Kingston, Canada to Belleville, Canada

Day 13
Travel Time: 6.5 hours
NM today: 51
NM total: 413
Locks today: 0
Locks total: 28

Our target destination today was the Bay of Quinte (Kwin-tay) on our way to the Trent-Severn Waterway (canal).  Back in NJ, before setting out on this expedition, the Captain and I swapped out our old radar unit for a new chart plotter / radar / display unit combo.  It is a Simrad unit that is very nice, but we are still learning how to set up waypoints and routes, etc.  I added numerous waypoints on the chart today and then built a route out of the waypoints.

One problem we figured out today was how to tell the system we want to navigate a set route when we have already passed some of the waypoints on that route.  This has been a real puzzle and pain. We discovered there is a magic "skip" menu item that let's you skip one waypoint for each time this item is selected, so if you have already passed 2 points on the route, press skip twice.  This was a great discovery because otherwise when telling the system to navigate the route, it would send us back to the beginning of the route which of course meant back to where we just came from when already mid-route.  It was a classic ah-ha moment for us.

We had been told the Bay of Quinte was very picturesque.  Clark said it reminded him of parts of the Hudson River and to me it seemed similar to parts of Lake Champlain.  It might have been the dreary, cloud-covered day, but we weren't overly impressed by the charm of the area.  I was, however, quite impressed with the clouds.  At one point I was trying to tell the Captain where a red buoy was on the waters ahead of us, and he just could not see it.  Finally I told him to look for the cloud that looked like a Viking helmet with horns and the buoy is below it.  He found the buoy right away with those directions.

Cloud cover on the Bay of Quinte

We arrived at Belleville for the night planning to enter the Trent-Severn waterway tomorrow.  We  found a yacht club with reasonable rates, electric, water, and showers with hot water.  Shortly after we tied up, another boat pulled up to share the floating dock with us called Whippersnapper 3.  Bonnie and Art from this boat are from Toronto, Canada and very experienced boaters.  They are a fountain of information and graciously shared their intimate knowledge of the Trent-Severn, Georgian Bay, and Lake Michigan.  We poured over charts together as they told us all the "must sees", the "don't bothers", and the "watch out for heres".  

While we were talking, we saw a couple of interesting sites.

children on the yacht club docks - swimming in 68 degree water

man standing on one of 2 floating docks being pulled behind a boat with jet ski observer

one of multiple rowing teams practicing their strokes

All told, we spent several hours with Bonnie and Art chatting from the moment we tied up until it was time to call it a night.  After our chart explorations, we all walked to a local restaurant for an all-you-can-eat fish and chips dinner.  The pieces of fish were huge, so my all-you-can-eat turned into one piece of fish.  After we walked back from dinner, we decided to sit for a while in the yacht clubhouse to continue talking.  The time flew by.  Too bad they are heading off to travel the Rideau Canal this year.  Every other year they travel the Trent-Severn - this is the "other" year.  It would have been nice to spend more time with these knowledgeable and very friendly folks.

Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Marina, Kingston, Canada

Day 12

Today we stayed on the boat in the marina due to the rain that came in over night.  We slept in late as a treat.  I am disappointed in the marina for two reasons.  1. When I took my shower this morning, I found there was no hot water to be had.  Given it was all of 63 degrees out, a hot / warm shower would have been appreciated.  What really annoyed me was not the cold shower I suffered through, but the fact that the person I told after the fact told me that they knew there is no hot water and maintenance will not be available to fix it until Monday.  Had I been given advance warning, I would not have bothered with their showers in the first place.  2. A boat across the way from us smelled of gasoline.  When Clark reported it to the marina staff, they said that they knew there was a boat with a gas leak but there is nothing they could do about it due to liability concerns. Well if that boat blows up on their dock and takes out a few boats with it, one would think there would be some other liability concerns on their part.  (Later in the day, the boat owner of the gas-stinky boat came and took it away from here. Yay!) Otherwise, I have no complaints with the marina, and it is in a good location for the next leg of our trip.

By the time I got back to the boat from my cold shower, it was getting late for breakfast but I had my heart set on making pancakes.  We finally ate at 11:00 - almost in time for lunch.  Following our brunch, we both dug into our self-assigned chores.  I had a list of items to take care of and I can happily report that I completed my list.  First I started the fridge defrost job.  Clark suggested aiming a fan at the refrigerator and that worked like a charm to get things melting in a hurry.  While the fridge thawed, I repaired my green / orange jacket that was missing a button,

After finishing those two jobs, I set to making a divider for my silverware drawer.  I knew I brought knives with me, but every time we dig in there all we find is spoons and forks.  I couldn't take it any longer.  I brought miscellaneous items with me that I might need to make / repair things.  One thing I threw in at the last minute was plastic canvas which has come in handy a couple of times already.  I made my silverware divider out of the plastic canvas.  I can now easily find all my knives!

Last, but certainly not least important, I took down the screen on the side door and refashioned it to open down the middle.  It was set up to open on the side and that was a mistake on my part.  It is one of those "as seen on TV" magic screens that closes itself after someone walks through.  It was way too large for the doorway, so I modified it to fit but my design was poorly done.  I'm hoping this revised solution works better.  With today's to-do list completed, I feel quite accomplished!

While I was doing my miscellaneous tasks, Clark was mostly planning out our next two nights. Where, how far, ratings on the application "Active Captain", etc.  After that he decided to wire in our Vonage phone to the boat.  Running wires on the boat is never fun or easy, and this time was no exception to that rule.  Even though he took the easier of two options, it was still a hassle to get the job done.  I stopped what I was doing multiple times to assist with the wire pulling job.  The good news is that he was successful,  so now whenever we have WiFi, we also have an operational Vonage internet phone line.  This should prove helpful with reducing cell phone charges as long as we can find WiFi along the way.

As we were working away, late in the afternoon, a couple of tall sailing ships came into harbor which added a little novelty to our otherwise ho-hum day.  The one shown below actually docked directly behind our boat.

Tall ship coming into Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Marina

4 guys putting away the sails.  I would not want that job.

Oswego, NY to Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Day 11
Travel Time: 5.5 hours
Average Speed: 8.4 knots
NM Today: 48
NM Total: 363
Locks Today: 0
Locks Total: 28

We got up early to cross Lake Ontario before the predicted bad weather hit.  We pulled away from the marina in Oswego just before 8:00.  The last view of Oswego leaving port is the lighthouse.

Lighthouse on Lake Ontario in Oswego, NY

The trip across was a rocky-rolly one - nothing too serious, just enough to rock me to sleep.  I dosed for a majority of the 5.5 hours it took to cross over to Kingston, Canada.  I woke up for important tasks like entering waypoints into the chart plotter, manning the helm so the Captain could 'hit the head', and making lunch.

We arrived in Kingston just before 2:00, tied up at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Marina and went through the required customs routines for entry into an international port.  First we put up our yellow quarantine flag that says we have not passed through customs yet.  Next we called the 800# for Canadian customs.  After the Captain had a short chat with the official over the phone, we were registered as visitors, took down our quarantine flag and hung the Canadian courtesy flag.  The courtesy flag is a small flag of the country being visited.  We still hang our US flag proudly and prominently on the stern of the boat but display the little Canadian flag nearby.

This marina has a lot of sailboats.  When we were coming in to dock, numerous one-person sailboats were returning to port - perhaps from a race or competition of some sort.  When they tacked, which was often coming in here, the boat tipped so far over, we thought it was going to lay over into the water.  Somehow they managed to always pull it back and go again.  In addition to the small sailboats, there are numerous large ones here as well.

Sailboats line the dock at Portsmouth Olympic Marina

We had some Canadian money with us that we held onto after our 2012 Triangle Cruise, but we will be here for a while so decided to visit TD Bank to get some extra.  The closest bank branch to the marina is just over 2 miles away.  Still concerned with the bad weather forecast, we decided to walk instead of potentially getting caught in the rain with our bikes.

I had read in the Skipper Bob boating books that the penitentiary is here in Kingston.  What I didn't realize was that the marina we are staying in is right next door.  In fact the first view of Kingston that we got was of an old 1700's type building.  I didn't realize I was looking at the penitentiary.

Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Marina with Penitentiary in the background

The silo-type structure in the picture is one of the four guard towers for the penitentiary - one on each corner of the property.  When we walked up to the bank (uphill almost the whole 2 miles), we went past the penitentiary, the Penitentiary Museum (across the street), and the Women's Prison (built 1930).  The complex also has an employee college.  All told it amounted to several blocks of buildings which more closely resembled the layout of a college campus than a prison system.  The Skipper Bob book for this area suggested we not pick up any hitch-hikers around here lest they be escapees.

We got to TD Bank at 4:03 and they closed at 4:00. I guess I should have hiked that 2 miles a tad faster, because instead of withdrawing money via a teller, we  had to hit the ATM.  This part of Kingston is very different from the historic downtown part where we stayed in 2012.  Here we found all modern businesses like Wendy's and Dollar General.  We passed by a Loblaw Greatfood Supermarket on our way back to the boat so I stopped in for some mayo and eggs to replenish the pantry.  We put the mayo in Clark's backpack, but I decided to hand carry the eggs.

We walked past a few restaurants and pubs, but no matter how hard I hinted, Clark didn't get the idea that we should eat out tonight.  I was pretty tired from the 2-hour walk, so I heated up leftovers and added some hotdogs and beans in there to fill it out to sufficient to fill our bellies.  Not gourmet, but it did the job.

We've decided to hang out here for two nights.  Sunday's weather is supposed to be horrid, and we both have lists of tasks we want / need to complete.  My main task will be emptying the fridge and freezer and defrosting it.  Nothing so exciting as sitting around watching a refrigerator melt and emptying the drip pan, but it has to be done.  Not sure why it's so full of frost this early on the trip.  We did do some playing around to find the right temperature, and it has been on since well before we left home, so hopefully this isn't a job I do every 2 weeks.  I don't imagine defrosting the fridge will be blog-worthy, but you never know, so I may or may not post for Sunday depending on what things of interest happen if any.

The Captain is sitting here next to me studying Skipper Bob and his charts to decide where we head next.  I asked him his main objective for the trip.  I didn't expect to get museums and statues as an answer and I didn't.  He wants to bike canal trails and kayak on rivers.  I'm certainly getting exercise and looks like I'll be getting a lot more following him around on his explorations. Kingston is our last familiar boating place on our trip until spring / summer 2016 when we reach Annapolis, Maryland, so it's all new from this point forward for quite some time.

By the way, it is now just after 9:00 p.m. and we are still waiting for that bad weather to hit.  We have some sprinkles of rain but none of the downpours that were threatened.  Maybe we should have biked to the bank!

NOTE:  Now that we are no longer in the US, we have turned off Mobile Data on our phones to reduce our usage costs. We will only be watching Facebook and posting blog entries when we have WiFi available to save our data usage for when we really need it.

Oswego Canal

Stats: Day 10

Travel Time: ~ 5.5 hours

NM today: 28

NM total: 315

Locks today: 8

Locks total: 28

Forecasts for Sunday include rain and we had a good weather window, so we decided to go all the way to Oswego today.  We had debated lounging around Winter Harbor Marina because it was inexpensive and reasonably nice, go to Fulton on the Oswego Canal, or go all the way through to Oswego itself.  Tomorrow (Saturday) we make the trip across Lake Ontario.  The Captain wanted to go before the rains come or go after.  He opted for before.

After leaving Brewerton, we came to Lock 23 – our last lock on the Erie Canal.  As you can see from the “road sign”, we had two choices for our Great Loop trip – Lake Ontario (Oswego Canal) or Lake Erie (Erie Canal). 

Our trip takes us north onto the Oswego Canal which has 7 locks numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8.  Lock 4 is non-existent.  Our locks today dropped us down a few feet where until yesterday all the locks we went through were raising us up.  Going down is less turbulent because they are just letting the water out, not forcing water in.  Here's a picture looking back at Lock 1 which had the added feature of a bridge that had to be raised before we could exit the lock.  

Looking back at lock watching bridge being lowered back into place

With the downward locks, I found new locking-through challenges today. Until the Oswego Lock 2, all of the locks have provided hanging lines to grab onto while locking.  Lock 2 and others on Oswego do not have any lines – only steel cables to wrap a line around.  Since the boat is being lowered, we are sitting much higher than the lock wall.  The top of the cable is below the top of the wall.  Try as hard as I might I could not get the line around the cable.  I couldn’t reach it and I couldn’t get the boat hook to capture the line so I could pull it back.  The Captain had to come ‘rescue’ me.  He actually got off the boat and wrapped the line for me and handed it back.  Rather nerve wracking exercise!

I thought I had a strategy worked out for grabbing that pesky line after Lock 2, but I didn't get to try it because Lock 3 was much worse. The wind was pushing the boat against the wall such that I couldn’t even see the cable given the position of the boat so I could never get a line around the cable no matter how hard I tried.  The Captain had to come ‘rescue’ me once again to help me get my line in position.  It is very stressful to hear the lock being emptied and know that the boat is still not secured. 

When going up in locks, the waterfalls are visible showing the water pouring down.  When going down, the waterfalls are hidden from view until after exiting the lock.   Here are some pictures showing the waterfalls and  looking back at the lock with the waterfall adjacent.  Notice how important it is to navigate to the lock side of the canal and pay attention to the navigational aids directing boats away from going over the waterfalls!

Orange warning markers with waterfall misting in background

Waterfall seen upon exiting lock

Lock on left, waterfall and rapids on right looking back from the boat after exiting Lock

Upon arriving at Oswego, we have completed our travels on NY State canals.   We tied up at the Oswego International Marina for the night.  We have been here twice before, so instead of looking around, we decided to wash the NY canal dirt and NJ salt water off our boat to get a fresh start.  We’re all spic and span now – inside and out.  After scrubbing the decks, we vacuumed inside.  Clark even changed the fuel filter on the port side, so even the engine is cleaner!  The boat looks great inside and out!  It won’t last 5 minutes, but it looks good for the moment.

Lake Ontario never fails to yield wonderful sunsets.  We’ve seen gorgeous ones on every visit here.  Here is today’s offering.

Sunset over Lake Ontario

 Now, look out Canada, here we come!

Rome, NY to Brewerton, NY

Day: 9
Travel Time Today: ~ 6.5 hours
NM Today: 31
NM Total: 287
Locks Today: 2
Locks Total: 22

As planned, we called Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY to make sure they could accommodate us for the night and then went for a quick bike ride to explore a little of Rome, NY.  With Clark's help I could make it across the makeshift fixed dock I talked about in my last blog.  I was astounded when Clark told me that he had already carried both bicycles over to the park at the same time.  What balance he has!

Wouldn't you know that when I stepped up on one of the pilings to climb over to the park grounds, I found the only unstable one!   When I stepped up onto the one that looked the most inviting, i.e. shortest distance from piling to ground, it began to sway back and forth with me on top.  Clark said that he had been using that one as the swaying didn't bother him except when he was carrying the bicycles and wanted something more stable.  Are you kidding me?!

We have special, collapsible bicycles that we purchased specifically to go with our love of boat travel.  I took a couple of pictures of my bike for the blog readers - one with the bike collapsed and one with it expanded. When collapsed, the bike is just over 2 ft by 2 ft square.  We have covers we can put over them and people have no idea what we are carrying.  We have even brought them into restaurants with us and placed them under the table while we ate.   Experts can collapse or setup one of this type of bike in less than 10 seconds.  It takes a little longer for us - but not by much.  The more often the bike is used the easier it becomes to remember the order of the steps required.

"Walkway" Clark crossed carrying our 2 bicycles

Ev's Bicycle Expanded to Riding Size

Ev's Bicycle Collapsed to 2 ft x 2 ft

 Rome is a bigger city than I thought.  We didn't have the time nor the inclination to go into the city proper to explore as we wanted to get underway.  We spent about 30 minutes all told with our bike ride exploration - just enough to get some exercise and see a bit of the local area.

We pushed off from our dock at just after 9:30 this morning heading for Brewerton, NY.  We arrived at Lock 21 around 11:00 but had a long wait as one-by-one 3 more vessels joined us in the lock.   Lock 22 is a short bit downstream from Lock 21 and was open and ready for us when we arrived so at least there we locked through relatively quickly.

Lock 22 is the last lock before Oneida Lake.  We had calm water for crossing the lake; it can get rough on a windy day.  Even at our new slow speed it seemed like we were across in no time even though crossing takes about 2.5 hours.  Clark did the first few minutes at our old cruising speed of 14.5 knots to "clean the turbos" on the engine.  It felt good to be out on open water at our old, near top speed.

Brewerton is on the west side of the lake.  As we entered Brewerton we saw floating docks that had picket fences and lawn chairs.  I don't believe I've ever seen a picket fence on a floating dock in NJ.

Floating Docks with Picket Fences

Another site not seen in my part of New Jersey is boat garages like those shown below.  From one that I saw, not captured on film, it would appear that they use garage door openers just like a car garage and drive their boats right inside for save keeping.

It seemed like everyone arrived at once at the marina.  One boat we met at Waterford pulled in right before us (we locked through Locks 21 and 22 with them).  Another boater couple we met in New Jersey, are also staying here and came over to say hello.  They said they recognized our colorful kayaks!  I just knew those kayaks were good for something.

Weather looks iffy for the next few days, and we have to pick a travel window to cross Lake Ontario.  We're debating how to spend the next few days and where to spend them.  This marina has everything we need including a full stock of boat parts and charges less than $1 per foot of boat, so we might stay here for an additional night if they can accommodate us; otherwise, we might try Fulton, NY where we stayed once before years ago.  There's no sense pushing through to Oswego if we can't cross over to Canada for a few days yet.  We might as well take a more leisurely approach.

Later tonight, after dinner we plan to borrow a courtesy car for a trip to Walmart about 7 miles away! How exciting is that?!  We have a couple of items we'd like to buy including some things for the pantry (oatmeal raisin cookies for Clark's lunch every day).  I'm not a big fan of Walmart, but most likely that store has everything we need.

Canajoharie, NY to Rome, NY

Stats: Day 8

Travel Time: ~ 9 hours

NM today: 46

NM total: 256

Locks today: 7

Locks total: 20

So now I can say I’ve been to Amsterdam and Rome (New York that is)!  We left Canajoharie around 9:30 a.m.  I got up early and took a shower on the boat; however, the shower stall had collected an assortment of bags and items that had to be relocated first.  Getting organized to be aboard for months is difficult, and I’m still struggling with which things to keep handy, which to hide away, what I wish I’d brought, and what I wish I’d left behind.  As it is turning out, there are not too many items falling into that latter category. 

Every time I think maybe I shouldn’t have brought something, I end up glad I have it.  Today that was the case for my real old work coat that I have kept on the boat for years.  It was bright green and bright orange when I bought it, I’m embarrassed to say, about 20 years ago – a somewhat ghastly combination.  I went to Burlington Coat Factory with my mother and found this jacket.  It was exactly the style I was looking for, and she convinced me I should buy it regardless of the bazaar color combo.  Now it is faded green and faded orange. It’s dirty, ripped, and missing buttons, but I still love it – like an old friend.  It was remarkably cool on the canal today (considering it was so hot and humid yesterday that I was dripping).  Today I needed a jacket, and what did I reach for – my old cuddly friend.  I was so happy it was on board.

Today we navigated 7 locks including the infamous Lock 17 which is a 40 foot lift coming from East to West.  Lock 17 is called a “guillotine” lock due to the way the lock is closed for filling.  The “door” to the lock is raised and lowered.  Boaters entering the lock must go under the door which of course is dripping canal water from just being raised out of the canal.  Having been through guillotine locks before we were prepared for a slight shower!

We have fender boards on our boat for the Erie Canal.  This construct consists of 2 fenders (boat bumpers) tied to a 2x6 plank.  This contraption is then hung off the side of the boat by 4 lines – one for each fender and one for each end of the board.  We have a long fender board in front and a shorter one at the stern. 

Normally we tie up and lock through with fenders and lines on the starboard (right) side of the boat.  However, Lock 17 mandates a port lock through, so between lock 16 and 17, I had to drag each of the fender board contraptions onto the boat, untie the lines, carry them to the port side, tie them back on to the boat rails, and heave them off the side of the boat.  We had approximately 25 minutes between these 2 locks, and I needed almost the whole time to get my lines adjusted and fenders in place.  After passing through Lock 17, I had to go through the procedure in reverse to move everything back to the starboard side.  I told Clark I am building upper body strength by doing all this weight lifting!

Here are a couple of pictures of Lock 17 as well as a video of what it sounds like in a lock waiting for the lock to fill.

Lock 17 with Guillotine-type entryway

Entering Lock 17

Due to all the high waters from rain, the canal is full of trees, stumps, and limbs.  Some are floating obstacles, but many have embedded themselves into the canal waters where they are most definitely not wanted.   The majority of these are off to the side of the canal, some we see are stuck on the waterfalls / spillways, but all too often they are in the main channel.  We must be on constant lookout as they can be anywhere.  Since some of these are trees that have collapsed into the canal, the obstacles can be extremely large.  At one point today, we heard a ‘clunk” and knew we hit something.  I looked out the back of the boat and saw a tree stump which appeared to have newly chopped wood at the exposed end. 

I took the helm from Clark while he went to explore below for damage.  I was relieved when he said that he couldn’t see any water spraying into the bottom of the boat.  He then sped up the boat and went back downstairs to take a look at the propeller shaft at higher speed to see if there was any unusual vibration occurring.  All looks good.  I have to say that I am very happy I wasn’t the one piloting the boat when we hit the stump.  Clark would never trust me to drive again.  

Trees, limbs, and stumps in the canal

Today was much longer than planned.  Our target destination was Utica, NY.  They have water and electric there on the terminal wall with a restaurant and a reasonable-length walk into the city from the dock.  We were disappointed to see when we arrived there that every space (4) was taken, so we had to keep moving to see what we could find further along the canal.  This meant passing through an additional lock beyond what we had planned for the day.  It also meant finding a new place to spend the night. 

One place we stayed in the past apparently is no longer in business, another had reported water depths too shallow for our boat, another had only a picnic table and nothing more to offer, so we kept going and going and going.  We ended up in Rome, NY at Bellamy Park.  It was this or the Lock 21 wall another hour away.  Below you see the picture of the toilet facilities available and the picture of the "fixed dock" at the park.  We understood there to be at least some electric here, but no such luck.  We are definitely roughing it tonight.

Port-o-potty Toilet - that or fill the holding tank!

Bulkhead and Pilings form our fixed dock for the evening

Climbing off the boat looked like an interesting challenge. Clark suggested we go for a stroll around the park after dinner before it got too late and buggy, and I agreed that was a good idea.  To get off the boat I had Clark disembark first.  He then stood on the bulkhead while I climbed over the railing of the boat.  Then he helped me step up onto one of the pilings (only wide enough for one foot) and from there it was a short jump to the park grounds. After our walk I of course had to get back on the boat by doing the reverse procedure.  Clark said, “no problem, right?!” I just smiled.

On our stroll around the park, we found bike trails along the canal.  Clark is excited to take our bikes and go for a bike ride tomorrow morning before we leave here.  If we do that, I'll let him be the one to carry the bikes over our lovely fixed dock to the park!  After that, he'll still have to come back to lend me a hand.  I may be adventurous but I'm not insane.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we cross Oneida Lake which takes almost 3 hours at our normal cruising speed.  It can be rough later in the day when the winds pick up, so we need to get to the lake in the morning.  We are about one hour from the next lock (Lock 21) and then another 15 minutes to Lock 22 which is just before Oneida Lake.  Each lock takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get through depending on how fast they fill / empty the lock.  If the lock is full when we arrive, we have to wait while they empty it before they open the doors for us to enter.  Then, of course, we wait while they fill it with us inside before eventually heading on our way. 

Between lock times and lake-crossing times, we’re in for another long day.  I’m concerned that our next destination may be packed with other “loopers”, so we are going to call ahead to make a reservation if possible.  Our next stop, hopefully, will be a full-service marina so a reservation should be possible as long as they have space.  The lock walls like in Utica are first-come-first-serve basis only, so we were out of luck today.

Amsterdam, NY to Canajoharie, NY

Day 7
Travel Time: ~ 4 hours
NM Today: 19
NM Total: 209
Locks Today: 3
Total Locks: 13

Sleeping at Riverlink Park was a challenge.  Tracks used by freight trains run alongside the park, and trains run all night long.  They have a habit of blowing their horns as they pass through the area. Somehow I managed to not be bothered by the whole train thing, I slept soundly in between trains.  I would wake and acknowledge that I heard a train and then listen to the clackety-clack of the train going by and be lulled back to sleep.  Clark was not so lucky.  He said he hardly slept at all during the night.

We woke up to gloomy weather with worse weather predicted.  We were undecided about whether to stay or go with thunder storms predicted.  By 10:00 it was clear weather and our phone app "Rainy Days" showed no storms in our vicinity.  We decided to make the break and head for Canajoharie with no docking fees and free electric. We passed by Guy Park at Lock 11.  I swear we have an angel watching out for us because we were forced to stay at Riverlink due to the lateness of the day, and it turned out the Guy Park is a construction site predicted to be beautiful in 3-years time.  Waiting for the site to be finished wasn't an option.  We were fortunate indeed to have been "forced" into Riverlink.

We saw a few logs and large pieces of wood floating in the canal - obstacles to be avoided for sure. With high waters, anything can be washing down the river, so we are on constant look out.  It becomes more interesting when the drifting wood decides to lock through with us.    Our first lock of the day, Lock 11, was a calm, slow ride up as they only had one working valve and there was no wind.  By our third lock, Lock 13, we were back to high winds and a fun time of controlling the boat. It seems the earlier in the day, the calmer the air.

We arrived in Canajoharie in plenty of time to stroll around town.  The weather was still 'iffy' so we brought rain gear.  Clark said the weather was bi-modal, which it was, either sweltering in the sun or very cool when the clouds moved in - nothing in between.

We managed to see a few interesting sites in this historic town - the Canajoharie Academy (now closed), the Beechnut Factory (now closed), and the site of an historic inn where George Washington once stayed  (the inn was demolished in 1860).  We must have stood out because a boy of about 10 or so asked us if we had just moved to town.  We told him we were just visiting.  Small town like this everyone knows everyone, I guess.

Historic Canajorharie Academy where Susan B Anthony Once Taught 

Canajoharie Academy

Beechnut Plant, now closed.

Beechnut once had a plant here in Canajoharie.  It closed and moved to Amsterdam.  The town library was on the site of the plant when it was first built.  The library was moved brick-by-brick to build a new library in another part of town to make room at the factory.

On our way out of town, we stopped into the visitor center and asked if laundry facilities were available in town and were surprised when the proprietor told us we were welcome to use the washer and dryer in the visitor center building to do our laundry.  We rushed back to the boat to collect laptops for the free WiFi and laundry to be washed.  I figured I needed to pass the time waiting for the laundry and what better way than working on my blog!

There is a great restaurant in town with delicious homemade pies (or at least there was last time we visited).  We walked past the restaurant in our wanderings.  We'll have to see if that pie beckons us to come in for a taste.

Waterford, NY to Amsterdam, NY

Day: 6
NM Traveled today: 32
NM Traveled total: 190
Locks Navigated today: 9
Locks Total: 10

Waterford Tugboat

 Dawdled around Waterford in the morning doing miscellaneous chores and setup for the day's trip.  Left at 10:30 a.m.  We navigated 9 locks today - locks 2 thru 10 of the Erie Canal. We are going up in each lock so as we approach the locks we see the spillway.  The one shown below was particularly beautiful with the sun shining directly on it.

It was very windy on the Erie which makes locking through "interesting".  Our boat is 37 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and just around 16 feet tall (give or take - 18.5 feet with antennas and radar tower).  We have a full enclosure around the upper helm which you can see in the picture below.  I tell you all this because it is relevant to the wind issue.  Basically we have a lot of boat to be caught by the wind.

When the wind comes from the side which it was doing it makes controlling the boat in a lock difficult.  Some locks provide steel cables that run from the top of the lock down.  When one of those is available, we can wrap a line around that at midships and it becomes a pivot point for the boat to swing back and forth and relatively easy to control.  Some locks only have lines hanging from the top of the lock to grab on to.  When this is the case, such as in lock 8, the boat has a lot more "play" in the wind.

We came into Lock 8, and I grabbed a line.  Clark ran down and grabbed a line hanging towards the stern.  Then the wind took the front of the boat before I had a chance to wrap the line around a cleat.  There was no way I could hold that line.  I knew I was going to lose grip of it, so I yelled back to Clark to get back on the engines.  He ran up the stairs just as I was forced to release my grip or go for a swim. By this time the boat was nearly perpendicular to the side of the lock instead of parallel - not good.  Fortunately, Clark was able to correct the angle of the boat and we could try again.  On the second shot, I got my line wrapped around the cleat so I could hold it.   Phew!

Luckily we were the only boat in the lock.  We did however have a lovely old couple observing the action below them.  I looked back at them and asked if they had enjoyed the show.  The elderly lady laughed and said, "yes, very much!"   As they say in boating, "Sometimes you enjoy the show and sometimes you are the show!"

Spillway Closeup

It took much longer to arrive at our destination point of Amsterdam, NY than anticipated.  We still don't know how it happened, but Clark severely miscalculated the time required to get from Waterford to our end point.  We finally arrived in Amsterdam to dock for the night at 6:30.  We had a brief stop in Schenectady to deal with the fuel oil issue from the day before but the rest of the time we were traveling.  I regretted that leisurely dawdling in Waterford.

When we passed through lock 10, Clark asked what time the locks shut down for the night.  I was surprised to hear that they closed at 6:00 and we had just made it through the lock before shutdown - it was 5:45.  Clark had hoped to get to Guy Park for the night for free docking, but we ended up paying $37 @ $1 per foot of boat.   Fortunately Riverlink Park is also in Amsterdam and we were able to tie up there.  It has been improved since our last visit and now provides electric, showers, toilets, and laundry facilities.

Looking down on Amsterdam Riverlink Park

Sea Moss at Riverlink Park

 The parents of my second son's wife, Heather, live in Amsterdam, NY, so we called them to let them know we had arrived.  They came over to the park and picked us up for a trip to their house to visit.  Because of our long day and late arrival, we didn't have as much time together as we would have liked but it was very nice to get to see them and chat for a while.  Maris served us great desserts which were a very much appreciated treat.

Below is a group shot.  Clark decided to try to take a selfie with our canon camera.  It turned out quite well considering you have no view of what the picture will look like until after the shot has been taken.

Maris and Bruce Bowman with Ev and Clark

We're moving on.  Clark wants to go to a place with free overnight docking.  Thunder and lightening storms that are predicted, so I'm not sure where we'll end up for the night if that happens.

Waterford Chores

Father's Day turned out to be the "boat repair day from hell".  Seems like Murphy with his law of everything that can go wrong will came to pay us a special visit.   The hot water heater had a reset button that needed to be pushed.   To get to it Clark had to remove 2 screws.   The rest took 5 minutes.   Putting the screws back in took well over an hour. 

The hot water heater is hidden deep in the bottom of the boat.   Clark had to crawl under the mattress in the second state room and lean over a compartment with the water tank in it.   He then had to do all work by feel and the help of a mirror.   He gets a headache every time from all the blood running to his head ... never mind the back ache that comes along with being a contortionist.

The replacement of the fuel filters was one problem after another culminating in Clark accidently knocking over the container of fuel oil he'd collected from the filter.   It went every where including on him, his shoes, and ridiculously difficult places to reach in the bilge.

What should have taken an hour took 5.5! Instead of eating dinner after all that, we went for a 2 mile walk looking for a garage to dispose of the old fuel oil.   We didn't find one, so we brought it back to the boat.   Then we went for a bike ride to explore some of the area. Clark saw bike trails when we were walking and Clark wanted to see where they went.

I finally started dinner at just before 9 and we ate around 10.  What a day!  At least Clark enjoyed some of the day.

We plan to leave here tomorrow (Monday) and go to Amsterdam,  NY to visit Heather's parents.  Hopefully we won't run into issues due to the canal closures further along the canal. 

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Coeymans, NY to Waterford, NY

Post for 6/20/2015 (delayed by lack of internet)

Nautical Miles Traveled to Date: 158

# of Locks  Navigated to Date: 1

I must be getting used to this “slow-boat” thing because it seemed that no sooner had we left Coeymans, NY than the Captain was saying we were rapidly approaching Troy Lock.   I was busy for a while mucking about in the cabin while underway, and I’m sure that helped to make the time pass more quickly.

We were very fortunate to arrive at the lock with the lock doors open and room for 3 more boats to lock through.  We were in and out within a half hour which is very good as sometimes waits can be long.  We were entertained by the geese and goslings that decided to lock through with us.

Geese enjoying the lift up 

Looking back from the boat to the lock doors

 We were very lucky a second time today when we arrived at the Waterford free dock and found a space with electric available.  I am pretty sure we took the last spot with electricity.  Many boats coming in behind us were not so lucky.  They are docked against the dock wall for free but without electricity.  

Erie Canal Mule featuring Historic Waterford

We tied up at Waterford just after 1:00 and rushed around checking in and securing the boat so we could take our planned bike trip into Troy, NY.  The Troy farmer’s market is normally a 9 to 2 affair, and we were trying our hardest to get there before they shut down.  We arrived at the market at precisely 2:00, but today we got lucky yet again as it was Troy Riverfest.  Several streets were closed off and vendors and street performers were in abundance.  Even arriving late we were able to partake of the sights, sounds, and celebratory ambience.

Sidewalk Chalk Artwork

Beautiful artwork

Looking up at RPI from downtown Troy, NY

We went to the farmer’s market looking for tomatoes.  We didn’t find any and when Clark asked one vendor about them, she tried to sell him a tomato plant.  We could buy all the lettuce and spinach we could carry, but that’s not what we went for.  We came back empty-handed, but there is a farmer’s market tomorrow right here where we are staying at the Waterford docks.  The volunteer at the office said she bought large tomatoes last week, so maybe we’ll be in luck.

It was 5.5 miles to get to Troy through some rather “sketchy” neighborhoods with Clark providing directions, and 4.5 miles to return through a park with bike trails with Google Maps showing the way.  All-in-all 10 miles roundtrip, and I was thankful for that 1 mile reduction in distance on the trip back to the boat with the improved views.

We’re in a very interesting situation here at the entry to the Erie Canal.  Critical sections of the canal to allow boat travel are closed due to damage from high, fast waters earlier in the month.  That said, the boats are backed up all along the Erie Canal.  We have been told if we lock through going west we might not find a place to stay along the way as everything is filled to capacity with no place to put any more boats along the way. 

The recommendation is for us to stay put right here, or if we decide to venture forth, call ahead to find someplace that can take us.  Another option might be to detour via Lake Champlain and go through Montreal and Ottawa (the reverse of our 2012 trip).  If we knew we couldn’t move from here for 2 weeks, we might actually opt for that.  As things currently stand, we are hopeful, however, that things will open up on the closed sections by mid-week this week and the pipeline clogged with boats will start to be cleared.

We have free WiFi here at the Waterford dock; however, we are quite a bit away from the main office, and we can’t pick up the WiFi from the boat.   I walked up in the evening to use my laptop near the office and was unsuccessful in getting internet.  

Post for 6/21/2015:

Miles traveled today: 0

I walked up to the office today (Sunday) and with a few struggles I managed to get internet to work on the blog.  

I found all the lovely vegetables that I needed to supplement my already overloaded boat.  We love tomatoes and squash, so I couldn't resist replenishing and Clark agreed.  Guess I still won't need to make a trip to the grocery store for a while now.

We're using this time at the Waterford dock to replace fuel filters which are indicating they need to be replaced and look at the hot water heater which seems to have stopped working.  Happy Father's Day to Clark! 

It is difficult to post a blog entry here, so I'm not sure if I'll post again while here or not.  We are still trying to decide how many days we will stay here as we wait to hear about repairs on the canal and projected reopening date.  We hope to leave tomorrow, but it makes no sense if there is no where to stay along the way.  We shall see!

Kingston, NY to Coeymans, NY

Stats Day: 3

Nautical Miles Traveled Today: 37

Nautical Miles Traveled in Total:  138

# of Locks  Navigated to Date: 0

We departed Kingston shortly after 8:00 but found we had miscalculated the expected current behavior.  We had the current against us for the whole trip today, so we averaged more like 6.5 knots.  Consequently, we did not reach Waterford today and instead stopped at Coeymans, NY which had been recommended to us previously by boater friends. 

Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY

Travels were quiet today.  We passed a tug and a few pleasure craft, but nothing too noteworthy.  Clark took a picture of the tug which on the AIS reporting system claimed to be 94 foot long.  Maybe someone transposed some digits because it was nowhere near that length.

94' - I don't think so!

Along the way we passed under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  The Captain asked me the story behind Rip, and all I could remember was he slept for 20 years.  Wikipedia to the rescue, I was piloting the boat at that time, so Clark looked up the Washington Irving story and gave me the highlights.  The only other part of the story I remembered from my childhood was something about bowling pins.  Rip Van Winkle Bridge is located in the Catskills, and that is where old Rip’s story takes place. 

Rip Van Winkle Bridge on the Hudson River

Numerous trains run up and down along the Hudson River, freight trains on one side and Amtrak on the other.  Frequently we saw one train stops to let another pass.  We saw that with Amtrak - the southbound train gave way to the northbound train.  Just before we saw the 2 trains pass, the Captain pointed out a couple of railroad bridges to me.

Railroad bridge used by Amtrak -  looks pretty rusty to me

Amtrak passing over a railroad bridge

The Hudson River has several lighthouses which we admired along the way like the Hudson-Athens lighthouse shown here.

Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

We arrived at Coeymans, NY just before 2:00 and decided that another 4 hours of boating to get to Waterford was more than we were interested in pursuing today.  We had just enough time to tie up before the skies opened up and buckets of rain fell straight down.  We quickly closed windows, etc.  That storm passed as quickly as it came, but 5 minutes later we got more of the same.  Just enough to make everything very wet.  I noticed a man in a kayak stopped in the rain as it poured down on him the first time, and then again, as we got hit with the second storm.  After the passing deluge, the sun came out bright and hot to help dry things off. As I reopened windows, I watched the drenched kayak'er start on his way with rain dripping from his hat as he paddled towards shore. 

I’m generally oblivious, but the Captain must have inherent radar because no sooner did we tie up than he said, “Look there’s a Mainship!”  I looked around and didn’t see anything I recognized (even though the boat of interest was within 20 feet of me) until he pointed to the next boat over from where I was looking, and sure enough, there sat a carbon copy of our boat, so not just any Mainship, but a Mainship 350 just like ours.  I thought we might meet the owners later, and the Captain could indulge himself in a sharing of Mainship maintenance problems and remedies like he does whenever he finds a fellow Mainship owner.  They do say, “Misery loves company”, and we do have some less-than-favorable Mainship stories of our own to talk about plus any number of wonderful improvements the Captain has added for convenience over the years.  Alas, we never saw the boat owners on the boat.

Before dinner, since we had some spare time, Clark suggested we pull down the kayaks from on top of the boat and go exploring.  We decided to paddle upstream against the wind and current for an easier ride back after exploring.  We were surprised to find parts of the new Tappan zee Bridge either on a barge or being prepared to be loaded onto a barge.  It turns out that Coeysman is where the girders are being fabricated for the new bridge.  

New girder for Tappan Zee Bridge on a barge headed South

Evelyn exploring the work area for the girders

We got back to our boat just before 7:00.  Time to get supper going.  Presently, the boat is overstocked with food since I took everything I thought we might eat from the house to the boat.  We are eating well as we are consuming all the perishable items as quickly as our appetites will allow.  I haven't seen much of a dent in the fridge yet, so I guess I just have to keep eating.  Life is rough, you know!

Believe it or not, already we had a few chores to complete on the boat after dinner; for example, the Captain wanted to rewire his AIS so it didn't have to be on whenever the WiFi is on, which was the case.  We have no need of AIS in the evening which is when we use our WiFi.  We had to lift up the upper helm console, fish around for the wire, and then reconnect it to another switch that gets turned off when we are done navigating for the day.  Surprise, surprise!  While he was looking around under there he found a wire that had come about at its connectors, so he did that quick repair which related to the haler on the boat.  Two repairs for the price of one, and both free except for time!  So nice that the Captain is handy with wires and tools!

After so much excitement today, it is time to call it a day and prepare for more excitement tomorrow. The Captain learned by talking to other boaters (one of his favorite past times) that we may hit a snag on the Erie Canal as several sections of the canal are closed due to high rainwater damages.  They are expected to reopen by Tuesday if there is no more flooding, so that's not so much of a concern. However, since the Erie has been closed since the 16th, boats are collecting along all the available lock walls and marinas while they wait for passage to be open.  We may have difficulty staying at Waterford - a favorite of any boater on the Erie Canal, or perhaps, anywhere else for that matter.  I guess as we get closer to Troy, NY we'll see what we're getting ourselves into as far as places to stay for the next few nights.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of "Boating with CMOS"!