Check out this gorgeous salty, BBC Rio Grande.  This German vessel currently arrived in Becancour from Lake Michigan to load for overseas.  I got these shots as the Rio Grande passed in front of Boldt Castle in Alexandria Bay.

Be sure to click to enlarge the photos!

A few short updates on recent items of interest including Alan Jackson, Linda Lou and Blue Moon:

You all know that Alan Jackson donated 5 boats to the Antique Boat Museum for the Auction last weekend.  He didn’t stop there.  He invited all the buyers of his boats and staff at the Antique Boat Museum for a tour of the 1000 Islands on his yacht, Neon Rainbow.  Very nice!

Readers continue to write in about their sightings of the lovely Linda Lou including the Captain’s mother!  Reader Ian Cryer sent the shot above.  He said, “The Linda Lou passed under the Bluewater Bridges just after 18:00 on August 2nd, after being delayed by powerboat races in the St. Clair River by Mooretown and Courtright.  The boat garnered lots of compliments from the many people gathered by the river in Point Edward.  Interesting information about the yacht was printed in the Globe and Mail Saturday August 1st.”

Where is mega yacht Blue Moon this week?   The contest will end in August 24th, so be sure to get your photos in soon.

Thanks to our readers we have some new photos to share of Mega yachts Blue Moon (contest entries) and Linda Lou:

Colin White sent us several shots including the Featured Photo above of Linda Lou.  Colin also sent us a 2nd shot of Linda Lou taken in Toronto, and a shot of Blue Moon taken in Montreal Old Port on July 18th below.  All photos can be enlarged by clicking.

Reader Ben Chambers took the shot below on the left while Blue Moon was docked in Old Port Montreal aside a much smaller Yacht “Speedy.” Ben took the shot with his cellphone, and has had “Bluemoon” as his wallpaper on his phone since then.   Leslie Force took the shot of Blue Moon on the right below at the same location.

Andy Harley took a bow shot of the Blue Moon from the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show last October.

The Blue Moon Photo Contest is still ongoing and will end in mid August.  Please continue to send Blue Moon shots as you see her!

We have been hearing about Linda Lou of Georgetown, a 197′ Lurrsen mega yacht on the marine radio.  Reader Robert Binette observed Linda Lou on the St. Lawrence River in front of Lanoraie recently.   The church in the background is of the Lanoraie village, 35 miles East of Montreal.  Thanks for the photo, Robert!  Diane Byrne has a post about Linda Lou including some great interior photos.

Here are some sunset shots from beautiful Clayton, NY in the 1000 Islands.  The view of the main channel of the Saint Lawrence River from French Bay Marina is perfect for sunset watching.  If you click on any of the photos you will enable the lightbox for viewing.  Feel free to right click any of the photos (when not in the lightbox) and save to your computer to use as a desktop or wallpaper.

These are some of my favorite recent photos that I took while at the Riveredge Resort.  The Federal Kushiro of FederalNav LTD was traveling up river on the Saint Lawrence River.  This salty (salt water vessel) carries general cargo such as grain, steel, machinery, and iron ore.

As with all of our posts, you can click through on the photos to get a larger version in the lightbox.

Great to be back on the river and watch the lakers and salties.  In all of our posts, you can click any image to enter the lightbox and view all images actual size.

Canada Steamship Lines, Laurentien, went by this morning and if you look carefully, the decks are being cooled with a spray of water.

These windmill blades were being moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario on Salty, Alexia.

Gordon Leach – Upper Lakes Group

Well, we couldn’t be happier to hear that Roger Hyde is back to open the Harbor Inn in Clayton for the season!  As long time Harbor Inn patrons, we were saddened when the restaurant was sold last year.  We were missing the opportunity to enjoy a great meal and a sunset at the same time.  Can’t wait until he reopens on June 15th so we can see what old favorites and new culinary inventions he has in store!  Welcome back Roger!

Reading the May issue of Coastal Living Magazine was great as usual to inspire those dreams of living on and enjoying the water.  Then, it went up a notch when we saw that Clayton, NY (our home port) was listed as the best small town in the Great Lakes!  Although we don’t live in Clayton, and drive 5.5+ hours round trip to get there every week in the good weather, we have always known it is the best place to boat.  You have the feel of a sleepy small town, the BEST views and beautiful anchorages nearby.  You can watch lakers and freighters go by all day, and now with the new dock, you can see Gran Finale, Blue Moon, Lady M, Perseverance and other mega yachts.  Clayton is also home to the Antique Boat Museum and the annual Antique Boat Show, as well as many other annual events.  Where else can you enjoy all of this in clean, fresh water?

This past summer at the Clayton Antique Boat Show there were two very special boats. They were both manufactured by Elco and were built in Bayonne N.J.

Zephyr III (pictured above and below) is a 1928 50′ Elco.  Major restoration started in 1992.  The Owner,  John Cowle, is from Toronto with home port in Picton Ontario. Zephyr III has twin screws with gas engines.  The picture above was taken during the Sunday parade. Gadfly is behind.

About ELCO

The 1893, the Electric Launch Company incorporated and began building electric motor boats. In 1919, when the range and power of gasoline engines grew, Elco converted to gasoline. During World War I, the company built sub chasers.  After the war they began building pleasure crafts such as the Cruisette, Veedetts and Flattops. During World War II, Elco manufactured the famous PT boats building 399 of those famous 80′ torpedo boats. The most famous of these was PT109 captained by LTJG John Kennedy. In 1949 the company was shut down. It is estimated that 7500 boats were built and about 400 are still in use. A new Elco company was started in 1987 and is still in existence today making electric launches.

The picture below was taken at the Clayton Town Dock, and you can see a laker in the background.  Click on both pictures to see the detail on this gorgeous antique cruiser.  The second Elco will be featured in an upcoming post.