Saturday - August 15th.
Again we were off the docks by 9AM and headed out into Lake Ontario to make the final leg of the trip. This run is about 30 miles, and the lake was flat making this trip uneventful.
Doug and Donna took off and decided to run their boat on plane....something my trawler was not built to do. They arrived at Oak Park about 45 minutes befor we did, but by noon we were all tied up in out home berth. The end of an almost perfect trip with some good friends.
Trip Summary:
Hours run
Port engine - 2762.7 - 2748.0 = 14.7 hours
Starboard engine - 2730.3 - 2712.9 = 17.4 hours
Miles Traveled Round Trip = 226
Fuel Consumed - 131 gallons
Avg. Speed = 12.9 MPH
Avg. Fuel = 7.50 GPH
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
A-Bay to Oswego
Friday - August 14th.
Off the dock at 8:30 AM as planned, and a 55 mile run to Oswego. Sunny, warm and no wind....what more can you ask for?
As we pulled out of the marina basin, we got behind a freighter going down the St. Lawrence. We stayed behind the freighter for the next 25 miles until we got out onto Lake Ontario. About half way down the river, Doug took the lead. The river and lake were like glass, making for a very easy run to Oswego....or so we thought!
After rounding Cape Vincent and heading for Galloo Island, my port engine started acting up again. I noticed I was losing RPM's. Exactly the same symptom we experienced coming up this way. By the time we were about even with Main Duck Island, my port engine quit. Apparently the same dirty fuel filter causing the problem, but I had a spare on board and no need to worry. At this point we are about 25 miles offshore, but my starboard engine was running fine, and I figured we could run on one engine to Oswego. We slowed back down to 7 knots, and things were good for the next 5 miles or so. Then my port engine started doing the same....losing RPM's. But before she could quit, I slowed her down to 4 knots, radioed Doug to explain, and we were going to try to make the last 20 miles at this speed. Doug headed off into the horizon, keeping constant radio contact with me. Oswego has three very visable landmarks....two huge smokestacks from their electric power plant, and a huge plume of steam from their nuculear power plant called Nine Mile Point. All three were very visable from where we were, but they were also very slow into coming into clear range....however we made it about 15 mile further, and I tried starting the port engine. It started, and we were back to to 2 engines, although I kept them running slowly until we made it to the harbor entrance of Oswego.
As we entered the harbor, I thought it best to take on some new fuel, so I pulled into the Oswego Marina and took on a 100 gallons....just to be safe.
Doug had already stopped there and refueled himself, and he was already tied up at the west wall in Oswego.
After I fueled, I tied up in front of him and went on to change out the primary filters in both engines. Again, both were really dirty and it looked like oil instead of diesel fuel. I thanked God we made it to a safe harbor, and we settled into Oswego for the night.
We walked over to a restaurant called The Office for dinner.....had a great fish fry and returned back to the boat for a night's rest.
Doug and Donna headed back to the Clubhouse for a few beers, but Dottie and I were exhausted and went to bed.
Off the dock at 8:30 AM as planned, and a 55 mile run to Oswego. Sunny, warm and no wind....what more can you ask for?
As we pulled out of the marina basin, we got behind a freighter going down the St. Lawrence. We stayed behind the freighter for the next 25 miles until we got out onto Lake Ontario. About half way down the river, Doug took the lead. The river and lake were like glass, making for a very easy run to Oswego....or so we thought!
After rounding Cape Vincent and heading for Galloo Island, my port engine started acting up again. I noticed I was losing RPM's. Exactly the same symptom we experienced coming up this way. By the time we were about even with Main Duck Island, my port engine quit. Apparently the same dirty fuel filter causing the problem, but I had a spare on board and no need to worry. At this point we are about 25 miles offshore, but my starboard engine was running fine, and I figured we could run on one engine to Oswego. We slowed back down to 7 knots, and things were good for the next 5 miles or so. Then my port engine started doing the same....losing RPM's. But before she could quit, I slowed her down to 4 knots, radioed Doug to explain, and we were going to try to make the last 20 miles at this speed. Doug headed off into the horizon, keeping constant radio contact with me. Oswego has three very visable landmarks....two huge smokestacks from their electric power plant, and a huge plume of steam from their nuculear power plant called Nine Mile Point. All three were very visable from where we were, but they were also very slow into coming into clear range....however we made it about 15 mile further, and I tried starting the port engine. It started, and we were back to to 2 engines, although I kept them running slowly until we made it to the harbor entrance of Oswego.
As we entered the harbor, I thought it best to take on some new fuel, so I pulled into the Oswego Marina and took on a 100 gallons....just to be safe.
Doug had already stopped there and refueled himself, and he was already tied up at the west wall in Oswego.
After I fueled, I tied up in front of him and went on to change out the primary filters in both engines. Again, both were really dirty and it looked like oil instead of diesel fuel. I thanked God we made it to a safe harbor, and we settled into Oswego for the night.
We walked over to a restaurant called The Office for dinner.....had a great fish fry and returned back to the boat for a night's rest.
Doug and Donna headed back to the Clubhouse for a few beers, but Dottie and I were exhausted and went to bed.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A Day at the Thousand Islands Club
Thursday, August 13th.
No plans for today except to hang around this beautiful marina and just relax.
Doug and I spent the morning washing down the boats while the women headed off to do laundry. Around noontime Doug decided he wanted to take his boat out for a ride around the A-Bay area. We had lunch on board, and took a tour of the river . We returned to the dock at about 2PM then headed to the pool to sit and relax, and stay cool. The past 2 days have been sunny, hot and humid.
Back to the boats by 4:30PM for a nap, and onto dinner at the marina's restaurant called Joey's Thousand Islands Club Restaurant. This is an exceptionally high end restaurant, and their prices reflect it....LOL. But the service and food were impeccable. We even bought some desserts back to the boat for a late night snack.
After dinner we walked around the marina and just kept oogling the beautiful boats....most of them 45 foot and larger and just great. A few of the boats were over 60 footers, and all we could do was dream. While we walked we discussed plans for the next two days. Our plan was to leave A-Bay at 8:30AM on Friday, spend the night in Oswego, and then on Saturday make the final leg of the trip from Oswego to Sodus Bay.
No plans for today except to hang around this beautiful marina and just relax.
Doug and I spent the morning washing down the boats while the women headed off to do laundry. Around noontime Doug decided he wanted to take his boat out for a ride around the A-Bay area. We had lunch on board, and took a tour of the river . We returned to the dock at about 2PM then headed to the pool to sit and relax, and stay cool. The past 2 days have been sunny, hot and humid.
Back to the boats by 4:30PM for a nap, and onto dinner at the marina's restaurant called Joey's Thousand Islands Club Restaurant. This is an exceptionally high end restaurant, and their prices reflect it....LOL. But the service and food were impeccable. We even bought some desserts back to the boat for a late night snack.
After dinner we walked around the marina and just kept oogling the beautiful boats....most of them 45 foot and larger and just great. A few of the boats were over 60 footers, and all we could do was dream. While we walked we discussed plans for the next two days. Our plan was to leave A-Bay at 8:30AM on Friday, spend the night in Oswego, and then on Saturday make the final leg of the trip from Oswego to Sodus Bay.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Cape Vincent to Alexandria Bay
Wednesday August 12th.
Hans arrived at 8:30 AM today to change out the filters. After he changed both primary filters, he then changed out the secondary filters. The crud that came out of the filters looked like mud. He brought along a set of spares, and told me I may have to do this again before our trip was to end on Saturday.
Hans had explained to me back in October 2008 that I may have fuel problems because the when we bought the boat there was 250 gallons of fuel in the tanks, and that fuel was purchased by the previous owner back in September 2006. It was then already two years old.
We left the docks in Cape Vincent at about 10:30 Am and we had a 30 mile run to A-Bay. The St. Lawrence River was calm, and the trip to A-Bay was uneventful. By 1:30 we were settled in our docks at the Thousand Islands Club.
This has to be the most beautiful, well-kept marina in the Northeast. Everything about this marina is first-class, including the boats that seasonally dock there. This marina, although it has an Alexandria Bay address, is actually located on Wellsley Island.
We headed to the marina pool to cool off, and just sat around and talked. By 6PM we were all hungry, so we headed back to the boats to bbq some chicken and have dinner.
While cooking, some friends of ours, former boaters at Oak Park, Dave and Sue Hirst who now live on Wellsley Island, dropped by to visit. They arrived via golf cart, and Dave gave Doug and I a tour of the club, his home and some of the complex. It is all so beautiful.
We returned back to the Camelot, sat around and just talked the evening away. At about 10, Dave and Sue left and we headed off to our boat to watch some TV and go to sleep.
Hans arrived at 8:30 AM today to change out the filters. After he changed both primary filters, he then changed out the secondary filters. The crud that came out of the filters looked like mud. He brought along a set of spares, and told me I may have to do this again before our trip was to end on Saturday.
Hans had explained to me back in October 2008 that I may have fuel problems because the when we bought the boat there was 250 gallons of fuel in the tanks, and that fuel was purchased by the previous owner back in September 2006. It was then already two years old.
We left the docks in Cape Vincent at about 10:30 Am and we had a 30 mile run to A-Bay. The St. Lawrence River was calm, and the trip to A-Bay was uneventful. By 1:30 we were settled in our docks at the Thousand Islands Club.
This has to be the most beautiful, well-kept marina in the Northeast. Everything about this marina is first-class, including the boats that seasonally dock there. This marina, although it has an Alexandria Bay address, is actually located on Wellsley Island.
We headed to the marina pool to cool off, and just sat around and talked. By 6PM we were all hungry, so we headed back to the boats to bbq some chicken and have dinner.
While cooking, some friends of ours, former boaters at Oak Park, Dave and Sue Hirst who now live on Wellsley Island, dropped by to visit. They arrived via golf cart, and Dave gave Doug and I a tour of the club, his home and some of the complex. It is all so beautiful.
We returned back to the Camelot, sat around and just talked the evening away. At about 10, Dave and Sue left and we headed off to our boat to watch some TV and go to sleep.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sackets Harbor to Cape Vincent
Tuesday August 11th.
Our original plan for today was to head out of Sackets Harbor and go the the Thousand Islands Club in Alexandria Bay....but as we all know, plans are made to be put by the wayside.
We left Sackets Harbor to begin a 55 mile trek to Alex Bay. We got about 10 miles out of Sackets Harbor and our port engine began acting up. Within a few minutes, the engine quit, and it would not restart. Thankfully, the lake was calm, and we had about a 15 mile trip to Cape Vincent to go. I felt it was safer to pull into Cape Vincent until I could determine what the problem was. We used our starboard engine for the remainder of the trip to Cape Vincent, and while underway, I determined we had a clogged fuel filter on the port side. Running on one engine slowed us down to about 7 knots, and we did not make landfall at the Anchor Marina until 1PM.
Being that the boat is new to Dottie and I, I thought it best to have someone check things out for us. I called a mechanic, Hans Wahl at French Creek Marina, that I knew in Clayton, and I explained the problem. He agreed it was fuel related and said he could make the 20 mile drive within the hour. Hans was the person I hired back in October when we bought this boat to survey the engines. He comes as a very highly regarded diesel mechanic in this neck of the woods. He asked if I had filters aboard, and I said I did. He arrived about 3 PM, and I showed him the filters I had....apparently they were the wrong ones, but he was confident he could get them in Clayton, so he headed to the NAPA store in Clayton only to be told they were out of stock.
He then called the NAPA store in Alex Bay, but no luck, out of stock also. Well, he finally tracked them down at a NAPA store in Syracuse, and off he went to pick them up, along with a few spares for my collection.
He had the filters in his hands at 5PM, but called me back to say it was too late to get back to Cape Vincent and install them, so we would have to spend the night in Cape Vincent.
The gentleman at Anchor Marine was very accomodating and arranged for both the Lucky Find III and Camelot to spend the night there. At $0.80 cents a foot, it was the most reasonable dockage we had ever heard of.
After settiling in, we walked into town and stopped at a place called Captain Jack's for dinner. It was good, nothing special, but good. From there we walked to a grocery store called Aubrey's and stocked up on a few items, and then back to the boat.
We sat on the Camelot for a nightcap, and at about 9:30Pm a severe thunderstorm came through. It poured for about 20 minutes, and the lightening lit the sky, but by 10 it was over and off to bed we went.
Our original plan for today was to head out of Sackets Harbor and go the the Thousand Islands Club in Alexandria Bay....but as we all know, plans are made to be put by the wayside.
We left Sackets Harbor to begin a 55 mile trek to Alex Bay. We got about 10 miles out of Sackets Harbor and our port engine began acting up. Within a few minutes, the engine quit, and it would not restart. Thankfully, the lake was calm, and we had about a 15 mile trip to Cape Vincent to go. I felt it was safer to pull into Cape Vincent until I could determine what the problem was. We used our starboard engine for the remainder of the trip to Cape Vincent, and while underway, I determined we had a clogged fuel filter on the port side. Running on one engine slowed us down to about 7 knots, and we did not make landfall at the Anchor Marina until 1PM.
Being that the boat is new to Dottie and I, I thought it best to have someone check things out for us. I called a mechanic, Hans Wahl at French Creek Marina, that I knew in Clayton, and I explained the problem. He agreed it was fuel related and said he could make the 20 mile drive within the hour. Hans was the person I hired back in October when we bought this boat to survey the engines. He comes as a very highly regarded diesel mechanic in this neck of the woods. He asked if I had filters aboard, and I said I did. He arrived about 3 PM, and I showed him the filters I had....apparently they were the wrong ones, but he was confident he could get them in Clayton, so he headed to the NAPA store in Clayton only to be told they were out of stock.
He then called the NAPA store in Alex Bay, but no luck, out of stock also. Well, he finally tracked them down at a NAPA store in Syracuse, and off he went to pick them up, along with a few spares for my collection.
He had the filters in his hands at 5PM, but called me back to say it was too late to get back to Cape Vincent and install them, so we would have to spend the night in Cape Vincent.
The gentleman at Anchor Marine was very accomodating and arranged for both the Lucky Find III and Camelot to spend the night there. At $0.80 cents a foot, it was the most reasonable dockage we had ever heard of.
After settiling in, we walked into town and stopped at a place called Captain Jack's for dinner. It was good, nothing special, but good. From there we walked to a grocery store called Aubrey's and stocked up on a few items, and then back to the boat.
We sat on the Camelot for a nightcap, and at about 9:30Pm a severe thunderstorm came through. It poured for about 20 minutes, and the lightening lit the sky, but by 10 it was over and off to bed we went.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Oswego to Sackets Harbor
We left the dock at 9AM on Sunday and headed for Sackets Harbor, NY. This trip was about 45 miles or about a 5 hour run. Doug stopped at the Oswego Marina first to top off his fuel tanks, and out into the lake we headed.
Weather was warm, and winds were about 10 knots from the south west. The lake was rolling quite a bit, and it was a bumpy ride almost all the way. We arrived at Navy Point Marine at about 2:05 PM, and luckily we did....a lightening and thunderstorm hit there at 2:10.....and let me tell you, that first bolt of lightening struck about 500 yards off our dock. Within 15 minutes it was over and the sun came back out, and it was humid....but at least it was not raining.
Our friends, Todd and Jason Walker were heading in to meet us, but they caught the storm and arrived at the marina a few hours after us. They made the trip from Sodus Bay to Sackets all in the same day. Thank God they arrived safely.
Our plans are to stay here for two nights and then on Tuesday head out to Alexandria Bay.
Sunday we had dinner onboard. We all barbqued some sausage, made a salad and some salt potatoes.
After dinner, Doug and the two Walkers headed into town to visit a few bars....but things wrap up early on a Sunday night in Sackets, and they were back to the boat by 10:30 PM.
Monday was a day to relax around the marina. Around 1Pm the Walkers left and headed back to Sodus Bay, and at dinner time we walked into town. We stopped at a place called the Boathouse for a cocktail and then on to Tin Pan Galley for dinner. This is a high end restaurant where you eat outside in gardens. It was great and, as ususal, the food was superb.
We walked back to the boats around 9PM and sat around having a few nightcaps....by 10 we were headed to bed.
Weather was warm, and winds were about 10 knots from the south west. The lake was rolling quite a bit, and it was a bumpy ride almost all the way. We arrived at Navy Point Marine at about 2:05 PM, and luckily we did....a lightening and thunderstorm hit there at 2:10.....and let me tell you, that first bolt of lightening struck about 500 yards off our dock. Within 15 minutes it was over and the sun came back out, and it was humid....but at least it was not raining.
Our friends, Todd and Jason Walker were heading in to meet us, but they caught the storm and arrived at the marina a few hours after us. They made the trip from Sodus Bay to Sackets all in the same day. Thank God they arrived safely.
Our plans are to stay here for two nights and then on Tuesday head out to Alexandria Bay.
Sunday we had dinner onboard. We all barbqued some sausage, made a salad and some salt potatoes.
After dinner, Doug and the two Walkers headed into town to visit a few bars....but things wrap up early on a Sunday night in Sackets, and they were back to the boat by 10:30 PM.
Monday was a day to relax around the marina. Around 1Pm the Walkers left and headed back to Sodus Bay, and at dinner time we walked into town. We stopped at a place called the Boathouse for a cocktail and then on to Tin Pan Galley for dinner. This is a high end restaurant where you eat outside in gardens. It was great and, as ususal, the food was superb.
We walked back to the boats around 9PM and sat around having a few nightcaps....by 10 we were headed to bed.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sodus Bay to Oswego
Here we go, our weeks vacation is underway, and both the Lucky Find III and Camelot are ready to go. Doug and Donna have their son Nick and Nick's friend Ryan Youngs aboard to take the trip with us.
We departed Oak Park Resort Marina at 8:30 AM yesterday. Weather was warm, and winds were out of the southwest at about 5 knots. The 30 mile trek to Oswego was basically uneventful, except for lake conditions. NOAA said waves were 1-2 feet, but I felt they were a bit more, but nothing to get excited over.
We arrived in Oswego a little past Noon, and tied our boats up on the west wall in the Oswego River. For twenty bucks you get dockage, electricity and restroom facilities. It is a good deal.
Donna's parents had left a car there for us to use. We headed to a place called Rudy's for lunch. This small restaurant has to do the most fish sandwichs and dinners in upstate NY. We got there around 1 Pm and it was crowded. I counted 18 people working the cooking line, plus an additional 8 or 9 order takers. Their menu is extensive, but the majority of orders that day was their famous fish sandwich. Rumor has it that they do over a 500 sandwich's each and every day, and on a Friday that number could double. After lunch, we headed back to the boat for a nap and some cocktails. We sat around discussing our plans for the next few days.
Dinner time we headed to a place called the River Run BBQ....it was excellent, and the view of the Oswego Canal was great. By the time dinner was done, it was time to relax at the boat. Donna's parents came down, and dropped off a bunch of snacks for both boats.. We sat around and "shot the bull" for a while and then it was time to go to Doug's favorite watering hole in Oswego.
A small place called The Clubhouse on First Street. Robert, the owner, was glad to see Doug and Donna and Dottie and I and he bought the first round of drinks. Robert is known locally as the "Doctor of Alcohol". He just has a way about him that wants to make you stay and stay and buy more and more drinks.
A local band was setting up and began playing, and we all had a great time. By 11PM it was time to call it a day, and get to sleep. The river was calm, and the boat sat quietly all night....a peaceful nights sleep was had by all.
We departed Oak Park Resort Marina at 8:30 AM yesterday. Weather was warm, and winds were out of the southwest at about 5 knots. The 30 mile trek to Oswego was basically uneventful, except for lake conditions. NOAA said waves were 1-2 feet, but I felt they were a bit more, but nothing to get excited over.
We arrived in Oswego a little past Noon, and tied our boats up on the west wall in the Oswego River. For twenty bucks you get dockage, electricity and restroom facilities. It is a good deal.
Donna's parents had left a car there for us to use. We headed to a place called Rudy's for lunch. This small restaurant has to do the most fish sandwichs and dinners in upstate NY. We got there around 1 Pm and it was crowded. I counted 18 people working the cooking line, plus an additional 8 or 9 order takers. Their menu is extensive, but the majority of orders that day was their famous fish sandwich. Rumor has it that they do over a 500 sandwich's each and every day, and on a Friday that number could double. After lunch, we headed back to the boat for a nap and some cocktails. We sat around discussing our plans for the next few days.
Dinner time we headed to a place called the River Run BBQ....it was excellent, and the view of the Oswego Canal was great. By the time dinner was done, it was time to relax at the boat. Donna's parents came down, and dropped off a bunch of snacks for both boats.. We sat around and "shot the bull" for a while and then it was time to go to Doug's favorite watering hole in Oswego.
A small place called The Clubhouse on First Street. Robert, the owner, was glad to see Doug and Donna and Dottie and I and he bought the first round of drinks. Robert is known locally as the "Doctor of Alcohol". He just has a way about him that wants to make you stay and stay and buy more and more drinks.
A local band was setting up and began playing, and we all had a great time. By 11PM it was time to call it a day, and get to sleep. The river was calm, and the boat sat quietly all night....a peaceful nights sleep was had by all.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
What a Terrible Summer !!
This summer has to be the worse we have had in the past 10 years.
It remains cool and windy, and here we are in the first week of August, and so far we have taken the boat one time, and that was just a short shake-down cruise around Sodus Bay.
While cruising the bay, I noticed that my starboard engine had been running a bit hotter than normal, but that turend out to be minor, as the heat exchanger wa a bit low on water.
Topped her off, and she was good to go.
Talking about "good - to - go", we have decided to take a week's cruise with our friends Doug and Donna Parkhurst aboard the M/V Camelot. Both boats will depart on August 8th, and return on August 15th. Should be fun....regardless of the weather. We plan to stop in Oswego, Sackets Harbor, Alexandria Bay and Cape Vincent.
Check back for more details.......
It remains cool and windy, and here we are in the first week of August, and so far we have taken the boat one time, and that was just a short shake-down cruise around Sodus Bay.
While cruising the bay, I noticed that my starboard engine had been running a bit hotter than normal, but that turend out to be minor, as the heat exchanger wa a bit low on water.
Topped her off, and she was good to go.
Talking about "good - to - go", we have decided to take a week's cruise with our friends Doug and Donna Parkhurst aboard the M/V Camelot. Both boats will depart on August 8th, and return on August 15th. Should be fun....regardless of the weather. We plan to stop in Oswego, Sackets Harbor, Alexandria Bay and Cape Vincent.
Check back for more details.......
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