We have had a wonderful August on the Rideau Canal, mainly on Big Rideau Lake. Since I last updated this blog, my godmother Nicole from Paris and her husband Patrick visited us. Patrick is a world class sailor, having competed in 3 Olympics in the 80s & 90s, as well as the World Cup. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the comfort and space of the BAB (Big Ass Boat)! We very much enjoyed their visit, as I had not seen them in 6 years.
Next our Rochester friends Julie and Gary stayed over the Labor Day weekend. More food, more drinks, more fun...they are always great to have on the boat, as they are boaters themselves and need no entertainment: they are the entertainment. Unfortunately, the weather turned cold and stormy while they were with us, which simply resulted in more drinking since there was not much else to do.
On Sunday morning at around 7AM, while we were anchored in one of our favorite bays (Lower Stouts Bay), a very powerful thunderstorm cell passed over us, literally picking up Sirocco and dropping her back on the water a few times too many. Another "never before" experience which I do not wish to relive. We got loose and dragged, despite the 125 feet of chain in 12 ft of water. Michael powered up the Cats so we stayed off the rocks but did get into 4.2 feet of water. We were fine and just re-anchored after some calm resumed. At least, we offered our guests a unique experience! More drinking afterwards...
The water level in the system went down pretty drastically in the last 2 weeks, thanks to good weather and no real precipitation during the month. This resulted in some areas of the canal system being below datum at about 4ft 6 in. We swiftly decided to get out of dodge while we still could, and made the difficult decision to leave much earlier than expected and head back "South" towards Kingston (for our NC friends, not South to NC!). Here are a few last shots I took of our beloved Big Rideau Lake area. Keep in mind that this has been pretty typical scenery for the past 45 days.
I would not be doing justice to my captain if I did not post the following shots.
Michael headed by bike to a haircut appointment. This is him crossing a small one-lane bridge over the lock at the Narrows where we stayed at frequently.
Some fishing with friend Dale.
Michael caught bupkas!!!! Gary too caught a (small) pike while visiting.
And here we are on the move again, locking down the Rideau. Heading back for American waters.
We just passed the sensitive (shallows) areas on the canal and are slowly inching our way towards the Thousand Islands at the Eastern end of Lake Ontario where the St Lawrence river starts.
We expect to be on the lower end of the Rideau Canal until early next week. We have no rigid plans at this point. When the weather turns cold, we will cross Lake Ontario and bring Sirocco to its winter shelter near Syracuse, NY. In the meantime, we'll be in the 1000 Islands.
After we leave our current location (where I am using a nearby hotel internet router), I do not know how often I'll have internet connection. Likely rarely.
To fair weather and chilled wine,
Annick & Michael cruising aboard Sirocco and still loving it.
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