Sat. Sept. 13, 2008
It's 0100 & we are now leaving Ottawa again for Collin's Bay. But this is it --- our departure day. Shannon, our house sitter, arrived Fri. night & we had a few hours of chatting & last minute instructions & question period. Graeme caught a couple of hours sleep, but I had to keep going as I still had last minute preparations. I'm still uptight about leaving; I'm terribly worried about my Dad & Mom. As we are driving to Collin's Bay, I'm still downloading photos onto CD's just in case I lose them somewhere along the way because of circumstances I have no control over.
We got to Collin's Bay at 0330; if has been raining; it's warm, foggy. Our 0500 departure is delayed as the visibility out the channel is poor. I catch a few winks until 0625. Dawn is breaking, the fine, misty rain has stopped, & Cherry & Doug escort 'Sweet Chariot', 'Celtic Cross' & 'Waterparke' out as far as about the middle of Lake Ontario. The wind is light but enough for Doug to put his sails up on his Cal '38. We are jealous as we have mast, boom, dinghy, water jugs, fuel jugs & tank on deck. Moving from stern to bow is some feat. There is a little rolling action of the Lake as the sun was rising; took Gravol 25mg just to be safe, then the rest of the day was very calm, slight breeze from the NE, sunny with a very thin cover of cloud (the kind that can foul you & you get a terrible sunburn. The house flies are numerous & biting & very annoying. Water temp is 21.5C. Lake depth >500 ft. Motoring along at 5.5 knots, arriving at Oswego at 1530 -- the last to arrive & clear customs via a video telephone. Instructions from the customs officer is that we do not need a cruising permit because Graeme is American, but we need a 'Decal'. Two phone numbers & website given proved ineffective so decided to forget it until someone asks. At 1655 we hailed the Oswego Canal Lock Master of Lock 8 but the lock closes at 1700 so no locking today. We tied up at the Muncipal Dock on the east side where there is a $20.00 fee to be paid at a self-serve kiosk; we could not find this kiosk so did not bother. We walked around to just passed Lock 8 where Ian & Parke were tied up, had a celebratory champagne drink compliments of the Godfrey's. Maureen, I'm saving my bottle for that appropriate sunset experience as you said. It was an early night when we hit the sack since neither of us had little to no sleep.
Sun. Sept. 14, 2008
Wow! A good night sleep! There is nothing better than being rocked to sleep in a sailboat. This is not a joke; I'm serious. After a simple breakfast we entered eastbound Lock 8 of the Oswego Canal System at 0830. We purchased a 10-day pass at the price of $37.50 for a vessel > 29 ft. but under 40 ft. from the Lock Master. We learnt with some difficulty how to handle locking; went sideways for a bit, but quickly corrected ourselves; good thing we were the only boat in the lock. Each lock takes approx. 20 minutes to clear; most are weighted ropes while some are pipes. We improved with each lock. Once we met up with the other travellers, we continued for 1/2 mi. to Lock 7, then 4 mi. to Lock 6 (all Oswego), on to Lock 5 (Minetto), no Lock 4, 6 mi. to Lock 3, & finally 1/2 mi. to Lock 2 (both Fulton, N.Y.) at 1315 where we tied up for the night; canal depth about 14-19ft.; these are all 'up' locks. This part of the canal is lined with lots of open greenspace, beautiful large expensive well-manicured lawned homes to RV homes & cottages. The cloud cover burnt off & the day became very sunny, humid & hot (90F)! We took the idea from local teens & had a very refreshing swim & wash up in the canal. The water according to a local is clean. High winds & rain predicted for tonight because of 'Ike'; one wouldn't imagine after such a fine day. Sure enough, at 2400 the winds picked up considerably; gusty & rain associated with the weather system.
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.
Tues. Sept. 16, 2008
Well we are bound to have a longer day; this is it. We left Brewerton at 0745 & entered the Erie Canal System at Lock 23, then onto Lake Oneida, a crossing of 29 mi. to Sylvan Beach at 5.5knots x 31/2 hrs. in a ESE direction. The Lake is calm; there is no chop, no wind. It is sunny with a few clouds in the am & increasing clouds late in the pm. There is some pretty impressive homes at Sylvan Beach where we pass Lock 22 at 1215, then 1 mi. further through Lock 21 (both New London, N.Y.); zebra mussels are covering the concrete wall & as we are being lowered the mussels are squirting liquid out at us. We push on 18 mi. past Rome & Utica to Lock 20 (Whitesboro) stopping there at 1600; all along this stretch we can see a cleaning up operation of fallen trees & a bike path (all part of the 260mi. of the N.Y. Canalway Trail). I could have biked this faster than motoring! In fact I could have biked from lock to lock. We tied up on the west side concrete wall just before Lock 20. On the east side there are floating docks, but the tie up are to mean-looking steel posts; also sheltered picnic tables, washrooms, & garbage cans (not always present). Distance covered=40.9 nm. Canal depth: 12-19 ft. I feel that I'm starting to get into a groove & a routine; I actually powerwalked at 0650 when the sun was poking its head up. Now to keep the discipline & keep it up.
Wed. Sept. 17, 2008
It's a cool 50F am; so donned a long-sleeve T, tights & a track suit for my powerwalk along the Canalway Trail. There is extensive fog also; I hope I capture the fog rolling off the water in my photos. We pass through Lock 20 from 0835 to 0855. Including this lock, all the locks become 'down' locks. Once again today the scenery is same as yesterday-- miles of trees & shrubs that are showing their Fall colours; mostly the Fall shade of green, but some reds & golds. The sky is absolutely cloudless, brilliant blue; & the sun is glowing. Lock 20 (Whitesboro) -- 0835 to 0855 .
Lock 20 to Lock 19 (Frankfort) 10 mi.-- 1025 to 1055
Lock 19 to 18 (Jacksonburg) 12 mi.--1255 to1310
Lock 18 to 17 (Little Falls) 4 mi.--1340 to 1410; very warm temp now
Lock 17 to 16 (Fort Plain) 7 mi.--1650; not enough time to make next lock
Distance: 34.7 mi. Canal depth: 10-18 ft.
Good facilities in little town of Fort Plain walking via the Canalway Trail-- library, grocerystore, Family Dollar, hardware store, restaurants, & laundry facilities.
Thurs. Sept. 18, 2008
It was another cool night & early am mist on the water at dawn. I will intersperse my workouts to include weights & stretches starting this am. On through Lock 15 (8ft) at 0740 to 0755. The Erie Canal runs along a major highway & through the Adirondacks in a mostly SE direction. We meant to bring a road map to follow our course in relation to the surrounding area.
Lock 15 to 14 (Canajoharie-8ft.) 7 mi. at 0830 to 0840
Lock 14 to 13 (Randall) 4 mi. at 0955 to 1010
Lock 13 to 12 (Tribes Hill) 10 mi. at 1145 to 1205; Lock Master is a stickler. The very first lock master who sold us our pass put the '7' month instead of '9' & this guy was making a big deal of it. We were warned about him by the previous lock master. We nearly took out our GPS antenna because he did not stop the lock lowering & would not hold on any lines but insisted on the boat's registration #.
Lock 12 to 11 (Amsterdam-12ft.) 5 mi. at 1250 to 1305
Lock 11 to 10 (Cranesville) 4 mi. at 1340 to 1350
Lock 10 to 9 (Rotterdam-15 ft.) 6 mi. at 1450 to 1510
Lock 9 to 8 (Scotia) 5 mi. at 1600; staying there the night. No facilities here. No interrnet connection. Another cool night predicted with frost in some areas.
Distance:35.3 mi. Canal depth: 14-18 ft.
Fri. Sept. 19, 2008
The sun was just showing its radiant face at about 0615 & mist was rising off the water when I did my powerwalk along the Canalway Trail. The temp is only 36F, no wind & again another brilliant sunny & cloudless, blue sky. Through Lock 8 (Scotia) at 0750 to 0805, then ENE & then SE. Lock 8 to 7 (Niskayuna-28 ft.) 11 mi. at 0945 to 0955
Lock 7 to 6 (Waterford-33 ft.) 11 mi. at 1135 to 1150 through Guard Gate #2 then #1
Lock 6 to 5 (Waterford-33.25 ft.) .23 mi. at 1153 to 1210
Lock 5 to 4 (Waterford-34.5 ft.) .16 mi. at 1212 to 1233
Lock 4 to 3 (Waterford-35 ft.) .6 mi. at 1243 to 1255
Lock 3 to 2 (Waterford-33 ft.) .28 mi. at 1305 to 1315-- this is our destination till Mon. am. Busy location on a Friday.
Welcome Centre is right at dockside. They have WiFi access, Captain Bob Cruise Books, but none left at this time of the year for the one's we need for the Oswego & Erie Canals & a second book through to Florida. You register at the desk & you purchase a key for the shower for $5.00 that is refundable on returning. There is free 48 hr. dockage then $10.00 per day, washrooms, free shore power, free water, & pump out for ?$1.00. There are lots of facilities at this location--grocery shopping at Hannaford (best) & Price Chopper, Shop Rite Pharmacy, restaurants, laundry facilities with internet access, library, Churches. Boy that for real shower felt good!
It's 0100 & we are now leaving Ottawa again for Collin's Bay. But this is it --- our departure day. Shannon, our house sitter, arrived Fri. night & we had a few hours of chatting & last minute instructions & question period. Graeme caught a couple of hours sleep, but I had to keep going as I still had last minute preparations. I'm still uptight about leaving; I'm terribly worried about my Dad & Mom. As we are driving to Collin's Bay, I'm still downloading photos onto CD's just in case I lose them somewhere along the way because of circumstances I have no control over.
We got to Collin's Bay at 0330; if has been raining; it's warm, foggy. Our 0500 departure is delayed as the visibility out the channel is poor. I catch a few winks until 0625. Dawn is breaking, the fine, misty rain has stopped, & Cherry & Doug escort 'Sweet Chariot', 'Celtic Cross' & 'Waterparke' out as far as about the middle of Lake Ontario. The wind is light but enough for Doug to put his sails up on his Cal '38. We are jealous as we have mast, boom, dinghy, water jugs, fuel jugs & tank on deck. Moving from stern to bow is some feat. There is a little rolling action of the Lake as the sun was rising; took Gravol 25mg just to be safe, then the rest of the day was very calm, slight breeze from the NE, sunny with a very thin cover of cloud (the kind that can foul you & you get a terrible sunburn. The house flies are numerous & biting & very annoying. Water temp is 21.5C. Lake depth >500 ft. Motoring along at 5.5 knots, arriving at Oswego at 1530 -- the last to arrive & clear customs via a video telephone. Instructions from the customs officer is that we do not need a cruising permit because Graeme is American, but we need a 'Decal'. Two phone numbers & website given proved ineffective so decided to forget it until someone asks. At 1655 we hailed the Oswego Canal Lock Master of Lock 8 but the lock closes at 1700 so no locking today. We tied up at the Muncipal Dock on the east side where there is a $20.00 fee to be paid at a self-serve kiosk; we could not find this kiosk so did not bother. We walked around to just passed Lock 8 where Ian & Parke were tied up, had a celebratory champagne drink compliments of the Godfrey's. Maureen, I'm saving my bottle for that appropriate sunset experience as you said. It was an early night when we hit the sack since neither of us had little to no sleep.
Sun. Sept. 14, 2008
Wow! A good night sleep! There is nothing better than being rocked to sleep in a sailboat. This is not a joke; I'm serious. After a simple breakfast we entered eastbound Lock 8 of the Oswego Canal System at 0830. We purchased a 10-day pass at the price of $37.50 for a vessel > 29 ft. but under 40 ft. from the Lock Master. We learnt with some difficulty how to handle locking; went sideways for a bit, but quickly corrected ourselves; good thing we were the only boat in the lock. Each lock takes approx. 20 minutes to clear; most are weighted ropes while some are pipes. We improved with each lock. Once we met up with the other travellers, we continued for 1/2 mi. to Lock 7, then 4 mi. to Lock 6 (all Oswego), on to Lock 5 (Minetto), no Lock 4, 6 mi. to Lock 3, & finally 1/2 mi. to Lock 2 (both Fulton, N.Y.) at 1315 where we tied up for the night; canal depth about 14-19ft.; these are all 'up' locks. This part of the canal is lined with lots of open greenspace, beautiful large expensive well-manicured lawned homes to RV homes & cottages. The cloud cover burnt off & the day became very sunny, humid & hot (90F)! We took the idea from local teens & had a very refreshing swim & wash up in the canal. The water according to a local is clean. High winds & rain predicted for tonight because of 'Ike'; one wouldn't imagine after such a fine day. Sure enough, at 2400 the winds picked up considerably; gusty & rain associated with the weather system.
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.
Tues. Sept. 16, 2008
Well we are bound to have a longer day; this is it. We left Brewerton at 0745 & entered the Erie Canal System at Lock 23, then onto Lake Oneida, a crossing of 29 mi. to Sylvan Beach at 5.5knots x 31/2 hrs. in a ESE direction. The Lake is calm; there is no chop, no wind. It is sunny with a few clouds in the am & increasing clouds late in the pm. There is some pretty impressive homes at Sylvan Beach where we pass Lock 22 at 1215, then 1 mi. further through Lock 21 (both New London, N.Y.); zebra mussels are covering the concrete wall & as we are being lowered the mussels are squirting liquid out at us. We push on 18 mi. past Rome & Utica to Lock 20 (Whitesboro) stopping there at 1600; all along this stretch we can see a cleaning up operation of fallen trees & a bike path (all part of the 260mi. of the N.Y. Canalway Trail). I could have biked this faster than motoring! In fact I could have biked from lock to lock. We tied up on the west side concrete wall just before Lock 20. On the east side there are floating docks, but the tie up are to mean-looking steel posts; also sheltered picnic tables, washrooms, & garbage cans (not always present). Distance covered=40.9 nm. Canal depth: 12-19 ft. I feel that I'm starting to get into a groove & a routine; I actually powerwalked at 0650 when the sun was poking its head up. Now to keep the discipline & keep it up.
Wed. Sept. 17, 2008
It's a cool 50F am; so donned a long-sleeve T, tights & a track suit for my powerwalk along the Canalway Trail. There is extensive fog also; I hope I capture the fog rolling off the water in my photos. We pass through Lock 20 from 0835 to 0855. Including this lock, all the locks become 'down' locks. Once again today the scenery is same as yesterday-- miles of trees & shrubs that are showing their Fall colours; mostly the Fall shade of green, but some reds & golds. The sky is absolutely cloudless, brilliant blue; & the sun is glowing. Lock 20 (Whitesboro) -- 0835 to 0855 .
Lock 20 to Lock 19 (Frankfort) 10 mi.-- 1025 to 1055
Lock 19 to 18 (Jacksonburg) 12 mi.--1255 to1310
Lock 18 to 17 (Little Falls) 4 mi.--1340 to 1410; very warm temp now
Lock 17 to 16 (Fort Plain) 7 mi.--1650; not enough time to make next lock
Distance: 34.7 mi. Canal depth: 10-18 ft.
Good facilities in little town of Fort Plain walking via the Canalway Trail-- library, grocerystore, Family Dollar, hardware store, restaurants, & laundry facilities.
Thurs. Sept. 18, 2008
It was another cool night & early am mist on the water at dawn. I will intersperse my workouts to include weights & stretches starting this am. On through Lock 15 (8ft) at 0740 to 0755. The Erie Canal runs along a major highway & through the Adirondacks in a mostly SE direction. We meant to bring a road map to follow our course in relation to the surrounding area.
Lock 15 to 14 (Canajoharie-8ft.) 7 mi. at 0830 to 0840
Lock 14 to 13 (Randall) 4 mi. at 0955 to 1010
Lock 13 to 12 (Tribes Hill) 10 mi. at 1145 to 1205; Lock Master is a stickler. The very first lock master who sold us our pass put the '7' month instead of '9' & this guy was making a big deal of it. We were warned about him by the previous lock master. We nearly took out our GPS antenna because he did not stop the lock lowering & would not hold on any lines but insisted on the boat's registration #.
Lock 12 to 11 (Amsterdam-12ft.) 5 mi. at 1250 to 1305
Lock 11 to 10 (Cranesville) 4 mi. at 1340 to 1350
Lock 10 to 9 (Rotterdam-15 ft.) 6 mi. at 1450 to 1510
Lock 9 to 8 (Scotia) 5 mi. at 1600; staying there the night. No facilities here. No interrnet connection. Another cool night predicted with frost in some areas.
Distance:35.3 mi. Canal depth: 14-18 ft.
Fri. Sept. 19, 2008
The sun was just showing its radiant face at about 0615 & mist was rising off the water when I did my powerwalk along the Canalway Trail. The temp is only 36F, no wind & again another brilliant sunny & cloudless, blue sky. Through Lock 8 (Scotia) at 0750 to 0805, then ENE & then SE. Lock 8 to 7 (Niskayuna-28 ft.) 11 mi. at 0945 to 0955
Lock 7 to 6 (Waterford-33 ft.) 11 mi. at 1135 to 1150 through Guard Gate #2 then #1
Lock 6 to 5 (Waterford-33.25 ft.) .23 mi. at 1153 to 1210
Lock 5 to 4 (Waterford-34.5 ft.) .16 mi. at 1212 to 1233
Lock 4 to 3 (Waterford-35 ft.) .6 mi. at 1243 to 1255
Lock 3 to 2 (Waterford-33 ft.) .28 mi. at 1305 to 1315-- this is our destination till Mon. am. Busy location on a Friday.
Welcome Centre is right at dockside. They have WiFi access, Captain Bob Cruise Books, but none left at this time of the year for the one's we need for the Oswego & Erie Canals & a second book through to Florida. You register at the desk & you purchase a key for the shower for $5.00 that is refundable on returning. There is free 48 hr. dockage then $10.00 per day, washrooms, free shore power, free water, & pump out for ?$1.00. There are lots of facilities at this location--grocery shopping at Hannaford (best) & Price Chopper, Shop Rite Pharmacy, restaurants, laundry facilities with internet access, library, Churches. Boy that for real shower felt good!
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