Floating Castles at Singer Castle

On Sunday, July 31st those in the vicinity of Singer Castle noticed a veritable flotilla of yachts making their way downriver toward Dark Island.  After checking in with customs at Boldt Castle, thirty yachts most ranging in size between 30 and 65 feet came to the island for AquaPalooza 2011.  AquaPalooza is a series Sea Ray sponsored on-water celebrations held during the last two weekends in July at more than 100 locations around the world.   The participating boats were docked on both the North and South sides of the castle and the passengers enjoyed an evening of socializing, dinning and dancing on the Castle Greens followed by an overnight stay. This was the second AquaPalooza cruise to Singer Castle from Hurst Marina in Manotick, Ontario Canada.  Event organizers found that AquaPalooza 2010 was so well received that they decided to return in 2011.
  
Singer Castle staff welcomed the group’s return and enjoyed seeing the floating “castles” that were manufactured by Sea Ray, Meridian, Cobalt, Viking, Chris Craft and Doral. Several of the larger yachts came equipped with every convenience one would ever want or need for an enjoyable cruise: kitchens with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops, stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, icemakers, wine storage, beds with pillow top mattresses, full bathrooms, TVs, DVD players, Stereo systems, washers and dryers, GPS and so on.  One could easily live on board for months at a time.

Above report and photo direct from Dark Island's Jean Papke, Administrative Assistant to Tom Weldon, President of Singer Castle.

1000 Islands video tour from Rockport Boat Lines.

Kick back and take this easy tour of the Thousand Islands with a focus on Boldt Castle and a sampling of "Millionaires' Row" (stately summer homes, each on its own island). An interesting 10 minutes and 22 seconds, enjoy the free tour on this part of the St. Lawrence River! Courtesy of the Rockport Boat Line, Ontario.

New Year gifts for you! And the Walleye Drop for New Year's Eve (Midnight).

Happy New Year to you! I am accepting any interesting stories or photos regarding the Thousand Islands area or the St. Lawrence River that will help us get through this winter. If I choose your story or photos to run here, you will instantly win a brand-new 1GB USB Flash Drive (also known as a Thumb or Jump Drive). It is a full gigabyte in capacity! Great for transferring data from computer to computer, or for storage. This blog concentrates on the area's two famous castles (Singer Castle and Boldt Castle), but the whole area is tied in together and therefore relevant. Please email to: mailbox [at] gold-mountain [dot] com (remember the dash), or send to P.O. Box 123, Jamesville NY 13078.

For our diehard fishing crowd (and for anybody looking for something very unique), have you ever watched the live walleye fish drop in Port Clinton, OH at midnight on the web? ("Live" meaning you can see it in real-time through their webcams on the web). If you are watching the New Year's Eve ball drop down in New York City on your TV anyway, you can have this on your computer going at the same time. Yes, a very exciting life indeed!

Singer Castle & Boldt Castle open dates for 2010.

Here is a convenient listing for the new 2010 season open dates for the St. Lawrence River's famous castles in the Thousand Islands.

Singer Castle will open for the 2010 season on Saturday, May 15th and will be open Saturdays and Sundays thru June 19th. Weekday tours will be available by appointment. June 19th thru Labor Day the castle will be open daily. Labor Day thru October 11th the castle will be open Saturdays and Sundays.

Boldt Castle is open daily, starting May 8th to October 3rd, from the hours of 10:00 am to 6:30 pm. During July and August extended hours are from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, for the days of October 4th to the 11th from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm, and for 16th and 17th from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm.

Note: Both castles are accessible only by boat (tour boat or personal boat). So be sure to check with tour boat lines in the area.

For your convenience, dates and times are gathered from the Castles' own websites. Be sure to check with the primary sources before making any plans. This blog is independent and is not affiliated with either castle nor with any tour boat line. Photo is courtesy of Ad Meskens, Wikipedia (click on photo to see it larger).

Valentine's Day / Boldt Castle Love Story on Heart Island

Clover Boldt Baird, granddaughter of George C. Boldt wrote "The Love Story of Boldt Castle" in 1978. She wrote some interesting things apropos to Valentine's day. Boldt's wife, Louise, loved the Thousand Islands and her birthday happened to be on Valentine's day (Feb. 14th). As Clover tells it, George would make a castle for Louise that would be a double gift, a birthday present as well as a Valentine's gift.

"...George noticed that his island had a somewhat heart-like shape. Valentines Day, a 'gift of love,' Hart Island... 'I'll make it a REAL heart,' he promised himself. Soon after, he imported hundreds of workmen to change the outline of the island into the desired shape ... reworked until the land became a giant valentine, which George promptly named 'Heart Island.'"

But sadly ending like a Greek tragedy, Louise died unexpectedly at only 42, and George, inconsolable, immediately stopped all work on the castle and he never returned to it. Not to end on this note, Boldt Castle on Heart Island became one of the most visited tourist destinations, as well as a very popular host of weddings.

(Most of these factoids and excerpts are from Clover's booklet. The classic aerial-view post card which I have is dated from 1962. Click on the headline to read on Wikipedia about the surprisingly actual St. Valentines who were martyred for their beliefs).