Sept 25 Update

Sept 23

We get the dinghy ready for travels today. We go 1.75 miles to the dinghy dock at the Holiday Inn where we pay $2 to use the dock for the day. We take our trash to the dumpster and head out for the ½ hour walk to Food Lion. We do not need too much but want to have enough to finish the trip. There are not many places after Norfolk for full supplies and we are not sure we will stop in Norfolk proper.  We load the dinghy and head back to the boat. We just get unloaded when Zahnisers Marina calls and lets us know our Oil filter is in. As we head back out in the dinghy a French national Beneteau sail boat decides there is enough room in our cove for 2 boats. He will be close to shore in a West wind but the next 2 days are North, Northeast. So he should be fine.

 

Sept 24

The weather is going to get worse with possible 30 plus knot winds tonight. While the anchorage is really protected I am not 50 anymore, so if we have a problem in the middle of the night, with 2 anchors out, can we handle the problem.  We decide that we are better at dock with Calvert’s Marina offering Boat US members $1 per foot rates. We move at noon to Back Creek and Calvert’s. 

Sept 25

I do not think the wind got over 25, but it has been this morning. Raining steady and winds over 20 knots and gusting. We will sit here until we try the Bay in the morning. If the Bay is still too rough we will go to anchor until Saturday.

Our potential schedule is a 50 mile run to Fleets Bay, then a 47 to 65 mile run to Norfolk, a 40 mile run through the Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City. From there we need two days to get home. 5 travel days ,depending on weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept 22 update

Sept 12

We see 2 knots of current today in our favor with a North wind that is to hold to 10 or less. At 1 pm the following sea is building to 2-3 feet and we are in yesterday’s situation. We pull in to anchor but have zero protection so we end up at dock again. What a waste of a great day.

We dock at Half Moon Bay for the night. Later in the day Daybreak pulls in like we did to avoid the rough river chop of the Hudson.

Sept 13

The next morning we head to NY with the potential for rain but we feel it will hold off until later in the afternoon allowing us to get docked and relax. It is Saturday and the traffic in NY Harbor is heavy with sightseer’s ferries, taxis, sailing school and races in the channel. We get docked early and get everything put to bed just prior to the rains. The rain set in for the day and evening. We are staying at the Liberty Landing Marina on the New Jersey side of the harbor. To get to Manhattan we need to take a ferry across. We did this the last time we were here by boat and met Alice’s cousin. This time we will explore the New Jersey side. We are right next to Liberty Park which is about 110 acres right on the Hudson River. Liberty Scientific Museum is right here and is quite a sight.

Day break is using the same marina. We discuss approach to the next week’s travels as we both are trying to get home. He goes to the Chesapeake and of course we want New Bern. 

Sept 14

Alice does laundry and then we walk to the potential anchorage we may use if we are stuck in NY for the next week. The anchorage is behind the Statue of Liberty but next to Liberty Park about a mile further in to shore. We never would have found it if we had not walked there. Of course now we have to walk about 1 3/4 miles return to the marina. The boss is not happy with this 4 mile excursion. We relax for a bit and then take the ferry across the canal to supper. Nice places that are local spots frequented by the neighborhood.

We only have one day next week that the Atlantic will let us run nicely and that is Monday. So we decide to get to Atlantic City via the Intracoastal Waterway.  We go outside to Manasquan and then inside to Atlantic City. Then we pray for moderation on the Atlantic. 

Sept 15

We head out early to Manasquan, NJ a 40 mile trip hoping to make the inlet prior to high tide so we can continue inside to Atlantic City with the high tide keeping us from going aground. We plan to anchor at the end of Barnegat Bay by 4 pm.

Daybreak is running behind us and a trawler calls to ask him a question about his boat and he recommends just going on to Barnegat Inlet and save some time. That is where he is going for the evening. He also says his forecast for Tuesday has the Atlantic laying down some from today and we could possibly make Cape May on Tuesday. That would be great as we could spend the weekend in Annapolis.  He has vast experience with the inlet and says it is really quite easy. We are riding 2-4 foot seas on our port stern quarter and need to maintain 10 knots to keep from getting rolled all the time. His suggestion would cut 2 hours off the trip so we go for it.

Barnegat Inlet is not that bad but if you had SW winds and an outgoing tide it could be a bear. As it was it was not hard at all and we had no trouble getting back in the bay to anchor.

 

 

Anchored in Barnegat Bay

Kenny took these 5 pictures as we left New York Harbor

It was early

                                                       coming at us

 

 

New York Harbor. We run next to the channel to avoid constant freighter movement.

Sept 16 

Tuesday was another story. Forecast called for 2-3 seas from the East with a 13 second period. Will we got 2-4 building to 3-5 from the SE right on our port quarter. We finally had to slow down to 6-7 knots and still we were hammered. It took 4 hours to do 25 miles and I wandered if we would make that.

The Hatteras 48 left a few hours after us and he got hit hard with 30 knot winds. Bouncing so hard he lost his Boston Whaler Dinghy right off the top of his boat.  The straps actually broke that held the dinghy to it davits.

We left early and that saved us from the major part of the storm.

We are stuck here until at least Monday unless something changes. Given those conditions I got a Retina specialist appointment for tomorrow, rented a car to get there and will change oil while we sit here.   

Sept 17

We dinghy over to Gardner’s Marina which is part of the Atlantic City Aquarium. They graciously have allowed us to leave the dinghy there all day while we get groceries, oil, and make my Dr. appointment in the afternoon. Enterprise picks us up at 8:30 am and we go check out the car and do some of the shopping. 8 gallons of oil, bottled water, my ICE lemonade drink looks like a dinghy full for the first time. We head back to the marina to unload and deliver to the boat.

Daybreak calls and he has talked to Tow Boat US and they say we can make it to Cape May on the inside, intracoastal, using high tides only but it will take a while.

I tell Kenny we cannot go until the am as I will not miss the Retina shot now, so he should go ahead and we will see him later down the pike.

As we dinghy across the channel we see Tonic the Hatteras going to sea side. Once we unload the dingy onto the boat I call Kenny and he is seaside in 4 foot swells 16 seconds apart and making great time. I check the weather forecast and we should have the same for tomorrow. The Lords helping Alice get home.

We finish shopping for real groceries and load the dinghy. Alice sits on the dinghy and I take the car back. We finally finish loading the boat by 6 pm, so we will change oil another day. 

Sept 18

We are off at 6:30 am to check out the weather on the Atlantic. Just like they called for, 10 knot winds from the West, 4 foot swells 13-16 seconds apart from the SE. We burn fuel as we try to make Cape May by 11 am and fill with fuel at Utsch’s marina. We leave at 11:45 am to a rising tide in Delaware Bay and an even to half knot current advantage. If we burn fuel we can make the whole trip before dark and miss the small craft warnings for tomorrow.

We make Summit North Marina in the middle of the C+D canal by 6:30 pm and tuck in for the night.

We plan to get up early clean the boat in and out and make 15 miles to an anchorage before the weather turns really nasty.

Blue Heron sitting in a tree next to our boat at the Summit North Marina

 

Sept 19

Morning shows a few more minor repairs than we knew we had so we decide we better sit here and fix the problems before moving on. I need electric for the drill not only for repairs but also for the oil pump.

The bolts on the port fender holder have sheared off and must be drilled and tapped for new bolts. Try this without a vice or drill press, especially since you are working with stainless and bolts ¼ inch or smaller.

By staying here for the oil change we can leave the containers at the marina and only have to carry the used oil until we find someone to take it.

Sept 20

Up nice and early again with a 63 mile run to West Creek, just below Annapolis. We have a nice run with neutral current for the most part until we hit the Baltimore area. Then we remember it is Saturday and the tourist trade is out. Waves are now 2-3 foot from all directions for the next 10-15 miles as power and sail take their time at leisure.

Two big sail boat races outside of Annapolis in 10 knot or less wind. They must be big time as a 70-100 foot ferry has a boat load watching the one race. They are stacked outside as far as South river so we are careful as we pass through.

We decide to not go into West River proper as that is Galesville and probably quite full for the weekend. Instead we use an off shoot called Rhode River with 2-3 promising hideaways. We skip the first possible as too open to the river traffic and go ½ mile further turn to port and it must be a great place as we see 20-30 boats already anchored. We still have the weekend river traffic to live with until 8 pm but we are totally protected.

 

                                   Hard to see all the boats in here, but look close.

 

Sept 21.

We leave the anchorage at Rhode River at 7 am heading for the Solomon’s. We have a 40 mile trip with 1 foot or less waves, a ½ knot current in our favor, and a good spot to stay anchored until the foul weather blows through on Monday and Tuesday.

We fuel up at Carver Marina as they are $3.50 a gallon and we will not see cheap fuel again until Norfolk, 2-3 days away.

We anchor up St. Johns Creek in a small, 1 boat only please, cove called Lusby cove. Small hills on all sides in a residential area should protect us from the coming 20-25 knot winds.

Sept 22

We look to be stuck for more than 1-2 days. Solomon’s weather today was reporting 20 knot NW winds gusting to 25/30. We saw maybe 15 in gusts in our anchorage.Tomorrow has seas at 2-3 foot and the same on Wednesday. Below us on the bay they are calling for 3-4 foot waves thru Friday. Well if we had to be stuck this is the place. Great anchorage and supplies an easy 1-2 mile dinghy ride in the creek. We will see.

 

We will dinghy around tomorrow getting into the tourist trade for something to do. 

 

 

Sept 12 update

Sept 8

 

We set off today to make Waterford. 10 locks and 32 miles. The river continues to widen and we get more and more homes as it widens and deepens.

 

We let Daybreak a Holland 38 lead as they cruise at a faster speed. Just before the flight of 5 locks dropping us a total of 150 plus feet we run into our only closed guard gate. Here we have to wait until boats coming this way clear past us so we can go through.

Day Break leads as we head into the flight of 5 locks.

 

Next big project. Bring to Oriental for a party barge.

The only guard gate that is manned daily to stop traffic prior to entering the flight locks down to Waterford

 

Day break calls on the cell phone to inform us Waterford has plenty of space. When we arrive there are only 2 spots left on the low dock and maybe 3 on the high concrete walls as barges and sailing school schooners have used the balance of the space. We are lucky to find room.

We spend the balance of the day cleaning boat, checking oil etc. before calling it a night.

Sept 9

We start the day grocery shopping. We need to fill up to last to Cape May. I need another shot in the eye so we will try to use the same Dr. as last time in Atlantic City.  Therefore we will have a car to shop with. This is a real pain as timing for an outside run on the Atlantic, with weather to hit Atlantic City or Cape May is nearly impossible.

Sept 10

We head to Troy and our last real lock prior to the Dismal Swamp. We time it so we are right there at the 8 am opening so we can get a reasonably good day in. We took few pictures to show the difference in the Canal width and the Hudson River. We hope to break the run on the Hudson into 3 days, stopping at anchorages along the way. The problem is a lot of anchorages are really not as good as projected by various souls who give us advice. Active captain gives a good write up for Saugerties Creek. WE follow a Coast Guard Cutter in and feel this is a good omen since this is a big 65 foot boat. Say no more. The creek is about 150 yards wide and narrows down as you pass the coast guard station to marinas on one side and houses and docks on the other. If we anchor in the middle with the north wind we will close ½ the creek. We move on to Kingston Makes for a longer day at 51miles but we really have nothing else to do. Kinston is a great spot as you sit in a creek between 200 foot cliff sides.

 

Sept 11

We move out into a 10 knot south wind that eventually builds to 15 with gusts of 20 into a south running current of 2 knots. We leave at 7 am and by 11 the waves we are pounding through are 2-3 foot.

It is not a real comfortable ride and by 11 the crew is thinking about laying down on the job again.

We find a marina on the side that has room at Poughkeepsie, NY and call it a day. Four foot ides a full moon gives us 2-2.5 knot currents that are great in your favor but you need the wind to be going the same way. Even so if the wind is strong enough when the current changes you lose.

 

The Hudson is really big after running all the canals.

 

 

 

 

We got really nice West Point pictures this time.

 

Sept 12

We see 2 knots of current today in our favor with a North wind that is to hold to 10 or less. At 1 pm the following sea is building to 2-3 feet and we are in yesterday’s situation. We pull in to anchor but have zero protection so we end up at dock again. What a waste of a great day.

 

 

 

Sept 7 update

Sept 6

We are undecided whether to move or not because of the weather. Alice goes to do laundry and I try a new Isinglass cleaner. 210 is the name and it is better than the stuff recommended by Isinglass. Alice returns and we decide to chance it. We push our luck at lock 16 and figure we can make 14 and

Canajoharie. Well about a mile from lock 14 just before Canajoharie the winds start to pipe up from the west gusting to over 25. We put the boat up to 12 knots and try to make the upper wall at lock 14 to tie off until the storm blows through. We make it.

We now have to wait for the winds to die down somewhat as the west wind is pushing straight into the lock and if the crew misses her assignment we could just go out the other end of the lock. Finally the winds drop to around 15 and over the crews objection we head for the entry. Alice tags the first hanging line and cleats it off as I stop the boat’s forward movement and drop down to take her place. We make it and need to go ½ mile to tie up at the River Walk Park docks. Electric post is too far so we skip the electric and head for the showers. It was a cloudy day with a 10 mile an hour wind from the west. Nice temperature to travel at never getting over 75 degrees. We see quite a few NY canal working boats today and several big cruise boats.

 

We also traversed dreaded Lock 17 today, this springs fiasco for us. No great problems today but I was so busy the first time through I did not realize that the door on the eastern end does not open on hinges to port and starboard, but lifts up from the bottom of the lock until you can clear it with 21 foot of clearance.

 

Docked At Ilion for Saturday

                                       

A canal boat coming in to Ilion for fuel. Ilion sells this company 10000 gallons of gas a year.

Small tug and dredger tied up for the weekend as crews go home.

 

Lock 17 the deepest on the Erie at 40.5 feet. Bottom picture shows door UP.

 

 

The canal changes almost everyday.

Sept 7

Heading east again on the canal.
Uneventful stop at Canajoharie. We walked to town to try a diner listed as great only to find it closes Saturday at 5. So we head a ½ block further to an Italian place that does a great home cooked meal.

Still raining lightly but not a big deterrent.

We head out this morning to lock 8. We do not want to make Waterford until they have docks available.

They had a Tug Boat convention there this weekend so we will wait until people head home.

We just clear lock 11 when the lockmaster informs us that lock 9 is down and may be 2-3 hours before it opens again. We stop at Amsterdam where we can pump out and get internet. Not great speed but I can update the trip log. Probably will be here all night as the canal has its own timetable.

We were here before and to get groceries we need a taxi. We can wait.
Another boat arrives at Amsterdam awaiting Lock 9 resolution. We finally learn that the lock is ready at 3 pm. Both boats decide to wait it out till morning as we would only make lock 8 before stopping and we do not really know the condition of the walls there for tying up.

            

 

 

Set 5 update

Sept 1

We decide to move down the canal and forego Niagara Falls. We move 18 statute miles to our first lock, number 35 at Lockport. This is a flight lock of 2 going down. From here we run the gantlet of 15 foot clearance bridges. While we have very few locks on this run today we do have a lot of lift bridges.

 

 

 

Town of Spencerport our first stop on the western end of the Erie Canal. This is one of a series of lift bridges that move straight up via hydraulic lifts on both ends. At first it was really novel but after 15 of them oh well.
 We call the bridge tender as we approach the 1000 foot mark and ask for a lift. Normally you only wait a few minutes unless the bridge tender is running 2-3 bridges then you pray the traffic is light so you are the top priority and are the lead boat through. We are running east and we have yet to see a boat.

We have 15 lift bridges today. We will run 56 nautical miles, 15 lift bridges and 2 locks on our way to Spencerville. We have a free dock, electric, and water at Spencerville.

The western towns prior to Oneida Lake have taken State and Federal matching funds to build up their water front area to bring boats into the towns. Free is the answer so we can chose any of a dozen towns in this first ½ of the canal to stop at.

The funds were also used to make running, walking and bicycle paths next to the canals. Today we see more bikes and runners than we see boats.

The dug canal with bike and walking, and running paths in the left. We run miles and miles of this on the Western end and see a lot of users on the paths.
We are mainly in farm country today with corn, beans, vineyards, and orchards our main scenery.

The towns vary from2000 to 12000 in population. The larger towns have some industry still working while the balance are working on the tourist trade.

We see a lot of canal boats tied up as we move through the towns. These are rentals for the most part and are 35-40 foot long with single inboard engines.

 

Sept 2

We get a 6:30 am start today heading as far as the weather will allow. Major thunderstorms are forecast from noon on, so we plan accordingly. We run into more locks today and they were all down locks. We are being lowered 20 or so feet down in each lock. We run 37.5 NM with 6 locks and 1 Lift Bridge and stop at Lyons just before the rain really started. We got some heavy rain but missed the hail and high winds.

We saw one boat on the trip today moving west and none are in the locks but us. We feel like we are the only boat moving on the water.

 The canal changed today from one that was dug to one that was blasted through limestone formations. Same depth of 8-12 feet, but a bit narrower in spots. Just like the rest of the trip today we are the only boat docked in Lyons.

The look we see out of the command bridge. Limestone and trees.

Sept 3

We leave at 6:30 a.m., heading to lock 26.  Light mist covers the water and makes seeing a little difficult. It is not quite a fog but it could get there quickly.

 

We put sweat shirts on and open the front screen so we can stay in the canal. We beat the lock master as we arrived at 5 minutes till 8. The locks are now opening at 7a.m., we were told, but our man did not make it until 8. We tied off for the few minutes it took for him to open. We do not see another boat all day going either direction until we reach Brewerton.

 

                                                              Lock 33

The canal changes but does not change. While not actually boring it becomes somewhat monotonous when you run 20-30 miles between locks. From Lyons we run 58.4 nm, and 3 locks to Ess Kay yards for the night. We need fuel and a pump out. We meet two couples who spend their summers on the canal traveling back and forth over the state of New York lakes and canals before leaving the boat and going home for the winter. One has a dinghy lift we really like made by Sea Wise of Canada. It is like a Weaver system but the engine stays on and the lift is electrical. I forgot to get a picture but the website is seawisedavits.com.

We did not get in and fueled until 4 pm so we do not have a lot of time to get ready for the run tomorrow, but since it is only 30 miles it is not a big deal.

We see a nice Kady Krogen 42 at Ess Kay from the mid 1980’s, NICE, send money.

 

                          Erie Canal Tugs, barges, cranes and dredges siting at dock.

 

Guard Gate- they lower the 2 panels to reduce the flow of water going down the canal

a series of pictures trying to show the 15 foot clearance effect on the boat rider as they pass under a steel RR bridge.

We have about 1.5 foot of clearance over our solar panels.

 

 

 

Sept 4 

I get up a little later at 5:30 a.m. and turn on the TV, check the weather on the internet, free internet at Ess kay and it works. I thought I would check the Remington museum hours so we could plan our day Friday and Saturday in Ilion. It was a good thing I did as the museum is not open on weekends. We need to move as we now need to cover 54 nm and 4 locks to get in to Ilion Thursday evening.

I get Alice up and we move out at 7:45 a.m... Nice day and an easy run across Oneida Lake to Sylvan Beach. The run across is 2.5 hours and a few miles to lock 22. The wall here is over 2000 foot long for boats to tie up to. This spring we filled the wall with over 30 boats going north, now we see 2 boats heading west.

WE have an uneventful run to Ilion, except for the increase in debris in the river. At Sylvan Beach the river the Erie follows changes to the Mohawk River. 

 

 

 

 The level of tree limbs increases at least 3 fold. I do not know why. In addition the lock breakdowns increase

Guard gate with one half closed keeping boaters from dam on the right.

I asked the navigator which side I was to follow and was told the one I could see through.

. We just received a notice from NYC that in one week the water level between lock 11-12 will drop 4 feet for several days. That means the East Erie is shut down until the water rises. We hope to be gone.

 

Sept 5

We walk the town of Ilion today on our way to the Remington museum. Not much here. The major employer of course is Remington Arms. The museum was nice showing a progression from the first gun to the Remington 1100 Shot gun. Rifles, pistols, typewriters, and bicycles from days of old. It is not a big building and 1.5 hours covers the lot unless you read every gun write up. They have a nice store where items are priced reasonably and even have sales going on.

We do not know what we will do tomorrow. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast but we have seen those forecasts still let us move all day before. We only have 2 more days on the canal until we hit Waterford and the last major federal lock at Albany.