June 29, 2009

Greetings from Lake Ontario! Yes, we have been underway—intermittantly, I admit, but we're Cruisers, after all, and it is the journey, not the destination that counts. Or so we continue to tell ourselves as we grin and say, “Sure, why not stay here another day!” On the way out of Catskill Creek, we stopped at River View Marina for fuel--$1.91/gal. Not bad! The ride up the Hudson to Troy was uneventful and we tied up at theTown Dock (Joe's) at 9 PM. We missed the hail and high winds somehow, and we had a fine ride. Our usual early start on Tuesday was a little later than sometimes! After all, we had to rig the boat for locking, and I had to chat with everyone around. It was one-fifteen in the afternoon when we exited the Federal Lock just above Troy, and turned left out of the Hudson River and into the Erie Canal. 'Rig the boat' means tying fenders low and securely so they'll protect the outside of the boat from the (slimy, icky, concrete) lock walls. Also means having standby lines cleated off and ready to use in case a lock line jams and must be cut (one did—that is why the knife and nippers hang at the ready next to the door of the boat...just in case!). This trip involves only crossing the Eastern ½ of the Erie—at Oswego we turn North and take the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario, but we pass thru 23 Erie + 8 Oswego, or 31 locks where we'll be raised and lowered to follow the contours of the land. By 6 pm on Tuesday, we'd travelled only about 15 horizontal miles and had been elevated over 200 feet. Locks 2-7 are the first six locks on the Erie. They come one right after the other, and thus, are called “the Flight“. They raise your boat from 27-33 feet each. For you non-boaters, that means that as you drive along the canal, you spot a dam and spillway with a closed gate beside it. The first rule is: Do NOT go near the dam! Instead, you wait for the lockmaster to open the gate, then you voluntarily drive the boat into a box about 40' wide and 2-300 feet long, watch the gate close behind you (with a loud ka-thunk), hang onto the wall while the water swirls in (or out) of the box, and then see the opposite gate open so you can drive away at the new water level. After exiting Lock #7, we tied up on the wall—the walls are free for boaters to stay overnight, and often have parks or historical sites nearby. While out for a walk, we saw our first actual critters of the trip---a woodchuck and 6 cute little baby skunks—one of whom tried to untie my shoe. In the morning we watched the NYDOT guys dredge the channel, the old fashioned way, with a bucket and a barge. Neat. The photos show some of the ways to manage the boat while in a lock. Fred had the re-bar hook made years ago and we use it to connect us to the lock wall. Here is how it goes. As we enter the lock, we choose a spot on the wall, Fred drives up to it and I grab on and secure the boat. Depending on whether we grabbed a pipe or one of the cables that run the height of the lock wall or a ladder, we (guess who is usually 'we'--I'm developing Michelle O. arms!)slide along, or move the hook up or down the rungs of the ladder as the boat and the water level change. As Fred drives the boat so well, there is rarely an issue, but, as mentioned above, we did have one 'happen'. As we reached the top of a pipe (coming up) I attempted to slack the line as the boat continued to rise. The line clamped on itself in the corner of the connecting plate. Lockmaster was standing there, and when I couldn't pry the line loose with a boat hook, he grabbed the hook and tried. The port (opposite) side of the boat continued to rise. Fred grabbed the nippers, we flipped the spare line over a bollard on shore and Fred cut the line. YA sprang up (leveled herself) with a 'thump'. Felt like a 2-3 foot jump, and the boat was very happy to be freed! UFFDA! Thankfully, that is as exciting as it got. Wednesday night we tied up after Lock 11. There is a neat park with a section of the early canal, a mock up of a general store of the day (1850's) and it is a nice quiet place to be. By evening it was pouring—and it rained all night. We just hung out until after lunch on Thursday, and slogged on through the wetness to St. Johnsville. There we found out what water can do! In the 2006 rain and flash floods the water level raised nearly 20 feet—making a real mess, overflowing the locks, sinking boats and covering RVs on the shore. The marina office is newly rebuilt and very comfy, and Fred remembered Bernie, the dockmaster, from prior canal trips. Bernie, bless him, drove us to a restaurant, where we enjoyed a great Italian dinner. Our ride home kindly stopped at Stewart's so we could buy ice cream. And we did. Friday morning we entered the second highest lock in the US—vertical rise of 40.5 feet. The garage-door type (or guillotine, depending on how you see it) gate drips on you as you enter, and man it looks like a LONG way up there when that gate closes. We continued on to Rome, NY where we again tied up on the wall. Had a nice walk around the corner of the town, including a tour of Ft. Stanwix, and enjoyed working on Shutterfly and doing crossword puzzles in the evening. Saturday we had crossed the highest point of land, and our two remaining locks lowered us 25' each. From there we went into Oneida Lake and had an uneventful afternoon crossing. Around 5 we docked at the Brewerton Boat Yard where we spent the next week. Fred was able to fix some of the vexing boat issues, and I rented a car and drove to Newburgh for a couple of days. Lots of 'little stuff' to take care of at home, and it was great to get one last hug from some of the grandkids before we leave the country. (OK, it's only Canada, but it sounds like a big deal, doesn't it?) On Friday the 26th, we left Brewerton at 1:30 and stopped 3/4 mile and 2 marinas away to top off the fuel tanks (isn't that how I began this?). A thunderstorm interrupted the power and shut off the pump, so we just tied up to wait it out. Very neat people own the Winter Harbor Marina, and we found a Great Harbour connection with BERLIE MAE! Saturday morning was again grey and we kept our running lights on all day as we mototed up to the end of the Oswego Canal. Tied to the wall above Lock 8, had a great walk around the area that ended with Chinese take out. Early to bed and today, Sunday,we've exited Lock 8, and crossed Lake Ontario, heading for Clayton, NY—last stop in the US of A. Our passports are ready, the avacado and geranium are being tended back home (can't bring dirt to Canada), and our phone and internet connections are updated. The Customs decal is posted so we can get back into the country, and we're looking forward to some outrageously beautiful cruising in Georgian Bay and the North Channel! Monday we'll meet CAROLYNN ANN in Kingston, Ontario, and we'll be back with you all soon! Be well and remember to laugh a lot! Life requires it! Linda and Fred