The Google map puts us on land! We are really on the Erie Canal.
Fairport to Canajoharie
September 21, 2010
We are on our way to Little Falls, NY.
The weather has been cold. It is in the 40’s at night and we have no heat unless we are plugged into electric. We change our clothes 3 times a day. First thing we do each morning after complaining about the temperature is to model the latest in heavy long underwear and windproof pants. The top layer is polar fleece with a heavy windproof jacket and gloves. Mike ventures out while Francie makes coffee. Usually the boat is covered in dew that is so heavy that it looked like it rained the night before. We have even had to postpone a departure in the morning because the steam rising from the canal was so thick we couldn’t see. Later in the afternoon when it begins to warm up, we switch the heavy long underwear for a lighter version. By the time we are ready to stop for the day, we switch to regular clothes. Thank God, no one is around to realize that it is the same clothes each day.
The beauty of the canal makes up for any cold weather. We are a little more than half way through. It is about 337 miles long and at 7.5 miles an hour, it takes time. We have seen an eagle, wild turkeys and many blue heron. The colors are beginning to turn.
There are lots of towns where there is a dock to tie up the boat for free. Saturday night we were in Fairport celebrating a Canal festival. We were moored on a wall downtown. We even went “bar hopping” that evening. For us, bar hopping is going to two bars and having a drink in each. We did meet the bridge tender (fellow that operates the lift bridge) in the bar and later when he was walking past the boat, we asked him to come aboard and have a beer. He, along with the fellow that operates the historic Urger canal tow boat shared with us interesting history of the canal and the tugs. In October they drain the canal and then throughout the fall and winter work on all of the equipment until they open in the spring. Some of the equipment is over a hundred years old. Many of the parts have to be machined because they are no longer available.
The Erie Canal has been a joy. The boat and the refrigeration are both running well. Not that I am superstitious – But “Knock on Wood” when you read this. I just did.
September 23, 2010
Hello from Canajoharie. NY – Home of Beech-nut. The last few days have been very restful. Tuesday we planned to go bike riding and see historic sites near Rome. As we approached their city docks we touched bottom. The next town only a few miles away had docks that were also shallow. We ended up traveling 20 more miles to Little Falls. It dates back to the early 1800’s with beautiful old buildings. We ventured into town on our bikes and what I thought was a German restaurant was a private club. We were welcomed to the town and the club. Best of all the beer was cheap.
The next morning we decided to stay another day and take a bike ride. We figured out that we ride our bikes about 12 miles an hour, but when on the boat we travel only 8 miles an hour.
Several sailboats came into the dock today and we sat around on the terminal porch and ate snacks, drank beer and told stories into the evening. It is nice to make new friends. We are all going to the same place eventually – someplace south and warm!
We are on our way to Little Falls, NY.
The weather has been cold. It is in the 40’s at night and we have no heat unless we are plugged into electric. We change our clothes 3 times a day. First thing we do each morning after complaining about the temperature is to model the latest in heavy long underwear and windproof pants. The top layer is polar fleece with a heavy windproof jacket and gloves. Mike ventures out while Francie makes coffee. Usually the boat is covered in dew that is so heavy that it looked like it rained the night before. We have even had to postpone a departure in the morning because the steam rising from the canal was so thick we couldn’t see. Later in the afternoon when it begins to warm up, we switch the heavy long underwear for a lighter version. By the time we are ready to stop for the day, we switch to regular clothes. Thank God, no one is around to realize that it is the same clothes each day.
The beauty of the canal makes up for any cold weather. We are a little more than half way through. It is about 337 miles long and at 7.5 miles an hour, it takes time. We have seen an eagle, wild turkeys and many blue heron. The colors are beginning to turn.
There are lots of towns where there is a dock to tie up the boat for free. Saturday night we were in Fairport celebrating a Canal festival. We were moored on a wall downtown. We even went “bar hopping” that evening. For us, bar hopping is going to two bars and having a drink in each. We did meet the bridge tender (fellow that operates the lift bridge) in the bar and later when he was walking past the boat, we asked him to come aboard and have a beer. He, along with the fellow that operates the historic Urger canal tow boat shared with us interesting history of the canal and the tugs. In October they drain the canal and then throughout the fall and winter work on all of the equipment until they open in the spring. Some of the equipment is over a hundred years old. Many of the parts have to be machined because they are no longer available.
The Erie Canal has been a joy. The boat and the refrigeration are both running well. Not that I am superstitious – But “Knock on Wood” when you read this. I just did.
September 23, 2010
Hello from Canajoharie. NY – Home of Beech-nut. The last few days have been very restful. Tuesday we planned to go bike riding and see historic sites near Rome. As we approached their city docks we touched bottom. The next town only a few miles away had docks that were also shallow. We ended up traveling 20 more miles to Little Falls. It dates back to the early 1800’s with beautiful old buildings. We ventured into town on our bikes and what I thought was a German restaurant was a private club. We were welcomed to the town and the club. Best of all the beer was cheap.
The next morning we decided to stay another day and take a bike ride. We figured out that we ride our bikes about 12 miles an hour, but when on the boat we travel only 8 miles an hour.
Several sailboats came into the dock today and we sat around on the terminal porch and ate snacks, drank beer and told stories into the evening. It is nice to make new friends. We are all going to the same place eventually – someplace south and warm!
Port Clinton to the Erie Canal
September 17, 2010
The joys of success are not obtained without a little bit of fear and frustration.
We have left the Great Lakes. We are on the Erie Canal – Yea!!!! We made it!!! When we turned off of the Niagara River, we were welcomed by a sign telling us we had entered the Erie Canal. We both stood grinning at each other. A new part of the journey has begun.
Sunday the 12th we left Erie, PA for Dunkirk, NY. As we were leaving the port, we passed a unique boat that was a small catamaran originally home made from a kit. We could see two people sailing it. We were under motor so we passed them quite quickly. We put up the sails, the waves were quite large and they were behind us, really pushing us along. After a short time, the wind changed directions and we were forced to take the sails down and motor. An hour later, the wind and waves began to build again and we sailed with just the fore sail, moving along at 7 and 8 knots. We arrived outside of Dunkirk faster than we had expected. It was a glorious day.
We turned on the engine and brought the sail in. We were bouncing all over in the 6 to 8 foot waves. Then it happened. The engine alarm went off letting us know that it was overheating. Not again- we couldn’t believe it. The wind was really strong and the waves were high. Not a good situation. We immediately shut off the engine and rolled out part of the fore sail. We called for a tow but the closest tow was in Buffalo. That wasn’t going to happen. We tried to raise someone at the marina and the yacht club in Dunkirk but got no response. We were now past the entrance to town and had to fight the waves and wind to get closer so we could enter from an angle that would not push us up onto the rocks or harbor wall. In the mean time the sheriff answered one of Francie’s VHF calls to the marina. He came out of the harbor in a small power boat and showed us the way to the city dock. The wind was still gusting to 20-22 mph. Francie took the helm and Mike the sail. We carefully entered the harbor knowing that we could not make a mistake. Francie turned on the engine just before we came to the concrete pier. We were coming in too fast. Francie threw it into reverse as Mike leaped to the pier and the boat stopped. It banged against the pier but no damage was done. We were on the windward side of the pier so we were being blown up against it, lots of pressure on the fenders with 20-25 knots of wind. As we slid our fenders between the pier and the boat the sheriff came up to help. They were very gracious and lent us their large fenders. We wanted to be towed to the other side, but he was reluctant because of the wind. No one was hurt and nothing was broken but we were really frustrated with the whole situation. What else could go wrong – wrong thing to say. Moments later as Mike investigated the reason for our overheating; he discovered that our refrigeration was freezing up. At his point we were ready to pull the through hull and sink her.
Thank God for new days. Monday morning we replaced the impeller that we had just replaced in Port Clinton. There was an air lock but after several people gave us some suggestions we were able to get the boat running again. Rick, who worked on the refrigeration in Port Clinton, said we would find a way to adjust it. He would make phone calls to see if we could get someone in Buffalo to look at it.
When we finally had the engine working, we prepared to leave. The wind had increased and we were really pinned to the wall. The more we talked, the more it became apparent that the best choice was to stay another day.
We explored the town. We left the bikes and cruised town by foot. It was great to stretch our legs.
Later in the afternoon the catamaran we saw two days before came into the harbor. A few hours later two more boats arrived. The lake was really rough and they were all glad to be in port. We visited and swapped stories and plans. We are all headed in the same direction. The later boats were from Lake Erie, but the 3 people on the cat were from Colorado. They are in their late twenties. There was a guy and his wife and her cousin. They had bought the boat in Canada in early July. The boat doesn’t have a cabin, just the pontoons. Must be nice to be young! We had them over for a drink before going to bed.
Tuesday we were up early and ready to go. We bid our new friends goodbye and shuffled off to Buffalo. The wind was perfect and we were flying. Several times we saw 10 knots on the speed indicator. For those of you who don’t sail, that is fast and thrilling especially when you are not getting beat up by the waves. We arrived in Buffalo before we expected and found our way to RCR Marine. We met Darren, the manager. We told him about the problem with the overheating. Later in the afternoon, Andy, their mechanic, came down to talk to us about the problem. He had me remove the impeller. There was burnt rubber in the pump. He told me to remove the whole pump and clean it up and bring it to him. In the mean time he went back to work on the other boat. To make a long story short, I believe he found the problem with the impeller. In the meantime we readied the boat to have the mast removed. All of the electrical to the mast has to be disconnected, sails removed, the table around the mast taken down, and all of the cotter pins pulled and the turnbuckles on the wires that keep the mast from moving loosened. By the end of the evening it was ready for removal. We talked to the company who was going to truck the mast to the other end of the canal. To our disappointment, she changed the date to have it picked up as well as the price. We asked Darren if they could make braces to hold the mast for us. He told us he could and he would give us his truck to go and get the lumber.
Wednesday morning we were up early and ready to go to Home Depot. Later in the day the braces were built and the mast was pulled. These guys were great. They had the mast out and on horses. Then they wrapped it with one of our old halyards. Before we knew it, the mast was on its braces and we were ready to go. I can’t say enough good things about all of the people at RCR Marine. We headed out as soon as the mast was secure.
In the meantime, Rick from Port Clinton, was sending us a valve for the refrigeration. We were about an hour away from RCR when we realized we didn’t get it. We called Darren and it had not come in, but he said he would get it to us in Tonawanda, our destination.
We have to take the Niagara River to get to the Erie Canal. This is the same river that has the famous falls. Someone was telling us a story about someone they knew that took the wrong turn on the river and ended up crashing their boat on rocks before the falls. Someone else was talking about the fast current and how important it is to stay to the right so you don’t end up in the Niagara River headed toward the falls. We repeat to ourselves, “stay to the right!” The current is really fast. The buoys that mark the channel are leaning over as the current rushes past them. We were doing over 8 knots at a low rpm. After a lock and several hours we made the turn onto the Erie Canal.
We found a spot along the wall in North Tonawanda after going aground trying to get along the wall downtown. It was free and there was water and electric.
We knew that the next day the forecast was for rain all day so we decided to stay the following day.
Thursday morning we just lazed around for an hour or so in the morning. It was so nice to get up and not have to leave right away or have a whole list of chores to finish except do laundry. Did I mention that we normally get up at 6:30?
Laundry Chronicle: We bike to the Laundromat at 8 AM with our waterproof backpacks filled with dirty clothes. It is starting to rain as we wait for the laundry to finish. With apologies to our working friends, this is still better than working!
The excitement for the day was finding a Verizon store. We have been looking for new phones that will work better in all areas. We have debated this since we left, but Francie’s “smart phone” was functioning worse than my “dumb phone”. We went to the local tourist center and they helped us find the store. It was raining and the woman in charge told her assistant that he should take us there. We refused and rode our bikes the 4 miles in the rain. It was located in BJ’s. It is like a Costco or Sam’s. We were told we could get a pass for the day. We explained to the woman that we lived on a boat and we would not be interested in a membership. The clerk gave us a temporary pass that is good until the end of the year. Now we are members of Sam’s, Costco and now BJ’s. We are warehouse addicts! It was just like old times, wondering around the warehouse, tasting our way through, and looking at all kinds of stuff!
We biked back to the boat during a lull in the rainstorm, and as we arrived at the boat, Darren from RCR Marine was bringing us the package that had not arrived the day before. We can’t wait to play with our new droid phones, virtual life via the iphone want-a-be’s is very appealing!
The rest of the day was spent review charts and making plans for the trip down the canal.
The Erie Canal is everything we hoped it would be. It is charming, with little towns, beautiful vintage homes and it shouts a rich history. The original tow path where the mules pulled the barges is now a bike path. The other side of the canal still has a grass covered tow path. The canal itself is about the width of a 4 lane road. The sides are covered with large rocks which protect the sides from being washed away from boat wakes. It has gentle curves as it meanders from town to town. It seems so wrong to be a 44 foot sailboat travelling with cornfields on both sides of us. Several farms had orchards with rows of trees growing red apples and then rows of gold apples and then read again.
It is so hard to believe that this passage was hand dug. The towns had buildings dating back to the mid 1800’s.
We stopped in Holly, NY and old canal town. The town has provided us a dock to stay with electric and water. It is stepping back into the past. It has the small town friendliness. We have spent the last several days in long underwear and jackets while on the water. Nights are between 40 and 50 degrees. Earlier today we past a sign that said that we were at the northern most point in the Erie Canal, that can only be good news!
The joys of success are not obtained without a little bit of fear and frustration.
We have left the Great Lakes. We are on the Erie Canal – Yea!!!! We made it!!! When we turned off of the Niagara River, we were welcomed by a sign telling us we had entered the Erie Canal. We both stood grinning at each other. A new part of the journey has begun.
Sunday the 12th we left Erie, PA for Dunkirk, NY. As we were leaving the port, we passed a unique boat that was a small catamaran originally home made from a kit. We could see two people sailing it. We were under motor so we passed them quite quickly. We put up the sails, the waves were quite large and they were behind us, really pushing us along. After a short time, the wind changed directions and we were forced to take the sails down and motor. An hour later, the wind and waves began to build again and we sailed with just the fore sail, moving along at 7 and 8 knots. We arrived outside of Dunkirk faster than we had expected. It was a glorious day.
We turned on the engine and brought the sail in. We were bouncing all over in the 6 to 8 foot waves. Then it happened. The engine alarm went off letting us know that it was overheating. Not again- we couldn’t believe it. The wind was really strong and the waves were high. Not a good situation. We immediately shut off the engine and rolled out part of the fore sail. We called for a tow but the closest tow was in Buffalo. That wasn’t going to happen. We tried to raise someone at the marina and the yacht club in Dunkirk but got no response. We were now past the entrance to town and had to fight the waves and wind to get closer so we could enter from an angle that would not push us up onto the rocks or harbor wall. In the mean time the sheriff answered one of Francie’s VHF calls to the marina. He came out of the harbor in a small power boat and showed us the way to the city dock. The wind was still gusting to 20-22 mph. Francie took the helm and Mike the sail. We carefully entered the harbor knowing that we could not make a mistake. Francie turned on the engine just before we came to the concrete pier. We were coming in too fast. Francie threw it into reverse as Mike leaped to the pier and the boat stopped. It banged against the pier but no damage was done. We were on the windward side of the pier so we were being blown up against it, lots of pressure on the fenders with 20-25 knots of wind. As we slid our fenders between the pier and the boat the sheriff came up to help. They were very gracious and lent us their large fenders. We wanted to be towed to the other side, but he was reluctant because of the wind. No one was hurt and nothing was broken but we were really frustrated with the whole situation. What else could go wrong – wrong thing to say. Moments later as Mike investigated the reason for our overheating; he discovered that our refrigeration was freezing up. At his point we were ready to pull the through hull and sink her.
Thank God for new days. Monday morning we replaced the impeller that we had just replaced in Port Clinton. There was an air lock but after several people gave us some suggestions we were able to get the boat running again. Rick, who worked on the refrigeration in Port Clinton, said we would find a way to adjust it. He would make phone calls to see if we could get someone in Buffalo to look at it.
When we finally had the engine working, we prepared to leave. The wind had increased and we were really pinned to the wall. The more we talked, the more it became apparent that the best choice was to stay another day.
We explored the town. We left the bikes and cruised town by foot. It was great to stretch our legs.
Later in the afternoon the catamaran we saw two days before came into the harbor. A few hours later two more boats arrived. The lake was really rough and they were all glad to be in port. We visited and swapped stories and plans. We are all headed in the same direction. The later boats were from Lake Erie, but the 3 people on the cat were from Colorado. They are in their late twenties. There was a guy and his wife and her cousin. They had bought the boat in Canada in early July. The boat doesn’t have a cabin, just the pontoons. Must be nice to be young! We had them over for a drink before going to bed.
Tuesday we were up early and ready to go. We bid our new friends goodbye and shuffled off to Buffalo. The wind was perfect and we were flying. Several times we saw 10 knots on the speed indicator. For those of you who don’t sail, that is fast and thrilling especially when you are not getting beat up by the waves. We arrived in Buffalo before we expected and found our way to RCR Marine. We met Darren, the manager. We told him about the problem with the overheating. Later in the afternoon, Andy, their mechanic, came down to talk to us about the problem. He had me remove the impeller. There was burnt rubber in the pump. He told me to remove the whole pump and clean it up and bring it to him. In the mean time he went back to work on the other boat. To make a long story short, I believe he found the problem with the impeller. In the meantime we readied the boat to have the mast removed. All of the electrical to the mast has to be disconnected, sails removed, the table around the mast taken down, and all of the cotter pins pulled and the turnbuckles on the wires that keep the mast from moving loosened. By the end of the evening it was ready for removal. We talked to the company who was going to truck the mast to the other end of the canal. To our disappointment, she changed the date to have it picked up as well as the price. We asked Darren if they could make braces to hold the mast for us. He told us he could and he would give us his truck to go and get the lumber.
Wednesday morning we were up early and ready to go to Home Depot. Later in the day the braces were built and the mast was pulled. These guys were great. They had the mast out and on horses. Then they wrapped it with one of our old halyards. Before we knew it, the mast was on its braces and we were ready to go. I can’t say enough good things about all of the people at RCR Marine. We headed out as soon as the mast was secure.
In the meantime, Rick from Port Clinton, was sending us a valve for the refrigeration. We were about an hour away from RCR when we realized we didn’t get it. We called Darren and it had not come in, but he said he would get it to us in Tonawanda, our destination.
We have to take the Niagara River to get to the Erie Canal. This is the same river that has the famous falls. Someone was telling us a story about someone they knew that took the wrong turn on the river and ended up crashing their boat on rocks before the falls. Someone else was talking about the fast current and how important it is to stay to the right so you don’t end up in the Niagara River headed toward the falls. We repeat to ourselves, “stay to the right!” The current is really fast. The buoys that mark the channel are leaning over as the current rushes past them. We were doing over 8 knots at a low rpm. After a lock and several hours we made the turn onto the Erie Canal.
We found a spot along the wall in North Tonawanda after going aground trying to get along the wall downtown. It was free and there was water and electric.
We knew that the next day the forecast was for rain all day so we decided to stay the following day.
Thursday morning we just lazed around for an hour or so in the morning. It was so nice to get up and not have to leave right away or have a whole list of chores to finish except do laundry. Did I mention that we normally get up at 6:30?
Laundry Chronicle: We bike to the Laundromat at 8 AM with our waterproof backpacks filled with dirty clothes. It is starting to rain as we wait for the laundry to finish. With apologies to our working friends, this is still better than working!
The excitement for the day was finding a Verizon store. We have been looking for new phones that will work better in all areas. We have debated this since we left, but Francie’s “smart phone” was functioning worse than my “dumb phone”. We went to the local tourist center and they helped us find the store. It was raining and the woman in charge told her assistant that he should take us there. We refused and rode our bikes the 4 miles in the rain. It was located in BJ’s. It is like a Costco or Sam’s. We were told we could get a pass for the day. We explained to the woman that we lived on a boat and we would not be interested in a membership. The clerk gave us a temporary pass that is good until the end of the year. Now we are members of Sam’s, Costco and now BJ’s. We are warehouse addicts! It was just like old times, wondering around the warehouse, tasting our way through, and looking at all kinds of stuff!
We biked back to the boat during a lull in the rainstorm, and as we arrived at the boat, Darren from RCR Marine was bringing us the package that had not arrived the day before. We can’t wait to play with our new droid phones, virtual life via the iphone want-a-be’s is very appealing!
The rest of the day was spent review charts and making plans for the trip down the canal.
The Erie Canal is everything we hoped it would be. It is charming, with little towns, beautiful vintage homes and it shouts a rich history. The original tow path where the mules pulled the barges is now a bike path. The other side of the canal still has a grass covered tow path. The canal itself is about the width of a 4 lane road. The sides are covered with large rocks which protect the sides from being washed away from boat wakes. It has gentle curves as it meanders from town to town. It seems so wrong to be a 44 foot sailboat travelling with cornfields on both sides of us. Several farms had orchards with rows of trees growing red apples and then rows of gold apples and then read again.
It is so hard to believe that this passage was hand dug. The towns had buildings dating back to the mid 1800’s.
We stopped in Holly, NY and old canal town. The town has provided us a dock to stay with electric and water. It is stepping back into the past. It has the small town friendliness. We have spent the last several days in long underwear and jackets while on the water. Nights are between 40 and 50 degrees. Earlier today we past a sign that said that we were at the northern most point in the Erie Canal, that can only be good news!