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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