Sackets Harbor, NY

Sackets Harbor, NY

Navy Point Marina

June 21, 2012

Once we landed in Oswego we were done with the Erie Canal which was 29 locks.  We are now headed to Canada to the Trent Seven Canal which has 43 locks.  We are in Lake Ontario which is the fourth Great Lake we have been in.  I really don't have any desire to go to Lake Superior so this will probably be the last one.  We left Oswego on Thursday morning and headed North East to Sackets Harbor, NY which was about 40 miles.  The lake was a little rolly when we left and then the wind picked up a little, but by that time the waves were behind us so it was not a terrible ride.  

We arrived at Sackets Harbor and Navy Point Marina about noon.  We were going to get fuel and a pump out so we called on the radio and the lady said to go to the fuel dock and call her on the intercom when we were ready and she would turn on the pump.  They offered no help in docking so we tied up and looked at the price of fuel - it was $5.20 per gallon.  I told the lady that we were not going to get fuel but we would pump out.  When we were done we called on the radio and asked for a slip assignment and she told us, so we docked and when we were going to connect the electric there was no 50 AMP connection which we had asked for.  I called back on the radio and she said she would send somebody down to help.  The only people that could help were the service department and they were eating their lunch on a picnic table about 50 feet from our boat but they were not about to stop and help us so we waited while - I got mad.  Not only was it hot and I didn't have air conditioning but I was hungry and if you know me you know I get grumpy when I am hungry.  I walked up to the office and the lady was very nice and was surprised that nobody had helped us yet (Sure).  She then said that the only place there was 50AMP service was on the wall and she said we could move if we wanted.  I hate to move once we are docked and tied up but Ginny was a good sport and started the engines and moved us expertly to the wall where we had good power.  All of the boats we were traveling with docked and we enjoyed the afternoon before happy hour.  We had drinks and then went to dinner at a local restaurant called Tin Pan Galley which was recommended to us by Al and Dottie at Brewerton.  Ginny and I split some pretty good lamb chops and a salad.  We had a very good creme brulee for dessert and walked back to the boat to watch some TV and crash.  We are headed for Clayton, NY on Friday which is in the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River where we will spend two days before heading to Canada.

 Sackets Harbor is straight ahead

 Our boat tied to the wall 

 Kismet in her slip

 Looking across the harbor from the marina to the city of Sackets Harbor

 I know we are getting close to home because this is a Lyman which was built in Lake Erie

 Nice house in town

 Looking from town across the harbor to the marina

 Canons on the front lawn

Tin Pan Galley

Oswego, NY

Oswego, NY

Wright's Landing Marina

June 20, 2012

We really had a good time and some needed rest at Ess-Kay Marina in Brewerton.  We went to both Wal-Mart and to Wegman's, which is a high end grocery.  Mostly we enjoyed the quiet and the people at the marina, especially Al and Dottie.  Rich and MerryKay on "Native Son" moved from another marina to Ess-Kay so we now had 4 Loopers all together and were ready to travel on Wednesday morning at 6:45.  We had 8 locks to go through and about 30 miles.  The trip was very pleasant and the locks went pretty fast because they were ready for us at each one.  There was some wind so we did struggle in a couple of locks, but we made it through without any incidents.  We made it to Oswego very early in the afternoon.  "Native Son" and "Jim's Joy" stayed in the Oswego Marina because they were having a diver come the next morning.  "Kismet" and us went to Wright's Landing Marina which was only about 1/4 mile away.  Our marina is really a yacht club for sailboats, with some space for transients that is run by the city of Oswego. We hired a cab to take us over to the Oswego Marina to have happy hour and go to dinner at a local sports bar.  Honestly the happy hour snacks were way too much so we didn't eat much for dinner.  We went back to the marina fairly early and enjoyed the air conditioning in the boat because it was very hot.  We plan to go to Sackets Harbor on Thursday which is about 40 miles North East.

 Ess-Kay Marina in Brewerton the day we left

 The Erie Canal splits here

 The city of Pheonix on the way

 Not only locks, but low bridges

 Oswego, NY

 That is us on the end

Our view to Lake Ontario from the marina

Leaving the marina for Sackets Harbor

Ilion and Brewerton, NY

Ilion, NY

Ilion Community Marina

June 16, 2012

Saturday was going to be a short day.  We only had to go 20 miles and three locks.  We didn't leave until 8:30, imagine that.  The scenery along the way was very nice and there were some cute little towns.  The only issue we had was lock 17.  Lock 17 is the highest lift on the whole canal and all of the boats have to tie up to the South wall in the lock.  There are long ropes that hang down from the top of the lock which is fine for a short distance but when the ropes are 40' long it is hard to hold the boat against the wall due to the angle of the rope.  There were only three of us and it took a while to get us in and set but we made it albeit with a lot of anxiety.  We landed at Ilion before noon and tied up on the wall.  Ginny and I were pretty tied so we took a nap and then we got up and walked into town.  We went to Rite Aid and stopped for some ice cream on the way back.  Ilion is the home to Remington Arms and during the week you can visit the museum and tour the factory but they are closed on Saturday so we missed it. 

 Little Falls, NY

 Lock 17 Outside

 Inside Lock 17 - See how tall it is

 Nice houses overlooking the Canal

 They call these guard gates but they are really flood gates

 We are in Ilion but the sign says different

 Home of Remington

Brewerton, NY

Ess-Kay Yards Marina

June 17-19, 2012

We woke up on Sunday and expected to travel 40 miles and 4 locks to Sylvan Beach, which is on the East side of Lake Oneida.  The first two locks took us up, but the last two locks went down so we had a little of each.  After we left the last lock we decided to cross Lake Oneida and go to Brewerton because it was still pretty early.  The lake was a little choppy and it was Sunday so there was a lot of boat traffic from the locals on both sides of the lake.  We docked around 3:30 and had happy hour early with some of the locals.  We are at Ess-Kay Marina which in my opinion is fantastic.  The docks are fine, they have a great ship's store and have a courtesy car.  On Monday "Kismet" and we went to Wal-Mart and Wegman's grocery store to stock up. Later I got the dingy out and ran it around for a while.  I had not used the dinghy or the motor since Florida, but it started right up and ran great.  I also got the Hooka (thanks again Bill) out and dove under the boat to look around.  It was a little dark but the water was not that cold.  We stayed at Ess-Kay another day while Beth and Dean on "Kismet" drove to Buffalo to get their bird's passport stamped before going into Canada.

 Leaving Ilion Marina

 Another pretty view

 Can you see the debris in the water?

 A restaurant with free dockage

 Lake Oneida

Somebody was asleep at the switch while the captain drives

 The owner is from Ohio and had this poster of our home port of Port Clinton, OH

 Safely docked at Ess-Kay

Happy Hour

Schnectady, Amsterdam and St. Johnsville

Schenectady, NY

Schenectady Yacht Club

June 13, 2012

We were going to leave Albany on Tuesday but the weather was rainy and windy so we stayed another day.  Happy hour that night was spent on our boat with "Kismet", "Marc's Ark" and "Jim's Joy".  We left Albany Yacht Club at 6:30 on Wednesday headed for Schenectady, NY but not before going through 7 locks.  The weather was not great when we left but it got better as the day went on.  We had to travel about 10 miles on the Hudson before we came to the Erie Canal which starts at Waterford, NY.  "Marc's Ark" and "Jim's Joy" were going to continue on the Hudson to the Champlain Canal which leads to Montreal and we were going to head West on the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario.  We said goodbye on the radio and headed West.  The first 5 locks are very close together and you are not allowed to stop between the locks.  After the "Flight of Five" we went through one more lock and then we stopped at Schenectady Yacht Club for the night.  When we were going through the locks, Marc called and said that "Jim's Joy" had turned around because their boat could not fit under the 17' bridges on the Champlain.  Jim called later and he said he was coming to Schenectady.  They didn't get to the dock until about 5:00 and they were completely exhausted so we had a few beers and ate dinner on a picnic table at the marina.  Dinner was brats, hot dogs and some sides that we all put together.  Everybody at the marina were very nice and helpful.  

 Beth, Ginny, Michele and Joy

Craig, Jim, Dean and Marc

 Downtown Albany, NY

 Looking for a new career?

 The Federal Lock on the Hudson North of Albany

 Probably a remnant of hurricane Irene

 Decision Time

 The free wall at Waterford, NY

 The start of the Erie Canal

 A flood gate

 Waterfall from the rocks

 Ruins of an aqueduct across the Mohawk River

Our dock at the Schenectady Yacht Club

Taken from the bridge

 Amsterdam, NY

Riverlink Park Marina

June 14, 2012

We were going to have a short day of travel and Jim needed fuel so we agreed to leave at 8:30.  It turned out that Jim didn't need fuel so we left at 8:00.  We only had 3 locks to go through.  We got to Amsterdam and Riverlink Park Marina at noon and tied up.  We were going to eat lunch at the restaurant but they were only open for dinner so we ate lunch on the boat and then walked into town to the True Value Hardware.  The town is really depressed  so we didn't spend a lot of time walking around.  The weather was absolutely perfect so we went back to the boat and enjoyed the rest of the day outside.  We had drinks on the dock and then went to dinner at the restaurant.  We had one of the best meals we have had on the trip.  The restaurant is owned and operated by a family with three generations all working.  They treated us like family and as I said the food and wine were fantastic.  We heard that the deserts were all homemade so we all saved room.  The dinner was great but the deserts were to die for.  If you are ever in the area of Amsterdam, NY you should go to the Riverlink Marina for dinner.

 Lock E9

 Don't know why but we blew our horn

 Lock 10

 The restaurant at Riverlink

 Brown Eyed Girl on the Wall

Great Dinner

St. Johnsville, NY

St. Johnsville Marina

June 15, 2012

The first lock after Amsterdam was less than a mile away and the locks don't start operating until 7 so we left at 7.  We had 5 locks to go through and 30 miles.  Most of the locks were pretty easy but one of them had some bad current entering the lock so we had to be careful.  We got the St. Johnsville about 1:00 and walked into town for lunch at a local pizzeria which was pretty good.  We went back to the boat and took naps.  We are in for the night and going to bed early.  Tomorrow we are headed for Ilion, NY.

 The dams are always next to the locks

 How in the H--- did this car get on top

 Going into the St. Johnsville Marina

 The wall where we are docked

 The fire department

Lunch