Day 4 in North Tonawanda, NY

Yesterday we collected our laundry, with the help of an Uber.  Then we tackled the issue that’s been with us since we started this trip: our navigation system doesn’t work as it’s supposed to.  We should be able to pull up a route that we’ve set up on the iPad and have our boat automatically follow the route.  Apparently, there was a problem with the “chip” installed…and we had to lift the upstairs helm panel (HEAVY!!!) to get the minuscule chip out and then spend hours talking to Navionics…and this morning to Raymarine.  Part of the issue was fixed, but as of this moment it still doesn’t work right.  Wayne’s upstairs now working on it with phone in hand…

Meanwhile, Maggie and I had our morning walk and came upon a “watch cat” at one store window.  The cat had been snoozing until Maggie stopped to check it out, at which time the cat sprang into attack mode and slapped the window with it’s claws extended…







Walking back to the boat I snapped this picture of how things are during the week here.  We’re the lone boat at the very end of the left bank….





Oh, and that bridge behind us with the huge cement “masher” poised above the boat (at least it is in the picture…)?  That’s a bascule bridge built to allow tall vessels to pass under when the concrete block is allowed to lower.   See more about it here:
https://theniagarabranch.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/bascule-bridge-at-north-tonawanda/

Speaking of that bridge…kids have been jumping off the bridge every day we’ve been here.  Sunday there were about 8 or 9 kids repeatedly jumping…until the police arrived and took “information” from all of them…which I bet included parents’ address.  Then, today, again more jumpers….

Wayne's still at work with the navigation system....sigh.  You might want to see what has to be done to the upstairs helm to access this teeny, tiny chip...

 Saturday, July 30, 2022 - The best laid plans...

So, our aim today was to go from Brockport to Lockport and spend the night there.We hadn't identified a specific place in Lockport...but, it being the location of the Erie Canal Discovery Center, we were sure there must be space available for overnight dockage.  Wrong.  

Early in the day we got behind a boat named Cat Nap and followed it until they left the Erie Canal.  The areas we passed through today were very much agricultural with fields of corn and large farms.  Beautiful!  Cat Nap was going to try for Buffalo this evening so we were both interested in going as fast as we could and still be mindful of areas requiring "no wake."  It made for a longer day.  We got to Lockport and Maggie Jo looked for a good place to tie up on the lower side of the locks (there are two locks connected, a flight it's called) and found only one area with a park...but there were woven wires running along the docking wall and we decided to go on up the locks with Cat Nap.  That is until we hailed the lock and were told we should tie up to the wall and wait until signaled to come in.  Obviously they were having a problem with the lock.

We did as told and waited there about 1/2 hour until a truck drove by with the replacement lock tender.  He said he would check on it and let us know what's going on.  He no sooner got there than he called back and said we could come on in...which we did.  Into the first lock...up a good ways...gate opens and we sail into the 2nd lock, a bit shorter ride... and out of the locks on the Erie!! Last locks!!

We tried hard to find a place to tie up for the night but it just wasn't there.  Might as well go on over to North Tonawanda NY and spend the night in the Gateway Harbor there.  It was 6:30 before we reached the harbor (we left Brockport at 7:30) because it was mostly "inhabited" waters we passed though and we were constantly in "no wake" zones.  

When we finally came upon the harbor it looked completely full...just like it would be on the Saturday night it was.  We went up and down and finally spotted a place but got beat out by a boat that crossed the harbor to land it first.  Glancing across the harbor we saw a smaller boat leaving and the space left looked big enough for us.  We crossed the harbor and, wind playing with us all the way, Wayne got it in there!  People were gathered to see the show!  

We settled in for a stay of 2 nights...maybe more.  $35/night with water and power.  The upper deck was a perfect hang-out to take in all the activity and relax at the end of a LONG day!

 First, a view of us parked in the North Tonawanda Basin

 

 

 

And photos gathered along the way from Brockport...

 

 

Brockport main street

 

 

Oh, if only we could go 40mph!!

 

 

Horse statues are everywhere up here to acknowledge their  part in the early days of Erie Canal when barges were pulled along by horses on the path alongside.

 

Sunday, July 31, 2022  

This morning we lazed around a while after both having a good night's sleep.  Then we decided to get an Uber, drop off our laundry for wash and fold, and let the Uber drop us off for groceries.  Baskets full, we called another Uber and made it back to the boat in pretty good time.  This afternoon we've relaxed and settled into watching the boats and people passing time.

One thing to mention here: Maggie May has learned she can jump from the boat onto the wall or dock we're tied to.  So far, she's still with us...but it's added a whole 'nuther aspect to having her aboard.  Needless to say, she can't be on deck by herself!

We've signed up for a third night here so we have another day of rest to look forward to. ;-)  Then we'll head to Buffalo for several days.

On to the eastern side of Erie Canal…

 Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Woke up this morning to 58 degrees!!  At last!!!  We did our usual get ready routine and left for Lock 23, which was relatively close to us.  We were leaving the lock at 7:30.  Eight hours later we are tied up below Lock 25 having gone 53 miles. Needless to say, it took a while to transit the rivers between locks.  For one thing, much of this water had houses and docks along the side…read: slow going.  And then there’s always the time it takes to ready the lock when you approach and then to lock through.  But…we didn’t get hot until we stopped. ;-)

Again we had a lovely “back yard” for Maggie to romp around in….

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Got out early again and traveled to Fairport, NY, today going though 5 or so locks. (They’re all alike now!)  The scenery was more remote…not as many homes by the water…so we made good time.  The only thing that started slowing us down was the railroad bridges we had to fit under.  Our boat measures 15.5 feet.  The bridges up here don’t have depth gauges so it’s hard to tell whether the water level is up (easier trip under) or down (will we still have a bimini top on the boat when we’re through).  One of the lock masters warned us of a 15.5 ft. bridge coming up. Gulp.  Turns out there we at least 6-10 inches (as it looked to me as I was standing on the back of the boat while Wayne drove slowly under.  AND A TRAIN CAME THOUGH, to make it worse.  We survived.  But we are going to have to go through a practice session on letting the bimini top down.

While in one of the locks, as we’re hanging on to our nasty lines and trying to fight the wind, the lady in the boat next to us started asking questions about our boat…and finally asked if they could come see it that evening in Fairport.  I told her that would be fine…but that we don’t make up the bed when traveling like this.  ;-)  

We got to Fairport and found a nice place on the wall right beside the bridge.  Great deal here for docking, water, and electric $14/night.  If you want to stay more than 14 days you need to talk to the dock master for info.  I was just getting ready to take Mags for a walk when Janet and Peter came to see the boat.  They have a Mainship, too, but it’s smaller.  It’s a sedan, i think.  Anyway, they came through to see our size and layout because they are interested in buying one. Nice people..from Florida…who want to live up here in the summer and store the boat in Brewerton, NY.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Today was a nice catch up day.  Fairport has a a UPS store within easy walking distance, so I was able to make Amazon return.  I also got a few necessary items from the small grocery store nearby that sells mostly locally made foods…and visited my favorite store ever, Crafts Bits and Pieces.  It’s a thrift store that benefits elderly population here.  They also have a tool thrift store. I came away with two storage cases for my collage papers…and an antique tool that enlarges an image for drawing.  

AND…I visited the public library which is in the same shopping center as the UPS, craft, and tool stores.  I was hoping they had bags or t-shirts  that I could buy…but no.  The library has an interesting story about how it came to be in the shopping center.  They had a building that had been erected back in the 30's and by the 70's they needed more space.  The town decided to lease space in the shopping center.  In 1978 the library was moved by over 400 local residents, a box at a time.

For lunch we had hamburger from local restaurant and it was delish!  There was a nice breeze today and it felt especially good if you stayed in the shade, which is what we did.  Tomorrow we’re going to go under the lift bridge and head on over to Holly, NY for the night.  We’re planning on being in Buffalo, NY, August 4 and 5 to catch prescriptions and Amazon stuff.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Well...plans have changed.  Instead of going to Holly, NY, today we're going to Brockport, which is only a few miles from Holly.  We've been to Holly and decided to do Brockport this time.  ;-)

The trip was easy and pleasant.  Temps in the mid-70's and a good breeze blowing kept me in long sleeves until we tied up to the Brockport wall.  Cost for the night is $20 and includes water, electric, wifi (open, of course), and laundry.

The only grief we suffered today was going under a TON of bridges and sweating out clearing many of them.  It's a good thing water is down a bit on the Erie Canal or we'd be boating in a convertible look (top down!)  We also had several life bridges, beginning with the one in Fairport.  Easy, peasy.  Call the bridge tender and request a trip through.  One little hang up in Spencerport.  The bridge tender didn't answer our call.  We finally tied up to the side of the basin and Wayne went off to find the person in charge.  Meanwhile, Maggie and I took a short walk.  Bottom line, the bridge tender missed the call out (he came back to his office just as Wayne was going into town to find our if the bridge opened on request...or only on the hour, as some bridges do.  Anyway, we all got back to the boat and made it easily through.

Beautiful scenery as we went...and I'm just going to put some of the photos in now...

 Another stay on lock wall

Artful arrangement on by the lock

Fairport with boats on both sides of the

canal.  We're way back on the left side with 

beige top...

Ben, we found your boat...

 

ON THE ERIE...

Monday, July 18, 2022

Lonnnggg trip today from Norrie Marina to the Troy City Marina.  We left early and traveled 63 miles to get there.  Last time we stayed here they had a city dock that would allow one to stay for days.  They converted that to a marina with fee of $2/ft.  Still, it was worth it.  Water, electricity, easy access to downtown services.  That evening we did take out from a local bar for supper.  

Next morning we ordered groceries for delivery from Walmart and took laundry to local  laundromat for wash, dry, fold service (Big Lou's charged only $25 for washing, drying and folding or hangers!!)…that with the help of Uber.  And we planned out our routes up and across the Erie Canal.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Our spot at the Troy City Marina.. and leaving Troy that morning.

We left Troy City Marina at around 6:30AM, knowing the federal lock, a short distance from our location, would open at 6AM.  There were 3 boats ahead of us as we approached the lock and we ended up traveling with them to the end of our day.  They were all Loopers…one doing it for the second time (by the color of flag they flew).  

The beginning of the day was very pleasant…and, shall I say…cool and breezy.  Well.  We all know that can’t last!  The weather was pleasant as long as you were moving.  Stop, and the heat caught up to you.

The locks were our issue today.  One of the boats we were following had no sense of their effect on the rest of the “party”.  When entering the lock, no one knew where that boat was going to go: starboard tie up (right side of the boat tied to wall) or port (left side tie up.)  Everyone else had to adjust accordingly.  In the first lock, this boat ended up being tied up to the left wall from the front of the boat…but the stern (back of the boar) was slowly floating to the right side of the lock and in danger of hitting the boat tied up there!

The wind, which had felt so refreshing as we started out this morning, turned into a real issue as the day went on.  Looking at stats on the weather app, the average wind speed was 13 mph and wind gusts went up to 24 mph.  That made locking through interesting, too.  Bottom line, we decided to stop our cruise today at Lock 9.  We all had to line up on the stern side to tie up in the lock and we barely fit in as the last boat there.  We’d already decided to stay at one of the tie up areas by the lock and as soon as we came out we headed for the north side of the channel and a long wall with places to tie up.  We started towards it and the wind kicked in big time.  One of the lock attendants came over and helped up get onto the wall.  Sigh!  We’d had it for the day.

Shut down the engine and turned on the generator.  Things have been better ever since. ;-)  Took Maggie for a walk in the nearby field asap.  Later I took her out with her e-collar on (read:stops the dog with a vibration on the collar…or a zap of “juice.”  She got to run off leash with this set up for the first time on this trip!  This dog LOVES to run !!

Plans for tomorrow are to make it to Little Falls and tie up on a wall there.   Field beside the dock at Lock 9...

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Today was a good day.  We left Lock 9 mooring early and traveled all the way to Little Falls, NY.   We went through 7 locks…and every one is different!  Some have large, 6” diameter poles that we can loosely tie up to for the trip up (all of the locks since we started have been moving higher and higher in elevation. Other locks have small steel lines in a recessed channel that you can loop a line around to hold the boat in place. All locks seem to have at least a couple of stairs leading from the top of the lock down to below boat level.  These we can loop a rope around and hold the boat close to wall.  Only hassle with that is that you have to take the rope off and loop it around a higher rung as the boat “climbs” the wall.  All locks have a bunch of  long lines hanging from the top of the lock for boaters to grab onto and try to keep the boat from swinging out as the water rises and you encounter the wind.  I don’t like those lines.  Too easy to “get away from you” which is when I yell WAYNE!!!!  I guess we learned a while ago that if you can “snug up” to the lock wall, the boat will move less and suffer less damage.  It was just hard to do that on most of these locks.  Funny, but I don’t remember that being the case last trip through….

The poor boat is a mess after all this tying up to lock walls.  The walls are flaky dirty and wet.  The rope I used to tied up to ladders or slide along the poles or metal lines is filthy.  Thank goodness for my “boat gloves!”  When we get to Ess Kay Boat Yard in Brewerton we’ll clean her up!!

We stopped today right before Lock 17 at Little Falls, NY.  We stayed there in the same place last time through.  We didn’t go into town…just gave Maggie a good walk on a nearby trail, settled in for the evening with generator running and air conditioner pushing out cool air. ;-)  Little Falls has some gorgeous stone banks...

Thursday, July 21, 2022

We were ready to go through Lock 17 and called the lock at 6:50AM.  Other locks we’d been through opened at 6.  This lock opens at 7.  Well, it was almost 7:30 before we entered the lock.  Hmmm.  As we entered the lock we heard a weird sound coming from the bow thruster.  We both sort of blanched at that because we’d had trouble with Journey on the last trip through, we thought this might be the same thing…and that would be…strange.  Turns out we didn’t have any more troubling sounds from it today and will check it out at Ess Kay Boat Yard if we go.

The rest of the day went well.  We had planned to go all the way to Sylvan Beach, NY, before crossing Oneida Lake, but the wind started picking up and it poured rain on us for a brief period.  We decided to just stop on the west side of Lock 22, south bank.  It’s perfect for us, and Maggie!  Huge field by the boat so I took her out for a romp, again with her “E” collar on for safety.  She had a ball!!

Our spot below Lock 22 and looking at sunrise there the next morning

Friday, July 22, 2022

Today we got up our usual “early” and traveled from west side of Lock 22 to Oneida Lake.  In doing so, we passed by Sylvan Beach.  Neat little town and a beautiful beach area park.  They have a free wall and we stayed here for a few days on one of our trips.

The weather was perfect as we crossed Oneida Lake, 20.51 miles.  The only “issue” came in dodging fishing boats!  They insist on being right on our course of travel!  ;-)  We were at Ess-Kay Boat Yard in Brewerton, NY, where we had a reunion with Kim who, with her husband, have run the boat yard since she graduated from college.  She was telling us that she had her sights on becoming a financial something, but when she told her father (the business owner then) he told her she’d be coming to work with him.  “I paid for your college and now you’ll pay me back.”  She’s been here ever since and is obviously very happy here and has a great business.  We’re going to be here until Monday or Tuesday (depending on when Amazon packages arrive on Monday).  Monday morning the crew here will change the oil and filters on the engine and generator.

Along the way...

 

 

 

Obviously I have a park along the banks of the Oneida Lake!

 

Other photos from our trip to Ess-Kay Boat Yard...and of the boat yard itself..

 

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Maggie and I got out for a walk this morning…down a 2-lane road with houses on one side and woods on the other.  Good for jumping outta the way when pickup trucks come barreling by.  Yes, even in Brewerton, NY!  Well, it is a very small town…

Ess-Kay has a courtesy car that we checked out for a couple of hours.  We got some basics at Walmart…then went to Wegman’s for groceries.  Nirvana!!  Stocked up on goodies and necessities…then back to the boat to settle in for a lazy afternoon…naps, too

Sunday, July 24, 2022

This morning Maggie and I went in the other direction on said road and toured Brewerton.  One main street with sidewalks a few shops, and a few “once were” shops.  Our walk took us to the waterside park, small and clean…and then we turned around and walked back.  About 45 min. and it did us both good.

 In "downtown" Brewerton I saw this gorgeous old church.  Apparently it's used now for things like weddings and art shows....

We have the car booked again for a couple of hours.  There’s still room in the freezer and Wayne needs a “spider brush” from Ace Hardware to fight the never ending battle against spiders on a boat…

Off the Ocean!!

Thursday, July 14, 2022

We left Manasquan Safe Harbor Marina at around 8:30 to let the tides work with us on our way out of the inlet.  The trip up the coast was easy (thank goodness!) and we got there in plenty of time to pause and circle around with our companion traveler today, Nowhere Fast, snapping quick shots of our boats in front of the Statue of Liberty.They then waited for Esperanza so they could take a picture of them. Both of the other boats were headed to a marina in the area…But we did our usual thing of anchoring in an anchorage near the park behind the Statue.

We were the only power boat in the anchorage and shared it with only about 4 sailboats.  Sweet!  We then celebrated our successful trip coming off the Atlantic Ocean by opening up the bottle of wine Chuck and Vickie shared.  Perfect ending to a perfect day….

View of Jersey shore while traveling up to NYC

 

 

 

Friday, July 15, 2022

Haverstraw Bay was our destination today.  We left the Statue anchorage around 7:00 in hopes of finding the NY harbor somewhat clear…and it was!  The last time we left here we left at 8:30 thinking we’d miss all the traffic.  Nope!  We had ferries blowing their horns at us all the way up while we were trying to get out of their way!  

Taking our ride up through the NY harbor I couldn’t take enough pictures of the architecture.  So many unique buildings…

We found our anchorage in the early afternoon, nestled in a little cove behind a park.  It was a quiet night…

Saturday, July 16, 2022

  View of the Hudson River as we left our anchorage this morning...

 

We were both up early this morning and left our anchorage around 7:00 to travel to a marina, Norrie Marina in a state park about 40 miles up river.  $1.25/ft for the night and $5 for power.  Deal of the trip, so far!!  The cruise up the Hudson was all scenic entertainment: passenger and freight trains running on both sides of the river; huge, gorgeous homes; West Point; and cliffs that would challenge a “climber”in spite of names like “Break Neck Cliff”.

We finally got to our marina and it’s a perfect place to relax for the afternoon and catch up on blogging. Tomorrow we’re hoping to get to Troy City Marina for a couple of nights before we get on the Erie Canal.  It’s a 60+ mile trip from here and we’re hoping the tides will cooperate…

NOTE:  Non-dog lovers might want to skip this part.  It’s about training a dog to “cruise” on a long boat trip.

Maggie hadn’t been on land since Thursday morning at Manasquan.  We have a grassy pad on the boat that she trained on early and last used about 3 years ago.  So, here’s the deal.  There are times when we anchor out in spots that don’t have good places to dinghy into and since we can’t hit land…we have a grassy pad that substitutes for real land…or so we hope.  So we didn’t take her to shore until this afternoon…in hopes that she would start using the pad.  She had peed on the mat, but that was all.  We were uncomfortable with her situation…but she would only pee.  Today,  when she got the leash attached to her harness she was, needless to say, thrilled.  And had a lovely time on land making up for the time since Wednesday morning.  As with most training like this, I think Wayne and I were more miserable than she!!

And it ain’t over yet….

 Sunday, July 17, 2022

Up early this morning to travel 63 miles to Troy, NY, and their marina along side the river.  As we thought would happen, our mileage wasn't the best due to either current or breeze.  Must have been mostly current because there wasn't much breeze... and it was HOT!  Again, the trip was interesting just looking at all that was around us.  One thing in particular was spotting 3 of the Hudson's remaining lighthouses.  You can read all about the lighthouses on this website:https://www.hudsonriverlighthouses.org/

Got into our slip in Troy shortly after 4PM.  Maggie and I took a short tour of the area and were pleased to see lots of people and activity.  And...the area looks very well tended.  Ordered take out from a restaurant nearby and relaxed knowing we had a whole day ahead of us for grocery shopping and laundry.  ;-)

 Monday, July 18, 2022 

It's raining in Troy today, but not so hard that Maggie won't walk in it.  It's 9:30AM and we've ordered groceries to be delivered and Wayne took an Uber with our laundry to drop off for pick up this PM.  Our next travel day, tomorrow, will take us to the Erie Canal so we've been looking at our trip records from last visit there...and the charts we have.  More later....

 

These are the three lighthouses we saw in traveling to Troy.  The last one shown, the white one, looked like a church as we left Norrie Marina.  When I saw, finally, that it was a lighthouse it made me think of all sorts of allegories with church, on a rock in the river, and a light guiding one to safety.

Sailboat row at Norrie Marina

Norrie Marina from shore

More pictures to come when I get to a spot with better wifi reception...;-)

 New York City, here we come!

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Left Beach Haven, NJ, this morning shortly after 7 AM and had a lovely day of travel up to the Safe Harbor Manasquan River Club in the Manasquan Harbor area.  The trip took about 5 hours...and, though we both scraped bottom a bit coming into the marina, we both were left unscarred.  

We didn't know how hot it was until we quit moving!  Now we're cooling off inside with no plans to "see the area" any more than we already have.

And tomorrow, weather allowing, we'll make our way up to the NY Harbor where we'll hope to anchor behind the Statue of Liberty...as we have on our other two trips up this way by boat.  And after that, Hudson River here we come!!  It will be so nice to be off the ocean!

While we're underway Maggie hops from place to place on the bridge....

Houses along the way today...

And finally, last night's sunset at Beach Haven Yacht Club

All Shook UP!

 Monday, July 11, 2022

Today looked like a good weather day for going out on the Atlantic Ocean from Cape May, NJ, to a marina north of Atlantic City through the Little Egg Inlet.  Esperenza and Maggie Jo left Cape May at 6 AM for what would probably be a 5-6 hour trip.

The waves weren't at all what we thought they would be and we basically had a whirling, twirling, leaping ride all the way.  Oh! and then we got to the inlet, Little Egg Inlet!  We've never been in such uncontrollable a situation!  We'd called the Coast Guard for advice on conditions at the inlet: usability, shoaling, use of...anything to give us guidance through the inlet.  Nada.  Coast Guard answered saying "people use this inlet every day"...but they really can't comment further due to liability issues.  WHAT???

So fine.  We wallowed through the inlet, which was showing white caps all over (indicating shallow water).  Talk about uncontrollable!  We've never been in situation so scary as this.  But...we made it through without issues...it was just VERY uncomfortable.'

Again, we'd had trouble finding a place to stay and finally landed a couple of slips in the Beach Haven Yacht Club in Beach Haven, NJ.  Beautiful little town and the people at the yacht club were so friendly and helpful.  I think it was worth $4.00/ft. per night to stay....

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Woke to a beautiful day.  Wayne and I walked up to the local grocery and got some supplies.  For a small store it had a great selection and a really good deli area.  Spent a lot of the day working on our Navionics app for navigation as we go along.  Finally got a workable outcome, but still needs some work.  Tomorrow we're going "inside" on the ICW so we don't have to worry about the ocean.  Our destination is a marina near the Manasquan Inlet.  This evening is stormy, windy, nasty.  Tomorrow should be better (?).

Our companion boat, Esperanza, has a gorgeous golden retriever, Ginger, an English cream in coloring, and Ginger weighs about 60 lbs.  Their boat doesn't really allow an easy way for her to get off the boat.  Until now.  They have a lift on the boat for their dingy...and they have a sling they can use to lower Ginger down...but they'd never tried it until today. Here's the video of Ginger being lowered from the boat to land with the lift:

https://youtu.be/EcnA5BTbm9w

Funny thing happened with Maggie today.  We were taking a walk in town and passed a yard with a "sailing captain" figure in the front yard.  Maggie apparently though he looked suspicious and started barking voraciously!