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