Kingston Mills Upper Locks – 44°17′37″ N 76°26′31″ W

This morning I moved from the lower level docks at Kingston Mills Locks to the upper level locks. Catherine & Emily were driving from London & it would be easier to load the boat with provisions, etc. from this location.

Catherine sent me a text message around 8:00pm & thought they would arrive in Kingston around 10:00. It’s about a 4 1/2 hour drive from London – not including any slowdowns in the Toronto area.

There was a beautiful sunset just before 9:00pm. Too bad Catherine & Emily weren’t there to see it as well but there would be lots more opportunities over the next week while they were with me.

They arrived very close to 10:00. The parking lot for the locks was a couple of hundred meters from the boat dock so we made sure that the car was parked securely & headed to the boat & then off to bed for two very tired commuters. They could explore the lock area in the morning.

We planned to go in to Kingston on Saturday morning for provisions & then decide where we should journey to next.

Cheers!

Kingston Mills Lower Locks – 44°17′26″ N 76°26′39″ W

I left Trenton at 6:00am and started working my way through the Bay of Quinte. This is a really beautiful area for cottages & boating. The bay is very sheltered by Picton Island with lots of water for sport fishing & boats. However, there are numerous areas where the water is 6 feet deep or less therefore people with deep draft sailboats have to be careful with their navigation.

Just before 8:00am I was approaching the bridge from Belleville to Picton Island. Lots of clearance on this one – no need to wait for it to raise!

About an hour after passing under this bridge I was in an area of water called “Long Reach” & encountered a couple of sailboats on a downwind run with their spinnakers deployed. It was a very pretty sight. Wish I was going the same way as they were so I could have enjoyed it longer.

Once I left the Bay of Quinte I had a short passage that was open to Lake Ontario. The wind was blowing from the south so it made a pretty rough ride for me until I got some shelter from Wolfe Island.

It wasn’t long before I started to recognize some Kingston landmarks – including the one below.

This is one of Kingston’s Federal Prisons. Viewing it from the outside is my preferred perspective. Interestingly enough, there is a public marina right beside this place. Not sure if any boats have ever been stolen from it!

At 3:30 I was approaching the downtown area of the city & I ran into a bunch of traffic that caused me to alter my course a bit.

One of the clubs in the city was running a sailing school & there must have been at least 20 boats sailing in various formations. There were also several small powerboats that appeared to be “herding” the sailing dinghies. It made me think of how ducks and geese keep an eye on their babies at this time of year.

I finally made it past the little armada and headed for the basquile bridge that is essentially the gateway to the Rideau River & Canal system.

Unfortunately, my timing was not so good. On weekdays the bridge stops opening at 3:00pm and does not operate again until 6:00pm. This is done to accommodate Kingston’s rush hour traffic. So, I had no choice except to wait until 6:00 to get past the bridge.

I turned around and went back to the City’s Confederation Marina & tied up on a courtesy dock until 5:30 & then headed back to the bridge.

By 6:05 I was past the bridge & on my way to the first set of locks at Kingston Mills, which was only about 3 nautical miles away.

I approached the lock docks shortly before 7:00pm. This was very exciting. Traveling through the Rideau & Trent-Severn systems have been on my “boating bucket list” for a long time.

The locks only operate from 9:00am to 4:00pm on weekdays so I would spend the night on this dock & then go up through the first set of locks in the morning.

Time for a big G&T as my reward for another long day on the water.

On Friday Catherine & Emily arrive to spend some time traveling up the system with me.

Cheers!

Trent Port Marina – 44.0978400,-77.5731929

I left Whitby at 6:00am. The wind/weather forecast for the morning & early afternoon was good but winds were predicted to build up later in the day & stay strong into the next day.

Even though I no longer have a sailboat the wind forecast is very important because if the wind & waves are coming at the boat at an unfavorable angle it can make for a miserable ride.

The wind forecast caused a bit of a dilemma for me. Cobourg was the next port of interest to me but it really wasn’t all that far from Whitby & it would still leave me with a very long day’s passage to Kingston. Plus, if the winds stayed strong for another day I risked not making it to Kingston in time to meet up with Catherine & Emily who were going to be there on Friday.

I decided to head towards Cobourg & if it was early enough in the day & the winds were still favorable then I would continue on to the entrance of the Murray Canal. The swing bridge on the canal stops at 4:00pm so if I didn’t get there in time to pass through then I would simply spend the night on the canal wall & be ready to finish that part of the trip first thing in the morning.

While I was still on Lake Ontario I was treated to a bit of an “air show” by a rescue plane from Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton.

The flight crew were conducting an exercise with a Canadian Coast Guard vessel. The plane made a pass over the Coast Guard & then dropped a red smoke flare into the water a few hundred meters from the boat.

The plane then made several more passes over the spot where the flare had landed. It was interesting to see this exercise & comforting to know that boaters have such great resources to support us if we find ourselves serious trouble. These same airplanes fly over Goderich several times each summer & conduct similar exercises there.

After the “air & water” show finished my focus returned to getting as far as I could.

I entered Presqu’ile Bay just before 3:00pm. It was going to be tight to get past the swing bridges on the Murray Canal before they stopped for the day

In 2010 I was traveling with my son Steve on Ananda. We arrived too late in the afternoon to get through the canal & ended up spending the night tied to the wall at the canal entrance.

We were quite happy to be there until the sun had almost set & then we were invaded by hordes of mosquitoes! We hid inside the boat but dozens of the little buggers still found their way inside. We spent the night playing board games – cards in one hand & a fly swatter in the other.

Fortunately for me, I was able to get through the entire canal just before it closed for the night.

The marina in Trenton was only 30 minutes away so I pressed on to get a dock for the night.

Trent Port Marina in Trenton is brand new & is one of the nicest marinas that I have been in for quite a while. It is located just before the entrance to the Trent- Severn Waterway.

The docks are nice & wide & the main building has 10 or more private bathrooms with individual showers, a boaters lounge & a free laundry!

It was still incredibly hot so I sat on the boat in front of a fan & had a giant-size G&T with lots of ice. Then I walked over to a Metro store that was close by & picked up a few groceries & supper from their salad bar.

I took supper into the boaters lounge & soaked up the air-conditioning while watching a TV game show with several other boaters seeking refuge from the heat. After supper I had a nice, long shower & did my laundry. By the time that was all done it was almost 11:00pm. I was tempted to sleep in the boaters lounge but thought better if it.

If you are looking for a marina in the Bay of Quinte area I highly recommend this place.

Cheers!

Whitby Marina – 43°51′24″ N 78°56′14″ W

I was up at 5:00am & cast off the dock at 6:00. My passage to Whitby would only take about 4 hours but I wanted to get underway early because the forecast was for very light winds in the morning & building up in the afternoon.

Looking back at Toronto Island it’s amazing to be able to visit such a nice spot that is literally just a few minutes away from the downtown of Canada’s largest city.

Bye, bye Toronto. See you again sometime soon (by car).

The trip to Whitby was quite short & easy compared to some of the traveling that I had done over the past few weeks.

Whitby Marina was easy to get into, with a very wide channel coming in from Lake Ontario. However, the channel leads to a small bay that is very shallow if you stray too far from the navigation buoys.

I stopped first at the fuel dock to top up my diesel tanks & then arranged for a slip for the night. The marina staff were kind enough to put me almost directly across from my dear, old “friend“ Ananda.

It was great to see Ananda again but it was also strange to see her in a different marina with new owners. Robin & Louise, the couple who bought Ananda from us in 2016 were at the marina. Robin gave me a tour of the boat and showed me some of the changes that he & Louise are making as they prepare to cast off for an extended cruise beginning next spring.

After our visit I walked over to a nearby chandlery to pick up some new fenders & a few other boat-oriented items. I got back to the marina in time to catch most of the England/Columbia World Cup soccer match. That was a nail biter! Glad I was tied up tight on the dock.

I was also able to connect up with friends, Barb & Rob who live nearby in Oshawa. Rob came & picked me up for dinner at their place. I hadn’t seen them for several years so it was great to catch up. After a great dinner & several glasses of wine consumed by each of us they loaded me into an Uber & sent me back to the marina. Shame on me, I was having such a great time talking, drinking & eating that I forgot to get a photo for my blog. Perhaps Barb & Rob will join Catherine & I for a few days cruising the Trent-Severn system.

Cheers

Toronto Island – 43.6245158,-79.3824478

I was looking forward to staying an extra day in Toronto. It was a good opportunity for me to rest up after our marathon trip through the Welland Canal and I also wanted to have a visit with my friend Basheer who is now living in Toronto. I called Basheer & arranged for him to meet me for a late afternoon dinner at a restaurant beside the marina.

I had never been at this particular marina before so I walked around for an hour to explore the area and to get some exercise. Toronto Island offers great views of the city’s skyline that you simply cannot get from the mainland.

Basheer arrived on one of the passenger ferries at 6:00pm & we went for supper at the restaurant beside the ferry dock.

I met Basheer in London while I was volunteering with London‘s Cross Cultural Learners Centre (CCLC). Basheer lived in Kuwait before coming to Canada so we immediately had something in common. His first language is Arabic & he helped me a great deal with the Syrian immigrant family that I am working with.

This was Basheer’s first time on Toronto Island & he had never seen my boat before so there was lots to talk about.

Basheer had to work the next day so he had to leave before the last ferry took passengers back to the mainland.

Before going to bed I went back to the small beach that we had found earlier & got some nice shots of the city skyline lit up at night.

It was a pretty relaxing day compared to the previous two days but I was still ready to turn in before it got too late. I wanted to get up at 5:00am so I could have an early start on my passage to Whitby.

I will visit with the folks who bought Ananda from us in 2016 and are sailing her out of the Whitby Marina and I can get settled in before the big World Cup soccer game between England & Columbia began.

Cheers!