While we sit here in Dénia, Spain, 16 months after the launch of Hummingbird in Annapolis (Turkey Point), I realized I never posted how things went on the Down East Loop. They went really, really well. Fleming makes an incredible boat, and after doing 4,000 miles in our first 100 days, I will say that striking out was the best way to learn the boat after transitioning from a 21-foot bow rider. Maybe not in a used boat that still has germlings, but It was vital for me to get my Canadian wife out of the heat and into the North before she turned sour on my plan for our final chapter of exploring the world by boat. We opted for the Erie Canal, so we turned west at Troy. The clearance was the most significant issue, and one irony of the canal is that it has one of the lowest bridges along the route and was the very last one outside of Oswego as you make your way into Lake Ontario. The position hold feature we paid extra bucks for was also a dream as we negotiated 31 locks in the canal and three on the St. Lawrence. I pushed the magic button and made a cuppa while Kim took turns holding the nasty lock side rope so we wouldn't get an evil eye. We rafted only one in a lock. Otherwise, the traffic was such that we were generally stacked with plenty of room. Timing the openings is important so you don't waste time. So, we increased our typical 8.5-kt cruise a couple of times to make an opening. The NY Canal website is fantastic, giving notices of anomalies. We have an air depth of 24 feet with the tower up and 19 feet with it down.
At one point, we had to unscrew the horns to pass under a bridge, and rain played a temporary factor since it filled up the canal. Carry tons of fuel to get yourself down low if you are tight. The St. Lawrence was beautiful with all the French and the whales, and once you get past Tadoussac, it does get remote until you get to Prince Edward Island. From NYC to NYC, it took us from June 11th to September 10th (with a 21-day break to go home for family time), so a total of 69 days. We generally had a policy not to spend less than three days in any one port. We spent a week in Quebec City and took a much-recommended week-long trip to Sydney, Nova Scotia, through the lake (a must-do). We plan on going back at a more leisurely rate once we finish with the Med. The trip across the Atlantic with my two nephews is another story... 23 days...St. Martin went to Bermuda, then to the Azores, and then to Morocco. Go to noforeignland.com, and you can follow along the last 16 months with a three-month break for trips home. 10,000 miles in our wake and counting
