We finally made the trip and took our new to us boat home. I knew I would need help in the locks along the Oswego, Erie and Hudson Canals and my sister and brother-in-law jumped at the chance to help out and take in the sights at the same time. Before the trip, while we went up over the months to get the boat sorted out, we always had to deal with rain, if only for a few hours a day. This time we lucked out, for the most part, only having to deal with one tremendous thunderstorm while waiting to enter the Mohawk Harbor Marine. Let me start at the beginning of the trip.
After making seven round trips through spring and a good portion of the summer, I wanted to rent an SUV for a one-way drive upstate and drop it off in Watertown NY. I was getting fairly frustrated after trying multiple rent-a-car agencies that either did not have or want to rent one way or charged a very high price to do so if they did. I finally found one that was reasonable and rented a Toyota Rav 4. We still had some gear to bring up and no matter how I warned the crew I was afraid we would not get it all to fit, but we did after very careful packing. Think Tetris!
Cindy and Howard showed up on Saturday afternoon so we could leave on Sunday morning. I showed them three knots to learn that might come in handy. The Bowline, Clove Hitch and Cleating Hitch, and they both practiced them and got them down fairly quickly. We had ferry reservations at six o’clock Sunday morning, normally we took the ten o’clock ferry but all the ferries after six were booked (one ferry was out of service) so six o’clock it was. Up at four thirty and ready to go, we were on the ferry line at five thirty and heading up Route Eight in Connecticut by eight o’clock in the morning.
It was a nice uneventful drive up and we stopped at the Mohawk Valley Welcome Center which also happens to be Lock Thirteen of the Erie Canal. Kathy and I had stopped there once before just to see what a lock looked like, but this time we went and knocked on the Lock Masters shack. Paul came out and spoke with us for ten minutes or so and seemed happy to talk with us. We told him we would be back in a few days, this time by boat, and Paul said he would look out for us. After that, we were back on the road heading north and arriving at the hotel about three in the afternoon to check in. Then we took a ride up to the boat (about ten miles further north in Alexandria Bay) to load some more gear on. After that, we went back to Clayton and had a nice dinner in town.
The next morning, I was up and, on the road, early heading down to Watertown to return the car. I got lost for about ten minutes but found the place where I was met by Frank, a family member and good friend who lives up near there. Frank was a great help and after we got back to the hotel, we had a long breakfast (not that we wanted to have a long breakfast, it just took a long time to get our food!) and then Frank drove all of us back to Alexandria Bay to the boat. After taking us first to the grocery store, we arrived at the boat and said our goodbyes. The crew and I started getting the boat set to go, the first destination would be back in Clayton at the Municipal Marina, right next to the hotel where we had rooms booked for one more night. After a short run at cruising speed, we pulled into the marina and went to the free pump out first, then to our slip. If you are ever up that way, this marina is a nicely maintained and very protected spot. We met boaters from all over, some doing the Great Loop and others just visiting. Clayton is a nice town and there are plenty of spots to eat within walking distance of the marina.
Tuesday, August first dawned on a beautiful sunny and wind-free day, perfect for the start of our trip. Kathy and I got to the boat a little earlier than the rest of the crew, I wanted to get there and check the engine fluids and general readiness of the boat. She was all set and by the time I was done with my daily checks, Cindy and Howard arrived wearing jackets. I didn’t think it was that chilly out, and as a joke, they wore green shirts with the word “Crew” stenciled on them. They joked about how hot it was wearing jackets just to hide the shirts from us and when the sun started hitting them, they quickly changed into cooler shirts.
With both engines started we left the marina and headed south on the Saint Lawrence River. Flat calm and barely any breeze I kept the engines just above idle while the crew brewed some coffee and settled in. Once the engines warmed up some and everybody was ready, I brought her up to cruising RPM of twenty-three hundred RPMs. The beauty of this area can’t be denied, and this day did not disappoint us. We passed so many scenic islands and beautiful bays as we traveled south. At one point, while transmitting between Carleton Island (U.S.) and Wolfe Island (Canada), we were looking at a huge wind farm on Wolfe Island when I saw a large ship heading north in the channel. I contacted him via the VHF radio just to see if he had any preference as to what side to pass on. Not knowing the area, I figured it would be better than taking a guess, and he answered me quickly with a port-to-port pass and a “thank you” for making contact. I believe they like to know what the smaller vessels in the area are going to do.
Not long after that we passed Tibbetts Point Lighthouse on the port side and entered Lake Ontario. Knowing how rough the Great Lakes can get I was thankful for such a calm day. We had many miles to go and being able to cruise at our pace of twenty-three knots helped put miles behind us. In a few short hours, we could see the Nuclear Power plant east of Oswego and soon we slowed down and entered the Oswego River and then the Oswego Canal.
That sixty-five-mile run took us just under three hours. The bad news is that once in the Oswego Canal there is a “no wake” zone and the next twenty-five miles and seven locks took us just over five hours to reach Three Rivers, where the Oswego Canal meets the Erie Canal. From there we turned east on the Erie Canal for another ten miles. We went through lock twenty-three and we arrived at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton NY just before entering Oneida Lake. We arrived at Winter Harbor at six twenty p.m. after a long but beauty-filled day on the water. This marina a very well kept and the staff helped us get the boat situated for the night. After a meal of barbecued hot dogs and mac and cheese, we turned in for a well-deserved sleep.