Our Journey is on Partial Hold

We had a good sleep last evening tied up to the cement wall in Oswego NY and we were able to relax after our wicked cruise across Lake Ontario. The restaurant / bar in front of our boat was entertaining with Live music until 9 pm and then it became quieter. We were one day ahead of our planned schedule because we left Trenton early and it now gives us a bit of fluctuation regarding making NYC on our timeline.

Prior to leaving Midland, I had a conversation with John, at Wye Heritage Marina where he advised me to watch the Notice to Mariners Notifications for the Erie Canal because there are often incidents, that happen, and sure enough we received notification that Hurricane Debby is going to upset our Apple Cart.

This is what the notification said:

In preparation for potential impacts from Tropical Storm Debby, the Canal Corporation will proactively lift the Erie Canal’s Movable Dams between Lock E-8 in Rotterdam and Lock E-15 in Fort Plain beginning at 9:00 am tomorrow, Thursday, August 8, 2024. The lifting of the movable dams will result in the full lowering of the canal to winter levels and therefore its closure. Mariners seeking safe harbor during the storm may do so within the Waterford Flight – Locks E-2 through E-6 or upstream of Lock E-16 in Saint Johnsville. The lifting of the movable dams allows for greater capacity within the Mohawk River to absorb precipitation from the storm and for debris to flow more freely downstream to mitigate any potential flooding of canal side communities.

So today we made alternate plans for heading eastbound on the canal system in NY State. We followed our original route to Brewerton NY however we decided to stay in a marina for two nights which should allow us Safe Harbor while the tail end of the storm passes, and it is scheduled to hit upstate NY tomorrow with rain and some winds. We will stay here and either play board games or go out on the dingy and enjoy the 23 mile long Lake Oneida. If we can move eastbound on Saturday or Sunday, we can still make NYC by Wednesday next week but it is going to depend on the amount of water that falls and when they will reopen the canal between a few locks close to Amsterdam, NY. Kinda funny that this is happening near a town named after a Dutch City............. where they get dams and flooding all the time. Stay tuned for update as to how this will affect our plans

But back to our day - we travelled through 8 locks on the Oswego Canal and 1 lock on the Erie system. Most of the early morning was rainy but not heavy so we marched on.

The Oswego locks were a bit industrial looking with high lifts, plus the walls were very dirty, so when we docked in Brewerton, we had to do a good cleaning on the hull from the muck hitting the lock walls. However with the water so calm and light winds, Kyle took the helm and brought the boat into the lock by himself. It was his Maiden Voyage into a lock and he did an excellent job. During the rest of the day Kyle and I shared the helm and it made it easier to fight the rain and keep wiping up water puddles, because, on a boat you can't get rid of water, especially when everyone needs to go in and out of the boat, as they man the lines (in our case we woman'd the lines) and passed through the locks.

The Oswego Canal is a series of 8 locks that runs south, from Lake Ontario, to the Erie Canal, which in turn, runs East and West. The lifts in each lock, range from 19 feet to 7 feet but have very heavy concrete walls. It runs for 23 miles and was opened in 1828. Before the railway days the canal was created to provide a relatively fast and inexpensive means of shipping people and bulk cargos from Syracuse to Oswego. Many of the original buildings beside the canal are still standing and to this day several manufacturing companies are still along the canal including the Miller Brewing Company.

All Locks, whether on the Trent Canal or on other systems have some sort of waterfalls which, in turn, are generation plants for hydro electric power. We passed by many on the trip from Midland to Brewerton, but todays waterfall took the cake. We really had the impression that some Civil Engineer on the Oswego System, was doing their best to make this one dam, become the Niagara Falls of the Upstate New York area. It was impressive and lots of water flowed over the dam.

Upstate New York's Niagara Falls

When we entered some of the locks there were overhead walkways and hydraulic lift bridges that were not typical of what we had seen before, but based on the canal being constructed almost 200 years ago, we can understand the updates that the state of New York would have to do to make them accessible. Here is one lift bridge as it went up, and it allowed us to enter the lock. Sorry for the quality of the video but it was raining.

Basically, it was an uneventful day, and we experienced Lock 23 on the Erie Canal as our first lock heading eastward. It is a well groomed area and the construction is different from the Oswego locks. I am sure that as we pass the next 22 locks we will see many different locations and designs. Note the picnic area, the clean grass setting and the tie up dock with hanging ropes fitted with blue fenders. We had never seen this before,

Finally, our day came to an end. We had called ahead, to ess Kay Marina for a boat slip (that's a hotel room in Mariners Lingo) for at least two nights, while we wait out the effects of Hurricane Debby. This marina is family owned, well maintained, and has fuel, boat service, and a great Chandlery Store. We wait in anticipation as to what tomorrow may bring.

ess Kay Marina in Brewerton NY

Nebo Log for August 7, 2024

Today, we travelled a total of 51 km's and it took 6.5 hours at an average speed of 11.5 km/hr. and we went through 9 locks in rain and overcast weather,

There were NO HALLMAN EXPERIENCES again today, and that continues to be a relief. We are just keeping our fingers crossed, in hopes that this trip can continue to NYC with no further delays.

It is Hard to believe that "Debby now does, "Out To See".