Lay day in Kingston: 1000 Islands Cruise Day 3

At the open-air market in the town square, which first started in 1801, we make out like bandits: fresh raspberries, fresh strawberries, sweet peaches, golden corn-on-the cob, green beans and Ontario garlic. From the Wolfe Island Bakery, we purchase a Red River baguette, wild berry muffins, awesome brownies, pecan tarts, butter tarts, raspberry and blueberry tarts.

Facing the square is the Block & Cleaver, a small butcher shop where we purchase summer sausage, Black Forest ham, a chunk of kolbassa and ribeye steak.

What are you saying, that we cruise to eat? It does sound like it, that’s for sure.

In the evening, we take in a concert at the refurbished Grand Theatre. Renowned Cape Breton fiddler Natalie Mac Master plays like a demon and dances, too, with a five-month bulge in her belly. The audience gasps in amazement when Natalie announces that Nathaniel Smith, the long-haired virtuoso on the cello, is only 14 years old.

Brighton to Kingston: 1000 Islands Cruise Day 2

Whereas Frenchman’s Bay to Brighton was almost boring, with not much to see but for the lake on the right and land on the left, the cruise through the Murray Canal, above and below, Bay of Quinte and on to Kingston had us enjoying the changing scenery under cloudless skies.

As will be true for our time in the 1000 Islands, navigation--keeping track of buoy numbers and our progress on the chart, with an eye on the depthsounder--kept us busy. At right, the Captain takes a minute to call his sister to let her know At Last! is passing by the cottage near Carrying Place that she and her husband owned many years ago.

Thus, after we pulled in Confederation Basin at Kingston, above, after 71 miles in 5 hours, we were ready to celebrate. An excellent bottle of blended red from Wayne Gretzky Estates washed down appetizers of Pringles and wasabi peas before we moved on to dinner of smoked ham steak with sweet potato and green peas. No. 99’s wine came to us from Bob and Charlene at the christening of At Last! Our neighbour, a large motor yacht called Black Sheep, left for Oswego, New York, a few hours after our arrival.

Frenchman’s Bay to Brighton: 1000 Islands Cruise Day 1

As is the tradition in our family when starting any trip, we began our 1000 Islands Cruise munching on the Admiral’s unbeatable homemade western sandwiches.

On the first day, we had an uneventful, if at times bumpy, run to Brighton in Presqu’ile Bay, 76 miles in four hours. At Harbour View Marina, we took on 225 litres/59.5 U.S. gallons. Since our last fill-up, we average 5.4 gallons per hour.

At our destination, Presqu’ile Landing Marina, we enjoyed our first meal aboard, Chinese-style stir-fried veggies with fettucine noodles, before crashing early after our first day on the water (with its early start following a late night getting ready).