19-Day Cruise!
September 22, 2023
We set out on September 1st after five years of building and about five minutes of packing (brought five pair of pants and only two shirts :)
Marty and Eva (and Lexi the pooch) stayed at our house while we were away.
Actually, we were quite well prepared. Donna packed lots of non perishables and dried foods, including powdered eggs and powdered milk. We didn't use electricity for the cooler. Using it on such an extended trip would likely have killed the battery. We picked up ice where we could.
We had planned to spend the first night at Smith island but we stayed an extra night due to high winds the second day.
Overall, the weather was fantastic, warm and sunny for the most part. We got a bit of rain in the night on two occasions and only one rainy day in all the 19 days out.
Except for one small issue related to the primer bulb, the boat ran flawlessly. All three batteries remained fully charged with the motor's small alternator and the two solar panels. We ran the chartplotter almost constantly and used the interior lights each night.
Our little dinghy towed wonderfully, bobbing along behind us like a cork. As it turned out, we never used it. We spent each night either tied to a dock at one of the 'Thousand Islands National Park' islands or at one of the locks. Every place had bathroom facilities as well so we only used the boat's head for 'number 1'. . . . no funky smells aboard Helen Back.
The lock stations had running water and flush toilets. The islands all have composting toilets that are clean and relatively odour-free.
At the first island, we heard an owl in the night.
The big bed (the converted settees) was solid and comfortable. The hand pump at the galley sink and the foot pump in the head worked fine. The pressure pump for the flush toilet worked great.
The curtains that Donna made for each window kept any unwanted light out of the cabin at night and we slept very well (and long) each night.
We had booked three nights in Gananoque but stayed an extra night to wait out a high winds forecast for the Kingston area. We were 'on holiday' and we treated ourselves, eating out while we were there. Breakfasts were at Anna's Cafe. We enjoyed a relaxing dinner at Riva's and we had the most incredible pad thai at a place called Pho Hut. Walking into town, we did some shopping to re-provision the boat and took a taxi back to the marina.
During our stay at the marina, two other boats from our club came in and docked right beside us. Les and Jackie aboard their cruiser and Jim and Margaret in their sailboat. So cool.
On a beautiful and calm morning, we left Gan and did the run to Kingston.
The next photo shows the entrance to the Rideau Waterway System.
Read the interesting history of the Rideau Waterway here: The Rideau Waterway
At one spot along the Rideau, we came around a bend in the river and found hundreds of white swans.
The locks work roughly the same as they did in the 1800's. The lock staff are friendly and efficient.
As interesting as it is, the Rideau isn't really our 'cup of tea'. Many areas have very narrow channels that require strict attention for navigation. Some areas have lots of weeds and we were often checking our engine water cooling stream. There is wildlife however. We saw bald eagles, hawks, swans, ducks, loons and many great herons.
We turned Helen Back around after going through our third set of locks (Jones Falls) and returned to spend more time in the Thousand Islands.
At one of the islands, another couple from our club (Larry and Elaine) sailed in. We spent the evening in a covered shelter chatting around a box stove fire.
The island parks are really nice.
Rain was forecast for the afternoon of our last day's run back to Smith Island so we left at dawn with our nav lights on for the first hour.
We thoroughly enjoyed our voyage. It was awesome to be afloat again. We saw beautiful views and met interesting people. We ate like kings and slept nine to ten hours every night. Still, we each lost about four pounds on the trip.
Donna and I are really happy with our little boat and we're looking forward to another late summer cruise next year.
Look for more technical details (and a few more photos) of this trip in the next blog.
Thanks for reading!
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