Travelling down the Erie Canal, Dodging Logs and Ducking Bridges

Being held up in Brewerton was not a bad place to be docked. We did manage to get lots done while there by re-organized things for the rest of the trip to NYC. We were hoping for good news from NY State in hopes that parts of the canal would re-open and sure enough they opened the canal to Lock 16 which is one lock past our intended destination for today. After lock 16 we may be in Lock-Down again until they fill the canals that were drained.

The first leg of our trip today was across the 37 Km Lake Oneida and Kyle wanted to make that portion in the dingy, but our weather App told us it could be 3 foot waves and that is no fun on a dingy. At 9 am Kyle whipped out the river on the dingy to check out the conditions on the lake and when he retuned he said they were good. His plan seemed ok and then Jan said, shall I go with you, and sure enough they went together while Cynthia and I took the slow boat to China route.... "We will see you two when we get there - maybe in 2 + hours."

Kyle and Jan did say their ride across the lake was a bit rough but they toughed it out and upon arrival in Sylvan Beach, they walked along the side of the beach and visited an Antique market and then grabbed lunch - eventually sharing some with the rest of the crew later on.

No one expected Cynthia and Captain Paul to have a Hallman Experience moment especially when Jan is not there to verify the reality of the event, but her and Kyle were no where in sight when we came into the channel and "Tried to Dock." It should not have been difficult as it is 1,000 foot long concrete dock. Online they say it does not have cleats but only tie up rings. Well ,we found that out right away. Upon arrival Cynthia stepped off the stern and onto shore and proceeded to tie the stern line, only to find that she didn't know how to tie a line to a ring. Not everyone knows that either, so in fairness to Cynthia, that was a tough job. She could not get it done so Captain Paul came to the rescue, but the current was so fast it took the bow out from the dock and we were tied 90 degrees to the dock with the swim platform against the wall and the stern line so tight we could not loosen it to move the boat. And then along came our help................................... no, it wasn't Kyle nor Jan - it was Cara and Erik...... a very nice newly wed couple, willing to risk their lives to save our boat from disaster. Erik hopped onboard and Captain retrieved a couple screw drivers to loosen the line, and sure enough the line came loose. A second attempt to dock worked, and all was good................... A HALLMAN EXPERIENCE THAT ENDED WELL.

We shared a drink with our new found Buffalo Bill's fans, and could not wait to tell Jan and Kyle how we saved the boat from a bad day at sea. We have no proof of this taking place except for the verification from Erik and Cara. Hard Nipples, it did happen.

While we were struggling with the docking the other two were playing with clowns and enjoying lunch, Thank heavens they brought us some food back to eat.

After loading the dingy on our swim platform, we headed down the Erie Canal hoping to get as far as Lock 17 in Little Falls, and along the canal we could see lots of trees pulled up from their roots, as well as floating branches and in a few cases trees across part of the canal. In one instance the Green Buoy was on the wrong side of the canal. We just took our time and had two people on watch for sunken logs. Here is a series of pictures we took along the way.

Our 2nd Hallman Experience today, was a Near Miss. As they opened the gates from Lock 20 there was a 30 foot Cruiser with 4 or 6 passengers on board, swerving outside of the lock, thinking that he was going to enter the lock when the gates open. There is no doubt that he could see our boat but he continued to move towards us before we even passed the exit gates. Everyone was yelling at him - - - "Move Over - - Stop - - - Stop - - - Move Over !!!"

He didn't Stop nor did he Move Over, so Captain Paul had to do a quick maneuver around this crazy boater and we just missed taking his back end off. That was a close call but a Happy Ending to a Hallman Experience. At the next dock the Lock Master said that he was a first time boater but rumors were, that he was drinking. Its our luck that we run into a drunk, driving a boat. Whew- that was close !

It was another day holding onto ropes as we dropped down the locks. most drops were 15 to 20 feet and the wind was not bad, so holding onto the lines was manageable. These locks certainly are much bigger than those in Ontario and provide a different way to tie, as you are lifted or dropped with the water. And in the US you leave your engines running, which is extremely helpful as you go through the locks.

Our crew wear gloves to protect their hands from the muck on the walls but then again, the gloves come in handy to write messages to the next set of boaters passing through the locks.

As we came to Lock 19 we heard the rumble of a train passing over the canal and the New York Thruway on the opposite side of the canal. It was a very busy place. Little did we know that the railway bridge might be our downfall getting to NYC. When we settled in the lock, the Lock Master came up and asked what height our boat was and I stated that it is 19 feet 6 inches. He was quiet for a moment, and then said, we have 19 feet 6 inches of clearance under the railway bridge so I am not sure you can get under it. Captain Paul went to the front of the lock and said, we will be close so lets try because there is no current and if we are too high we can go back up the lock and figure out a plan.

Then the yellow light bulb in the Captains head lit up............................... Why can't I take the Anchor light, the Starlink Transmitter and the Hard Antenna OFF, and then lets see what room we have to pass under the bridge. Within 10 minutes we had the boat modified to hopefully clear the underside of the bridge. We dropped down the lock and Kyle sat on the top of the boat watching to be sure we would fit and we ended up having 6 inches to spare. Had we not removed anything from the top arch of the boat, we would not have been able to get under the bridge. As a side note, the water in that section of the Erie Canal is two feet higher than normal due to the rains from Hurricane Debby.

Turns out it was another Happy Hallman Experience

By 7 pm we arrived in Herkimer NY, just 5 miles from where we had hoped to get, but all was good. Tomorrow we will see if we get another report that allows us to go further.

Our Nebo Log today reported a total of 101.1 km's travelled with a travel time of 12 hours and 15 minutes overall, but a travel duration of 10 hours and 12 minutes with an average speed of 10 km per hours.

Tomorrow we will be in Little Falls, NY where they are having a Canal Day and we are not sure what that means, but we are hoping we can boat there and be part of the fun.

Till tomorrow evening - Good Night all !