Napanee Ontario

We are tied up to the Napanee town dock for the next few nights. We are sorting out land issues like get insurance on our vehicle and plates and brakes and tires. Yuck! It was nice just thinking about tides, current, wind and anchorages.
We visited our friend Joyce today, it is so nice to be back amongst friends.  We are expecting more friends to come visit as well as family.
We are very pleased with the outcome of our journey.  We kept under budget, we had no real issues with the boat or our health. We learned a great deal about ourselves and have had enriching experiences. There is so many more adventures to try but it will be difficult to surpass this one.  We will try.
Thanks to everyone who helped us along the way, to all who encouraged us and sorry if we made anyone worry about us. We just have to live our dreams and accomplish everything we have on our bucket list.

Mrnings are so peaceful at anchor

Oh! Canada!

Oswego Lighthouse

We are anchored in Hay Bay off Long Reach (N44 07.6 and W77 0.8) close to our final destination.

Lake Ontario at it's best

We locked through at first lock and set off from Oswego at 7:30 this morning to cross Lake Ontario.  The lake was flat as a pancake with not a ripple on it.  I have never seen it so tame. Just when I was marveling at this phenomena, the fog rolled in and stayed with us for the next 45 miles. It was thick as soup so we spent the day looking at grey until we reached the upper gap at Bath.  I would much rather have fog than wind.  We have radar and I used my Marine Traffic program to look for ships.  We had to follow a compass bearing all day, what a chore.  When I was at the wheel we were going around in circles, fog is so disorienting. Needless to say, the Captain did most of the steering.
We were swarmed by thousands of flies and mosquito type insects. They were everywhere and on everything.
We cleared customs at Prynier's Cove which involved a phone call that lasted all of 5 minutes. We then got back on the boat and continued to Hay Bay for the night.  We could have made it to Napanee but I seem to want to prolong the trip.  I don't want it to end and this is the last chance we have to anchor.  I love the peace and quiet and the scenery. I liked partying and meeting people but I also need the solitude and peace.

Swarmed bu bugs on Lake Ontario

We are going to Napanee for the next few nights where we will have friends and family visit.  We will then spend a few days in Belleville and then go back to Baycrest to have the boat hauled out of the water for the year. We should be around for the next month and then drive back to Newfoundland for the summer.
I can't believe it's over, it seems we just left.

Bath Ontario at the Upper Gap

Ram Island on Hay Bay

Lake Ontario flat as a pancake

Oswego New York

Nice large home on the Erie Canal

We left Sylvan Beach at first light this morning to cross Oneida Lake and still get through 8 locks. The lake was like a sheet of glass, my kind of boating. We are fueled up for the last time and are tied up to the Lock wall in Oswego ready to make the first lock in the morning and then cross Lake Ontario.  It speaks for favourable conditions.
We had happy hour aboard a 44 foot viking with Huguette and Ed.  We met these folks in Waterford and wanted to know how their trip went.  They left on a really windy day with the river flowing fast after the flood.  They had their fair share of tribulation in the locks as with the other 6 boats who left.  We were wise to wait for the following day.

Nice calm day on the water

Our journey is coming to an end.  I am glad to be getting back home but it is sad to be putting the boat away and returning to the landlubber life.  We learned that life on the water is the life for us.  We like the variety, the challenges and all the fun. Oh well, on to the next adventure!

North Star in Oswego

Mother's day in Sylvan Beach

The man made Erie Canal

Crazy Clam restaurant in Sylvan Beach

Hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day, I sure did. We only went through 4 locks and travelled 41 miles on the actual Erie Canal.  It is a straight man made ditch bordered by trees and a few small towns. We stopped at 12:00 at Sylvan Beach on the East end of Oneida Lake. All the locals were out fishing and little run abouts and pontoon boats were going back and forth. There is a boardwalk along the waterfront as well as neat restaurants and an amusement park. Some of the rides were open but it is still early in the season.  We walked the beach and noted that family picnics were in full swing as well as some brave swimmers,  The water temperature is only 64 degrees.
We had a nice meal at the Crazy Clam.  I had a 4 pound bucket of clams and almost ate the whole lot.  I kept some to make clam chowder. The restaurant is at the pier and has quite a nautical decor.

North Star at the free town dock in Sylvan Beach

Amusement Park at the beach

We are on Oneida Lake at first light this morning to try and get through 9 locks and cover 55 miles.  If we make it to Oswego, we may be able to cross Lake Ontario tomorrow. It is supposed to be fair weather for the crossing. Oneida lake is like a sheet of glass this morning, it is supposed to rain which won't make the locks all that pleasant.

Oneida Lake at first light

Herkimer New York

The Adirondacks in the distance

This little house withstood all the floods, we remember it from the last trip

We had an auspicious start to our day today.  We left Amsterdam and headed up to lock 12 nice and early.  We arrived at 7:30 and the lock master said he would be ready in a couple of minutes.  He came back on to say he had lost power and didn't know when it would be restored.  We tied up at the lock wall in heavy current and stayed there bouncing around for a while when he told us his back up generator was not working either and we should head back to Lock 11 because he didn't know if it would take hours or days to restore power. Back we went to last night's tie up and we waited for an hour.  We were just headed into town, figuring we would be there all day, when the lock master at lock eleven told us we could lock through at the next lock.  Off we went again along with two other boats to lock 12.
Other than that, it was a fabulous day on the water, sunshine, light winds and little traffic.  We still managed to make it to our intended destination of Herkimer.  There is a lot of natural debris floating down the river and the current is still quite swift especially near the locks.  We charged into many of them today to be able to maintain steering. Quite a few of the buoys are missing or at the wrong place so we had to be vigilant in watching the charts to figure things out.  Pleasure boating is challenging.
We are at, yes, a free wall surrounded by highways, it could be a noisy night.  Last night we had trains going by and neither one of us heard any overnight.  I am sore all over from trying to hold the boat in the locks so I don't think I will have trouble sleeping.

North Star with the Waterfront Grille in the background in Herkimer

We will keep going tomorrow and hopefully make it to Sylvan Beach for a mother's day dinner at the Crab Shack.

Amsterdam New York

We had a tour of this one

we left Waterford at first lock this morning which was 7:00 am. They are getting ready for Canal Fest so many barges and tugs were locking through at 8:00 so it would have been a long wait.  There were only two of us in the 5 flight locks so it was quite comfortable with light winds and the sun shining.  it was somewhat cool though.
The wind picked up thus afternoon so the remaining 5 locks were somewhat challenging. We started on the starboard side in Lock 9 and ended up on the port side after banging off the walls.  I just didn't have the strength to hold the boat and the rope was too short to cleat. No damage and all is well in the end.

The shores of the Mohawk River

We were fighting a two knot current all the way here because they are still have all the dams open to lower the water level. Their dams are close to the locks so entering the lock can get quite exciting.  This is not the same canal we travelled through in August 3 years ago, it is much wilder.  We are seeing some of the damages from hurricane Irene last fall.
We are tied up in Amsterdam at, you guessed it, a free wall near Lock eleven. We have power so it won't get too cold tonight.  There is one other boat here as well.
We had dinner on the boat and we are having a quiet evening to rest up for tomorrow's 10 locks.  We have been here before so we don't feel the need to go exploring.

Repairing the damage from Irene

Amsterdam

Staying out of the wind in Amsterdam

Lots of fast water and debris coming down the canal

Windy in Waterford



Captain hangs out the window chatting with passers by

They opened the lock at 12:00 today because the water has gone down enough to make for a safe passage. The wind, however, was blowing at 35 miles per hour and with the strong current, we elected to stay put for the day.  There are 6 locks in 3 miles to lock through and with all the traffic, we decided to leave it for an other day.  It appears the free lock walls were damaged by Irene so we have a fair way to go before we can stop somewhere, half a day was not enough for us.  The other large boats that left must be going to marinas.

Urger is an educational tug that is on display this week end

We just went for a walk and read all day.  It is cool with the high wind.  There is just one other boat here, yesterday there were 7. we were invited to come aboard one of the canal barges for a tour.  They are having canalfest this coming weekend so some of the tugs and barges are on display. They make fenders out of rope and it looks really nice on these crafts.
We have decided to take the Erie Canal route to Oswego and cross the lake when it is safe to do so. We just can't see doing all those locks in Canada.

Flooded in Waterford

logs coming down the river by our boat

The rain poured down all day yesterday. It finally let up for a short time in the evening.  There is so much water running down the system that they had to close the Erie Canal at around 12:00.  The Champlain Canal is still open so we could leave today if it was not raining. Who wants to lock through 7 locks in the rain. They are also calling for thunderstorms later today so we will stay put.
The water level was at 16 feet when we pulled in on Saturday and now it is at 20' 6'' according to the gage under the bridge. We had to walk to a walkway to get off the dock and now we simply step down to the wall from the dock. We heard logs bumping against the boat all night.

The floating dock is up to the top of the concrete wall

It is like home week here, we met up with a Canadian we ran across in Oriental North Carolina.  There is a french couple in front of us who came in at high speed because the current was so strong it was pushing them on us.  He cleared our boat bu a few inches and gave us a little bit of a scare. Very nice folks!
We just lay around reading and watching movies yesterday and it looks like that is what we are doing today as well.
We should be able to leave tomorrow if the current settles down.

The outside lock wall is under water

The concrete wall before the flood

The lock wall before the flood

Waterford

The spillway with the bicycle trail on the left

We had a nice relaxing day yesterday in the lovely town of Waterford.  We rode both bicycle paths, the one that runs along the Erie Canal and the Old Champlain Canal.  The weather was perfect.
We went back to our little breakfast place and walked around visiting second hand shops.  All we ever buy are DVDs but we like to look.
I read sitting in the sun for the rest of the day while Jerry worked on boat maintenance.

The Visitor Centre free dock

It rained all night and so far it has rained all day.  I made a nice hot pot of soup and we are just sitting around reading and planning our next few days along the Champlain Canal. There are free docks until we reach Lake Champlain.  The weather is supposed to be good tomorrow and then cool on Friday so I had to research docks with power so we can have a heater on. It won't be a problem, Fort Edwards is 7 locks away and 38 miles so we should be able to reach there tomorrow.

Waterford is at the Junction of the Hudson River and the Erie Canal

Nice church in Waterford

Taking a break in Waterford

Tug with cat's whiskers at Waterford lock

We had a very pleasant day of rest in Waterford yesterday.  The weather was perfect for pedalling around town.  We had breakfast at Paul and Don's, a small and very busy restaurant while we did our laundry. A great breakfast for $3.00, makes no wonder there was a wait of 20 minutes to be seated.

This town boasts of being the first incorporated village in the US. There are large wooden historic houses and a nice bicycle trail that borders the Erie Barge Canal. We had to run around from store to store to get supplies but today we should be able to ride for pleasure. We are going back to Paul and Don's for breakfast and to check out the second hand store. Jerry has some boat maintenance to do so we will stay one more day.

The water rose 8 feet in town during hurricane Irene

We were invited for happy hour aboard R&B Haven last night and ended up staying for dinner. Rob and Bev are from Brockville and they are travelling with friends from Carleton Place.  It is a lot of fun sharing our boating travel experiences.  They had a nice crock pot full of pulled pork and we made rice to go along.  Impromptu pot luck dinners are the best.
Everyone has gone this morning, they are going towards lake Erie and we are going the other way around.

Historic home in Waterford

War Memorial in Waterford

Waterford, New York

Lighthouse at our anchorage

Lighthouse in Hudson

Albany the state Capital

We are through the Troy Lock and are tied up in Waterford which is the beginning of the Erie Barge Canal. We are at the visitor center which offers showers, power and water for $10.00 afor 48 hour's stay.  We may stay here for 2-3 days. We are the first cruisers to arrive, they just opened today.  We need to be out of the US by the 15th so we are  little rushed.

Troy Federal Lock

We have decided to take the Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain route home.  We will be going through around 70 locks including some on the St Lawrence Seaway but it is preferable to crossing Lake Ontario so early in the season.
We are going out for dinner to night and have found a nice breakfast place.  It feels good to be out of tidal waters and big water.

Hudson River

Wow! What a beautiful day on the Hudson River.

High speed ferries churning up New York Harbour

We left New York city at 6:00 this morning to capitalize on the tidal current coming up the Hudson River. It was foggy, then the rain came down in buckets and we even had thunder and lightning to make things more exciting. I thought New York Harbour would be less busy early in the morning and I was wrong for the first time on this whole trip.  There were high speed ferries coming and going in all directions and creating a bouncy rocky wake. The Queen Mary 11 was docking, and tugs and barges with their confusing lights were everywhere. I was trying to take in all the sights and take pictures while staying upright. Oh and I also had to watch for traffic and all this before my first cup of coffee. Oh the joys of pleasure boating. The Captain thinks that New York Harbour was great, I was never so happy to say goodbye to Lady Liberty and get out of dodge.
We then proceeded up the Hudson river at a break neck speed of 10 to 12 miles per hour.  North Star usually cruises at 8.  The fog cleared, the sun came out, we opened the windows and doors for the first time in a week and enjoyed the spectacular scenery. This river rivals he Jackson River in beauty. It is nice and deep so we didn't have to worry about depth for the first time in a week.  There are cliffs and mountains which is a nice change from the salt marshes and mud flats.

Looking back at New York city and the Gearge Washington Bridge

We travelled for 11 hours and covered 104 miles so we should be inWaterford New York on the Erie Barge Canal tomorrow. We have been there before so in fact we have completed the great circle but not in one continuous trip,

The Catskills

Beautiful homes along the Hudson River

A Tall ship!

Navigational light on the Hudson

Esopus Creek anchorage

We are anchored in Esopus Creek out of the fast current.  We can sleep in tomorrow because the tide won't be favourable until 11:00. Somehow I can't see the Captain being able to wait this one out...we shall see.