August 24 – Kingston to Upper Brewers Lock
44°24′48″ N 76°18′46″ W

I was up early, had a light breakfast & left Kingston Confederation Basin Marina at 7:45am so I could catch the 8:00am opening of the bascule bridge.

Photo below: sunrise over the Martello Tower adjacent to the marina

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that it was Friday & the bridge does not open between from 7:00am to 9:00am to accommodate the weekday morning rush hour traffic. There was next to no wind so I just drifted for a while & then went for a slow cruise past Forth Henry to pass the time.

I was back in front of the bridge just before 9:00 & went through as soon as it opened. Next stop – the marina next to the bridge to get my waste holding tank pumped out – then on to Kingston Mills to “climb” the first set of locks.

Once inside the first lock the Lockmaster noticed that I was single handing so he offered to lend me one of his staff to go through the next 3 locks. A wise sailor never turns down an offer of help so I quickly accepted & one of his summer-student staff members hopped aboard as soon as Santosha was at safe boarding height.

It turned out that my temporary assistant was a student at St. Lawrence College in Kingston & that she was living in the same apartment building that our daughter Emily lived in when she was at St. Lawrence College 3 years ago. Small world, eh!

After exiting the locks at Kingston Mills I “surrendered” my assistant & continued heading north.

The next 2 locks (Lower & Upper Brewers) were about 2 hours away. I was getting hungry so I decided that I would stop for a late lunch after passing through the double locks at Upper Brewers. By the time I was on the dock it was almost 2:00pm.

Photo below: Upper Brewers Locks

For lunch I was eating pepperetts & chips & salsa that Brent had made a couple of days before. The salsa was delicious but spicy hot, so I decided to have a cold beer to cool my throat down. The first beer tasted so good the I decided to have another! Well, now that I’ve had a couple of drinks I can’t “drive” the boat any further so I quickly decided that I was moored at this location for the night. Now it’s afternoon nap time!

After a refreshing nap I went over to the Lockmaster’s office to pay for my electricity hookup & I discovered that this location has showers! Well, that sealed the deal. A beautiful, quiet location with electricity & showers – I’m here for 2 days for sure.

I finished the day & evening off by updating the Spanda Yoga website for Catherine & Valerie (http://spandaretreats.com/).

They don’t pay me anything for my IT services but they are very flexible with other forms of compensation such as free yoga classes & private yoga sessions but I haven’t taken advantage of that perk yet :). Maybe someday. Neither Catherine or Valerie are too worried about me abusing that perk.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I plan to sleep in late, maybe do some light housekeeping & defrost the refrigerator. But first I will work on emptying the beer cooler & napping. After all, summer’s almost over!

Cheers!

August 23 – Kingston City
44°13′45″ N 76°28′46″ W

Today (Thursday) was a layover day in Kingston. Brent & Rachel take the train back to Ottawa later in the afternoon.

After breakfast we decided to have another type of boating adventure so we took the ferry from Kingston to Wolfe Island. It’s 20 minute ride & is “free” as the ferry is part of Ontario’s highway system. The ferry lands in the village of Marysville.

On the way to the ferry dock we stopped to see a Canadian Navy training ship “HMCS Oriole” heading out to Kingston Harbour with special guests to view a small sailboat regatta. It would have been neat to take a ride on it.

After arriving on Wolfe Island we walked up & down the main street, visited the local museum/art gallery & then went in search for a pub for a cold drink & a snack.

Photo below: on the ferry to Wolfe Island

Photo below: a tiny perfect cottage on Wolfe Island waterfront.

Wolfe Island is a very prosperous place! We were walking towards the local pub & I found $70.00 in bills blowing down the street! I scooped it all up & looked around for the “owner”. No one in sight! We continued our walk but did not encounter anyone looking for lost cash. Someone’s misfortune turned out to be my good luck. Snacks & drinks are on me!

We enjoyed cool drinks & snacks on a patio bar overlooking Wolfe Island ferry landing. There is a micro brewery on the island so Brent & I tried one of their beer specialties named “Squirrel Spit”. Very tasty despite the name.

After refreshments (I left a generous tip for the server) we headed back to the ferry landing to catch the next ride back to Kingston.

We explored downtown Kingston some more & found a great pub for a late lunch of (local brew) MacKinnon Brothers draft beer & fish & chips. I wonder if these guys are any relation to me? Maybe a discount for a distant cousin? Might be worth a try, eh.

After we finished lunch (& another generous tip for our server – share the wealth!) it was getting close to departure time for Brent & Rachel. They had to catch the late afternoon train to Ottawa.

We had a great time together traveling on the southern portion of the Rideau Waterway. It’s been way too long since we have seen each other & we have to make a point of not letting that long gap happen again.

Thanks for coming & safe travels home.

Photo below: Uber to Kingston train station

After all the good food we consumed I need to go on a diet. I’ll start that right after all the yummy leftovers are gone. (maybe).

Cheers!

August 22 – Kingston Mills to Kingston City
44°13′45″ N 76°28′46″ W

We woke up to a pleasant morning. The storms from the night before had moved on & a stiff breeze was drying Santosha off nicely.

Photo below: the crew is ready to cast off for Kingston

There are 4 locks at Kingston Mills – the upper one that is underneath the road & then three step locks down to the river that leads to Kingston.

There were no boats waiting at the lowest lock so we were in luck & began our journey down at 9:00am. Less than an hour later we were through the last lock & on our way to Kingston.

Photo below: the last lock before Kingston

We arrived in Kingston Harbour about 11:30am. I radioed Confederation Basin Marina & arranged for a slip for the next two days.

After getting set up on our dock space we had lunch & then Brent & Rachel headed off to explore the city & to go to Old Fort Henry.

Photos above & below: Old Fort Henry

I stayed behind to do some more research for a marina near Ottawa where I could have Santosha hauled out & stored for the winter. It’s a good thing that I started on this now because the first two marinas that I called for quotes had no space for me. Panic time!

Thankfully the third place I contacted had space & their price quote was the best one I have had yet. I made arrangements to reserve a haul out around September 10 & said that I would stop in to see them on my way back to Ottawa next week. Whew, that was a close one!

Rachel & Brent came back to the boat just in time for cocktails. We had a refreshing drink & a few light appetizers & then went out to explore the downtown some more & to find a restaurant for dinner. Time to give Brent & Rachel a break & let someone else do the cooking!

Photo below: at the park in front of Kingston City Hall.

Cheers!

August 21 – Jones Falls to Kingston Mills
44°17′35″ N 76°26′31″ W

We spent the night before on the “upper” side of the locks at Jones Falls so we had to wait until the Lockstation staff started working at 9:00am before we could get underway.

Photo below: Santosha moored on the blue line at Jones Falls ready to start the trip down the locks.

There are 4 locks at Jones Falls & the routine for the lock staff is usually to bring boats up through the locks before they start taking boats down.

Photo below: three step locks down to Hotel Kenney.

We were in luck as there were no boats in the cue on the lower level so we got to go down right away.

The weather forecast for the day was for rain starting around noon so we hoped to get as far as we could before the showers began. It almost looked like we would make it to Kingston Mills before the rain started but that was not to be.

Photo below: the swing bridge at The Narrows.

Photo below: passing through a narrow channel headed to the Lower Brewers Lock. The shallow water was thick green with algae due to the extended heat wave.

We still had about an hour to go to reach our destination when the rain started falling. By the time we arrived at Kingston Mills it was pouring down & we were all soaked.

The rain continued for most of the afternoon so we stayed inside & Brent & Rachel made quesadillas for lunch.

Photo below: Rachel assembles

Photo below: Brent cooks

These folks are great company & way better in the galley than me! I’ll have to find my Spam recipe book & see what culinary delights they can come up with.

After a late lunch I brought out an old friend of mine & Brent whipped up some awesome Margaritas for the crew using the ice crusher that Catherine’s mom Jeanne gave to me years ago. I’ll never part with it. 🙂

It was just like old times when they were cruising with me on Ananda in 2010.

Photo below: Brent in 2010 on Ananda working the ice crusher to make Margaritas for the crew. He hasn’t lost his touch!

By the time we finished the Margaritas we were in the mood for dinner. More culinary delights courtesy of Rachel & Brent followed by an hour of board games while sipping after dinner drinks. Who cares if it’s raining outside?

Cheers!

August 20 – Poonamalie to Jones Falls
44°32′60″ N 76°14′19″ W

We got an early start on Monday morning & left the dock at 8:30. Lots of locks to go through today and we would also pass through the lock at the Rideau System’s highest elevation at Newboro. Once we went “up” through this lock all the rest of the locks on the way to Kingston would be lowering us down.

The first segment of our journey today took us through the chain of Rideau Lakes. The passage from Poonamalie to Jones Falls is one of my favorites on the entire system. Lots of open water through the lakes & great vistas if the Canadian Shield.

I showed Rachel my favorite spot to sit on Santosha while underway & it wasn’t long before Brent had a go at it too.

Rachel was very generous at sharing with her hubby.

When we reached Chaffeys Locks there was a bit of a traffic jam.

It took a while to get it sorted out & when we entered the lock Brent & Rachel got their first exposure to boats rafting up to one another inside the locks.

This also gave us an opportunity to chat briefly with our “neighbors”. At Chaffeys there were two charter boats with people from Luxembourg & then at the next set of locks we met two other charter groups from Australia. It is great to meet people coming to Canada for their holidays.

We arrived at Jones Falls about 4:00pm. Brent & Rachel went for a walk to explore the area while I jumped overboard for a refreshing swim.

When they got back from their walk we had drinks & snacks on the flybridge & contemplated dinner. The weather was finally cooling so it was very pleasant to sit out & enjoy the surroundings. I hope that they are able to keep up this pace for a few more days 🙂

Cheers!