The Great Loop

Cruising the Rideau Canal

Canada, Rideau Canal, The Great Loop

Cuising the last 37 miles of the Rideau was some of the most beautiful. Lots of skinny, shallow water with the reward of the feeling we were all alone in a stream or pond that we had no business on with our Trawler. The stops were equally tranquil, simple tie up along lock walls in park like settings.

Westport, Canada

Canada, Rideau Canal, The Great Loop

Of course, we needed to make a side trip to a place called Westport. Venturing off the Rideau Canal brought us to the quaint, little town of Westport, Canada. A wonderful stop, with a brewery, (the brewery was actually closer to the marina than the marina bathrooms) a great grocery store, restaurants and wonderful shops to browse.

Colonel By Island, Canada

Canada, Rideau Canal, The Great Loop

Not much here except a little dock, a few mooring balls, a fire pit, and path through the woods. The peace, quiet and surreal feeling was probably the best on this side trip. We did not read about this place in any of our many books, but discovered this gem by chatting with some locals.

Cruising the Rideau Canal

Canada, Rideau Canal, The Great Loop

After our visit to Ottawa and transiting the staircase locks know as the ‘flight of 8’ we set off to cruise the rest of Rideau Canal. Approximate travel time to travel the entire 125 miles from Ottawa to Kingston takes 3-4 days. We estimate it will take 10 days to reach Kingston making many stops along the way.

Ottawa, Canada

Canada, Rideau Canal, The Great Loop

Three Sons left Montebello, Canada and set out for the capital of Canada. Frist, we stopped at a marina for one night to stage for our trip up the ‘flight of 8’ into the center of Ottawa. While at Kitchissipi Marina we biked into Ottawa to explore. On the second day, we moved Three Sons to the center of Ottawa and tackled the “flight of 8 locks.” We did not know what to expect in the capital but boy were we blown away! We just loved Ottawa, with beautiful weather and so much to do and see, we stayed longer than we had planned. The joy of this trip is not having a schedule!

Montebello, Ontario, Canada

Canada, Ottawa River, The Great Loop

We decided to treat ourselves in Montebello and got a slip at the marina at The Fairmont Le Château. This resort is described as a ‘true Canadian experience” for its rustic charm, unique architecture and beautiful natural surroundings. In the middle of the resort is the world’s largest log cabin which surrounds beautiful grounds with 40 unique activities and experiences.

Montreal, Canada

Canada, St. Lawrence River, The Great Loop

We stayed an extra day on the wall of Sainte Anne de Bellevue to play tourist and explore Montreal! We took in Old Port during our first night and then Ubered back the next morning to explore for the day.

St. Lawrence River

Canada, St. Lawrence River, The Great Loop

Three Sons entered Canadian waters!

We once again took the road less traveled. The route most loopers take once they leave Clayton, NY, is to travel a bit in the St. Lawrence River to explore The Thousand Islands and then turn around and head to Kingston, Ontario. In our never ending sense of adventure, after exploring The Thousand Islands, we did not turn around but continued down the St. Lawrence River heading to Montreal. Yes, we cruised down the river even though we were heading north. Once we hit Montreal, we will cruise the Ottawa River and down the Rideau Canal to Kingston. Instead of the taking the 19 Nautical Mile/2 hour and 45 minute trip from Clayton, NY to Kingston, ON, we are venturing on an ‘about’ three week ‘side trip’ of 563 miles and too many locks to count to get to Kingston, ON

Clayton, NY

New York, St. Lawrence River, The Great Loop

Clayton, NY and The Thousands Islands

Oswego, NY

New York, Oswego Canal, The Great Loop

Today, our first lock E23 on the Erie Canal and that concludes are travels on that canal. We turned north to start our journey through the the Oswego Canal. After 5.5 hour and 6 locks we arrived in Oswego, NY to stage for our first encounter with a Great Lake. Tomorrow the weather is predicted to be smooth, so we will cross Lake Ontario.

Brewerton, NY

New York, Oswego Canal, The Great Loop

Our 20 Nautical Mile journey today took us across Lake Oneida. It was a beautiful day with great cruising conditions. We docked at Winter Bay Marina and got a pump out and filled up with diesel – cha-ching! The marina has a nice facility and very cruiser friendly but is not near anything and not bike friendly. However, they provided two curtesy cars so, we did a bunch of provisioning and our first trip to a Wegmans!

Ilion, NY

Erie Canal, New York, The Great Loop

After three days of travel and 17 locks, we were ready for some downtime and rest. We docked at Ilion Marina and RV park because they had room for all three boats. It ended up being a great spot: no wakes, beautiful scenery, nice area on the land, directly on the Erie Canal Bike Path. With all the positives were able to forget about the fry vent and trains.

Erie Canal, NY

Erie Canal, New York, The Great Loop

Three Sons made it to the Erie Canal! We stocked up with extra fenders, lines, gloves and patience and are ready to take on part of the 363 mile journey. This historical canal in upstate New York, runs east – west traversing New York state from Albany to Buffalo. The canal was completed in 1825, to help reduce the cost of transporting goods and people. Now, it is used mostly for recreation and tourism and raises boats 566 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie through 35 locks. Since we can not fit under a low bridge on the western part of the canal, our plan is only cruise three fourths of the Erie Canal turning left once we hit the Oswego Canal.

Waterford, NY

Erie Canal, New York, The Great Loop

Since lots of Loopers were headed up the Hudson from Shady Harbor, we decide to hang back one day. We enjoyed a relaxing day with a few chores and ended with dinner on Sweet Equity with Kim and Andy. Our departure from the docks with scheduled “wheels up” at 8AM.

New Baltimore, NY

Hudson River, New York, The Great Loop

Boaters’ Appreciation Weekend at Shady Harbor in New Baltimore, NY

Kingston, NY

Hudson River, New York, The Great Loop

We took a quick jaunt up the Hudson River to Rondout Creek to visit the quaint waterfront town of Kingston, NY.

Hyde Park, NY

Hudson River, New York, The Great Loop

Reading and researching about the area, we decided to spend 4 days at Hyde Park and take advantage of the many attractions. We are not sure if it was the beautiful mid 80 weather with cool evenings, the places to walk and explore, the museum and breweries, the very bike friendly streets and lanes, the quiet, wonderful, simple marina with very few people, or the fact we were close enough to MA for Zach to visit, but we just loved this spot.

New York City

Hudson River, New York, The Great Loop

We squeezed in a little more time at Atlantic Highlands with Chris and Paul as we only had a short ride into New York City. Another great weather day for cruising. We had a strong following current for the whole trip and although this is one of the busiest harbors we go thru, the commercial traffic wasn’t too bad and it was a pleasurable ride past Lady Liberty and lower Manhattan.

VISITORS! Atlantic Highlands, NJ

The Great Loop

Visitors and a new town to explore!

Heading North

The Great Loop

After meandering through the Chesapeake and spending some fun and relaxing time with family, we set our sights north. The seas of Delaware Bay and the New Jersey coast can produce lots of no travel days, so when we saw good windows setting up for both, we moved from Baltimore quickly (at 7 knots!) to stay in good weather. We did need to dodge a few thunderstorms leaving Baltimore, but had great cruising in the C&D canal, the Delaware Bay, and the entire Jersey shore.