It happened. The Big Day finally arrived…2 days later than it was due to. We’ve left our slip at RCYC and traveled a whopping 58 nm to Cobourg, Ontario. We’d like to say we’re over the moon and buzzing with excitement but the whole process was really difficult and we’re already facing a tough decision.

Let’s start with the departure. We delayed a few days because of poor weather conditions (East winds to 20 knots when we were trying to go east). It had become rather tough to remain at our slip. So many questions about when we were going to go or why we hadn’t left yet. So many lovely “drop bys” to say hello, good luck, good bye, or to share a beverage and conversation. Individually we appreciated and enjoyed every single one. Collectively it became hard. It was time to go. So we left.

The current situation however is we don’t have anywhere to go as the Oswego Canal is completely shut due to high water levels from rain. Indefinitely. Big portions of the Erie Canal are also shut down as well. The Oswego Canal has now been closed for 5 days and it appears, with the assumption of no rain, that it will take another 3 to 5 days to return to normal and open. So we have 3 options:

1: Wait it out. We can hang out here on the North Shore of Lake Ontario and pass the time and wait…indefinitely. There are 2 issues with this. Anyone who has spent time on the north side of Lake Ontario can tell you that it’s not awesome and there aren’t many great harbors/anchorages until you get in to the Thousand Islands. Plus we’ve done all of these a number of times. The second issue is how long do we wait for? If it rains more then we start from scratch again. We’ve now read plenty of posts from previous years about people spending 15 days stuck inside a closed canal. We’re thankful we’re not stuck, but we’re also not keen to wait indefinitely.

2: Go through the Richelieu Canal/Lake Champlain. (If you’re gonna follow along with this blog it might be best to have a map open on another tab.) As you can see on the map, it adds days and days, anywhere from 5 to 10 days depending on how much we want to push to get there and through. Two issues with this! We were reminded again today how hard it is doing an 8 hour passage with young kids. You’ve got to bring your A-game to make it work and we’re operating at a remedial level currently. We were playing defense the entire time. The kids were great but they can only sit in a cockpit full of biting flies for so long. The second issue is that the Champlain Canal is having high water level issues as well. Getting stuck in a canal system doesn’t sound good to me. Getting stuck in a canal system in Quebec? Holy shit…I suspect this would be my version of hell on earth. The Québécois are an interesting species, especially when boats are involved. I’d like to avoid this but it might be our best play.

3: Go out the Saint Lawrence. I’ve covered this in a previous blog post about 3 or 4 moths ago (Escape Plan). It adds at least a month, perhaps more as we’re keen to go slowly…and if we do actually get out that way we really do want to take our time and see all of the amazing things there are to see. Which then makes things tricky a few months down the road. Additionally we’re a bit intimidated by this route. I really don’t want to admit that, but it’s true. Can we do it? Probably. Should we? Perhaps. But after the past 6 weeks or so we’re absolutely fried. Just shattered. Parents and kids. Oh, and the dog too. That’s another post on it own.

So we’re sorta stuck at the moment. The way we planned to go is shut. We can wait it out (nope) or we can keep heading east and go for 1 of the 2 remaining options. We’re gonna take a day to think about it and then make our move. We’d like to head to the South Shore of Lake Ontario but that’s USA land and once we check in there we can’t come back in to Canada without doing a two-week quarantine (unvaccinated kids). So here we sit in Cobourg, at a marina, paying marina fees and sharing the dock with members of the Québécois Navy. Our time here is limited.

Stressful? Sure. But I’m trying to see the bright side here. We’re finally off the dock. A big reason for doing this trip is family time together and we’ve got that, free of distractions. I had some really awesome time with both Oliver and Elliott tonight and it was wonderful to reconnect with them. Come on, Oswego Canal…hurry up and drain!!!