LOCK #11, TRENT-SEVERN WATERWAY

Busy day today! Started out by wiping down the boat after a night of heavy rain. The skies were still cloudy, but if the forecast is correct, we shouldn’t see more rain today. I had one project that needed a trip to the hardware store (which opened at 9 AM, according to the sign), so I stopped by the espresso shop across the street, but finally gave up at 9:30 when it still wasn’t open. Went back to the marina and got the boat ready to go, but ran the block down to the hardware store at 9:45, and it was open, kind of. At least I got what I needed, and we took off from Trenton toward lock #1 of the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW).

Part of the "Red Chair" project

We still had not purchased our lock permit and moorage permit, but they waved us on into the lock anyway, and said we could buy it after we locked through. As we were in the lock, they came by with the paperwork and the wireless credit card machine, so we got the permits without even getting off of the boat!

Lockmaster cottage

We went through ten locks today and ended up at the bottom of lock #11 for the night. We had thought about getting as far as #12 in Campbellford, but ran out of time - you have to be in front of the lock by 5:30 PM as they close at 6 PM. It actually was fortuitous, getting a great (free) tie-up on the wall, facing the suspension bridge over Ranney Falls. I walked up to the lock before they closed and the lock master showed me where they hide the key for the washrooms and said he’d see me in the morning for the first lock-through.

Looking downstream over Ranney Falls (IMPROV in center)

Near where we tied up were two red Adirondack chairs, part of the “Red Chair” project by the Province of Ontario. They put two chairs in select scenic locations throughout the Province and invite people to sit down, relax and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the beer is not included, but the view included IMPROV.

We tried to take a walk into town, but the directions we received (over the bridge, through the woods,past the soccer field, etc, etc) didn’t exactly mesh with the roadways and we ended up back at the lock after a 3 mile loop. Oh well, dinner and a little wine and all’s well…

Ranney Falls

Our dock at Lock #11

TRENTON, ONTARIO

Saturday, June 27

A kind of lazy morning, knowing that we would only be cruising for a couple of hours today. We used a couple of “loaner” bikes from the marina and rode down to the Farmer’s Market in town. Bought some veggies, bread, local cheese and, of course, home-baked cookies. 

Elaine, at the Farmer's Market

We pulled out of Belleville marina and headed west to Trenton with a dark and cloudy sky which looked fairly threatening. The wind was blowing 10-15 knots, but from the east, so it didn’t feel that strong since we were traveling around 8 knots to the west. We were a bit confused coming into Trenton because we could see a big marina at the mouth of the Trent River, but there was no indication on any of our charts that a marina existed there. The one we had reservations at showed on the chart about a half mile up river. I called on the VHF, and they directed me past the new marina to the old one. We took a slip right on the river with no protection around it and were a little concerned since the forecast was for very strong winds later in the day.

Our unprotected slip - we later moved to the corner, under the big tree on the left.

They have recently built a new marina in Trenton, and that was the one we passed at the mouth of the river. After we were settled, I walked over there, since it looked so much more protected and so much nicer than where we were. They explained that construction on shore facilities was not yet complete, so they were not accepting transient boaters. It should be completed within a few weeks - maybe we'll stay there on our way back south at the end of summer.


I went off on a futile quest trying to get cell phone service and a data plan in Canada since my I-Pad's Verizon hot spot won’t work here. To make a long story short, I was shot down at every turn. A non-Canadian cannot get a data plan here - you can’t even get any service other than a pre-paid account, and that will not allow data downloads. This may interrupt my blogging a bit, since we will have to rely on commercial hot spots such as marinas, espresso shops, etc. while in  Canada. We are not planning on staying at marinas all the time, as we do like to anchor out, so I may be without internet at times. Ironically, our T-Mobile phones allow unlimited data while roaming in Canada, but at 128 kbps (incredibly slow), although you can upgrade to high-speed data at $50/500MB!

While I was ranting at the phone people, Elaine was walking around town and doing a little grocery shopping. It’s a nice downtown area with a number of restaurants, stores, a theater, etc. The rain held off for most of the day, but by 4 or 5 PM it started to drizzle. I had noticed a boat in the marina with the hailing port of Ashland, OR on it and I recognized it as a couple who we had met in Annapolis, MD several weeks ago. They stopped by our boat and we chatted for a while, catching up on each other’s experiences since we first met. As we were talking, the wind started coming up and the boat started reacting to the waves on the river. We were bouncing around quite a bit, so I asked the marina staff if we could move to a more protected area. The result was an incredibly protected spot right in the lee of a large building at the back of the marina which kept the wind from us all night and kept the water very smooth. The wind was quite strong all night, so I’m glad we moved when we did.

Sunday, June 28

Heavy rain all night , but it let up a bit this morning around 10 AM. We had seen a bookstore in town yesterday, and thought we would stop by today to see if they had any cruising guides for the waterway. The bookstore didn’t open until 11 AM, so we stopped by an espresso shop for coffee while we waited. Of course, it started raining again. At 11, we went over to the bookstore and found it only had electronic games and gaming supplies — no books! Since I was out walking in the rain anyway, I walked up to Canadian Tire (which is really a large variety store selling sporting goods, hardware, furniture, auto supplies, etc) to get a Canadian flag to fly as a courtesy flag and to get a couple of small plastic folding tables for the flybridge. I decided to pick up some fishing gear at the same time, since I have read that the fishing is very good where we are going. It ended up being a little over three miles round trip, all in the rain, but at least it wan’t too cold at 16 degrees (Celsius, about 57 Fahrenheit).

The rain was steady all day, so we didn’t get much done, but did walk over to the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) store after the rain let up to pick up a couple of bottles of wine…

BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO

We spent a quiet night docked at the wall between Lock #7 and Lock #8 on the Oswego Canal. Up early to get ready for the Lake Ontario passage, we had coffee and said our goodbyes to our fellow travelers on the Erie & Oswego Canals. They are taking a different route leaving Oswego, with a different destination. The last lock in the canal was ready right at 8 AM, so we locked down to lake level and headed out Oswego Harbor, next stop, Canada.

Lighthouse, Oswego harbor

The passage was about as good as it gets. One foot waves to start, but things actually calmed down in the middle of the lake, and the rest of the way, it was less than foot high waves.

Empty horizon, Lake Ontario

We maintained about a 12 knot pace across the lake until we were in well protected waters, then slowed to our trawler speed of 7-8 knots for the rest of the day. We considered going on into Trenton, but were passing by Belleville at around 4 PM and decided we were tired enough to stop, rather than continue another 2 hours to Trenton.

Belleville has a nice municipal marina with very nice bath and laundry facilities and is within walking distance of town. We showered, did laundry then walked into town to a very nice restaurant for dinner.  The sun doesn’t set until 9 PM up here, so it was a nice walk back to the marina, watching the sun set.

Belleville marina

There’s a farmers market tomorrow morning a few blocks away, so we’ll hit that before taking off for Trenton. I suspect we’ll get another slip in a marina tomorrow night since the weather forecast is calling for heavy rain and 30 knot winds starting tomorrow evening and lasting through Sunday. We have a few things to do in Trenton, including picking up appropriate charts, a cruising guide to the canal system and getting our permit for the Trent-Severn Canal. We’ll start heading up the canal as weather permits…

SYLVAN BEACH AND OSWEGO, NEW YORK

Wednesday, June 24

Locks are open! We took off early from Little Falls, thinking we would make it a long day and get as far as Sylvan Beach on Lake Oneida. Well, it was a bit too early — we got to the first lock about 7:30 and found out it did not open until 8:00. We tied up to the wall and had a second cup of coffee while waiting for the lockmaster to show up. As we were going into the lock, two more boats which had been several days at Little Falls came up the river, so the three of us locked through together, a pattern which repeated itself all day at the following locks. The day was fairly uneventful, all of us trying to make up time from being stuck for a few extra days. We cruised between locks at about 7-8 knots, since there is a speed limit of 10 mph on this whole section of canal. We did reach a high point - literally - in that the last two locks of the day were going down instead of taking us up. It was a little odd at first after so many lifting locks, but the lowering locks are actually easier to traverse, mainly because there is less turbulence within the lock as they let water out versus letting water in. We covered a total of almost 60 miles, a long day considering the five locks we went through had major height differences of at around 20 feet.

We finally pulled into Sylvan Beach about 4 PM, found a spot and tied up along the long public wall which was fairly crowded. We walked around the town, checked out the amusement park, the beach, the restaurants and… well that’s about it. We were invited over to the boat “CORKSCREW” (owned by winemakers) for cocktails, then sauntered over to a nearby restaurant for a basic, but very good, meal of haddock and fries.

Thursday, June 25

We were poised at the east end of Lake Oneida, about 40 miles across the lake from the continuation of the Erie Canal. It had been quite windy yesterday, and there were significant waves on the lake, but this morning the wind was light, so we took off around 8:30 AM to cross the lake. After several days of either inactivity, or low speed cruising, I wanted to rev the engines up a bit, so we crossed the lake at our “high speed” rather than at “trawler” speed. Doing so, we passed several of our friends who were traveling much slower. We made up for the quick crossing, however, by stopping by Winter Harbor, both for fuel and to introduce ourselves to the staff who will handle our boat for winter storage here in Brewerton, NY. I was very impressed by their facility and look forward to having the boat stored in a heated, indoor storage area next winter. We will bring the boat back this way in the fall, after cruising Canada for a few months, and drop it off to be stored until next Spring. We are considering listing the boat for sale while it is stored (it is incredibly difficult to maintain a boat the way I would like to when I live 3000 miles away), but if it doesn’t sell, perhaps do some more cruising in the Northeast next summer.

Continuing on our journey, we reached the Three Rivers Junction and headed north on the Oswego River to the City of Oswego. This is the area that had such high water last week that the locks had to close. Even though the water flows had decreased the past several days, there was still an awful lot of water going downstream and flowing over the dams next to the locks. We even had one short stretch of “whitewater” leaving one of the locks, making me think I should have been in my whitewater kayak rather than a cruising boat. The average downstream current was so strong (1.5-2.5 knots) that we covered the distance to Oswego surprisingly quickly, going through six “down” locks and docking at the free wall in Oswego by about 4:30 PM.

A Heron, sitting on the divider between the canal and the river

We were invited to another boat for cocktails, so I was going to clean up a bit, but as I was about to go into the shower, we heard a strange noise in the boat which sounded kind of like a pump going on. We had heard this same sound before, a week or so ago, and never did figure out where it was coming from. It was a distinct growling/gurgling noise, seeming to come from behind the bulkheads (walls) of the boat, but we couldn’t figure out what it was. We turned off all of the electricity at the control panel and it still made noise. I took off several access panel to get behind the bulkheads, but couldn’t find the source of the noise. We finally gave up and went off for cocktails.When we got back, we heard not just the one noise, but a second one as well, similar, but at a different frequency. I looked everywhere in this boat and could not figure out where the noise was coming from. Trying to figure out what was common to the previous time we heard it, we decided it occurred only when we were tied up next to a lock. The first time, we were tied up in Waterford at the start of the Erie Canal locks, and now, we are tied up between two locks on the Oswego Canal. To check my hearing, as well as my sanity, I walked over to the other boats tied up near us and asked if they heard the noise also. Not only could they hear it, but they said they had not heard that same noise since Waterford! Apparently, something either mechanical or electrical in the lock mechanism causes this noise, and it travels very efficiently through the water and the hull of the boats. One more little bit of wisdom gained during this trip.

The weather forecast dictates our next move. We plan to leave Oswego, which is on the south shore of Lake Ontario, and cross the lake north into Canada to start the Trent-Severn Waterway, making our way up to Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. The crossing for Lake Ontario is about 55 miles of open water, so we want the best conditions to do that. A cold front with rain and winds is forecast for this coming weekend and the first of next week, so it appears that our best chance to make the crossing will be tomorrow, with light to moderate winds from the south-east forecast and no rain. We had wanted to explore Oswego a bit, but, since we will be coming back this way in the fall, we have decided to take advantage of this weather window and head north tomorrow. We'll explore Oswego on the return trip. Onward! The second time we have taken this boat outside the US into a foreign country…


Notes from Elaine

We have met quite a few friends on this trip. Boating is unique in that boaters eventually run into each other a number of times. That is the nature of the beast - there is a limited number of waterways so it is no coincidence that we end up going to the same places. There are also common stopping places (marinas, municipal dock walls, anchorage spots) so we end up docking together. This is even more pronounced in canals with locks, as you all end up on the same schedule. We talk.
We compare travel notes. We help each other with the lines when arriving or departing. We all meet at 5:30 in the evening for sundowners. Sometimes we even all go out to dinner together.  The next thing you know, we are all traveling together until the next big fork in the road, where every one goes their own way. Kind of a bittersweet style of traveling.

PROJECT DAYS

Monday June 22

Another day waiting for the locks to open, and I decided it would be a project day for me. The marina is across the street from a lumber yard, so I walked over and bought a 2X4 to make up couple of more fender boards. Luckily I have enough carpentry tools on board to do basic work, and within a short time had the new fender boards mounted on the starboard side, so now we are covered on both side of the boat. The next project has a little more backstory. Last year I had to replace the horn (needed for sound signals), and it was a real learning experience about the boat’s wiring. However, none of that learning did any good this year when the horn didn’t work. I got out my new digital multimeter and tried to diagnose the issue. Everything I tried just confused me more and more, until I asked for help from one of the marina guys. He pulled out his antique analog multimeter and quickly solved the problem (including the fact that my cheapie Harbor Freight multimeter was a piece of junk). The wiring turned out to be all good, so I took the horn down from the mast, took it apart and emptied it of water and some sort of insect nest which filled it up. The horns mounted on the mast are notorious for these problems, so I had brought along a self-contained air horn, thinking I would install it in a protected area, and now that I knew the wiring was good, this was the next project. I un-installed the horn wiring from the inside of the mast (leaving a new pull-cord, in case I want to run other wires up there) and ran it under the flybridge coaming to a fully protected area which has an opening for the sound to come out. Other than the fact it was a tight spot where I could barely squeeze my shoulders through, it worked out well, and I soon had a two-trumpet air horn which sounded off heartily when I pushed my horn button. I also cleaned and repaired the original horn, just to have around as a spare. The next project was to re-pack the bearings on the left pedal of my bike. On our long ride yesterday, the pedal rotation got harder and harder, to the point the pedal would hardly move around flat when pedaling. I took it all apart, thinking there would be a bad ball bearing or two, but it all looked OK, and a good greasing and adjusting the races made for a functioning pedal again.

All the time I was working on my projects, Elaine had been out exploring the local geography. On an island near the lock, we had seen a number of rock climbers, and had heard that this rock was a compressed sedimentary rock (called gneiss) which was very old. There were supposed to be large “pools” in the rock, depressions 15-20 feet across and up to 30 feet deep, so she went looking for them. She had a rudimentary map, but a couple of hours searching ended up being futile. It was nice gneiss, though.

Tuesday, June 23

Well, it looks we might be travelers again. Some of the locks re-opened at 10 AM this morning, a day earlier than projected. We actually could have left Little Falls today, but the forecast was for heavy thunderstorm activity this afternoon with possible winds up to 50 mph , so we decided another day tied up here would be OK. It’s supposed to be nice as soon as the storm passes through, so maybe an early start tomorrow and a bit longer than normal day should put us in Sylvan Beach, on Lake Oneida, by tomorrow evening.

Historic house in Little Falls

I took the opportunity today to do some online testing for my U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s License. Before we left on this voyage, I signed up for the course, intending to whip through it during all of my down time. Well, it’s amazing how little downtime one has on a trip like this. It seems like there’s always something that needs fixing, some sort of project that needs to get done, someone anchored nearby, or on a nearby dock that I end up talking with, or, of course, those daily “Sundowner” get-togethers — and there’s no studying after those! I’ve got more studying and testing to do, but got a lot done today.

Elaine went with some other cruisers on a history tour of Little Falls. A volunteer with the Historical Society gave them a tour of the local highlights, including ornate houses, mansions and other historic structures.

An old Masonic Lodge, turned into an art studio

The thunderstorms did hit this afternoon, with heavy rain & strong winds, so we are glad we stayed put. What’s one more day…?

A BIKING WEEKEND

Saturday, June 20

Another day in Little Falls, NY. We check out all the canal news - Notice to Mariners by the Canal system, rumors from other boaters, etc. - each day, but it’s all the same, locks won’t open until at least next Wednesday. On a positive note, it appears that we got stuck at the nicest community in the area. Boats stuck in other towns wish they would have stayed here in Little Falls where there’s more than just a convenience store and pizza parlor.

We started the day by walking into the farmers market in town and, although small, it was nice, with incredibly cheap prices (dozen eggs = $2). We got back to the boat and took down the bikes.

Some of the old tow paths for the old Erie Canal (where barges were towed through the canal by horses or mules) have been turned into bike paths which, pretty much, follow the new Erie Canal.

Elaine on the bike path

We took our bikes on one of the paths to the Herkimer State Historic Site, about 5 miles away. So, either I wasn’t paying attention that day in history class, or somehow it didn’t warrant an important discussion, but I had no recollection of the name Herkimer as it related to the Revolutionary War and the battle at Oriskany. Well, things are different around here. There’s the Herkimer Park, the town of Herkimer, Fort Herkimer, the Herkimer obelisk, Herkimer’s gravesite…

Herkimer obelisk

The story goes that he was a General in the militia and was leading his troops to defend against the Loyalists when they were ambushed at Oriskany. Early in the battle, Herkimer was shot in the leg. Seriously wounded, he refused to be removed from the battle and directed his troops in spite of his wounds. A few days later, an amputation by an unskilled surgeon lead to his demise. He is now a legend around here, and we did get to tour his house and farm to wile away the day…

Herkimer's house and farm

Sunday, June 21

A heavy rain overnight - I hope it doesn’t delay the opening of the canal on Wednesday. This morning was cloudy, but dry, so we decided to go for a bike ride west to the next town with a marina, just to see how things are over there. It was a very nice ride through a verdant rural area, a few hills and a couple of miles of fast traffic, but a good shoulder and decent pavement. We stopped to look around a bit in Mohawk, then rode on to our destination, Ilion. We ran into some people we had travelled with a few days last week, and they were sorry they had not stopped in Little Falls, going to Ilion instead. They said there wasn’t much there and the town appeared to be pretty depressed. It used to be the site of the Remington Arms manufacturing plant, but apparently that has been closed for some time, although a small museum remains. As we rode back, the sun broke through the clouds and it did warm up quite a bit. It was probably well into the 80s, but, what was worse, was the very high humidity. After our 25 mile bike ride, we were glad to get back to the boat, button it up and turn on the air conditioner…

WHAT TO DO IN LITTLE FALLS

We’re kind of in slow-motion cruise mode right now, since the locks on the Oswego Canal (where we are planning on going) are closed at least until next Wednesday (the 24th). We could be stuck at worse places , however. Little Falls, NY is a viable small town with a lot going for it. Although it has lost some of its industrial base, there is still small industry going on here, including a major stainless steel manufacturer, a fiberglass manufacturer, a large paper mill and a dry-foods producer. The locals we talk with rue the loss of other industry in the area, all feeling that the town is not what it used to be. Nevertheless, it is one of the more vibrant small towns we have seen on this trip.

Houses along the canal

For the boaters heading this way, the rest of this entry is for you. First, where to dock? The free wall just before lock #17 is a decent place, although there is no power and no water available. Boats are moving slowly in and out of the lock, so no wakes. There are good tie-ups to the bollards on the wall, as long as you have decent fender protection (preferably fender boards).

Lock #17 with a boat coming up & another waiting to go down

The wall is close to town, as you can walk over the lock, down a 1/2 mile trail and be in Canal Place, a small area of galleries, restaurants and antique shops. Downtown is a few blocks further, through a pedestrian tunnel under the RR tracks.

The other docking option is Little Falls Harbor Center at Rotary Park. This is a municipal marina just at the end of the no-wake zone, west of Lock #17.

It has floating docks and a wall tie-up. Both the docks and the wall ( which parallel the channel) have power and water. There is a marina building with a lounge area, TV, very clean and modern heads and showers. The fee is $1/ft, and well worth it. Downtown is about a 15-20 minute walk, but the staff and/or volunteers at the harbor are very accommodating, even offering rides for grocery shopping &/or laundry trips into town.

The town has a number of businesses, banks, post office, etc., although no boat-specific outlets. Some of the high points we have discovered:

Bakery on Main St. with fresh-baked Italian bread for $2/loaf along with many other goodies

Espresso shop on Main & Ann Sts, has breakfast menu.

Brew Pub (Copper Moose Ale House) on Main St. which serves the best hamburger I have ever had, and has 20+ taps for specialty brews

Price Chopper supermarket between Main & Albany St.

CVS drug store next to Price Chopper.

Wine shop on Ann St, up the hill from Main, just beyond the gas station.

Laundromat on Albany St at north end of bridge.

Kelly Meats on Albany and Ann Sts (next to Dollar Store) - incredible meats at even more incredible prices

Little Falls Museum, across Albany from Kelly Meats in an old bank building.

Ice Cream Shop in old mill building at Canal Place

More and more boats are showing up here, some deciding to stay here until all of the locks are open, even though there are 5 locks before the closure. Rumor has it that docking space is very hard to come by closer to the closure, and you don’t really know what’s available until you get there. We may move up anther lock or two over the next few days, but we have at least 4 more days to wait, somewhere along the canal. In the mean time, we are enjoying Little Falls…

CANAJOHARIE AND LITTLE FALLS

Wednesday, June 17

We left Scotia around 9AM  after a very pleasant stay. We went through a few more locks, then pulled over and tied up to a concrete wall after Lock #12 to stop at an historic site. Getting there was a bit of a challenge, walking over a two lane bridge with no sidewalk or shoulder. We managed to get across safely then walked another mile or so to a site of 1)an historic Iriquois village, 2) a French - Indian fort and 3) some remains of the original Erie Canal, built in the 1800s.

Elaine, looking at remains of the original Erie Canal

We managed to get back to the boat in one piece and kept on going to Canajoharie where we pulled into a free dock (with electricity), provided by the local Chamber of Commerce. We walked into the very charming town, bought a few groceries and checked out the Arkell Museum hours so we could visit tomorrow.

IMPROV, waiting for us at the wall

Original Erie lock remnant

Thursday, June 18

Well, the docks were nice and the electricity free, but we were sandwiched between a busy Tollway and a very busy train track across the river. Several times during the night it sounded as if the trains were coming right through the boat. We still got a decent night’s sleep then stopped by a cafe for a leisurely  breakfast. We had to wait until 10 AM for the museum to open, so walked around town for a while, looking at the many Victorian houses and old churches. Canajoharie is the site of the old Beech-Nut factory which produced many things, but was best known for their baby food line. The old, abandoned factory still stands between town and the river. The Arkell family owned Beech-Nut and also had an interest in fine art. They had a significant private art collection and sponsored an art museum to allow the public to view many of their pieces. The museum has expanded and now is a very impressive modern building engulfing the old museum and presenting a number of well-known early American artists. The building doubles as a very active community library. While we were touring the exhibits, it started raining quite heavily, so we took advantage of the library for a while until the rain stopped.

Arkell museum

We left Canajoharie early afternoon with the destination Little Falls in mind. There were two options for docking - the first being a wall just east of the town and the second, a municipal dock closer to town, but after a major lock. We took a look at the first wall, and, although not bad, decided to go through the infamous Lock #17 to the municipal dock. Lock #17 is unique in it’s structure and in it’s lift. It is a “guillotine” lock with a massive door which drops down to block the water flow, and the lift is greater than 40 feet high.

Lock #17

We got through the lock OK and found the very nice municipal dock with excellent facilities. The staff was very helpful and informed us that we had arrived for the “Third Thursday” event where the Main Street merchants have special events for the community. We walked into town and were very impressed with everything that was going on. This is a very lively little community, and a very pretty town located in the Mohawk River Valley. A new brew-pub was recommended, so we stopped by for a delicious dinner, and a brew or two…

STUCK IN THE SYSTEM

Sunday, June 15

It was raining on and off this morning, so we delayed leaving the dock to start our trek through the Erie Canal. I had the VHF radio on and heard another boat request passage through the lock and the lockmaster replied that it would be at least 30 minutes before he could open the lock. We felt we could be ready to go in 30 minutes, so got everything together and followed the other boat into the first of the Waterford flight of 5 locks.

We have a fair amount of experience in going through locks, having transited them in Seattle, Ireland, France, Lake Okeechobee, Norfolk and probably others I can’t think of right now. However, these locks are different due to their height. It’s not unusual to have locks on the Erie Canal lift 40 feet - considerably more than most locks. One enters the lock and positions their boat against one of the walls. There are different ways of securing to the wall, but, for the most part, the locks here have a vertical cable recessed in the concrete wall to loop a line around and keep you next to the wall. The gate you entered through is closed and water from upstream is allowed to flow in through a series of conduits which enter deep within the lock. The result is that the water level raises, but with a large amount of turbulence which moves the boat around and presses it agains the lock wall. To prevent damage, one places “fenders,” inflated vinyl cylinders, between the boat and the wall. Unfortunately, since the wall of the locks are underwater so much, a lot of gunky stuff grows on them. This stuff gets all over the fenders and then, all over the hull of the boat. This is exactly what happened on our first set of locks today. Because we decided quickly to enter the first lock, we didn’t set up our “fender boards,” wood guards that ride outside of the fenders and slide against the lock wall.

After waiting 45 minutes to enter lock #7 due to some repair work going on, we decided to dock in the village of Scotia, right across the river from Schenectady. We took a walk into the village, then spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning the fenders and hull.

Monday, June 16

Talking with folks from another boat docked next to us, we learned that the locks in the last part of the canal where we are headed are closed for the next week due to high water.

Runoff entering the canal system

There has been an unusual amount of rain here this month, and the forecast is for another heavy storm to come through today. We decided to stay put in Scotia for another day, since we are now stuck inside this canal system for another week - there’s no hurry to go anywhere.

There are a number of necessary procedures for taking the boat out of the country and returning. We went through these last year when we cruised the Bahamas, but Canada has a few more requirements. I spent a couple of hours on the phone today calling the US Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection trying to figure out exactly what documentation I need to get back into the US. It ended up being a three-ring circus. I got a different story from each agency, no one could tell me exactly what I needed, and each agency referred me to the other. I probably have enough pieces of paper, and emails, to get back into the country, if only because of all the confusion. 

Before the heavy rains came, I spent some time cleaning and oiling the bikes, which live on the aft deck, exposed to the weather. Then I installed the fender boards so I wouldn’t have to keep cleaning the fenders and hull. I tried with the fenders horizontal and vertical - I'll have to see which way works best.

Fenders placed horizontally behind boards

It looked like the storm was going to fizzle out, so Elaine walked back into the village to mail a package, and got stuck there during a huge deluge. During the downpour I went out on deck with the deck brush and scrubbed more of the “lock gunk” off.

Fenders vertical

After the rain, it started clearing, and we took a walk over the bridge to Schenectady, wandering around their historic district. Another squall came through so we ran under a nearby awning for protection - what do you know - it happened to be an awning for a nice tavern…

ERIE CANAL - WE'RE GOIN' IN

Saturday, June 13

We left Poughkeepsie late morning, waiting for the wind to die down - it was blowing 10-15 knots from the north and causing 2-3 foot waves in the river. The flood tide was coming in, and when the wind and the currents are in opposite directions,waves are often the result. The forecast was for decreasing wind, so we left the marina, expecting a bouncy ride for a while, then smoothing out. We stopped for fuel just above Hyde Park at a very exposed dock which moved around a lot as we were fueling. Another hour or so, we decided enough was enough and ducked into Kingston Creek, looking for some relief from the chop. We went upstream a couple of miles where the water was very quiet, anchored and relaxed over lunch for an hour or so. It looked like the wind had died down a bit, and the tide had changed, so we went back out into the Hudson and conditions were very pleasant.

Sunset from the bridge

We anchored for the night in Esopus Creek. What a fantastic anchorage! It was very protected, no wind, no current and a cute little village. The anchorage area was small - we were the second boat to anchor there, and there was not much more room. We explored the creek a bit in the dinghy, then went ashore to explore the village of Saugertie. We ran into a nice tavern with a deck overlooking a very picturesque dam and cliffs, so stopped for a beer.

Lighthouse at Esopus Creek

Back on the boat, it was barbecued chicken for dinner, then a relaxing evening on the bridge watching the sun go down. The weather was perfect, no wind, not too warm, not too cool and no bugs!

Sunday, June 14

After a relaxed morning routine of coffee and reading the Sunday newspaper online, we weighed anchor and found a smooth, calm Hudson River with just a bit of wind from the south. We rode the flood tide for a few hours then slowed a bit as the tide turned. It was a relaxing day, listening to music on the flybridge and viewing beautiful scenery as we cruised up river.

Hudson River Valley

Troy Lock overflow

We were so relaxed, we kind of forgot we were coming up on a lock just above Troy. We had to wait several minutes for another boat to lock downstream, so had time to get fenders and lines ready for locking through. Shortly after that lock, we entered the Erie Canal Inlet at the little town of Waterford. The town is very supportive of boaters and provides a very nice free dock with a nominal charge for electricity. We filled out the appropriate paperwork and walked up to the first lock to purchase our canal permit, a $75 charge to use any and all New York locks for a year - one of the few bargains left these days. We then walked through Waterford and helped out the local economy a bit by having a couple of cold ones at the local Irish pub. Tomorrow morning we’ll start the journey through the Erie canal with five locks in a row. We’re going in…

POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK

So here we sit, in Poughkeepsie, NY, under a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm alert. I don’t think it’s as bad as it sounds…

Thursday June 11

We weighed anchor (with some difficulty due to the clay at the bottom of the river), cruised up the Hudson a couple of hours to Poughkeepsie and pulled into a nice marina called Shadows. As nice as it is, however, it has minimal protection from wakes on the river. This includes wakes from power boats charging through the area to tug boats pushing 300 foot barges to ocean-going ships passing by. Even at our anchorage last night, we occasionally were rocked by passing traffic throughout the night. There is also the train traffic. On both sides of the river, tracks are constantly busy with freight and commuter trains (which blow their whistles for the slightest reason). Even with all that distraction, however, this is a beautiful area and we’re glad we came up this way.

Once we were settled into the marina, we got the bikes out with the idea of riding around Poughkeepsie, especially across the converted train trestle now known as Walkway on the Hudson.

Walkway on the Hudson

Unfortunately, my back tire was flat, and with the internal hub that I have on my bike, it’s not the easiest thing to fix. We abandoned the bikes and started walking… and walking…and walking. We couldn’t figure out how to get up to the trestle, and after walking a good 3-4 miles in 85 degree heat and 85% humidity, we stopped in a pub to have a cold beer. The barkeep directed us (after our cold beers) to the elevator up to the trestle, only about a block away.

Hudson River, north

Revitalized and rehydrated, we walked across the trestle, south to the Mid-Hudson-Bridge and back to town and our boat. All in all, about 5-6 miles for a hot afternoon.

Mid-Hudson bridge

Since we did not have TV reception for ABC and the Warriors game, we went up to the restaurant associated with the marina and watched most of the game on their widescreen TV in the bar. They closed before the 4th quarter, so, back to the boat, we managed to find a live stream of the game on the internet and watched the Warriors even the series with the Cavaliers at 2-2.

Friday, June 12

First things first, I fixed my bike tire which went flat because there was no rim strip inside the tire. I fashioned one out of some HDPE tape I had on the boat, repaired the tube, then checked the remaining three tires on our bikes to make sure they were set up correctly. 

We rented a car for the day so we could get up to Hyde Park and tour the Franklin D. Roosevelt home and Presidential Library.

FDR home in Hyde Park, NY

It is managed by the National Park Service and they do a very nice job of presenting the history of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, and the impact the two of them had on the US. We were there until early afternoon when we went to Val Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home a few miles away. Another interesting, and provocative, tour.

We had a couple of hours before our evening reservation, so took advantage of the rental car and ran some errands to Home Depot, a bike shop for spare tubes and the grocery store. Got back to the boat just before a thunderstorm hit with lightning, torrential rain and very strong wind. It only lasted about 20 minutes before the sun was out again, which was nice since we were getting ready to go to the CIA for the evening. No, not the dark suit, ear-piece CIA, the Culinary Institute of America - one of the premier culinary training institutions in the world.

CIA Hyde Park campus

Elaine had made reservations for dinner in one of their restaurants. We had a fantastic meal and are now back on the boat with the bad weather forecast to pass through about 1AM and another front about 4AM. We are safe and secure, tied up in a marina, so I don’t anticipate any significant issues…

HARLEM RIVER TO THE HUDSON RIVER

What a beautiful day! Hardly any wind this morning when we left from Port Washington, with the first several miles full of interesting sites as we passed by Laguardia Airport (where arriving planes flew overhead at about 200 feet elevation),

Harlem River

Rikers Island Prison, East River Hell Gate, then made a sharp turn to starboard into the Harlem River.

Prison barge at Rikers Island 

We decided to bypass Manhattan this time, since we could save a couple of hours by traversing the Harlem River up to the Hudson River. The Harlem River is about 7 miles long and puts one right in the heart, if not the gut, of New York City.

Arrival at Laguardia

Sirens blaring, traffic on all the bridges, trains and subways rolling by - it was a lively scene, the whole way through. Interestingly, we were the only boat the whole length of the river. We passed under 15-20 bridges, then had to radio in to have the last barrier between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers, a nine-foot clearance train bridge, opened for us.

Railroad swing bridge

Once on the Hudson, it was a major change in scenery.Heavily wooded palisades on the west bank, small cities on the right and many more boats, both commercial and recreational.

A real classic yacht

There are some incredible houses along this river, both historic big-money family mansions as well as many modern ones. As one follows the river north, the scenery is idyllic, with green hills all along the banks.

Our timing was not ideal, as we hit an ebb tide the first few hours on the river. Since we were traveling at our slower (trawler) speed today, we were only making a bit over 5 knots for a couple of hours. The tide finally changed, and we got up to our normal 7-8 knots by the afternoon.

West Point

We passed the very impressive structure of West Point Military Academy and, a few miles further up the river pulled into a sheltered cove at Cornwall-On-Hudson to anchor for the night. By this time, around 4 PM, it was in the low 80s with a sunny sky and wind of 5-10 knots. Perfect conditions for a quick dip in the river to cool off, then a short nap to refresh before dinner. It was still warm enough after dinner that another dive into the water was very refreshing. Nice not having to rinse off the salt water after a swim…

A swarm of kayakers at our anchorage

STILL IN LONG ISLAND

So we’re taking a short break from cruising place to place every day and are settled in Port Washington on Long Island for the week. This has given us the chance to see our daughter and our Son-In-Law for a few days as well as get caught up on some boat maintenance.

Sunday, June 7

One of the reasons I removed the built-in table on the flybridge was to make room for a comfortable deck chair.

Pilot chair

There is a nice, comfortable pilot chair, but whoever is not at the helm either sits on the cushions or on a separate, portable chair/cushion which is several years old and a bit worn out by now.

Deck Chair

So, today, we bought a nice deck chair which we will be able to keep on the bridge for the “co-pilot.”

On the way back from picking up the chair, we stopped by a street fair going on in Port Washington. Part of the fair was a “milk carton sailboat” race on a nearby pond.

Mil-carton sailboat races

The boats got dumped into the pond at one end with the finish line at the other end. Since there was no wind today, they “assisted” with a fan from shore directed at the sailboats. I’m not sure there ever was a winner of the race.

After a provisioning stop at the grocery store and getting things put away on the boat, we drove over to Brooklyn to watch a cabaret performance put on by Brooklyn Community Choir members. Mariko is heavily involved with the choir, was a musical director for this performance and performed, as well. It was an entertaining afternoon. Later, we hopped on the subway over to the East Village with Mariko to watch an improv performance by her husband, Sean.

The last entertainment of the day was back in Brooklyn, watching the 2nd game of the NBA finals on TV. Since it was being played on the West Coast, it finished late here in NYC and we didn’t get back to the boat until after midnight.

Monday, June 8

After sleeping in a bit, Elaine took off to spend the day with Mariko while I started in on the boat maintenance. The main project was changing the oil and filters in both engines, now that we have run them almost 200 hours since we left Florida. Being at a protected marina makes this job a bit easier, but it is still a chore. A few other projects kept me busy the rest of the day. Elaine will spend tonight with Mariko in Brooklyn and they’ll be back at the boat tomorrow. 

It’s about time to think about where we are headed next. We’ll be leaving this marina on Wednesday, tentatively planning on getting to the Hudson River via a shortcut on the Harlem River.  To do this, we do have to transit the East River’s Hell Gate one more time, so checking the tide and current tables will be a must…

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK

Elaine in her "cold" position on the bridge

Had a quiet night, Wednesday, anchored near Northport, even though the wind came up early in the morning, it was a very protected anchorage. Thursday morning we headed out of the harbor around 8:30 AM, going west toward Port Washington, a few hours away. We travelled at “trawler” speed, but still made 9 knots since we caught a flood tide and had the wind astern. It was a little cool, but not as bad as the previous days.

We are now at Capri West Marina in Port Washington, a very nice marina with nice facilities. Their weekly rate is a bargain for the New York City area at $12/foot. Since we will be visiting Mariko while we are here (and borrowing her car) we decided to stay for the week.

Capri West marina, Port Washington

The first day was spent washing down the boat, doing laundry and catching up on a few projects - one of which was to remove the table on the bridge which always seemed to get in the way. Mariko came out yesterday (first time she had seen the boat) and we spent the evening at her and Sean’s (her husband) apartment in Brooklyn, driving back to the boat around 10:30 PM and amazed at the traffic as half of New York City headed out to Long Island for the weekend.

Times Square, NYC

Today we took the Long Island Rail Road into the city to meet Mariko who got tickets for an off-Broadway show this afternoon.

NYC street food for lunch

We saw “Clinton - The Musical,” an hilarious re-telling of the events from his presidency. Dinner in Manhattan with Mariko & Sean, then the LIRR back to Port Washington. Tomorrow we’ll head back into Brooklyn for Mariko’s Concert, then to Manhattan for a performance of Sean’s improv group. It’s nice to have a steady home base, even if it’s just for a week…

"Graffiti" mural