Eastern Cruise

[Bay Ranger]

Elaine and I are packing up BAY RANGER this week for a 2-month+ cruise heading north.

We'll be leaving Annapolis, MD and heading up the Chesapeake Bay, across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ. Then it's up the NJ coast on the ICW and then a 30 mile stretch of the Atlantic to New York Harbor. We're heading up the Hudson and across the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario. From there it's about 50 miles up the east coast of Lake Ontario to Kingston, ONT. We'll transit the Ridout Canal to Ottawa, ONT, take the Ottawa River down to Montreal, the St. Lawrence River up to Sorel, south on the Richelieu Canal to Lake Champlain, back down the Hudson, and retrace our route home.

R-25ers Jon and Marilyn completed this loop in '09 and have been helpful in preparing us. We have also received some good suggestions from Starr in Vermont.

Any suggestions, hints, dos or don'ts from others who have cruised this area are certainly welcome.

We'll keep an eye out for John and Laurie on LOURIE ANN, although it sounds like they should be on the Great Lakes by now.

We'll try to post a few comments along the way as wi-fi connections permit.

Ed
BAY RANGER

 

[j&lgray]

The Laurie Ann had to change her plans and didn't make it to the east coast this spring. We are headed to Canada instead for PNW summer time cruising. We'll look for you on the east coast another time. Be sure to post your adventures!

Laurie

 

[Emi-Gail]

We did this cruise in 04.
NY harbor is tricky-watch out for the fast ferries-they'll run you down-schedule to keep and all that.

Take it slow-don't hurry-Hudson river valley is beautiful. Same for the NYS canal system. Waterford is worth a couple of days stop. As is Little Falls, Schenectdy, Brewerton-well so many of the towns along the canal welcome boaters.

Pick your day to cross Lake Ontario-it can be rough. Better yet spend some time in the thousand Islands. Clayton has a great wooden boat museum.
When we arrived in Kingston ON there was a street fair going on, ditto in Smith Falls. The canal system, part of Parks Canada called the Rideau, is unchanged from its completion. The gates, etc are still manually operated. Be sure and visit the Rideau museum. Also I would recomend the Canadaian museum of Civilization in Gatineau, QE.

One thing we didn't have with us that we could have used was an English/French dictionary. Once you get into Quebec provence very few Canadians speak very much English.

Lake Champlain is beautiful-many places to anchor or grab a mooring.

Wish I was going too! Have fun!

Fair winds,

Martha

 

[Bay Ranger]

Thanks for the tips, Martha. We'll try to take it all in!

Ed

 

[Bay Ranger]

BAY RANGER is currently in Waterford, NY. It is our first wi-fi hot spot since leaving Annapolis, MD on July 1. The northern Chesapeake Bay, C&D Canal, and Delaware Bay were kind to us and provided us with good weather.

Taking the ICW north from Cape May, NJ, we stopped in Ocean City, NJ to visit Jon and Marilyn, owners of R-25 Snug Tug. They completed this cruise last year after we met them at the Chesapeake Bay C-Brat/Ranger Gathering and inspired us to complete it. They led us on our first Atlantic mini-passage from Ocean City to Atlantic City, NJ on July 4.

The heat wave that has hit the east coast has made warm a tad warmer than we'd like, but there always seemed to be an breeze on the water to keep things a little cooler than inland. We did crank up the A/C when we stopped at a marina, but slept comfortably at anchor with cooling evening breezes the rest of the time. Our little 12V fan has helped too.

From there we continued up the NJ ICW to Mansquan Inlet where we did approximately 30 mile in the Atlantic to New York Harbor. We had a sunny, calm day and all went well.

New York Harbor was quite the experience with close up looks at the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Manhatten skyline, and the Staten Island ferries!

The Hudson River valley above New York City is beautiful. It reminded us of the Rhein River in Germany minus most of the castles and vineyards. It contrast to the NJ ICW, it is deep with steep tree-covered banks and the Catskill Mountains in the background. We haven't cruised in the PNW, but I'm guessing there are some similarities in the scenery.

As of July 11, we are here at the free dock at the Erie Canal Visitor Center enjoying our stay and preparing to head across the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario at Oswego, NY.

We've been putting along around 7kts burning around 1.5 GPH. We've been trying hard to catch favorable currents along the way which boost our fuel consumption rate a little.

Not sure when we'll hit another wi-fi hot spot but will update again then.

 

[Bruce Moore]

This all sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing the adventure. Any pictures?

Cheers

 

[Bay Ranger]

Pictures to follow in the album. Not quite sure when! I'll post a notice when they're up.

 

[Capt. Chris]

Hi Bay Ranger !
Did I pass you guys north bound in the Hudson Valley on Fri 7/9 ?
I was in a blue hulled R 29. I was bound for Kingston NY, and was trying to make up for lost time. I was coming from Mystic CT, and missed the Notice To Mariners about the Harlem River being closed to navigation, adding about 24 miles to my trip.

Chris

 

[doke01]

We were in the same area as you and just returned home to Hazlet, NJ (near Sandy Hook) on Tuesday. Sorry we didn't know you were in the NJ area, or about the Snug Tug, or we could have met up. We've cruised our home port area pretty extensively and could have given you some nice places to stay. Maybe on your way back down. We were in Wildwood on July 4 and had transited down from the Atlantic City inlet to the Cape May inlet on July 2. We passed each other somewhere in there. We ended up going to Ocean City, MD and stopped over in Lewes, DE after a cruise through Rehoboth Bay and the Rehoboth-Lewes canal. We made stops at Toms River, Tices Shoal, Atlantic City, Sunset Lake, and Wildwood, NJ. They we went to Ocean City, MD and Lewes, DE. On the way back up we stopped in Avalon and Beach Haven, NJ. We exited Barnegat inlet for home on Tuesday the 13th (definitely NOT a calm day, 9.5 hour trip) for home. Spent 2.5 weeks on the water. A lovely vacation! Perhaps we saw you in Toms River? We did see a very nice R29 cruise by. We also saw a 21 around Ocean City. I believe the name on the R21 was the Jennie Lee.

We ended up covering the entire NJ intra-coastal waterway and the majority of the outside also (missing just the Atlantic City to Barnaget inlet portion of the outside) on this trip. It was our fourth trip through the intra-coastal (2nd on the R25). Lots of pictures and some videos of the rough stuff I will be posting soon. Surfing a R25 at 16 mph was pretty fun. At least for me and my son anyway. Can't say the same for my wife.

Butler Island on Lake Champlain is beautiful. Valcor Island is a beautiful place to anchor out too. Burlington, VT has some nice marinas and definitely don't forget to drop by Vergennes (free tie up/power right in front of a beautiful waterfall). Some beautiful places to anchor on the Hudson also (one right near the Statue of Liberty). PM me if you want some ideas on the way back down.

Doug K.

 

[Bay Ranger]

Yes Chris, that was us you passed on the Hudson. You zipped by so fast that I didn't catch a name on the hull, if there was one! : )

And Doug, I believe we did see you in the Toms River, NJ area along with the R-21- I believe we saw a red-hulled one in a marina which we were too far away to identify. We'll definitely hit the areas you mentioned on Lake Champlain and welcome any other suggestions if you want to send them via PM.

We've completed the Erie Canal portion of our cruise which was very enjoyable and relaxing. Even the 20+ locks were easy to negotiate. Boat traffic was light and the weather was hot but tolerable. I expected to see a little more wildlife than we did. Saw a couple of eagles and lots of water birds, but not even one snake or turtle sunning on the rocks or downed trees at the edge of the canal. There were a number of nice towns to visit, many with free docking facilities. We also tied up to lock walls which also maintained nice park areas.

We are currently in Phoenix, NY near Lock 1 of the Oswego Canal. The town (population 2,419) has an excellent town dock at their waterfront park with free water and electricity. Friday evenings are particurlarly nice at the park, with live music and large variety of homemade pies at the Bridgehouse sold by the slice. On Saturday, a flea market is scheduled at the park and a nearby church is having their annual bar-BQ and ice cream social fundraiser today. Like can't get much better!

Phoenix has a unique volunteer youth program called the Bridgehouse Brats. They maintain the park and town dock and assist boaters any way they can for tips. They maintain menus from the town's 4 or 5 eateries and will take your order, phone it in, and go get the food for you to eat on your boat or at the shaded picknic tables in the park at the dock. They are well supervised, polite and knowledgeable, but not pushy. They are a neat group of kids staying busy and learning something in a small town where there probably isn't much else constructive to do in the summer. They must maintain good grades and be in good standing with the school and police to qualify for the program We talked to local parents who were Bridgehouse Brats alumni. They considered it an honor and remembered their experiences fondly. The group is mentioned in our cruising guides. You can learn more about them at http://www.bridgehousebrats.com.

The forecast is for the winds to kick up on Lake Ontario for the next couple of days, so we'll probably stay in Phoenix and wait for the weather to settle.

We plan to visit Sagget's Harbor, NY next and then head into the Thousand Islands area at the head of the St. Lawrence River. After that, Kingston, ONT will probably be our next wi-fi hotspot.

 

[Bay Ranger]

Since our last update, we have crossed Lake Ontario from Oswego, NY on a relative calm day to Cape Vincent, NY on the St. Lawrence River. We then spent almost a week cruising the Thousand Islands area. The town of Clayton, NY has renowned Antique Boat Museum - well worth the visit. After visiting Boldt Castle on Heart Island, we checked in with Canadian Customs at Rockport, ONT and spent several nights at various islands in the Canadian Thousand Islands National Park system. It is a beautiful cruising area.

We are now enjoying Kingston, ONT and will head up the Rideau Canal system tomorrow. We have run into many Canadian boaters who have clued us in on all the neat places to go on the Rideau. It is not just a "canal", system of canals connecting many scenic lakes which offer great cruising side trips and anchorages. We plan to take at least a week covering the 125 miles or so to Ottawa, ONT.

 

[Bay Ranger]

Since our last update, we have crossed Lake Ontario from Oswego, NY on a relative calm day to Cape Vincent, NY on the St. Lawrence River. We then spent almost a week cruising the Thousand Islands area. The town of Clayton, NY has renowned Antique Boat Museum - well worth the visit. After visiting Boldt Castle on Heart Island, we checked in with Canadian Customs at Rockport, ONT and spent several nights at various islands in the Canadian Thousand Islands National Park system. It is a beautiful cruising area.

We are now enjoying Kingston, ONT and will head up the Rideau Canal system tomorrow. We have run into many Canadian boaters who have clued us in on all the neat places to go on the Rideau. It is not just a "canal", system of canals connecting many scenic lakes which offer great cruising side trips and anchorages. We plan to take at least a week covering the 125 miles or so to Ottawa, ONT.

 

[Bay Ranger]

August 1st finds BAY RANGER in Merrickville, ONT. We are almost to Ottawa, ONT and have nearly completed the Rideau Canal portion of our cruise. The Rideau Canal system connects a series of beautiful lakes which are perfect for gunkholing, anchoring out and visiting villages like Westport, Smiths Falls, and Merrickville. Our Ranger 25 continues to receive many compliments at the docks and "thumbs up" from passing boats. Before we left Annapolis, we asked the local Ranger for some brochures and we have passed out quite a few for serious onlookers.

Just about all of the locks on the Rideau system are hand operated. The Canadian Parks staff operating the locks have been friendly and helpful and enjoy meeting the boaters passing through the locks.

Tomorrow we meet a college friend near Ottawa, will spend some time in Ottawa, and then head down the Ottawa River to Montreal, QUE. The weather has been good. We woke up this morning to 48 degrees.

 

[Bay Ranger]

August 6 finds BAY RANGER in Sainte Anne de Bellevue, QUE. We spent a few days in Ottawa visiting friends. We had visited Ottawa by car previously and had seen a lot of the attractions that Ottawa has to offer. This time we visited the Museum of Civilization which we found very interesting. We were tied up in the lock wall in downtown Ottawa. It reminded us a bit of Paris. There were walking/biking paths along both sides of the canal, low-slung tourist boats plied the canal, and the evenings the old parliament buildings, bridges, and walking paths were all lit up.

Heading down the wide, deep Ottawa River was quite a contrast to the canals that led up to Ottawa. We anchored out two nights in remote anchorages. The first night, our only neighbor was a big fat beaver that swam out toward us from shore.

We passed thru Carillon Lock, the deepest lock in Canada. It dropped us 65 feet! There was a floating dock inside the lock to tie up to. The dock rises and falls with the lock. We were so deep in the lock that we temporarily lost our GPS signal.

We've done fine navigating with paper charts in Canada. We didn't buy the chip for Canadian waters. The navigation has been pretty straight forward. There was only one day in a heavy rainstorm when we had to find some critical channel markers with very limited visibility in a dog-leg turn from one side of the mile-wide Ottawa River to the other with a strong following current that the chartplotter would have make the navigating easier. Our U.S chip now covers the Montreal area and the portion up the St. Lawrence River and down the Richlieu Canal system that leads back to U.S. waters. It's interesting has easy it is to rely on electronics. Glad we can still get around without them!

 

[Bay Ranger]

It's back in the U.S.A. for BAY RANGER as of August 9.

Skipper Bob's guide to the Rideau and Richelieu Canals says that the route from Ste. Anne de Bellvue QUE to the St. Lawrence Seaway is "twisted and fraught with shoals." That about sums it up! Except, I would add strong currents and the glare of the morning sun while heading east added to the challenge of finding those channel buoys and keeping them lined up. Glad I had the paper charts and the 'ole chartplotter to assist with that stretch.

Once on the St. Lawrence, the currents made for a 9kt+ ride at 1900 RPMS. We anchored out two nights behind islands in the river, passed thru the St. Catherine and St. Lambert locks. The were much larger locks than those on the canal systems as they accommodate the large ocean-going cargo ships. Commerical shipping traffic seemed light on the days were were on the St. Lawrence. There were lots of them loading and unloading at various terminals in the Montreal area but not too many on the waterway.

We made the turn south at Sorel, QUE and headed down the Richelieu Canal system on August 8. Like the other canal systems on this trip, it is not pure canal but sections of canals and locks connecting large rivers and lakes. After crossing Chambly Basin, we spent our last night he on a Canada Parks Canal lockwall in Chambly. The Chambly Canal is truly a "canal" and we wound our way down thru a couple of quaint villages and pretty countryside and 9 locks to St. Jean de Richelieu, the last town we passed through. From there it was on to the U.S. Customs dock and into our first marina in a while in the town of Rouses Point, NY.

We're looking forward to the Lake Champlain area starting tomorrow.

 

[starr]

welcome to lake champlain. good weather forcast for the next few days.now 3 r25 s on the lake. if your schedule permits and you d like to meet somewhere let us know. we live in burlington and keep the boat at the shelburne shipyard.the boat house in burlington allows a free hour in a slip and $5 / hr after that. if you need fuel go to the shelburne sy. more than a dollar less per gallon than anywher else on the lake. need any supplies? would be more than happy to do some shopping for you. starr and deb.

 

[colleysails]

In anticipation of a cruise up that way in the next year or so I spent several days camping in the Lake Champlain area last week. Pt Au Roche State Park on the NW shore has sixty desigtated mooring sites in Deep Bay, and that area is beautiful. There were a number of boats using the sites and there is a dinghy dock right at one of the hiking trails which goes to the point. It's on my 'must visit' list for the cruise!

 

[Bay Ranger]

BAY RANGER left Rouses Point, NY on August 10 and headed into Lake Champlain. What a beautiful cruising area! Unfortunately we didn't give it the time it deserved. We had three beautiful days on the lake with overnights at an anchorage on the west side of Valcour Island and a stop at the free overnight town dock up Otter Creek in Vergennes, VT. We had visited Burlington and the impressive Shelburne Museum previously, so we elected to head on south. Nor did we head thru "The Gut" to Burton Island, Butler Island and other tempting locations in the eastern part of the lake. Truthfully, I think we are a little antsy to get on south as we work our way thru our second month out. We'll definitely have to return and make this a destination for a future cruise.

Thanks to Starr and Deb for the suggestions and offer of support. Unfortunately, we didn't get the message until we picked up wi-fi south of the lake at Waterford, NY.

Waterford, NY is the point where we began the Erie Canal portion of the cruise a month ago. We were happy to visit it for a second time. Their hospitality is great. Free overnight dockage with electricity, water, showers, etc. Even got a tour of a 1938 commerical tug being restored at the dock there. Farmers market at the dock on Sunday mornings, wi-fi and a town just behind the dock with all the basics.

Leaving Waterford and heading down the Hudson this morning, the winds exceeded the forecast! We were making 7.8kts with the current but the winds picked up to 17kts and gusting to over 20kts and the waves built up against the current. After a couple of hours of that, it just wasn't fun! We decided to give it up and pulled into Shady Grove Marina in New Baltimore, NY for the rest of the day and evening.

We did see a red-hulled Ranger 25 just north of here docked at Coeymans Marine Landing. Too far away to catch a name though.

The weather is a bit unsettled in the area for the next few days. We'll just slowly work our our way south to New York City and wait for a good weather window to make the 30-mile Atlantic passage to Manasquaan Inlet or further south on the New Jersey coast

 

[doke01]

Hi,

I've been watching your trip and Zero to Cruising's trip. Imagine my surprise when I saw a picture of Bay Ranger on their blog! Looks like you were neighbors! http://www.zerotocruising.com/?p=6321

Anyway, hope you are enjoying your trip down. We bought our R25 at Coeyman's Marina. Very nice people. Let me know when you are in the Sandy Hook area and I'll see if we can pop over with our R25 and say hi. Plenty of places to anchor around Sandy Hook. If you are interested in knowing about them let me know.

Doug

 

[Bay Ranger]

It's a small world! Yes we were neighbors with Zero To Cruising and the couple christening the dinghy at the Waterford, NY Visitors Center Docks. We ran into Ben and Beth (the couple in the photo) the next day down the Hudson. They were stepping their mast when we stopped for fuel.

That's Elaine in the background of the photo. Fortunately, yours truly was blocked from view. I guess the old saying "You can run, but you can't hide" didn't apply to me in that picture.

We made it on down the Hudson in a couple of days and passed thru New York City once again. It was just as impressive coming back as it was going up. Fortunately, we had a good weather window on August 18 for the 4-hour passage from Sandy Hook, NY to Manasquan Inlet, We anchored behind Sandy Hook the previous night and got a start at first light. Doug, sorry I didn't have a wi-fi connection to see your email until we reached Cape May.

After we were safely inside the inlet, we anchored and had breakfast before proceeding thru the Point Pleasant Canal in into Barnegat Bay. The next night we anchored south of Ocean City, NJ. Jon and Marilyn came out in their R25 Snug Tug, picked us up and took us to a nearby waterfront in Swathmere, NJ for eats. The next day we moved on to Cape May, NJ and Jon and Marilyn drove down and showed us the sites of Cape May. Good times!

The weather looks good for a run up the Delaware Bay and across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, and on to the home waters of the Chesapeake on Saturday, August 21st. I'll summarize our cruise and throw together a few statistics about it when we return home this coming week.