| This year we took the Lady Jane for a 2 week cruise up the Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. We really enjoyed this trip and I hope you enjoy reading about our journey. Be sure to view the photos by clicking on the links above. Day 1 July 21 2002 - We departed Braddock Bay around 7 am headed across Lake Ontario to Trenton, Ontario. Today's voyage would take us 51 miles across the lake, then about 10 miles or so through Presquille Bay and the Murray Canal into the start of the Bay of Quinte and Tenton. Trip was pretty uneventful, we ran at about 17 knots. Winds were light and the lake was running less than 2 ft the whole way. We arrived in Trenton right around noon after a pleasant passage through the tranquil Murray Canal. Dave and Jean ("Kaleen Plus II") and Rick and Cathy ("SideKick") showed up later in the day. Rick having arrived last, ended up on the far wall at Fraser Park since there was a bass tournament going on at the marina which took up much of the available dock space. It was really neat watching the fishermen bringing in their catch to be weighed. Lots of bass! Check out the pictures in my first album to see some of the fish. Day 2 July 22 2002 - The plan today was to make the trip through the Bay of Quinte and then out into Lake Ontario to a small marina we had read much about - Waupoos Marina. The voyage today was about a 4 hour run. After a breakfast on shore at a local restaurant and a lot of rain, we began prepping for the trip when the weather started to break. I was having problems with the house battery on the Lady Jane, so I decided to replace it before we left. Dave and I took a taxi trip to the local Canadian Tire store and purchased a new battery. 20 minutes and $110 later, we were back at the boat, where I installed the new battery. The trip through the Bay of Quinte was nice. It started with a little chop, but after an hour or so we had smooth water. |
| We arrived at the Waupoos marina just in time for a big rain storm with very windy conditions. We all had a chore getting the boats into our slips. Rick, Dave and I checked in while the girls started getting dinner ready. Our assisigned slips were at some newer floating docks that were not quite completed yet - we had to run much extension cords to get power. For a marina that is really off the beaten path, they accomodate alot of boats! Some observations about the marina: - Great muffins in the morning. Every morning they serve complimentary fresh baked muffins to the boaters. - Free laundry facilities. First marina we have ever been to with this convenience. - Great book and video lending libray. On the minus side, there is not alot to do here. There are no towns or stores nearby, although there is one restaurant within walking distance. That night we had a little get together on the dock. Remember I mentioned the docks were not quite finished? Well, Jane put her leg right through the joint between 2 floating sections. It caused a very painful bruise and swelling, and would bother her the rest of the trip. That put a damper on our party, to say the least! Day 3 July 23 2002 - Since we arrived late the day before, and Jane was in no shape to travel, the decision was made to stay the day at Waupoos marina. After breakfast, Dave and I took a dinghy ride to the Black River Cheese Factory, about 3 miles away. They have a nice little store that you can buy fresh cheese and other foods. We each bought some cheese and headed back to the boats. If you want to visit the factory by big boat, you can probably get to it, but the dock is tiny and you will have to anchor and dinghy from there. The rest of the day we broke into groups, Jane and I stayed back on the boat and relaxed, while the rest of the group took a walk to a nearby winery. That morning a friend of Rick's showed up on his way back to his homeport of Rockport Ontario. Nice boat, a new 29' Four Winns. For dinner, we all regrouped and went to the only nearby restaraunt, the Duke of Marysburg. They have a free shuttle (acutally the bartender comes and gets you in his mini-van!) but we found that it was within easy walking distance. Food was so-so and service not too good. But the prices were very good, I think the total check for Rob, Jane and I was about $35 cdn. Day 4 July 24 2002 The plan today was to go to Kingston Ontario, about a 2.5 hour trip. After fueling the Lady jane, we cast off at about 8:30. Once around Waupoos Island, the seas kicked up to about 2-3ft. We ran at about 15 knots, a comfortable speed in those conditions. We made the cut between Amherst Island and the mainland and headed towards Kington via the North Channel. A word of caution if you have never run this route, there are some really nasty shoals south of Collins Bay. Watch your charts and depth finder as you make your way east. I usually line up with the radio tower on the mainland near Kingston. Favor the north side of the channel. There are markers as well, but they are spaced well apart and sometimes hard to see. Al and Mary Kay, who own a new 29' Four Winns, found out the hard way where the shoals were. They left Waupoos about an hour after us, and unfortunately hit the shoals, causing extensive damage to thier boat. We arrived in Kingston at around 11:30 and checked in. We also informed the marina that the Sidekick and Kaleen PlusTwo would be arriving shortly. The marina staff at Kingston are always super, and they were able to get us docks somewhat close to each other. Kaleen and Sidekick arrived within the hour, and we all had a cocktail together while deciding what we were going to do. Jane was still sore from her accident at Waupoos, so she decided to stay on the boat. Jean stayed with her, while Dave Rob, and I decided to see the Kingston Maritime Museum. If you have time, this is a great way to spend the day. The exhibits are interesting and informative, and they have an old Canadian Buoy Tender, the Alexander Henry, which is open for a self guided tour. For dinner that night, we all went to Lone Star for fajitas and margaritas. Jane wasn't up for the walk, so we brought her back a plate. Day 5, July 25 2002 - We left today for the Rideau. Pulling out of Kingston at around 9:30, we find fair winds and sunny skies. Beautiful day! We passed under the fixed small boat bridge heading out of Kingston and towards the beginning of the Rideau. We had plenty of clearance, however, if you are taller than 15' you will need to wait for the lift bridge. As we started up the Rideau, I was pleasantly surprised to see the extent of the channel markers. We had purchased charts in Kingston, but we found most of the Rideau to be very well marked. We did use the charts, but if you are careful and go slow, you could easily find your way and stay out of trouble by paying attention to the markers. Our first lockage of the day was at Kingston Mills. This is a double lock, so it takes about an hour to pass though. We purchased our passes here, we paid around $140 cdn for a 6 day pass. The passes are good for any 6 days on the canal, they don't have to be consecutive, which is nice if you want to stay at dock for a few days. The first lock you pass through each day will check your pass and mark off a day. We continued on past Kinston Mills to the next set of locks, Lower and Upper Brewers. The terrain up to this point was mostly farmland, with some forests thrown in. Very peaceful cruising, we did around 9 mph. Once though Brewers locks, we traversed Cranberry Lake and Whitefish Lake to our destination for the day, Jones Falls. We found a spot on the lower side of the first lock (Jones Falls is 4 locks) and tied up for the night. Mooring is .50 per foot, which includes use of the restroom, but no power or showers. Rob did some fishing, with no luck, while Dave, Jean and myself explored the locks. Jones Falls is home of the largest stone dam of it's time, over 60 feet tall. Upon our return to the boat, we had a barbeque dinner and made plans for the next day. Day 6, July 26 2002 - We got up at around 7 am to make first lockage at 8:30. Jones Falls, with it's 4 locks, takes over 2 hours to lock through. We got in the first lockage along with a houseboat and 2 other cruisers. Dave had a slight mishap with one of the cruisers when a strong gust of wind hit his boat. We did the remaining 3 locks with no further problems, except by the time we hit the second lock it was pouring rain. Poor Jane got soaked sitting on the bow of the Lady Jane. After exiting Jones Falls, it was a short, rainy cruise through Sand Lake to Davis Lock. After Davis, we traveled through Opinicon lake to Chaffeys Lock. This was a very scenic lock, nestled in a little cut to the next lake, Newboro. We had a light lunch as we traversed Newboro lake. At the end of this lake was Newboro Lock. Our group of boats had gotten smaller, we were down to the houseboat, Kaleen, lady Jane and french Canadian couple in their 26' cruiser. The houseboat was having a heck of a time, it was crewed by a group of people who's average age was probably about 79. We poured on the coals after Newboro to get ahead of them. The next lock was a real small one, with only a 6' lift! We left this lock into the Big Rideau lake, which really is a big lake! However, the water was flat and we made good time to the end of the lake, at which you do some real zig-zags to get to the scenic cut which takes you to Poonamlie Lock. After Poonamalie, it is a short trip to Smiths Falls, or final destination. The terrain here had once again changed, we were now traveling through marshes. We saw a group of people fishing on a couch which they had dragged out to the river's edge! With plenty of beer and sunshine which had finally made an appearance, it looked like life was good at the moment for them! Two more locks and we were in the heart of Smiths Falls. Dave and I found spots on the wall, right in the heart of town. The city runs a campground-marina, and it is a "must stop" for anyone doing the Rideau. 60 cents a foot canadian gets you 15 amp power, hot showers and a free shuttle around town on the weekends. We really enjoyed this town! Day 7 and 8, July 26-27 2002 - We stayed at Smiths Falls for the next 2 days. While here, we did quite a bit of relaxing and checking out the town. We had drinks one afternoon at Rob-Roys, a great pub with an outside deck that overlooks the spillway from the old powerplant. We took the marina shuttle on a tour around the town with a stop at the Hershey chocolate factory. Unfortunately, the factory was shut down for summer holiday, but we still got to tour it and see the machinery. They also have a great chocolate store at the end of the tour, we came back with plenty of goodies! On the second day, Dave and I took the crew's clothes to a local laundromat - what a place! They have a lounge with cable TV and a liquor store right around the corner. So we stocked up the boat's wine supplies while we cleaned our clothes. As I said above, we really enjoyed Smiths Falls, if you are doing the Rideau, this town is a must stop. Day 9, July 28 2002 - Today started overcast and rainy. However, the rain stopped and Dave and I decided to go for a walk. We ended up at the local KFC, and brought the crew a lunch of chicken and poutine back to the boat. If you have never had poutine, be sure to sample if if you ever get a chance. It is french fries smothered with gravy and cheese. Absolutely delicious! After our impromptu lunch, we took a walk to see if we could get the screen from the Lady Jane's front hatch fixed. Ally, our big dog, stuck her head through it earlier and ripped it pretty badly. We tried a few of the local home improvement stores with no luck. But the trip was not a waste, as we made a stop at the Beer Store to replenish our ship's stock of brew. Upon our return, we made the decision to head out and head back down the canal. The sun had come out, but there were still some low clouds that could bring thunderstorms. It was also very windy, hot and humid. After stowing the beer and all of our gear that was scattered about outside the boats, we pulled out of the marina at about 12 noon. We locked through the 2 locks at Smiths Falls with no problems. However, upon entereing the lock at Poonamalie, poor Dave had the adventure of his life. He wnet up to the bow of his boat and grabbed the lock cable as usual. At the same time, a gust of wind hit his boat and caused him to pull harder on the cable. What happened next was beyond belief - the cable snapped at the base and Dave went tumbling over his bow rail and was left dangling on the side of the lock! At the same time, his boat, with Jean aboard, swung out to the middle of the lock. Poor Dave clung to the cable for almost 5 minutes while the lock crew scrambled to secure his boat and rescue him at the same time. Unfortunatley, there was nothing I could do to assist, since we were on the low side of the lock and I could not get off the boat. Luckily for all, the lock crew got his boat secured and hauled Dave to safety with only a pair of wet boat shoes. Our excitement over, we sucessfully locked through! Our next stop was at Rideau Ferry for fuel, a small town just before Big Rideau lake. We both took on fuel here, Lady Jane was especially thirsty, she took about $310 cdn. Very windy now, we had a near-close encounter with a runabout who decided that he was going to pull into the fuel dock just as we were pulling out. I had to really gun it in reverse to get out this yo-yo's way. A few choice words were exchanged before we departed! Once out on Big Rideau Lake, we were really getting hammered by the wind and waves. This is a beautiful lake, really deep water (up to 180 feet!), and islands galore. We would have liked to spend a few days here poking around, but Dave and Jean were anxious to get home (they had started their trip one week before us) We made it through the next lock and decided at that time that we would stop for the nigh at Newboro Lock, which was only a short distance ahead of us. We arrived at Newboro at around 4pm, this is truly a gem of a spot. Very secluded and well maintained grounds. We checked in with the lockmaster who gave us a key to the restrooms for the night. We were out of the wind now and the heat was really spiking, so I fired up the honda and cranked the air to cool down the Lady Jane. Rob, Dave and I all took a swim, the water was fantastic. We finished off the day with a light meal and some wine, since it was way too hot to cook a big meal. Dave and I took a walk around the grounds later in the evening, by this time there were probably about 15 or so boats docked for the night at both ends of the lock. Day 10 - July 29, 2002 - another gorgeous morning awaits us. I fired up the honda and Dave and I both made coffee. At around 8:30, we took a stroll up the road leading from the lock. We found a small restaurant and a hardware store, but neither was open. Not much else around within walking distance, so if you are looking to re-provision, this is not the place! We headed out at around 9:30, a picture perfect day awaited us. The water was like glass and all of the locks we passed through were ready for us. Jones Falls once again took us over 2 hours to pass through all 4 locks, we ate lunch while waiting for the first lock to open. The locking was uneventful this time through, and we continued on our way. We passed through our last lock on the Rideau at Kingston Mills and bid a fond farewell to our lockmaster friends. We entered Confederation Basin in Kingston at around 6:30, it was a long day of traveling for us. We were all pretty tired when we finally got secured in our slips, so we had dinner on the boats and played a few games before retiring early. Day 11-12, July 30th- August 1, 2002 - Jane and I took a walk up to Kingston's farmers market as well as a local butcher shop to replenish our ships stores. Another nice day, although a bit cooler, which actually was a welcome relief. We went back to the boat and had coffee with Dave and Jean while we decided what we were going to do. Dave wanted to spend another day in Kingston since they were both a bit tired from our 2 long days of locking. Jane and I decided we were going to head north up to the 1000 Islands and hang out there for a while. We bid our friends a fond farewell at around 11am and headed out to the St. Lawrence. We cruised the Canadian Channel and then took the cut right at the end of Grindstone Island to the American channel. We were soon approaching Clayton, one of our favorite stops. We pulled into the town docks in front of town and Jane decided it was a good spot to do some laundry, which had been piling up over the last 10 days. There is a Laundromat right in front of the docks, and you can stay for about 2 or 3 hours for no charge. I puttered around the boat while Jane got our tighties whitey. Underway again at about 2 pm, we headed around Carlton Island to our favorite park on Wellsley Island, Waterson Point. We were delighted to find that we once again had the entire park to ourselves. We relaxed the rest of the day, enjoying the bright sunshine while Rob busied himself fishing. We had a great dinner of ribs, pasta and wine that night, and Rob built us a great fire on shore while we watched the sunset. Got some great photos, be sure to check them out using the links at the top of this page. We spent the next day just relaxing, Rob and I did some fishing in the Lake of the Isles, a short dinghy ride away We really slammed the bass, we each caught probably a dozen or so, and we each landed a few pike. No keepers, though. Day 13 - August 3, 2002 - Today we awoke to a big thunderstorm. Lot's of rain, thunder, lightning. A big cold front was passing through, and conditions were supposed to improve as it passed. We waited until about 8am, and things seemed to be getting better. The river was calm, winds were light out of the SW. Our plan today was to shoot across Lake Ontario to Sodus Bay where we would spend our last night. This trip would cover about 70 miles, all open water. We got underway and headed out past Tibbets Point light. As we entered the lake, it seemed the winds immediately picked up. Waves started at about 1-3 ft, but quickly built to 2-4 ft. We were taking them bow on, and soon I was picking up spray on the bridge. I headed down stairs where it was drier and used the lower helm. By this time I had throttled down to about 13 knots and were really starting to see some serious water. 3-5 ft waves soon became the norm. At this point, I decided to abort our crossing and set course to Main Duck Island. As we approached Main Duck, the water got better, since it was blocking the waves. We entered School House Bay in Main Duck at around 10am, and felt lucky to find an open slip on the public wharf. Main Duck Island is a real neat place to visit if you ever get a chance. The whole island is a forever wild Canadian park. There are absolutely no facilities here except a stinky outhouse. So you need to have everything you need before you arrive. However, if you enjoy solitude and nature, this place is fantastic. Rob wasted no time getting into the fish, Main Duck has some of the best bass fishing anywhere on Lake Ontario. Needless to say, both Rob and I got well over our limit of good sized bass, none of which we kept. We spent the rest of the day chatting with the boat next to us, a 26' foot Sea Ray from Waupoos Island, and relaxing. Jane finished her reading and I finished most of my beer. We were happy to have our generator, as it got quite warm later in the day and we put our air conditioner to good use. Nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere with all the conveniences of home! Day 14 - August 4, 2002 - We awoke around 5:30 am today anticipating an early start. A quick check of the weather and it looked like a go. West winds at around 10-15 knots, 1-3ft waves. We pulled out at around 6 am and headed into the lake. As I rounded the end of the Island, I set my GPS coordinates to Braddock Bay. I was thinking that we could go straight, which was over 70 miles. Lake wasn't bad, quite a few rollers left from the day before, but not unbearable. We were cruising at about 16 knots or so, and things were good. However, a few hours out, I realized that we were going to cut it really close on fuel. Not being one to tempt fate too much, I decided to change course and stop at Sodus for fuel. This probably added 30 miles and a couple of hours to our travel time, but better safe than sorry. We took on about 100 gallons of fuel at Sodus and stayed for lunch with our step- mother, Sue and her friend Gene. Many stories were told of our trip and the fish we caught. At around 1pm, we departed for our final leg to Braddocks, about 36 miles. Waves had picked up again, and since we were taking them right on the bow, I had to run pretty slow, about 10-12 knots. Other then the chop, the trip was fine and we pulled into our slip at about 4pm. We met up with Rick, Cathy, Dave and Jean upon our arrival and spent the rest of the night swapping stories and enjoying each others company. This truly was a great trip, if you are thinking about doing the Rideau, I can say without hesitation - DO IT!! Hope you enjoyed our tale! -Capt. Ron |
| Rideau Canal Trip 2002 |
 |
| Our trip through the Bay of Quinte |