Newboro, Ontario, Canada

We made it “up The Rideau” through 13 locks so far and have only one more to go through today, a small easy one. This last leg will bring us to The Narrows on Big Rideau Lake, where we like to hang out. We have been taking it at a leisurely pace since we have until Friday evening to be at The Narrows.  And there is hardly any traffic on the system yet, making locking efficient. The season is barely starting. Friends Dale and Wendy will join us on Saturday on their boat for the weekend.

We stayed 2 nights at the Newboro lock dock. No internet and no satellite TV either, as the dish’s line of vision is obstructed by the many trees surrounding us. ..This welcomed down-time gave Michael an opportunity to spend time in the bilge (without the heat from the engines), and measure and order the sound-proof enclosure for the new generator. Without its (needed) sound enclosure, the generator sounds about as loud as the old one with an enclosure that obviously was rather ineffective. Let’s hope we get the new enclosure installed SOON.

We have been walking over to Stirling, a fishing lodge nearby with an internet router. This is how I get to post this update and download a few new pictures. No internet at The Narrows though, but we’ll have satellite TV.

We are on our favorite portion of the Rideau for another 10 days or so. The loons are back for this rendez-vous, as sophisticated-looking and as shy as ever. They are having their babies now, and Annick is looking forward to see the females carrying their little ones on their back in a few days.  Wish we had a camera with a decent telephoto lense to share these sightings.  We had the pleasure to hear a family of minks a couple of nights ago, washing and making their night-time ruckus near our swim platform.  Add to this noise a flock of 20 Canadian Geese and their little ones, and this made for a less-than-peaceful early morning. But the sounds of nature are wonderful, aren’they?

Thanks for reading our postings and traveling with us.

Until next time,

Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Jones Falls on the Rideau Canal, Ontario, Canada

It is Monday afternoon, Memorial Day weekend.

We left Ess-Kay Yards on Saturday May 26 with a brand new and working generator. The installation went very well overall and the captain is pleased with his choice of yard. So far, it is performing as intended. 

We spent Saturday driving through the locks of the Oswego River and docked overnight in Oswego, positioned for a lake Ontario crossing.
Sunday turned out to be a perfect day for crossing, so we did. The crossing was a piece of cake: 6 hours of very calm waters. We arrived yesterday afternoon on our beloved Rideau Canal system in Ontario, Canada.

We are traveling every day a few hours through locks to reach the Big Rideau Lake on Friday. This is "our territory" on the Rideau and we will be meeeting our Canadian friends Dale and Wendy there for the weekend (alas, they both work and can only boat on weekends). We should stay in the area until mid-June. I probably will not take nor post many pictures, as there are many from last year on Picasa. Same lansdcape, same waters, same loons, same ducks, same herons, etc....

Until next post,
Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco

Brewerton, NY - It's a go!

We are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow Saturday 5-26 headed to Oswego, NY.
All systems appear OK; new generator is in and running.
We spent the day mostly doing the final provisionings. See the pictures added to the Brewerton album. Sirocco is loaded....we could survive a nuclear attack. Don't come and visit too soon as the guests quarters are used to store lots of goodies. Every space on board has been claimed....but it appears we still have freezer space that could have stored ice-cream...shucks! Too late.
We are off tomorrow early, getting the engines a test-drive on Oneida Lake and then, if everything seems right, headed towards Oswego on Lake Ontario, ready for a Lake Ontario crossing on Sunday or Monday. Yahoo! Finally!

It is late and I must get some rest, Captain demands...
Annick (and Captain Michael asleep)

   

Brewerton, NY at Ess-Kay boatyard

I (Annick) just returned from Rochester yesterday Monday morning 5/21. I stayed at Cedric's and Lizzie's new house in Brighton, a well established neighborhood of Rochester with quaint, tree-lined streets. Very pleasant; convenient to a lot of businesses and shops. We are very happy for them and their choice. The back yard is small, yet perfect for the size of the house and for them to learn what it takes to keep it up. I also got to see 5 sets of old friends, which is always fun.

While I was away, Ess-Kay (the boatyard we are at) took the old generator out of Sirocco and moved the new one on the aft deck. To move the generators out of/in the boat, we had to be on dry-dock. Great planning to clean and wax the hull, and to do the bottom paint touch up. A bit difficult to live on-board as we cannot use the water to shower or do dishes. The marina's facilities are very close-by. So we decided to tough it up and not go to a motel.

I was back at the boat less than 45 minutes Monday morning before Michael and I got started on the hull. A bit of a daunting task for a 51 ft (LOA) boat. But with 2 ladders, 4 elbows and grease, and lots of rags, huffs and puffs and determination, we managed to get the entire hull cleaned and waxed in one day (about 8 hours). Had you told me we had one day to do this, I would have laughed. We crawled to the shower, headed out to eat, and crashed: our lower backs were killing us. This morning, it is our arms and shoulders...

We got to see a 90 ft 1972 Burger docked behind us last night. She left this morning. Captained by a professional, it is doing the loop for the ...13th time! So we may see GO FOURTH on the Georgian Bay and the North Channel later this summer. We met 2 other boats headed the same way we are.

Today  the new generator was moved from the aft deck down to the bilge. Interesting task with metal rollers and 3 strong men. They got it done in just a few minutes without any tears or scratches (that I know of) to our stairs or wood cabinets. Hoses, fuel and electrical connections are being worked on today and tomorrow. I haven't heard any swearing down below, so I assume everything is progressing without issues.

Also, today was bottom painting for Michael and I. Touch up only, but far too many spots. I got to do the sanding and he gets to put the paint on: how did I agree to this? He is the Captain...but I thought I was the Admiral. Age makes a difference too, apparently. Sanding this boat was not a walk in the park. I swear we have a 90 ft boat disguised to look like a 45 footer. As I was moving from front to back, there seems to be always more boat to sand. I wonder what my body is going to tell me tomorrow. Michael is painting as I type this note and rest, and Sirocco is starting to look great.

Weather has been rather nice, albeit for a few cold days last week. And little to NO HUMIDITY here, YEH!   

Not clear we'll be able to leave on Friday to start our journey to Canada. This will be pushing it as we still have to provision, including vacuum-seal meat and freeze it, get a hair cut, do laundry, put the car in storage, and test the generator on the nearby lake before leaving Ess-Kay for good. The first day of our journey will take us from here (Brewerton) to Oswego (on Lake Ontario), where we will be positioned to catch a calm day for a lake Ontario crossing.

Until next time,
Annick & Michael Smart aboard Sirocco.

We are near Syracuse, NY where we picked up Sirocco last Saturday, after 7 months in storage.

The 3 weeks prior were rather busy, as we toured the East Coast (by car) to show my brother Jean-Marc and Sylvie as much as we could of the US. We drove over 4,000 miles in a little over 2 weeks time... going from New Bern, NC to Naples, FL where we spend a week. We saw alligators in the Everglades, dolphins and flying fish off the coast of Fort Lauderdale on friends Henry and Jan's boat. Back in New Bern, we did some shelling on the beaches of North Carolina, and then drove up North to NYC for a 5-day visit that included the 9/11 Memorial. We forgot how long it takes us nowadays to recover from such a busy schedule...we were exhausted when they left back for France. But we all had a memorable time.

We are now getting ready for the next chapter of 2012: 5 months on our boat. Sirocco is getting a new generator this week at a shipyard near Syracuse. After the usual annual maintenance and spring cleanup and preparations, we hope she will be ready by May 25. Our plan this year is to cross Lake Ontario, stay up on the Rideau Canal for the first 2 weeks in June while we wait for the temperature to warm up, then navigate the Trent-Severn Waterway (also in Ontario, Canada) the latter part of June, and reach the Georgian Bay around July 1. We will drive up North and explore the magnificent (we are told) Georgian Bay through July. And reach the North Channel and stay there the first 2 weeks in August. After this, we would do the reverse to return to Lake Ontario via the Bay of Quinte/Rideau/Thousand Islands region.

Google Map these locations for fun (Bay of Quinte, Rideau Canal, Thousand Islands, Trent-Severn, Georgian Bay, North Channel) to check on the geography.

We'll try to post updates and pictures as frequently as possible; not clear what the wii-fii situation will be en route. I have added a Picasa link to the blog (upper right-hand side) to view pictures. Upload will be dependent on finding wireless routers that can handle lots of data...

Annick is spending a few days in Rochester with Cedric and Lizzie, discovering their new house, and meeting with a few old friends, while Michael is staying on board supervising the generator replacement.

And the wine is chilling again on Sirocco!
Hoping for calm seas.
Annick & Michael on board Sirocco