We got up around 7:00am and started preparing for an early departure. Our plan was to motor through the main part of the 1000 Islands, see the sights and then look for an anchorage towards the end of the afternoon. We passed through Canadian waters and over to the American side of the river. I wanted Brent and Rachel to visit Heart Island and Boldt Castle. I have been to the island 2 or 3 times over the years and it is an incredibly interesting place. It was built in the early 1900’s by George Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC. Construction was nearly complete when Boldt’s wife unexpectedly died. Boldt was so heartbroken that he immediately stopped construction and the building sat unfinished for decades before it was finally taken over in 1977 by The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority for the sum of $1—on the condition that the property be open to the public and any revenues received from tourism fees be put towards the restoration. Heart Island has docking space for pleasure craft but unfortunately all available spaces were taken up and we had to move on without getting the chance to have a tour.

We continued on down the river and about 45 minutes later we came upon Singer Castle on Jorstadt Island. The castle on this island is not as big as Boldt Castle but it is still very impressive by any measure. It was built in 1896 by Frederick C. Bourne of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The castle was opened to the public in 2004 and tours are hosted daily. They also host murder mystery dinners and anyone can rent the entire castle for about $700/night plus about $70/night for each additional person.

This would be such a cool place to have a company meeting! Hey Rich D’Amato, how about having a BD retreat here later this fall? For anyone who has never been to the 1000 Islands area I would highly recommend visiting and touring. It is so interesting to see all the homes ranging from castles to very modest cottages on hunks of rock not much larger than the building itself.

The currents through the narrow channels are very interesting. Water depths varied from 25’ to over 200’ and water could be seen swirling, churning and boiling. I would not want to have engine trouble in this area. The results could be disastrous!

Towards the end of the afternoon we decided it was time to look for a place to stay for the night. We found a great little bay just in front of the Town of Rockport and dropped our anchor. The water was so still that the boat did not even move through the whole night—the weight of the chain on the bottom alone was enough to hold us in place.

Once we were comfortable with the anchor placement Brent & I donned our bathing suits and jumped overboard. The water was a wonderful 26 degrees C (about 76 degrees F). It was fun to cool off and play for a bit. Once we were cooled down we started to focus on dinner. Rachel and I worked on that task while Brent broke out a fishing rod to try his luck. In less than 5 minutes he had a catch. Not quite large enough to feed the three of us so back in the river it went.

By the time we had finished dinner the sun had set and the moon and the stars we out. Cue the Jonnie Walker Gold and some more cigars! It was a beautiful night. The mosquitoes were vicious at the back of the boat but up on the bow there was just enough wind to keep them away. We sat there on the deck for over an hour, listening to our favorite tunes, sipping Scotch, smoking cigars and stargazing. You simply cannot buy a night like that—it has to be given to you.