Rideau Trip 2010

We left for a well deserved vacation on the 23 July. Our first night we anchored in Hay Bay and enjoyed a lovely dinner with friends; Dennis and Linda Dove on CruZin....we won't tell anyone that Gary burnt the potatoes :-)

The next morning we left early for the trip to Kingston and the Rideau. We had to stop in Kingston to pickup a ports book and missed the darn swing bridge by 2 minutes....stuck around for another 58 minutes in very choppy water waiting for it to open and we were on our way.

At Kingston Mills

First Set of Locks on the Rideau

we got caught in the bottle neck and waited 2 hours to lock through the 4 locks...we were rewarded with a lovely anchorage at the top of the locks where we promptly jumped in the water to cool off after a long hot locking. A long day ended with a stunning sunset and two very tired but excited boaters and 3 cats lolly-gagging:-)

The next day we locked through Lower

Lower Brewers

and Upper Brewers

Upper Brewers

and enjoyed lunch with the Doves at Upper Brewers where they were staying. While we were at lunch the Kawartha Ferry came through....she is a huge charter boat with a lift up bow (to fit in the lock) and when she is on her way all others have to give way.

We spent the next 3 nights

Cru Zin and Time&Tide at anchor

at an anchorage off Boudreau Island, spent time exploring

"Elephant Rock" ( Burnt Hills)

, fishing and swimming in the gorgeous Little Cranberry Lake area. The only down side of the anchorage was the deer flies who seemed to LOVE me and ignore Gary ....

At Jones' Locks we had to wait for the locks again

Jones' Lock

and spent some time exploring. While the Doves decided to stay over at Davis Lock we continued on and anchored off Opinicon Island.

We met up again in Westport where we had a lovely seafood lunch and stocked up on groceries.

We tried very hard to find a nice anchorage after we went through the Narrows but the wind was foul and the first mate was tired so we headed back to The Narrows

It's hard work...

where we spent the next 2 days on the lock wall. We met the nicest people and spent evenings enjoying beverages and good food with laughterThis is where we met Lucy, a gorgeous golden lab who likes to sit in the water and watch the fish

On our way back we did some shopping in Newborrow and developed some bow thruster issues in Chaffey Lock...poor Gary dove in to see if anything was stuck but it turned out the battery connector was pooched...My smart captain fixed it and we were off in a jiffy. After Jones Falls we were so very happy to be in Morten Bay at anchor. It is one of the most beautiful spots we have ever been to on Time&Tide . Very high cliffs and clear clear water...as soon as we came to a stop the boat was surrounded by fish who we fed by hand...they would nibble on fingers and toes while we swam...it was gorgeous

We had to come home sooner that expected due to an emergency at work....the weather was yukky so we decided to spend the night at Confederation Basin Yacht club in Kingston before heading home.

We left early the next morning just as the sun was rising forecasted high winds and thunder boomers. Just past the Upper Gap we noticed a boat in distress and ended up towing them to Priniers Cove.

We got home late in the day...a few days sooner than we wanted to but such is life. Back to work and an over-grown veggie garden and family and friends who were sorely missed.