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.
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| Sunset over Lake Ontario |
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