Month: June 2023

I’m in Phoenix, at the top of the Oswego Canal linking the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario.

It’s been a fun and relaxed trip east from Buffalo. Samantha and Sarah joined me for a couple of days of biking and exploring, then they went back and I continued on.

I gave some thought to continuing east to Albany and then north through Lake Champlain to Montreal, but decided against it. So tomorrow I’ll head north to Oswego and will be back in Ontario this weekend, then head north on the Trent-Severn, this time with the intent of going through to Lake Huron

I lost some of my pics as my old phone died. Here’s what I’ve got.

I entered the Erie Canal on Tuesday at Tonawanda, and spent a night at Lockport and two at Middleport. Lovely spot, with a few boaters, some cyclists, and locals dog walking.

I’m now at Gasport, waiting for Samantha and Sarah to arrive. We’ re going to go east biking and boating for a couple of days.

I love this type of cruising. My canal speed is about 6 mph, leaving no wake. There are communities with free walls along the way.

I’m on Lake Erie, tied up in Port Colborne at the top of the Welland Canal. Samantha and Sarah joined me for the trip up.

It’s been a while since I posted, but I haven’t moved far. My visit in Toronto was curtailed after I had a run in with local police, who issued me with a $600 fine for anchoring in the outer harbour. I’m planning to fight it, but left immediately after the regatta.

I stayed a week or so in Hamilton and Gavin helped me with interior cleaning and I got a few small projects done, then toured the west end of the lake, with nice stops in Port Dalhousie and Queenston.

From here I’m heading for Buffalo, then east on the Erie Canal through upstate NY to the Finger Lakes, then north to Oswego and Lake Ontario. I really like this trip, and it’s been five years since I’ve gone this way.

Port Dalhousie

On May 26th, Samantha, Sarah, and I drove to Peterborough to meet Jeff and Escapade at one of the locks nearby.  Samantha and Sarah left the next morning, and Jeff and I spent the next five days together on Escapade, heading south through the Trent Severn waterway, en route to Toronto.

I don’t know why but I’ve thought locks were cool for a number of years, maybe because my big brother talked about them.  A few years ago, on a cruise down the Yangtze River, I was surprised to be the only person on the back deck when my ship entered into the first part of the Three Gorges Dam lock.  I’m not sure if that was the first lock I ever went through, but it’s the first one that I remember.  Of course, since then I’ve traveled through a few locks on the Tennessee river with Jeff.  

There are two things that I particularly cherish on these boat trips with Jeff. The first is seeing parts of North America that I haven’t seen before, at a slow pace. On this trip, it was fascinating to go through a large variety of locks, many of which were manually opened and closed, and some of which involved seemingly high elevation drops.  At virtually every lock, the lockmaster remembered Jeff and there was a brief chat about his travels. Occasionally there would be offers to help, which Jeff would kindly decline, with a smile and a comment that he had a system in place.  

We had spectacular weather with beautiful sunrises and sunsets, with a memorable stop near a bird sanctuary in Presqu’ile provincial park. Other than some drama involving a pharmacy or two, it was a very enjoyable low-key trip.  

The other highlight for me is seeing Jeff completely in his element. The first time I was on his previous boat, Mazurka,  I had some anxiety issues as we would approach shallow waters or narrow channels. However, it wasn’t long before I realized that these situations were easy peasy for Jeff.  That was again the case on this trip as he moved Escapade from one space to another, skillfully maneuvering in and out of the locks. It was fun to see. Needless to say, I took lots of pictures, as usual. Here is a sampling of some of my favourites.

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Susan and I arrived Thursday, and I’m anchored in the outer harbour. Today I was racing Laser. Great day, tricky east winds. More tomorrow. The photo above was taken today, but I’m not in it.

In other news, I took three racing buddies out to see Escapade and we were able to plane cleanly in the dinghy with four. The new motor is a big improvement.

Next week I’m going to noodle over to Hamilton. I’m thinking of going up the Welland Canal to enter the Erie Canal at Buffalo.

These photos show the club from the boat and the boat from the park. Nice spot.