Motoring, not Sailing around the Great Lakes

[donradcliffe]

OK, its finally warming up and we are headed to the boat (Grand Banks 42) near Syracuse next week (after the Made In Santa Cruz Race Week). The current plan for the first month is to get underway about June 15, run up to Oswego, down through the Thousand Islands to Montreal, and back to Kingston thru Ottowa and the Rideau canal. Then its the Trent-Severn to the North Channel/Georgian Bay region for the rest of the summer, and down to Chicago by late September. If we really like the lakes, we will find a place to store the boat till next summer, or its down to Florida this fall to complete the great loop.

Questions:

1. If friends fly into Toronto, where is there transportation to the boat in the Trent-Severn/North Channel/Georgian Bay area (I hear there is a bus to Port Severn, but not much else)? Buses/Trains/one-way car rentals?

2. If we've got 6 weeks to get from Port Severn to Mackinaw Island, what is a suggested itinerary?