The next stage

17 July 2010


Met some other loopers in Kingston last night, Dream Fever and Branchin Out; first we have met since we left home. Both couples have been travelling for some time.

Breezy this morning, but decided to move on to Picton. Got a slip at Tip of the Bay Motel and Marina. Wind came up so we were glad to arrive and get tied up. Branchin Out decided to travel today and we are tied up next to each other in Picton. Went for a walk through the town, very busy on a Saturday afternoon. Pretty town. Storms passed by during the evening and a little rain, but we seem to miss the worst of it.

Son Adam came down from Toronto for the evening and spent the night.

Underway again

Gordon's marine in Ganonoqe did a wonderful job of getting our starter problem fixed and put back in the boat, and very quickly. All systems seem to be working well (touch wood). We left at noon, arrived Confederatin Basin Marina in Kingston shortly after 3. Rainy stormy weather cleared just before we left, travelled in warm sunny weather, a little breezy. Wind picked up a little more as we arrived, nice to be docked.

A Small Delay

Few mechanical problems showed up as we were leaving Ganonoque Municipal Marina, returned to have them checked out. Apparently the starter for the Stbd engine is malfunctioning, so it has been removed and sent for repair. We hope that it will be back tomorrow, and that all problems will then be solved. Spent the day doing lots of odd jobs. We have moved over to Gordon Marine for the repair, have a beautiful view out over the St. Lawrence and this section of the Thousand Islands, warm sunny day with a nice breeze. It is beautiful here. If we had to be in need of repairs, couldn’t have asked for a better setting.

We've Started

14 July, 2010
The day has finally come! We left Crysler Park Marina this morning for our adventure – THE GREAT LOOP.


A big thank you to management and staff at CPM for their help and support over the past weeks. Also thank you to all of our friends for their well wishes.

It was difficult to say goodbye to family, but we will be keeping in touch. Megan and Jeff, with Taryn, Tali and Tori, came to see us off. That was great. Beth with Xavier and Lukas had been to say good-bye on Monday evening

We were through Iroquois Lock by noon, no delay there. Reached Ganonoque Municipal Marina at 6:40 pm, where we met friends Gordie and Esther. A good visit, plus Esther took me to the grocery store here for a few last minute items, including some treats like ice cream bars. Weather was hot and humid all day, with sun and clouds. Remains warm this evening, Ganonoque has a good crop of mosquitoes.

Few issues during the day with the port engine intermittently getting a little warm, then it would return to normal. Not sure what the problem is.

Almost ready to leave

The past few days have been busy as we get ready to leave. Williams Marine finished the shaft as promised and we picked it up on Friday. The mechanic was able to install on Saturday, as well as finish some fiberglass work on the bow of the boat. Spent Sunday waxing boat, putting bow pulpit back on along with the windlass, checking engines. One refused to start  so had to get the mechanic back, found the issue.
finally ready to put the boat in the water. Boat was lifted on the trailer, trailer started moving out of the parking lot we were in, promptly got stuck in a mud puddle from previous heavy rains, dug a trench in the roadway of the marina. Once out of there, ran into a couple of troublesome tree branches, Wayne and Dave from the marina sawed them off so we could get safely past. Some issues getting the boat started once in the water, but finally everything fixed. Spent today cleaning, sorting, fixing, and moving on board. Hope to leave tomorrow.

Preparing to leave

Have spent the past couple of months with a mechanic going over the boat from stem to stern. He found a few things to repair, and of course, everything is taking longer than anticipated - a result of lots of rain and a need to repair more than we had thought we needed. Currently one shaft is being replaced with one being built in Ganonoque; they promised to have it ready in a week, so we hope they can do so. We took it to them today. We  are grateful that the boat is tied up while we are at home rather than part way around the loop.
Meanwhile,  we have applied for a Nexus card, will make arrangements, we hope, for an interview next week. Also have to look at health insurance for our stay in the US. We have a radio license for the boat (a requirement in the US, but not in Canada), and a license for the dinghy. Still have to arrange health insurance for our stay in the US. Things are coming together, and we hope to leave either next weekend or the beginning of the following week, just a week behind schedule so far.

New boating year begins

The boat came out of the building on Friday; after weeks of beautiful weather somehow Friday turned out to be cold and wet. The canvas was repaired over the winter and is being put back on. Now the application of anti-fouling, repairing, washing and waxing begins. Still need to get the generator re-installed, ready for our departure in July.