Yep, its been 13 days since I did a blog update on our travels, because we haven't been travelling, then all of a sudden, after 3 days of no internet we are 6 miles from lake Ontario, and only 18 hours from home. Plus, as an added bonus, tomorrow is looking like a great weather window to cross the lake. With our mast on deck, we need a gentle wind preferably from the south. As if somebody was listening.
We currently sit on the lock wall in Minetto, NY. Not as far as we would have liked to get to today, but apparently the lock workers left all their equipment on the top wall of the next lock, so there is no where for us to tie up. It adds about 45 minutes to our trip tomorrow, but not enough to delay the crossing. The unfortunate part is that we are trapped on the boat. The lock is in the middle of the river, with a spillway on one side, and a power plant on the other. And; of course; the gate to get to shore is locked behind the lock master when he leaves for home. Oh well, it just means we fuel up in Oswego before we hit the lake, and I have enough time to do a blog update.
I had to reread my last post to get an idea of what was going on at the time. We had been stuck in Castleton-on-the-Hudson, mast on deck, and no where to go. Unfortunately, that carried on for far longer than we were comfortable with. After 8 days on a mooring ball, trapped on the boat by bad weather, we moved in front of the mooring field and dropped the hook. The Castleton boat club raised the price on their mooring balls to $25, and unless somebody is dying, we would never pay that much for a ball. Anchoring in the Hudson River was far easier than a lot of other places we have been, so no concern. However, the weather continued to be crappy, and we sat on the boat for another 5 days. We surfed the internet, watched movies, worked on little boat chores, finished up the house design, and basically just tried to keep ourselves from going nuts. One of the other things we started doing, was watching the online, realtime, video displays of the docks at Waterford, NY. Waterford is the start of the Erie Canal system, and the place we were trying to get to. We had called the visitors center a couple of times, and they told us that we couldn't get through the Troy lock until the Erie Canal opened, May 5th. Well, if we couldn't get through the Troy lock on the Hudson River, we couldn't get to Waterford anyway. We watch the docks go in on the 29th, and started to salivate. Then on Thursday the 1st, we noticed on the video, that a sailboat was parked on the dock. A catamaran that had passed us a few days previous. Aha, lets try it. We fueled up, got rid of our garbage, and got a pump out, at the Bost Club that we were no longer paying guests at, and headed up the river to try and get to Waterford. After all, if one boat made, why not two.
It was slow going, fighting the tide and current the whole way, but the Troy Lock let us through. Woohoo, a dock, restaurants, groceries, and beer. We had drank our very last beer the evening before we made the trip, we needed refills. The river current was pretty rough, as you can tell by the picture above, but we wanted through anyway. We are getting much better at handling Vita in bad situations, and she always seems to get us through.
We got to the free dock in Waterford, boat number 3. We visited with the other boaters there, and went to dinner with some new cruising friends. Then off to the grocery store for beer and food. Showers, and then to bed. It was nice to be tied up somewhere different, with land only a step away. Showers, flush toilets, businesses where others will cook your meals for you, and good old fashioned Americana grocery stores.
How do you make grocery shopping sexy. You fill the cart with beer, and have this guy give you his best come hither look. Or this is just a good picture of a well trained bitch. Either way, Serena made me do it.
Lock spillway. Pretty little town Waterford, the parts that aren't destroyed by poverty.
The second day, being close to land, we donned our shoes and headed out to see the town. Pick up a few more things, and stretched our underused legs. Day three was more of the same, to the point where my knees were screaming in pain, and Serena was yet again laid up with a wrecked back. When will we ever learn.
Vita on the Waterford docks. The docks eventually filled up with boaters, but none of them came near us. The section we were on had no power, and they all wanted their yellow umbilical cords tapped into the nearest plug. That was one of the design criteria for Vita, off grid.
More Canadians waiting for the Canal to open. I don't know why, I am pretty sure they can fly. Oh well, who am I to judge.
One of the other couples we met at Waterford were Scott and Sue, bringing home their new boat, or floating house, whichever you choose to call it. 66 feet long with over 1300 horse power between the two big diesel engines. We helped Scott celebrate his 66th birthday with our friends Rick and Dar from M/V September Dream, their daughter, and her new husband. Out cruising, its all about the people.
The final day there, Serena was laid up. I did some more chores, shopping, water, and remounting her TV. It helps with her sanity, and by default, mine.
But that was it. The lock opened at 7:00 in the morning on May 5th, and we became of a single mind, get through this damn canal system before it shuts down us. The Erie Canal is a beautiful stretch of water, but if your on a mission to get home, it can be the evil reincarnation of Satan.
The first wave through the lock included 2 power boats, two sailboats, including us, and some freakin' moron that shouldn't be allowed to own a boat, let alone a 48 foot motor cruiser. They'll sell these things to anyone. He spent more time drifting around in the lock then going through them. We were the last of the five to enter the first lock, and we were up at the front by the time we got through the fifth lock. As the other boats jockeyed for a position as far away from the idiot as possible. And then when leaving the last lock, his wife asked if they could go ahead of us, because her husband couldn't go as slow as us. I am still not sure if that was mean, or if he just was that useless. Note to those who want to enter a lock in a boat they haven't yet figured out how to handle, wait until you are alone. There is a much less chance of being shot by an irate boater, this is the US after all.
After that we just had the blinders on. We were travelling as fast as we could, for as long as they would let us. The first day was 11 hours, then 10, then 11, then 10 1/2. As long as the locks would let us through. We are tired, but after tomorrow morning we shouldn't have to worry about getting caught in the lock system. Serena did manage to take it easy, despite the locking drills, and she is feeling much better. Its a good thing, because we might actually get home before 2nd lift-in at the Yacht Club, and her services may be required on the crane crew.
Our friends on September Dream. We played leap frog with them a bit in the canals, but they tailed us from Brewerton until the next lock. Stalkers. Just kidding. They promptly passed us after the lock, and then stopped at the next lock for the night while we pushed on. I get the impression that they are in no rush to get home. Can't say as I blame them, but we are headed into the next adventure rather than an old one.
Love this lock, a bridge across the chamber. You don't want to park under this on the way up. On the way down its much easier, read the sign.
Wow, hard to believe we will be back in Canada tomorrow; knock on wood. There are so many things that we are looking forward to; cheese curds, poutine, butter tarts from the butter tart factory, our truck. And of course, all of you, our family and friends. See you soon.
Vita back to one six.
