We are moving again. We left Fair Point at 10 am and quickly found that motoring in Lake Ontario with out our mast was very uncomfortable. There were 1 to 2 foot rollers and we were pitched and rolled for most of the trip then we (Tom) had a TA DA moment and we lowered our center board. It did not eliminate all the movement, however it was a great help. We also took time to re-calibrate our GPS - poor thing had us lost most of the time. We are back to a reasonable variance and on we ventured.
One note there is no mention anywhere as to where you are to buy your ticket to traverse the canal system. You have to have one - We scooted over to a floating dock in front of what looked like an official building. We had some trial and tribulations docking - this time Tom received the brunt of the wear and tear not Cool Hand.
Tom (Stomping) off to find the information that we needed, I struck up a conversation with a nuclear power engineer who was attending a conference at the hotel - which was the imposing official looking building we were docked in front of. Tom returned just as Eastbound and Down arrived and we all quickly scooted to the first lock. By the way you buy your ticket from the lock master at the first lock - while your holding on to a green wet slimy rope and fending your boat off a slimy wall, trying to hold position while your going up. They also needed a form filled out. Excellent system to try ones patience that was already frayed.
(here are just a few notes on where we are)
The Oswego River /ɒsˈwiːɡoʊ/ is a river in
upstate New York in
the United States. This river is the second-largest river (after
the Niagara River) flowing into Lake Ontario. James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is set in the Oswego River valley.[4]The name Oswego is a Mohawk Indian name that literally means, "place of
the flowing out," or more familiarly, "the mouth of the stream."
The Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States.
Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles (38.1 km) in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers (near Liverpool) to Lake Ontario at Oswego.
The canal has a depth of 14 ft (4.2 m), with seven locks
spanning the 118 ft (36 m) change in elevation.
The
modern canal essentially follows the route of the Oswego River, canalized with locks &
dams. Three locks, with a total lift of 45.6 feet (13.9m) take boats over what
had been a steep rapids at the city of Oswego. This is the only route from the
Atlantic/Hudson River system to Lake Ontario fully within the US.
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| our route in Lake Ontario to Oswego |
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| First lock |
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| ironically there is no 4th lock so we did 8,7,5,6 and 3 in one day. They had plans for a 4th lock but when they started to build they decided not to build 4 - but keep the numbers as they were. |
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| some times there is a rope with a white ball that you need to catch - just when you get the hang of it along comes a new system - this is a thick rope like wire, like rope - you grab it with a boat hook - slip a rope round it and hang on WHEW |
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| Tom with a rope |
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| Tom with the lassoed wire thingy |
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| East bound and down crew |
I will post one blog of just scenery.
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