Interesting fellow from Kingston

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WALSHIE

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Kingston Ontario that is. A blow boater floated into our place this afternoon/evening. I happened to wander by and ended up taking him to the UPS store so he can mail back a piece of metal for his high-output alternator. Turns out it snapped off and needed to be welded back together and beefed up. He tried Haverstraw and I gave him some local options but the plan was set....mail it back to Kingston Ontario and they'll turn it around and get it back to them at the 79th street boat basin in NYC (next stop).

Being his first visit to "NYC" he was appreciative and admittedly, surprised at the hospitality. So far, they have had nothing but great experiences on our Hudson. Last place they were at was "Pirate Canoe YC" and there was no charge. He commented he bought a round for four people at the bar and it was a mere $12. I said hey, you were ripped off, our imports are $2.50 a bottle. In any event, they had dinner in Croton, stocked up on supplies and received a ride back in the grocer's delivery van(very impressed he was).

He thinks they will leave the guest dock tomorrow (no rush on either part) and head down south. He made the comment that many fellow Canadians said NYers were tough but so far, he hasn't paid for a slip and the beers were either cheap or complimentary (CYC). They received car rides, directions, laundry services, etc.

I'm happy to hear that and asked that he spreads the word that NY and the Hudson in particular is a great place to visit.

BTW - They are on their way to the Bahamas...took a year off and enjoying life!!

Just spreading some good news for a change!
 
This canucker liked NY so much, I stayed and became an Ammericun!

Truly a place so nice, they named it twice!
 
If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere...

Glad your Canadian friend had some fun here in the States. We enjoy meetings with some of our Canadian friends as well, sadly responsibilities have kept us from seeing them in awhile...

Hey, the people from Kingston NY are pretty nice, too!!!
 
Just confirms what I've always believed to be true, our nabours to the south are friendly, standup folks who are always willing to lend a helping hand.

Kingston (Ontario) is my home town. I hope our blow boating friend is as friendly to the folks he meets, as they are to him.

If I ever lucky enough to make a trip like his, I look forward to the hospitality and returning it.

Thanks!
bcat
 
Thanks for the invite. Hopefully some day we will be able to accept!

Bcat
 
Looks like maybe next year for us to do the Erie Canal. Don't know how far down the Hudson we'll go. After that it's 'nuther 7 yrs and change before we retire and can travel all the coastal & inland waterways. We've payed forward some hospitality to our southern neighbors when they've floundered in our marina. Grocery runs, parts runs etc. No problemo.
 
This family was Christopher, Heesook and Don Kerstens...boat name S/V "PATIENCE V". Does that ring a bell?

He stressed to me he was from Kingston ONTARIO, I guess a few people confused this with Kingston, NY, just up river.

I said sure, I know where that is, the other side of Wolfe Island. I have an uncle that lives on the St Lawrence between Cape Vincent, NY and Clayton, NY. He was shocked I mentioned Wolfe Island.
 
Isn't there a limrick that starts: "I once met a man from Kingston..."?
 
We've also met a gent from Wolff Island, in fact he stopped by our marina on the way south again. He is CG Aux and inspected our boat for us while he was here!
 
Walshie,

Nope, doesn't ring a bell with me.

Ha, small world isn't it. Your uncle is not far from our area...of course, Howe Island is far nicer than Wolf ;o)

Hogan, I know that one!

Bcat
 
Dan, Wolfe Island is Canadian, I hope he didn't give you a USCG inspection sticker ;)

Bcat, my uncle lives just south/west of Cedar Point State Park, NY...the next cove over. Right across from Linda Island. That's where I originally got into boating...surfing the wake of the container ships on the St Lawrence in an 12' aluminum boat with an 18hp engine...and trying to keep my uncle's woody afloat.

Originally he had a cottage, he razed it and he (WE!) built a nice house. He schooled us in the fine art of shingling a roof on the 4th of July or best to paint the siding before it's installed. Every vacation was a different project. Right now he needs his dock rebuilt...interested? He pays Canadian (good beer and BBQ).
 
"Isn't there a limrick that starts: "I once met a man from Kingston..."?"

D'oh... I thought it was Nantucket...
 
quote:
Dan, Wolfe Island is Canadian, I hope he didn't give you a USCG inspection sticker

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Nope, and that's because he's not Canadian. HA! But we can show you the decal if you need to see it! Maybe he's a spy or something..?
 
Walshie,

That's funny. My father's dock (on Howe Island where we keep our boat) is in need of repair in a big way! So that is my next project. In fact, we were going to take advantage of the low water level and the nice weather to get started this weekend, but my niece has the cottage reserved. I am going to have to wait. My friends/crew were all set, I was paying the same as your Uncle...steaks and beer!

Our first couple of boats at the cottage were 16 or 18 foot woodies with outboards. One with an 18 hp Johnson Seahorse (white) and then a 15hp Johnson Seahorse (red). Keeping those things afloat was a real pain. When the boats gave in to the constant wear and tear, Dad bought a 16 aluminum canoe. We still have it. We do not have the lakers or ocean liners on our side of the river, so we had to settle for the tour boat waves.

One thing we did do with my relatives in Brockville was go along side the ocean liners, signal to them that we'd like some beer. They'd put some in a bucket on a long rope and string it down to us in our boat. My cousin would reach in and pull out the beers. Pretty crazy stuff as I remember it.

Our family has owned our cottage on Howe Island for just over 40 years. All the work being done over the years has been a family affair. Love the place and love the area, hope I never have to give it up.

Thanks for the opportunity to chat about it!

Bcat
 
This past Tuesday the admiral and I were on the Erie Canal in Brewerton getting our last fill up before winterizing. I was amazed at the number of Canadian blowboaters on the canal. One 45-50' from Ottawa pulled up to the fuel dock as we were filling. Another 3-4 were tied up along the wall in Brewerton for the night. I imagine they will be headed down the Hudson in a couple of days.
 
Scott, You can bet they are making their way down the coast to Florida or S.Carolina for the winter! Watch out for them at the Early Bird buffet :o)

bcat
 
Man, I'd love that lifestyle. Thousand Islands in the summer, winter down south...hmmmm...
 
quote:
Originally posted by WALSHIE

Man, I'd love that lifestyle. Thousand Islands in the summer, winter down south...hmmmm...

Click to expand...

We still gotta wait a lil' while longer. 8 yrs 1 month 1 week. But hey, who's counting? ;-)
 
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