Author: Jeff

It’s been 8 days since my last entry. Wow.  I’ll try to catch up.  I’m now in Smith’s Falls for the second time, and am heading home for a week or so to see my family, welcome Mallory back, and reconnect with my work in preparation for a mid-September return.  Then it’s back to the boat for the final segment of my 2017 travels, back down to Kingston and east into the Bay of Quinte. Tentative plan is to hail and store the boat somewhere around Belleville.

On Friday evening I met Samantha and Sarah at Westport.  We spent the night there at the municipal docks after a nice meal out, and on Saturday traveled through Upper Rideau then Big Rideau lakes.  Had a fun trip up the old Tay canal to Perth and had lunch there. Then back to a lovely anchorage south on Rideau Ferry.  I dropped them off Sunday morning at Rideau Ferry and they tode their bikes back to Westport.  See her blog with some great pictures here https://fitisafeministissue.com/2017/08/16/bikes-and-boats/

Monday I went through to Smith’s Falls.  Spent Monday night in the basin at Victoria Park.  Had my first ever lock issue in the downbound lock approaching Smith’s Falls. Not sure what happened – it was a really weird eddy in the lock – but when I went to exit the lock I ended up sideways with my anchor wedged against one wall the the dinghy the other.  Lock is about 35 feet wide and I’m about 40 feet long with the dinghy on davits.  More embarrassing than anything else.  The lock staff threw me a line and pulled my bow back over.  No damage done, though I’m sure my bow roller left a scar on the lock wall.

Tuesday morning I finally got rid of my waste oil and containers. Walked to a nearby Canadian Tire and borrowed a shopping cart.  Fixed the stuck thermostat and did a few other housekeeping chores and got underway after lunch.

Tuesday night was spent at the Kilmarnock lock.  Lovely isolated spot, hung out with the cadets I’d met earlier who were on an old Navy gig.  
Wednesday I arrived in Ottawa.  Got as far as the lock right next to Carleton University.  I had planned to go through to downtown just above the flight locks, but the smoke trail I’ve been leaving was attracting some unwanted attention… The multiuse path along the canal has a lot of traffic, and I really felt bad about the smoke.  And I was thinking of my plans to leave the boat for a week on Saturday.  So I turned around Wednesday evening and headed back down the canal.

The trip back to Smith’s Falls on Thursday and Friday was relaxed and pleasant.  Not much boat traffic, spent Thursday night at the bottom of the Merrickville locks. Nice little town.

The lock keeper at Smith’s Falls was very accommodating, as he had been on my earlier visit.  No problems leaving the boat there, no charge, and they ran a long hose across the lock to fill my water tanks.  The lock staff through the entire system have been helpful and friendly.  Generally they aren’t that busy, and are happy to chat and help in any way they can.

As I write this I am on the train, heading back to London tonight with a stop at Sarah’s farm in Prince Edward County.  Not sure when I’ll be back to the boat – most likely in eight days but maybe earlier if I can talk my son(s) into joining me for a couple of days.  

I traveled from Gananoque to Kingston yesterday, noodling through a bunch of islands and anchorages on the way.  Nice area below Howe Island.
When I got to Kingston I went through the causeway and anchored for the night just north of the lift bridge. Went into the town for some supplies and a bite to eat. 

I left Kingston this morning on the Rideau and am now anchored in a beautiful cove just below the Jones Falls locks. I have to say this is my kind of boating – lots of natural beauty, very few boats and the old locks are pretty cool.  Took lots of pics so will share here.

Under the 401

Squeezed into the first set of locks.  It takes about 2 hours to do a flight of three so they get everyone in.

Got my free season pass

I’m a bit out of order here. This is where I’m stopped for the night now.  

After hanging out in Phoenix for Friday and Saturday night I headed north to Oswego on Sunday.  I had been watching the weather on Lake Ontario and the forecast was for benign conditions on Monday.  Saturday I did some serious boat cleaning.

The trip to Oswego was leisurely and uneventful.  Tied up for the night on the wall just south of the last lock and went out for dinner with a guy I’d met who was taking his Cape Dory 29 from the east coast to Chicago.

Monday I headed out into the lake and had an uneventful cruise across Mexico Bay and into the St Lawrence at Cape Vincent.  Then downstream on the US side to Clayton.  I stopped for an hour or two at the town docks, then went a few miles to find a nice spot to anchor.

Tuesday morning I went back to Clayton to spend a couple of hours at the antique boat museum there.  Wonderful spot.

After leaving Clayton I continued downstream to Alexandria Bay.  Stopped there for lunch, then nipped across to Heart Island to tour Boltd Castle.

After leaving Boldt Castle I headed across to the Canadian side. Cleared customs at Rockport, then headed up river to arrive in Gananoque in the early evening.  Anchored close to the town and dinghied in for a nice meal.  

This area is quite beautiful.  Endless little bays and islands, and not overrun.

This interests me a lot, and I know others are mildly curious, so I’m trying to track fuel usage/cost here.  I haven’t been as good as I’d like to be at this, but I filled up today and here’s what I’ve got since departing Port Dover.

Distance traveled: 305 nautical miles

Motor hours: 49

Fuel used: 89 us gallons

I won’t go through all the various conversions here.  I have a generator but haven’t really been tracking usage carefully.  It was minimal for this segment.

This is a little more fuel than I would normally use to go that distance because I’ve been spending more time than usual at high throttle in an effort to break in the motor.

I got into Seneca Falls about 6 pm yesterday after a multi-modal trip from London.  Miles drove me to Niagara Falls then I took two Greyhound segments, a NY Trailways bus, a municipal bus, and my first Uber ride!  It was much smoother than it sounds 🙂  I immediately got underway when I reached the boat.  I had made tentative plans to be in the Kingston area on Saturday, and thought I might get to Oswego late today if I hustled.  Canals are best navigated at a leisurely pace, but I was covering familiar ground and thought I was ready to get back to Canada.

So I actually ended up noodling along last night for several hours after dark.  This section has navigation markers and I was on a sections with no locks.  It was quite pleasant and I didn’t feel it was unsafe.  I ended up anchoring in Cross Lake for the night.  Pleasant spot.

Watching the weather it was pretty clear that Saturday was not going to be a good day to cross from Oswego to Kingston.  I looked at alternatives like heading for the St Lawrence but any way you cut it there is open water from Oswego.  When I got up this morning the forecast was worse, and Friday night was also a no-go for getting across.

That allowed me to slow down.  I also took a side trip to Brewerton to fill up with some really cheap fuel.

So now with the plan to enter Lake Ontario on Sunday I’m not in any rush.  I pulled into Phoenix mid afternoon.  It was hot and humid and I’d been here last year.  Yet another charming free well serviced place to stop.  So I tied up, plugged in and turned on the air conditioning.

I’ve been posting to Facebook all afternoon and evening, but have to say that this is my kind of cruising.  I’m tied up at this beautiful little park/boardwalk, and the locals are having a party!  Food, a great band, and low-key summer merriment.  This has happened a few times now.  In Seneca Falls they seemed to do something almost every day.  Here’s a video – you can see Mazurka as I pan.

I also saw a big canal cruising boat coming through the lock.  Met a woman who lives right on the canal close by and she was there to meet it – turns out it comes through once a year!  We had a great chat about it.  Here are the deets: https://www.blountsmallshipadventures.com/2017-great-american-waterways/

Tomorrow I will get closer to Oswego, but it’s not that far, something like 20 miles and a few locks.  There are a few good places like this one to stop along the way.  Weather looks good Sunday for a dash across the lake.

The day after I arrived in Seneca Falls the canal behind me closed due to high water.  All traffic in the area on the Erie Canal stopped.  

I had planned to be home for a few days at the end of the month, so wasn’t too fussed.  Rob drove down to visit, we went for a  side trip up to Geneva at the top of Seneca Lake, and then I left the boat in Seneca Falls and drove home with Rob.

I am writing this from a Greyhound bus on the way back to the boat.  Greyhound goes to Geneva and then I will make my way to Seneca Falls by local transit or cab.

I have made a routing decision to get back to Canada via Oswego rather than continuing east on the Erie to Vermont.  My headline goal this summer has always been to do the Rideau Canal, so I will head there next.  It’s about a 1.5 day trip to Oswego, and weather looks ok for the lake crossing on the weekend.  

One of my Trawler Forum buddies suggested Seneca Falls last year, but I didn’t take the detour off the main canal to visit then, opting to go down to Syracuse instead.  So this trip I figured I’d take the detour. Haven’t decided whether to venture into the two finger lakes that are connected – Cayuga and Seneca – but have a couple of days free in this general area.

Had to go from descending as I went east on the Erie to ascending as I branched south to here.  Came through a double lock on the east side of the town.  It’s a dramatic approach.  At the top of the locks is a little lake with what I saw claimed as the most photographed church in the state.  Can see why.  Then around the corner to the town docks.

I’m docked right beside the boater welcome centre which has showers, laundry and a little lounge.  Walk through it and you’re on the main drag with restaurants and shops.

I was underway for about 9 hours today. Left Lock 30 shortly after it opened at 0700.  Weather was not great – intermittent light rain and cool – and when I got here I turned on the heat and spend some time drying out and warming up.  All cozy now.  I have an inside steering station but much prefer operating from the flybridge in close quarters where I have better visibility.  And there were occasionally large debris that had to be dodged.  So I was outside all day.  Almost as bad as being in a sailboat 🙂

This part of the Erie is more isolated.  There are a few small communities along the way, but set back from the canal.  I suspect that it’s because the current canal doesn’t follow the exact path of the otiginal.  I did stop briefly in Newark for some breakfast.  Went looking for a cafe and ended up at Dunkin Donuts 🙂

The rest of the trip was mostly passing by evidence of earlier industrial activity and the last 15-20 miles was skirting the edge of a nature sanctuary.  If I were a birdwatcher I could probably say more.  Certainly saw lots of herons and a couple of birds of prey.  A lot of today was through muddy water with lots of debris and occasional current due to big rainfalls in the area over the last few days.

No big travel plans for tomorrow, will likely stay here, clean up the boat, putter with the motor and explore the local sites of interest.

I’m stopped for the day at Lock 30.  Tied up to a crumbling old wall next to a park, but nothing else close by.  I thought all locks operate until 10 pm but after finding this one all closed up I checked the web site, and the more remote locks like this one close at 5.  Guess I’ll call it a day!  I could back track to Fairport but it’s a couple of hours back.

I left Brockport about 1030 and noodled east.  Before leaving I asked to borrow a bike to go get oil a mile or two away but the on-duty volunteer insisted I take her car.  Nice folks.

Passed the intersection of the canal and the Genessee River, which runs through Rochester and empties into Lake Ontario.  Navigation to the lake is impossible because there are a couple of dams right in downtown Rochester.  When I came through last year I followed the river right up to downtown Rochester, about an hour’s trip one way.  Didn’t see any evidence of pleasure boats apart from a rowing club.  There are a couple of big clubs/marinas on the lake side of the city – I’ve sailed out of the river to race on Lake Ontario – but I guess the locals don’t have any interest in the canal side.  It was weird to be a few miles as the crow flies from the port but a couple of hundred miles by boat.  The canal along that stretch is very industrial, passing under expressways and pretty much all old concrete.  Nowhere to stop.

Stopped at Pittsford for a late lunch.  Pittsford is very nice, I spent lots of time there last year and left the boat there for a week.  Today I docked right in front of a very nice Greek restaurant and had a good feed.

Didn’t stop in Fairport.  That’s another town that’s really done up the waterfront.  Leaving Fairport I met four rental canal boats.  Guess Monday is check out day, as the rental outfit is between here and Fairport.

The local geography really varies.  There is a very long pool between Rochester and Lockport.  In some cases the canal has been dug through shale rock and is slightly below the surrounding area.  But in other areas it’s above the surrounding area.  Near Fairport the canal is 70 feet above the valley it travels across.  Essentially the builders created a giant berm across the valley and the canal is cut into the top of the berm.  I couldn’t get any good pictures, but a couple of times caught glimpses of rooftops through the trees.  Now I’m in an area where the canal is level with the surrounding area, and passed through some wetlands.  More of that ahead.

I still haven’t finalized plans for leaving the boat and returning to London this weekend, but have some options.  Rather than trying to make it to Kingston I am inclined to stay in NY.  Now that I’m here I don’t want to leave in a hurry.  I haven’t checked distances, but think I can get down to the finger lakes area tomorrow.  Maybe Seneca Falls.  Getting there is via an offshoot south from the main canal.

Just started raining hard, so I’m not unhappy stopped anyway.

Plan was to stop for a late lunch, but I like it so much I’m sticking around.  I missed stopping here when I came through last year.

There’s so much history here.  The Erie Canal played a pivotal role in the development of the Midwest, and indeed in the way the country developed in the 19th century.  See http://www.brockportny.org/about/history

I think there was a long period in the 20th century when the canal stopped being relevant and people sort of turned their backs on it.  But that’s turned around.  Original buildings are now being preserved and rejuvenated, and almost every community has added services for visiting boaters.  There is also a rail trail running the entire length which is becoming more popular.

Here they built a boater welcome centre staffed by volunteers, and it’s very well done.  Dedicated showers and laundry for boaters, dockside power and water.  Paid a nominal $12 for the night.  In many communities it’s all free, but services vary.

They are not mobbed.  Three boats tied up today, and they could take 15-20.  Apart from a few kayaks and small fishing boats I saw four boats underway between Lockport and here today.  

Stopped at another little community before here.  Each one has its own interesting story.  Passed a sign in another village saying ‘Population: just about right’ but couldn’t get my camera out quick enough.

Now I’m showered, well fed, and have hot water on the boat for the first time in a while… Am going to wash dishes and clean up aboard. 

I should also mention that one of my other reasons for stopping and staying is that there are stores close by where I can buy motor oil as well as groceries etc. Not out of the woods on my motor – it’s running fine but using a lot of oil.  I thought it might self-heal, but so far no joy.  Not going to lose any more sleep over this for now.  I’m happy to keep dumping oil in for the next few days, or maybe the rest of the summer.

Need to be back in London at the end of the month for a week or so, so my itinerary this week will be partly driven by having a place to leave Mazurka and transport to and from London.  

Also posted this video to Facebook earlier.  I’m about 6″ under the fixed bridge height with my mast and bimini up.  I was very cautious last year. This year it’s fun going under the bridges.

I’m on the Erie Canal.  After dithering about whether to go down the Welland and traverse Lake Ontario or take this route I got underway from Port Colborne around noon, and got into Lockport at dusk.  

Highlights:

• Started to go down the Black Rock Canal but was flummoxed by the first bridge I got to.  It was an opening bridge but appeared to be not staffed.  According to the chart I should have just fit under it, but no way – would have had to take down my bimini frame.  Likely because of the still-high lake level.  So I turned around, went back and went down the Niagara River.  That’s the faster route anyway.  I had things a bit backwards, as usual.  When I came through here last year traveling west I stayed on the river but regretted it when trying to get past the Peace Bridge with an 8 knot current.  Today I sailed through with the current helping me.
• No problems clearing in through customs.  You do it from these video link phones at select marinas.  The guy first said I needed a cruising permit but I patiently and politely disagreed and he relented.  He didn’t even ask about the DTOC registration that I spent $27 to obtain before I left this morning.  Anyway, I’m completely legal.
• Found the transient dock at Lockport.  It’s easy to miss when going west.  When I came here last year I wanted to stop but didn’t because I went by the stopping place without recognizing it.  It’s tucked into the top of the original flight.  Great spot.  Power, water, and the lockkeeper offered their shower.

I’m glad I’m here. Not a fan of the open water, and the forecast wasn’t great for Sunday on Lake Ontario.  I don’t sweat the weather on canals.  No big waves ever.

Depending on timing I may try to take the side trip down to Seneca Falls and the finger lakes. Missed that last year.

These guillotine type structures are used to seal off the canal.  Think they drain it in the winter.