Erie Yacht Club, End of Cruise Summary

This is post #232, the final post for our cruise to Florida and return.  Here are the final tallies:

Total Miles Traveled:  4263 nautical miles  (4906 statute miles)

Diesel Fuel Used: 1428 gallons

Mileage:  3 nautical miles/gallon including genset usage (3.45 statute miles/gallon) or 1.9 gallons/engine hour

Engine Hours (Propulsion): 735

Engine Hours (Generator): 64

Total nights away from Erie:  251

Paid Short Term Dockage:  69 (27%)

Free Dockage: 66 (26%)

Paid Long Term Dockage:  68 (27%)

Anchorage: 43 (17%)

Mooring Balls: 5 (2%)

Lessons Learned based on the way WE cruise (everybody does things differently):

1)  We ended up spending more time at docks than we initially thought.  A lot of this was dictated by circumstances such as weather (wind, cold etc.), or simply convenience.  When socializing, especially with friends and family that have homes nearby it is easier to be at a dock where people can meet you and come aboard the boat.

2)  The washer/dryer ended up taking valuable space.  The only time we can really use it is when we are hooked up to shore power.  If that is the case then we are at a marina, most of which have pay or free laundry facilities.  It is simply more convenient to be able to do a few large loads of laundry ashore than many tiny loads on the boat.  Of course if we carried fewer clothes that might be an issue (we wouldn’t have large loads of laundry to do).

3)  Too many clothes on board.  With our lockers packed with clothes the lockers cannot get enough airflow resulting in a musty smell.  I doubt that we wore even 1/4 of the clothes we brought.

4)  We seem to produce a lot of trash.  While it is fairly easy to dispose of once we get to a marina, we have bags of trash sitting around on the boat after a few days at anchor.  A trash compactor (either electric or manual) would go a long way to reducing the volume.

5)  A diesel heater is a must.  Our propane heater uses a lot of propane and it is difficult to really know how much is in the tanks and they aren’t easily refilled.  We always have lots of diesel on board and we could run a diesel heater continually if necessary.  There were days we felt forced into a marina just to have overnight power for either our electric heaters or to power our reverse cycle AC unit.  We thought we could chase the 70 degree temperatures  south then north.  That turned out to be totally off base given when we leave and return.

6)  Leaving Florida when we did was just about right.  While we got up to the Erie Canal just after it opened it allowed us to come up the coast pretty much by ourselves, not fighting for space at any place we stopped.  As a matter of fact a lot of people were glad to see us and gave us cut rate prices as they were not fully operational yet.

Projects that are on the list for this summer to prepare the boat for next fall’s cruise:

Replace engine and transmission (drinking one quart of oil/10 hrs,  leaking oil from the rear seal and I am tired of it and don’t trust the thing)

Bike Storage on boat deck

Kayak Storage on boat deck

Veranda Locker active ventilation

Veranda Locker drainage

Replace Windlass Motor

Install Diesel Heat

Varnish Cabin Sole

Replace Saloon Chairs

Reinforce Co-Pilot Helm Seat support

Replace foam in veranda cushions

Permanent wiring for helm tablet computer

Remove washer/dryer, replace with a trash compactor

Replace starboard windshield wiper motor

LED under boat deck lights

And a bunch of other jobs that will appear out of nowhere.  Some of these are simply time intensive, others are simple, some require the writing of significant checks and others will be almost free.  It is a boat.

So ends this years blog posting for Fall 2014 through Spring 2015.  Hopefully we will begin the cycle over again come mid September.

The ships mascot is back on board after a weeks stay ashore with the Mate. She still need help from the autopilot when steering the boat. The piece of blue tape does say Westbound; somebody needed a reminder when going through the canal and talking the the bridge and lock masters. We had been heading north for so long that we would get confused when giving our direction at times.

Heading west towards Erie in calm conditions. What had (has) us confused is our boat speed at this point. We are making 6.4 knots heading west when we should be doing about 7 at 2400 RPM. Turning the boat east, the speed jumps to 8.1 knots. This is weird as we are not used to seeing any appreciable current in the Lake even though we know there is some.  Boat speed when we got into Erie Harbor was 7.2 knots, pretty much what we expected.

Back to our home port.  The boat looks pretty much like when we left.

All Stop.  Done with Engines.

Dave

 

Final tallies:

A lot of nautical miles!

A lot of texting, e-mails and phone calls to and from family and friends!

A lot of new and everlasting friendships forged!

A lot of memories that will last a lifetime!

A lot of love from and for family and friends!!!!!

 

Lessons Learned:

1.  I can be the first mate and be OK with that!!!

2.  We can be close to our family without being physically close to them!

3.  We can live aboard a boat together and call it home, because home is where Dave and I are together!!

4.  We have a wonderful family and wonderful friends!

5.  Wine is good!!!!!!!!!

 

Project:

1. Stock up on wine!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bobbi

 

Dunkirk Yacht Club

The overnight winds at the east end of Lake Erie pretty much followed the predictions.  The wind peaked at around 2 AM at 23 knots and decreased from there to less than 10 knots at 8 AM.  We got going at 8:30 and while the lake was a bit lumpy with left over slop from the overnight winds the ride wasn’t terribly uncomfortable.  The forecast was for the wind to build through the day, and increase it did but at a higher velocity then predicted.  Our plan was to head for Dunkirk, 32 nm distant and when we got close to make the decision on if we should press on to Erie, another 40 miles west.  An hour out of Dunkirk we decided that we didn’t need to go any further today as the winds had increased close to 20 knots with the accompining waves.  By the time we got the boat into a dock and tied up winds were gusting to 30 knots so being off the lake was a good idea.  Tomorrow promises to be a lot calmer allowing us to make the final passage of this trip in relatively smooth water.

Bill needed to jump ship in Dunkirk, so Mate Bobbi drove up with his car and we exchanged crews once more.  Tonight temperatures are supposed to drop to the upper 30’s.  Is this the end of May or the end of March?

Leaving Buffalo

Approaching Dunkirk

We are the first boat to sign their guest register. They have almost no boats at their docks a few days before Memorial Day, traditionally Opening Day.

Dave

Well, I had a wonderful week with our kids and grand-kids while Bill traveled with Dave through the Erie Canal.  I returned to Liberty late this afternoon  (hard to leave the kids, but nice to be back on Liberty).  Dave and I plan on heading out from Dunkirk early tomorrow morning.   We should be back in our slip at the Yacht Club late tomorrow afternoon if the wind cooperates!   Here we come Erie!!!!!!

Bobbi

 

 

 

Buffalo Yacht Club, Buffalo, NY

We left Medina at 8:05 AM this morning, thinking that we would overnight in North Tonowanda, the end of the Erie Canal.  After transiting the two deep locks at Lockport (combined lift of about 50 feet) we arrived in North Tonowanda around 1:00 PM.  We then decided that it would make more sense to continue up to the Buffalo Yacht Club as it was about a three hour transit due to the fact that you have to go up the Niagara River a ways then through a six foot loft lock at Black Rock before getting the to eastern end of Lake Erie.  We purchased fuel, another 51 gallons, not because we couldn’t make it back to Erie on what we had on board but we didn’t want to be caught short of fuel, “just in case”.  Besides, the additional 400 pounds of fuel is good ballast to have to help slow down the rolling motion of the boat.  Arrival at the BYC was 4:20 PM.

The mast was re-stepped and rigged, we had dinner (such as it was) at the BYC.  All they had available was a extremely limited buffet.  I thought that a buffet gave you choices.  Well, you did have a choice of one potato, one vegetable and one meat.  I am not sure why all YC buffets seem the same but they are.  Pass them up if you get the chance.

At the moment the wind is in the low 20’s from the “wrong” direction, and is forecast to stay like that until 2 AM when it should start dropping off.  By 8 AM it should be about 10 knots, before slowly picking up as the day goes on.  Our general plan is to head out early and if it too rough to return, otherwise set course for Dunkirk, NY about 32 nm to the west.  Assuming we get to Dunkirk we can either continue the additional 40 miles to Erie or overnight at Dunkirk as the following day promises slightly lighter winds before increasing for the next few days.  In other words, everything depends on the weather, like it always does.

Dockage for this evening, and tomorrow evening at Dunkirk (if we make it that far or stay there) is free as we have reciprical agreements with both clubs for overnight dockage.  Total mileage for today was 42 nm in 8.3 hours.

Guard gates on the canal, with one of the gates lowered. This is the first time we have ever seen one down.

Another typical scene on the canal.

At the transient dock at the BYC.

Tonight’s sunset.

Dave

Medina

Medina is one of our favorite spots on the canal.  Generally there are few people at the docks here and while there arn’t any nearby grocery stores, the downtown area is such that you feel that you have stepped back in time.  There are a lot of sandstone buildings and the street lights have speakers mounted on them that always have some sort of music playing.  Actually, the canal is the reason why Medina exists, created as a stop over on the canal.

Bill and I took in the sights at the Train Museum, which has the largest HO scale train layout in NY as well as tons of other esoteric items such as fire fighting equipment and scale models of ships and planes.  The owner is quite a character and always takes the time to chat with us when we visit.  After some wine and cheese aboard the boat we headed uptown to Avanti’s for some dinner.  While not a high end restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, the food was quite good although they are a little heavy handed with the garlic.

One of the reasons we like this stop; there are not many boats here.

Part of the HO train layout.

 

Dave

Spencerport, NY

The day began with temperatures in the low 70’s that steadily decreased as the day wore on.  As the temperatures dropped the wind picked up with gusts into the upper 20’s.   This evening it is 55 degrees and tomorrow the high will be in the upper 50’s, so some cool weather is ahead.

Today’s run was 38 nm and included four locks, taking about 7-1/2 hours.  We also made a stop mid morning at Mid Lakes Marina in Macedon to visit with Hank, owner of Caprice.  Hank had us look at a few items on Caprice (still on the hard) and asked for suggestions on how to tackle some of the tasks that need to be done on the boat.

The evening saw us meet with our friend Steve in Spencerport.  He very kindly made us dinner at his house which was followed by desert.  It was a guy dinner as the ladies weren’t in attendance this evening for various reasons.

Gozzard made a fair number of changed in the Pilgrim between the time Caprice was built (1985) and Liberty (1988).  Most notable in this picture  is the lack of an anchor pulpit in the bow and the open region above the cap rail.  Caprice also has a wooden rub rail and dual davits with manual falls.  Caprice is in dire need of having the blue stripe buffed out, one of the first things in Hanks to-do list.

Lock 32’s rough (deteriorating) walls and the leaking lock door.

Lock 33’s refurbished lock walls. These walls are a lot easier on the fenders than the jagged, pock marked walls sometimes seen in other locks.

Dave

 

 

 

Newark Terminal, NY

We traveled 42 nm today and went through five locks.  There were rain showers around, some of them quite impressive as far as the amount of water that was falling from the sky.  The last lock was the only one where we were caught out in the rain while locking through.  Even that wasn’t bad as the skipper was able to stand inside of the pilot house holding one of the lock lines and the (temporary) mate, Bill, could stand under the boat deck near the stern staying dry.  For the better part of the day we were battling an adverse current on the Seneca River, which was keeping our speed over ground in the low 6 knot range.

Newark has real nice docks with power and water, and a great shower/bathroom/laundry facility.  All this is free.  When we signed in we noticed that there have only been two boats here before us this year.  Of course the canal did just open 10 days ago.  We walked into town and ate dinner at one of the local restaurants before heading back to the boat for a nightcap and some reading, waiting for the evening rain showers to begin.

Early morning on the Seneca River.

At the dock in Newark. The showers are in the lower level of the building on the left.

View from across the canal.

Dave

Baldwinsville, NY Revisited

Oneida Lake was an non event.   There was about a five knot west wind blowing for most of the morning keeping any bugs that might have been hatching on the water at bay.  After crossing the Lake we stopped at Ess-Key Yards for 62 gallons of diesel to top off our tanks at $3.16/gallon.  This should be the last diesel fuel we need to purchase until we return to the EYC.

Baldwinsville is interesting, thirty eight nautical miles from Mariners Landing.  The last few miles before we entered the town were populated by tents of fishermen who had lines out into the canal.  It turns out there is a fishing tournament going on.  The Wild Carp Classic is being held over four days, where teams of two or three fisherman with up to six rods are vying for thousands of dollars in prize money having paid $750 to enter the tournament.  There are 50 predetermined locations that they draw for and they fish for 64 hours straight, around the clock.

When we came into Baldwinsville, and had totally forgot that we were here before until I recognized a restaurant that we had eaten at, and then the dock we had stayed at, there was loud music playing.  They are having a benefit concert (lucky us).  Many smaller boats were tied up along their wall and it appears we are the only “big” boat that is staying as a function of transiting the area.  You have to like country music as they have band after band playing from 2 PM to almost 10 PM at which time they will have fireworks.   Since we got in early (2:20 PM) it has been almost non-stop LOUD music.  Even though we are across the canal from their amphitheater (those people paid $30 to be up front), it is still terribly loud.

There is a graveyard adjacent to the docks and it turns out that the “ladies” that had spent the day on the docks drinking were using a large tree not too far from us for an “outhouse”.  Oh well, when nature calls, what are you going to do.

Actually, the fireworks weren’t scheduled until 10:00 PM but as I type this at 9:22, the music has ceased and the fireworks begun.  Perfect.  The fireworks weren’t exactly over us but close enough.  Not a bad deal for our $5 that got us a nights dockage, power and water. On top of everything else, the bugs weren’t bad at all here.

Another day on the canal.

I think we need to check out the bilge pump.

Bill, enjoying the skippers cooking of salmon, rice and asparagus. A couple of glasses of wine before dinner didn’t hurt.

Fireworks display after the concert.

Dave

Mariners Landing, Sylvan Beach, NY

Seven and one half hours of motoring took us 42 nm to Mariners Landing in Sylvan Beach.  This location is just off the eastern end of Oneida Lake.  The lake passage we need to make is about 20 miles and we will be able to get an early start tomorrow morning.  The forecast is for light winds becoming westerly at about 6 knots in the afternoon.  While that seems like an ideal forecast, we might be better off with about 20 knots from the east just to keep the bugs away.  Six years ago when we made the crossing while delivering Liberty home we had pretty much the same weather.  Warm and no wind.  The net result was being attacked by bugs mid lake and spending hours trying to rid ourselves of them.  Hopefully tomorrow won’t be a repeat although we have a weapon that we didn’t have before; that being a portable vacuum that can either suck up the bugs or blow them away.

While we passed through five locks today, there was nothing exciting about any of it.  Bill and I took turns at the wheel so the day went by rather quickly as every hour or so we passed through a lock.  Once here we did a walking tour of the “town”, eating dinner at one of the local places that was overly decorated with nautical paraphernalia.  Mosquitoes seem to out in abundance which forced us off the back deck and into the salon before the sun had a chance to fully set.  These are the first real bugs we have seen this year.

Early this morning Bobbi rustled up a nice breakfast for us before she (and the bird) headed off.

At the dock in Sylvan Beach.

Dave

 

 

Rotary Park, Little Falls, NY

Today we made our way up the canal to Little Falls, NY.  The marina at Rotary Park came highly recommended if you read Skipper Bob’s book on the Erie Canal.  Unfortunately our copy dates from 2009 and things have not exactly gone uphill here since that was written.  While they do have floating docks, the dock master indicated that every year it is the same story; they don’t get pulled for the winter resulting in somewhat major damage.  It then takes a few months to get parts thereby discouraging boaters from stopping as the only usable docks have a five foot wall to scale to get off the boats.  While those walls are almost new concrete, they are still an impediment to easily getting on and off the boat.  Their facilities for boaters are very nice considering the $1/foot charge.  There is electric, water, very nice showers and restrooms (clean and private) as well as a fairly nice meeting room with comfortable chairs and couches and a large screen TV.  They also sell snacks at a reasonable price.  However, with out decent docks, nobody will be around to use the rest of the facilities.  I am not sure we will be back.

There has been a change of crew today.  Well, not exactly a change as that will occur tomorrow.  Late this afternoon our friend Bill showed up to spend some time cruising with us.  He originally helped bring the boat part way up to Erie from Annapolis when we purchased it.  The plan is for Bobbi to take his car back to Erie, allowing her some time with our daughters family and our new grand daughter Kate and then to return Bill’s car to him where ever we are after about a week.  Or something along those lines.

On the advice of Hank and Ann, owners of Caprice (Pilgrim Hull Number 17) we ate at the Canal Side Inn, a french restaurant.  While I wasn’t able to pronounce many of the items, the scallops I had were excellent as were all the dishes ordered by Bobbi and Bill.

Another nice day (although a bit cloudy) on the Mohawk River.

I-90 running alongside the canal. 7 knots in a trawler on the water or 70 mph on the highway. Take your pick.

Once again we are the only boat here.

Dave

Bobbi says goodnight (once again), wanting to know why I wait until she is almost asleep before doing the blog posting.

Riverlink Park, Amsterdam, NY

We left the dock at 0800 hours this morning under chilly, clear skies.  The Flight of Five awaited and we were the only boat locking through.  It took us nearly two hours to traverse the five locks, supposedly the highest lift in the shortest distance anywhere.   The canal people were getting ready for their 100th year celebration of the flight so there was much activity in getting the area cleaned up.

After only 33 nm and nine locks we arrived at Riverlink Park at 15:20 hours.  The dock master is the owner of Dan’s Backyard BBQ, the restaurant that is right along the river.  The place isn’t open for business this year as of yet but Dan did stop down on the boat later in the afternoon to welcome us and collect the $1/ft fee.  This includes electricity (which we will be grateful for tonight at temperatures are supposed to drop into the mid to upper 30’s), showers, water, pump out and free laundry.   We will only be taking advantage of the electric and the laundry while we are here.

Inside one of the locks in the Flight of Five.

 

The Day Peckinpaugh has been moved between Lock 6 and Lock 7. Who knows if they will ever restore it as previously planned.

A gorgeous day on the Mohawk River.

View from the tower at the park.

What is almost better than an anchorage with no other boats? A dock with no other boats.

Dave