Island Hopping

Island Hopping

Crossing the border into Canada and intending to anchor in the Thousand Island National Park, we stopped at Rockport at a marina to clear customs.  Steve did the captain’s duty and called in our report so we were legally in our neighbor to the north. We also took the opportunity to pump out before heading to a park dock behind Georgina Island – just under the Canadian side of the Thousand Island Bridge. We would have spent more time on the island but the hummingbird-sized mosquitoes drove us back to the boat.  We did find very clean and modern composting toilets on an otherwise pristine island. From Georgina we motored to Camelot and again were lucky to find a spot on a park dock – this time with several Canadian boaters over for the weekend.  The walk on this island was blessedly almost insect free – but then a liberal coat of repellant was applied before venturing out….. The scenery is dramatic with granite outcroppings shaded by pines, washed by crystal water and graced with bird song.  This rugged combination makes us think of visits to our familiar northwestern shores of Oregon, Washington and Alaska. However, here the virtually untouched park islands are immediately adjacent to cabins and cottages on both sides of the border. As a result, cruisers zip along between the islands gently rocking our boat on the dock. Although we may feel remote on the island paths, in fact the town of Gananoque (our next stop) is just a few miles north, New York is across the channel and most of the islands around us are occupied.

These national park docks are covered by our seasonal mooring pass which we purchased back in March with the early bird discount - a commitment that meant we would spend most of our summer in the Canadian Heritage canals rather than go out and do the “down east loop”.  We are instead doing the “triangle loop” – returning to the US via Lake Champlain.  That tantalizing “down east loop” will have to wait for another summer.  There is just too much to see in this northern playground to cover all the bases in one season.

If you wonder what we do with all the hours on anchor or docks - here is Steve - working on health care solutions......