We spent a calm, restful night anchored off Heart Island in about 7' of water, then weighed anchor around 9:30 in the morning and headed a few hundred yards toward the west end of the Boldt Castle guest dock/seawall, which had 4'-5' of depth. The park prohibits docking before opening, so we (I) practiced maneuvering Molly and laying her up alongside the dock, first on starboard and then on port, while waiting for 10 o'clock.
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| Molly tied up on the seawall. The water gets a bit shallow to the right of the frame. |
Boldt Castle today is an impressive structure, reminiscent of the Vanderbilt mansions, but it wasn't always that way. George Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, began construction on the castle in 1900, intending it as a gift for his wife. Four years later, however, his wife passed away unexpectedly. Boldt ordered all work to stop immediately. Masons, carpenters, sculptors quite literally walked away from their work, and the castle sat vacant and exposed to the ravages of nature and vandals for 73 years. During those years, visitors to the island made off with "souvenirs," vandalized the interior, and even built fires inside. Eventually, in 1977, the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property and began the process of completion and restoration. And what they have accomplished is absolutely spectacular. The project is not yet finished, but renovations have begun on the third floor and basement. The following pictures tell the story of the castle's renovation and completion.
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| Looking toward Alexandria from the third-floor balcony. |
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| No, not the castle...the powerhouse. |
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| The Alster Tower, or Playhouse, was intended for entertainment and housed a bowling alley and billiard rooms. |
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| The Entry Arch was designed to be an impressive introduction to the castle. |
As sailors and boaters, we also toured the Boldt Boathouse, which was as impressive inside as it was outside.
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| Oh, the projects I could get done in a space like this! Sigh. |
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| The Boldt Castle boathouse. |
Back aboard Molly, we made a quick trip to Alexandria for lunch and groceries, then headed downriver - briefly - before crossing into Canada and turning back west for Kingston, Ontario.
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| Tied up in Alexandria, where we ate lunch and grabbed a few groceries. Carrie, the boys, and I made a LONG walk out of town to the nearest grocery store, which is all part of the cruising lifestyle. |
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| Crossing into Canada! Time to hoist the courtesy flag. |
Passage through the Thousand Islands was not only visually spectacular, but some of the currents and eddies and narrow cuts were exciting. We motored our way west in a gentle rain toward Kingston, opting to head through Bateau Channel and toward Gananoque on the north side of Howe Island. As a fog settled in, we discovered a gap in our charts. Fortunately, the channel was reasonably well marked, and we picked our way through the channel in the rain and fog, eventually arriving off Port Henry and Kingston under cloudy skies.
Click the play icon to watch the video. I recommend selecting "theater" mode and 720. You'll hear the teapot start to whistle in the background... because nothing goes better with a boat on a cool, drizzly day than a hot cup of tea.
We tied up at Confederation Basin and enjoyed a fantastic Thai dinner at a downtown restaurant before turning in for the night. The marina is located centrally, providing easy access to local shopping and food. The docks are quite far from the marina offices and bathrooms, but it is a nice facility. We easily and conveniently cleared Customs at the dock via phone call.
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| Molly tied up in Confederation Basin with Kingston, Ontario, behind her. |
The next morning we departed late under cloudy skies, bound for the Bay of Quinte.
Midday the clouds burned off and we enjoyed a pleasant cruise.
Charts indicated a yacht club at Deseronto on the Bay of Quinte, but we saw no such building and decided to anchor in the lee of Forresters Island. Dad put his Father's Day gift to good use and grilled up some delicious steaks.
Meanwhile the boys fished - and struck out.
We gathered on the flybridge the following morning for relaxed conversation and steaming cups of coffee before heading farther up the Bay of Quinte and nearer to Trenton.
Just east of Belleville, an Instagram follower met up with us aboard her Cape Dory 28, so we did a flyby and waved hello. As it turns out, her boat's previous owner passed through our homeport of St. Joseph years ago, bound for the Mississippi and the Gulf. It was neat to see that S/V Pickle was in loving new hands and on the water like she should be.
We arrived in Trenton later that day and tied up at the Trent Port Marina, along with scores of other boats there for a Looper Rendezvous. Our stop in Trenton gave us a chance to top off our water tanks, take showers, stow the dinghy (towing isn't permitted through the locks), and get a pump out before starting the TS Waterway. There isn't a lot in Trenton, it seems, so we occupied our time with tidying up Molly and readying her for the next leg of her great adventure: 240 miles of rivers, canals, locks, and lakes.
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| Probably the coolest building in Trenton - other than the drug store where we were able to pick up a vial of insulin for a mere $35! |
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