June 28 - Lakefield

We received word before we left our slip this morning that the huge Peterborough Lift Lock, one of the seven locks we would pass through today, was not working. In essence, we could not go anywhere until it was fixed. Pat and Al had hiked a few miles to see it yesterday, and a similar thing had happened. This did not give us a warm feeling, and the weather was beginning to deteriorate. George phoned the lock-tender a little before noon, and was told that it was repaired, so we decided to proceed. This particular lift- lock is the highest in the world, and we were lifted 65' by entering a 1300 ton lower pan, while 130 tons extra tons of water were allowed to enter the upper pan. The extra weight pushed the upper pan down and raised our pan to the top level. The view going up was stunning and we were amazed at how quickly we rose - just like going up in an elevator! Unfortunately, we did all our locking today decked out in full storm gear, as it poured. It took us almost 5 hours to only go 10 miles through the seven locks. Of course, when we arrived at the lock wall where we would tie up in Lakefield, the worst was over.

June 27 - Peterborough

On his early morning walk George scouted out the Farmers' Market held each Saturday a few blocks from our marina. We all went back later and were amazed at the size and variety of the fruits and vegetables from this area. The baked goods and butcher products also caught our eye, and true to our Polish/Slovak heritage we made purchases of kielbasy, golumbki, and veal franks. We also bought "meat loaves" or as George called them - "loaves of meat". Imagine our surprise when we baked them that evening to find that they, too, were made of kielbasy- type pork/veal, and not beef. They sure were different!

June 26 - Peterborough

We traveled 38 miles today, crossing a good portion of beautiful Rice Lake and then proceeding up the Otonabee River which winds through many marsh areas and the Hiawatha Indian Preserve. The scenery changed dramatically very quickly from a wide open lake to a very narrow, winding river. Lifting up in only one lock today seemed like a breeze. As we approached Peterborough Marina we passed by the fountain (yes, fountain!) in the middle of Little Lake. It is lit at night, and we were looking forward to seeing the Festival of Lights Concert with fireworks on Saturday night. Alas, the Captain was greatly disappointed to find out that this small city had cancelled the fireworks due to a budget cut. We tried to lessen his loss by having a fun Cajun dinner at "Hot Belly Mama's".

June 25 Another day another boat tomb on our way to Hastings

Looking back after the our second 48' lift.

Six more locks today -eh! We are starting to sound like our Canadian lock-tenders, who seem to end every statement with "eh"! After our last lock we tied up to the lock wall in the village of Hastings, which is definitely small, but has all the essentials we needed including a close-by laundry, and a great little Italian restaurant, "La Gondola". Behind us is a boat from Montreal, whose owner plays the guitar, and said he would accompany First Mate Pat's singing, as we traverse Georgian Bay and the North Channel in a few weeks

June 24 - The 4,000,000 gallon boat tomb on our way to Campbellford

Entering the Tomb.

That is what it looked like, a boat tomb. We were the only boat in this lock, and when the gates closed behind us it felt like we were being entombed. In front of us, behind the blue gates were between 3 and 4 million gallons of water! Knowing this, we hoped that the engineers knew what they were doing. It was a very impressive sight, the distance from the water below us to the top of the gate was nearly 50'.

We docked at Campbellford's Old Mill Park where there was a concert of Irish Fiddlers at the bandshell. This town is also quite small, but our crew did stop at the local brew pub, made wine purchases in the event that the liquor store workers would go on strike tonight ( yes, seriously!) and bought some Empire cheese which is made here locally.

June 23 - Frankford

Today we began our journey up the Trent-Severn Waterway as we proceeded through six locks within close succession over a distance of only seven miles. The Canadian locks are much smaller that the ones in the Erie Canal, but they seem to be in better shape with rubber-coated cables to which we tie up for the lift. At each lock we were greeted by very friendly lock-tenders who were eager to give us information about their area, and to distribute wildlife cards about the animals, fish, reptiles, and birds indigenous to their section of the Province. They also notified the next lock-tender ahead that we would be coming through. Things went pretty quickly, since on this morning we were the only boat traveling through at that particular time, and after 36 locks we have become pretty proficient as Captain and crew in bringing the boat in close to the lock wall and tying up quickly. We are also very grateful for our six fenders and two boat hooks which have been handy in helping us to keep "Reflection" damage-free. We tied up to the lock wall above Frankford by noon, and walked into the very small town for dinner at the "Chinese Buffet" which was touted as a great place to eat by all the locals. Suffice it to say, that no one can beat the Chinese food of our own New Jersey area - enough said!

June 22 - Trenton

This morning George and Al took a dinghy ride up the Trent River to Lock 1 to purchase our waterway pass, and to observe the activities of the lock before we pass through it tomorrow. Sister Pat, in the meantime, took an extensive walk back and forth from the lock on the waterway trail alongside the river and also did some grocery shopping. First-mate Pat took advantage of everyone's absence, and cleaned the inside of the vessel, and did some advanced planning on locations we would visit along the rest of the Trent-Severn. We reconvened for lunch, and then took a taxi to the National Air Force Museum of Canada. The museum was well worth the visit, and we saw many types of aircraft displayed inside and out, along with many artifacts. We even met several men, all volunteers, who were working on refurbishing some planes from WWII. They told us that no one under the age of 75 was allowed to enter their work area! It was amazing to see the caliber of work these men have done on the Mark II Halifax Bomber which is displayed there - taking over 350,000 man hours.

June 21 - Trenton

We left Picton this morning after a rainy day yesterday spent at the dock at Tip of the Bay Marina. It was a convenient location for us to go shopping and to walk around despite the weather. Today dawned somewhat overcast, but with lots of breaks in the clouds as we made our way through the Bay of Quinte on our 39 mile trip to Trenton, Ontario and the beginning of the Trent-Severn Waterway. When we arrived at Fraser Park Marina, we were met by Craig, the very hospitable and knowledgeable owner/dockmaster, and we were quickly tied up and docked close to town. In the evening we went to a terrific car show with lots of beautiful restored vehicles of the 50s' and 60s', followed by a great Italian dinner at Tomasso's Restaurant.

June 19 - O, Canada! (the rain stopped and the clouds parted)

At 7 a.m. we left the dock at Brewerton in a heavy mist headed for Oswego, N.Y. Our route would take us through the last lock on the Erie Canal and then through 7 more locks on the Oswego Canal. Two more boats caught up with us in the first lock, and we were told by the lock-master to stay together so that we could traverse the subsequent locks easily without a wait. So, with "Reflection" in the lead, this is what we did for 33 miles. In a discussion with the other boats, who were local to these waters, they had decided to cross Lake Ontario because the weather was favorable today for a crossing with light winds, waves under a foot, and improving skies. We thought about it for a moment, and then decided that this, indeed, would be a good idea for us to do also, since with the impending forecast of rain, and possible wind on the nose, we could be stuck in Oswego for a few days. So, at 1 p.m. we headed out the Oswego break-water across the Lake. In our whole trip across which was quite pleasant, but a little chilly, we saw only one vessel - a ship. The waters of the lake were pristine, and the sky above was amazing with the clouds parting to form an arrow that pointed our way to Canada. We then made our way past islands, and a protected waterway known as the Adolphus Passage all the way to Picton, Ontario. We arrived at 6 p.m. at the Tip of the Bay Marina after traveling approximately 100 miles and through 8 locks. George then checked us in with Canadian Customs, we raised the Canadian flag on the radar arch near our now-repaired navigation light, and then celebrated our arrival with libations and food at the waterfront restaurant at our marina.

June 17 - 18 - Brewerton, NY

Today we headed across the first bit of open water we had been on in days. Oneida Lake is 20 miles long and is quite lovely. It was also quite a change, since we didn't have any locks to go through! We pulled into Winter Harbor Marina in the late morning. Our mail was delivered here, and since the weather is supposed to deteriorate tomorrow with heavy rain, wind, and chilly temperatures forecast, we plan to stay here another day. Boat cleaning (both inside and out) is on our dockside agenda, as well as the repair of our broken anchor light. Because the facility has two courtesy cars, we are also taking advantage of having transportation to take care of laundry, shopping, etc.

June 16 - Utica to Sylvan Beach, NY

After a tasty rectangular thick-crust pizza for dinner on board last evening and a good night's sleep, we traveled through three locks today on our way to Sylvan Beach. The first lock lifted us to the highest point on the Canal of 420 feet. During the last two locks we now started to reverse the process, and we began to drop rather than lift. "Reflection" was accompanied by "Samira" with our new friends John and Donna from Seneca, Illinois, and both boats stayed at Mariner's Landing. Sylvan Beach is a cute old lake-shore community on Oneida Lake. It has a four mile long beach and lots of cottages, restaurants, and even a small amusement park. It was "Bikers on the Beach" night, and hundreds of bikers converged on the town. Of course, the four of us fit right in! No, we did not get any tattoos! Everyone was well-behaved, and we had a fun evening watching all the action while eating on the porch of "Yesterday's Hotel" which overlooked the lake and the canal.

June 15 - Look out above!

In the top photo is the CSX railroad bridge just before Lock 19 on the Erie Canal. The chart showed a clearance of 22 feet, which we can clear. At the bridge the marker showed just under 21 feet, which we can clear. WE HIT THE BRIDGE. Somebody lied, as can be seen in the second photo. We can clear 20' 1'; the bridge apparently was at 20' 1/2". Yes, that is right; all we needed was another 1/2" to clear it.

To compensate for this mishap, we stopped in Utica NY, had a nice lunch at a local restaurant on the canal, and then took the tour at the Matt Brewery, followed by our drinking copious amounts of beer. Life once again is good!

June 14 - Little Falls, NY

5 of 5

We lifted through 4 locks today and have now climbed to 363 feet above sea level. The last lock looked particularly daunting as we entered it because it was over 40 feet high!
The scenery in this area continues to be lush and beautiful, but it is amazing how few boats we have seen compared to our busy Barnegat Bay waters. Several of the other boats we have met in the last few days have joined us here, and we have added a new boat from Georgia to our band of travelers.

June 13 - Canajoharie, NY

4 of 5

Today we lifted through three locks on route to Canajoharie. Our tie-up was at the Riverfront Park and then we walked around the town. Unfortunately the Beech-Nut Factory which fueled the town's economy for decades is in the process of closing down, and that, along with the difficult recovery from the flood of 2006 has affected much of the business life of the area. We toured the Arkell Art Museum at the Library which contained works by many famous American painters. We also purchased meat at a shop which was a combination butcher, furniture, and handbag store! Unfortunately the weather went downhill, but we returned to the boat for a wonderful steak dinner aboard.

June 12 - Amsterdam, NY

3 of 5

After a heavy rain over-night, we were on our way by 10 a.m. We passed through three locks as we traversed 21 miles of the Mohawk River area of the Canal. The scenery was lovely, and the water quite placid, often mirroring the reflection of the sky and trees. We were accompanied by "Samira", an Express Cruiser, owned by John and Donna from the Chicago area. They began the Loop in September '07, and have enjoyed the trip so much that they want to do it again! We arrived in Amsterdam around 1:30 p.m., and after lunch took the pedestrian walkway from our dock over the very close-by railroad tracks into town. The down-town proved to be quite small and somewhat depressed, although we did pass the "Professional Wrestlers Hall of Fame"! We invited John and Donna for cocktails, and enjoyed a delightful evening listening to some great stories of their Loop adventure.

June 11 - Schenectady, NY

Photo 1 dam at Waterford lock.

Photo 2 Schenectady Yacht Club.

2 of 5

After another great breakfast at "Don & Paul's, George returned our car, and at 9:15 a.m. we departed the dock to do the "Waterford Flight". This is a series of five locks through which we were lifted 169 feet within a two mile span. This was accomplished by entering the lock and tying a midship line around a cable on the wall. When the lock was flooded, Pat paid out the line as we lifted while sister Pat and Al used boat hooks to fend us off the wall. After this series, we passed through one more lock before we arrived at the Schenectady Yacht Club in the early afternoon. In the evening we enjoyed watching the club members come and go from their Thursday night barbecue at on the dockmaster's porch. Onboard we had a luscious "Captain's Welcome Dinner" prepared by George , toasted our trip with Vive Clicquot champagne given to us by Father Tony, while Baroque music played on our CD player. Obviously we were "roughing it!"

June 10 - Waterford, NY

1 of 5

We rented a car early this morning and after a fabulous breakfast at "Don & Paul's", an eatery packed with locals drinking coffee, dining, and playing pool, George drove Charlie to the Albany train station for his return home. We are happy that he was able to begin our voyage with us! There are many boats of all kinds from far-away places (Vancouver, San Francisco, Toronto, North Carolina, Tennessee, etc.) at the dock getting ready to transit the Canal. After stocking the boat up with more supplies, we picked up Pat and Al at their train from Richmond, and then celebrated their arrival with a Chinese dinner aboard.

June 9 - Waterford, New York

After a rainy morning, the weather cleared enough for us to walk to Lock 2 (the first lock on the Erie Canal) to get our 10 day lock pass and have a great conversation with Leroy, the lock-tender. We then got a personal tour of the tug, "Urger", which was built in 1901 and went into service on the canal in 1922. Later in the evening we went out for dinner at "McGreevey"s", an excellent local restaurant. Charlie will be leaving us tomorrow, and George's sister, Pat, and our brother-in-law, Al, will join us tomorrow night.

June 8 - Hudson River

Today we decided to make our way up to Waterford, a distance of 59 miles, instead of anchoring up the river as we had originally planned. We did this because the weather report for tomorrow is for heavy rain. The Rondout area of Kingston where we stayed at the Kingston City Marina is very quaint, and last night we had a lovely dinner at the Mariners' Harbor restaurant only a few steps away from our boat along the waterfront. Today despite a late start, we quickly made our way north, again passing a variety of scenery, which changed dramatically from rural to industrial at Albany. We made our way to Troy Lock, and as we were the only boat in the lock at 5 p.m., we made a very smooth lift. We were tied up to the floating dock at the Visitors' Center in Waterford at 5:30 p.m. Several other boats that are also making the Great Loop are tied up here.

June 7 - Hudson River

After a peaceful evening at anchor we began the trip up the Hudson by following the cruise ship, "Norwegian Dawn" as she returned to her berth. The scenery changed dramatically along the way from skyscrapers to more open waters after the Tappan Zee Bridge. In Haverstraw Bay we encountered a number of sailboats and even a few antique sailing vessels who were in the area to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson's original voyage. The scenery along the way was lovely as we passed many lighthouses, mansions, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and much lush foliage along the shoreline. We arrived at Kingston, the first capital of New York, at 4:40 p.m. after a trip of 82 miles.

Departure Day

Saturday, June 6

"D" Day arrived - our long-awaited departure day for the continuance of our Great Loop Adventure which we actually began on 4/11/08 when we left Palm City, Florida and brought "Reflection" up the ICW to our home in Seawood Harbor. After over 13 months of work on her, she looked beautiful and as ready as we could make her for this voyage. Many of our wonderful neighbors were at our dock to share a champagne toast with us and to say good-bye. We left promptly at 10 a.m. and made our way through the Point Pleasant Canal and out through Manasquan Inlet on our way to New York City. Our friend since high school days, Charlie, is with us for the Hudson River portion of this leg of the journey, and by the time we passed Sandy Hook the sun was shining and the view of the Verrazano Bridge and the sky-line of NYC looked magnificent. We anchored the boat at 4:40 p.m. in a great spot behind Liberty State Park near the Statue of Liberty.

A one-day delay

Like General Eisenhower before the D-day invasion, I consulted with my meteorologist to make the “go no go” decision. However, instead of using one in England I used one from the National Weather Service in Mount Holly NJ. Like the great general, after weighing several factors, I decided that the weather and sea conditions would be more favorable for the start of our expedition on June 6th rather than the 5th.

All great leaders have to make tough command decisions. That’s why I am paid the big bucks to be the captain.

We wait and watch

Now we know how General Eisenhower felt before the D-day invasion. Do we go on June 5th as planned or wait for better weather on the 6th.

Except for some last minute groceries, everything is ready to go. There is little to do but wait and keep checking the weather forecasts. The current prediction for Friday, June 5th is for northeast winds 15 to 20 knots, seas 3 to 5 feet with a 60% chance of rain. Saturday’s outlook is better, with northeast winds 10 to 15 knots becoming south, seas 3 to 4 feet, with sunshine, and 0% chance of rain.

We can only wait and see what develops.

Bon Voyage Party

On Friday evening over twenty of our neighbors surprised us with a wonderful “Bon Voyage" Party. The food was sumptuous and everyone had a great time! We are deeply grateful for their gifts and good wishes, and we are especially blessed to have such terrific friends.