Day 28, Tuesday, August 18
Tonawanda to Medina
Track on ViewRanger
The old original Erie Canal actually entered into Lake Erie right in the center of Buffalo, but the modern one starts here, in Tonawanda. And we are off!
As a matter of fact, this is still not quite a canal, it's the 'Tonawanda Creek'. The canal system is really a collection of rivers, lakes, and canals that connect them. Tonawanda Creek is obviously a popular place for cottages and boaters. And the properties range from modest (but nice) to quite fancy. No McMansions though, those will come later. It's peaceful and the further we go, the less populated it becomes.
We learned that sometimes an operator is responsible for multiple bridges, and drives between them by car. On one occasion the operator opened one bridge for us, closed it and got in his car to drive to the next bridge - we took 20 minutes from one to the next, while he took 5 mins. As he passed us he gave us a friendly honk and wave.
Almost all the bridges seem to be build exactly alike, so I won't post any more of them. But there was a total of 16 between here and Fairport. After than all bridges had enough clearance for us to pass under.
We arrived at Medina in the afternoon and here is where we spent the first night. Medina really tries to attract boaters and provides free docking and bathrooms for boats. We found an Italian restaurant for dinner, and on the way back we encountered Pyxis and their crew, Dave and Rose Ann. We shared a bottle of wine and became instant friends.
Track on ViewRanger
The old original Erie Canal actually entered into Lake Erie right in the center of Buffalo, but the modern one starts here, in Tonawanda. And we are off!
As a matter of fact, this is still not quite a canal, it's the 'Tonawanda Creek'. The canal system is really a collection of rivers, lakes, and canals that connect them. Tonawanda Creek is obviously a popular place for cottages and boaters. And the properties range from modest (but nice) to quite fancy. No McMansions though, those will come later. It's peaceful and the further we go, the less populated it becomes.
Before we reached our first Erie Canal locks, at Lockport, we encountered some rain but it wasn't a problem since we have our bimini permanently up for this journey.
At Lockport we have to get the pass that allows us to go through the canals for 10 days. At $37 it's a real bargain - I knew it was quite cheap but this is almost a joke. Most marinas charge more for a single night, and we'll get the service of 36 lockmasters and about 30 lift bridges.
The locks are all beautifully painted in what we later come to understand a color schema that's even applied to the tugs and other equipment of the canal authority.
While I went off to pay the lockmaster the admiral peeked at the first set of lock gates.
I had docked the Caprice in the narrow channel that once led to the set of older locks here - five in a row. They are now a tourist attraction - and we had to reverse out of it. As we know the Caprice is a stubborn beast and insisted on turning to port when we reversed, heading for an apple tree on shore.
Normally fending off isn't all that difficult, but with the mast overhanging the stern we couldn't reach the shore and our mast ran into the tree. We were showered with a dozen not quite ripe apples, but managed to stop the boat before the tree would have ripped the mast off the cradles. The lockmaster came to help but was polite enough not to comment on our incompetence. Finally, we entered the locks. A few onlookers enhanced the experience.
After entering the lock, the routine is to stop the boat alongside some lines that hang off the wall locks, grab them and use the lines and boat hooks to keep us on the wall but off the wall so not to totally slime up the boat and fenders. We have gloves because the ropes are slimy with algae. While the lock empties, currents develop in the chamber that try to move us around, so it's important to hang on well.
Finally, when the lock is empty, the exit doors open and we are free to exit. You can see the set of the old locks on the right side of the photo:
We now also encountered the first of many lifting bridges. Even with the mast down, these bridges are too low to pass under, so at each of them we have to hail the bridge operator by radio and request an opening.
We learned that sometimes an operator is responsible for multiple bridges, and drives between them by car. On one occasion the operator opened one bridge for us, closed it and got in his car to drive to the next bridge - we took 20 minutes from one to the next, while he took 5 mins. As he passed us he gave us a friendly honk and wave.
We arrived at Medina in the afternoon and here is where we spent the first night. Medina really tries to attract boaters and provides free docking and bathrooms for boats. We found an Italian restaurant for dinner, and on the way back we encountered Pyxis and their crew, Dave and Rose Ann. We shared a bottle of wine and became instant friends.
Day 29, Wednesday, August 19
Medina to Fairport
Track on ViewRanger
We wanted to get to Fairport today because we'd heard that it's a nice stop. The canal map showed that it was in easy range, so we decided to push on to it. On the way we passed Pyxis who had decided to stop at Spencerport themselves.
The map was a little wrong however, the trip to Fairport did take much longer than expected. When we arrived there wasn't much dock space left, but we squeezed in at the far end close to one of the metal bridges.
We quickly realized that this was a busy and loud place, unlike Medina from the night before. The main train line was close, and each one of the many trains honked with abandon. Each time a car passed over one of the bridges it made quite a racket, too. Activecaptain had warned us that the harbormaster is never around, and indeed he wasn't. Which meant he couldn't charge us either.
We got into a conversation with a nice couple that owned an Albin 27 motor boat which they had beautifully extended and modernized, and were rightfully proud to show us. We chatted so long that by the time we arrived at the ice cream parlor it was closed.
Track on ViewRanger
We wanted to get to Fairport today because we'd heard that it's a nice stop. The canal map showed that it was in easy range, so we decided to push on to it. On the way we passed Pyxis who had decided to stop at Spencerport themselves.
The map was a little wrong however, the trip to Fairport did take much longer than expected. When we arrived there wasn't much dock space left, but we squeezed in at the far end close to one of the metal bridges.
We quickly realized that this was a busy and loud place, unlike Medina from the night before. The main train line was close, and each one of the many trains honked with abandon. Each time a car passed over one of the bridges it made quite a racket, too. Activecaptain had warned us that the harbormaster is never around, and indeed he wasn't. Which meant he couldn't charge us either.
We got into a conversation with a nice couple that owned an Albin 27 motor boat which they had beautifully extended and modernized, and were rightfully proud to show us. We chatted so long that by the time we arrived at the ice cream parlor it was closed.
Day 30, Thursday, August 20
Fairport to Newark
Track on ViewRanger
We explored Fairport a little more before leaving and found a crafting and hobby resale shop with tons of knitting books and magazines, the Admiral was very pleased. After that we finally found the mythical ice cream and it was indeed excellent. We finally departed after lunch but soon thunderstorms began appearing on our tail. They caught us just before Newark and gave us some serious downpours. We arrived at Newark in the pouring rain and when we tried to dock Dave from Pyxis came out and caught our lines. He must have gotten totally drenched, but we very much appreciated the help, as the wall here had rings that were hard to reach. We waited out the rain and then used some cushions to build a step to get off the boat.
Dave and Rose Ann invited us over for some wine after dinner, and when we got in we couldn't believe how nice and spacious Pyxis is inside. It's a Morgan 33 Out Islander, and even though it's nominally shorter than the Caprice, the amount of space inside is unbelievable. Add to this the meticulous care Dave and Rose Anne took to modernize and clean her up, and it was a revelation.
We had a great time and found it hard to leave and return to our cave like little cabin. The Caprice is maybe a better sailer, but Pyxis wins the comfort and livability contest hands down, and then some. With a boat like that cruising would be a lot more fun for sure. We were seriously jealous!
Track on ViewRanger
We explored Fairport a little more before leaving and found a crafting and hobby resale shop with tons of knitting books and magazines, the Admiral was very pleased. After that we finally found the mythical ice cream and it was indeed excellent. We finally departed after lunch but soon thunderstorms began appearing on our tail. They caught us just before Newark and gave us some serious downpours. We arrived at Newark in the pouring rain and when we tried to dock Dave from Pyxis came out and caught our lines. He must have gotten totally drenched, but we very much appreciated the help, as the wall here had rings that were hard to reach. We waited out the rain and then used some cushions to build a step to get off the boat.
Dave and Rose Ann invited us over for some wine after dinner, and when we got in we couldn't believe how nice and spacious Pyxis is inside. It's a Morgan 33 Out Islander, and even though it's nominally shorter than the Caprice, the amount of space inside is unbelievable. Add to this the meticulous care Dave and Rose Anne took to modernize and clean her up, and it was a revelation.
We had a great time and found it hard to leave and return to our cave like little cabin. The Caprice is maybe a better sailer, but Pyxis wins the comfort and livability contest hands down, and then some. With a boat like that cruising would be a lot more fun for sure. We were seriously jealous!
Day 31, Friday, August 21
Newark to Baldwinsville
We did some grocery shopping before taking off today. Pyxis was staying behind for a concert that night, but we wanted to keep going to get into a position to cross Lake Oneida the next day. Today's leg brought us to Baldwinsville close to Syracuse. On the way we traversed 'Cross Lake'. I had read on the blog of Matt and Jessica on Serendipity that this is a bit tricky to traverse, but with that warning I was alert and found the right channel. We got to Baldwinsville in the early evening and went to dinner at a great Cajun food joint, 'Muddy Waters'. We got to learn to make some of that food, Gumbo and Jambalaya would be a great thing to make ourselves.
Day 32, Saturday, August 22
Baldwinsville to Lock 22
Track on ViewRanger
Today we reached the famous lock 17, which is the biggest lock of the whole system, with a vertical drop of 40.5 feet. Here is a quote from the 'NY Canals Web site':
The lock lifts every passing vessel an astounding 40.5 feet, replacing four locks on the old canal by just one. Construction on this lock was challenging. Design elements called for a unique feature, a water saving side pool which would allow about half of water from a locking to be reused on the next locking. Couple this extra feature with its massive size, the need to build it in solid rock, and keep the old Erie Canal open, which this was built directly on top of, required massive engineering. This design included a guillotine style lower gate and a concrete arch of which the boats pass under -- the only implementation of such a design along the canal system.
We stopped for the day at the small town of Fort Hunter to visit the 'Schoharie Creek Crossing' ruins.
This is the last day of this leg, down to Coeyman's landing on the Hudson. We had to lock through one final lock, the 'Federal Lock' at Troy. The locks on the Erie are run by the Canal Authority and are set up to accommodate pleasure boaters by having multiple lines attached to the walls, but this lock had none at all. We weren't prepared for this, and had some trouble holding on to a single pipe, since I also didn't have a single line handy to wrap around the pipe. We had some tense moments since the lock master didn't waste any time draining the lock while we were still messing around getting a hold. In the end all went well and we exited the lock unscathed, and happy to be done with this.
We were being followed by 'Little Wing' to the lock and now they passed us. Let's hope we see them again somewhere south.
We passed under the Livingston Avenue Bridge, an ancient and odd looking swing bridge used by the railway. In fact we were scheduled to pass over that bridge tonight on our train ride back home to Chicago. Here is what Wikipedia says about the bridge:
Due to the deteriorated condition of the bridge, trains cross one at a time at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). DOT considers the swing bridge mechanism to be unreliable and the overall bridge design inadequate for current railroad operating standards.
Charming...
We passed through Albany, which looked pretty calm (not to say, dead) and under several bridges being refurbished. Since the Hudson is used by pretty tall ships, bridges here need to be either able to open for ships (like the one above) or very high, like the ones below:
As we approached our destination, we saw another bald eagle. The really seem to like rivers. Again, this one also flew off as we tried to approach him. They don't like company, or maybe our boat smells too bad?
In Coeyman's Landing the pieces of a huge new bridge construction are being assembled and then shipped by barges down the river to the Tappan Zee. The original bridge is overdue for replacement, and on our next leg we'll likely see a lot more of this.
Hedy, the owner of Coeyman's Landing Marina, had told us to approach the marina from the south and had explained to keep the markers to starboard, but I hadn't quite understood that and got all confused when approaching the marina. The markers seemed very close to shore and I took them to mean to mark the port side and so I kept them to port. Big mistake - the depth finder went from 10 to 8 to 6 to 4. We slowed to a crawl and then saw a little dinghy speeding towards us. Eric, the yard manager, was in it and told us to hug the shore, else we'd be aground in no time. We were probably already making a furrow in the mud, but thanks to high tide we didn't quite got stuck.
Eric guided us to the fuel dock and told us we could only haul out at high tide. I thought it was high tide? Well, he explained they need a high high tide, because the crane well isn't deep enough unless there's at least a 5 foot tide. OK, that means the boat will be hauled in two days. No problem, we don't need to be there.
This is a family operation - Hedy and her husband Carl, Eric and Mike, and a few others we didn't meet. Very nice people that made us feel at home immediately. We decided to collect all dirty laundry and started that first before we ate something and then cleaned up as much as we could. Unfortunately the laundry, especially the drying, didn't go as fast as we needed it to go, and we were forced to hang the still humid laundry up inside the Caprice before we left. Eric, who lives in Albany, actually gave us a lift to the Amtrak station in Albany/Rensselaer.
On arrival at the Amtrak station we learned that the train was predicted to be delayed by 15 minutes. We were much too early anyways, and the station was pretty comfortable, so we had time to relax. The delay eventually grew to two hours, apparently a way of life with Amtrak. Delays are part of the deal here but since travel by train is slow it doesn't make a lot of difference. We only wished they would have let us board our car already (because the delay was due to the connecting train from Boston being delayed). Finally we got in and got into our 'Roomette', a tiny little cabin for two that can be converted into a sleeper with two beds (unfortunately the beds were indeed too small to share one). Those rooms even have a toilet and a wash basin. We immediately went for dinner in the dining car (which was excellent, actually) and when we returned the attendant had converted the seats into beds. This was actually a very comfortable way of travelling.
After a good night sleep, my admiral was a happy knitter.
We also got breakfast on the train and again, it was really good. We'll do this again some other time.
As expected, we got to Chicago two hours later than planned, and a few hours later we finally were back home. The second leg of the trip was over...
Track on ViewRanger
Today was the day to cross Lake Oneida. This is a real lake, with a length of maybe 30 miles and 8 or so miles across. It was important to cross on a day when the winds were not whipping up large waves as we were worried that our mast would shake itself loose from the supports. We were lucky, the only waves were from power boaters that were really infesting this place. On a weekend, of course it's intense here. We happily arrived at the Eastern end of the lake, at Sylvan Beach, to find the town overcrowded and the walls filled with boats to capacity. We didn't feel like joining into that zoo anyways and continued on to the next lock. It was just after 6PM and we found that on this side of the lake and for the rest of the canal, locks only operate to 6, and so were forced to tie up on the wall close to the lock in peace and quiet.
Day 33, Sunday, August 23
Lock 22 to Ilion
This was a peaceful day and the weather was nice throughout. New York was apparently settled by people obsessed with the classics. Today we passed 'Rome' and 'Utica'. We had of course already left 'Athens' and 'Syracuse' behind, but there were countless other towns with names like those. How odd...
My admiral made me aware of an odd squeaking sound coming from the engine. I had heard it too but thought it was the alternator belt which is a little loose. But I thought we should investigate to be sure. I went below and found the problem - the engine was scraping off the sleeve around the crank handle adapter. There's a pin there that locks the crank handle, but this pin seemed to have gotten a little loose and had moved enough to start scraping the walls of the sleeve, and was in fact almost done. We stopped the engine and ripped the last bit off.
We finally stopped at Ilion for the day. Ilion 'Marina' is an odd bird - it's really just a wall to tie up to, and it is connected to the 'RV-Park', which true to style is simply a parking lot with hook ups.
There was a famous fast food/burger place next door that we decided to try, 'Voss'. The burgers were rather cheap, but when we got them we realized that they were also very small, as were the fries. Nothing special about it, really. I don't know why people are raving about this place. Ilion's other claim to fame is the Remington rifle factory, but since we aren't really interested in that either we just took it easy and relaxed.
My admiral made me aware of an odd squeaking sound coming from the engine. I had heard it too but thought it was the alternator belt which is a little loose. But I thought we should investigate to be sure. I went below and found the problem - the engine was scraping off the sleeve around the crank handle adapter. There's a pin there that locks the crank handle, but this pin seemed to have gotten a little loose and had moved enough to start scraping the walls of the sleeve, and was in fact almost done. We stopped the engine and ripped the last bit off.
We finally stopped at Ilion for the day. Ilion 'Marina' is an odd bird - it's really just a wall to tie up to, and it is connected to the 'RV-Park', which true to style is simply a parking lot with hook ups.
There was a famous fast food/burger place next door that we decided to try, 'Voss'. The burgers were rather cheap, but when we got them we realized that they were also very small, as were the fries. Nothing special about it, really. I don't know why people are raving about this place. Ilion's other claim to fame is the Remington rifle factory, but since we aren't really interested in that either we just took it easy and relaxed.
Day 34, Monday, August 24
Ilion to Fort Hunter (Schoharie Crossing)
Today we reached the famous lock 17, which is the biggest lock of the whole system, with a vertical drop of 40.5 feet. Here is a quote from the 'NY Canals Web site':
The lock lifts every passing vessel an astounding 40.5 feet, replacing four locks on the old canal by just one. Construction on this lock was challenging. Design elements called for a unique feature, a water saving side pool which would allow about half of water from a locking to be reused on the next locking. Couple this extra feature with its massive size, the need to build it in solid rock, and keep the old Erie Canal open, which this was built directly on top of, required massive engineering. This design included a guillotine style lower gate and a concrete arch of which the boats pass under -- the only implementation of such a design along the canal system.
We stopped for the day at the small town of Fort Hunter to visit the 'Schoharie Creek Crossing' ruins.
This is a good place to see some remains of the previous two incarnations of the Erie Canal. The first one was very small, and often called 'Clinton's Ditch'. There are very few remains of it and most of it is really just a ditch:
The second version of the canal required some larger constructions and several viaducts that span rivers (to avoid the canal being affected by high or low water, it couldn't just be connected). One of those viaducts is here:
The current, third version of the canal is back in the Mohawk river. By constructing a series of dams and locks, the river level is kept high enough, and through dredging the depth is sufficient. In winter the river sometimes floods and overflows the dams, occasionally to very high levels. The buildings around the locks are designed to withstand such forces, and the canal isn't used in winter of course.
Day 35, Tuesday, August 25
Fort Hunter to Waterford
Track on ViewRanger
We hoped to make it though all the remaining locks today, to reach Waterford and the Hudson.
We tried to get closer but he didn't want to have anything to do with us and flew off. I had never seen an eagle in the wild, and was quite excited about it, but when I mentioned it to the next lockmaster, he matter of fact stated 'oh, there are a few around here, we see them all the time'.
The closer we got to Schenectady, the darker the sky got behind us, and eventually we were overtaken by rain. The egrets seem to enjoy the rain.
The locks are protected from flooding by two big flood gates.
Track on ViewRanger
We hoped to make it though all the remaining locks today, to reach Waterford and the Hudson.
My admiral made a lot of progress on several knitting projects during this trip, one of the hoped for benefits of having little to do (unless we were 'locking through').
The main railway line is going through the Mohawk valley, as does several motorways, we were quickly returning into civilization.
We had been on the lookout for eagles during this trip but never seen any, but curiously we were about to see them now, close to urban areas. Just by chance, we saw that majestic bird sitting in one of the trees by the riverside, scanning the area.
The closer we got to Schenectady, the darker the sky got behind us, and eventually we were overtaken by rain. The egrets seem to enjoy the rain.
Eventually the rain turned intense and the admiral took her battle stations below decks.
We were actually lucky, because by the time we reached the 'Flight of five' set of locks close to Waterford, the sun returned.
The locks are protected from flooding by two big flood gates.
We had to wait a little because another boat was coming up, but then we had our turn and went down the last set of 5 locks in little over an hour.
And there we were in Waterford, the Erie canal behind us. We had some trouble docking, since the wall was pretty full and we didn't feel comfortable squeezing in between some other boats with our overhanging mast. It took us three attempts to dock (also because I hadn't prepared long docking lines to throw to friendly people on the dock). I'll have longer lines ready next time...
The people that helped us dock were actually from Chicago, on a gorgeous new Valiant 42, called 'Little Wing'. They didn't have their mast on deck, but had actually shipped it from Lake Erie down to a marina on the Hudson. It's a much more stylish (and expensive) way to deal with the mast.
We decided to walk up to the last of the locks a little to wind down before we went for dinner.
We had a really nice dinner at McGreivey's, I'm really hooked on Cajun food and hope to learn to make some myself soon. Or try it down south!
The bathrooms at the Waterford 'marina' (just a wall reserved for boaters) were really odd looking rooms, a decor like prison showers, but they worked and were clean. We can't really complain since we got to dock for free (like almost all nights on this part of the trip).
Day 36, Wednesday, August 26
Waterford to Coeyman's LandingThis is the last day of this leg, down to Coeyman's landing on the Hudson. We had to lock through one final lock, the 'Federal Lock' at Troy. The locks on the Erie are run by the Canal Authority and are set up to accommodate pleasure boaters by having multiple lines attached to the walls, but this lock had none at all. We weren't prepared for this, and had some trouble holding on to a single pipe, since I also didn't have a single line handy to wrap around the pipe. We had some tense moments since the lock master didn't waste any time draining the lock while we were still messing around getting a hold. In the end all went well and we exited the lock unscathed, and happy to be done with this.
We were being followed by 'Little Wing' to the lock and now they passed us. Let's hope we see them again somewhere south.
We passed under the Livingston Avenue Bridge, an ancient and odd looking swing bridge used by the railway. In fact we were scheduled to pass over that bridge tonight on our train ride back home to Chicago. Here is what Wikipedia says about the bridge:
Due to the deteriorated condition of the bridge, trains cross one at a time at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). DOT considers the swing bridge mechanism to be unreliable and the overall bridge design inadequate for current railroad operating standards.
Charming...
We passed through Albany, which looked pretty calm (not to say, dead) and under several bridges being refurbished. Since the Hudson is used by pretty tall ships, bridges here need to be either able to open for ships (like the one above) or very high, like the ones below:
As we approached our destination, we saw another bald eagle. The really seem to like rivers. Again, this one also flew off as we tried to approach him. They don't like company, or maybe our boat smells too bad?
In Coeyman's Landing the pieces of a huge new bridge construction are being assembled and then shipped by barges down the river to the Tappan Zee. The original bridge is overdue for replacement, and on our next leg we'll likely see a lot more of this.
Hedy, the owner of Coeyman's Landing Marina, had told us to approach the marina from the south and had explained to keep the markers to starboard, but I hadn't quite understood that and got all confused when approaching the marina. The markers seemed very close to shore and I took them to mean to mark the port side and so I kept them to port. Big mistake - the depth finder went from 10 to 8 to 6 to 4. We slowed to a crawl and then saw a little dinghy speeding towards us. Eric, the yard manager, was in it and told us to hug the shore, else we'd be aground in no time. We were probably already making a furrow in the mud, but thanks to high tide we didn't quite got stuck.
Eric guided us to the fuel dock and told us we could only haul out at high tide. I thought it was high tide? Well, he explained they need a high high tide, because the crane well isn't deep enough unless there's at least a 5 foot tide. OK, that means the boat will be hauled in two days. No problem, we don't need to be there.
This is a family operation - Hedy and her husband Carl, Eric and Mike, and a few others we didn't meet. Very nice people that made us feel at home immediately. We decided to collect all dirty laundry and started that first before we ate something and then cleaned up as much as we could. Unfortunately the laundry, especially the drying, didn't go as fast as we needed it to go, and we were forced to hang the still humid laundry up inside the Caprice before we left. Eric, who lives in Albany, actually gave us a lift to the Amtrak station in Albany/Rensselaer.
On arrival at the Amtrak station we learned that the train was predicted to be delayed by 15 minutes. We were much too early anyways, and the station was pretty comfortable, so we had time to relax. The delay eventually grew to two hours, apparently a way of life with Amtrak. Delays are part of the deal here but since travel by train is slow it doesn't make a lot of difference. We only wished they would have let us board our car already (because the delay was due to the connecting train from Boston being delayed). Finally we got in and got into our 'Roomette', a tiny little cabin for two that can be converted into a sleeper with two beds (unfortunately the beds were indeed too small to share one). Those rooms even have a toilet and a wash basin. We immediately went for dinner in the dining car (which was excellent, actually) and when we returned the attendant had converted the seats into beds. This was actually a very comfortable way of travelling.
After a good night sleep, my admiral was a happy knitter.
As expected, we got to Chicago two hours later than planned, and a few hours later we finally were back home. The second leg of the trip was over...
