This quote from a kindly service manager at the Luken Marina
in Lagoon City, near Orillia Ontario, seems appropriate for this chapter of our
journey. It was his favourite way of saying that we sometimes have little or no
control over what is happening to us.
In my last post, I said we planned to leave on Friday. Well,
the electrical work stretched into Friday so our cleanup and departure
preparations spilled over into Saturday. We also had a visit from cousin
Margot. She and I did a lovely walking tour of downtown Kingston, which was in
full bloom with roses everywhere! We were also impressed with the preparations
for Canada Day, including flags in every window of the local old folks home.
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| Margot and the roses in Kingston |
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| Patriotic Retirement Home |
On Sunday June 29th we finally cast off from Confederation
Basin and shortly thereafter refueled at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. It is
always a shock to see the dollars go by at lightening speed on the diesel pump,
but we figure that this tank of fuel will take us pretty much all the way to
Florida. Ever the optimists!!
As we departed the fuel dock in an onshore wind, our brand
new stern thruster failed us! It took two strong young men to push us off. We
could hardly believe it but were not prepared to turn around and go back. David
left phone messages with our electrician and the manufacturer (an Ottawa
company) and we set off across Lake Ontario with a plan to anchor for the night
(no thrusters needed).
It was a gorgeous sunny day with a good breeze kicking up
three-foot waves until we got into the lee of Wolfe Island when we had some
relief from the bouncing. Just after 1300 hours, we entered US waters and
raised our courtesy flag – a momentous occasion as it marked the beginning of
our journey to a “foreign” land. Shortly thereafter we anchored at Stony Island
(L 43o 54.2’ Lo 076 o 19.4’) in a gorgeous peaceful little
harbor with three other boats.
In the process of anchoring we discovered yet another
glitch! The “UP” anchor switches on the bow and the fly bridge were dead as a
doornail. One switch at the inside helm-station was still working so thankfully
we were not in the position of having to raise the anchor and tons of chain by
hand. This was the good news. The other good news was that handyman Dave
managed to find the hanging wire and reconnect it, so all was well.
After all that excitement we needed a swim and jumped into
icy Lake Ontario, which registered 68 degrees F under the boat. Needless to say
it was very refreshing. We certainly didn’t lollygag in the water! David took
the time to “treat” our fuel tanks to combat the growth of bacteria, which can
foul the fuel and clog the fuel lines. Then we settled in for a nice dinner
cooked on our stern BBQ and went to bed in the peace and quiet only found at
anchor.
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| Treating the fuel with pink gloves |
The next morning we continued our Lake Ontario crossing,
first under cover of cloud and later in an eerie haze and flat calm seas as we
approached Oswego. It was brutally hot and humid. A few miles out, David called
Homeland Security by phone to check in as required by US law. We were confident
that this would be a mere formality, especially as we had received our Nexus
cards, which we thought would give us a “green light” and easy passage.
Well, nearly an hour later we were off the phone with orders
to report in at the Oswego Municipal Dock. It seems we were short a couple of
other documents. One was a cruising permit and the other was a decal
(pronounced “deekal” in the US). Oops, I guess we hadn’t read enough of the
fine print before leaving. The former was free of charge and was faxed to us by
Homeland Security at the dock office. The latter we had to obtain and pay for
by Internet. This required a hike, uphill of course, to the local library,
which thankfully was air-conditioned and blissfully comfortable.
By 4PM, we set out into the Oswego Canal and managed to do
four locks with no stern thruster. This required major effort on my part with a
boat hook, pushing off our stern as David steered out of the locks. This was
especially challenging as the winds were pushing our 20,000-pound boat toward
the walls.
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| First Oswego Lock (#8) |
It was nearly 6PM when we stopped, exhausted, for the night
in Minetto. This little town had a lovely park, dock with power, and washrooms.
Facilities were “free” but they had a sign asking for a donation to help with
maintenance, which we gladly gave. We were very thankful for our air
conditioning that cooled the boat down just enough for us to get a good sleep.
We met a nice couple from New Zealand on their boat “Untide” who were heading
for Canada and interested in our canal system. We assured them that they would
love it!!
In the meantime, David was worrying about some fluid leakage
in the engine room and I had seen an unusual oil slick on the water when we
turned off the engine. Oh yes, and the horn on the fly bridge stopped working! So,
on Canada Day we set off in our red t-shirts with a plan to stop before the end
of the day for advice and help with our growing number of concerns. Several of
the lockmasters congratulated us for Canada Day and one even told us the Molson
Canadian refrigerator was in the area trying to find folks who could sing Oh
Canada! Unfortunately, we missed it.
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| Canada Day selfie |
By early afternoon we had completed the remaining locks in
the Oswego Canal and entered the eastern portion of the Erie Canal. Another
excuse for celebration! Brewerton NY looked like a good prospect for finding a
marina with the facilities and expertise to help us. On our way into the
community we spotted two Monks, an unusual sight. Both had their masts down
which I took as an omen that there were low bridges ahead. I suggested to David
that we do the same; just to reduce my stress of worrying about our anchor
light and radar perched on top of the mast.
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| Pair of Monks |
Luckily, we chose what turned out to be the best marina in
the area. They didn’t have the fanciest advertisement in the guide book but Ess-Kay
Yards, a family operation with very knowledgeable and friendly staff, welcomed
us with prompt attention….and a very tame resident fisherman – a heron! We
enjoyed a beautiful evening and sunset, confident that things were looking up.
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| Excellent marina |
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| Excellent fisherman |
The following day, July 2nd, Cal replaced two
injector lines and a radiator cap, solving the fuel and coolant leaks. Ethan
gave David a lesson in tightening the packing gland (the opening where the
propeller shaft enters the engine), which was the source of the water leak.
David bought a new switch and wire for the horn and fixed it himself. He was
also able to reach the Ottawa manufacturers of the stern thruster and they
agreed to send us a new controller by overnight courier.
We were also fortunate to have access to a courtesy car so
we went off to stock up on provisions and get ourselves a boat garden.
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| Boat garden |
As we have seen all along our journey, there are very few
villages along the way that have managed to retain their downtown shops. Sadly
most have given way to the Walmarts of the world, located far from the
shoreline and close to the big highways.
By July 3rd our new stern thruster arrived. David
installed it himself and it worked! We spent the rest of the day organizing,
tidying and cleaning. In the evening, the staff at Ess-Kay hosted an
Independence Day BBQ with great burgers and dogs with all the trimmings.
Boaters brought salads, sides and desserts – an amazing spread and a great
chance to visit with new friends.
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| David's happy! |
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| New friends |
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| Ready to celebrate |
We had fun conversations with another pair of Kiwis, Enid
and Richard. As it turns out, Enid was born and raised in Canada. The more we
talked, the more we realized how much she and I had in common. We both went to
the University of Toronto, studied Physical and Occupational Therapy and started
our careers at Sick Kids just a few years apart. In fact, we figured I had
replaced her when she left. What a small world it is!
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| Fireworks at Brewerton |
Finally, we set off again on July 4th to cross
Oneida Lake, the largest body of water on the Erie Canal, roughly 20 miles
across. Fortunately the weather was good, as lakes this size can “blow up” with
large waves. Having said this, it was pretty choppy as we approached the far
side - Sylvan Beach, a resort community with an amusement park, a large beach,
lots of restaurants and way too many Sea-Doos buzzing around for our comfort.
There was a chaotic carnival atmosphere, no doubt exacerbated by the national
holiday, and we couldn’t wait to get back to the peace of the rural canal
winding through the countryside. Needless to say we didn’t stop at the Crazy
Clam!
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| Approaching Sylvan Beach |
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| Big tug and the Crazy Clam |
Back to more locks in the canal, we discovered that our new
stern thruster had failed and I was back to using the boat hook again!! The
only bright side was that it felt like good exercise for me after long periods
of sitting at the helm or navigating. The first available free dock was at Lock
21 – New London. It was windy and challenging to tie up. David had to improvise
with old logs he found in the bush to protect our lines from chafing on the
rough metal edges of the lock wall. There was no answer when he finally called
his “buddy” at the stern thruster company at 4:50PM. Of course, it was a Friday
and there was no hope of hearing back until Monday so we resigned ourselves to
using our manual methods for the rest of the weekend.
It was a lovely quiet spot with only one other boat tied up.
It was a small and somewhat gnarly-looking sailboat with matching occupants – a
Canadian couple that had been away on their boat for 9 years! They were heading
back to Canada from Guatemala. We were also joined by another group of
Canadians – a large gaggle of geese. It was a gorgeous evening with golden
light and a spectacular sunset. It was cool enough that we needed our New
Brunswick homemade slippers, a bon voyage gift from dear friends.
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| Canadian sailboat |
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| More Canadian friends |
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| Sunset New London |
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| Cozy slippers |
The next morning we were grateful to have no locks for 18
miles so we could relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The only people we saw
were those in fishing boats along the edges of the river – the Mohawk, which
makes up large portions of the Erie Canal in this area.
For those who may be making this journey in our wake, Lock
20 at Whitesboro was a beautiful place to tie up overnight. It was also the
place where we began to go downhill in the locks, which we usually find easier
as we’re not going into a wind tunnel with high walls.
We travelled more than 40 miles from New London to Little
Falls (Lock 18); more than our usual distance but we were trying to “make hay”
while the sun was shining and compensate for 3 days in the yard.
The wind came up in the afternoon again – a result of the intense
heat rising from the land. Our last lock of the day turned into what we fondly
call a “shit show” as the wind blew out stern outward and I could hardly keep
my grip on the line. When I thought my arm was about to pop out of its socket,
David managed to grab it just in time and pull us out of our diagonal position
in the lock. Thankfully there were no other boats around. In fact, we were
alone in every gigantic lock on the system, which would be unheard of in the
Canadian waterways. There was a free dock and we enjoyed another peaceful
evening on the river just west of Little Falls.
Little Falls boasted some lovely old buildings on the
waterside, a hydroelectric plant (we saw many along the way) and rock walls
that were perfect for climbers.
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| Little Falls |
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| Little Falls power generation |
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| Little Falls climbers |
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| Dinner at Lock 18 |
Given the tendency for afternoon wind we decided to get up
early and perhaps stop early to avoid the stress of locks and docking while it
was blowing us around. Our first lock of the day was Lock 17, just past Little
Falls. This is the highest lift lock on the Erie Canal and the only one in the
U.S. where the gate lifts up rather than out to let the boats through. The only
other lock of this type is on the Ottawa River. The only down side to this
design is the shower of water you get on your head as you pass under the giant
dripping door. David was OK on the fly-bridge and I ducked into the cabin just
in time!
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| David at Lock 17 |
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Inside Lock 17
After leaving Lock 17, I was at the helm and we were cruising gently down the Mohawk when I spotted what I thought was a deadhead (log) in the water. David was standing beside me when I pointed it out and as we got closer he said: “that log has pink ears”! It was a fawn swimming toward us. Unfortunately we were so shocked that we were slow getting out the I-phone and only got a picture of him swimming away from us. This and the amazing bird life we see every day reminds us of why we love boating so much!
It was another scorching hot day and we had hoped to tie up
at a free dock east of the town of Tribes Hill near the remains of an old Erie
Canal aqueduct, which crossed the Schoharie Creek. Apparently the New York
thruway collapsed over this creek in 1987 and took 5 cars with it! We didn’t
hear what happened to the occupants but I’m sure it wasn’t good.
Unfortunately our plans to tie up were foiled due to the
destruction of docks in 2011 by Hurricane Irene. We went on to Lock 11 at
Amsterdam; again hoping for refuge from sun and exhaustion. However the
lock master flagged us down as we were attempting to tie up alongside a
construction zone. He said we couldn’t stay and probably wouldn’t want to as
the construction crews began their work at the crack of dawn. This was part of
an enormous repair effort to rebuild the mess left behind by Irene all along
this stretch of the Erie Canal.
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So much for the docking freebies! We finally arrived at the
town of Amsterdam, having travelled 45 miles and passed through 7 locks – a
marathon for little Peapod and her crew! We were welcomed with a gorgeous new
municipal dock with power, water, showers and laundry. The only drawback – 40
trains a day passing through a level crossing right next to us. For those who
know about trains, this means the conductor blows the whistle at least 3 times.
It was still a bargain at $1 per foot per night, especially as thunderstorms
were predicted for the next two days. There was even a tornado warning issued
for just north of us!!
We decided to stay another day to rest and avoid storms. On
Day 2 we decided to walk to the local Walmart and Home Depot looking for an
amperage meter to test our stern thruster as advised by the manufacturer. As
always, it is uphill from the water, but we had no idea how uphill this walk
would be….straight up for 3 miles!
We had no luck with the amp meter but stocked up on fresh
foods – milk and veggies. Then the heavens opened!!! A huge deluge of rain sent
us scrambling back into Walmart where I bought 2 camping ponchos. Of course we
had 3 of these on the boat already but had neglected to put them in our
knapsacks. Oh well. Now we have lots for when company comes. We were also grateful
that we just had thundershowers while Hurricane Arthur was pounding our
friends in the Maritimes.
Later that afternoon I got a call on my cell phone from the
Oak Ridges Animal Hospital where we have taken my Mum’s dog for care since she
moved into her retirement home nearby. I was shocked to hear that a stranger
had dropped him off saying he had been wandering the streets (super-busy Yonge
Street in fact!!). I told them I would look into it but needless to say I couldn’t
come and retrieve him.
It turned out that Mum had taken him down to the patio at
the home during a fire drill. She believed the area was secure and let go of
his leash so he could explore. Thankfully a Good Samaritan delivered him to his
own vet where they had my phone number on file. Poor mama had a terribly
stressful day but all was fine in the end. Just another adventure!
On July 8th we were back into the locks. This
time the stern thruster was working! In consultation with Ottawa (again) David
reset the breaker, which must have been slightly out of alignment when they
shipped it to us. What a treat to go into a lock confident that we can sidle up
to the wall and not worry about the stern swinging out in the wind.
That morning we were very excited to spot a pair of “real”
Peapods. According to Artisan Boatworks, “Peapods are one of the traditional
indigenous small craft of the Maine Coast. They were developed by Native
Americans before the arrival of Europeans, for use on salt water, and could be
described as a canoe adapted for rough water and heavy carrying capacity,
rather than light weight and portability”. They are lovely boats and part of
the reason for our boat name. The other is my mother’s opinion that David and I
are two peas in a pod.
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| Peapods |
As we approached Schenectady, the walls of the river rose
higher and we saw more waterfalls. We also saw our first mansion!
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| First waterfall on the Lower Hudson |
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| First mansion on the Hudson |
As we approached the final “flight” of locks down into
Waterford at the end of the Erie Canal, one of the dock masters expressed
concern that we might not be able to outrun the thunderstorms coming right
behind us. We decided to push on and passed through the Waterford guard gate.
These giant gates are designed to control the flow of water in the event of a
flood. While most stand open all the time, this one was normally closed and was
controlled by a person who would lift it upon request by radio.
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| Hudson Lift Lock #2 |
Then we entered the 5-lock flight of locks that took us down
170 feet into the town of Waterford. All of the Erie locks are hydraulic,
unlike most of the Canadian locks that are operated by hand. They fill and
empty so quickly it was like being in a high-speed elevator!
Coming into Waterford we were grateful to find a wee spot
along the dock to tuck into. Because it sits at the junction of the Mohawk and
Hudson Rivers, it is a busy spot for boats, as it has been for hundreds of
years. The other reason it is always busy is that it is free for a stay of 48
hours with only a $10 charge for power….a bargain!! It is also beautiful with
lovely views of the rivers at sunset.
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| Golden light at Waterford |
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| Sunset at Waterford |
Waterford is the oldest incorporated village in the United
States and home of the first American woman to win an Olympic event. The
Welcome Center is indeed very welcoming with a beautiful dock with water, power
and washroom facilities. Aside from the usual assortment of recreational boats,
we were joined by an old sailing vessel as well as a working tug.
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| Neighbours at Waterford |
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| Working tug |
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| Waterford Hero |
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| Old town! |
Finally, on July 10th we turned the corner into
the mighty Hudson River, headed south and passed through our last lock. What a
thrill! It was a beautiful federal facility with lock walls a smooth as silk,
quite a contrast with some of the NY state locks that were a little “long in
the tooth” as my Mum would say. From here on in, all of the bridges are high,
so we could put our mast back up and proudly fly our American courtesy flag. We
could also take off our ugly black plastic bad fender protectors that had saved
our nice new green ones from the grimy, rough lock walls.
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| The Mighty Hudson at Lock 1 |
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| High Bridges! |
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| Bagged Fenders |
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| Shiny Clean Fenders |
We passed some interesting boats along the way, including
this unusual sailing vessel!
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| Funky Sailboat |
Now that we were in tidal waters, we decided to stop at a
marina recommended by folks in Waterford to pick up charts and tide tables. As
we came alongside the dock, David felt a “bang” and the bow thruster
immediately failed. Apparently we sucked in a piece of floating debris – there
is so much wood in the river from recent rains and flooding – and mostly likely
broke the shear pin. Oh dear. Thankfully we are in a wonderful marina, run by a young hard-working entrepreneur, with all
kinds of luxuries such as a gourmet restaurant and well-stocked shop.
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| Great Marina! |
The Shady Harbor Marina is in a small community called New
Baltimore, just south of Albany, designated as a National Historic District.
David and I took a walk today, up a gigantic hill of course, to see the
beautiful stately homes overlooking the river.
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| Main Street New Baltimore |
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| Gorgeous |
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| Historic home |
So we’re here for the weekend and taking advantage of our
time at the dock. David wired a plug to our upper fly bridge to allow us to
keep our computers charged up top for navigation. I’m using it now to write
this blog. He also prepared our new bronze Peapod letters for the teak side
plates to replace La Grenouille, which was the former owners’ name for the
boat. Last year, we managed to peel off of the frog decals and dispose of all
the froggie paraphernalia that was all over the boat. Once I get the next coat
of Cetol on the nameplates, David will screw on the letters and we will have an
excuse for another celebration!
We also have an amazing view of traffic on this important working river.
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| Tug and barge |
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| Oil tanker |
Roughly a week from now we will be in New York City, an
adventure in itself!! That is, of course, assuming that we experience no more
“issues”. But, if we do, you can be sure we will be saying “it is what it is”
and we’re in a beautiful place, living the dream.
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