June 12, 2004 -
View the Photos
We’ve had 2 beautiful days on the water. We’ve been on the
Erie Canal since we left Troy. We got under way early
Wednesday morning. Lock 1, just beyond the Troy Dock, was the
first of 10 locks for that day.
We saw the Alicia-Paige in Watertown (Lock 2). We met them in
Beaufort, NC and haven’t seen them since. There are several
boats we cruised with in May but have missed since we went
home for Memorial Day. We keep looking for our cruising
friends as we get closer to Canada. The Great Loop is having
their northern rendezvous in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
beginning July 3. We’ll be in Eddyville for the fireworks but
we should get a chance to visit before we come home.
Well, back to the Erie. We cruised 42 miles on Wednesday, but
it took us from 8am to 5pm. We were practically alone on the
waterway. All the locks were ours alone going westbound.
The locks are a little different here. They are narrower and
gloves are not an option here. Most of them have ropes hanging
over the walls to hold onto as the boat goes up or down. Let
me tell you, hanging onto a rope when the wind is blowing into
the lock and blowing the boat off the wall is a challenge. We
have taken to a 2 person locking with me at the front and Bob
at the back. It keeps us from arguing as much about how to
hold the boat.
Wednesday we called it quits at lock #10 as the sky was
getting grayer and totally cloud covered. We stopped at a
place that was mentioned in the cruising guide, the Riverfront
Center. They don’t have a marine radio or water but they had
power and I was ready to stop. We got tied up and plugged in.
Bob got his beer and the thunder started. From there it
progressed to big lightening and bigger thunder. The rains
came with a vengeance! Oh well, we were dry inside and the
boat was tied safely. It rained all night, but it made good
sleeping.
Thursday dawned cool and rainy but no thunder so we untied and
moved from Amsterdam to Little Falls, NY, thru 7 more locks.
The wind was down and our new found experience gave us a
little better handle on the lock routine. We still felt like
we were traveling alone. The lock masters call ahead and with
so few travelers we didn’t wait.
We met some new loop cruisers at Little Falls from St. Louis.
These folks visited Eddy Creek in the 80’s with a ski boat. Of
course we invited them back to see our progress since then. As
we talked and compared St. Louis friends we found these folks
had just spent time with some friends of ours from our St.
Louis days while they were traveling on the Chesapeake.
Yesterday was beautiful! Sunny, warm and a rising barometer.
We took advantage and traveled from lock 17 to 23 then across
Oneida Lake to Brewerton, NY. (Eight hours) We are currently
staying at the Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton. (They call
it Winter Harbor for their heated inside storage. Their boats
don’t have to be winterized, even when the temperature drops
to -31 degrees.)
The weatherman predicted sun for today so I declared today a
“lay over day”. No travel. Instead of cruising we found a Boat
US to get Bob a new captain’s seat and a new boat hook for me
so I don’t fall off the bow trying to catch a lock rope. We
did laundry and boat repair and didn’t cruise for a day. There
were so many boats on the Lake and the river I was happy to be
watching and not fighting their wake.
We plan to cruise to Oswego, NY tomorrow. Hope we’ll have cell
coverage so I can send our Erie Canal pictures.
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