Great Lakes Boat Trip
A 58 foot Viking yacht owned by my brother-in-law Julio Blanco and his wife Wanda. The manufacturer delivered the boat to Atlantic City where our families met on July 1st, 1998 for its maiden voyage.
From the Atlantic Ocean, North to New York City, up the Hudson River to Lake Ontario, Niagara Falls, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior to Duluth, MN. My family disembarked in Duluth; we lived in Minneapolis at the time.
We made stops along the way in small towns and big cities:
New York City, Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Utica, Rochester, Niagara Falls, Sandusky, Detroit, Sarnia, Keweenaw, Apostle Islands, and in Canada: Toronto, Tobermory, Killarney, and Sault Ste Marie. For a total of 2,000 miles in 2 weeks.
← click map for HI-RES of the route
Some of the locks and draw-bridges of the Erie Canal and Welland Canal were small, others large enough to handle ocean freighters.
A rise/drop of 50 feet. →
Navigating the 30+ locks was a lot of work. The boat needs to be secured before the lock is flooded.
Pics below: the gang, and my wife and daughter at Niagara Falls, and me at the helm (Julio can I drive? plz?!)
Pics below: interior of the yacht; galley and salon.
Below: Daughter and I take the afternoon to kayak around Killarney, Canada.
Troy, NY is the home of "Uncle Sam."
click for floorplan
| Length: | 58' 11" |
| Width: | 18' |
| Draft: | 5' 3" |
| Gross weight: | 40 tons |
| Engines: | 2 Caterpillar diesels 1,350 HP/each |
| Fuel capacity: | 1,500 gallons |
| Water capacity: | 300 gallons |
| Generators: | 2 @ 20KW |
| Rooms: | 2 master staterooms, 2 guest rooms, 2 bathrooms |
| Sleeping capacity: | beds for 12 people including bridge and salon |
| Other: | Full galley (kitchen), laundry room, GPS autopilot, enclosed bridge |
My wife kept a log of the bodies of water we crossed:
Atlantic Ocean → Hudson River → Mohawk River → Lake Oneida → Little Sodus Bay → Lake Ontario → Saint Lawrence River → Lake Erie → Detroit River → Lake Saint Claire → Saint Claire River → Lake Huron → Georgian Bay → Killarney Channel → North Channel → Saint Marys River → Tenby Bay → Lime Island Channel → Munuscong Lake → Lake Nicolet → Whitefish Bay → Keweenaw Bay → Portage Lake → Lake Superior
Being in the middle of Lake Superior (31,000 sq mi) waves of 4-6 feet on a clear day with no land visible to the horizon was something I will never forget. Going through the 30+ locks, the stops at Cedar Point Amusement Park, the peaceful bays in Canada, the beach at Singing Sands, the view from the top of the CN Tower (1,815 ft), the Apostle Islands, and seeing America "from the water".. unforgettable. A once-in-a-lifetime trip. We are very thankful for the experience.
After we disembarked back home in Minnesota, my brother-in-law took the vessel through Lake Michigan to Chicago, down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and finally down to the Caribbean where he keeps it.
