Mon. Sept. 15, 2008

Mon. Sept. 15, 2008

Despite the weather, Sweet Chariot slept well. Others up during the night taking or lashing 'things' down, adding more lines to tie down. While having breakfast & listening to the radio, learnt that 'Ike' peaked at 0300 & caused damage in some areas, downed trees & power outages; many schools closed; winds had gusted to 60 mph. We were moored on the east wall immediately after Lock 2 & seemed to have been blown onto the wall. We did discover in the am that we were all covered with leaves & twigs; the humidity of the previous day brought out these small, round bodied bugs that left purple stains on the fiberglass & the boat cushions, some of which we haven't been able to remove. The morning is grey & cloudy, & light rain, but the winds have died right down; the humidity has dissipated. At 0930 we are on our 10 mi. trek to Lock 1-- the last of the Oswego Canal & enter the Erie Canal System at Lock 23 at Onondaga, close to Syracuse. Again saw huge beautiful homes with nicely landscaped lawns right down to the water's edge; some downed & uprooted trees after Lock 23 & lots of herons, ducks, jumping fish, hence quite a few fishermen. Electricity out at some spots on the east shore. Breeze remains light; day is still cloudy & grey with on & off misty light rain. Canal water temp is 23C; depth= 16-19 ft. At Brewerton Boatyard (westside) we fuelled up, watered up (free) & facilities to pump out, then proceeded to tie up on the concrete wall just passed the bridge on the west shore; a short day (7.9 mi.) Met an number of Canadian boaters at this location. There is a library 1 block away where I did some internetting ie contacting my family for the first time; also adequate shopping facilities. Brewerton is at the mouth of Lake Oneida; apparently it is quite choppy today, but better weather is predicted for tomorrow & the next few days; here's hoping.