Kingston and the Gateway to Trent-Severn

 TRAVEL DAY 79 - Gananoque to Kingston

July 20, 2023

2.52 Hours/18.4 Miles

    We pulled out of Gananoque with absolutely perfect weather. With our Canadian cruising permit and flag flying, we were on our way west in Ontario to Kingston.

Kingston

    We had received some valuable information the evening before from the Harbor Host about cable ferries. As we navigated out of Half moon Bay and rounded the corner of Howe Island, we encountered our first. The cable ferry, just as it's name implies travels across the water with a cable attached to either end of the boat and pulled in mechanically from either shore. Passing in front of the vessel would mean hitting the cable and passing to close behind while not waiting for the cable to relax and sink in the water could also lead to a tragic end. We came upon two of these on this portion of the trip.

Cable ferry

   Original plans were to get an anchorage in Kingston but with a less than desirable forecast overnight and Kingston being touted as a great stop, we opted to get a slip in Confederation Basin Marina, the municipal marina for Kingston.

Engine 1095

    We called the marina requesting a slip for 2 nights, they asked that we stand by while they checked availability. Meanwhile we could hear the marina staff talking to other boaters with the same request and they were subsequently turned away. Our hopes were sinking as 3 or 4 were denied. The marina hailed us on VHF 68 and gave us our slip assignment. The difference? Size. This smaller boat meant that most times, the marinas could fit us in places that the larger vessels couldn't get to.  It took 2 tries to place the boat in the slip as the wind was a little brisk. "Never be afraid to do a go around" is my motto. I spun the little Camano around and the second attempt was a success.

Beth's new friends

    We checked in with the marina, paid for our slip, got the restroom and gate codes and headed to the park and the visitor center to gather information about what was once the capital of Ontario.

Confederation Yacht Basin

    With a beautiful Ontario day, we decided to share an Uber with the crew of Ottyssey and visit Fort Henry.  Fort Henry is located on an elevated point overlooking the mouth of the Cataraqui River where it flows into the St. Lawrence River at the east end of Lake Ontario. The original fort was constructed during the War of 1812 and soon after the war, as the mistrust between Britain and the US continued to grow, it was demolished and a larger more fortified fort was constructed in the 1830's. The fort never saw any attacks or military campaigns.

Fort Henry

Lowering of the colors and the Canon firing

Day 2 - KINGSTON

    An extra day is always great to "re-set" so we took one today in this great town. There is so much here we probably could stay a week, but that is too long & we are anxious to get started on the Trent-Severn.

Kingston City Hall

    What started out as a rainy day, turned out to be a pleasant one. We started by trying to do a tour of the Kingston City Hall but the first was not until 1 pm and we didn't want to wait. Instead we scootered to Queen's University and did some site seeing on the campus. We stopped into the Agnes, the university's art center and gallery. The current display is of indigenous art.

Agnes

Indigenous Art Display

    Later we met up with friends for a late lunch. The rain set in pretty hard and we were forced off the patio but still managed to have a great time. 

   

Gananoque to Kingston 

TRAVEL DAY 80 - Kingston to Picton

July 22, 2023

4.85 Hours/38 Miles

    A fairly early start to a nearly 5 hour ride. Exiting Confederation Basin past the large stone jetties, we made our turn west.  This time we got to see the backside of the wind turbines on Wolfe Island that we had viewed on our way from Oswego to Cape Vincent. Past the Kingston Penitentiary, now a tourist site and into the North Channel. 

Kingston Penitentiary

    Between Wolfe Island and Amherst we got a glimpse of Lake Ontario and the open pass and long fetch allowed the wind to pick up some, but the seas were still pretty calm. We got one last view of Lake Ontario at the other end of Amherst Island and Cressy Point. We entered the Bay of Quinte and continued on.

Glenora Ferry

    The final corner and turn to port was into Picton Harbor and at its end, Picton. We had called the night before to inquire about an anchor ball. For $25/night ($19 US) it was a good deal and with the dinghy we could easily go to shore in Picton.

The Stinky Canuck "Stickin' It to The Man"

    We picked a mooring ball but it had no loop to tie off so we chose another. The second had a chain but the deck crew couldn't get ahold of the tag line. Finally on our third attempt, we snagged the float of a ball and secured the boat. We dropped Lil' Scuz and headed to a dock at the end of the harbor.

Mooring Ball

    We met up with our new traveling companions on Ottyssey and walked the 1 1/2 miles to Black Prince Winery. A Disk Golf course was located there as well and we wished we had brought our gear for a short game.

   

Black Prince Winery

     

Kingston to Picton

TRAVEL DAY 81 - Picton to Trenton (Quinte West)

July 23, 2023

5.03 Hours/40.1 Miles

    The weather has been great. Cool evenings perfect for sleeping with no air conditioning and warm days with no humidity. We missed home but we didn't miss the blistering heat and humidity of Florida.  The Captain performed the engine room checks while the crew got the cabin ready and adjusted all of the DC & AC switches. With the engine cranked up, the deck crew dropped the mooring ball and we steamed out of Picton Harbor north then west toward the town of Trenton (Quint West).

Family of Swans

    This particular Sunday there were dozens of small fishing boats scattered throughout the Bay of Quinte on the glass like water. A minimal breeze created small ripples on the surface. We couldn't get a better travel day. I know "Betty" (the 200 HP Volvo) loves the fresh water coursing through her and she hummed along.

Bay of Quinte

    We made a sharp turn around some shallow water and Foresters Island as we entered Telegraph Narrows. Later the water opened up again at Big Bay but the channel remained very narrow according to the red and green buoys. A small aluminum boat was trolling light fishing gear smack dab in the middle of the channel and I had to slow to make a very close pass and avoid him.

Bay of Quinte Sailboat

    A few miles from Trenton the Bay of  Quinte really opens up very broad and very shallow. At this point the wind picked up to easily 20 mph and the shallow bay was white capping with short frequent waves. I hoped that once we got to the marina on the opposite shore, the influence of the land would block the wind and make docking easier.  I called Trent Port Marina and was given our docking assignment. We slowed to enter the marina and the wind did die down some. Luckily our slip was situated in such a way that the stiff breeze actually helped blow us into the slip. The dockhands were standing by and received the tossed lines as they quickly tied us to the floating dock. Engines shut down and power hooked up, we were set for 2 nights.

   

Port Trenton Marina

   With 13 Loopers at the marina, we knew Docktales was imminent. The word went out and we all met at Cavalier, a Looper we first crossed paths with at the Statue of Liberty. It's always fun and many times a reunion of sorts with folks we haven't seen in awhile or those we have noticed on NEBO but never met.

  

Docktales on Cavalier

    A walk to the Mount Pelion Lookout for a sunset, sort of...with another 45 minutes until sunset, we didn't stick around for the grand finale. Back to the boat for burgers on the grill, rounded out an excellent day on the Great Loop.

 

Mount Pelion Park

DAY 2 - TRENTON

    With another "work day" planned, the crew needed to prep the boat for the next leg of our adventure in Canada. Some provisioning, laundry and cleaning used up most of the day.  There is very little time to get bored as there is always something to do or fix on a boat. We found out about a Pickleball Club at the Trenton Racquet Club so we made a call and got ourselves invited to play! Quite a few locals showed up and we had a great time.

Pickleball Ya'll...or should we say Eh?

    Afterwards we headed back to the boat for a late crockpot dinner. Tomorrow we grab some fuel and tie up on the first of several "blue lines" at the #1 Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Picton to Trenton