Month: September 2023

The Explorers cast off from the lock wall in Oswego after a short sprinkle in the morning.  Sidekick Sue was completely horrified because every time she touched the lines to untie the boat, dozens of black spiders fled (some of which were decent-sized).  Between the spiders and the slimy lock walls, she has decided that she needs a pair of gloves.  All the pairs aboard are too big and the extra bits at the top of each finger constantly get caught up in the lines, so she has been going bare-handed.

The Explorers passed through Locks 7 and 6 without incident.  After the rough lock-through at Lock 8 the prior day, they took the time to review their plan, since they were a little rusty for the season after navigating over 40 locks in Canada the year before. Having a planned procedure in place makes things run a lot smoother.  The Explorers saw François’ sailboat tied up on the wall before Lock 5, exactly where he said he planned to park.  He had told the Explorers that he was going “in a few locks” before parking to avoid being near the “city” of Oswego, where teenage punks are known to mess with the lines and set boats adrift “for fun”.  The Explorers have heard this about several locations along the Loop, but have never seen it actually happen or experienced any vandalism.  They don’t know how much is truth and how much is urban legend, but they use a cable lock to secure their boat to a cleat while in populated areas, just in case.  There didn’t appear to be any activity on François’ sailboat, so the Explorers moved on.

There was no Lock 4 in the Oswego Canal.  Obviously, there was one at some time in the past, but the Explorers have learned that many of the sections of the NY canals have been moved and re-engineered, so they have seen gaps in the numbering sequences before. 

The Explorers had wanted to stop after Lock 3, so they could walk into Fulton, NY to get some exercise, get Sidekick Sue some gloves at the hardware store, and pick up some snacks for the evening as they were making plans for some friends to meet up with them at Lock 23 near Brewerton.  However, in talking to the locktender, they realized that he was responsible for both Locks 3 and 2.  He has to let the southbound vessels through Lock 3 and then jump in a car to drive down to Lock 2 to let the same vessels through. Then he has to let the northbound vessels through Lock 3 and run back to Lock 2 to let them through.  Parking in between would have created extra work for the locktender and left his locks “out of sync”, so the Explorers decided to press on through, thinking they could still walk into Fulton from Lock 2.  After docking past Lock 2, they figured out that it would take at least 30 minutes to walk each way to Fulton plus time to go shopping.  While this is normally an acceptable walk for the Explorers, they didn’t want to arrive in Brewerton an hour and a half later than planned, since they had friends coming, so they cast off again.  The gloves could wait (Sidekick Sue would get slimed again), and the snacks would just have to work themselves out. 

The Explorers got quite a welcome as their boat was raised at Lock 1.  Just as they rose above the lock wall, a band started playing.  Apparently, there was some sort of running race or something going on in an adjoining park.  The Explorers liked to think the music was for their arrival, although it was obviously for the racers who were finishing the race.

A few miles later, the Explorers reached their goal… the Erie Canal.  They turned east, although they really plan to do the western end first, but they wanted to go to Brewerton to see their friends and to load up on diesel fuel at the best price they’ve seen in all of NY.  They arrived at Lock 23, the Brewerton Lock which had originally been their goal for the night.  It was rural and desolate, and not exactly a great place to meet friends. The Explorers realized they would have to walk for 1.5 hours to actually get into town.  They did a little quick research and discovered that there were two free docks in Brewerton, right in town, so they started the engines back up, cast off, and headed into town, finding a lovely spot in Riverfront Park.  This location was a win-win, because they could conveniently meet their friends right in town, and they were parked very close to the place they had planned to get diesel in the morning anyway.

Sidekick Sue’s sorority sister Cheryl, and her husband Ron showed up first, bearing loads of snacks (including some delectable half-moon cookies), so the snacks did indeed “work themselves out”.  They had drinks while waiting for another one of Sidekick Sue’s sorority sisters, Jane, and her husband Andy, who was one of Captain Mark’s fraternity brothers, to arrive.  After a quick happy hour, they all went to the Wild Horse Bar and Grill for dinner and conversation.  It was great to get together with old friends to talk about old times, shared friends, families, retirement plans, and to ponder how the Explorers and their friends got so old.

After the gathering the Explorers reflected on how lucky they are to be able to make this trip and how wonderful it is to rekindle friendships they made 40 years ago. They settled in for a little TV time and a nice peaceful night in Brewerton.

Lock is ready to enter. Green for “Go”.

Informational sign at Lock 7. Each lock has information on how high boats will get lifted or lowered, and the distance to the next lock on each side.

A spill-way at the top of the lock that looks a little too close for comfort.

A lock with its neighboring dam.

Typical view going down the Erie Canal.

Friends stopped by to visit and have dinner and drinks. Cheryl, Jane, Andy, Sidekick Sue, Captain Mark, Ron. Had a great time!

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

Sidekick Sue was happy to wake up to find there had been no visits from the local police for their illegal overnight stay.  The dock house was open in the morning, so Captain Mark went to talk to the dockmaster to “see if we owed a docking fee”.  After a finger-wagging about “no overnight parking”, Captain Mark put some money in the donation box and thanked the dockmaster.  Sometimes Captain Mark is right about “begging for forgiveness” working out better than “asking for permission”.  (Although sometimes there are tickets and fines involved).  It’s good for rule-following Sidekick Sue to leave her comfort zone now and then, and it’s good for Captain Mark to have Sidekick Sue around to set hard limits when he goes too far.  It’s all about balance.

The Explorers didn’t have far to go today, so they waited out a predicted rain, that never really developed into more than a weak mist.  The plan for the day was to only go as far as Cape Vincent, which was about a 2-2.5 hour trip.  Cape Vincent is at the opening to Lake Ontario.  Boats like the Wayward Explorer have to be very thoughtful about crossing big lakes.  Trawlers don’t have a big heavy keel like a sailboat, so waves and wind can toss them around like a cork, floating on the water.  Because the Explorers are on the eastern side of Lake Ontario, they would prefer easterly winds (blowing east to west) so that the wind doesn’t have a long distance to travel (fetch) over the water to kick up the waves. Unfortunately, the winds were currently blowing from west to east and the lake was full of whitecaps, so stopping for the night at Cape Vincent was the only reasonable choice.  Additionally, the Explorers expect the crossing to be at least 8 hours, so they want to start the trip fresh in the morning.  Winds tomorrow are expected to change and favor a crossing.

As luck would have it, Cape Vincent turned out to be a great place to stay for an extended visit.  The public docks were available for up to a 48 hour stay, they had water and electricity, and were free (with a recommended donation that the Explorers were happy to pay).  That gave the Explorers a long day and night to get ready for a crossing…. getting the batteries fully charged, filling the water tanks, making ice cubes for the cooler, etc.  It was nice to have a long day without consideration to conserving battery power or getting kicked off the dock.  The actual docking was a bit hairy as the Explorers were trying to get into a space at the end of the dock in front of a sailboat and the wind was blowing away from the dock.  Captain Mark mastered the docking after a few failed tries. 

The Explorers met some nice people on the dock, including another Canadian, François, who was also planning to cross down to Oswego the following day on his sailboat that had the masts unstepped (down).  He had wanted to take the Great Lakes down through Chicago, but there were locks closed for repairs that weren’t going to open in time for him to go south, so he was heading back to the Hudson River and the East Coast.  Given that he seemed to have a lot more experience on the Great Lakes than the Explorers, they were glad to know that he was planning on the same weather window. 

After the Explorers got settled, they used the afternoon to walk (6 miles out and back) to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse on the tip of Cape Vincent.  It was a beautiful walk with gorgeous scenery, and a great view of Lake Ontario all churned up from the wind.  The state of the lake confirmed the Explorers made the right decision not to continue onto Lake Ontario today. 

The evening ended with dinner, hot showers and some TV, all supported by the endless electricity available on the dock with the luxury of keeping the batteries fully charged for the next day (which will be a long one). There was a beautiful red sunset (red skies at night, sailors delight) which gave the Explorers hope for a nice calm day on the lake tomorrow.

Walking up to the tip of Cape Vincent. A view of the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River on a very choppy day.

Whitecaps in the headwaters of the St. Lawrence. An army of windmills across the water in Canada.

The lighthouse at Tibbetts Point. You can’t climb the lighthouse, but there is a little Foghorn Museum and Visitors Center.

A map of the Explorers walk today.

A dramatic sunset over the St. Lawrence, predicting fair weather tomorrow.

Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue slept peacefully and woke up in their cute little protected anchorage.   They used to sleep poorly at anchor, waking up throughout the night, worrying about dragging, but they’ve gotten used to it now. 

After some breakfast, they pulled up anchor and ventured back out onto the St. Lawrence, passing under the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge.  It was a little chilly and windy in the first part of the day, and Sidekick Sue spent some time in the cabin trying to catch up on some computer tasks.  After the internet challenges of last year in Canada, the Explorers invested in a Starlink system (thank you Elon Musk), so connectivity is not a problem this year, even as they ping-pong back and forth across US and Canadian waters.  It is working great and they can turn the service on and off with ease, so they only pay for the months they need it.  It is also portable and can be moved to the sailboat if that voyage ever gets underway. 

Sidekick Sue surfaced from the cabin as they approached Alexandria Bay.  The number of tiny little islands dotting the St. Lawrence increased significantly, including the one holding the famous Singer Castle.  Traffic on the water increased, but mostly big boat traffic; it seems that pleasure craft boating ended rather abruptly with Labor Day weekend.  The Explorers considered doing a loop around Boldt Castle, but changed their minds as the water started to get shallower.  Instead, they settled with a half loop around the island, but the trees interfered with getting a good picture.  The Explorers had done the castle tour earlier in the summer (and were amazed at the restoration progress over the last decade or so), so they opted to find the public dock in Alex Bay and have some lunch.  The public dock in Alex Bay looked clean, new and nearly empty as boating season is winding down.

On the dock they met a delightful couple from Canada that couldn’t say enough wonderful things about boating on U.S. waters.  Apparently, they are fed up with the fuel and food prices in Canada, and come down to cruise U.S. waters as much as the rules allow.  There are a lot of crazy rules for Canadians to follow… checking in with border control (through an app) EVERY time they stop the boat, people having to leave the country before 6 months is out to re-set the clock, and having to move the boat to international waters before a year is out to re-set that clock.  The Canadians were a wealth of information about the next few towns we were stopping in, so the Explorers tried to absorb all they could (which isn’t much anymore LOL).  As luck would have it, they have documented some very helpful information about the NYS canal system online (If anyone is interested, it is: Cruising New York State Canal System, Erie, Cayuga, Seneca (pcmarinesurveys.com)

Following this interaction, the Explorers headed into Alexandria Bay for some walking.  It was much calmer and quieter than during their visit (by car) earlier in the summer.  Last time, the streets and restaurants were packed with tourists.  Today, it was mellow, but a fair amount of establishments were still open. 

After getting about half their daily steps, they returned to the boat and cast off for Clayton, where they planned to stay for the night.  Clayton had a very nice public dock located right in the middle of town.  As they were docking, they were approached by a kind fellow, who was out walking his dog, who offered to  help them with line-handling.  The Explorers were pretty much finished tying up, but they engaged in conversation, only to find out that that he and Captain Mark shared the experience of growing up in Massena.  Turns out he was the cousin of one of Captain Mark’s dearest, life-long friends and Captain Mark went to school with his younger siblings.   Seems like things like this commonly happen up in the North Country of NY.  Anyway, the guy runs some garment print shops in upstate NY and has some shared experience in boating, so they talked for quite a while. 

Clayton was a pleasant surprise for the Explorers; they had never been to Clayton before.  It was quite the opposite of Alexandria Bay which has a tourist, party-type atmosphere.  Clayton was a lot nicer and classier; beautiful tree-lined streets, upscale shops, gorgeous homes, and super-nice restaurants on the water.  A good comparison might be Disneyworld (Clayton) with it’s clean walkways, green grass, lush landscaping compared to the County Fair (Alex Bay) with it’s wine-slushies, deep-fried Oreos, trash on the ground and kitschy souvenir shops. The Explorers really enjoyed their walk around Clayton and would love to return for more exploration.

It was getting dark as they returned to the boat.  The dockmaster’s office had been closed since their arrival, so there was no one to talk to about staying.  While the signs clearly stated that boat parking was only 3 hours, the Explorers decided to stay for the night, hoping they wouldn’t get woken up by the police banging on the windows in the middle of the night (actually, only Sidekick Sue worries about these things; Captain Mark lives by the code of “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission”).  The Explorers tried to stay inconspicuous watching TV in the dark. Later, Sidekick Sue spent a few hours working on her computer in a small corner of the sleeping berth with a small desk light.  By lights-out, it appeared that no one was going to enforce the rules, so the Explorers enjoyed a night on the dock (although the water was not as calm as their private anchorage the night before).

The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge to Canada

Singer Castle

Boldt Castle hidden behind the trees

Walking around Alex Bay

The “carnival” atmosphere of Alex Bay.

Clayton was a bit cleaner and nicer than Alex Bay.

Billy’s cousin Tom, who entertained us for a while.

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.