From the Erie to the Hudson

Wednesday, September 14

The lack of wifi on the canal is a bit frustrating for me.  I haven't been able to update the blog or upload pics as much as I'd like.  That makes this post very long.  Sorry about that.  Of course, it's really hard to complain to anyone about the lack of wifi since we are getting FREE docks.  I'm happy about that part.

When we arrived in Spencerport we wanted to dock at the new wooden docks on the south side. They look lovely.  Even the bridgemaster said we could go there. However, 'Dick' from m/v W. R. Kenan hailed us on the VHF radio and said it was too shallow for us--only 4 feet!  He told us to tie up on the north side instead, which, unfortunately, is a cement wall. It does have power though. Dick was full of information. He says that Newark is a great place to stop, with free laundry facilities right at the dock. We will head there tomorrow.  Thanks, Dick!  We also met Don and Cathy on m/v The Last Rambler.  They were also very friendly and informative.

On another note, I am the definition of a lifelong learner. Every day I learn that if I don't duck my head when climbing into the cockpit, I bump my head on the stay wire that is now laying across the opening.  Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!


Thursday, September 15

We left Spencerport by 6:50 a.m. and we are going to try for Newark, which is 44 nm away with locks at the end. The locks close at 5:00, so we need to move today to make sure we get through those last two locks.  We usually have breakfast on the go so we can make better time.

Visiting the canal is a spectator sport, so we are always on stage when we go through towns. People come to watch the boats go by and they often ask where we are going.

Today, at the Genesee River which leads to Rochester, we had to pass a dredger and a tug pushing a big, rusty scow.  There isn't a lot of room to pass, so it got pretty shallow, but Carey navigated us through without an issue.

We went through Locks 33 and 32 this morning, both before 9:40 a.m. The bridgemasters and lockmasters are very well-trained. We don't even have to hail them, usually.  Once we've gone through one bridge or lock, that person calls ahead to let the next one know we are on the way. They watch for our arrival. Very efficient.

At Fairport, the sheriff's boat came out to meet us. They had divers in the water right by the lift bridge (which is in the Guinness World Book of Records because one end is higher than the other, it is built on a slant, and no two angles on the entire bridge are the same).  Unfortunately, the bridge operator was either sleeping or she wasn't sure how to proceed because of the police presence, so we got very close to the right wall before she opened the bridge. Always a little tense.

I've come to the conclusion (after 38 years of marriage) that Carey and I are perfect for each other.  He has been on the helm for the majority of our cruise through the Erie Canal, because I find it tedious. It bugs me that I can't multi-task while driving, because you really have to pay attention all the time. I want to be able to steer, pay my bills, eat lunch, and write our blog all at the same time. Carey likes to do one thing well.  Perfect match!

Tharon and Mary, from Tipsy Gypsy, a Nonsuch, came over for a nice visit tonight while we were docked in Newark. We first met them in Buffalo. They are a young couple who got into cruising around the same time as we do. He works in computer software development, so can do that right on the boat while they're travelling. They are heading to Annapolis and then on to the Bahamas.  We meet so many interesting people on our travels.

We went to bed early because we wanted to catch the first lock at 7:00 am.


Friday, September 16, 2016

When we got up there was fog everywhere!

We decided to hold off leaving until at least some of the fog had burned off. We had breakfast and then left Newark just after 8:00. We got into the first lock at 8:10.  Tharon and Mary were right behind us.

We are hoping to get to Baldwinsville today.  After going through the lock and around a few bends, we lost sight of Tipsy Gypsy. It turned out that Tipsy Gypsy's engine overheated right after the first lock out of Newark, so they had to stop to get it fixed. Hopefully, we'll see them in Annapolis or sooner.

I took a video of us going under a 21' bridge and uploaded it to YouTube. You can see why the 15' bridges we did earlier were knuckle-biters!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN_pm4HPKzQ

I'm keeping track of the wildlife we see along the way. So far, we've seen (besides the usual geese, ducks, seagulls, spiders, etc.):
Swans
Bald eagles
Praying mantis
Herons
Cormorants
Woodchucks
Kingfishers
Fish (leaping)
Egrets (yes, New York has egrets)
Osprey
and ELEPHANTs?

We ate big, fat roast beef sandwiches at Sammy Malone's when we arrived at Baldwinsville. Delicious!


Saturday, September 17, 2016

We woke up at 4:30 a.m., because Carey could hear voices. Turns out there was a couple fishing for catfish out there almost all night long.  We have seen people fishing everywhere on the canal. And on Saturdays (or weekends) they triple in number.

We got to the Oswego Junction this morning, which is where the Western Erie Canal turns into the Eastern Erie Canal. Yippee, about halfway through.  We got our electronic charts back on our chartplotter, too. Happy days.

We went through Lock 23, which is the first lock to lift us up.  It pushed us into the wall a bit more, but it wasn't too difficult.

We reached Lake Oneida by 11:35. It is the biggest body of water that we have to traverse in the Erie Canal. By about 2:00, the wind was starting to blow harder and we were getting some waves on the beam. Carey got a little concerned because the mast was wobbling a bit on its bow cradle. We certainly didn't want the wood to break and our mast sink to the bottom of the lake. That would not be good. We turned toward the south shore, directly into the wind and waves to alleviate some of the rocking.  That helped a bit, and the wind was calmer near the shore, but that made the trip across the lake a bit longer.  Part of the bow cradle is only a single two by four thick, so we will shore it up on the way back with an extra two by four.

That night, we tied up on the wall at Whitesboro.  A young woman came in just before dark. She is sailing alone, with three dogs. She docks by herself and even goes through locks by herself. She packed up all of her belongings in Indiana, sold her car, bought a boat, and is travelling to the Carolinas. Amazing.


Sunday, September 18

Today we had a sleep in!  Ahhhhh, it felt so good. We got up around 7:30 and I put some bread in to bake.  It had rained overnight, so everything was wet.  We left the wall at 8:10 and went right into our first lock of the day, Lock 20. The young lockmaster was a little grumpy, but I smiled and thanked him so he had to unbend a bit.

We ate warm, fresh baked bread this morning for breakfast. Sooooo delicious. We take turns eating breakfast and lunch, because someone always has to be on the helm and on the lookout. There are logs and spiles in the water, and some are right in our path.

We got our first view of the Appalachian Mountains at 9:30 this morning.  Still a long way away, but Carey loves the mountains so he's happy.  We are also starting to see fall colours on the trees.

We do daily engine checks, and they are a must on the canal. We are running the engine all day, so engine oil, gear oil, and coolant need to be checked, but most importantly, the water intake filter needs to be cleaned out due to all of the seaweed in the canal. We definitely don't want to overheat our engine!

Our pristine white bow now has a yellow moustache. Eeeeeyewwwww!  Picture an old man with a white moustache that is stained yellow from his pipe smoke. That's what RC Wings looks like from going through the green/brown waters of the canal. The fenders and our stern dock line are slimy from the canal walls. Lotsa cleaning to do, Lucy!

It occurred to me that people might be wondering about the process for locking through. Carey tends to be on the helm through the canal, so we just leave him there. I'm the one who does all of the work. Haha. Here's what we do: First, we wait for the green light to tell us the lock is ready and the gates are open so we can enter.  Then, I don my gloves (thanks for the tip, Dine), grab my trusty boat hook and a stern line and wait for Carey to slowly and carefully take us into the lock and against the wall. I hook a rope that is hanging on the wall and loop my dock line around it.  This allows us to go down (or up) as the lock empties (or fills), while it keeps us from floating out into the middle of the lock.  I keep the boat off of the wall by pushing with my boat hook as needed. On the helm, Carey controls the bow with the bow thrusters, if needed, and moves the boat forward or backward to keep my rope in the same position. It's fairly still in the locks that are going down, so there's not a lot of jockeying around to do, but at certain points in the filling or emptying we are pushed forward or backward.  Going up, we are pushed against the wall more, so there's a little more work.  We always try to keep the fenders off the wall, because they get slimed. Ick.  Overall, it's pretty easy, especially when you've got a procedure for your crew and your boat that works.

In Lock 17, which is the highest lift lock on the Erie Canal at 40', a power boat, Magic Moments, went in ahead of us and was having trouble grabbing lines. He was sideways in the lock at one point, so we held back until he got under control.  Always something interesting happening.

At Lock 15, 'Magic Moments' got in ahead of us and they were lowering him when we pulled up. They are supposed to wait for the slowest boat when they know another one is coming. Lock etiquette; not my rule. It turned out to be okay, though, because it's only an 8 foot lock so it didn't hold us up very long.  Also, the lockmaster told us that the other boat was smoking and the fumes were terrible in the lock.  In the end, we were happy not to have to lock through with them.

We've been seeing some fun/funny boat names along the way.  Here are a few favourites:
Tipsy Gypsy
Instead of... (This lady said they got a boat 'instead of' kids.)
ForeveR Young (I'm pretty sure a Robert or Ronald Young owns this boat.  Bob, you could have a boat called ForeveR Older!)

We got through Lock 13 at Randall at 4:45, and tied up just 5 miles past that at Fonda (home of the Henry Fonda family).  Nothing here, just a place for the night.

Monday, September 19

We left Fonda at 7:35 and arrived at our first lock at 8:10. We were out in 15 minutes, which was good. Through the second lock (Lock 11) by 9:08.  The lockmasters have been great to us so far this morning--they've had their gates open and the green lights on when we approach, which means we can go right in without waiting. Love it!

The Erie Canal has many faces. Today, when we started out, it was a bit foggy and the water was so flat it reflected like a mirror. When we peered into the water it looked like we could fall into the sky. Sometimes the canal is lined with driftwood, which can be quite pretty when it's bleached and stark against the dark green of the forest.  Other times, we go by docks and pretty homes, or villages with lots of boats. Today, we have been in canyon land for part of the day, with big, high walls of rock on either side. No matter where you are on the canal, there is a certain serenity here.  No worries about wind and waves, just some locks to traverse.  I haven't had an aaarrrggghhh moment for a few days!

We were hoping to reach Waterford, which is at the end (or the beginning) of the Erie Canal and has a flight of five locks. They close the locks at 5:00, and it takes 90 minutes to lock through, so we were trying to hurry to get there by 3:30. (That's a sailing joke--we can't hurry anywhere at 7 knots per mile.)

However, we did it!  We arrived in Waterford by 4:00. Woohoo!  We did 11 locks today, including the Waterford flight, which is five locks in quick succession!  Tomorrow, the Hudson River and Hop-A-Nose Marina in the Catskills to have our mast stepped. Then, it's time for sailing again.  Yippee!

This is where we will turn south for the first time since the Detroit River.  Woohoo!