Homeward Bound

(Written Monday, July 27th)

As I write this post we are about 10 miles from Oswego, NY and about 45 miles from Kingston, ON. It’s been a busy and long week as we have transited part of the Erie canal and all of the Oswego canal. We were raised or lowered through a total of 30 locks in the four days it took us to make it from Waterford to Oswego.

I really like going through the canals. The scenery is beautiful and it was quiet and tranquil. Every so often we would go through a small town and see civilization. The locks are fun and a welcome break from miles of motoring. There are places to tie up usually at each lock, and aside from the $25 for a 10-day pass, there are no other docking fees (unless you want to stay at one of the few marinas along the way). The only thing that was not so attractive was that it rained for all 4 days we were in the canals. As hardcore fair-weather sailors we found this less than desirable. But besides complaining every once in a while, we sucked it up and endured the damp and dreary weather. If the weather had of been nice, we would have probably lingered a little longer and explored some of the town/cities along the way. To do the distance that we did in the four days, most of our days began before 7am and we were on the go for about 12 hours before we tied up for the night.

The current is strong this time as a result of the high water levels. There was also a lot of debris in the canal due to the high water levels earlier in the spring. Logs, branches and sometimes whole trees were obstacles which we had to avoid. The water was quite turbulent as we entered the locks if they were close to dams. Some lock tenders were talking about the possibility that the locks may get shut down again because the water levels were so high. But luckily we got through with no problems, and the rain diminished.

This morning we raised the mast and turned the boat back into a sailboat. I’m not sure if the mast has gotten heavier, or we’ve gotten weaker, but it took a little more heaving than I remember to lift the mast up. Or perhaps we’ve just forgotten how heavy it was to begin with. But after a brief struggle, some grunting and straining of muscles, it was up. It only took us about 1 ½ hours total to get everything set up and ready to go.

(steamboat)

We finally saw the sun this morning and the temperatures are predicted to be in the mid 80’s. Unfortunately there isn’t going to be any wind, we were looking forward to a good day’s sail, but maybe tomorrow. As we motored out into Lake Ontario we were both looking forward to closing the loop and setting foot back onto Canadian soil.

We are planning to anchor the night at Main Duck Island (about ½ way to Kingston). That way we can head out early on Tuesday and arrive in Kingston, giving us lots of time to clear back into Canada, walk around and celebrate. We then plan on heading for Mallorytown Landing, the place where we launched the boat, and get the boat taken out maybe on Thursday, if all goes to plan.