Canada

We finished up the Erie Canal section Friday afternoon by fueling up t Ess-Kay Boatyard and Marina on the west end of Lake Oneida, as we entered the Oneida River, then tied to the wall at the bottom of lock 23. The last time we put on fuel was in Myrtle Beach. The next morning went on down river to its junction with the Oswego River, took a right turn and locked through six locks on the Oswego to the town of Oswego, tied up just above the last lock going into Lake Ontario. We got there about mid day so we could go to Walmart and restock groceries. Had some issues, Cindy's rear tire kept going flat, so I got a new tube at Walmart, and some plumbing fittings for the propane tank at Lowe's. We met some nice folks also doing the loop and had a pleasant happy hour Saturday, then went to a brew pub across the river for a great beer and a very bad burrito. Yesterday morning we locked through the final lock and crossed Lake Ontario. It was delightful and flat. It can get really rough, but we picked a good day. The water temp was 36 degrees out in the middle. Early afternoon we checked in to a small marina on the Canadian side to clear customs by phone. We had concerns about our supplies and liquor being dutied, but the woman on the phone never said a word. Sadly, we pitched the basil plant I had been growing, assuming it would be contraband due to the soil it was growing in. It would not have been an issue. What was an issue is after navigating out of the marina yesterday after checking in, we lost all the detail on the chartplotter. It was my fault for not checking, but the loaded charts didn't cover Canada. Internet access is an issue however. So far Canada is 3rd world in terms of wireless telecom. It is really slow and sporadic. Our internet in the Bahamas was far better, and over a much more remote area. Last night we anchored in a bay about 25 miles from the beginning of the Trent Severn waterway. We had Mute Swans, Loons and Eagles around the boat last night, and loads of frogs croaking. This morning we are enroute to Trent and will lock up the first lock hopefully mid morning.

Add captionswan at our camp last night

tied to a wall in Oswego

good beer, bad burrito

crossing Lake Ontario, note the water temp

breaking camp this morning

took a right here to Oswego

Erie Canal

Lock 6 Oswego River taken from on the boat

Happy Hour

Flat day on Lake Oneida

Erie Canal

In the Erie Canal

The past 3 days we have left NYC worked our way up the udson and into the Erie Canal. We pulled out of the marina in Jersey City at 0500 Monday morning and it was beautiful as the sun came up. The lower Hudson Valley has a lot of relief and the Pallisades are cliffs that line the bank. It's also very deep, 100 feet plus at times. As we went north, the Catskills became apparent, geographic relief we have not been accoustom to seeing. Made camp and anchored mid Hudson at Saugerties, a small town on the west bank. It has significance because it marks the end of salt water, although the tide will persist to Troy at the first lock. The next day passed through Albany and the upper Hudson which was much less scenic. From the water it is pretty unimpressive, lots of tank farms and industrial dockage. Got to Troy mid afternoon and locked through, and entered the flight of locks at Waterford, taking us up 5 steps of 35 feet each, all over a two mile stretch. We pulled over for the night at the top of the 5th lock, tying up to the lock wall there. A bike/running trail parallels the canal most of its length, so Cindy got a run in and I biked back to Troy to the NAPA store to pick up an oil filter and changed the oil on the main engine yesterdy morning. It was easy getting to NAPA, but the return trip was like biking up Knuutti hill for 3 miles. Yesterday we proceeded west on the Mohawk River portion of the Erie Canal, and camped at the wall on the upper end of Lock 12. The Mohawk River is gorgeous, green, wooded with hardwoods and lots of farms nestled on the banks. Today we'll continue west for a full travel day as far as we can get, hoping to get to Oswego by tomorrow night. A note to anyone with android or apple devices, we are locatable on NEBO. It is a free downloadable app but not windows compatable. You can then type in our boat in the search box and see where we are in real time.

Passing West Point

The Pallisades on the lower Hudson

Leaving NYC early morning

Colgate clock near the marina we left in downtown NYC

Lighthouse at the Saugerties anchorage.

beautiful downtown Albany

Low end of lock 7 with the gate closed.

in the lock after rising to the next level

View from the top

Lots of logs floating in the Mohawk

Ledges along the Mohawk

Approching a lock on the left

view from our wall tie up lst night

Tie up, typical, before leaving this morning

New York City

We have spent the last 2 days at the Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, right across the Hudson River from Manhatten and the World Trade Center. We anchored Friday night just off the Staue of Liberty and pulled into the marina mid morning Saturday, June 1. It's a huge marina with 500+ slips, and gave us excellent access to the downtown New York area and Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. There was a ferry just a hundred yards from our slip that takes people across the Hudson to downtown every 30 minutes, so on Saturday afternoon we did just that. I wanted to see the 9-11 Memorial, and then we found a number of other places to see, St. Paul's Chapel, which dates to the 1700's, and George Washington prayed after bing elected, and Trinity Church where Andrew Hamiltonand Robert Fulton are buried. Then found the National Archives and a Smithsonian exhibit on the native population of the western hemisphere. At the end of the afternoon went looking for a beer and I really wanted a cheese steak sandwich, so we walked into a pub. Cindy noted it was all men and no women and that they looked at her funny and I probably wouldn't want to be there, so we found another bar with a good beer, bad sandwich and worse service. Yesterday I did a little work on our propane line which developed a very slow leak. Biked to an Ace Hardware through a bad New Jersey neighborhood to an Ace Hardware that had no hardware. Unbelievable. So I fixed it for now and will get the fittings I need down the line. In the afternoon we took the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty which was just awesome. In the evening we got together with 8 other boats that are doing the loop for a little happy hour and today are heading up the Hudson.

Just Incredible

the viw from our slip at night

Andrew Hamilton's grave

St Paul's Chapel

One of the two pools at the site of the Twin Towers Memorial

entering New York harbor

Paddling with Lady Liberty

Not much I can add

Ellis Island

World Trade Center near the Twin Towers Memorial

Heading for NYC

It was a short day up the coast from Cape May to Atlantic City, but interesting. About halfway through the 40 mile trip, the fog rolled in, thick, visibility  down to maybe 100 feet. We came through the inlet to Atlantic City using instrument flight rules, but no issues. Made camp in a little lagoon just off the entrnce with a couple of sailboats, one of which is another Looper couple we met and talked to. Lowered the dinghy and went to the city marina where they let us tie up for free and took the Jitney (a small transport bus) to the "Boardwalk" for a hike and to see what the fuss is all about. It's sort of a cross between the state fair and Disneyworld and Las Vegas. A couple of hours was plenty of civilization for me.This morning we are headed up the coast 85 miles to New York. It's clear and the seas are not too bad. With luck will be at or near the Statue of Liberty tonight.

Beach access from the boardwalk

Caesar's Palace

view from the bow going down the channel leaving this morning

Leaving Atlantic City this morning

New Jersey Korean War memorial, very cool

More boardwalk view

Fog on the water

Hiking the boardwalk

The casinos at night 

New Jersey

An update on our travels. We left the boat in the Chesapeake on April 25 and flew home for a month for chores and a wedding. My great neic Janey got married in Lansing, Michgan on May 17, so we drove from Ely to Lansing and back over a 3 day stretch for the wedding and had a wonderful visit with family. On May 25, we flew back to Baltimore, rented a car from Enterprise and returned to the boat where it was kept at Abell Custom Marine/Gingerville Yachting Center, which is a boatard with a few slips. This was Memorial Weekend and rather than tackle the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal on a busy weekend, we spent Sunday and Monday provisioning and doing  few boat chores. Tuesday morning, the Abell Marine office opened, we picked up the packages I had ordered, squared up and pulled out, heading for the C and D canal. Right off, the autopilot wasn't working. I tried to work on it under way, but couldn't do much. Tusday night we stopped at an anchorage at Chesapeake City 3 miles into the canal and weathered a thunderstorm and I fixed the autopilot for now at least. I think the drive motor is failing and needs to be replaced. After checking the Raymarine website, they suggested hitting the motor "gently but firmly" with a mallet. I used a hammer and it works fine now. Yesterday we went through the canal at daybreak to catch the tide. The currents through the canal are 2 knots, then down Delaware Bay which is notorious for being rough. It was a flat day and an easy ride, pulling into Cape May, NJ early afternoon. The route cuts across the Cape May Canal for 3 miles or so to avoid the shoals at the tip of Cape May, and we anchored half way across the canal where there are a couple of reasonable anchorages just off the Coast Guard station. A small plane crashed mid day yesterday right off of the tip of Cape May killing the pilot, but the VHF radio was buzzing with chatter from the rescue teams. This morning we left about 6:30 and are now off shore heading for Atlantic City, then New York tomorrow if the weather holds. Every afternoon we have been riding out thunderstorms. The sailboat anchored behind us last night was blown off her anchor onto the beach. It was unoccupied, and the owner is going to have a surprise when he gets back.

Abell Custom Marine

Lighthouse on the Chesapeake

The Bay Bridge

The Bay Bridge from below

The Dole Pineapple boat. We have passed a ton of freighters the passed 2 days

Delaware Bay light house

Nuclear power plant on the Delaware Bay

Pretty farm at the top of the Cheaspeake