Oct 6&7

New York, New York

You know, I like people and I like wine. I like to sip wine, but I would not like to take a bath in it. New York is full of energy and wonderful people, but for me, it was too much.

Beverley's youngest daughter, Brooke came to visit us. I think the visit was a success. They went shopping while I cleaned and fixed the boat. We both got done what we wanted.

We stayed at the anchorage at the 79th street marina. It was pretty rolly, but well situated near the center of Manhattan with easy subway access. Initially, we had a long trip through the anchorage to the dingy dock (just visible in the distance), but we moved on the second day as mooring balls became available.

Amongst places we visited were central park and ground zero where the Towers once stood. There is not a lot to see, but the site is pretty sobering nevertheless.

Hudson River (cont)

As we headed down the Hudson, some of the houses became a bit more serious. Some became ridiculous. The competing traffic started to demand more respect also.

As we approached New York City, Beverley seemed to get more into the enjoyment of the trip. New York and the visit from her daughter were looming closer.

Hudson River

We had originally meant to spend more time in Waterford. New York beconned, however, as Brooke, Beverley's youngest daughter was going to join us there. The weather was still holding so, after grocery shopping with our new friends, we headed to Castleford where we could pick up a mooring ball for $5.00.

Once we arrived, we helped raise the mast on the Nordhaven and everyone helped raise the mast on the Stray Cat. All went smoothly - especially the mast on the Stray Cat.

It felt great to be a sail boat once again!!!

Of course, this meant that the rest of the trip down the Hudson would be windless but one must make sacrifices from time to time.

We gassed up and left early for Newburg where the Torches restaurent and marina offers free dockage to anyone buying dinner. Again, excellent company was enjoyed by all.

In the morning, we left for New York. Although we were sad to leave our friends behind, we were looking forward to a few days on our own.

Waterford - Junction of Erie Canal and Hudson River

Waterford is a great spot to stop for anyone repeating this trek. Several others obviously felt the same way.

We joined several others for dinner at a Celtic Pub. Judi & Bill and Susan from the Nordhaven had been joined by Lee & Joanne and Herb and Ellie on an Island Trader 40 or 42. We were all in luck as they had a jam session going as evening entertainment.


As one of the musicians remarked, it was a damn shame that we were all so obviously depressed!!!

I guess everyone need to vent a little steam.

Oswego and Erie Canals

After fixing the steering, we got going again on the 29th. It did not take long, however, until the gremlins visited us again.

When starting the motor (a 2000 Yamaha 25 HP 4 stroke), it made terrible noises, and then ran normally. I am not sure if you are supposed to do this, but we ran the motor the rest of the day without stopping it in the locks.

We made it as far as Brewerton, where the Erie Canal meets Lake Oneda. I was hoping to find a Yamaha dealer. The problem turned out to be a spring in the bendix gear which was been chewed by the pinion gear and the flywheel and was preventing them from engaging properly. I cleaned out the pieces of the very light but broken spring and the starter seems to work perfectly, gravity performing the same function as the spring is supposed to fulfill. I would still like to replace the spring, however, as I do not believe that Yamaha would put it there if it was not necessary, at least for some applications.

I could not find a Yamaha dealer within reasonable range and the most likely source of parts was closed (Sunday). The only grocery store we could find in Brewerton turned out to be a gas station convenience store - not the place for major provisioning.

As a result, we set out across Lake Oneda to Sylvain Shores, where we had been assured that we would find everything we needed. All I will say is that the person we talked to must have very modest needs.

We did, however, fall into the wake of a Nordhaven 48 that was traveling only very slightly faster than us. This was critical and convenient to us. Of the 26 or so locks that we traversed on the Erie, about half would operate only on the hour for boats headed East. In many cases, we could not quite travel the required distance in the alloted time period. By feeding the ponies (WFO), we could arrive soon enough after the Nordhaven (who could cover the distance) that the locks would still be receptive to us. Unfortunately, that meant that our gas consumption probably increased by at least 50% (6.5 to 7 nm/usg down to around 5 nm/usg). Now when I complain of this to our powerboat friends, they seem to have little sympathy, but my sailing and Greenhouse Gas conscious friends may appreciate.

Of course, the best part of this relationship was the companionship and the tips we received from our new friends who had done this trip several times before.

While Beverley found the locks to be a bit of a bore, some of the scenery, and especially early morning, to be beautiful. Many of the towns have free docks and often that includes free power. They really try hard to make you feel welcome and to want to stop for a visit.

I really felt that it would be good to take more time for this trip. We were conscious, however, that the weather would not remain the same forever, and it would be good to reach the Hudson River, to turn the corner and to make some distance South before it got too cool.

Into the US

Up to this point, we had been blessed with beautiful weather. On the 27th, however, we woke to heavy rain. As we made our run to Cape Vincent, the weather broke and the skies started to clear.

Clearing in was relatively uneventful. I had been forwarned that we would need a US Customs decal and I had it. When you buy it over the internet, you have a choice of delivery methods: first class mail or UPS. They warn you that mail can take up to 6 weeks but that UPS would take only 4 business days. Figuring that we would need both the 07 and 08 decals, I ordered the 07 one with UPS delivery (as we had only about a week before our departure) and let the 08 one be delivered by mail. They both arrived on the same day: 3 business days after I ordered them.

We were originally going to spend the day in Cape Vincent, provisioning at our leisure, but the day promised to be calm and the forecast for the next few promised strong winds, so we elected to head across Lake Ontario to Oswego where we would enter the Oswego Canal. Leaving Cape Vincent at about 1:00 PM, we arrived at Oswego none to early, at 7:00 PM, and just as things were getting dark.

We did our shopping in the moring of the 28th and then, in the afternoon, set out to traverse a few locks, into the land of the Oswego Canal and free docks. Unfortunately, just in front of a dam with water flowing over the top, our steering failed. Out went the anchor double quick. Luckily, the wind was blowing us away from the dam. After an unsuccessful attempt to repair the steering with hardware on board, we used to motor to steer us into the dock at the next lock station. Our fold up bicycles proved to be very handy, enabling me to return to a hardware store I had visited earlier in the day. Some turning blocks in the steering system were held in place by #10 SS wood screws. One of these had sheared and then another pulled out of the wook. I replaced the screws with 1/4 inch through bolts. That should hold much better.

I guess all is well that ends well, but that certainly gave us both a scare. Better that it failed in a canal than on Lake Ontario or on the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately, there are no other pieces of the steering system that are fastened to wood. Not too far in the future, I think I will replace the wood with something that cannot rot and will not weaken with age as, even with the through bolts, I will always be suspicious of this part of our steering system.

Rideau Continued

The Rideau System is something that every boater should do at least once. It is steeped in history. The locks and their operation have been kept much as they have been for 175 years. The canal has now been accepted as a world heritage site.

After transiting 3 locks, we were fortunate to meet our good friends Bob and Arlene for lunch at the Opinicon at Chaffey's Locks. The food was truly excellent and the price was excellent. Unfortunately, they do not serve liquor, wine or beer. Also, be forwarned that they accept only cash or cheques.

That evening, after clearing the 4 locks at Jones Falls, we anchored in Morton bay where we took a shot at moon shots. In the fall, the locks only operate for 6 hours per day, so we had to rush if we were to make progress.

On the 26th, we managed to clear the last lock at Kingston. We still had Canadian beef on board which we could not take through US Customs, so we anchored overnight at Brakey Bay on the Canadian side of Wolfe Island while we consumed the last of the potentially offending substances.