Lake Ontario, A Mixed Bag

(Friday Aug 12 - Dist: 141.0 mi; Avg Speed: 20 mph; TTT: 7:15 hrs)

St. Catherines Marina

Port Weller, ON



Sticker shock, we are back in Canada.  The first thing that we notice is $16.00 HST on our bill for dockage.  Through most of the US a dollar a foot meant $41 for us.  Oh well, we are back in Canada after a one year vacation.

It was a strange trip.  Outside of Oswego Harbor the waves were consistently 3-4 feet and we were throwing lots of spray.  Of course the forecast called for 1-2.  As we got away from the river entrance the waves settled into a rather uncomfortable 2 feet on the bow with the odd 3 footer that slammed the boat into the next wave.  We would go up the first 3 foot wave and then crash into the next 3 foot wave; the boat would shutter each time.  Linda was already looking for a nearby marina on shore.  After about an hour, there was no more slamming and the waves were actually improving, that is getting smaller.  An another hour later the Lake was dead flat.  How does it do that?? there is no divider, no line.  Oh well I am not complaining because the last 4-5 hours were as pleasant as could be.  We got in just before 3 PM, the restaurant was open so we had a nice lunch and then drinks back on board.

We stayed here for two nights because we had hired a Welland Canal employee to assist us to transit the locks on Sunday.  It is actually a requirement to have a captain and two competent line handlers on board to go up the canal system.  Since my Looper friend from Rochester was out vacationing in the Thousand Islands instead of helping us, we hired probably a superior line handler for the trip.

We set up all of our fenders on the rails and were ready for our 7 AM tackling of the Welland Canal.

In the mean time some more peaceful scenes from our boat at St. Catherines Marina.

Should Have Stayed in Bed

(Thurs Aug 11 - Dist: 32.4 mi; Locks: 8; TTT: 6:00 hrs)

Linda and I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to travel today.  The same winds that were on Lake Ontario were also in our area only better protected by the trees and buildings... or so we thought.  Since Friday looked to be a good travel day for the lake, we decided to try it and see how it goes. 

We missed the signs from above.  About 10 minutes into our day we encountered E-23 our last lock for the Erie portion of the NY Canal Systems.  The winds were actually not bad at all and of course there were no waves.  We hailed the lock master but did not receive a reply.   After 4 more attempts we phoned, and phoned a few more times, but the line was busy.  We sounded our horn with 3 blasts but still nothing.  Finally we dug into the package that was given to us when we purchased the $50 pass and phoned the supervisor.  They, too, were surprised and very apologetic that no one was manning the lock.  So we ended up tying up to the wall and waiting 30 minutes for the supervisor to arrive and let us through.  

The Turn at Three Rivers

It was a slow start but we were on our way again.  We soon made the turn into the Oswego Canal and passed by a fairly modern maintenance shed for the NY Canal Authority.

The Oswego Canal did not look as well maintained nor as wide or as pretty as the Erie Canal but still the ride was good and we were making decent time after the early delay.  We arrived at lock 1 and were promptly allowed in.  Uh-oh, no lines to grab just a cable.  This presented a problem for us because the cable can only be reached from our swim platform but needs to be tied at our mid cleat.  We were not prepared as this was the first occurrence of this configuration.  So while I am trying to keep the boat steady in the lock, I am trying to explain to Linda what I think we have to do.  I ran to the side threw her the line from the mid cleat and then ran back to the helm to get the boat in the center again.  Once we manoeuvred the boat to the wall and Linda had looped the line behind the cable, I ran up front got the boat hook and grabbed the line to tie to the cleat.  Whew, we did it... and on the fly, too.

The next lock was different again it had lines only.  No problem we used the techniques that worked well for us on the Erie Canal.  As we started the 17 foot drop the wind came whipping over the top and was pushing us, pushing hard, away for the wall.  We struggled and needed all of our strength to stop the boat from being pushed to the other side.  After we cleared the lock, we decided that we needed to free up the cleats so that we could use them to hold the boat against the wind.

Lock 3 was cables only again so we reverted to what we had done in Lock 1; me tossing Linda the line from the mid-cleat and then me positioning the boat so that she could loop it around and then me running to snag the line with a boat hook.  It worked well and actually looked like we knew what we were doing. 

Lock 5 (there was no Lock 4??) had some lines over the lock walls as well as cables.  New plan, again on the fly, I asked Linda to loop our stern line around the cable so that I could go forward and fish up one of the lines.  The stern line had been removed (see Lock 2 ) so it was not ready.  After some short manoeuvring in the lock, the wind keeps getting worse by the way, Linda has the cable and I grab the line.  We got down no problem.

Locks 6, 7 and 8 are in quick succession right in the town of Oswego.  We enter Lock 6 and see that it has lines like the Erie Canal.  Linda grabs hers and I fish mine up from 5 feet below my deck and everything seems hunky-dory for the 20 foot drop.  As we go down the wind whips around the power generating station and it is all that I can do to hold the boat, using the cleat, ... Linda cannot.  The stern had swung out so far that Linda had no more line to hold onto.  She screamed my name.  I let go of my line and dashed to the helm and started driving the boat in the lock.  I was amazed that I needed as much power as I used but I managed to stop us from hitting either wall.  We were both stressed and sucking wind.

No rest for the wicked though.  I could see the next lock even before we had cleared the last.  Oh my.  We had no choice, we had to go in.  This lock had pipes and lines so Linda grabbed a pipe and I a line.  As it turned out 7 and 8 did not present any surprises and we were almost home for the night. 

I do not have any photos but as we cleared Lock 8, we could see that the wind was so strong that the waves were crashing over the break wall which protects the harbor.  Fortunately the Oswego Marina was right close and fully protected.  Despite the wind we were able to dock smoothly and soon were on our way to the Press Box, the nearest bar.   The beer went down easily and after a couple we were finally relaxed enough to watch the golf and join the conversations at the bar. 

What a day.

 

Lake Oneida, NY

(Tuesday Aug 9 - Dist: 22.4 mi; Avg Speed: 16.7 mph; TTT: 1:20 hrs)

Winter Harbor Marina

Brewerton, NY

This day had a serious threat of rain and isolated thunderstorms so we headed out fairly early and crossed the 29 mile Lake Oneida on plane the whole way.  It was a good trip despite the 1 foot waves and the fact that the rain started about 20 minutes from the marina.  We docked in the rain and even told the dock hands to stay dry as we could do this ourselves... and we did without a problem and in good time.  We were all hooked up, including satellite TV, and dried off by 10:30 AM. 

Winter Harbor here in Brewerton or Central Square NY, I am not sure which, is one of the prettiest and best landscaped boat yard that I have seen.  The owners live on the property and we had a great view of their landscaping.  We took advantage of the courtesy vehicles a number of times to re-provision at the Super Walmart and to get some hot pizza.

At this location we were only a day away from Oswego and Lake Ontario so I started monitoring the weather for the Lake.  It was not pretty for the next day ("winds 16-21 mph and waves 4-6 feet increasing to 5-7") so we decided to stay another day.  We took advantage of the golf course across the road and thoroughly enjoyed playing 18 holes of golf for a change.

Happy Anniversary

(Monday Aug 8 - Dist: 40.2 mi; Locks: 4; TTT: 5:50 hrs)

No Linda has not left me for a pirate but we have achieved a milestone of sorts, one year on board Q's End.  Unlike many Loopers we have not gone home for any reason.  We left Windsor on August 8 and have travelled more than 6,000 miles together, very closely together and.... we are still lovin' it and each other.

The day was pleasant enough although cloudy with a threat of rain.  At Lock 21 we were at the summit so to speak; this was the first lock were we dropped down 25 feet to the next pool level.  This was a little more challenging for us because the top edge of the lock wall was 5 or 6 feet below our deck.  Linda had to go out onto the swim platform to grab a line and steady the boat and then I went forward with a long boat hook and pulled up a line for me to hang onto.  It worked well and we are again comfortable with the proceedings.

This section of the canal went through both Rome and Utica, two larger cities.  We had no desire to visit either one so we pushed on to Sylvan Beach where we spent the night on the town wall with no services or facilities.  Sylvan Beach did have 3 restaurants along the pier where we were docked and then more along the beach.  We checked out several of the bars, probably 2 too many, and enjoyed the afternoon.  For our anniversary dinner we ate prime rib and Brazilian cold lobster at Captain John's.  No wine but rather the margarita special.. oh my.  We wandered back to the boat and relaxed (snoozed) for awhile.  Linda was in bed by eighth and I was only an hour or two behind her.  Amazingly neither one of us woke up with a hangover.  It was not us, the tables really are on a slope.

This town reminds me of Grand Bend on Lake Huron; a nice beach, plenty of bars and so-so restaurants and tacky shops.  Sylvan Beach however has a permanent, part time amusement park on site.  It only operates on Thursdays through Sundays.

All in all a good stop, probably would have been better without the threat of rain.

Here are a few random shots from the day's journey.

Erie Canal, Locks 11 thru 18

(Sat Aug 6 - Dist: 51.0 mi; Locks: 8; TTT: 7:55 hrs)

Ilion Marina and RV Park

Ilion, NY

These are the morning shots of the marina that we stopped at after day 2 on the Erie Canal.  It was a quaint spot, tidy and clean but not much else around.  We had breakfast at the Dockside Cafe and it was good.  We sat out on the deck with the beautiful scenery that you see in these pictures.

Major Disappointment!  In honor of our gunning toting American friends R. and K. we planned on visiting the Remington Gun Factory and Museum.  Unfortunately, the museum is not open on the weekends so we missed our opportunity.  Oh well, I will just have to live a little longer without ever handling a side arm.

The trip through this section of the canal was just as scenic as anything that you would want.  There are some areas where the original canal can be seen.  Just after E-17 which has the highest lift at 40 feet, the town of Little Falls is located on the side of a hill.  On one side houses are built right to the edge of the wall of the canal while the other side drops away below the level of the water.  It was an enjoyable trip until the rain started in earnest near E-18.

There were some storms and rain in the area and since we got drenched the day before we decided to take it easy on this Sunday.  Tomorrow we will continue further west to Lake Oneida.



Erie Canal, Locks 2 thru 10

(Friday Aug 5 - Dist: 37.3 mi; Locks: 9; TTT: 7:30 hrs)

River Link Park, Amsterdam NY

Our first day on the New York Canal System was rather long but went smoothly.  The canal lock masters were friendly and prompt, never any delays even if the lock needed to be turned around.  We were alone all day so everything went quick, roughly 10 minutes to lock up.  We got into our routine and enjoyed the trip.

River Link Park has a very nice part time restaurant with very good food.  The chef actually helped us dock and his wife served us later that evening.  Don't get me wrong the restaurant is first class and the owners are super friendly.  The owners have regular jobs but open the restaurant Thursday to Saturday for dinner during the summer months only.  It has to be good because there were a lot of locals eating there.

It was very scenic through this part of the canal system as we were following the Mohawk River once out of Lock 6.  The first 5 locks when west bound are almost consecutive. 

Waterford Visitors Center, Waterford NY

(Wed Aug 3 - Dist: 23.9 mi; Locks: 1; TTT: 3:35 hrs)

Twas a beautiful calm morning as we left Coeyman's Landing and continued up river past the Capital of NY, Albany.  The port was quite busy with both barges and ocean going ships.  It was quite industrial looking south of the city but it did have some interesting city scapes from the water.

At Troy there is a federal lock on the Hudson River and then shortly there after one has to take either the Erie Canal or the Champlain Canal.  We of course turned left and headed west but only a few hundred yards to the Waterford Visitors Center.

The Visitors Center provides free docking for 2 nights so we took advantage and explored  the town.  The first lock of the Erie Canal is called E-2 and was right in front of our boat while docked here.  We wanted to know more about the area so took the 2 mile trek to the museum.  This area has much, much history and was in fact habited by the Mochican Indians long before anyone arrived from Europe.

The White House Museum

While in town we re-provisioned and had an opportunity to send all of the charts that we had borrowed for the trip up the coast back to their owners.  Of course we checked out a couple of the restaurants, no "best evers" here but decent none the less.  If one feels inclined you can rent a canal boat to do the trip.  Looks kinda small and slow.  Believe it or not there was a couple from this area that completed the Loop in a similar boat named Dragon Fly.