Oswego Canal – Erie Canal

Poor Vita has been turned into a power boat. Her mast is on deck, and her sails are all bagged. The good news is that she is handling it far better than her Captain. Not that I have anything against a nice diesel trawler, but something about a sailboat says freedom like nothing else, and its hard to see something free with its wings clipped. Not long though, a few more short days and she will be soaring with the birds once again.

We finally got to leave Oswego on Tuesday, 21 Aug 13. The crew at Oswego Marina were amazing. Laurie and Bernie, who pretty much run the joint were an absolute hoot. Friendly, helpful, and figured me out right away. Definitely going back there on the way home.

I wanted to take a minute to tell you about our other crew member, Ray. No, Serena did not pick up a cabana boy, just yet. Ray is the name that we have given our Raymarine X5 autopilot. He is an invaluable asset, steering long periods, and saving us from sore shoulders. However, we have found that he is not to be trusted at all, and must be watched all the time. He has little quirks that we are figuring out as we go, and if you tick him off, he’ll up and do a 360 on you. He likes to stray a little at a time, like he’s falling asleep, so you have to wake him up and give him a little course correction. Then he has this thing about meals, if you open the pot drawer, he starts jumping around widely and throws the boat into a tail spin, forgetting the reason he is even here. But we love him none-the-less, and appreciate his tireless duty. (read; I installed the autopilot compass too close to the pot drawer.) There were a few people who told us before we left, that we should tie Ray to the chart plotter so that we could lay in courses and let Ray do his thing. But the picture below shows why we do not let the two of them talk to one another. Between Ray’s little idiosyncrasies and the GPS not having a clue where its going, our cruise would be over all ready. Same reason we don’t put a GPS in the car. Nice reference, but it doesn’t make up for good ol’ human eyes.

We did the Oswego canal in one day. Its only 24 miles long, and stopped along the upper wall of lock 23. It’s a beautiful spot. Lots of wildlife, but the mosies chased us indoors at dusk. The lockmaster gave us a tour of the power station that used to run the lock when it was installed. The power comes in through the transmission lines now, but most of the old gear is still able to operate. Flashbacks to Serena’s childhood when her Dad worked on the power stations in Campbellford.

We left lock 23 on the Wed and did the stretch across Onieda Lake. It’s a big shallow lake, and has a reputation for being a real bear. But for us yesterday the winds were light, and she was more like the teddy variety. We stopped in Sylvan Beach on the other side for Wifi, and ended up staying the night. We met a fellow named Joe who runs the visitor centre, and owns an ice cream shop; I love ice cream. He was kind enough to run me all over hells-half-creation to find 30 weight oil for Vita’s oil change. I offered him something for his time and gas, but he would have none of that. So, we figured if the people here are this nice, we need to stay around for the night and provision. Groceries, beer, pop, water, etc….

Today we are headed out yet again. We start going down river towards the Hudson this afternoon, after we find some wifi in “Rome”, NY, so we can post this update. We passed a dredge this morning leaving Sylvan Beach, which was kinda neat. Its like a big vacuum sucking up the mud out of the bottom of the canal, and it was tight, but they made room for our little boat to get by.

All along the canal are these little remnants of the original canal system. It was a lot smaller back then, accommodating smaller barges towed along the shore by horse teams. I hope they always keep this system up and going. It is an interesting piece of history, and a grand way to see NY state. To this point most of the politics has stayed out of it, but if it ends up like Ontario’s canals, it will become a liability, and possibly slowly disappear, which is sad.

Vita and crew continue on down the Erie Canal system. We still miss our morning coffee on the bench at the CFB Trenton YC, but life must forever move forward. For us that means to where there is no snow.

Stuck In Oswego

Aghh, my eyes..... Oh come on really. Its just a slightly overweight middle-aged man taking a cockpit shower. Get over it.

Stuck in Oswego; which is absolutely fine with us. Saturday we kind of took it easy, if you call walking 6 miles, grocery shopping, stripping the sails and rig, EASY. It is amazing how quickly the hours pass by in a day. I am looking forward to some relaxation, if I can ever find it. I am beginning to wonder if the reason we can't relax is because we have forgotten how to.

Well, if Oswego Yacht Club was awesome, then Oswego Marina is the bestest awesome. We moved here Saturday after talking to the attendant. It turns out there are some misconceptions about how the system works over here. Not only from our home on the other side of the lake, but right here in Oswego.

1st. - The mast crane is not by appointment, its first come first serve, and if you stay in the marina, your first, unless somebody beat you to the marina.

2nd. - Mast stepping is $2 per foot for masts under 40' and $3 per foot for masts 40' and over, so for our 39' stick, its only $78. Not the 300+ that we were afraid it was. In fact it would be cheaper than taking it down at our yacht club in Trenton, if we had to pay the $75 plus tax.

If you stay at the marina, you get free pumpouts, water, washrooms, showers, coin laundry, free wifi, a nice little store, and friendly people. For $1.50 per foot, which is really reasonable. Unless your on a tight budget.

The Marina is not privately owned, its owned by the Port Authority (NY State), so subject to the rules the state sets out. The rest of the places in Oswego, including the town wall and the Yacht Club are owned by the town of Oswego, and subject to their rules, and their rates, which are the same.

All in all, the big scare of worrying about the marina monopoly was just that, a big scare. Mind you, we are talking about government agencies, so tomorrow all the nay say'ers might be right. Oh, and don't trust the guide, grab a cell phone and call. Our guide was 11 years old, which admittedly is a little out of date, but it was no where near accurate.

Saturday we finally managed to get ahold of the Richardson's chart book for all the NY State canals. The guide book that our friends Greg and Marg let us peruse has been out of print for about 3 years, apparently. So hold on to that one guys. Right inside the front page of the chart book, it has all the customs information, and it says that cruising permits are issued for boats over 30'. Oh, well, its never worth arguing about, just go with the flow. Apparently the system is designed so that you can never get it right. Fees for the Erie Canal system are cheap, cheap, cheap. A yearly pass for a boat between 26 and 39' is $75, a ten day pass is $37.50, and a two day pass is too short to make the trip anyway. If I remember correctly, a 6 day pass in Ontario is like $135 or better. Now I know why NY State taxes are so high. We thought we had it tough, ouch, these guys are paying through the nose on income tax, and no free health care. Not to mention that the cost of everything seems to be higher than at home. Fuel is cheaper, restaurants are cheaper, alcohol is cheaper, everything else is expensive to ridiculously expensive. $6 for a case of water, plus $1.20 deposit, really!

Bad news aboard Vita. Serena is broken. She buggered up her back Satuday, from what exactly, we never know. So she will be taking it very easy for a few days. My back has started to get a little better, so as long as I don't do anything stupid.......(knock on wood)

Sunday was a bag drive, trying to get the cradles on the boat built and installed. The rig ready for taking down the mast. Then about 7:00 at night I noticed a funny smell in the head. The holding tank had sprung a leak in the fitting that I had tried to goop up. The tank was almost full, and the marina office was closed for the night. I managed to make a temporary repair, and clean up the mess.

Today we were supposed to take the mast down and leave, but with the head problem I wanted to be close to a bathroom, just in case ours was inoperable. We ended up paying for an extra day, took the mast down, and then tackled the head, after a pump out and a good flush of the tank of course.

Problem solved, all systems checked, everything tied down for the trip, we headed for showers and went out to dinner with a couple on another sailboat also headed south. Tomorrow we start the trip down the canal, after a pump out. I had to test the tank.

So far cruising has been all work and very little, to no play. I have been told though that once we get our mast up on the Hudson River, we get to start relaxing. Believe it when I see it.....

Sometimes dinner just looks so good, you need to take a picture of it. Eating nice on the boat has so far not been an issue. Not sure when I am supposed to start losing weight.

Oswego NY

No pictures. The only picture I took today was of a nuclear power plant. I was going to put it in the blog with a caption, "the cost of air conditioning". But I'm far from an eco-nut as I power through the Lake Ontario chop with my black smoke coughing diesel. So today you just get the blow-by-blow.... He he he, get it, were on sailboat....

We left Henderson Bay NY this morning at 8:00. We were supposed to leave at like 6, but that didn't happen. Sue me... We sailed out of the anchorage, and had a great sail for 2 hours, then it went to shit. 9 1/2 hrs from anchor up to docking in Oswego. Motor-sailed most of the way. Found out today what people mean when they say a Bayfield needs lots of wind. When the winds dropped below 10 knots, the waves were more powerful than the boat, and we couldn't point at all. And; since we needed to go to windward, we needed to turn on the engine. It sucked, because we watched other sailboats continuing on, having no problems. Mind you, they were the same boats that stayed in harbor yesterday while we were out bashing through the nasty stuff.

Here we are quiet in Oswego, enjoying the great Yacht Club they have here. And its nice. Free night, and the first beer is on them, how cool. Unfortunately, we can't get our mast down until at least Monday, because the marina is closed for the weekend. That means we have to pay for dockage for two nights, an expense that wasn't really in our budget. But then again, neither was the fish and chip dinner tonight. Such is life.

Anyway, nothing exciting. Tomorrow we have to get some work done, strip the sails off the boat, and build a craddle on deck to hold the mast. By the way, Serena did not get seasick today, so a good day had by all crew. She is tired now though, we both are, dead tired. Goodnight world.

Lake Ontario Sailing Virgins - No Longer

We left Cape Vincent this morning with a favorable forecast, or at least so we thought. Having never spent any time on Lake Ontario, we have nothing to compare it too, but holy crap was it nasty. It took us 5 hours between untieing the lines in CV to dropping the hook in Henderson Bay. Again, no frame of reference, but I was exhausted. Had a bite to eat, and then layed down for a nap. The winds weren't that bad, 16 knots according to the weather man, but the seas were sharp and tall, reportedly up to 6 ft. I know some of them were well over that. Poor Vita got tossed around like a rag doll. Coming out of the St. Lawrence we were beating into a north-west wind, forgot to close the seacock for the bathroom sink, and end up washing down the bathroom. When the bow would slam into a wave, it would shoot water up through the sink like a fire hose. Live and learn, but the bathroom (head) is cleaner.

Our first Lake Ontario freighter, met us coming out of the river. Once we had enough westing from the river mouth, we turned south, taking the seas and winds on the beam. Serena lasted about this long "-". Her second trip to the head was enough. I guess we found out where her sea sickness level was. She fed the fishes a couple of times, and than layed down in the cockpit for the rest of the trip, in no condition to do anything else. I managed to be okay, even after several trips down below. One of those trips I was body slammed into the door frame between the salon and the galley, knocking the wind out of me, and letting me know that I need to hang on just a little better. Live and learn.

Chance meeting at sea. This tall ship was coming out of where we were headed. Exactly where I don't know because we were in the middle of nowhere at the time. Pretty though. And they were bashing into headseas at the time. Pretty impressive. There was a little Bristol 27 headed to Sackets Harbour, on the same course as us, and they got tossed around pretty good to, they were beating us most of the trip, and then they separated ways closer to our destination.

We were sailing with a single reefed main and staysail. The yankee was furled, which is good, because it would never have survived the trip. We put the bowsprit into the water several times, hit over 8 knots more times than I can count, and Vita's hull speed is 6.3knots. We had one accidental jibe that tried to rip my arm off, Vita got tossed on her beam ends a few times, and our coffee pot did a double flip with a twist from the stove across the boat. A great adventure by all accounts. If fun can be measured by adrenalin and exhaustion, this was it.

By the way, I think the weather man lies through his teeth. 

Clearing the US Border

Every time I see her, my heart skips a beat. 

Of course I meant Serena, but Vita is quickly starting to cause the same feelings. See is so beautiful, and just the perfect little cruising home. Some times I wonder what the hell I ever did to be this lucky. However;

Bump bump, toss toss, flip, wrench, bang, ouch. Yep, that pretty much sums up life on a sailboat. Okay, there are some really good things too. But when your world constantly moves around, and everything you own is crammed into only a few small square feet, it makes for some banged up toes, sore muscles, and very tired people.

Yesterday was very nice, we took the day off, but by the end of it, it felt like we had been working all day. We were tired and sore, and my back is really upset with me for two 40 min dinghy rides in two days. We did not accomplish the things we had hoped, although we did address some little issues, tidied and cleaned a little. It was unfortunate that we had to leave. I think we could have spent a month in that anchorage. Swimming, fishing, relaxing, dinghying to town to shop. But, in a few short months that anchorage will be covered in ice, and probably won’t be as nice for swimming.

One of the little tasks we did yesterday was to check the batteries and the tanks. Its supposed to be a Sunday routine; we were close. The house batteries have come back marvelously. They now test as well as the starting battery. They are really enjoying the slow charge of the solar panels, and they are full by lunch everyday. Unfortunately the black water tank was full. (That’s where the toilet water goes). That meant a run to Gananoque to get it pumped out before we headed to Cape Vincent, our next stop, and the point at which we check in with US customs. I pulled a silly and closed the lid on the head (toilet) during the pumpout, which caused the tank to implode a couple of inches. Normally this could be a very bad thing because it can crush the tank, but no, it had to be a bad thing by creating a leak in the pump out fitting. Oh goodie, just what I needed. I had complained in an earlier post that a previous owner had gooped up the same hose for the tank because he/she was too lazy to fix it properly. So, now the hose is gooped up again, and somewhere along the way there is going to be a new tank put in there. The truth is, we are usually not any better than those people we complain about, but we rarely get an opportunity to prove it too ourselves. I’m sorry previous owner….

Customs. It is so hard to not say something bad about customs. And we had a pretty easy go of it. The lady was hard on us for not being prepared, and we deserved that I suppose, but then she turned into an absolutely wonderful person, smiley, chipper, happy even. I always have a hard time with grumpy customs people, but to be honest, I know that they are holding one of the most thankless jobs going, short of the police of course. I mean, 80% of the people coming through the border are trying to get away with something. Kind of like customer service at Walmart or Zellers.

So for those cruisers behind us.

1. Get a cruising permit before you leave Canada, by applying for in online. You need to be out of the country for three weeks, between permits, which can be issued for up to 12 months.

2. Get a nexus pass. Otherwise you have to check in at every port of call. The boat is good on the cruising permit, people are not.

3. If your boat is over 30’, get a US customs sticker for the boat as well, apply online.

4. If you are unsure about anything, call homeland security, and don't ever try to tell a customs official that you were misinformed by the person on the phone, because I guarantee you that in their eyes, its impossible. The customer is always wrong. 

These are things I learned today.

We also learned that if you throw bread out of your cockpit, something will be there to eat it. Last night was 100 Canada geese, today, mamma duck and her 6 babies, plus the ever watchful white shit-hawk(seagull).

And finally, there is no such thing as a small job on a small sailboat, because every time you need to do something, you have to tear apart every locker to find the pieces.

I still wouldn’t give it up for all the tea in Boston.

10,11, 12, Aug 2013

10 Aug

Uneventful down wind run from Collins Bay to Beaurivage Island. We anchored in 10ft of beautifully clear water, went swimming, visited with our new friends, P & K, and their son and his girlfriend N and A(inside joke). One of the best things about cruising is the new people you meet, its just too bad you can't meet em' all.

11 Aug

Spent an hour circling in the Gananoque Marina waiting for a place to tie up, what a pain. But worth it. We picked up our daughter Ashley, and her boyfriend Chris, did laundry, grocery shopping, beer run, etc.... Before we took the kids out for a little boot around in the boat. The winds were nasty, and the waves sharp, steep, and plentiful. Vita handled it very well with a staysail and a double reefed main. We weren't out long, no need to get the crap beat out of us for fun, we're a cruising boat, not a racing machine. Besides that, we were only trying to give the kids a taste of sailing. We came back in to the same anchorage as the night before, dropped the hook, went swimming, and just hung out for awhile. It was very nice. Then I took the kids for a wet dinghy ride back to Gananoque so they could drive back to Ottawa.

12 Aug

Our first day off. The boat is not moving today, at least not if we can help it. We took a long time getting out of bed, drank coffee, had breakfast, moved very slowly. Had an early morning swim, and experienced our first cockpit shower after we cut each other's hair. Yes, we are true cruisers now. That took until noon, then we dinghied into Gananoque and walked to McDonalds for wifi and a quick little something. And, of course to do a blog update; without pictures, sorry. We'll pick up some groceries, head back to the boat and relax. Maybe complete a couple of boat chores, maybe have a nap, who knows. Tomorrow we are thinking about heading to Cape Vincent, but even that is up in the air. So many choices, and no real reason to go anywhere other than just because. Anyway, just about time to get going. I will at least try to get some pictures before the next post.

Until next time....

We’re Away!

It’s seems like forever in the coming, but we finally got off the dock yesterday, the 8^th of August, 2013. Mind you, it was 4:00 in the afternoon before we made that jump; desperately trying to get some last minute things done before departure. Our son, Stein, came to see us off, and many of our friends at the yacht club were there to wish us well. I didn’t feel it at the time, because I was so focused on getting started, but later on it hit, and it was hard to accept that we were saying goodbye to so many good people, our family, and the life we have had for so many years, to embark on something totally new. We know, however, that life is short, and absences even shorter. Ten months will go by so fast that when we come home, it will be as if we had just returned from a quiet afternoon sail.

There was very little wind, and we sailed as long as we could before firing up the iron jib. We wanted to make it to Sandy Cove before dark, and Stein and Kristen were going to drive out to Massasauga Point to see us. Shortly after the Belleville bridge, I decided to check the stuffing box to make sure it wasn’t getting too hot, and found the shift linkage was disconnected. So I manually took the transmission out of gear. Situation fixed, linkage reconnected, on to Sandy Cove. Anchoring turned out to be simple, as we had never anchored this boat with this gear before. I just kept reminding myself what Larry told me, “there are no emergencies on a sailboat, just situations that need immediate attention”. Of course, I modified that a little to, “nothing happens fast on a sailboat”, which I think several other people have told me, including my friends Don and Tracy. So I slowly walked back and calmly asked Serena to refrain from texting while backing down on the anchor.

Had a great visit with the kids, went for a swim, and ate the delicious chilli that Serena made on the way down. The night was uneventful, quiet with only a few Mosies trying to spoil the party. Had a good sleep until 05:55 when Serena asked me what time it was. Seems she thought I was up, well I was then. But I fooled her and quickly fell back to sleep until 8:00, why rush, I’m sick of rushing.

Got off well, the anchor was dug in. Serena cooked a nice bacon, eggs, and toast breakfast. Now I know rebuilding the galley was a smart thing. When the cook looks forward to cooking, life is great. Now we are motoring for Kingston, the wind is deftly eluding us for the moment, so we are a power boat, just don’t tell Vita, she is oblivious to such things.

Some days just make you glad you are alive…..

9 Aug 2013

Woohoo, free wifi at the dock, how can life be better. We are spending the evening at Collins Bay Marina in Kingston, after a 10 hour slog listening to the diesel. It was good though, because I am becoming more comfortable with the old iron jib. For instance, I found out today that the sweet spot is 2500 rpm, but you can't get there unless the throttle is maxed. That also gives us 5 kts, which is pretty good for a 13 horse diesel pushing somewhere in the neighborhood of 10500 lbs. The wind hid from us all day, and when it did show itself, it was straight out of the east. We finally got some nice winds as we turned into the mouth of Collins Bay, too little, too late.

At one point in the afternoon we were directly in front of the Upper Gap heading out to Lake Ontario. It was hot, and sunny, and the water looked oh so refreshing. So what the hell, we shut off the engine, got our suits on, and went for a dip in 170 feet of water. Oh, was it nice. And the water is so clean and clear in comparison to our home in the Bay of Quinte. And, try as I might, I couldn't touch bottom. Had a nap, and practiced my guitar on the bow while Serena took the helm. She couldn't hear me over the engine, but the seagulls and cormorants seemed to enjoy it. What a great day.

Ate dinner at the Pasta Shelf. Sorry Pat and Jack, we would have called, but we weren't even sure we would make it ourselves having got into Kingston so late. Tomorrow we fuel up, go shopping at Marine Outfitters, and head for Gananoque to meet up with our Daughter and her boyfriend. The weather man promises me fair winds and following seas for tomorrow, and he is running out of chances.

Rick, I am sorry about the gel-coat. You did a fabulous job, and I messed it all up. Turns out my shoes are not non-marking. So Serena has decreed that they are to be deposited in the trash bin tomorrow before we leave. Lord I hope Marine Outfitters has something in my size, otherwise I am going to be barefoot. Ha ha, funny funny, I heard that Mike.

Anyway, time for bed, tomorrow is another long day, and my back is all screwed up from the last couple of days of prep work.

Look out world, here we come..........