We have been cruising the last few days without access to the Internet - a little slow on the updates. As soon as we get a connection (not in a visitor center) we can expand on activities with pictures etc. However, in the mean time, we thought we would let you know that we are doing well and have covered another 300KM and completed the Oswego and Erie Canal Systems adding another 30 locks to our tally! That's 70 count them 70 locks in two weeks!! No Mas!
We are heading out on the Hudson river South by noon today. We have not picked a destination yet, but I'm sure one will present itself in due course.
More to come!
Cheers!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Fighting the boating bulge - Part I
It's not hard being health conscious, but boating presents its challenges for staying fit. On longer waterway crossings, you may not log many steps in a day, so you need to plan some type of exercise. Otherwise, you'll soon find it hard to fit through those narrow doorways and walkways. Plus, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a fast food chain. Combine the innate tendency to be sedentary with poor readily available diet choices and the occasional Corona/red wine/porto or two, and boom, chunky monkey is on board. I know some of you are saying "right on... bring it!", but I hate shopping for clothes just that much that I'm not having it.
I know it's nerdy, but as I was planning for our trip, I made sure to bring two essential items - a step counter and a pair of good running shoes. I didn't want to rely on alot of electronics in the event that we didn't have an external power hook-up - essential electrical systems (like starter motor and fridge) come before working out with Gillian from the "Biggest Loser" (they're really good DVDs, BTW).
The nice thing about marinas is that they tend to be downtown or near natural trails. The Trent Severn was wonderful that way. Orillia, Trenton and now Kingston have some nice waterside trails that made running and hiking quite enjoyable and special. I bring the camera with me to capture some cool scenes along the way. I'll happily take whatever tips from our semi-professional photographer followers - you know who are!
The step counter reminds me that I need to log about 10 000 steps a day (once again, nerd, I know!). On our last leg of the TSW, we managed 14 locks in one day - you bet I logged those steps running fore and aft busing lines and fenders.
On days when we anchor out, I do some yoga - it's not hard to bring serenity into your life when you're surrounded by it. I just have to mind the anchor when I jump into my downward facing dog pose!
Here are some shots from the trails:
I know it's nerdy, but as I was planning for our trip, I made sure to bring two essential items - a step counter and a pair of good running shoes. I didn't want to rely on alot of electronics in the event that we didn't have an external power hook-up - essential electrical systems (like starter motor and fridge) come before working out with Gillian from the "Biggest Loser" (they're really good DVDs, BTW).
The nice thing about marinas is that they tend to be downtown or near natural trails. The Trent Severn was wonderful that way. Orillia, Trenton and now Kingston have some nice waterside trails that made running and hiking quite enjoyable and special. I bring the camera with me to capture some cool scenes along the way. I'll happily take whatever tips from our semi-professional photographer followers - you know who are!
The step counter reminds me that I need to log about 10 000 steps a day (once again, nerd, I know!). On our last leg of the TSW, we managed 14 locks in one day - you bet I logged those steps running fore and aft busing lines and fenders.
On days when we anchor out, I do some yoga - it's not hard to bring serenity into your life when you're surrounded by it. I just have to mind the anchor when I jump into my downward facing dog pose!
Here are some shots from the trails:
I started my hike that morning with the Fenelon Falls garden across from where we moored for the night. Two young men were already fishing from that same spot.
This bridge was overlooking the dam at FF - the dam was cool, but I really liked the flowers.
Okay ...so, here are the falls...we slept right next to them. Surprisingly soothing.
This was a sign of hope... until then I was walking on a highway, in someone's front yard, then backyard, followed by a muddy foot trail no bigger than the width of a hobbit's foot, with signs assuring me that I was on this very same trail.
Discovered a small footbridge along the way and this lovely meandering creek. It was worth the wet runners and socks - the picture doesn't do it justice.
There is no shortage of photo ops in Kingston, but I really loved this one of the City Hall and Flora MacDonald Fountain in the park with the same name. Kingston is absolutely gorgeous when you approach it from the water. This site was transformed into an outdoor Bluesfest stage that night. I woke up to bagpipes in the morning and attended a Blues concert in the evening. Man, I love Canada!
Reviresco Tour
A couple of folks have mentioned that they would like a little peak into the interior of the boat. So here we go on a little tour. Let's start at the Bow and work our way Aft.
I forgot to take pictures of the Fly Bridge but will add them another time. Over all we have lots of room to move around and rarely feel confined. The boat if fully wired for AC with a generator or shore power, we have a BBQ and a full entertainment center in our IMac as well as a full stereo that plays inside and outside as we choose. All the lighting in the boat is a combination of over head, task or indirect valence to create the mood you like.
Not exactly roughing it, but the point was to travel with the comforts of home so mission accomplished. Now if it only had a couple more feet... just kidding!
Cheers!!
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| Second Guest State Room |
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| Galley Down |
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| Dinette Down / Office |
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| Lower Helm Station |
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| Salon to STBD |
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| Salon to PORT |
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| First Guest Stateroom |
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| One of the 3 Bathrooms |
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| Master Suite |
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| Master Suite to STBD |
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| Master Suite to PORT |
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| Aft Deck - Indoor / Outdoor |
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| Aft Deck Bar / Entrance to Salon / Access to the "Fly" |
I forgot to take pictures of the Fly Bridge but will add them another time. Over all we have lots of room to move around and rarely feel confined. The boat if fully wired for AC with a generator or shore power, we have a BBQ and a full entertainment center in our IMac as well as a full stereo that plays inside and outside as we choose. All the lighting in the boat is a combination of over head, task or indirect valence to create the mood you like.
Not exactly roughing it, but the point was to travel with the comforts of home so mission accomplished. Now if it only had a couple more feet... just kidding!
Cheers!!
Gotta Love Kingston
Well the weather was not cooperating and the Oswego was still closed so we decided to spend another day in Kingston. Sue did her usual run/walk in the morning and I did my normal maintenance activity. We did a little reading and cleaned up the boat Quite relaxing all in all.
The afternoon was spent at the Kingston Maritime Museum where we toured the Alexander Henry, a decommissioned Coast Guard Support Vessel - built in 1953 it looked like a WWII class light ship - all business!
We finished up the evening with a dinner and watched the Kingston Limestone Blues Fest in the park across from City Hall. They had a number of good bands in the afternoon and evening. The good news is that we can hear the bands from the marina so we can sit in comfort and take in the ambiance!
Tomorrow the forecast is for light winds/waves on Lake Ontario so we are going to set out for an "early" run for the border!
The afternoon was spent at the Kingston Maritime Museum where we toured the Alexander Henry, a decommissioned Coast Guard Support Vessel - built in 1953 it looked like a WWII class light ship - all business!
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| Solid Steel!! |
We finished up the evening with a dinner and watched the Kingston Limestone Blues Fest in the park across from City Hall. They had a number of good bands in the afternoon and evening. The good news is that we can hear the bands from the marina so we can sit in comfort and take in the ambiance!
Tomorrow the forecast is for light winds/waves on Lake Ontario so we are going to set out for an "early" run for the border!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thank-you to all!
Hi everyone,
Thank-you for very much for your kind words of encouragement and anecdotes. We're thoroughly enjoying reading all of our posts when we're lucky to get WiFi access.
In case you've been wondering, I too am having a great adventure. I'm doing and learning a ton. No, Scott hasn't worked me to death yet, but he is a task master, our captain. I've managed to do more than simply look at my hands full of rope in desperation, when someone yelps "bow line". So it's a start.
It's been quite a challenge to change gears from work where every moment of your day is planned to the second. For years, I've fought my Lebanese heritage of "no planning" or the infamous "Inshallah" - God willing affirmation to any suggested plans. Well, I appear to be back to my roots now, as to do otherwise is shear madness. You have to be ready to let go of a plan and have several options available - from Alpha to Zulu. Can you tell I'm practicing my telecom alphabet?
As rivetting as the engine and mechanics blogging is for everyone (I know I can't get enough), I thought I would offer up my viewpoint of our journey on Reviresco - fighting the "boating bulge". It's like the "freshman 15", but double the weight and twice the effort to lose it. So more on that shortly.
I could share with you some boating beauty tips, but sadly that blog would be short enough to write on a grain of rice. Vogue would not be interested in picking this piece up. It goes something like this:
1. moisturizer with sunscreen
2. chapstick with sunscreen
3. pony tail so the hair doesn't get in your eyes running around following orders and busing lines
4. baseball cap to manage the inevitable flyaways that make me look like a modern day Medusa
And there you go! Ready for the low seas
Many of you commented on having more pictures. Thought I would share a few of my favorites.
Thank-you for very much for your kind words of encouragement and anecdotes. We're thoroughly enjoying reading all of our posts when we're lucky to get WiFi access.
In case you've been wondering, I too am having a great adventure. I'm doing and learning a ton. No, Scott hasn't worked me to death yet, but he is a task master, our captain. I've managed to do more than simply look at my hands full of rope in desperation, when someone yelps "bow line". So it's a start.
It's been quite a challenge to change gears from work where every moment of your day is planned to the second. For years, I've fought my Lebanese heritage of "no planning" or the infamous "Inshallah" - God willing affirmation to any suggested plans. Well, I appear to be back to my roots now, as to do otherwise is shear madness. You have to be ready to let go of a plan and have several options available - from Alpha to Zulu. Can you tell I'm practicing my telecom alphabet?
As rivetting as the engine and mechanics blogging is for everyone (I know I can't get enough), I thought I would offer up my viewpoint of our journey on Reviresco - fighting the "boating bulge". It's like the "freshman 15", but double the weight and twice the effort to lose it. So more on that shortly.
I could share with you some boating beauty tips, but sadly that blog would be short enough to write on a grain of rice. Vogue would not be interested in picking this piece up. It goes something like this:
1. moisturizer with sunscreen
2. chapstick with sunscreen
3. pony tail so the hair doesn't get in your eyes running around following orders and busing lines
4. baseball cap to manage the inevitable flyaways that make me look like a modern day Medusa
And there you go! Ready for the low seas
Many of you commented on having more pictures. Thought I would share a few of my favorites.
Fenelon Falls in the morning as the mist was clearing - this is another boat moored near us for the night
En route to the Peterborough Lift Lock - notice the two boys on the bridge and the one in the water who just jumped off the bridge in 5 feet of water - BOYS!!!
Scott's pointing finger was still working pretty good, despite the bandaged thumb
The beginning of the Trent-Severn waterway, or in our case, the end. The shot is much prettier at night I think.
Gorgeous full moonrise in Bygott Bay. Despite a steady hand the boat still does move!
From Trenton to Kingston?!
I do recall saying that part of the element of this lifestyle that I was looking forward to was not having to plan every element of a day and to go with the flow a little more than we normally do. Well here we are in Kingston with a stop over in Bygott's Bay for the night. We had a lovely evening in the bay with the fish jumping, and a beautiful sunset. We made up some burgers on the BBQ and enjoyed a big salad (and a couple of beers for me!)
So why Kingston? Well it turns out the Oswego Canal is closed! The heavy rains earlier in the week that were light showers on the Trent Canals were apparently quite a down pour in NY and the subsequent flash flood wiped out the channel markers and caused the locks to have to close due to high water levels. So we had to spend a couple of days in other directions to wait out the delay.
On the plus side we had a chance to turn up the heat on the CATs and blew out a bunch of low idle "canal smoke" as I will call it. A little disconcerting to start (lots of smoke) but it subsided and now the big CATs are smoke free and running clean. I also cut right up the middle of a sailboat race. There were dozens of them in packs fighting for wind. I found a little crack in the procession and went through as slowly as I could. It's hard not throwing a big wake with Reviresco! It was a little tight, but I hope they appreciated the effort.
Tomorrow we will check the weather, file a sail plan with the Coast Guard, and take a 80KM crossing of Lake Ontario to Oswego and hope that the canal opens soon! After that we will have to make up a little time and put in a few longer days on the water so we can have a couple of days in NY NY! At least that is the working "plan".
Cheers!!!
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| Sunset in Bygott's Bay |
So why Kingston? Well it turns out the Oswego Canal is closed! The heavy rains earlier in the week that were light showers on the Trent Canals were apparently quite a down pour in NY and the subsequent flash flood wiped out the channel markers and caused the locks to have to close due to high water levels. So we had to spend a couple of days in other directions to wait out the delay.
On the plus side we had a chance to turn up the heat on the CATs and blew out a bunch of low idle "canal smoke" as I will call it. A little disconcerting to start (lots of smoke) but it subsided and now the big CATs are smoke free and running clean. I also cut right up the middle of a sailboat race. There were dozens of them in packs fighting for wind. I found a little crack in the procession and went through as slowly as I could. It's hard not throwing a big wake with Reviresco! It was a little tight, but I hope they appreciated the effort.
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| Sail boat races! |
Tomorrow we will check the weather, file a sail plan with the Coast Guard, and take a 80KM crossing of Lake Ontario to Oswego and hope that the canal opens soon! After that we will have to make up a little time and put in a few longer days on the water so we can have a couple of days in NY NY! At least that is the working "plan".
Cheers!!!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A Boat is a List Part 2
Monday was a cloudy, rainy and cold day so we decided to wait for sun to cross Lake Ontario to Oswego.
That furnished me with the opportunity to do a few things around the boat!
The first priority was to replace a couple of my 8D batteries that packed it in. We found a supplier and should pick them up this morning, a couple of quick connections and we should be good to go. The tough part is carrying them in and out of the boat at ~150lbs each!
I readjusted my port side stuffing box and will have to add a couple more turns of packing material to provide some fine tuning. The good news is there is no longer a leak on that side and with a bit of monitoring it should be fine.
I installed the new fresh water filtration system. It's a two stage system with a 5 micron and 1 micron carbon filters to take out any little nastiest, and improve scent and clarity. It should work the charm as soon as I get a piece of hose that is 1 foot longer than the one I brought!
Other than that all is in good order and we should be on our way by noon today.
Cheers!!
That furnished me with the opportunity to do a few things around the boat!
The first priority was to replace a couple of my 8D batteries that packed it in. We found a supplier and should pick them up this morning, a couple of quick connections and we should be good to go. The tough part is carrying them in and out of the boat at ~150lbs each!
I readjusted my port side stuffing box and will have to add a couple more turns of packing material to provide some fine tuning. The good news is there is no longer a leak on that side and with a bit of monitoring it should be fine.
I installed the new fresh water filtration system. It's a two stage system with a 5 micron and 1 micron carbon filters to take out any little nastiest, and improve scent and clarity. It should work the charm as soon as I get a piece of hose that is 1 foot longer than the one I brought!
Other than that all is in good order and we should be on our way by noon today.
Cheers!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Severn + 45 Locks = Trenton
It took 5 very solid days of cruising and 48 hours of run time on the engines, but we made it to Trenton this evening! The last two days were not as scenic as the first 3, more of a getting there rather than the journey situation. That said, despite the cloud and light rain, we still saw a lot of interesting countryside and talked to a bunch of nice folks along the way. It’s interesting how quickly you can get to know an area and the people in it after only a short time. If we were on less of a schedule to get south before the fall we would have had countless opportunities to take little side trips to lakes and bays, fished, swam and enjoyed the time in the Canadian countryside. However, that will have to wait for another day.
For those who like a few pictures – Have a look at the following shots.
For those who like a few pictures – Have a look at the following shots.
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| Lots of Hydro |
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| Narrow passages - to STBD of Green Marker only! |
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| Lovely Sentement & practical too! |
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| Operating Swing Bridges |
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| Did I mention the rocks? |
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| Rain - what rain? |
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| Lots of boathouses |
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| "Hole in the Wall" |
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| Chicken anyone? |
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| Lots of Canals |
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| Kirkland Lake Lift Lock Approach |
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| Kirkland LL from the top |
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| Reviresco at Fenelon Falls |
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| A quick prayer by the water |
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| Yes you can get through - and you must! |
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| Lock Masters have a green thumb |
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| Fountain leaving Perterborough |
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| A "Flight Lock" is two back to back |
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| You can tie up at any Lock for the day or night |
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| Ospre everywhere! |
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| Trenton Lock #1 - we made it! |
Peterborough Lift Lock
Talk about your impressive feats of engineering! The lift lock raises/lowers you 65 feet in 90 seconds, and does not require any mechanical power other than water pressure. Effectively, the lift lock runs on two great big pistons with a water chamber below. When one lift is at the top they fill it with 1 foot of extra water for weight. Now they open a valve between the two pistons and the water in the top lift pushes over to the other piston lifting the water chamber on the other side. When they get to the top they close the valve, open the lower gates releasing the extra foot of water. They then open the upper gate and add a foot of water and they are ready to go again.
The engineering principal is so very simple – but the scale of the machine to make it work is truly impressive. My guide Rob spent an hour with me in the AM to show me the inner workings and even let me stand under one of the water chambers as it descended – very cool – not a sound!
There may not be a lot in Peterborough, but if you find yourself there, the Lift Lock is well worth the visit!
Cheers!!
The engineering principal is so very simple – but the scale of the machine to make it work is truly impressive. My guide Rob spent an hour with me in the AM to show me the inner workings and even let me stand under one of the water chambers as it descended – very cool – not a sound!
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| Top of the lift as you arrive |
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| You better stop in time! |
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| Moored for the night |
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| From the bottom |
There may not be a lot in Peterborough, but if you find yourself there, the Lift Lock is well worth the visit!
Cheers!!
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