Picture shows Quilcene anchored off Beaurivage Island

More pics on Google Photos; https://goo.gl/photos/5pqduDMczhspDidq6

Heading east toward the Thousand Islands we took the route south of Prince Edward Island to anchor at Van Dousens Point in Prince Edward Bay. The light winds were not strong enough to give us good speed, despite hauling up the colourful MPG (for light wind sailing), so once again we motorsailed for a large part of the trip to arrive at dusk. It was nice to be out on anchor again and we spent a few days just relaxing and taking in the scenery. The evening light on the shallows around one or two distant islands made it look like a scene from the Bahamas (see Google pics).

We slowly sailed on to Kingston via another anchorage on Amherst Island, again using the MPG (Multi-Purpose Genoa) as distances between anchorages were short and we were in no hurry. The weather was still rather unsettled with a few sunny days interspersed with rainy ones and even a few thunderstorms.

Kingston is at the western end of the Thousand Islands and a great destination in itself. We checked into a marina and enjoyed having 'shore leave' after 7 days anchoring. There is a municipal sports centre with a swimming pool close to the marina and we both made good use of it. I had taken a swim in the Lake but it was definitely still chilly!!!

We were pleased to see a New Zealand flagged yacht called 'Restless' come in and anchor off the marina. We'd first seen them as we left Oswego to cross the Lake and again met them in Cobourg. Roland and Consie invited us over for sundowners one evening and we discovered that we had several sailing friends in common. Despite both of us visiting many of the same ports and anchorages we'd somehow managed not to meet before - it's a small world!!

Apart from Restless and a couple of US flagged boats we saw no other foreign vessels - we seem to be the only British boat around!

With cool café's and several nice pub/restaurants there is no shortage of places in Kingston to sit with a coffee and watch the world go by. What we did find difficult was finding an electrician to sort out a small problem that was baffling Kit. No fewer than 3 guys came to look at the wiring and shook their heads! Finally someone put us in touch with a man who not only diagnosed the problem but fixed it too! Hurrah!

Dragging ourselves away from the pleasures of Kingston we headed into the Islands and found that they are every bit as beautiful as their reputation. A little apprehensive at first because of narrow passages and rocky outcrops we soon got the hang of it and visited several pretty spots.

The 'Thousand Island Association' a voluntary group of boaters, have helpfully put markers on shallow isolated rocks, making navigation easier. There is a lot of bottom weed in places making anchoring a little challenging, but once through the weeds the holding is good. The anchorages are often in the middle of a group of islets with shelter from most directions. Not that we needed it as the weather had finally settled down to sunshine most days. The water is clean and clear and with temperatures around 22C it's not exactly Caribbean but good enough for a swim.

Almost all of the islands, even tiny rocky knolls, have a house built on them with a landing dock and boathouse. Due to the abnormally high water levels many of the docks and landing areas are still under water and we hear that some people can't get to their summer homes because they can't land! Many of the islands belong to Parks Canada, and a few of these are currently closed for the same reason. We can take the dinghy to the docks of the Parks islands that are open and go for walks, they even provide garbage disposal so we have no problem donating a little for their maintenance.

The colours of the rocks and trees are lovely in the sunlight, especially in the morning and evening. The cries of Osprey and Bald Eagles echo around the rocks and we feel fortunate to be able to watch their acrobatics as they swoop down whilst fishing.

Another highlight was to visit Gananoque Playhouse, where we tied up on the Playhouse dock, stayed overnight and walked up the pontoon into the theatre. How cool is that! We saw 'Maggie and Pierre', a play about Pierre Trudeau (father of current Canadian PM Justin Trudeau) and his younger wayward flower child wife Maggie. It was a bonus for us that the dockage is currently free of charge as parts of the Playhouse docks are still underwater.

On Bostwick Island, one of the many islands we visited, there is a narrow inlet named 'Half Moon Bay', accessible only by dinghy (see google pics). It is a beautiful spot and on Sunday mornings they hold a service at an outdoor chapel on a rocky ledge just above water level. This event is apparently so well attended by boaters that wire is strung around the rocky face of the bay for participants in dinghies to hold onto during their devotions!

It is now August and the height of the holiday season here. There are many families amongst the crews of yachts and motor boats and the children have a fine time splashing about on inflatables, canoes and paddle boards. The warmest water temperature we recorded was 26C in one sheltered area, not bad for a Canadian Lake!

Predictably the nice weather also brings out the fast and noisy jet skis and speed boats that roar through the anchorages creating wake that set us all rolling (despite low speed limits in the islands). Happily they all disappear off home in the evening when peace and tranquility is once again restored. ...and we often managed to find some more remote spots less visited by the speed freaks so overall they were no more than a nuisance.

Sadly it's now time for us to leave the islands and begin to move west toward Port Whitby and our winter haul out, but we plan to return next year to explore more of these beautiful islands.