Stowaway on Board in the Rideau Canal

 

Exiting Davis Lock, one of 49 locks on the Rideau Canal.

Tory is the only authorized
animal on Salty Paws!

The lock was beginning to fill with water when Molly’s shriek echoed throughout the lock chamber.  I knew it was too loud to mean a spider, and I had a very quick look at something on the line that Molly had been holding.  She yelled “an animal is in the cockpit,” while rushing into the cabin closing the door to the cockpit.  I offered that maybe it was a squirrel or chipmunk, but “No!” Molly said, “I don’t know what it is, maybe a mink or weasel or something."

We switched places on the boat, but I saw no animal as it was likely now hiding under the lazarette seat.   I began to be thankful that at least it wasn’t a bear or raccoon that have been known to climb up on boats.  I asked one of the lock attendants his recommendation to get a weasel-like creature out of our cockpit.  The lock operator said “I have no idea.  It has never happened!”  We could have tied up after going through the lock to figure it out, but I wanted to get to our final destination of the day, still four locks away.

Cleaning out the cockpit before the attempted capture.

News of our plight was quickly shared with all the lock operators on the system.  At our last lock of the day one of the operators gave us a fishing net to try to capture whatever it was.  Finally, we docked for the night, I put on long pants, shoes and gloves and soon cleared the cockpit of everything that wasn’t bolted down.  Jon from Taku and Otto from Vega then joined me in the cockpit while Molly and Liz from Taku looked on with phone cameras in hand while Anna from Vega held on to Tory, who didn’t like the fact that an undesirable animal had invaded her space.

Quickly, I was able to use a paddle to flush the animal out of hiding, while the animal jumped and darted to a new hiding place.  It was a baby mink!  Now we are having an audience at the dock, and we hear the chorus “mink are vicious!”  Then I took the fish net while Jon and Otto each had a paddle.  Twice I got him in the fish net, but he quickly fell through one of the holes.  The two videos tell the rest of the story.

The Rideau River Falls dump into the Ottawa River and necessitated a canal for any hope of navigation.

Once the cheers subsided it was time to return to our enjoyment of the Rideau Canal.  England had wanted this canal built as a way to have a secure route of passage between Montreal, Canada's commercial hub, and Kingston, where the British navy was centered. At the time England and the United States were still bitter enemies, and the Americans could easily attack and block passage on the St. Lawrence River.  

Ottawa, Discarded Heroes and Out of Gas

Our boats in Ottawa.

Ottawa loomed before us as we cruised by Rideau Falls and approached the famous flight of eight locks, the beginning of the Rideau Canal, that would take us to downtown Ottawa.  The Fairmont Hotel was to the left of the locks and the Canadian Parliament was to the right.  It was a wonderful, yet exhausting, traverse of the 8 locks where we were the feature attraction to the many tourists watching the lock operation.

Finally, we tied up to a dock for our stay.  Jon and Liz, Otto and Anna headed

Our baker!

to the Fairmont while Molly, Tory and I would stay on Salty Paws.  The next two days included food shopping, laundry, finding a bakery and a very informative walking tour of the center city.

One can sign up online to receive a
flag that has flown on top of
Parliament, but it is a 102 year wait! 
A new flag is used every day.

Ottawa is a very livable city of roughly a million people with many parks, bike lanes, restaurants, and the beautiful Rideau Canal cutting through its middle.  It has a rich history that began as a meeting place for trade and then it expanded rapidly as a lumber town in the first half of the 19th century.  At that time, England, which ruled Canada, and the United States had just gone through the War of 1812 and remained adversaries for a while after.  

Kingston, ON was the center of England’s military power in the region, but Kingston was largely only accessible to Montreal and other points east via the St. Lawrence where much of the border was shared with the US.  The Rideau Canal was constructed in the 1820’s as a way to connect Kingston, Ottawa and Montreal if the United States were to block passage on the St. Lawrence River.  Then, Ottawa’s continued growth was further ensured in 1855 when Queen Victoria named Ottawa the capital of Canada as it was well-protected and was located on the border between English and French-speaking Canada.

Liz and Molly and our boats at the St. Anne de Bellevue wall.

Three days before arriving at Ottawa, our three boats exited the mighty St. Lawrence River and headed up the Ottawa River. We spent three days cruising the 100 miles to Ottawa with our first night on the lock wall in St. Anne de Bellevue. St. Anne is a quaint town on Montreal Island, but loud music from neighboring cigarette boats keep us awake much of the night. Not knowing if they might be drug dealers, we decided to just turn our fan up louder. One of these boats did entertain us before bedtime, however, with a mini-skirted babe crawling to the bow of the boat to handle the line there while the two barrel-chested men in the cockpit barked orders.

Getting ready to order hotdogs.

Our second night was on wall of the Carillon, Canada’s highest at almost 70 feet.  Of the 200 or so locks that Molly and I have  been through, it is the only guillotine-style lock we have seen.  The lock is adjacent to a large hydroelectric dam, one of 17 such facilities on the Ottawa River.  Carillon is a small town with few facilities, but we did enjoy the hotdogs minus the swarming bees!

Carillon Lock, Canada’s tallest.

One point of interest to me was the military barracks in Carillon that housed English soldiers during the civil disorder period of 1837-1839 when some in Ontario and Quebec 

The 1837 barracks in Carillon.

unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow English rule.  I find this little tidbit of history an example about how virtually every place has

interesting chapters of history, if one looks for it.

Tory photobombed my picture of the monument to Dollard and his
killed comrades.  Each structure had a plaque to one of those killed.

We found one other interesting spot in town, a large monument built to honor the 16 young Frenchmen led by Adam Dollard des Ormeaux who fought the Iroquis in 1660. All the Frenchmen were killed, but Dollard's contemporaries honored him as the savior of the colony as the Iroquois did not invade Montreal.  The Catholic Church was instrumental in promoting Dollard as a heroic figure with requisite Christian virtues and maryrdom.  In the 1920s, Quebec established a national holiday called the Fete de Dollard, and multiple parks feature his statute.  

Like Columbus, however, revisionist history slowly began to change the public perception of Dollard. As early as the 1930's historians began to suggest that his motivation was personal gain,  not patriotism.  Most significantly, in the 1960's the so-called Quiet Revolution began, signifying the declining influence of the Catholic Church. Finally, in 2003 the Fete de Dollard was renamed National Patriots' Day in Quebec.

The Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello

Our third night on Ottawa River was at a nice little marina in Montebello, 1/3 the cost to stay at the nearby famous Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello.  We shared a wonderful meal at the local bistro and walked to Le Chateau. This very large resort is billed as having the largest wooden structure in the world. Interestingly, the main lodge reminded me of the Yellowstone National Park Visitors Center adjacent to Olde Faithful.  The facility has hosted various summits of world leaders, and we saw picture with Reagan and Thatcher among others.

My plan had been to get gas at the Chateau or another gas dock near our marina. Both, however, were closed and did not respond to phone calls. We were 40 miles from the one open gas dock near Ottawa, and my instruments estimated that Salty Paws had enough gas for just 37 miles.

Yvon was a character!

 Clearly, I had a problem, but we were fortunate to be cruising with two other boats. We took off in the morning with our fingers crossed. Finally, the marina was in sight, but with just a half mile to go, the motor conked out. I quickly dropped anchor, and Vega came by to pick up our gas can. 15 minutes later Taku delivered the filled can, and in another 15 minutes we were at the gas dock. Yvon greeted us warmly, and with a smile disclosed that he had called all the other gas docks to make sure they stayed closed so we would have to buy gas from him!  Interestingly, marina attendants by law in Quebec must handle the gas line.  In our experience marine operators have always insisted that the boat captain fill the tank.

Now we have enough fuel for the remainder of our cruise!

Below are a few other shots.

Parliament and other governmental buildings are undergoing a 10-year renovation with a budget in the
billions.

This amphibious machine is used to remove debris that can accumulate in the Carillon lock.

My first thought was that a very large insect had landed behind
Salty Paws, but it was only Taku with their red night lights.
Arguably, the red lights doesn’t attract any insects.

This is Canada’s eternal flame (except when down for
Repairs!) that was first lit in 1967 celebrating Canada’s
100 years as a country.

Salty Paws in the first lock of 8,

Seemingly every small Canadian town in Quebec and some of Ontario is dominated by a Catholic chick with a tall silver steeple.

1000 Islands Dressing, The Wealthy and the St. Lawrence Seaway

Bill, Molly and Tory next to Salty Paws docked at Singer Castle.

The Thousand Islands, between New York State and Ontario, is one of the world’s great fresh water cruising grounds.  The scenery is  beautiful, the water is warm, and the cruising options are almost limitless, particularly if one includes the 100 miles of the St. Lawrence Seaway leading to Montreal.  The water is crystal clear throughout and perfect for swimming.

Our circle route.  The large lake in the lower left is the eastern
end of Lake Ontario.  Montreal is near the top right.  Each
colored line represents one day of cruising.

We have embarked on a 3-week boating adventure with friends Jon and Liz on their boat Taku (made by Jon!) and Otto and Anna on Vega.  The adventure includes trailering Salty Paws 550 miles to Clayton, NY, and cruising 500 miles through the Thousand Islands, down the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Ottawa River, up the Ottawa River to Ottawa and down North America’s most iconic canal and lock system, the Rideau Canal, returning to Clayton.

We have so enjoyed sharing this cruising experience, eating out together and, of course, playing cards on Salty Paws.  One week down and two to go.

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One of our potluck cookouts in the park right next to our boats on the lock wall in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec.  Pictured
are Jon, Bill, Otto, Anna, Molly and Liz.

Enjoying dessert, cocktails and cards on Salty Paws.  Look who is under the table!

Earlier this summer I mentioned to my brother Bob about our trip to the Thousand Islands.  He immediately asked if the region was somehow connected to the salad dressing by the same name.  Even though we have been here before and even though I love the dressing, I just had never put the two together.   Yes is the answer.  The story seems to be that around 1900 the wife of a local fishing guide created the dressing and served it to her husband’s fishing clients.  At some point the dressing was served to actress, singer and vaudeville star Mary Irwin.  She enjoyed the dressing so much that she requested the recipe and later passed it on to Fred Boldt, a wealthy hotel magnet who owned the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.  He equally loved the dressing and quickly added it to the hotel’s menu.  From there, the dressing took off across the country.

Interestingly, Boldt had an affinity for the Thousand Islands region, and its islands were attracting American’s wealthy.  Boldt purchased one of the islands and began having built one of the largest castles in North America until construction stopped after the unexpected death of his wife in 1904.  We will tour this castle at the end of our trip, and our cruise began with a tour of the smaller but still impressive Singer Castle, built by Frederick Bourne, then the CEO of Singer Sewing Machine Company.  

Boldt Castle from the water.

Singer Castle.

Otto and Anna next to Vega on the Singer Castle dock.

Liz and Jon next to Taku on the Singer

Singer Castle was built in 1902-1904 and was actually called “The Towers” by Bourne.  The castle was inspired by Walter Scott’s novel “Woodstock” and included secret passages and a dungeon.

Here the castle grounds used to include a tennis court.

Taku, Salty Paws and Vega at the singer Castle dock.

For almost 100 years the island was a private residence.  In 2003 it was purchased by a group of private investors with the goal to restore the castle and open it to the public for tours, weddings and room rentals.   At first, the investors wanted to use its original name, “The Towers,” but with the tragic events of 9-11, they thought the better of it and settled on Singer Castle.

The mega yacht Dreamboat.  Look closely to see Taku.

 Castles have long been the ultimate display of power and wealth, but today’s ultra-rich are now more likely to purchase a mega-yacht as their status symbols.  Such yachts offer mobility, privacy and luxury as is the case with the yacht Dreamboat, owned by Arthur Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot and the owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team.  We saw Dreamboat on a couple of occasions.  The yacht is almost 300 feet long, complete with a heliport, swimming pool, multiple suites, entertainment centers, tenders larger than our boat and so much more.

Mega yachts at the Atlantis Marina on Paradis Is., Bahamas.

While in the Bahamas a few years ago we talked to one of the crew members of a similar yacht.  While they are sworn to secrecy, the crew member did share that the yacht owner would fly in on a Friday night, so he could be observed dining in luxury on open back deck of the ship.  He would then fly out the next day.

You may have heard of the proported exchange between F. Scott Fitzgerald, who romanticized the rich, and Ernest Hemingway, who was more cynical.

Fitzgerald: “The rich are different from you and me.”

Hemingway : “Yes, they have more money.”

Otto, Jon and I are getting ready for a swim at Cedar Island.

After touring Singer Castle we docked and spent the night at New York’s Cedar Island State Park.  We then cruised the St. Lawrence Seaway, going through 5 large commercial locks, but finding very little commercial traffic.  Our three boats spend nights in the Prescott Marina, an anchorage off a park and in the marina of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, possibly Quebec’s largest yachting center.  Here there is not a sign in English, but I didn’t have to use a Google Translate as enough people spoke both French and English.

Now we have turned from East to Northwest as we begin to head up the Ottawa River to Ottawa.  Below are a few more pictures from our first week.

Sallaberry-de-Valleyfield has a nice observatory that overlooks the harbor and old canal.  Here we all are at the top.

The view of the valley field Marina from the observation tower.

The view of the old canal in Valleyfield from the Observatory.

We alternated who picks up the restaurant tabs.  I was hoping for a hotdog stand on my turn!  Didn’t happen.

One of the 5 commercial locks we transittedin the St. Lawrence Seaway.  The locks can handle ships up to roughly
740 feet long, 78 feet wide and 26 feet of depth.

The water level in the commercial locks drops roughly 40 feet for boats headed downstream.  Eva and Taku are in front.

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Our Last Bahamian Cruise?

Tory swam to check on Molly as we enjoyed the beach on Spanish Wells.

Molly was a trooper as we cruised over 100 miles a day for three days last week going from Spanish Wells to the Berry Islands, then to Bimini and finally back to Florida.  We did spend an extra 4 days in Bimini awaiting calm seas to cross the Gulf Stream.  It was Easter weekend, and what we didn’t know was that this is also homecoming weekend in the Bahamas where residents return to their hometowns and celebrate both Christ and their own roots with music, very loud music.   

We found some great beach glass on the Bimini beaches, some of it no doubt from the remains of homecoming parties over the decades past.

Our 2nd Bimini marina was very quiet.  As usually, we are the
smallest cruising boat.

The size of the loudspeakers in an open lot next to the marina should have been the giveaway.  Multiple speakers were strapped together, 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide, on both sides of the DJ.  When the music started, it was easily over 100 decibels, but the killer was that the bass overwhelmed everything.  I tried to sleep with by pillow over my ears, but the bass vibrations seemed to only be further magnified.  The first night, a Wednesday (3/27), the music went until 1 am.  The second night until 2 am.  It was time to switch to a quiet marina 2 miles away.

The waters at sunrise for relatively calm for a Gulf crossing.
The cruise ship is anchored off North Bimini.

The Gulf crossing began at sunrise and was about as smooth as it could be as we averaged 17-20 mph and arrived at the West Palm Inlet around noon.  We then fueled up at nearby Sailfish Marina, and home to one of the largest sports fishing fleets in the country.  The dockhand told me that cash prices for trophy fish can be over $500,000.

 We then cruised our last miles to Indiantown Marina, near Lake Okeechobee, to prepare Salty Paws to be pulled from the water.  Our truck and trailer have been stored for the last two months.  Our cruising is done until summer. But we will use the boat as an RV while heading back to Maine.

This marina is filled with boats, mostly monohull sailboats, that people from all over the eastern US and Canada live on during the winter months and store here for the rest of the year.  Monohull sailboats are now very inexpensive as most new sailboats are catamarans, and older sailors are increasingly moving to trawlers and other power boats.  One can live on a sailboat here for a fraction of the cost of purchasing an RV and staying in a Florida RV park.  Some cruise to the Bahamas or the Keys, but most just seem to stay at the dock. 

We enjoyed talking and listening to our dockmates and also overhearing some of talk.  Jeff and Linda, next to us on the dock, are moving off their sailboat to return to Canada.  This exchange took place

Jeff: “I had a terrible afternoon.”

Linda: “What happened, honey?”

Jeff: “I hit a cow with our truck!”

Linda: “Oh, no.”

Jeff: “The ‘f….ing’ cow was just standing in the middle of the road!  Can you believe that?  

Linda: How is the cow?

Jeff: Dead, and the farmer was really pissed.”

Linda: “Sorry that the farmer took it out on you.”

Jeff: “He wasn’t mad at me.  He was mad at the cow!”

I do not know if we will ever return to the Bahamas.  Four trips are enough for Molly, and the weather by all accounts has been much windier over the last two winters.  Some of our cruising friends have had spend a few weeks in one protected spot to find a sufficient weather window to cruise between islands.

We do love the beautiful anchorages, the people, the waters and the nearly perfect temperatures.  I went back over our blogs documenting our visits in 2016-17, 2020, 2022 and 2024.  Here are some of the top experiences that we treasure.

Beautiful Anchorages

There is not a more picture perfect anchorage than the Exuma Land and Sea Park.  We stayed here in 2017 and 2020.

The best anchorage in the Abacos is off Sand Cay between the Double-Breasted Cays.  Molly and I spend 3 days there in 2022, and Dave Powers and I anchored there earlier this year (2024).

The People

Most of our cruising has been to lightly populated or more remote islands.  We have invariable found Bahamians friendly, pet loving, entrepreneurial and often with a fascinating history.  Here are a few stories.

Molly with Aaron.  Was he really
the museum director?

Was He Really the Museum Director?                                                                                                                                                      Most Aaron is a great example of the entrepreneurial spirit as he greeted us warmly on the No. Bimini sidewalk and suggested that we tour the island museum that he directs.  He gave us a great tour, and then as I was about to put $10 in the donation box, he suggested that I give it to him directly in that sometime thieves are tempted by this receptacle.   Later, in describing this to another Bahamian, we learned that Aaron is not the director at all!  The tour was still worth the $10.

Whites Marrying Former Slaves

The original inhabitants of the Bahamas included the Lacayans and others, but they were largely wiped out by disease or enslavement by the Spanish, beginning with Columbus in 1492.   Spanish influence was ultimately replaced by British rule in 1783.  The islands became a refuge for British loyalists from the United States.  After Britain outlawed slavery in 1834, the island population was roughly 85% former slave.  What were former white slave owner families to do if they wanted to stay on the islands they loved?  

We visited one cay where the black marina owner shared this 1911 picture with us showing 4 white brothers, who all married former slaves.  Their growing families became a full-fledged island community.

Community Unknown for Almost 100 Years                                                                               Beginning in the 1820's or so,  Florida was increasingly a brutal ground for both Native Americans and formerly free blacks.  The US Army was in a campaign to exterminate the Seminoles, and blacks, formerly free under Spanish rule, were often enslaved by whites who were establishing plantations in the new state.  Beginning in the 1830's a number of Seminoles and slaves escaped Florida by crossing the Gulf Stream in open boats to the shallow western shore of Andros Island.  There, they established the community of Red Bays, that was unknown to the outside world until 1930.

We connected with a local guide and traveled by car 40 miles across the island to Red Bays, where we made a donation of school supplies.  Here we were so warmly greeted and entertained at a school assembly.

The Bahamian Waters

No picture does full justice to the Bahamian water.  After crossing the Gulf Stream from Florida, cruisers know they have arrived in the Bahamas once they reach the turquoise waters of the shallow banks that can extent for over 100 miles.  Water depths are typically 10-15 feet, but the clarity makes it seem that the water is much less than that.

We snorkeled near choral reefs, and usually found schools of colorful fish.

Conch is plentiful throughout the Bahamas and often used for fritters and salads.

Here I am snorkeling down to the stainless steel piano placed by David Copperfield off the cay that he owns.

That blob is an octopus!

They were hard to see, but we finally found a seahorse.

Goodbye, Bahamas...