7/12 - 7/22/23 - Brewerton, NY to Kingston, Ontario: CANADA! (Lake Ontario & Thousand Islands)

Wed, 7/12 - Fri, 7/14/23 - Brewerton, NY to Henderson Habor, NY (62.3NM)

• 
  It took us 3 days to provision and ready Port-A-Gee for the Grand Finale of our Great Loop.
• We appreciated Winter Harbor's hospitality and amenities, especially use of the courtesy car.
• First on the list, was raising our Canadian flag, to pay our respects to our upcoming host country.
• Managed to squeeze in a docktail session and fellowship with follow Loopers:

• Laney Tunes
• Number 99
• Inconseavable
• Last Chance
• Little Buddy
• No Rush was at Winter Harbor, but no one was on board.  We were hoping to meet the "new" owners, because we crossed the Gulf back in November with No Rush, crewed by Mitch & Anne!
• Our Buddy Boat, Kayak went home the same time we did, but Kim & John were not returning until 7/15 - we hope to be reunited with them in the next couple of weeks.
• 7:30 a.m. we were making our way out of our slip and over to the fuel dock for the cheapest fuel in a whole year! $3.39/gal
• 12 Miles brought us to our final Erie Canal Lock #E23 (the remaining 10 Erie Canal locks go to Buffalo).
• Our solo descent of 7 feet dropped us into the Oswego River.
• The next 6.5 hours were spent locking through Oswego Locks 1 - 8 (minus #4, because there isn't one - LOL).  Our total descent for the day was 115.6 feet!
• 2 Canadian boats accompanied us all day.  They were returning home after a trip to New York City.
• 
  The lock master at Lock 2, Fulton, posts pictures on the Loop Face Book Page.
  

                                Oswego Canal Locks:

• MM 2.15 O1 Phoenix, down 10.2'
• MM 11.48 O2 Fulton, down 17.8’
• MM 12.06 O3 Fulton, down 17’
• (NO #4 LOCK)
• MM 18.49 O5 Minetto, down 18’
• MM 21.78 O6 High Dam, down 20’
• MM 22.45 O7 Oswego, down 14.5’
• MM 22.89 O8 Oswego, down 11.1’

• At 3:00 pm EDT we arrived at the mouth of Lake Ontario.  A decision had to be made:
• Stay at Oswego Harbor or poke our nose out into Lake Ontario with a goal of 40 miles to Henderson Bay.
• ARE WE GLOUSTERMEN??
• Lake Ontario had 1-1/2 - 2' chop on the beam.  Cap put the throttle down (spending all that cheap fuel we bought that morning!), and we crossed Lake Ontario at 18kts arriving at Henderson Bay around 4:30.
• We dropped the anchor, cracked some beers, grilled some hamburgers and expressed our gratitude for this life.

Sat-Sun, 7/15-16/23 - Henderson, NY to Clayton, NY (37.8nm).

• 
  9:30, we weighed anchor and set our course back out to Lake Ontario.  Around noon, we arrived at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and 1,000 Islands, NY.
• The Canadian border was a short swim to our Port.
  
• The 1,000 Islands is absolutely gorgeous - beautiful colored rock outcrops emerging from the water, and lush, green shore lined with large oaks, maples, hemlock, ash, hickory birch and red & white spruce.
• It's amazing how these trees grow up out of granite.
• We were aware of the poker run event this weekend, because we couldn't get a marina slip.  We had no idea that our anchorage would have a front row seat to dozens of cigarette, jet, and center consoles exceeding 100mph all afternoon!
• By 5:00 p.m. the serenity of our anchorage returned, and we enjoyed dinner al fresco in the cockpit.
• I jumped in the water and washed my hair in the pristine, cool water.  You can't buy that kind of treatment in a salon!
• Storms rolled in overnight and remained throughout the day on Sunday.  It didn't bother us in the least - we were grateful to be in this serene setting for a day of R&R.
• Nice dinner, under clear skies

Mon, 7/17 - Tues, 7/18/23 - Clayton, NY (anchorage) to Clayton, NY (Municipal Marina) (2.4NM)

• We woke to a beautiful morning at our quiet anchorage, so we took our time going 3 miles across the bay to Clayton Municipal Marina.
• 
  A short walk through the cute town brought us to the Antique Boat Museum.  WOW - I think anyone would appreciate the condition of these old wood boats.
• Adjacent to the antique boat museum was the Wood Boat Brewery.  We stopped for a few cold ones and some yummy apps.
• On our walk back, I noticed a store window featuring a necklace with a Gold Clete pendant with 2 little diamonds set in it (hence the name of the store).  Unique - let's see what else they have!
• Brian bought me the cutest Boat Hook Earrings - I was in heaven!
• Before calling it a night, we stopped in O'Brien's.  We ended up chatting with Joe & Karen, a nice couple from Buffalo that we saw at the boat museum.  We exchanged stories of our mutual travels.
• Clayton Municipal Marina - small but equipped and in great shape with nice showers and laundry.  Very close to everything in town.

FAMOUS?? I contacted our local news organization to see if they were interested in reporting our trip as a Public Interest piece.  I actually, thought it would be after our trip, but Jeff Arnold, the journalist, published a lengthy article right away!

A Father's Dream Becomes Lemont Couple's Bucket List Adventure | Lemont, IL Patch

Wed, 7/19 - Thurs, 7/20/23 - Clayton, NY to Wellesley Island, NY - Horizon Marina (9.3NM)

• Our short cruise to Alexandria Island (aka A-Bay by the locals) gave us a taste of the recreational and tourist area.  Lots of small cabins that consume the whole rock foundation.
• Many tour boats from both US & Canada filled with tourists.
• We arrived at Horizon Marina early afternoon and took advantage of the beautiful day by dropping the dinghy and going over to the Boldt Castle and Yacht House.
• George Boldt was the millionaire proprietor of Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NY and built the castle for his wife, Louise - I wish someone loved me that much!!
• Unfortunately, Louise died suddenly before ever moving into the castle.  George stopped the building and never returned.  Several floors remain unfinished.
• After we got back, we cooled down in the pool and then enjoyed dinner at Thousand Islands Club.
• Thurs, 7/20 - Another gorgeous, sunny day so we cruised the area in the dinghy.
• We had dinner on the boat and listened to the Cubs defeat Nationals 8-3!

Fri, 7/21/23 - Wellesley Island, NY to Kingston, Ontario (Confederation Basin Marina) (26.9 NM)

• We arrived in Kingston around 2:00 p.m. and were immediately surprised at how citified Kingston was.  The marina was adjacent to the City Park and there was a lot of activity - very cool!
• First order of business was calling customs to get border clearance.  Easy Peasy!  We answered a few questions, then they gave us a number to write down and post in our window.  Welcome to Canada!
• Kayak arrived earlier in the day, and we were really glad to be reunited with them!
• The 4 of us caught up over dinner at The Keg.
• Bill & Carolyn on Gypsy were returning from their first leg of segment looping in their Cutwater.  Bill stopped by, but unfortunately, Carolyn was not feeling well.

Sat, 7/22/23 - I enjoyed a good run out to Fort Henry, and through the Royal Military College of Canada Campus.

• Newly minted Gold Loopers, John & Linda on Moondance IV, drove over from Ottawa.  Moondance IV, Port-A-Gee, & Kayak caught up while enjoying lunch at Chez Pig.  We were so busy chatting we never took a picture!
• John, Kim, Brian and I grabbed some fresh produce and baked goods at the farmer's market and went up to the Jack Astor's Rooftop for some beers and Poutine.

• Confederation Basin Marina came highly recommended by Canadian Loopers - the locals know the best spots!  You could not beat the location, and the 20 private shower suites were, well sweet!

Leg Stats:  

Miles: (129.4) 62.3, 37.8, 2.4, 26.9

Marinas:(3) Clayton Municipal, Horizon, Confederation

Anchorages: (2) Henderson, Clayton

Locks: (7)