Day 10-11 year. May 30-31 On to Kingston, ONT. Trip 15.8 miles. Total miles 2909

Weighing anchor, we left Beau Rivage and the Ten Thousand Islands to head west in the Bateau Channel. This channel is like our Intracoastal, but on Lake Ontario- barrier islands separate us from the lake.

On our way to Kingston, we had to watch for ferries that cross the channel, taking cottagers to their island homes on Howe and Wolfe Islands. Both of these islands are quite large and with many homes and even some farms.

We enjoyed another bright sunny day! Started out at 58 degrees but will warm to 78 today. All the Canadians are in shorts and tee shirts and those on boats are wearing swim suits, Bill and I are not quite acclimated. We still are wearing windbreakers and long pants, especially in the mornings.

We were greeted by Wolfe Islands wind turbines as we completed the loop around the Ten Thousand Islands. We now can see the first of the Martello Towers which were built to fortify Kingston’s harbor from us Americans. These towers vary in size, some big enough to house a garrison of 50-75 soldiers.

The tower is in front of the old Fort Henry which was built 1841 and used til 1880 during this time the US and Canada were again disputing their border.

This is the view as we approach Kingston, ONT

We entered Confederation Basin Marina to a slip in downtown Kingston. After we checked in and got the boat situated we had lunch and took a walk around town.

Bill could not resist more pictures of the locomotive engine in the downtown waterfront park and of course we had to get a shot in the Kingston sign.

We did boat chores for part of the afternoon. Yeah, we now have fresh groceries and clean sheets!!

Day 11 2nd year May 31 Lay day in Kingston

Decided we would relax today and cross of a few items on our To Do list. I got the boat cleaned inside and researched our next stops through the Bay of Quinte up to Trenton, ONT. Also caught up on reading and did a few crossword puzzles.

Bill checked engines, added water to our tanks, and made calls to get another mechanic to help us with our dinghy, recalibrated the inverter and helped me confirm our next stops. We were not very interesting today, sorry!

In the afternoon, we walked into town to do some more sight seeing. Kingston was the first capitol of Canada, but fear of the town being so close to America, made the young nation move the capitol to Ottawa. Here are some shots of the First Capitol Building in Kingston.

The town also boasts Queen’s University

and the Royal Military Academy, which trains cadets for all the military services.

We enjoyed the waterfront parks with its fountain, 1800's Railroad Station and all the ferries and sight seeing boats.

Our stay in Kingston was half sight seeing and half chores, but those chores have to be done. sometime. Thus ends another day for Margie and Bill!!

Side trip to the Bahamas- Preparations

As we prepare for our Bahamian Adventure, we are making lists upon lists of things to do and provisions to buy for our upcoming trip to the Bahamas. Bill has spent much time readying the boat for the cruise, checking engines, batteries and all the systems on the boat - electrical, plumbing, navigation, refrigeration and air conditioning. Sure kept Bill busy!!! We took the boat out to check all the systems and to get fuel. We had to re-remember all the navigation and auto pilot workings and surprisingly we did remember!! We have spent the last two days loading the boat with provisions- water, food, tools, clothes, toiletries and cleaning supplies, and our pantry and cabinets are full. We are sitting a bit heavier in the water now that we are fully loaded. Also Bill has finally gotten his TO DO list down to the few remaining items so he sees the light at the end of the tunnel!! We have researched the charts and guide books and have a tentative pla...

Day 24-25 April 15-16 On to Hopetown and Lay day in Hopetown. Miles 12.6. Total 460.6

Day 24 We had a change of plans. Our friends who we met cruising the Loop, Trisha and Mike, are traveling north through the Bahamas and are close, so we will join then in Hope Town. We will then back track a bit to visit Man-o-War Cay and Marsh Harbor after visiting with them. It is a bright sunny day with light winds as we weigh anchor to leave Great Guana. There is lots of freight and commercial traffic today- tugs and barges, large freighters and flat bed delivery boats. It takes all these to handle the shipping needs and construction on the islands. We trip today took along the north east side of Great Guana and then past Scotland Cay, which is all privately owned. Next we passed Fowl Cay which is a nature preserve known for its diving. Following Fowl Cay is Man-o-War Channel with its deep water access to the Atlantic and Man-o-War Cay, known for its ship building and maintenance. Sorry, pictures of the passes and islands did not turn out too well...

On to Allan's-Pensacola Cay. Day 12. April 3. Mile 35.2. Total mile

Day 12 We left our anchorage at sunrise to head out of Great Sale Cay Harbor. Turning west and then north, we will cruise around Great Sale Cay toward Abaco's barrier islands, eventually reaching the eastern edge of the Little Bahama Bank today. As we turn Northeast, we get some spray. Crustacean is quite salty now! Winds are out of the east 10-15 knots with waves at one foot. We cruise past Little Sale Cay we see a steady stream of sailboats going both east and west. I counted 15 total. Nice wind for sailing. Halfway through our trip, you begin to see the outer barrier islands on the horizon to the north. Five miles later you can see Little Abaco Island to our south. Here is a chart of the area we traveled from Great Sale to Allan's-Pensacola Cay today. The further we travel east, the Little Bahama Bank narrows, The winds pick up and seas run 1-2 feet. Crustacean got even saltier! As we approached Allan's-Pensacola the wind and sea...

Crustacean Travels

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