Wednesday 23 May we motored the Oswego Canal and it's locks from Brewerton to the town of Oswego on the south shore of Lake Ontario.  

Thursday, Jubilee motored 100 yards from our overnight tie-up on the Oswego city dock to where a fuel and boat storage service had a gin-pole rig for raising the mast.  (You may recall that Jubilee's mast was dropped back at Croton-on-Hudson so that we might clear all the fixed bridges and other obstacles on the Erie Canal; 20' is the published limiting air draft for the passage.)  The couple who run this service were helpful and fun to talk with.  In a couple hours, all the rigging was back in place and we headed out into Lake Ontario for a 63 mile crossing to the source of the St Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands area.  For who knows what reason, I distinctly recall from 4th grade, drawing a color map of the Great Lakes on a blackboard at the  back of the classroom at Most Holy Redeemer grammar school, Eureka Valley, San Francisco.  I've been to Chicago a couple of times and driven along Lake Michigan.  But this is my first time on the Great Lakes.  I had to keep reminding myself that this was all fresh water.

We had an uneventful crossing, stopping at the town of Clayton to water the boat before the last couple miles up the St Lawrence Seaway to Rene's house, a long-time friend of Dean's.  

Friday we did some sight-seeing around Wellesley Island NY, checking out the boat museum in Clayton and for me, packing for my Saturday flight home.  I've posted several photos on FB, of various commercial vessels transiting the St Lawrence Seaway, just 100 yards off our bow.  

Chesapeake Bay to Lake Ontario; this was an interesting passage; I'm so glad I did it.  Roger was a great crewmate, but I already knew that from his time aboard DE in the Philippine Islands and Alaska (not to mention 30 years working together).  Dean was a gracious host and good captain.  Roger and I gave him heaps of grief about his FBI career, but he took it with good grace and shared many great stories with us.  I'm now back aboard DE, have had a brief chance to meet my new grandson DJ and am getting re-acquainted with Dorothy and the Rs.  Looking ahead, it appears I will be in Seattle the last 3 weeks of June and likely back to Hong Kong sometime mid-summer.   More about all that in the weeks to come.