The Explorers rose early to get a 7:00 am start. They planned to cross a section of Lake Ontario to get to Oswego, and they wanted to get an early start, knowing that there would be nowhere to stop mid-way, and not knowing exactly how long it was going to take. François, from the sailboat next to them had already left with about a 45-minute lead. The Explorer’s had not had a good night sleep because the wind and water were rough, and even though they were at a dock, the fenders and lines squeaked and creaked all night.
After the Explorers rounded Cape Vincent, the water was a bit rough…. but not as bad as the day before when it was covered in whitecaps. The winds were in their favor, as the forecasts had predicted, but the waves were still fairly rough. Sidekick Sue was feeling very nauseous and alternated between sitting outside to get fresh air and keeping an eye on the horizon, and going downstairs to the cabin to warm up. It was a miserable cycle, but it worked. Even Captain Mark admitted to getting a bit queasy sitting up on the flybridge the entire time. There were no other boats on the water until they got close to Oswego, and they never caught up with François, even though he claimed he planned for an 11 hour crossing, while the Explorers were only expecting 8 hours.
There was only one major incident during the crossing. As the got close to Oswego, Captain Mark started reading ahead about the obstacles ahead (locks, bridges, etc.) and realized that some of the bridges in Oswego were too low for the Explorers to pass under with the mast up. This old trawler, the Wayward Explorer, has a mast for a “stability sail”. The Explorer have never actually tried to use the stability sail (although Lake Ontario probably would have been a great time to try it), but they generally keep the mast up when they motor, just because it is out of the way. Sidekick Sue took the controls while Captain Mark tried to bring the mast down, wrapping the rope around a horizontal bar to act as a pulley and ease the weight of the mast. It was a little challenging to manipulate while in motion, so they decided to put the boat in neutral, thinking they would just bob around peacefully. Big mistake. It worked for about a minute, and then the waves turned the boat sideways and it starting violently rocking from side to side. Captain Mark couldn’t even stand in one place, much less handle the mast. The Explorers could hear stuff crashing down below in the cabin. Sidekick Sue put the boat back in gear and started moving forward again which slowly put the boat back on course. Captain Mark was able to lower the mast, and all was right in the world again. Lesson learned… do not stop in open water.
The Explorers arrived in Oswego and proceeded through the first lock of the Oswego Canal (Lock 8). This was their first real lock of the season (as they were able to pass through the Iroquois lock without stopping) and it was a little awkward. There were no cables to wrap the lines around, only ropes to grab onto. Sidekick Sue usually wraps the stern line around a cable, cleats it and then moves up to the bow to grab another cable. Captain Mark uncleats the stern line and handles it while locking and Sidekick Sue holds the bow. In this case, there were no cables, so Sidekick Sue grabbed a rope from midship, and the stern started to turn out so Captain Mark could not grab a rope from the back. Luckily, he was able to throw a line to the lock tender who helped pull the stern in (and kindly suggested it was the wind’s fault, not the Explorer’s). Another crisis and embarrassment averted.
The good news was that once they were through the first lock, the water was immediately calm, and the hard part of the day was over. The Explorers docked on the wall between locks 7 and 8, so they could get out and walk around Oswego. They walked to Fort Ontario, which they mostly viewed from the outside because it was closing up for the day when they arrived. They peeked inside long enough to grab a few pictures. They stopped at Subway to grab a bite and then crossed a pedestrian bride over the Oswego River to grab a few groceries at the Big M. The highlight of the day was a visit from Sidekick Sue’s sorority sister, Maria, and her husband Jim, who stopped by for a quick drink and to share stories from college as well as talk about plans for retirement, as this is Maria’s first year of retirement from teaching. She and Jim are in the process of looking at RV’s which is very similar to the Explorer’s experience with their “RV on the water”. The Explorers were so glad to see some friends along the route, as they hope they will get to see many more along the way, having grown up and gone to college in upstate NY. After their company left, they settled in for a nice quiet night with no waves, wind, squeaks or creaks.
Rounding St. Vincent. Passing the Tibbetts Point lighthouse that we hiked to yesterday.
Smoke from the nuclear plant smokestack. The first thing we could see as we started approaching the shore at Oswego.
Sidekick Sue manning the controls during Captain Mark’s lunch break.
Lock #8 where the Explorers almost caused an incident.
A peek inside Fort Ontario before they closed for the night.
The outside wall of Fort Ontario