Champ III: Going Places

The adventure starts here.

Brockville Municipal Marina, Brockville, Ontario to French Bay Marina, Clayton, NY — June 30, 2014

01-Brockville-Municipal-Marina
01-Brockville-Municipal-Marina
02-Leaving-Brockville-Municipal-Marina
02-Leaving-Brockville-Municipal-Marina
03-Home-Being-Restored-Along-the-Seaway-Shore
03-Home-Being-Restored-Along-the-Seaway-Shore
04-Shoreline-similar-to-Fish-Camp-On-Lake-Wah-Wah-Kesh
04-Shoreline-similar-to-Fish-Camp-On-Lake-Wah-Wah-Kesh
05-Homes-and-Cottages-Along-the-Seaway-Shore
05-Homes-and-Cottages-Along-the-Seaway-Shore
06-Homes-and-Cottages-Along-The-Seaway-Shore
06-Homes-and-Cottages-Along-The-Seaway-Shore
07-Homes-and-Cottages-Along-The-Seaway-Shore
07-Homes-and-Cottages-Along-The-Seaway-Shore
08-Channel-Marker-Among-Some-Of-The-1000-Islands
08-Channel-Marker-Among-Some-Of-The-1000-Islands
09-Singer-Castle-On-A Seaway-Island
09-Singer-Castle-On-A Seaway-Island
10-Singer-Castle-On-A Seaway-Island
10-Singer-Castle-On-A Seaway-Island
11-Laker-Headed-Down-River
11-Laker-Headed-Down-River
12-An-Island-Cottage
12-An-Island-Cottage
13-Along-The-Shore-Near-Alexandria-Bay
13-Along-The-Shore-Near-Alexandria-Bay
14-I-Think-This-Is-A-Lighthouse
14-I-Think-This-Is-A-Lighthouse
15-Along-The-Shore-At-Alexandria-Bay
15-Along-The-Shore-At-Alexandria-Bay
16-Along-The-Shore-At-Alexandria-Bay
16-Along-The-Shore-At-Alexandria-Bay
17-Along-The-Shore-at-Alexandria-Bay
17-Along-The-Shore-at-Alexandria-Bay
18-Another-Shoreline-Structure
18-Another-Shoreline-Structure
19-I-do-Not-Think-It-Is-Floating-But-Interesting
19-I-do-Not-Think-It-Is-Floating-But-Interesting
20-Nice-Home-Just-West-Of-Alexandria-Bay
20-Nice-Home-Just-West-Of-Alexandria-Bay
21-Little-Coattage-On-An-Island
21-Little-Coattage-On-An-Island
22-Another-Little-Coattage-On-An-Island-With-A-Basic-Boat-Out-Front
22-Another-Little-Coattage-On-An-Island-With-A-Basic-Boat-Out-Front
23-More-Waterfront-Property-In-The-1000-Islands
23-More-Waterfront-Property-In-The-1000-Islands
24-Another-Island-Home
24-Another-Island-Home
25-Pretty-Rugged-Shoreline
25-Pretty-Rugged-Shoreline
26-Nice-Boathouse-On-The-Water
26-Nice-Boathouse-On-The-Water
27-Another-Cottage-with-Boathouse
27-Another-Cottage-with-Boathouse
28-Small-Boathouse-Along-The-Seaway
28-Small-Boathouse-Along-The-Seaway
29-The-Seaway-Looking-East-Towrd-Alexandria-Bay
29-The-Seaway-Looking-East-Towrd-Alexandria-Bay

Well the weather did not look good this morning.  Candy and I went for our first walk and the sun was coming up in the east and the dark clouds were rolling in from the west.  I checked the radar and although there were several little showers around there were no large or threatening weather within a couple of hundred miles.

We departed Brockville and headed West on the Seaway.  Brockville had several 1000 Island Ferries and we could see immediately that we were in the 1000 Island area.  Lots of parks, cottages, boat docks, etc.  A lot of the shore reminded me of the rocky shore up at Fish Camp.

After we were thru the Brockville Narrows the Seaway really opens up and actually splits with a separate Canadian Channel and the Main Seaway Channel on the American side.  The current is down significantly because the overall St Lawrence is a lot wider.

We passed and island with a restored castle, Singer Castle, on it and updated docks for boats to moor to.  I am sure there is a lot of ferry traffic to this site. Further up the Seaway we passed Alexandria Bay and that could be the center of the 1000 islands.  Lots and lots of cottages along with several castles and everything is in pretty good shape or being restored.  Lots of boat traffic and in Alexandria Bay we passed 4 ferries that were starting their trips/tours around the area.

About 5 miles further down the Seaway we came to Clayton, NY.  We couldn’t reach the office but we started to dock in an empty space on the wall but the wind was against us.  Thankfully a couple of locals came over and gave us a hand to get in.

After getting power and water hooked up I went with Candy for a walk to the US Customs video phone in downtown Clayton, only way to check in with Customs.  I had all our paperwork but because of the distance Lenore did not go.  Well the custom’s agent on the other end of the phone said she needed to be there and wouldn’t relent.  I went back to the marina and the marina manager had one of the workers give both of us a ride back to the phone.  I had a different agent on the phone this time.  I asked if the US Custom’s made any provisions to deal with the handicapped because one video phone in Clayton did not seem to fill the bill.  Once she realized that I had called in earlier and what had gone on, she apologized, our report was taken and we were checked in.  I do not think the video phones are that good. I put the passports where I was told so they could be seen over the phone but I needed to read the passport number to her from each passport.

We did get  good tour of Clayton from our marina driver and it is a very nice town that the people take a lot of pride in their homes and maintain them. The business district is all related to the tourist industry.  There is a nice Antique Boat Museum here.  They even have rides on the river in old Chris Craft and Hacker Craft Boats. I need to take some pictures and send them to Keith.

We are about 10 miles from being out into Lake Ontario.  There is supposed to be some thunderstorms for the next couple of days and the winds are up a little from the Southwest so we may be here until the weather settles down.  We plan on travelling to Oswego but that is almost due South of here and I do not want to buck the waves for 40 miles of open water.