Changing course

Sunday, August 10^th, Odile slept in the cockpit again…the stars and super moon were so beautiful. We’re all up early, Odile and Bruce pack up and I drop them to the Marina where their car is parked…more good-byes to good people. Julie jumps in the dinghy and we head over to drop in on Adam and Laura to say good bye. They are very generous people and good long time friends...it’s starting to sink in just how long we are leaving for; how many things will change over three years for us and the people we know?

Although we have had a great few weeks with many friends, Julie and I now look forward to some time with just the two of us…we head off to Stella Bay for the night then on to Waupoos. Adam and Laura follow us to Kingston for a sail…they seem to be really liking the new hobby and adventure of sailing and they have such a great location, the 1000 Islands, to explore.

We start to plan our route by looking at the charts and the weather for the coming week; estimating when we will take the 46 mile jump across the lake to Oswego, NY. We decided to make the jump; called NEXUS 1-800 line (expedited access when crossing the Canadian/USA border since they took our finger prints and retina scan) and were heading for the USA. We turn due south for a 33 mile run to Henderson Bay for the night then make it to Oswego in two days. The deciding factor was a low pressure system coming up from the Ohio Valley, bringing colder temps, high winds and rain…it would be at least a week before we could cross from Waupoos, ON and that we decided was longer than we wanted to wait.

Officer Jenni, from Custom Border Protection, checked us in to the States with an arrival number (070820140810120328) that we will need the whole time we are in the States. She also said we need to get a User Fee Decal and a Cruising License; there is also the Canal permit we will need to obtain at the first lock (gated waterways that raise or lower boats to different levels). At precisely 14:10, we crossed over the border heading for Henderson Bay, raised our American courtesy flag and shut down roaming on our phones… now dependant on wifi service. We hoped to anchor off Association Island or Snowshoe Bay or Whites Bay…decide when we see them around 17:00 arrival.

As we approached our destination, there were two other boats anchored off Association Island…perfect; saves us a few extra miles now and in the morning when we need to continue our passage to Oswego. When setting the anchor, I could feel it dragging across what I assumed was rock but she finally sunk in…I gave Julie the signal to back down on it to ensure it was set properly. Backing down on the anchor is when you think the anchor is set, you put the boat in reverse and give it some throttle in hopes it holds and doesn't drag…it’s better to know then than in the middle of the night when you're bouncing into another boat or shallows.

We immediately dropped the dinghy, mounted the motor and headed to Association RV Campgrounds close by for dinner and wifi. I guess our info was out of date, the restaurant closed several years ago but they were happy to let us use their wifi. We didn't stay long…we were starving and needed to get back to the boat before dark. Cooked up some shrimp and Quinoa and got to sleep by 21:45…we wanted an early start for the 40 Nautical mile (nm) passage to Oswego.