- Local News for Southern Sailors - March 2002 Next Story
Circumnavigating eastern North America Part III: Chesapeake Bay to Chicago via Canada See Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 4
By Ron and Eva Stob
From the Chesapeake Bay we headed for the C & D Canal—the connecting link between Chesapeake and Delaware bays. Pilot boats snuggle against ocean liners while the pilots board the boats to guide them through the narrow canal.
At the top of Delaware Bay is the Delaware River, not on anyone's list of scenic corridors, but it leads to Philadelphia which is a splendid city to visit. We took down the bicycles and wandered around the City of Brotherly Love with its beautiful parks and fountains.
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Ron Stob photo |
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Leaving Philadelphia, we made our way through Delaware Bay and were surprised to see the natural side of New Jersey, untouched marshland and small villages. But the oceanfront side is a plethora of beach towns with Ferris wheels and waterfront activity. We made an open ocean run from Cape May to Atlantic City, then to Manasquan and on to the Big Apple.
Approaching New York City in a boat is a kick. In the Upper Bay is Lady Liberty and a bustle of watercraft and river taxis to Staten Island. We stayed on the New Jersey side and had front row seats on the New York waterfront. A gaff-rigged sailboat slid into view creating a striking image against the skyscrapers of the city. The city is readily accessible by commuter train, and after a few days of Broadway shows and city walks, we caught the tide northwards on the Hudson River toward Albany and Troy.
Passing through the first lock at Troy felt comfortable. We were back in the Eastern Inside Passage and away from ocean swells and seaborne squalls. The only road sign along the Great Loop Cruise points to the Erie Canal, but we went straight ahead to Lake Champlain and the Chambly Canal to Sorel, Quebec.
Now we were in a foreign country. Well, kind of. Our travels were taking us to places with distinctive cultures and names, places with uncommon foods and customs. Our 50-day summer in Canada was just beginning. We made a spawning run up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. Olde Port is surrounded by sidewalk musicians, entertainers and food vendors during the summer months, and the Francophones are in a party mood, refusing to head for home until after midnight. We spent our days sight-seeing in Montreal: the Jardin Botanique (botanic gardens), Basilica Notre Dame, museums and the St. Laurent Street Fair.
When we left Montreal, we locked upstream on the St. Lawrence with tall ships from Poland, then caught the Ottawa River westward toward the capital city, two days of travel at eight knots. A flight series of eight flight locks leads from the Ottawa River into the Rideau Canal, the waterway that connects Ottawa to Kingston. Boats cue up for the two-hour long passage, then slide off the last lock to spend days and nights tied to the city waterfront in easy reach of Ottawa's downtown shops and public attractions. The daily changing of the Guard at Parliament brings traffic to a halt as regaled bands strut through the streets and a chorus of bagpipers brings everyone
to attention.
The Rideau Canal runs north and south, traversing marshes and woodlands. Forty-nine locks were built by Scottish stone masons and Irish laborers from 1826-1832. The canal and limestone block locks retain their original design and are operated manually by a cadre of congenial lockmasters.
Upstream is Smith Falls, the center of the Rideau Canal, then another series of locks descends through the lake region to Kingston. The small towns are hospitable and the lakes gin clear. Numerous islands with summer cottages create idyllic settings, and isolated coves among warbling loons provide peaceful anchorages.
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At Kingston we entered Lake Ontario and headed west for the next Canadian heritage canal—the Trent-Severn Waterway—constructed between 1859-1920. This is the short cut between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, bypassing Lake Erie on a westward passage. By the time it was completed, railroads had come, roads were built, and the automobile era was being ushered in. Now the Trent-Severn and the Rideau waterways are maintained as Canadian heritage canals for the indulgence of recreational boaters, who use them extensively. There are nominal charges for using the locks, but the price is worth the trip. Call (800) 663-2628 for information.
Like the Rideau Canal, the Trent-Severn Waterway cuts through glaciated lakes and marshlands, visiting picture-book towns with crowded dairy stores that proffer ice cream billowing out of sugar cones. The Trent-Severn is almost carnival in the variety of its 44 locks. Beside conventional lift locks, there are two hydraulic lift locks where boaters enter a chamber and rise or fall 65 feet above Peterborough and 49 feet in the Kirkfield Lift Lock. Then the climax, a ride on the marine railway, the largest catch and release system on the inland waters. A carriage rolls into the water on rails, scoops up boats via nylon straps suspended from stanchions and rolls across the hill. You've got to see it to believe it.
The Trent-Severn ends at Port Severn where we went through our 115th lock since leaving Florida. We were now in Lake Huron's Georgian Bay. Thousands of drumlins dot the glaciated landscape, and this is the way it is throughout the North Channel of Lake Huron. Quiet anchorages in the Benjamin Islands lay ahead. Visits to quaint villages on Manitoulin Island gave us opportunities to provision and sight-see.
Mackinac Island lies at the juncture of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The island has been an English fort, John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, a national park, a state park, and presently an island with more horses than people and a place where veterinarians outnumber family physicians. Since 1902 there has been a ban on automobiles.
Then it was time to turn south for Chicago, which lies at the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Pick your side: Michigan's west coast with the long fetch of the lake, or Wisconsin's east coast. Michigan's harbors of refuge spaced every 10-20 miles make it the top choice, and there are wonderful places to stop along the way—Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Northport, Leland, and on down the sandy shores to New Buffalo where you can easily make the run across the lake to Chicago.
The Great Loop cruise continues next month. Ron and Eva Stob are the founders/directors of America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association. For more information, see www.greatloop.com. |
Copyright © 2001 Southwinds Media.
All rights reserved. 03.03.02