Aisling goes Looping

and a few time lapse videos in the Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/RAE2aFJFGeo and https://youtu.be/uHcq9KDlTvQ

Of course as we approached the ‘American Narrows’ area of the St Lawerence, a big ship appeared ‘upbound’. We decided ‘discretion is the better part of valor’ and pulled out of the channel to linger while she went by.

Big shout out for AIS (Automatic Identification System)! All (most) commercial shipping has to have it and we have it on Aisling as well. It transmits the ships location, speed, bearing…. which allows us to ‘see’ these big guys way before they are visually apparent. This morning we ‘saw’ a Canadian Ice breaker approaching us at Alexandria Bay. Very cool looking ship which somehow we did not get a picture of…. you can google it: ‘Pierre Radisson’.

I had never heard of Sackets Harbor so serendipity played a big role in our 4 day stay. It begins with escaping (yeah that is the right word) the Oswego Canal hours before it was ‘closed to navigation’. Upon entering Lake Ontario headed toward the St Lawrence Seaway (and maybe Canada???) there are few harbors to choose from and Sackets was the right distance and seemed like it would be a nice place to hang for 2 days. As soon as we entered the harbor, it was clear 2 days would not be enough. The harbor is small, well protected and we had a primo t-head location directly across from the town green/dock and the bandstand gazebo. If Hallmark hasn’t made a movie here yet, it will soon…

We then we learned that this was CanAm weekend which is an annual celebration of getting outside and having good family fun (also Canada and America). Saturday was overcast and rain threatened all day, but not enough to halt the boxcar derby, human foosball, crafters, a surprising number of vintners and a large crowd of families all having a blast!

For a town of only ~1500 people, this place has more than it’s share of good restaurants. Tin Pan Galley tops the list and following our lunch in their garden courtyard, we decided dinner reservations were a must.

How did Sackets Harbor come to be? Wikipedia can give you the full story and it’s worth a read. Perhaps the fact that this was once the 3rd largest town in NY (after NYC and Albany) and that it played a key role in the War of 1812 will entice those interested in history.

Having looked at the weather forecast last evening, we slept in this morning realizing that we would be spending a fifth day at Ess-Kay Yard in Brewerton not only due to weather, but also because after 5 days, we had still not received the 2-day priority package from Woodstock. Not that staying was a bad thing. I had visions of baking bread or at least blueberry muffins, keeping up with work obligations, and reading, not to mention completing the daily crossword puzzle.

By 10 AM the package had arrived at the PO and Kim, the owner of the marina, allowed me to use her car to collect it. Meanwhile Marty was following the weather and found that we had a window of opportunity to travel north to Oswego on Lake Ontario. OK! Off to the fuel dock and pump out!

Passed through Lock E-23 and turned north at the directional sign that led us off the Erie. Brief rain. Lock O-1. While we were told that the chamber was filling for us, the northbound vessel, we were surprised that it took so long and that the southbound boat that requested passage after us, came through first. What we were really surprised about was the dockmaster’s query as to whether we wanted the drawbridge opened for us. Clearance: 14′. Need: 15’6. Yes Please! Crazy crane lifted the highway bridge just beyond the northern lock door.

In the meantime, Lockmaster conversation. Where are you going? Oswego. You won’t make it because Locks 6, 7, and 8 close at 5 PM. Oh! And, by the way, if we have 4/10 of an inch more rain, the canal will close due to clearance issues. Oh!!!

We settled on tying to the wall between Locks 2 and 3. A fine spot. No amenities or services, but we enjoyed the breeze, the view of the falls to the north and south, and a delightful dinner of grilled shrimp wrapped in prosciutto and basil. Alas, no homemade bread.

Hopefully there will be no more rain until we get out of the Oswego Canal! Go with the flow…

Follow up: We left the Lock 2/3 wall at 7:30 AM and locked through the remaining 4 locks by 11:30 AM. The canal closed due to high water at 2:40 PM. They literally closed the door behind us! Our luck holds one more time!

Though all previous Lock videos had only us in the lock, locking with others is common. I usually don’t get to take pic’s or vid’s but saw an opportunity this time. Good thing I did. The Lock Master was a hoot! The sun was out! I was able to capture the boats Wayward Travelers and NoRegrets3 entering and exiting. Both ended the day on the wall with us in Sylvan Beach.

Part 1 – https://youtu.be/KMjGg9ezg7E

Part 2 – https://youtu.be/_P59fnrJDoo

Part 3 – https://youtu.be/uXjmzN826FA

Part 4 – https://youtu.be/TtKLj_BzQ64

I have to admit to being a bit intimidated as we approached Erie Canal Lock 17 (E-17). With a 40.5 foot lift, it is the highest lock on the Erie system. Not only that, but it was the first “guillotine” style lower lock door that we have encountered. Lately infamous due to the failure of the door’s hoisting mechanisms, boats stacked up on both approaches in late May while a special part was fabricated to replace the one-off historic mechanism. After a number of days, a special crane was brought in from Pennsylvania to lift the door on a scheduled basis to allow for boats to pass.

Fellow Loopers Lisa and Ray Henry on MV Scout sent us the attached photos as we locked through E-17. Not only did the “waterfall” cool me down, but the tiny mussels that cling to the lock walls spit at you the whole way up!

The previous post about the flash flood was written in the middle of the night to help keep me awake as we watched to see if it would continue to rise or begin to fall. I tried out a new ‘story board’ function which only works from my phone and some have reported they can’t see the video. So this is an attempt to briefly recap what happened and what has happened since.

We were awoken by bumps on the hull at about 1230am and looking outside found we were surrounded by trees, debris and angry swirling waters. The water began to rise and once it topped the platform we were tied to, it was time to worry…. We adjusted the lines and fenders constantly to keep Aisling off the wall. Was not easy…. But it was when the canal waters reversed themselves that I became concerned as I had no idea what would happen next. You can imagine a boiling mass of logs suddenly changing direction. Probably nothing good can come from that, though it did. Best guess is that was as a result of the flood gates below us being opened. The water began to recede but the debris was encased around the boat. At 10am we and the boat behind us decided to move and see if we could get passed lock 20. Turns out that was a critical and very lucky good move. The rain has continued for the last few days and those that were unable to get out are now trapped as Locks 8-19 are closed and will be for days….. Just lucky I guess.

UPDATE – as of this morning, Tuesday 7/13/21, locks 2-19 are closed….

Time Lapse of our entrance into the Erie Canal from Waterford. https://youtu.be/QouXn9_j0kY Clearly Lyn is doing all the work and I’m relegated to making sure I don’t crash 40,000# into concrete walls….;-) Keep an eye out for the Eagle!

I think we are going to need ear plugs…. and we did!

As we were pulling into the wall in Waterford on Friday, we notice a barge heading toward us from the Hudson River. Of course they dock right behind us and it’s clear this is the fireworks barge for Sunday evening. No problem I say as ‘they would load them here and the launch site is waaaay over there. Yeah but… turns out they do load the fireworks right next to us and the water is too low ‘over there’ so they are going to just push the barge out into the water 100 yards or so and thus we have THE front row seats. I am a picture of calm as I make sure i have working fire extinquishers at the ready….

As we entered Lake Champlain from the south on a Sunday, it was abundantly clear that we had violated one of our cardinal rules; ‘Thou shalt not boat on the weekend’. Why, you ask? This has to do with a combination of the quantity of boats and the general lack of boating courtesy exhibited by many (not all) weekend boaters. So heading north into Lake Champlain on a Sunday morning, we encountered more fishing boaters than green heads, and thats a lot…. Dutifully, I slowed Aisling to avoid ‘waking’ these weekend warriors as they should not be uncomfortably rocked by our wake. And i’m happy to do it. I’m also legally responsible for my wake so its a good idea as well…

But there are questions; Why is it that many (not all) fishermen are sure that the fish are in the middle of the channel (i’m not expert, but Im pretty sure they are not)? Why do those in Bass Boats believe that speed is an essential component of fishing and thus must go 60MPH from one place to another (giving not a care to their brethren fishermen and waking the hell out of them?)

Yesterday we headed south on a Monday, through those same fishing grounds, we encountered exactly one (yes 1) boat fishing. I slowed to pass them with minimal wake and received two thumbs up from those on the boat in appreciation for our gesture, I was reminded why we have a rule about not boating on weekends. I also had a thought; should fishing licenses require proof of employment? Or a restriction on fishing Monday through Friday so that I can be sure my experience today is consistent? I for one think so!