Home At Last!!

After successfully turning the Wyvern III back in to a sailboat, we headed out on to Lake Ontario!  The lake welcomed us home with a very gentle caress!!  The water was glassy calm, not a breath of wind, with a 'misty' look to the horizon!  It was very quiet and peaceful.  Not even another boat!

After a few hours, we were excited to see the islands of Main Duck and Yorkshire pass to our left...our first familiar land sighting for over a year!!  As we continued east, good old Wolfe Island and it's wind generators hove in to view!  We had decided to go through customs in Gananoque, as we weren't sure how long the process would take and we didn't want my Mom to wait on shore while we waited on the customs officials, so we left Wolfe Island to our port, cruising past Cape Vincent, NY.

Yorkshire and Main Duck Islands off our port quarter

Wolfe Island

Cape Vincent lighthouse

Horne Ferry from Wolfe Island to Cape Vincent

We continued along the south coast of Wolfe Island, finally rounding Quebec Head and crossing the international border in to Canada at 8:30pm!  We carried on and anchored in Brakey Bay for the night...a spot with great memories where we have anchored with our good friends Elizabeth and John in the past!  By 9:00pm the anchor was down and we were settled in for the night.  Still no rain, but we had watched it follow us as we made our way down the lake, just ahead of it!  As evening fell, the only sound to break the silence was the occasional cry of a loon!!  It felt good to be back in Canada!!

Quebec Head Lighthouse

Sunset from Brakey Bay

The next morning we treated ourselves to coffee in bed, as we had a short day ahead of ourselves, before starting off for Gananoque.  Thunderstorms were still being predicted and we were only experiencing light rains, but didn't want to push our luck, so headed off in time to be at the Gananoque Marina by noon, where George cleared Canadian Customs via phone call and we were officially back in Canadian territories!!  To mark the auspicious occasion, we walked in to town and had an ice cream cone at our favourite ice cream store!

Beginning of the Thousand Islands!

Canadian flag!...Yeah!!

We got back to the boat and were just about to serve dinner, when the long expected thunderstorms and rain finally arrived at the same time as our good friends Fred and Deborah, unexpectedly arrived to welcome us home!!!  We had a great visit while the rain poured down, giving us the chance to start the process of 'catching up' on each other's last year!!

summer storm approaching at the Gananoque Marina

After a night full of rain, we woke on the morning of June 25 to a foggy, drizzly morning, which eventually eased off to simply a 'grey' day.  Again, no wind, so we pushed off the dock and headed out to the waters of the St. Lawrence River, making our way towards our home port of Kingston Ontario, on the beautiful shores of Lake Ontario!!  That morning we enjoyed finding and pointing out familiar sights.  As we neared Kingston, we were rewarded with a quintessential Kingston sight....Cedar Island with it's distinctive Murney Tower, the tall ship St. Lawrence II sailing alongside the island, and the buildings of downtown Kingston rising on the horizon in the background!!  About 1:30pm we rounded Cartwright Point, headed in to Deadman Bay and made fast on the courtesy dock of our home club, Canadian Forces Base Kingston Yacht Club, where my mother was there to greet us and drive us the last few kilometers to our home!!  After twelve months and twenty-five days, and approximately 4800 nautical miles, our journey was over!!

St. Lawrence II with Murney Tower on Cedar Island

Murney Tower and Fort Henry with Kingston in the background

Canadian Forces Base Kingston Yacht Club

We have been home now for about a week and a half, we have reunited with family, had some visits with friends, and are settling back down to life on land!  We are immensely happy to report that our beloved Rottweiller, Murdoch, who this year is 14 years old, is doing as well as can be expected for such an old fella!!!  We left him behind with much trepidation, as we felt sure, at his age, he would not survive the year we were gone, but he has proven us wrong, and for that we are very happy!!  My sister Elspeth and her partner Fraser deserve all kinds of kudos for doing such a great job at opening their home and their hearts to him!!  For that we shall always be grateful!

Murdoch enjoying the summer shade

Finally, I would like to thank all of you who have been following our journey, both on this blog and through phone calls and emails!  It has been a true joy to have been able to share our journey with you!  This will be my last entry, and I wanted to say good-bye and good luck, to anyone who has been inspired to make their own journey and follow their own dreams!!

"Anything can be found at sea, according to the spirit of your quest."

Joseph Conrad