Erie PA, The End of the Line (Delivery)

Leaving North Tonowanda at the crack of 0800 we motored up the Niagara River with the intention of purchasing fuel and doing a pump out at Rich Marina which is next to the Black Rock Lock.  This short six foot lock allows you to bypass the fast current and rapids on the Niagara River as it heads for the over Niagara Falls.  We couldn’t find the diesel pump which was a blessing in disguise as it put us at the lock at 0930.  Up bound traffic goes in on the bottom of the hour, down bound traffic at the top of the hour.

Once through the lock we were confused by the railroad swing bridge.  The chart says the vertical clearance is 17 feet when it obviously isn’t.  Normally when you exit the lock the swing bridge automatically opens for you as they aren’t far apart.  Not today.  We motored up to it with another boat, stuck our bow under the bridge but decided the radar dome at the stern might not clear.  If it did make it there wouldn’t be more then an inch or two to spare.  Backing off we waited around until the bridge began it’s swing opening.  What they were waiting for is anybodies guess.

Through the bridge and into Buffalo harbor we purchased 24 gallons of fuel and pumped out the holding tank at the fuel station just inside the harbor entrance.  It was then off to Dunkirk, our originally planned destination.  As we left the harbor at 1130 we realized we would make Dundirk in the early afternoon as it was only about 30 miles away.  The lake was flat calm allowing us to do 7+ knots and the forecast was for winds to build from behind us (NE) at 10 to 15.  A tail wind would increase our boat speed a bit and some calculations showed we could make Erie before sunset.  That was important as the boat still has no working running or steaming lights and we would need to go directly in front of the US Coast Guard station as we entered the harbor.  Off we went, with a course now set for Erie thinking that when we got to Dunkirk we could go in there if we couldn’t make Erie in a timely fashion.  The boat speed held at 8+ knots pretty much all day as the wind built to 10 to 15 knots from behind, just as predicted.  Also predicted was rain the next day with strong southerly winds.  The wind direction and velocity didn’t bother us as we could come up the lake shore about a mile off the beach and still be in flat water but we have had our fill of traveling in the rain.  Or at least one of us has, hence the decision to make for Erie if at all possible.  The ladies worked their magic and produced a fine diner on board that was composed of barbecued chicken, green beans, salad and spare ribs.

We entered the harbor at around 2000 and were tied up at the dock at 2030.   We decided that this last day of travel being a straight downwind run was a good Oman for the good ship Entrada, sometimes referred to as the Enchilada.   May she always be so lucky.

Leaving Buffalo harbor the lake was almost flat calm.

 

The was a welcoming committee assembled on the channel wall leading into the harbor. Rick’s daughter and grand daughters were there to see us arrive.

 

Safe and sound at the dock at the EYC.  All she needs is her spars put back in, sails bent on, lots of pumps and hoses replaced, electrical wiring sorted out, etc. etc.  The “normal” boat stuff.

Today 83 nm and one lock in 11-1/2 hours.  Total for the trip 748 nm.

All stop, done with engines.

Dave

Tonowanda, NY

Leaving the dock at 0705 hours we continued our plodding trip to the west end of the canal.  The ladies cooked up a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon and potatoes as we headed east in the coolness of the morning.  The sky was cloudless which made for a pleasant motor.  If it wasn’t for the fact that you had to keep one eye glued to the depth finder, it would have made for a perfect kind of day.

The cushions were delivered by Bill’s girls when they came to meet the boat last evening, a welcome sight to be sure. Better late than never.

 

We also have a flag indicating our national origin in spite of having a hailing port of Toronto. When we went to place the staff in the holder we found that the taper on the bottom of the staff was cut backwards, i.e. it was larger at the end so of course it wouldn’t fit. Grinding it down on some concrete and finishing the job with a file correct that problem.

Kate and Kim decided they needed to go for a run so when we came to a halt at a bridge that needed to be raised for us we dropped them off and then picked them up six miles down the canal at another bridge.  They actually beat us running as we had to wait for bridge attendants to show up to allow us to clear the low bridges.  Bridges don’t have attendants at each individual bridge.  Multiple bridges are manned by a singular person who drives from bridge to bridge operating bridges for who ever happens to be going in either direction.

Kim and Kate running on the multi purpose trail that runs almost the entire length of the canal.

 

The docks at Medina were empty save for the R W Kenan who is owned by a gentleman who summers on the Erie Canal and winters in Florida. We can always count on seeing him somewhere on the western portion of the canal.

 

Entrada as she motored under one of the 14 bridges that we had to have opened for us today.

 

Bob was dozing off in the cockpit, soaking up the sun and trying to make up for yesterday.

 

It turns out a partially deflated fender makes a comfortable bed when the author is off watch.

 

Fortune smiled on us as our good friends Bicki and Dave were docked in North Tonowanda today with their LNVT Nellie D. There was no room for us on the “nice” side of the canal so we docked on the south side in Tonowanda.

 

The author “jumping ship”, at least for tonight. Since Entrada only sleeps five people comfortably and there are six of us as crew, Nellie D. kindly offered to feed and house one of the crew for the evening.

 

Tonight the author is working aboard the Nellie D.

Today, 58 nm, two locks and fourteen bridges that needed raised in 11 hours.  Total distance: 665 nm.

Dave

Spencerport NY

Entrada left the dock about 0800 hours this morning.  We say “about” as the first lock was at the end of the dock we stayed overnight on and we purchased some fuel from a marina just outside the lock.  Fuel at the marina is the only fuel available for deep draft (over 6′) for the next 110 miles so we were pretty much at their mercy.  Fortunately the owner was at the marina (rather unusual from what we were told) and Bill paid dearly for the privileged of purchasing the 12.8 gallons of diesel to top off our forty five gallon tank (still having not figured out how to access the 45 additional gallons in the other tank).  Fuel was $4.05/gallon, a bit pricey but what are you going to do?  Mid Lakes Macedon Landing has fuel but they only have six feet of water at their fuel dock which rules us out.  The care and feeding of long legged vessels can be expensive.

Inside Lock 29.

A few miles east of Palmyra the water level dropped (or the bottom came up) to a point (7.4 feet) where we were dragging our eight foot draft keel and rudder through the mud.  We managed to plow through the area by running the engine wide open as we had no other option.  If we came to a complete stop we would have had real issues as we were in the middle of nowhere.  Couple this with the fact that it had been raining off and on for hours and you have the making of a great day.  Unless you are terribly well heeled you probably have the standard issue “breathable” rain gear.  By definition, this rain gear will keep you “dry” for a few hours but after a while the water seeps through and you have water running down the inside your jacket.  Why not buy the truly waterproof stuff you ask?  Probably because after a couple of hours the condensation inside such gear soaks you through.  So there we were, cold, wet and almost stuck in the mud.  Yachting at it’s finest.  Now, waxing philosophically; we forgot how much fun it is to be in an open sailboat cockpit for hours in the rain again.  What we (re)learned is that it doesn’t matter if the sailboat is 25′, 39′ or 56′, cold and wet is cold and wet.

Heading west under gray, rainy skies.

Actually we hoped for rainy weather today as it is Sunday and we knew the rowing crew people would be out in force near Rochester if it was a nice day.  Prior experience showed us that this would slow our pace considerably as human powered vessels have rights over powered vessels and they really aren’t terribly interested in letting you sneak by.

 

One of our Pilgrim friends is busy refurbishing Caprice in Macedon. Eventually she will be going in the water, probably in better than new condition, at least better equipped than when originally launched.

Click on the image below to view us entering Lock 33, westbound.  Video by Bob.

When ever we crossed the Genessee river that flows through Rochester and intersects the Erie Canal with Liberty we noticed that there is shoaling on the rivers edges.  Today was no exception.  We dragged the keel and rudder though the soft muck on both sides of the river but made it through.

The day dragged on through the rain, and after doing seven locks we finally arrived in Spencerport.  Actually, a few hours out we thought that Spencerport would be a no-go for us as the “nice” side of the canal with the wooden docks only has about five to six feet of water and the cheap seats (old concrete wall) on the north side has seven to nine feet at the dock.  We thought we would have to keep going another eight miles to Brockport where they advertise twelve feet at their docks.  As it turned out we chanced the cheap seats and found we could comfortably get to the wall.  It is a good thing as a few of us were cold and wet and ready for the day to be over.

Once tied up Bills sister Peg and her husband Don showed up to visit and not long after that Bill’s daughter Kim and her sister Kate with husband Dan arrived.  The rain stopped, the sun made a fleeting appearance and all was right with the world.  Brian, who sails with Bill, has parents who live in the area and they also stopped by for happy hour so the day wound down quite well after a rocky start.

A view of Entrada from the Galley Restaurant, where the entire crew ate dinner. For as many times as we have been in Spencerport we have never eaten dinner at any of the local places, always eating aboard the boat.  This picture was taken while the sun was out (all of about two minutes).

As I type this (2240 hours) I hear swishing noises along the hull sides.  This can only mean one thing; the owner is washing down the topsides next to the dock.  The port side was washed down a few days ago, and now the starboard side is getting the same treatment as it is currently accessible from the canal wall.  Obviously the work never ends on the Entrada.

Today, 43 painful nm and seven locks in 9 hours.  Total 607 nm.

Dave

Lyons, NY

As we had the most incredible boring day on the canal today (a good thing on a boat delivery) the skipper of this packet (Bill) decided he needed to “ghost write” tonight’s blog installment.  It goes as follows:

This morning we left Brewerton yacht yard at 7:30. We all bundled up for rain, but because we took that step, no rain came.  Lock 23 in 10 minutes was a free  ride,  down six feet.  We thought there was only two locks that lowered us but it turns out there are three.  Down is a lot easier than up although going up is really not difficult.  It was 19 miles to lock 24, then 31 miles to lock 25. Making good time. lock 26 was the most excitement we had all day, there was a heron sitting in the locked door at the water line ahead of us. Apparently they like to sit there and eat the mangled fish. Made it to Lyons by 10 after 5. Got a nice place on the high wall with free electric, life is good.  Had a good meal at some undetermined  bar, our Captain is a prince among men.

Now for some pictures of today’s adventures:

At the point where the Erie connects to the branch that goes to Oswego. Great, only 192 more miles to Buffalo.

 

We take a picture of they “boat” every year as we go by. Obviously the decay continues. Next spring when we bring Liberty back we will take our “final” picture and then go back and assemble them in a time lapse collage.

 

Somewhere on the canal between locks 24 and 27

 

There was lots of wild life, in this case a large bald eagle having lunch.

 

Here is a lesson in how to turn your sailboat into a pilot house version. Simply set the cap from your pickup truck on the deck.

 

This blue heron is a fixture at lock 25. Evidently he is here every year.

 

At the dock in Lyons.

 

This very nice mural is on the side of a building in a town that unfortunately appears to be quickly decaying.

I sincerely appreciate the skippers efforts on my behalf as last night I was left alone in the salon typing away with no ability to upload anything due to issues with Verizon’s network until 2330 hours.

Today, 60 nm and four locks in nine and one half hours.  Total for the trip is 563 nm.

Tomorrow the goal is Spencerport, followed by North Tonowanda, Dunkirk and Erie.

Dave

 

Brewerton, NY

Yesterday, Bill, the owner made the command decision to continue the boat delivery trip.  The canal authority managed to dredge the Fish Creek location and was moving their equipment to Wood Creek on Friday where the depths were in the neighborhood of seven feet.  They said that if we got hung up their tugs would be on station doing dredging and could drag us through.

Leaving Erie a bit after 1600 with a slight change in crew (Bill”s brother Bob replacing Rick), we arrived at the boat in Rome at 2230 hours and were pleased to find that the homeless had cleaned up after themselves and left the boat exactly as they found it (and we left it).  Actually, the only evidence that anybody had been around the boat was a fishing lure and a hook that was embedded in the stern line.

I am surprised that the owner of this lure didn’t come aboard to retrieve his fishing gear.

The new canal facilities promised to us a few years ago by the former mayor of Rome finally appeared this trip.  They have very nice bathroom/shower facilities across the street from the docks.  Unfortunately the facilities only appear to be open during normal business hours which didn’t do us any good in the evening or early morning.

Rome’s very nice restroom facility on the canal.

 

A beautiful day in Rome with few boats on the wall.

The first order of business in the early morning was to grab some breakfast at a local greasy spoon and then a stop at the grocery store for some essentials.  Bill the had to return the rental car to the airport after which we fired up the engine and got under way at 0930.  Lock 21 awaited us about an hours motor from Rome.  This lock would drop us about twenty five feet down, one of only two looks that would lower us on this trip.  The rest of the locks would raise us.  Two other boats joined us in the lock, both of them taking the port side wall while we positioned ourselves on the starboard side wall.  Even though we were first in to the lock we told the first port side boat (Mainship Trawler) to leave first.  As he left one of the lock lines either got tangled in one of his stern cleats, or was somehow still attached.  The boat went forward and rolled heavily to one side as the line lifted his stern.  This line, stretched to it’s limit and about 30′ long ripped the cleat from his stern and the line catapulted over the top of the lock.  It was pretty impressive to see although the owner of the boat wasn’t terribly happy about the situation.

In lock 21 before they sent us down 25′ and the Mainship on our port side lost their stern cleat.

Once clear of Lock 21 we entered Lock 22 about a half mile away and locked through with out incident.  As we exited we let the trawler that was astern of us pass as the dreaded Woods Creek shoal was just around the bend from the lock.  We didn’t want to hold anybody up if (when) we ran aground.  Sure enough, we stuck the keel into the bottom as expected.  The dredge crew was sitting not far from where we hit and we backed off and asked for advice.  They told us the actual shoal was only about five feet wide and to move a little closer to shore and try again.  Raising the keel a few inches and attacking the shoal with some boat speed we slowed but then bulled our way though.  It turned out this was either loose sand or mud.  There was none of the horrific grinding noise we had heard when we pushed the keel and rudder through gravel a few weeks ago.  We were once more on our way.  What was interesting was that coming out of Lock 22 our depth finder ceased to function, it was locked on to 15.3 feet.  As we were busy trying to pick a path across the shoal we didn’t have time to fuss with it and since it wasn’t working we weren’t distracted by it as the depth quickly decreased under us.  After getting by the shoal we re-booted the electronics and the depth finder came back to life.

We provided a little entertainment for the guys working the dredge at Woods Creek.

We ran into some skinny water in the channel into Lake Oneida (roughly nine feet) but once into the lake made the 20 mile run up into Brewerton where we took on 16 gallons of fuel, pumped out the holding tanks and filled the fresh water tanks.  The ride across the lake was great as we had a light rail wind.  That beats the normal bashing we seem to get in Liberty.

At the dock was the a Fisher 30 motor sailor, Celtic Cross.  We had read of her “exploits” on Lake Erie from the blog of the LNVT Nellie D.  To make a long story short, the owner of Celtic Cross had purchased the boat on the upper lakes and was heading home to Virginia, single handing the boat.  Evidently he ran into a storm on Lake Erie a few weeks back and after spending two plus days straight at the wheel was taken in tow by the Canadian Coast Guard after being blown off course by fifty miles.  He ended up in the hospital for a few days before continuing.  I went over to introduce myself to him and he said that he tried to cross Lake Oneida this morning but hadn’t gotten too far before the transmission failed.  Evidently the case is cracked and who knows what else needs replaced.  It will take a month or so to get parts and get it fixed so he is jumping on a plane and heading back to Virginia.  He has put the boat up for sale and depending on how he feels or if it sells he will make a decision at a later time on how to proceed.

Mike’s Fisher 30. We have always been partial to boats that are pointy on both ends, this being the stern view of the boat.

 

At the dock in Brewerton.

Bill installed the new “penguin” control for the AC unit that was supposed to make it operational.  It did, to a point.  The unit would heat but not cool.  After a few phone calls it was determined that a secondary sensor on the AC unit itself was not compatible with the new control.  The fix was to simply cut the wires to the secondary sensor and let the primary sensor on the control unit do it’s thing.  At that point the cooling function came to life and now all is good.

The new AC controller.  As you can see by the temperature it is a good thing this became functional.

 

The Brewerton Boat Yard works on some pretty big boats and they have a pretty big fork lift.

After a nice walleye dinner at a local watering hole along the canal we retired to the boat where the owner busied himself with scrubbing the topsides while sipping an adult beverige while the rest of the crew sat in the cockpit and visited with Mike, the almost ship wrecked sailor.

A ten minute walk got us to the Waterfront Tavern which overlooks the canal (entry/exit to Lake Oneida).

Today, 31.4 nm in 5-1/2 hours.  Total for the trip: 503 nm.  We need to pick up the pace.

Dave