Finally, after years of dreaming, preparation, and lots of hard work, we have started our travels south on the Rol & C's. We left Port Dalhousie today, August 15, and reached Rochester, NY. I won't be writing everyday but thought that I should at least commemorate the first day of our voyage with a few lines. The day went well, we pulled into the Youngstown Yatch Club to report to US customs around 9 am and then we're off to Rochester with all the legalities taken care of. Lake Ontario cooperated allowing only 1 to 2 foot waves from the north west. Our blinding speed of 9.5 mph got us to our destination in 11 hours. Of course we had about a 1 hour delay for our customs stop.
Tomorrow we are heading for Oswego, NY. That will be our last day on the great lakes for the foreseeable future. Once we enter the Oswego Canal, it will take us to the NY State Barge Canal and then the Hudson River to New York city.
After all the rushing to get ready for this adventure, it's time to slow down. At these speeds we have no choice but we plan on travelling shorter distances each day and some days not at all. It's time to wind down and relax.
We have a passenger with us for the leg to the Big Apple, Carole's father Doug . He decided to take us up on our invitation to come along for part of the ride. I hope he can put up with all this excitement!