Bug and Border Controls

First a bug invasion. Then we got bugged by the Immigration and Border Control Agency!! Yes, both happened this morning.

We cruised Lake Ontario yesterday from Oswego toward the St Lawrence Seaway, and anchored for the night off a little uninhabited island far away from the mainland. See photo of dinghy pulled onto its shore for our little walk on the island. Well, being alone near an island is certainly nice, but it has its downside. Every flying bug from that island saw our lights once it got dark, and flew over to say hello. Before we went to bed, we noticed the windows and screens COVERED COMPLETELY with bugs. Turning out our indoor lights for the night didn't help since the anchor light beckoned them over all night. This morning, the entire exterior of the boat was COVERED COMPLETELY with bugs. Breaking Away was no longer beige, but black. I spent 30 minutes whooshing them away with a towel, but that only made them angry and they flew right back.

So, I decided I would try again later after we got underway. We pulled anchor (and Bruce had to de-weed it. The bottom must have been long grass) and I began to program our route into the Garmin Chartplotter. We were underway for only a few minutes with my nose still in the Garmin, and I heard a loud horn beep. I turned around and saw an Immigration and Border Control boat with its light flashing right next to me. WHOA!!! I immediately put the throttle into neutral and went downstairs, by which time they had landed next to me and asked if they could board. There were three officers, and they meant business. They wanted to know who owned the boat, and they wanted our driver's licenses and the boat's registration papers. Another officer wanted to look around the inside of the boat. We just did as they instructed, answered their various questions, and waited to see what would happen. Eventually, after about 10 minutes, they must have decided we were not terrorists and began to make small talk. I finally felt safe enough to ask what was up, and they said they were helping Canadian Customs by checking boats in Lake Ontario regarding security for the international economic conference about to occur in Toronto.

After about 30 minutes, they were through checking us out and returned our licenses and my registration papers, and left us. Wow, that was weird!! At least the bugs on my boat were bugging them too! hahaha Anyway, once underway, I spent another 30 minutes whooshing away bugs with a towel and was probably 80% effective. There were still tons of the creepies all over the place, but it became tolerable. Today it has rained hard, and I went out in it next to our marina dock with the hose and completely washed the boat, and I think I finally have gotten rid of them...for now.

Probably the biggest news is that Bruce decided last Sunday to leave the adventure a month early. Next Monday he will fly home for good rather than staying until July 21. Janet is visiting from next Monday until July 9, so I knew I could still keep moving until then, but I made many calls to potential mates to see if they could join me until July 21. FORTUNATELY George Tonner is able to come between July 12 and July 21!!! You may recall that he and his wife Jan were with me in April for 10 days, and we had a wonderful time. So, the predicament is solved and I can continue with the original plan. At this point I have just three "empty" days, but I plan to phone Nestle Canada friends and maybe some can visit.

Our trip since my last posting (last Friday night) has been fabulous! On Saturday we continued on the Erie Canal to a marina just north of Syracuse. We decided to tie up and not continue since the forecast was for thunderstorms. I decided it was time to change my oil and fuel filter, the first time I would do it myself. It all worked out great!! The marina had buckets for the used oil, and a barrel to pour it into. I felt pretty good about myself for getting that done without problems.

Just as I was returning to the boat from dumping the used oil and throwing everything into the trash bin, we got the thunderstorm in all its glory. Lightning, thunder, HARD pouring rain, and Bruce and I just sat watching it from our chairs under the cover. We saw a water snake go by, and also some turtles and two elegant swans.

Later it cleared out and we took a long dinghy ride across Lake Onondaga to Syracuse. The lake was completely glassy and we were the ONLY boat out there. The most glorious thing was the reflection of the sky in the glassy water, with its spectacular sun rays shining around the remaining dark clouds.

On sunny Sunday morning I took a 25-mile bike ride around the lake through Syracuse. We then departed and reversed our course back to the Oswego Canal, which heads north to Lake Ontario. We arrived late in the day, heading straight into a STRONG headwind. It was troublesome only regarding managing the locks, but boy, were two of them REALLY troublesome. In the first case, we didn't know until we entered the lock that we could use only the left side, and all our fenders were on the right side of the boat (the lockmaster admitted that the previous lockmaster was supposed to have told us this). Well, Bruce immediately had to move fenders while I tried to maintain control against the effects of the wind. Control means moving under power, so I eventually reached the end of the lock and we had to make do. Trouble was, there was only one rope to hold, and Bruce had it at the bow, leaving the stern to start swinging out. Luckily, the lockmaster saw our trouble and came by to help and I could toss him a stern line to pull us in. This was the only time we needed assistance from a lockmaster! Once I was against the wall, I could hold onto a ladder in the side of the wall and we descended just fine.

The second case was far worse. The winds were so strong that we could not hold onto our ropes. I was pulled to the bow trying to hold onto mine with all my strength, and Bruce, who started out at the stern, was pulled using all his strength to the front third of the boat. That meant that the stern swung way out and the bow was crashing straight into the wall save for me sticking my legs out to push us away (which you're NOT supposed to do). We were amazed that we survived the lock with no boat damage, but were we ever exhausted!!

Okay, enough stories. We enjoyed Oswego, an historic town with interesting old buildings. It was a major player in the Underground Railroad to get slaves across Lake Ontario to Canada and their freedom. Fort Ontario housed 962 European holocaust refugees in 1944-46. It was exciting heading out into a Great Lake, and luckily it was calm and empty as we headed northeast to the Thousand Island area in the St. Lawrence Seaway. One photo here shows the cliffs along the lake. Today we made it to Alexandria Bay in the heart of the 1000 Islands, and WOW, was it incredible cruising here in calm conditions (before our afternoon rainstorm)! The homes on all the big and little islands were charming and amazing. One photo shows a lighthouse and some of the homes, but one photo cannot do this area justice. I am so glad I decided to come up here to see this beautiful waterway and what the residents have done with their homes. Just one last tidbit: in many spots we would be only about 60 feet from gorgeous homes on either side of us, and our water depth was 260 ft. My gosh, the bottom must fall off like a cliff from each side! Hard to believe, especially compared to when we were in New Jersey and in vast areas of water on either side of us, we were in 3 feet of water in the boat channel.