Dam on the Oswego Canal (top side)
Dam from the bottom side after coming through lock
Leaving last lock and going out onto Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario was slick cam (smooth) for the crossing Saturday
Lake Ontario is the eastern most and smallest in surface area of the Great Lakes. It serves as an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence River. It has a maximum depth of 802 feet. It is deep and the water is cold (just like Pengi likes it).
Depth going across Lake Ontario (511 feet)
Water temp 58 degree F
Wind Turbines as we entered the St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence is known as the Thousand Islands region of New York and Canada. This is because of the many islands that are located throughout the area. There are actually 1,864 offical islands in the Thousand Islands. To be an official island, it must be above water 365 days a year and it must support at least 1 living tree. The smallest island in the group is Tom Thumb Island which has only a few square feet above water all year and 1 tree. Most of the islands are privately owned, accommodating a range of strutures from grand mansions that harken back to the region's gilded age as a playground for the wealthy to modest fishing and hunting camps.
Around 2 PM Southern Style pulled into the Clayton, NY municipal marina. This is a brand new marina, and it is very nice. The marina and downtown are right along the St. Lawrence and the views are wonderful. The town is also great as there are multiple shops, restaurants and it is very nice to bike as the streets are wide and traffic even on the weekend was not bad. We plan to have 2 full days here both Sunday and Monday before leaving on Tuesday.
Southern Style docked at Clayton Municipal Marina
View from our dock of the St. Lawrence River
This is the brand new 4 Diamond AAA rated hotel at the marina
Feeding the locals from the swim platform
Big ship traffic is common along this river
There are also beautiful wooden lake boats
Clayton, NY is also the home to The Antique Boat Museum. This museum houses the largest collection of wooden and classic boats in North America. Many of the boats are still seaworthy.
The museum has pleasure boats, canoes, kayaks, and speed boats
It even has dozens of old engines
This one is a 15 HP outboard diesel (weighing 200 lbs)
How would you like that on your dinghy?
One particular boat the museum houses is The La Duchesse. This is the houseboat built by George Bolt, the wealthy hotelier of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Company. He commissioned the 106 foot, two story vessel in 1903. He kept it at his estate on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands. When George Bolt died in 1916, ownership of the La Duchesse went to his daughter who sold it in 1922 to Edward Noble, famous as the founder of Life Savers Candy Company. His plans to use the yacht did not come to fruition, and she fell into disrepair and eventually partially sank in 1943. It was Andrew McNally, of the McNally maps that bought La Duchesse for $100 and began her restoration. Under McNally's care she underwent several restoration projects over the years. One large project was in 1957 when her hull was changed from a wooden hull to steel. McNally's family used La Duchesse as a summer home until his death in 2001 at the age of 92. He gifted the yacht to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton and she now stays here where she is meticulously cared for as a museum exhibit.
Hallway on second floor of the La Duchesse
Staterooms and bathrooms to each side
George Bolt had the doorknobs cast with the family seal and a capital B
Entertainment deck on the aft of the second floor
Original wood floor still present
Our visit to the Antique Boat Museum was fun and one could spend hours if you wanted reading all the information. We biked around town and then headed back to the boat to relax a bit. Dinner was at Channelside with fellow looper Herb and the dock master Justin and his wife Debbie. We of course had to have Thousand Island Dressing on our salads (more on that later).
Thousand Island Dressing
View from the restaurant deck
After dinner we went back to Southern Style and watched the last of the sunset
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