Dale Bingham
On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 11:02 AM, Dale Bingham<dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
Progress!
Mass mailing AKA Christmas Letter style; hope you all don't mind.
Sent one day late...............
Made Cincinnati and had a nice lay day today. Bowling Green KY yesterday for a look at the Corvette museum and its sinkhole. OH PA border tomorrow. Launch Fri.
All is well.
Dale
On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 7:24 PM, Dale Bingham<dbingham20@gmail.com > wrote:
On the Erie
Launched, cleaned, provisioned and we're off! Turned onto the Erie Canal today. Seven Locks and only one scrape. We bought additional fenders; a necessity. Great weather; friendly helpful people (one took us to town for coffee while our boat was still on the trailer) and amazing scenery.
Healthy and happy.
Dale and Sandy
On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 12:01 PM, Dale Bingham
Meant the email to include the attached photo of Yacht Shot in front of the Corvette Museum.
In New York today. Should be able to launch tomorrow.
Dale
On Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 8:16 PM, Dale Bingham<dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
Life is good on the Erie! We're about 1/2 of the way from Albany to Buffalo, and we've taken a detour into the finger lakes (Lake Seneca) and will travel to Watkins Glen stopping at a winery on the way.
Nice people stories continue; we were caught in a sudden thunderstorm and got drenched on the boat (had to back to one buoy as we couldn't see going forward). Dockmaster at the next marina offered to drive us to his house and let us use his dryer!
Picture is of Lock 17; highest lift of the Erie Canal locks and a guillotine gate. Really "Erie" going under the gate. You will have to wait for the picture of Swan and offspring and Canadian Geese with kids as well.
Happy, well and enjoying the adventure.
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 7:33 PM, Dale Bingham<dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
We are now on the Western half of the Erie Canal, in the village of Newark NY. Great stop; free town dock with power and water, laundry facilities are free and air conditioned and some provisioning is very close. Funny how cruising priorities differ from land life.
This half of the Erie does not have navigational charts published; very weird to watch your Navionics chart plotter show you going off into a field never to see water again. (Happens just west of Lyons, NY.) Furthermore, sometime tomorrow red and green day markers will stop appearing too. I've never thought of off roading on a boat, but tomorrow is the day.
We took a break from our daily cruising and spent several days at the base of one of the finger lakes, Lake Seneca at the Village Marina in Watkins Glen. Peter Falonk's brother and his wife came to visit and took us to several finger lake wineries. Really nice to visit with someone we knew. (Timely "provisioning" too.) We also witnessed cardboard boat racing; rules: cardboard and duct tape only.
We're planning to be in Buffalo NY (Western end of the Erie Canal) by next Mon. 6/23 and then its onto Lake Erie assuming the winds and waves will allow.
Take care,
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Jun 23, 2014 at 6:42 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com>wrote:
We arrived at the west end of the Erie Canal Sunday; great experience to see the full canal. The canal towns on the western half are embracing recreational vessels with free or donation tie ups, canal hospitality centers, cafes and some provisioning close by. The centers also service a 100 mile west end bike path; we saw many backpack bicyclers camping and under way on the path. The full canal was forested with some agricultural areas, but always green! We were able to tie up to the "wall" of the last lock (#35) on the canal in Lockport NY. The picture shows the active locks on the left (it's a double lock, 34 and 35) and the "flight of 5" (old locks that are being restored) on the right. Yes, our boat is in the picture. Our stop included a really old canal museum at the lock and a great "canal experience" museum close by. We also took an underground boat ride in an old penstock servicing three old turn of the century mills.
Off onto Lake Erie in several days after we get some work done on the boat. (Not major, just ensuring all is good.) It will be interesting to see how big Lake Erie is after being in the relatively narrow canal for several weeks.
Hope you all have a great 4th.
Dale and Sandy
On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 6:44 AM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
Completed Lake Erie transit and we are in Detroit
Anyone who has been on Lake Erie or read the guide books will know that we were very lucky with a weather window of calm that allowed a crossing in 3 days. We saw a water skiier outside the Buffalo outer breakwater. Dead calm has never been a part of any of our west coast ocean adventures but we experienced it here. We got as far as Put-in-Bay OH in those conditions. It is an island paradise similar to Catalina, but bigger and with many more bars and boats. The island gets supplies flown in during the winter when the lake freezes over so in the summer the island celebrates the good weather. We celebrated with them and stayed 3 days. Total opposite of the Erie Canal and we embraced the rowdiness and noise. Two self explanatory photos attached. The third photo is of the Ambassador Bridge framing the Detroit skyline.
Reflecting on our month "at sea" (ok, all you real sailors quit laughing) we find we still like each other (if any of you started a pool for when we wouldn't). There is always the excitement and wonder of seeing the varied sights we see daily, but so too the concern about the boat, weather, water state and where to stay each day. We don't have the extra time we thought we would; haven't cracked a book nor watched the episodes of Downton Abbey we brought, but we always find a place to watch the sunset and enjoy relaxed dinners (quite often on the boat).
We're taking a vacation from our vacation and will be in San Diego for some appointments. I'll restart our progress reports when we return to the boat.
Dale
On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 7:29 AM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
Back to the adventure! We returned to Detroit and the boat was fine; nice trip up the Detroit River, then through Lake St. Clair and St Clair River to Port Sarnia, Canada. Cleared customs with a phone call!
While in Sarnia, a boat neighbor gave me the one Canadian chart I was missing; said he had two. Next we cruised to Kincardine, Ontario (eastern shore of Lake Huron) where we got a cruising guide book from a boater for just saying we were thinking about "going there". We really like boat people! Every sunset in Kincardine, a bagpiper plays his bagpipes from the top of the lighthouse as the sun goes down. There was also a band concert in the park. The "going there" is the North Channel and Georgian Bay small craft channel. Those areas are ripe with narrow passages and submerged rocks and were a concern until the guide donor with his 50' boat said he did the channels regularly.
We next cruised Kincardine to Tobermory (on the tip of the Bruce Peninsula which separates Lake Huron from Georgian Bay). We stayed two extra days in Tobermory as the trip up Lake Huron wasn't kind to us or maybe we just liked our front row seat in Little Tub Harbor.
We are now in Killarney, Ontario (eastern edge of the North Channel); looks like an Alaska seaside town to me. The first road to this town was built in 1959. The marina here shows movies every night on a screen across the channel from the dock which reminds us of Richard Wright/John Anderson Caddy Shack. The water clarity here allows us to see over 15 - 20 feet down. We are now off to the North Channel. We plan to anchor at the end of Baie Fine which is as close to a fjord as one can find in North America.
Take care,
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Jul 28, 2014 at 8:22 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
The anchor out at Baie Fine was an experience for us in feeling like we are at the edge of civilization. The dark sky was outstanding for seeing stars. Severe thunder and lightning occurred one night complete with another boat dragging anchor (we love to anchor alongside sailboats and their tall masts). It was so remote we both expected to see a bear. There was one cabin on a small island at the end of the waterway which looked like the best remote summer vacation house ever. It was owned by RalphEvenrude who came to Baie Fine for many years to test his outboard motors in relative peace.
We are now in Little Current, Ontario where we discovered additional Canadian hospitality and butter tarts. This is the farthest west we will go turning east from here to transit the small ship channel in Georgian Bay.
We are currently waiting for a problem engine diagnosis. We'll likely know the issue tomorrow and order parts that should be here by the end of the week. (Frustrating, I don't wait easily for something that's unknown; Sandy has been very good at assisting my patience.) The delay isn't a schedule concern yet and allowed us to explore the town of Little Current and Manitoulin Island. There are lakes on this island with islands in them! The owner of the marina is a hunk (Sandy) and allowed us to use his second car so we can provision, tour and eat out occasionally.
Take care!
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 7:06 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
North Channel and Georgian Bay Small Craft Channel
We left Little Current once the engine repair was complete to revisit Killarney (one of Sandy's favorites) as it was a good and relatively close run from Little Current to test the repaired engine. Killarney is considered the gateway to the North Channel going north and the gateway to Georgian Bay going south. From Killarney, we entered the Georgian Bay "Small Craft Channel". What an amazing sequel to our sequestered mechanical delay. We feel like we're in the far north of Canada, isolated and rocky, with the healthiest trees anywhere. The channel varies from too narrow for two boats to pass one another with some 90 degree and sharper turns to wide waterways. To navigate these waters safely, we use two sets of paper and electronic charts and both of us are looking for the next buoy! Locals scream through rivers, channels and close to swimmers and docks at full speed; they seem to have no regard for the consequences of their wakes. I can only think of the word pristine to describe the scenery. As one travels east and south in the channel, cottages start appearing on some of the remote islands. (There are at least 30,000 islands.) Island living logistics were obvious during our night in Point Au Baril; small runabouts came and left the public dock where we stayed the night (50 cents a foot). The town center dock had one store (included groceries, hardware and etc.) and a trash/recycle drop off. Family boats would come in to drop off people and luggage and others would pick up people with tons of luggage. Sometimes we couldn't see how it would all fit. Kids, dogs, parts for the cottage; it all went onto the boat! According to the locals, it's the same in the winter only with snowmobiles.
We are spending tonight on Frying Pan Island at "Henry's Fish Restaurant", where seaplanes and boats are used to ferry diners in and out.
We are happy and well!
We'll soon enter the Trent Severn Waterway.......... The adventure continues.
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 8:41 AM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
In the Trent Severn Waterway
We completed the Georgian Bay small craft channel with a two day stay at Beausolei Island, a Parks Canada location accessed by boat only. We are now in the Trent Severn Waterway which traverses from south Georgian Bay to Trenton on Lake Ontario. It's considered a short cut from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay, but a short cut stretches the imagination as we go north/south, east and west in the course of an average day. Its a combination of lakes traversed on a plane and five mph narrow channels. The best "lock" yet is the "big chute" railway; we drove into a rail car type carriage which had hydraulic supports and slings to cradle our boat and then the carriage was pulled up and over a 56' hill with cables similar to the San Francisco cable cars. We stayed the night at the "lock" and watched it work for hours.
We'll be on this waterway for the next week or so. We're both involved in finding the next buoy and route option just like in the small craft channel. Our days continue to be both more taxing and rewarding than expected but we take time to "recharge" when we find a good opportunity.
Hope you are all well. We're great.
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 8:32 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
Still in The Trent Severn Waterway
We're still in the Trent Severn Waterway, but should complete tomorrow at Trenton Ontario.
We have had wonderful peaceful overnights on lock walls with small accommodating local merchants, great dinners, Kawartha Dairy ice cream and too much to remember. One night we listened to a city park concert by "Oh Susanna," a great singer with 3 piece back up. We won their CD for being the farthest from home. Another night we listened to an "Eagles Experience Band" in a concert in a park setting (1 hour after a thunder shower!)
We have transited two lift locks (bathtubs in the air taking one lock of boats up and another down at the same time). We were on Lake Balsam, the highest point in North America that one can navigate into from the sea. We started with lock #45 and have travelled down to Lock 13. We would like to complete the final 12 tomorrow and stay at Trenton, Ontario. Next, we will travel to the 1000 Islands area of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
We're happy and well and have small successes; Sandy is in love with a weather app that is accurate to the hour and I'm happy with Sandy.
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 7:44 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
In the 1000 Islands
We have entered the 1000 Islands area of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and are enjoying the peace and quiet of this huge area of small and large island paradises. The water is crystal clear and calm; there are so many passages that are far apart that there is little wave action in our isolated anchorage. The Canadian Geese are eating, two Heron are playing and we even saw a mink. We'll tour Boldt Castle today (Heart Island); it has it's own US Customs and overnight docks for visitors. There is a millionaire row of island homes that we'll pass by too.
As with our whole trip to date, we have left a distinctive, fun and scenic area and entered another. No boredom, ho hum, nor disappointment on any of the trip legs. This week we'll enter the Canadian Rideau Canal, an even more historic and rustic canal than the Trent Severn that we just exited. It ends in a flight of 8 locks going into Ottawa.
We can't say we have a routine, as every day is different. We do have a rhythm for boat life that works very well and we're still enjoying the trip immensely.
Hope all is well with all of you.
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 8:59 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
In the Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal, a world heritage site, is the most authentically maintained canal we've transited to date. The vast majority of the lock gates and valves are hand operated via chain connected cranks and winches. The swing bridges are hand operated too. The local towns continue to be friendly, and attentive to traveling boaters. One lock master gave us a tour of a closed museum; budget cuts have closed some areas to the public.
The scenery here ranges from rugged as we found in North Channel and Georgian Bay to farm land (with many corn fields). Much of the associated waterway is calm and we see acres of lily pads.
We met some local boaters who spend 6 weeks or more on this canal; the season mooring pass allows boaters to stay at the locks for no additional fee and there are picnic areas, restrooms and beautiful grounds to explore. (About 1/3 of these areas have power for $10/night. We met a welcoming group of lock wall boaters and spent several days with them; a French couple included. We couldn't communicate with the woman (except in our broken Spanish) but she made a wonderful soup to share with us.
We should arrive in Ottawa this week and then on to the Ottawa River and St Lawrence Seaway. We see some leaves changing color already and the geese are headed south. Today (Labor Day) was the last day for boating fun for many Canadians who now have their boats lifted out of the water and shrink wrapped.
We're happy, well and very grateful for the year round Southern CA boating life.
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 8:29 AM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
On our way! St Lawrence Seaway
We spent 3 great days on a lock wall touring Ottawa. (OK, one afternoon it rained, but we found a cafe that opened early for us to wait it out.) The Supreme Court, Parliament and Chateau Laurier Hotel are old, beautifully maintained buildings similar to those major European cities. The "Marche' By" is a centuries old market with restaurants and bars to spare. (Think Gaslamp with an open air market in the middle.) All within walking distance!
The Ottawa end of the Rideau Canal terminates with the staircase locks, quite a finale. We descended the last 79' of canal elevation through a series of 8 back to back locks located between the Parliament buildings and Chateau Laurier Hotel.
We are now at the St Lawrence Seaway end of the Ottawa River and will tour Montreal this week. I'm starting to use two blankets to sleep and looking forward to heading south again. We'll go "down" the St Lawrence Seaway (north) to Sorel, the northeastern most point of our travels, and then south in the Richelieu, Chambly and Champlain waterways to the Hudson River and our truck and trailer in the coming weeks.
Dale and Sandy
Date: Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 5:58 PM
Subject: On the Home Stretch
Yesterday, we turned from the St Lawrence Seaway into the Richelieu Waterway which leads to the Chambly Canal, Lake Champlain and Hudson River. Headed "home" to the Eastern end of the Erie Canal and our truck and trailer. Not a minute too soon; lows are in the mid 40s here. (I've now added the third blanket and we're running a space heater at night). If weather gets better, we will anchor out in Lake Champlain and consider a trip south of the Erie Canal on the Hudson River to NYC to circumnavigate Manhattan island.
One week ago, we were in the marina of the Château Montebello resort, the largest log structure ever built (and the most we've paid for a slip), and yesterday we were in a small marina at the base of the Chambly Canal, 9 Canadian locks we need to transit prior to getting back into the US. Last week, we transited two St Lawrence Seaway locks (LARGE) and enjoyed staying 3 days at "old port" Montreal which allowed us to tour the city via a hop on, hop off bus and eat in a dining room where Charles Dickens wrote the notes for "A Tale of Two Cities". The oldest stone church in Montreal is called the Sailor's Church and has ship's models hanging from the ceiling in the chapel. Next we went down (north) the seaway to Sorel Quebec (northern end of the Richelieu) where we were treated to a ride to provision and a Friday night cocktail party on the docks. Canadians continue to be really nice to us.
Sandy and I are well, happy and very recently cold. We've allowed enough time to take a day off if it's raining (or for boat issues if needed) which keeps stress at a minimum. We're still reviewing options for the next phase of our travels, but bringing the boat home is looking good now.
Miss you all,
Dale and Sandy
On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 9:24 PM, Dale Bingham <dbingham20@gmail.com> wrote:
Back in the USA
Yea! We made it back to the USA and are in Burlington VT. It's a good town to weather out some 4 days of winds too high to comfortably travel. We've seen the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains up close in a rental car. Ferries, museums, cheese tasting, covered bridges, leaves changing colors and Lake Placid ski jumps; we were day-tripping road weary tourists!
The Chambly Canal was historic and fun, but post Labor Day all traffic is required to complete all 9 locks (in 10 miles) in a single day so we couldn't make any stops along the way at the canal's French speaking villages. We spent our final day in Canada at St Jean sur Richelieu, the Canadian village at the southernmost end of the Chambly Canal. We spent $32 in coin at a market with a clerk happy to see us! (US banks won't exchange Canadian coins.) We cleared customs easily (we use the SVRS system) at Rouse's Point and enjoyed two days at Plattsburg which hosts a very complete automotive museum with tours given by the director, an extremely knowledgeable and entertaining host. Have you ever seen an REO Speedwagon?
We believe weather will be in our favor and will start cruising again tomorrow. We expect to complete crossing Lake Champlain, Champlain Canal and "cross our wake" at Waterford NY, the start of the Erie Canal by next Monday.
More next week,
Dale and Sandy
September 29, 2014
One day away from crossing our wake
We haven't seen a goose in days and fallen leaves covered our boat when I woke up this morning. Maybe it's time to head home. We are a day away from crossing our wake; we've found a great little marina next to two quaint upstate NY towns (Schuylerville and Saratoga) and have stayed extra days for the ambiance. Soon we will come full circle on our voyage.
The locks are much bigger on the Champlain Canal than in the historic Canadian canals, but they are all updated with hydraulic gates and all vessels and lockmasters monitor VHF 13. There is a dredging project to remove PCBs from the Hudson River, which is parallel to the canal, and commercial canal activity on the canal is high. It makes transit more interesting to watch and to dodge the barge traffic in narrow channels.
We saw the start of a French/Indian War reenactment. The locals seriously embrace their history. We came upon a "vanishing edge dam" which was a bit unnerving and locked down with two kayakers. Never a dull moment!
Here are some interesting stats about our trip (subject to revision):
1 boat
2 countries 2 Canadian Provinces
5 states
150+ locks
123 days on the water
230+ Engine Hours
2250+ miles (st)
6400+ pictures (that should scare anyone wanting to visit us when we get home!)
We sincerely appreciate the love and support we've experienced from you all and we thank you. We're looking forward to getting home and learning what is new with you!
Dale and Sandy