Jubilee on the Triangle Loop

[AnsleyS]

Now that we are fully transitioned from sail to power, I have planned our next trip. We will call it the Triangle Loop but you may have a difficult time seeing a triangle in our proposed route.


The trip will start in Maine in late May and will be about two thousand miles at about 6 knots or 7 MPH which is a fine speed for a jogger. The pace will be leisurely with a daily run time of about six hours and an estimate of the trip travel time to be fifty days. Side trips will be possible along the way including the Thousand Island area of the St Lawrence river and Lake Champlain. The route will be flexible along a predetermined path. We will start in Rockland and go down the New England coast to Long Island New York, thru the East River and around the tip of Manhattan. From there we will go up the Hudson past Albany to Waterford where we start the Erie Canal. We will continue west on the canal thru Oneida Lake and then turn north on the Oswego River and across the eastern end of Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence. We will need to check into Canada and get to Kingston Ontario to enter the Rideau Canal to Ottawa. We will then head down the Ottawa River to The St. Lawrence near Montreal and continue to the Richelieu River that will take us to Lake Champlain. We will cover the whole length of the lake and head south on the Champlain Canal back to the Hudson River near Glen Falls N.Y. From there we will head back to Maine down the Hudson, around New York and up New England. This whole route includes ninety-four locks and about three hundred hours under way.

I would like to finish this trip by the end of September which is about 120 days from the end of May. Fifty, approximately 6 hour days underway will complete the trip but with weather delays, site seeing and side trips I expect that the whole summer season will be involved. Cruising every other day or cruising for a week and taking a week to sight see will complete the trip with an additional 20 days as extras for unforeseen circumstances.

The trip is planned with our time underway, on each day that we travel, of about six hours which gives us a range of about forty miles a day. The plan calls for being underway about half the days aboard. This down time can be used for exploring local areas, frequenting cultural attractions and bars or comradery with the crews nearby. We have two kayaks, two bikes and a super dinghy aboard.

I will make periodic updates as we progress along the trip.

[rslifkin]

Looks like a fun trip! If you've got time for a small detour west of Oswego, Fair Haven is a cute little town and with a couple of good anchorage options in the bay it sits in.

[AnsleyS]

Thanks. I have looked at Fair Haven and it will come down to the weather and a crew change deadline at Sackets Harbor.

[Jeff F]

Sounds like you're set up for a great cruise.

I've been hanging out in the Thousand Islands and Bay of Quinte area the past couple of weeks. This is still one of my favourite areas on the route, but it's all great. A Parks Canada pass gives free docking along pretty much the entire Canadian part of your trip.

Keep us in the loop :-)

ETA: a good cart is handy as well for getting groceries a walk away. Lots of good folding ones are available. Canadian stores are all bring your own bag these days.

[AnsleyS]

I am getting ready to start from Maine and a crew member has been timed out by a delay in our launch. I will be doing the cruise down the New England shore to New York City by my self unless there is any one who would like to do a relaxing one way cruise to NYC.

[Bacchus]

Ansley
Your route is right on target and one I recommend often.
My Bacchus website has a cruising notes section with some info, highlights, stops including a section on NY canals that might be helpful.

[twistedtree]

What's the draft on your Krogen 42? The Rideau is pretty skinny with 5' controlling depth. It was 10+ years ago, but I got scolded at one spot because I told them I was 4' draft, and was apparently supposed to call ahead if over 4'. I was actually 3' 10", but rounded up to 4'.

[Jeff F]

Just passed you guys in Oswego. Hope the cruise is going well.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Jeff F

Just passed you guys in Oswego. Hope the cruise is going well.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

What direction are you heading from Oswego? Up towards the Thousand Islands or west?

[Jeff F]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

What direction are you heading from Oswego? Up towards the Thousand Islands or west?

North to Prince Edward County then up the Trent-Severn. Was in the TI 6 weeks ago before doing the loop to Buffalo.

I should have checked the weather more carefully before heading out. Flat calm on the lake but some nasty thunderstorms possible. So far nothing on my radar.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Jeff F

North to Prince Edward County then up the Trent-Severn. Was in the TI 6 weeks ago before doing the loop to Buffalo.

I should have checked the weather more carefully before heading out. Flat calm on the lake but some nasty thunderstorms possible. So far nothing on my radar.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

We made our trip on the lake early today to dodge the afternoon storms. We're in the tail end of one now (sitting in Pultneyville) that looks to be heading your way. Didn't bring too much wind, mostly rain. So keep an eye to the west just in case!

[Bacchus]

Here is a related thread with my recommendations
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/...oop-68648.html

[AnsleyS]

Jubilee’s launch was delayed by the boatyard for two weeks. I had allowed for a one-week delay in my schedule but my brother could not reschedule so he went back to Idaho and Dan and Steve joined Jubilee for the first section of the trip.


The passage from Rockland, Maine to New York City was planned as an eleven-day leisurely cruise down the New England coast. When we finally got aboard and ready, we went down Mussel Ridge Channel and out the Allen and Benner Islands for our first night. The weather looked absolutely perfect for a straight run to the Cape Code Canal. The run that I had allotted six days took us just twenty-two hours. The sea was flat and there was almost no wind. Our course across the Gulf of Maine could not have been straighter. We motored into Onset, Massachusetts at two thirty in the morning and were in bed by three.


After a couple of Uber rides to West Marine for a new voltage regulator, an old college friend, Savery, picked us up and took us for a nice visit and lunch at his place on a lake in Carver.



The next day we had a short run to Cuttyhunk Island where we had a nice walk to the top of the island and where the Cuttyhunk Island Shellfish Company has a boat that delivers shellfish to our boat just about cocktail time. Two dozen oysters and bluefish pate made a short appearance on the boat.


The next few days saw beautiful passages to Block Island, Rhode Island, Orient Bay on the northeastern end of Long Island, New York and into Setauket, NY. We went into a small creek in Setauket and anchored among the moored boats in a slightly too shallow spot. We touched down on the mud bottom at very low tide. No problem but we do try not to touch the land. Later that afternoon as we relaxed on the foredeck, a woman came by in a kayak and thanked us for anchoring such a fine looking boat right in front of her house. Joanne is the fifth generation of her family to live in Setauket and she brought us a quart of fresh strawberries and a toasted almond sponge cake as a thank you for the improved view from her front porch.


The next day we went down to Oyster Bay and the forecast had a frontal passage with thunderstorms for the afternoon so we went through the partially functioning draw bridge at Bayville and anchored in the protected Bayville Harbor. There we found the Clam Bar was open so we went in for lunch and got a fillet of bluefish for our dinner.


Next was Port Washington where we picked up a city mooring and watched the parade of boats pass us during the blessing of the fleet. Underway the next afternoon to ride the tide down the East River through New York City and past Ryker’s Island prison, LaGuardia airport, the United Nations complex, the tip of Manhattan Island and out to the Statue of Liberty. We reached twelve and a half knots going through Hell’s Gate.

We ended up at the Liberty Landings Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey for a crew change directly across from the tip of Manhattan. Dan and Steve hopped a bus back to Maine and I expect our next crew tomorrow.

[twistedtree]

Love it. Please keep the story rolling.

[AnsleyS]

Friends from Denver joined Jubilee in New York for the trip up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal to the Oswego River canal and across the tip of Lake Ontario to Clayton, NY. We left the morning after they arrived and motored up the west shore of Manhattan around a number of anchored ships, tugs and barges. We were overwhelmed by the towering buildings and the density of humanity which was all going much faster than our seven and a half miles per hour.

The scenery changed from Manhattan to more rural settings including the palisades on the east shore of New Jersey and lower New York state and into the hills of the lower Catskill mountains. We stopped for our first night and anchored (twice, the first was a bit too shallow) in a bend of the river at West Point. We were across for the U.S. Military Academy and were twice passed over by to large twin rotor CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

The following day we continued by Newburg, Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park and turned into the Rondout Creek where we had reservations for a slip for the night at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. We visited the museum and were impressed by the quality and depth of the exhibits. We had dinner at a local restaurant and had a peaceful night at the dock in downtown Kingston, New York.

We next continued up the river with the Catskills over our left shoulder, passed through the commercial downtown of Albany and up to our first lock in Troy. We had no problems with the fourteen-foot lift of the Federal Dam lock and we proceeded up to Waterford where the Erie canal branches off of the Hudson. Starting west on the Erie Canal involves five locks in quick succession lifting a total of one hundred sixty-nine feet to the Mohawk River. One more lock along the way got us to Schenectady with the Village of Scotia across the river. We found a small municipal marina at Scotia that is run by their parks department and is next to a large park that had three athletic events occurring when we got there. A little league baseball game, a volleyball tournament and an ultimate Frisbee game were all going at the same time. A short walk to Jumpin’ Jack’s for ice cream and back to the boat for a delivered pizza and an orchestra concert at the nearby amphitheater. I was so impressed with this village’s park facility that I sent a note to the village Trustees thanking them from the cruising community.

We continued along the canal through locks number 8 through 14 where we stopped for the night alongside of the wall above the lock. We were by ourselves except for Interstate 90 across the valley and the freight train tracks about fifty yards from our side. The next day we went through locks 14 to 20 and stayed next to a New York Canal Authority maintenance yard. We walked through the yard after the day’s work stopped and we tried to guess the use of some of the large steel mechanical devices that we found.

We arrived at Sylvan Beach which is on the east shore of Oneida Lake by lunch the next day and planned for a rest stop there. During the afternoon and the next day, we went out to meals, did laundry, walked around town and visited the park for a car show. Proceeding across the lake and through the rest of the canal to the Oswego river we went through seven more locks and stopped along a wall under a bridge in downtown Oswego. We joked about being the trolls under the bridge but we were protected from the rain and the road noise seemed to be directed outward from the surface so we were comfortable. There is a park next to the canal and we were very near to a picnic area and a very active skateboard and bike park.

The next day we found a great tea room for breakfast, did some grocery shopping and toured town. We left early the following morning as soon as the last lock opened. We had a nice day to cross the eastern tip of Lake Ontario and we spent a quiet night at anchor in White’s Bay surround by summer houses and folks out on the water for the fourth of July weekend. Jubilee was quite an attraction to a lot of folks who came by in boats and jet skis. The next day we went to nearby Sacket’s Harbor where we had a reservation for a slip. Janet flew into Watertown and got a ride to the boat. It was great to have the Admiral aboard.

We headed out the next morning for the Saint Lawrence river and anchored in a cove on the south side of Carleton Island where a local summer resident swam out to the boat to talk and admire Jubilee. Warm weather with swims for all before we headed down the river for Clayton. We spent a couple of nights at the Clayton Municipal Marina walked around town, had a few meals out and visited the antique motorboat museum. Our friends left for the flight back to Denver after a great trip that included twenty-eight locks and we got ready for the next section of the trip.