Brrrrr

Near Prescott, Ontario
N 44 40.580 W 075 33.463

Friday 2035
Jeez, what a cold day this was. It rained almost constantly, the wind was north at 25, yet the thermometer said that the temperature was never lower than 60F (16C.) Obviously we've seen colder days in the past year, but it sure didn't feel like it.

On the plus side, this is the first, and perhaps only, day in this month where we got to sail all day. We used the foresail only, and used the motor only for short intervals where we were shaded by islands. Nevertheless, it was so rough and uncomfortable that I would not let Libby or Nick spell me at the helm. I stood watch from 0700 to 1300, then I was so thoroughly chilled and hungry that we had to stop and anchor for a while to give me a rest.

By 1600, we made it to the vicinity of Ogdensburg. There is no vacancy at the nearby marinas so we're anchored out on the north shore of the river. Just after anchoring, the weather changed for the better. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and it warmed up. All in all, this is a very pretty spot. We have Ontario Canada 300 meters to our north and New York about 1 mile to our south. The appearance of the houses, the cars and the farms on either side are indistinguishable. I know that it
infuriates Canadians when Americans treat them as if they were just a unenfranchised extension of the USA. I understand why they would be infuriated by that. Still, Ontario and Ontarians look like and sound like and act so much like Americans that I have a hard time remembering that they aren't Americans.

We're reaching the point where Nick had to make a decision of whether to hop off now or to stay with us until we reach Massachusetts a month or so from now. He chose to return home and perhaps to rejoin us later. That's OK. It has been really fun having Nick with us. He's a good crewman, and with more experience he could learn to be a very good crewman. Nick's father will drive to Ogdensburg tomorrow morning to pick him up. We'll continue on, probably to Cornwall, departing US territory
until we reach Maine.