs between screen and window - yuck!

I invited Jim to row over for a cup of McDonald's coffee, but he declined since I did not have little white powered donuts and Jola had just made him breakfast. We agreed we would leave at 10:00 and take a trip around the Picton Island and Rusho Bay anchorages where we will likely anchor later in the trip. Then we will proceed to Gananoque.

We are anchored at the red arrow.

The batteries were down to 72% charged this morning so I ran the generator to bring them up to 81%. It was cloudy and raining yesterday so the solar panels were not very effective. Usually in the morning the batteries are in the low 80%, so the panels do make a huge difference. This is the first day we have had no expenses. The day we left Kingston was our lowest previously, just paid for a bag of ice

There were a couple of drops of water on the Princess's pillow last night. Bummer! Up went the garbage bag taped to the ceiling. There were just a few drops in it this morning, but "our" standard is that one is too many. Not sure if I will try more Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure or taping the hatch frame where it meets the deck. I don't want to do both because if the leak stops I won't know what the problem is.

I did my first beard trim this morning. Starting to look like a nice little Captain's beard, although a little more time is needed for it to mature.

We made it to Gananoque Marina at 11:45 after taking a tour around Picton Island and Rusho Bay. Rusho Bay looked really nice. I wish we had stayed there last night but I forgot how close it was to Picnic Point. There were 4 boats in there, but room for 2 more for sure. Our trip covered 10.4 miles, but it was probably twice the distance it would have been had we come straight here. We are docked on the 700 series of docks which are far from the marina office, but the wifi is strong and we can connect. We can also get Verizon from the States here. Jim is very happy because they have 50 amp power and for the first time in a long time, he can just plug in.

We all rode our bikes to town, and shopped at Canadian Tire and the grocery. We investigated the theater and hope to attend a show tomorrow night. Sunday shows are 50% off. Cocktails were on Annie's upper deck and dinner was at the Old English Pub. I was disappointed that they have stopped serving Guinness.

Picnic Point State Park, NY July 17, 2015

We plan to set sail to Sugar Island at 10:00. Sugar is a small kind of off the radar island. It features several small anchorages so I hope we can find a place big enough for both of us. On our houseboat trip we spent 2 nights there.

We ordered a new table before we left home. We hoped it would be ready for this trip but the maker's wife was in a very serious accident and he could not get it done. It is almost done now. he sent us a picture yesterday. Kerry wanted something dramatic as our cabin is rather plain. Well, it looks like it is. The oval shape will work well in our cabin.

I have gotten use to the fact that we use a lot of energy while anchored. We enjoy the conveniences we have, as the refrigerator and freezer, TV, microwave, Cpap machine, etc. With the generator and solar panels it is no problem staying charged, or having hot water. We have ice all the time and even have an ice maker on board which we have not had to use. 

Jim and Jola have a problem with ice. They do not have a freezer and their ice compartment apparently is poorly insulated and will not keep around long. I think he will convert it to a freezer if he does another long cruise, which would be very nice. He does not want to use the battery power while anchored to run the ice maker which we offered him, but may take it and use it while plugged in at the dock.

We cast loose our mooring line at 10:00 as planned. The Canadians use a painted tire hooked to an anchor as their mooring buoy. Easy to spot, for sure.

Before we left we had to go through he morning ritual of washing the bugs off the boats. I am sure glad I have a wash down pump to use. Jim installed one before we left, and it was a good thing. It uses seawater. I am sure glad Annie has no teak. It's just rinse and let dry. With Excalibur I always had to get the water off the teak.

It was a short 3 mile trip to Sugar Island. As I feared, a houseboat was occupying where I had hoped we could go. Houseboat renters are told of this location and it is perfect for them. Darn. So we moved to another place on the island. We anchored but the seaweed prevented the anchor from digging again. We pulled it up, hacked the seaweed of with our machete, hose and dock pole, and did it again. Same result. We moved to the other side of the island, which also proved to be weedy, and we cleaned the anchor again. Then we moved to Prince Regent Island, but decided that the anchorage would not be favorable in the forecast winds. So, we then moved to the reliable spot of Picnic Point NY, We had to call Customs to announce our arrival in the US.

I have anchored here 3 times before. It is not my favorite anchorage and I had hoped to avoid it this trip. It is near a main thorough fare for boats and wakes are always coming by and rocking your boat. It does calm down in the evening though. I must admit we did spend some pleasant evenings anchored here with Lew and Gretchen Myers. Our 3 mile trip covered 6.7 miles and took a lot longer than expected. The good news is that our water got nice and hot and the batteries recharged. We had to anchor twice here because of the seaweed. Jim had trouble too, and got to use his machete.

Finally we both got anchored securely. Kerry made us a nice lunch, which she called a vegetable pizza.

We spent the afternoon reading and napping (one of us is still having a nap). Jim dingyed over to get a frozen chicken we were keeping for them in our freezer and sat out on Annie with me until it started to rain. We plan to grill ribs weather permitting. Tomorrow we go to Gananoque where there is a Canadian Tire. There is also a theater that puts on great plays. It would be fun to attend one.

Leek Island Canada July 16, 2015

By the time the princess got up at 10:00 I had made coffee, updated the blog, washed a thousand little bugs off the boat and sat in the sun reading the TI (Thousand Islands) cruising guide. We enjoyed blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

Shortly after finishing breakfast we pulled up anchor and set sail (sort of) for Leek Island or Sugar Island if Leek was full. It wasn't, so we pulled in there and tied to a mooring buoy.

Can you see Kerry? That's the USA across the channel in front of Annie.

Park officials pulled up about 2 minutes after we tied up to check our payment. Jim and Jola then rowed over and picked me up so we could go to shore to pay.

There are two Holiday Houseboats tied up in the Harbor. You may remember that the year Kerry and I did not have a boat we chartered one of those boats. It was a great vacation.

Leek Island is really near the US, about 300 yards or so. The Canada/United States border is just south of us. We again have phone and unlimited data. 

We are going to stay anchored out tonight and tomorrow night, then spend 2 days in the Gananoque Marina. Today will be spent reading and relaxing. I did one nasty job which was to take the holding tank monitor out and clean it so it would correctly show the levels. It's working great now. Speaking of working great, the solar panels are really working well, charging at 13.5 amps one time when I checked. I will run the generator later to heat water for dish washing and showers.

We each spent the afternoon on our own boats. We just sort of putted away the afternoon, doing a bit of this and that. My major activity was to scrape the base of my little mast to touch up the paint. Kerry's big task was to touch up scratches on our teak throughout the boat. Cocktails were rum and tonics, dinner was the last of the Shepherd's pie. The setting sun cast a nice light on Liberty.

Tomorrow we cast off at 10:00 for Sugar Island. I hope we can still get internet and phone. It is such a luxury!

Bostwick Island July 15, 2015

I must be off my A game. I knew the wind was going to shift, and I knew it was going to pick up in strength. Yet I went to bed without doing anything to prepare. So, at 3:30 I was out retying dock lines and readjusting fenders. Too much time in the cushy port of Kingston must have dulled the instincts. For the 4 days we have been here we have been blown off the dock. With the wind shifting and increasing in strength we are being smashed against the dock. It is really windy, and cold, 54 degrees. BTW, Jim had just the opposite problem. He is now being blown off the dock and said he could hardly get off Liberty this morning.

How windy is it? So windy that the cockpit cushion on Liberty blew into the harbor and ended up in the dock near me. I was typing the blog and looked over and there it was! They did not know it was gone. An amazing recovery for sure.

It stayed really windy all morning but the sun was shining brightly. We decided we had to go. It would have been easy to talk ourselves into staying, but not good if we were serious about anchoring for most of 2 weeks. Before we left, we inflated the dingy. It did not have a name initially, but Kerry and Jola named it the Debbie K, after their daughter.

The dock girls helped us cast off at 12:15. Liberty followed. When you first see the charts up here they are pretty intimidating so Jim choose to follow Annie instead of zooming by later. We headed for Leek Island. Scenery along the Bateau Channel is really pretty. Here is one of the homes on the way.

In a little less than 2 hours we were near Ganonoque and the start of the Thousand Islands. On the way to Leek Island I noticed that the anchorage at Bostwick Island was empty and suggested we go there as it was protected from the North wind. Jim agreed and we proceeded slowly into the anchorage. Following is a picture of the Admiralty Islands that shows Bostwick Island and a chart picture with a red arrow showing where we are anchored. Sorry the first one is sideways. The trip from Kingston was 16 miles and we were anchored at 2:15.

Bostwick turned out to be a beautiful anchorage and it was a perfect afternoon. We were so glad it was perfect as it was Jim and Jola's initial anchoring experience in the Thousand Islands. Here are a couple of pictures of Annie happily anchored.

It was a real pleasant surprise to discover that we could pick up Verizon here from the States. Phone calls home, unlimited data - yea! Of course we tried our hand at fishing with zero results. We tried lots of different lures but found nothing they liked. We tried to buy worms in Kingston but there was no place near enough to the marina to get them. We could even see the fish swimming about 6 feet under Debbie K.

Of course Kerry and Jola cheered us on from Liberty. They made us a delicious Shepherd's Pie on Annie. After dinner, Jim rowed Jola back to Liberty. Our first day was a real success.