We are presently in Little Current, ONT on the North Channel island of Manitoulin which I think is the Indian word for “Boondocks”. The weather was blowing up today so we decided to stay in port and get some other obligations completed.

The weather has been cool so swimming has been limited though the water is warm. The scenery is spectacular and they say, with no reason to question, that this is the best cruising area in the world. We have been able to anchor in many secluded coves, and, on a clear night the night show of stars is the same as being offshore in the ocean as there is no light pollution

We have been having problems with uploading pictures but will do so as soon as we get the computer problems straightened out.

Tomorrow we are off moving west towards Mackinac Island, MI which we should be at by Thursday if the weather cooperates.

We are now in Parry Sound in Georgian Bay, which is the eastern shore of Lake Huron. There are some 30,000 islands in this bay with many coves and inlets that have not yet been surveyed for depth therefore if you decide to explore you do so with great caution. The further we travel northwest the more remote the area becomes.

Internet coverage up here is few and far between although we still have cell phone.

The scenery up here is fantastic and quite similar to the coast of Maine with the trees coming done to the waters edge and a glacially formed rocky shoreline. There are three distinct differences between the two. Georgian Bay does not have a 12 foot tide, lobster pots or fog.

We left the Trent Severn on Friday after a leisurely passage. Judi was not pleased with the Kirkfield lift lock or the Big Chute marine railway. At Kirkfield you drive the boat over a road via an aqueduct into a pan of water suspended ~50 feet in the air. It seems you are going to drive right out into space when you enter. They then put another foot of water in the pan and you start the trip down as the pan on the other side goes up.

At Big Chute a strange looking contraption that runs on cables and rails comes into the water, you drive the boat in and they suspend the boat in straps similar to a travel lift. They drive out of the water, over the crest of the hill and descend 51 feet to the river below. As you go over the top it is similar to going over the top on a roller coaster and then descending into a splash down at the bottom. To say the least it was a unique experience.

We are some 1286 NM from Plymouth and it is about another 350 miles until we are back in the US.

July 2, 2009

Today we are in Peterborough, ONT some ~1100 miles from Plymouth. We spent the last few days in Campbellford and Hastings.
Yesterday was “Canada Day”, their equivalent to the 4th of July. It was a throwback to the 1950’s with a local band at the gazebo, the ladies auxiliary serving hot dogs and burgers, and everybody sitting around on folding chairs enjoying the day.

The parade had bag pipers, old cars, tractors, and the contingent from the local fox hunt club. The fireworks were outstanding, not even taking into consideration that the town has 4000 residents. They had fireworks that they put off underwater, quite different and impressive.

Tomorrow we will continue west through the Peterborough Lift Lock into what they call the Kawartha Lakes region. This is a series of lakes in the Canadian Shield that are connected by a series of locks on the Trent-Severn. Do a Google on Peterborough Lift Lock. It is pretty interesting as an engineering achievement when it was built in 1904.

The weather has been, in total, outstanding. The days are very long at this latitude and where we are in the time zone, sun up at 5:30 and down at after 9 PM.

Life is good.

June 23, 2009

We are now sitting in Confederation Basin Marina in Kingston ONT. We arrived here Sunday late and will be setting out towards the Trent Severn tomorrow. The weather has been outstanding, every day sunny into the mid eighties with low humidity. The last rain we had was Saturday with good weather forecasted through next Monday.

The Rideau Canal is very pretty in the lake regions with many secluded anchorages for the taking. We met two nice couples on a Grand Banks 42 from Maine that were doing the Rideau and we traveled together from Ottawa to Kingston. We had a very nice time.

As some of you all ready know the only liquor stores in Ontario are operated by the government. They are known as the LBCO stores. Well total panic has set in as the unionized LBCO workers are going on strike at midnight tonight. You should have seen the panic at the LBCO store this afternoon. There were lines out the door people jockeying for position at the check out and nearly empty shelves. Some people had two shopping carts full of liquor and wine. All the bars and restaurants also have to buy their liquor, beer, and wine from the LBCO

We are having a great time and so far, have pretty much had the places to ourselves. We will see as we get into July but I think the economy may have altered some peoples plans as most everywhere we here the boat traffic this year is slow. If they do not have any liquor stores it will get really slow.

We have traveled a leisurely 942 nautical miles.

June 14th Update

June 14, 2009

We are now on the mooring wall in downtown Ottawa. We had a very nice trip up the Ottawa River arriving on Friday afternoon. We locked up the 8 locks of the start of the Rideau Canal. As we were the only boat we were the afternoon entertainment for ~400 people. They line the locks and the overlooking bridge. The tourists were taking multiple pictures. This is a very beautiful place very much European in its flavor.

We meet some very nice people on their boat from the area and went to dinner last night in Ottawa’s version of Fanuel Hall. Talk about leisurely dining we did not finish dinner until after 11:00 PM. Then, of course, we had to dance for a while.

The weather has become very nice, 75 to 80 degrees and sunny. The outlook for the next three days is more of the same.

We will probably take 5-6 days to transit the Rideau before we return to Lake Ontario. We have covered 823 NM in our first month