The Wayward Explorers, Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue, are at it again. This year’s adventure is to navigate from Barnhart Island on the St. Lawrence River, up the river to Lake Ontario, down to the Oswego Canal and then travel both east and west on the Erie Canal. If all goes well, the trawler will be housed over the winter in Baldwinsville, outside of Syracuse.
The first order of business was planning to get through the Iroquois lock which is a large Canadian lock that accommodates big cargo ships. According to the schedule, the Wayward Explorers calculated that they would have to get up at 5:30 am to get through the last lock-through for recreational vessels for the day. The Explorers opted to “smell the roses”, and get going whenever they were ready, even if it meant not getting through the lock until the following morning. So, they rose at a leisurely 7:00 am and got ready to roll.
The first order of business was to check on the state of a yellow-jacket infestation that had started this summer, the little villains taking up residence in the inside lining of a built-in cooler bench. Captain Mark had been fighting them for several days, with the bee stings to prove it (nothing that a little Benadryl couldn’t help) to no avail. Although hundreds died, more just kept coming back. This morning’s plan was to squirt in more poison, fill the holes with expanding foam, and then motor away before any of the yellow jackets outside could understand where their home went. This scenario had the potential to be a funny plot for a sitcom episode, but it actually worked out well…. so far anyway. Captain Mark was able to take back his ship’s controls without incident; an important first step for a successful adventure. No live yellow jackets have been found since. After a quick hose-down of our yellow-jacket massacre, the Explorers were on the way.
Because there was no longer a rush to get to the Iroquois lock, the Explorers took their time. It was a beautiful sunny day with very little river traffic… a few commercial vessels and a handful of fishermen. The Explorers stopped to walk and stretch in Waddington… a cute river-side town with a nice public docking area and park. After a quick lunch break, the Explorers walked up and down the short blocks around Main Street, but not much appeared to be open on a Wednesday afternoon. The Explorers took a little extra time walking along the river and admiring the small homes along the water. Waddington appears to be a rare town where there are still affordable homes on the water that have not been knocked down for condos and mansions.
After Waddington, the Explorers arrived at the Iroquois lock late in the afternoon and docked at an empty dock for recreational vessels. Because it is a Canadian lock, Sidekick Sue remained on the boat (after tying the lines) while the Captain went to talk to the locktenders. Turns out, they were happy to open the lock to let us through, even though there was no opening scheduled. There was no change in water levels from one side to the other, so the Explorers didn’t even have to stop and attach to the lock wall. As soon as they entered the lock, the exit door opened on the other side (of course they still had to pay the $25 fee). They had the same experience last year when taking the St. Lawrence downstream.
Sidekick Sue went below to start dinner while there was still excess electricity generated by running the motor. The Explorers are looking ahead to some rainy days, so they want to keep the batteries as charged as possible while the solar panels are still useful. Captain Mark navigated to a small, protected Anchorage, almost under the shadow of the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge to Canada. They dropped anchor for the night and ate dinner. There had been a few other boats in the anchorage when they arrived, but they cleared out as dusk approached, leaving the Explorers to a quiet, isolated night with spectacularly starry skies and the occasional splash of a big fish or bird. With new improvements to the electrical system, the Explorers were able to watch a little TV before retiring for the night.
Passed this guy shortly after setting off.
Park and public dock in Waddington, NY. See our boat parked on the left in the distance.
Beautiful stained glass on a church in Waddington that is undergoing renovation.
Park in Waddington looking out to a huge flock of birds in the water.
Iroquois Lock opening their gate for the Wayward Explorers.
View at our anchorage shortly before sunset. We came into this protected area through the opening you see. The main part of the St. Lawrence is right on the other side of the opening. There is basically no current or waves in here as we calmly sit at anchor. It is rare to find such a nice anchorage.
So glad that you are on the move again so I can read your wonderful stories. Looking forward to more!
Should be fun. We are at the start of the St. Lawrence, hoping for a weather window to cross Lake Ontario tomorrow. The big lakes are the only parts that scare me.
Would love to see you in Buffalo but we leave for Ireland in two days….be safe going over Lake Ontario!
Have fun in Ireland… that’s a place that is still on our bucket list. Maybe we will see you and Bob up on Buckhorn next year, as we are finally going to do the Trent-Severn.