Day 92: Chester River Yacht Club to St. Micheal’s Harbor Inn & Restort, St. Michael’s, MD (32NM, 5 Hours)

We left this morning with the current and wind (10-15 knots with gusts) against us.  In fact, it was a very nice ride.  It was choppy, but for the most part the waves were head on.  We arrived at the Kent Narrows Bascule Bridge (which opens on the hour and half hours) right on time for it to open.  There was some confusion when a sailboat named “Splash Landing” attempted to call the bridge.  Brian thought the bridge was calling us since many bridge tenders get our boat name incorrect.  Once passed Kent Narrows, we were in Prospect Bay.  There were many more boats, especially sail, than in the

St. Michael's Harbor entrance from the Miles River

Chester River and before the Kent Narrows.  At one point we had to weave in and out of sail boats making for the greater Chesapeake Bay.  When we, arrived St. Michael’s Harbor Inn, the dock master wanted to go inside a dock enclosure to dock stern in to slip B6.  Brian barely slipped between to boats tied up on either side of the narrow channel then rotated Splash Down for a stern in docking.  But, just before he had Splash Down’s stern into the slip a strong gust put our swim platform in danger of hitting a piling.  Brian, unable to recover due to the narrowness of the fairway decided to abort the docking in the enclosure, exit the enclosure, and wait for a dock wall outside the enclosure to open up in 20 minutes.  We hovered in the channel for 30 minutes then moved into easily onto the dock wall.  We were able to find our way into the inside (air conditioned) bar for lunch and to arrange for our spa appointments for tomorrow afternoon — with great expectations!

Day 91: Mear’s Point Marina to Chester River Yacht & Country Club, Chestertown, MD (23NM, 4.25 Hours)

Pride of Baltimore at Chestertown
Docks

It was a beautiful day to be on the water.  We expected it to be rougher waters according to the forecast, but we guess the weather didn’t look at the forecast and did what it wanted to do.  The Chester River has a wide mouth, but narrows quickly as it meanders northeast into the Maryland peninsula.  We cruised past

Emmanuel Church, Chester Parish
Established 1706

the Chester River Yacht Club to Chestertown’s docks observing some of the tall ships that were in port.  One was the Pride of Baltimore and the other was the Sultana.  We called the Chester River Yacht Club Dockmaster in route back toward the Chester River Yacht Club to get our slip assignment or T-head.  Unbeknownst to us he was not in town so he was not in a position to give us realtime information. He told us to dock behind a 50-footer on the B-dock.  We informed him there was already a boat there.  So, he gave us the option to dock in slip B-10 or at the A-dock T-head.  Since slip B-10 only had a quarter-pier we chose the A-dock T-head.  A pontoon boat moved for us as we approached the A-dock.  We got all tide up when the dock master called to informed us that there is a 60-footer due in and will use the A-Dock.  Bottom line,

Some older homes in Chestertown

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Architectural detail

we ended up docking in slip B-10.  We had a glass of wine to smooth over our frustration with the dock master then walked to the Pro-Shop to check in.  Then we walked about a two miles into Chestertown.  We expected more character based on the write-ups.  Yes, there were a few historic buildings, but every town has a few historic buildings. After walking around a bit, we headed to the town docks and ended up at the Fish Whistle Restaurant for a drink and chicken wings,  then walked back to Splash Down stopping at the club’s bar before actually getting on the boat.  All in all, we decided you have to be determined to come to Chestertown.

Vultures watching as we walk
back to the boat

Day 90: Rock Hall Landing Marina to Mear’s Point Marina, Kent Narrows, MD (10.7 NM, 1.5 Hours)

Slower start for today after understanding we could not get into any marina in Chestertown, MD — well, it is Labor Day weekend!  So we decided to stage at Kent Narrows for a run up the Chester River tomorrow.  An easy departure from Rock Hall and a short ride had us into the marina at Kent Narrows at 12:30.  After a quick pump out, we were secured in our slip in no time.  After fixing a few lines and such, we checked in (they had all our details from when we visited with Hampton Yacht Club group in 2012) and on to Red Eyes Tiki Bar, for a celebratory drink (or two) where we met a couple from McLean, Virginia, that are visit several microbreweries and tiki bars (by car) in the area.   They gave Brian a few ideas for St Michaels, which we will may upon.  Upon feeling very relaxed, we headed to the boat for a few chores, rest, and dinner.

Day 89: Chesapeake Inn & Marina to Rock Hall Landing Marina, Rock Hall, MD (40.5NM, 4.75 Hours)

The Bayard House (far right).
Considered to be the oldest building
in Chesapeake City - Circa 1780

This morning we strolled about the shops and homes near the marina.  Some were well maintained homes from circa 1820’s.  We returned to the boat and prepared to get underway.  The currents will be against us part until about noon and we didn’t want to get into Rock Hall after the marina closed. Therefore, we split the voyage so the current would be against us half way and with us the rest.  Brian pulled our lines at about 10:15am and Linda took us into the canal.  By 10:45am we had exited the

Circa 1800 Homes

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and were in the Elk River.  The mouth of the Elk River opens into the Northern Chesapeake Bay.  The Susquehanna River also opens into the Chesapeake Bay from the West with a peninsula called Elk Neck separating the two rivers.  The wind was blowing from the Northwest down the Susquehanna River giving the water a nice long fetch.  As soon as we passed the point of Elk Neck the water got rough.  For about fifteen minutes we had large waves coming on our stern quarter.  Linda sped up to better control Splash Down.  But, as sudden as the action started the waves settled down and Linda trotted back to our leisurely cruising speed.  We switched drivers when we had Rock Hall in sight.  The waterway guides warn about the shallowness of the Swan Point Bar that runs north to south outside of Rock Hall.  We had to run south of Swan Point about 3.5 nautical miles before rounding bar and heading back north to Rock Hall.  The charts showed we should have six to nine foot depths out side the bar; but that was not the case.  Brian made straight for deeper water when the chart plotter showed we had less than three feet.  The shallow waters and the placement of the red and green buoys reminded us of the navigation of the channel to get to Cape Charles.  We were tied up at  3:00pm.  After checking-in and having another “blinner" at a nearby restaurant, we walked into town.  Believe it or not, there is a West Marine store within walking distance of a marina. (It seems there is never a West Marine store close by when you need one.  We didn’t need one so this was close by.  For some reason, the West Marine stores are “in town” and not near marinas — it is  a puzzlement).   We got a few items there, got a few provisions from the liquor store near by, then called the Osprey Flyer Tram for a ride back to the marina.  The tram only cost a dollar per rider.  The gentleman took us on a little tour of Rock Hall and regaled us with stories — true or not — about the area.  It was a fun and short ride.  Once back on the boat, we gave Splash Down a well deserved bath and observed a gorgeous sunset.

Day 88: Farley State Marina, Atlantic City to Chesapeake Inn & Marina,Chesapeake City, MD (91NM, 8.5 hours)

Sunrise over the Atlantic
Ocean (6:28am EST)

Today was the best day, per Brian’s forecasting, to be in the outside of the Atlantic and cross the large Delaware Bay.  During the remainder of the week, conditions would rapidly deteriorate due to Hurricane Cristobol.  We didn’t want to delay our return to home waters, so we decided to get into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and afterwards consider options depending on how tired and how difficult the crossings were.  Winds were less than five knots, currents were running south along the New Jersey coast and north up the Delaware Bay.  We left at 5:40am; Linda at the helm for her first time navigating out of a slip.  She did great.  At 6:22am we had a beautiful sunrise.  The waves were two to four feet with an occasional six foot wave.  The period betweens waves Brian estimates was about 8 - 10 seconds

Delaware Bay's
Miah Maull Shoal Light
(You can see the wake of
the current on left side
of the light)

(Linda doesn’t like rough seas), then we slowed upon entering Cape May, switched rivers, and ran 6 - 9 knots through the Cape May channel.  In route we saw the back side of what looked like huge breakers along the New Jersey coast. We learned later that all along the New Jersey coast rip current warnings had been posted due to Cristobol.  From where we were, the waves were not bad at all. We averaged about 10 knots up the Delaware Bay with an additional push from the currents.  The winds were so light they were not a factor.  We also saw two pods of dolphins.  One was in the Atlantic and the other was at the western end of the Cape May Canal.  All-in-all, this crossing was a great ride. We briefly stopped at Delaware City Marina to top off the tanks thinking we may have drained them by Linda’s hot run.  We had much better than expected fuel economy.  Yea!   We took on enough fuel to get the volume discount.  Delaware doesn’t have sales tax, so we really scored on this stop.  We were happy the owner and dockhands remembered us from our stop in June.  Although they sorely tempted us regarding a new restaurant which just opened, we wanted to be done for the day, so thanked

Chesapeake Inn & Marina

them and pressed on.  We entered the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in time to catch the westward current to Chesapeake Bay.  We gained an additional 2+ knots from the push.  Brian’s getting this navigation stuff down really well.  We arrived around 2:15pm, checked in, and headed straight to the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant (written up in the Wade’s book of “Crab Decks and Tiki Bars”) for wine, beer, and even a gluten-free meal for Linda.  We called this meal our “blinner” as it was breakfast, lunch and dinner in one.  After returning to the boat, we listened to the live band at the Tiki bar.  All in all, a good day with the added plus of being back in “our” own  familiar Chesapeake waters.

Day 87: Farley State Marina

Today was another day of chores.  Linda did laundry and Brian fixed items that had been on our list for a while as we mentally prepared to “go outside” in the ocean.  A pleasant slow day.  We spent a bit of time planning routes and controls for our 5:30 am departure tomorrow, including alternative stopping points if the waves were too rough.  Once we pass Ocean City, there isn’t a real alternative to getting into Cape May.  However, if we arrive at Cape May and feel we have the energy, we may push to arrive at the C&D Canal before the winds shift in the early afternoon — a simple situation of what is forecasted versus what actually occurs, and when.  We can’t second guess the later, so we will be patient, but prepared.  Brian grilled on the back of the boat and we enjoyed a quiet dinner aboard.

Day 86: High Bar Harbor Yacht Club to Farley State Marina, Atlantic City, NJ (56NM, 3.75 Hours)

Brian’s travel plans had us leaving just after 8:00 am and again sprinting toward Atlantic City to get through the channels before low tide.  He also included time for “No Wake” areas and going slow in areas where shoaling was reported.  Comments left in Active Captain this year reported shoaling and boats being grounded on those shoals.  One comment said a TowBoatUs operator recommended

Homes in the Borough of Beach
Haven, Long Beach Island

hugging the green markers.  We did what was recommended in those areas and had over 2 feet under our keel.  In route, we passed under the only causeway linking Long Beach Island to the mainland.  From there we could see the skyscrapers of Atlantic City.  Then the channel took us in close to the northern part of the island.  The homes had docks right on the channel.  Others homes were congregated around man-made canals like what is found in North Carolina and Florida.  Passing from the populated apart of the island into the tidal flats we were invited by New Jersey’s unofficial state biting bug; the Greenhead Fly.  They are attracted to dark objects like our canopy on the flybridge.  There were hundreds of them inside the canopy with at least 10 to 20 of them

Atlantic City seen from the causeway. 

buzzing around our heads and biting our legs.  We couldn’t go fast due to the areas of shoaling we needed to avoid.  We arrived in Abescon Bay inside of the Abescon Inlet well before low tide.  As soon as left the channel we opened up the throttles, and with a flyswatter, shooed or killed the flies.  Arriving at Farley State Marina we took on fuel before docking in our assigned slip.  We immediately checked in and went to the outside bar for lunch.  After lunch, Linda cleaned the flybridge and lanai of fly carcasses, and inside of Splash Down while Brian washed down the boat.  Too tired to cook dinner, we had dinner at Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse.

Day 85: Hoffman’s Marina to High Bar Harbor Yacht Club, Barnegat Light, NJ (26 NM, 2.5 Hours)

Point Pleasant Canal

Brian worked out the tide and current data for our departure and arrivals since, according to local knowledge, the inter-coastal channels near then Manasquan and Barnegat Inlets are dramatically affected by the tidal currents. We had to arrive Barnegat Inlet area before Max Ebb and low tide, which was about six hours after Manasquan Inlet’s high tide. If we ran at our economical speed, we’d arrive in the Barneget Inlet six hours later — not good. However, running at 15 knots or over, we’d arrive at Barneget Inlet at Slack Tide reducing the possibility of running aground in the notoriously shallow New Jersey Inter-Coastal Waterway. Leaving Manasquan just after high tide we had to pass through the two mile long, 50 foot wide, Point Pleasant Canal. Before entering the canal we were doing about six knots. In the canal our speed shot up to eleven knots from the current. The water looked like rapids. We’d hate to try to negotiate this channel during Max Flood or Max Ebb. The rest of

Barnegat
Lighthouse

the voyage was uneventful and enjoyable despite keeping a close eye on the markers and the sonar. We arrived at High Bar Harbor Yacht Club at 10:10am. It was Slack Tide. This gave us over a foot of water over what could be expected at Low Tide. We

St. Peters at the Light

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Linda & the Brick in front
of the Parish Hall

learned that High Bar Harbor is a marina; not a yacht club, but a very nice marina. As we walked toward the marina’s office we noticed a boat from Virginia Beach. Bob and Betty Campbell came over to Splash Down to welcome us to their marina (with a wonderful bottle of wine). After Bob and Betty left, we walked up to the road in front of the marina to catch Long Beach Island free shuttle that services the 18 mile long island called Long Beach. Long Beach has seven boroughs; Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, Ship Bottom, Beach Haven, High Bar Harbor, and Hogate. We were not told, nor is it in Long Beach Island Shuttle’s map, that there is a north bound and south bound shuttle, AND only the South bound shuttle picks up at the marina. When we got on the shuttle, we did not know we’d be on the bus for two hours to get to the Barnegat Lighthouse park at the North end of the island. It would have taken us less than 30 minutes if we walked. Never-the-less, we learned more about the island from the shuttle driver. The six boroughs remain independent honoring their original charters. The larger of the six boroughs on the island provide police and fire services to the smaller boroughs. She rumored that Jon Bon Jovi has a house and that Ernest Hemingway once owned a home there. Neither of which Brian could verify independently. It was nice to stretch our legs once we finally arrived at the lighthouse park. The Barnegat Lighthouse was designed by Lt. George G. Meade in 1855. Lt. Meade would later become famous as General Meade during the civil war. The light is the second tallest lighthouse in the United States at 165 feet. It operated as a first-class navigational aid from 1859 to 1927, and a second-class navigational aid until 1944. Brian climbed its 217 steps for some photos. We walked back to Splash Down. One the way we passed by a liquor store for some provisions and took some photos with “the brick” at St. Peter’s-At-The-Light Episcopal Church. It was a 30-minute walk to get back. Tomorrow we’ll head for Atlantic City.

Day 84: Hoffman’s Marina & Manasquan, NJ

Entering Manasquan

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Glimmer Glass Bascule Bridge

Great day to relax and recover from yesterday’s harrowing journey.  We walked to the beach and along the jetty to review what we had not taken in, being so focused on powering through the rough seas.  We noticed a few boats out, bouncing along like we did yesterday and were thankful to not be out in the surf.  These are hearty fisherman to go out in this mess.  Linda had done a quick search on the history and regaled Brian with some snippets as we walked, like how the early settlers in the 1600s were Dutch, and the town name — Brielle, is in reference to a town of the same name in the Netherlands.  Most of the area focused on ship building — just like back home.  We crossed over an old bascule bridge that spans the Glimmer Glass inlet to the Manasquan River.  This bridge is on the National National Register of History Places.  It is a bascule bridge using

Beach-front homes facing the
Atlantic Ocean

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Manasquan Inlet

cables and rolling counterweights to lift the road.  Built in 1898 (with slight modifications the 1950’s), it is the only bridge of this type left in New Jersey.   Upon returning to the marina area, we lunched at the newly opened (only three days old) Sand Bar Restaurant.  We were offered a table upstairs and had the place to ourselves.  I doubt that will last long as the place gets more popular by the day.  We followed up with a stroll along the docks looking at other boats in the marina, and then returned to Splash Down.  Tomorrow, we’ll head down the New Jersey Inter-coastal Waterway since the wind and sea state in the Atlantic is not conducive for travel.  

Day 83: Haverstraw Marina - Hoffman’s Marina, Manasquan, NJ (72.4NM, 7.5 Hours)

Passing Miss Liberty again

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Lockwood Marine Barge passing
Sandy Hook

We left around 7:00am with the intent of staying at Liberty Landing Marina tonight.  We tootled along making good time with the current in our favor.  We realized that we’d reach Liberty Landing Marina sooner that planned.  We discussed the pros and cons of bypassing Liberty Landing and proceeding on to Hoffman’s Marina in Manasquan.  It would be less costly to stay at Hoffman’s ($2.50/foot discounted) versus $5.00/foot not discounted, and with bad weather due in, there wouldn’t be mush sight seeing anyway.  Additionally, the winds and waves were reported to be better for travel today than Saturday or Sunday.  The weekend forecast is for Northeast and Easterly winds 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. It would make crossing the Lower Bay outside the New York Harbor and Lower Bay treacherous.  Today’s marine forecast on the NOAA website was for East winds 5-10 knots with waves 1-2 feet. The forecast seemed accurate as we exited New York Harbor heading for Sandy Hook.  But, as we approached Sandy Hook the wind and wave height’s increased.

Hoping to capture the
size of waves in this photo

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Arriving Manasquan Inlet

Linda, who had been driving since passing Tarrytown and still at the helm, wanted to press on to Manasquan.  Although she throttled-up to 12 knots to put the bow higher, we were still taking some hard rolls as the 3-6 foot waves came on our port bow. She increased speed again to 16 knots and Splash Down charged through the waves.  Brian suggested to Linda that she might consider entering the Shark River inlet, the first inlet south of Sandy Hook, if she thought she couldn’t handle the rough seas.  She wouldn’t have it and drove all the way to the Manasquan Inlet.  We arrived at Hoffman’s Marina fuel dock at exactly 2:00pm.  We topped off with fuel thinking we’d consumed half our tanks on this 72 nautical mile voyage and Linda running the engines at 22,000 rpm for nearly two hours.  Surprisingly, we got close to two nmpg, our average fuel consumption, consuming only 57 gallons. After tying up to a T-head, downing a stiff drink, washing the boat to remove the salt, and picking up the cabin contents that were tossed in the waves, we walked over to patio restaurant called Union Landing for dinner.  After dinner we turned in early.  Tomorrow we plan to stay here and walk over to the Manasquan beach and breakwater.

Day 82: Haverstraw Marina

The forecast was for an entire day of rain.  We decided to stay put at Haverstraw Marina doing chores and trip planning.  This marina is a great place to be located with high winds and rough seas.  Much better than Half Moon Bay Marina nearby on the other side of the river. The write-up and reviews for Half Moon Bay are not accurate; to say the least.  But, the rain never came despite the threatening skies.  The on-site restaurant was very popular with locals.  We walked over to check it out and have dinner.  The restaurant was hosting a bridal show inside, so we had dinner outside.  The food was good — the wind, not so much.

Day 81: Kingston City Marina to Haverstraw Bay Marina (46NM, 5.75 Hours)

It’s hard to believe, but we were here at Kingston two months ago (20 June) arriving from Half Moon Bay, Croton-on-Hudson.  Linda did not have a major issue with her gluten-contaminated food yesterday — dodge another bullet with persistence and care.  So, today we departed Kingston for Haverstraw Marina at 9:15am.  We thought the current would be against us for the two to three hours, then the current would be with us for the rest of the way.  We set the throttles for 9750 RPM.  We traveled at 7 knots against the current, but it took longer than expected.  Then around 11:45am we began to see an increase in speed.  At first, it was 8 knots.  By 1:00pm, we were averaging 9.6 knots. Weeeeeee!  Fall colors are becoming more prominent as we traveled along.  Yes, your probably asking yourself, “how could we notice the fall colors traveling at this awesome speed?”  Trust us, it is possible.  The wind was consistently at 5-10 knots with higher gusts on our nose, but

Esopus Meadows Lighthouse

surprisingly, it did not noticeably impact our speed.  We again passed the beautiful Esopus Meadows Lighthouse - a wooden structure built in 1871 to mark the mud flats that extended into the river.  As we navigated past the “World’s End” narrows that rounded Gees Point (deepest part of the Hudson River - sonar showed a depth of 190 feet at one point) at the United States Military Academy (West Point), we were hoping to see the notorious whirlpools that has caused problems for boaters (and got our attention on the trip up).  Not.  We saw whirlpools.  But, they were more of a novelty.  By the way, it seemed like we had the Hudson River to ourselves for most of the trip.  It’s nice not having to dodge commercial barges and small boats (sail, power, and strong armed).  We arrived at Haverstraw’s fuel dock at 3:00pm.  We found we managed about 2.25 kmpg since our last fill-up. Another “Weeeeee.”

Day 80: Shady Harbor Marina to Kingston City Marina (36NM, 4.75 Hours)

Brian awoke this morning around 1:00am for “nature’s call” and noticed power had been restored.  He put Splash Down back on external power and shut down the generator.  A downed trunk-line wire was the cause of the outage for Albany and Greene Counties.  Over 16,000 - 18,000 customers, depending on which news source was read, were affected.  Once Linda was up, she noted the fog that lingered.  It was with us until after 8am.  Good thing we weren’t planning an early start today.  Linda was able to do a serious reprovisioning run with the marina’s courtesy car while Brian did his weekly engine, strainers and batteries check out.  We finished at the same time.  We stayed at Shady Harbor until 11:30 so we could ‘ride the tide’ down river all the way to Kingston.  The trip down was just as scenic and pretty as the ride up, and it reminded us of things we had “filed away” in our memories.  We were able to view the area we anchored with UNTIED, which was only 10 minutes south of the marina.  We had the throttles set at 9.5 and achieved 9.3 knots, giving us a great fuel burn.  As we passed under the Rip Van Winkle bridge and looked at the Catskills, we promised each other a car trip back to really explore this part of New York.  Before we knew it, we were docked at our same spot along the wall for “large” boats (over 35 feet) at Kingston City Marina, with the promise of dinner at the restaurant within stumbling distance.  This is the old opera house, that we passed on when we were here previously because of the crowd attending the Market Night. We went in early to Mariner’s Harbor Restaurant. Linda talked with the waitress regarding menu items that may or can be made gluten free. The waitress came back from the kitchen to tell Linda that a grilled seafood platter was gluten free. However, after saying grace and started eating, she found stuffing under some of the items. Linda made a quick departure to the boat to get medication, while Brian explained realities of food allergies (once again).

Day 79: Blain’s Bay Marina to Shady Harbor Marina, New Baltimore, NY (27NM, 184 Feet down, 5.25 Hours )

Lock 6: 33 feet, Lock 5: 33.25 feet, Lock 4: 34.5 feet, Lock 3: 34.6 feet, Lock 2: 33.5 feet,
Federal Lock (Lock 1): 15 feet.

We got snubbed

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Guard Gate 2

Today we transited the last six locks on our journey. Yeah!  We started out at 7:30am to be at the lock dock wall with other boats, if there were any, to head down.  We were surprised to find Guard Gate 2 closed when we arrived at 7:50am.  We assumed they were normally open except to prevent flooding.  There was no answer from the gate master when we hailed him requesting passage.  So, we tied up to the gate dock wall that is not set up with cleats.  It only has the huge Snubbing Posts 10 feet from the side of the wall.  Brian brought Splash Down parallel to the wall so Linda could step off with a mid-line to hold Splash Down to the wall.  Thankfully, Splash Down’s freeboard is high enough for her to just walk off the boat.  Then she grabbed the forward spring line and wrapped it to the post to keep Splash Down from yawing its bow or stern into the wall.  Brian again called the gate master at 8:00am and got a response.  The gates would open in five minutes. Then we saw a speeding car coming down the hill in front of the guard gate, and into the parking lot.  The gate master was late to work.  He ran into his building, the gate came up, and he gave us the green light to proceed.  We were through the guard gate and at Lock 6 to find ourselves the only boat going down.  We learned at Lock 5 there was one boat going up.  Consequently, all locks were in our favor — in, down, and out.  We arrived at Lock 6 at 8:30am and exited Lock 2 at 9:35am.  At 9:40am we officially crossed our wake thus completing the Triangle Loop.  What a ride we are having!   We arrived at the Troy Federal Lock (which is Lock 1, but not called that for some reason) and were told

Moving into Lock 2

we had to wait 20 minutes.  We approached the dock wall to tie up.  Again there were no cleats and the wall was at least a foot higher than our freeboard.  Brian brought Splash Down along side a recessed safety ladder on the wall.  Linda secured Splash Down to it as we waited.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a 20 minute wait.  When we got the green light to proceed in, only one lock gate was open; not both as is usually done. By 10:18am, we were done with locks.  I think I heard a big sigh from our arm muscles.  The current on the Hudson was in our favor giving us an extra knot of speed.  We arrived at Shady Banks Marina around 12:40pm very hungry for lunch.  The marina restaurant has gluten free offerings.  After lunch Brian did laundry and Linda cleaned the outside of the boat — a little change up is good for the soul.  For dinner, left-overs and champagne to celebrate our accomplishing the Triangle.  Around 9:30pm we lost all power.  Our immediate thought was there is something wrong with Splash Down.  But no, the entire marina was dark, as was anything we could see in the distance.  We could see a lot more stars in the sky, which was spectacular.  Brian started the generator to prevent our refrigerator from draining our batteries and the ice in the ice maker from melting, and well, to keep Linda cool.  He waited until 10:30pm before going go bed, but had to leave the generator going.  He wasn't worried since we have detectors on the floors of the cabin to alert us to fire or carbon leaks while sleeping.

Day 78: Riverlink Municipal Marina to Blain’s Bay Marina, Cohoes, NY (27.2NM, 4.75 Hours)

Waterfall

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Llenroc Castle

Riverlink Marina is located very near a set of railroad tracks.  The whole time we were there, yes, even through the night, trains rolled by blowing their horns.  It made for a restless night’s sleep.  Brian was up very early this morning and noticed the port side of Splash Down (the side facing a light illuminating a portion of the dock) was

Blain's Bay Marina

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Great place

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Ambiance

covered in dead summer flies so thick, the deck was black.  Once Linda was up he went out and cleaned the boat.  We left Riverlink, and the train noise at 8:30AM and headed for the locks.  We locked through Locks 10, 9, and 8 (lifted down 15, 15, and 14 feet respectively) without an issue.  We stopped at Schenectady Yacht Club to top off the tanks. Shortly after leaving the yacht club we saw a few small waterfalls.  Then we saw Llenroc Castle (Cornell spelled backwards), a private residence of 30,000 square feet, five stories tall, 11 fireplaces, and 10 bathrooms; then on through Lock 7 (lift 27 feet) ending at Blain’s Bay Marina at 1:15PM.  We were greeted by the owner Jim.  We asked about restaurants nearby.  He recommended The Century House - a hotel, restaurant, and tavern with pick up and return service.  Needless to say, it was a fantastic recommendation for our last night “on the canals” and even had gluten free options for Linda.

Day 77: St Johnsville Marina to Riverlink Municipal Marina, Amsterdam, NY ( 27.5NM, 4.75 Hours)

We had great plan of getting an earlier start today since we were at least a 30 minute ride to our first lock.  Unfortunately when Brian woke up, it was to a very dense fog.  Great news for Linda, who was able to snooze a bit longer.  Eventually, the sun was strong enough to burn off the fog and we finally were able to cast off at 08:45.  It was chilly, but smooth as glass.  We had easy locking through all our locks.  At Lock 14 (lift 8 fee down), we talked with the Lock master, a former Air Force member from the Vietnam era.  Linda had worked with his former unit and he was delighted to hear of it.  Shortly after that lock, we had our first deer sighting from the boat (our second sighting if you count the one in Tarrytown with Susan Copley).  Locks 13 - 11 dropped us 8, 11, and 12 feet respectively.  We actually locked through Lock 11, our last for today at 1:11pm, very uncanny.  We tied up at the lock wall, and after lunch elected to reposition so we could also have water.  Good timing for us, since shortly after a boat from Port Ewen, NY came to time up and we assisted.  After a quick walk to the shops (most of which are vacant due to the current economic situation) we returned to a small outdoor wedding taking place under the Riverlink canopy, and two additional boats along the wall.

Paragraphic picture of Riverlink
Park & Marina (Splash Down is
on the far left)

Day 76: Ilion Marina to St. Johnsville Marina, St. Johnsville, NY (17.1NM, 3 Hours)

We awoke to a 52° temperature, damp air, and overcast skies.  We put our raincoats on to stay warm.  We did not expect we’d be cruising through drizzle and rain all the way to St. Johnsville.  Linda called to Lock E-18 (lift down 20 feet) to let them know we were on our way.  The Lock Master had not set for either direction and was happy to set up for us  We did not know their was another yacht a head of us, the first boat in the same direction since we left Oswego.  The lock master mistook them for us and was locking them through when we arrived.  We waited for the lock to reset, only 15 minutes.  After passing the 10 MPH speed limit sign we made a mad dash (legal speed of course) to

Vacuuming the canal

lock E-17 to catch up with the other boat.  There were two on-going dredging operations we had to pass at 5 knots.  We caught up with the other boat just as it was entering Lock E-17.  It was the Nordic Tug, Penny-Wise, from Oswego, NY who was at the Ilion wall with us.  Lock E-17 is the largest lift/drop in New York.  We dropped 40 feet

Splash Down at St. Johnsville

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St. Johnsville Village Marina Office

in elevation, rather quickly, but very smoothly.  In addition to the drizzle, the lock walls leaked.  There was a waterfall that rose above Brian and a hole that ejected water nearly six feet from the wall near Linda.  Upon exiting, the owners of Penny-Wise asked us to exit first as they intended to walk their dog at the park just past the lock.  We pressed on, through rain and drizzle, and into Lock E-16 (lift 20.5 feet down).  We asked the Lock Master to call to Penny-Wise to see if they were close behind so we would wait for them and go down together.  Since they didn’t respond, he put us through.  They called in when we were half way down.  Some times it just works that way.  We were greeted by the dock master, Bernie, when we arrived at St. Johnsville. St. Johnsville’s claim to fame is it is the geographical center of New York State.  When the drizzle stopped, we walked into the village to check out reprovisioning capabilities and walked away with one time from our list and two bags of groceries.  We spent the rest of the afternoon on the boat out of the drizzle and damp air.  Linda finished yet another book and Brian did research and data points regarding our trip thus far. Tomorrow we head for Riverlink Marina at Amsterdam, NY.

Day 75: Ess-Kay Yards to Ilion Marina, Ilion, NY (53.8NM, 8.5 Hours)

Looking toward Lake Oneida -
Smooth sailing so far

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Inside the breakwater at Sylvan Beach

We left Ess-Kay Yards around 7:00AM.  The temperature was in the low 50’s and the winds were around 6 Knots; not a bad start to crossing Lake Oneida.  We were three-quarters of the way across when the wind started picking up.  The waves got worse, of course, as the distance of the fetch increased.  The waves were breaking over the nearly submerged breakwater when we reached Sylvan Beach.  We guessed it was a 10 knot wind with higher gusts.  But, as soon as we entered the protection of the trees on either side of the canal, it was still.  We had smooth sailing all the way to Ilion.  We transited the last locks up hill - Locks E-22 and E-21 (both about 25 foot lifts).  Lock E-21 is the highest point on the Erie Canal, but you can’t tell.  It looks like any other lock with trees on either side.  We went through two more locks (E-20 and E19 - 16 & 21 foot lifts down) to get to Ilion.  Ilion Marina is a reclaimed tug and barge mooring location in what was a turning basin.  It is now an RV campground and marina owned by the city.  Boats tie up to the concrete lock wall that retain their blue and yellow colors of the New York State Canal System.  Cleats have been added to complement the snubbing posts for tying up

Subbing Post

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Repurposed tug & barge wall

boats, and dock pedestals for power and water have been added too. The Village of Ilion’s claim to fame is it is the home of Remington Arms; America’s oldest gun manufacturer.  Again, shortly after docking the skies opened up.  There was enough break in the rain for us to walk to an Italian Restaurant, Sorrento, recommended by the dockhand and the menu indicated they offered gluten-free options.  We had a wonderful meal with each of us bringing back leftovers.  We returned to Splash Down soon listening to the rain and more rain.  Tomorrow has a 30% chance of rain so it should be a good day to travel to St. Johnsville Marina.

Day 74: Oswego Marina to Ess-Kay Yards, Brewerton, NY (28.9NM, 7 Hours)

We were reasonably close to the 8:00AM opening time for the New York Canal System locks.  High winds were forecasted for the entire day with thunderstorms in the afternoon.  Our hope was to make Ess-Kay Marina before the rain. Oswego Lock #8 (lift up 11.1 feet) is the first lock encountered when heading south from Lake Ontario.  We were hoping for a quick lock through, but we had to wait 10 minutes for the lock master to “set up.” This and two other locks (O-7 & O-6 - lifts up 14.5 and 20 feet respectively) are a quarter mile apart.  We started at Lock O-8 at 8:50AM and exited Lock O-6 at 9:40AM.  We had traversed all seven of the locks on the Oswego Canal (there is no Lock O-4) by

Sign posted at Three Rivers

1:00PM.  We turned left at Three Rivers (now 118 feet above sea level) as we entered the eastern section of the Erie Canal.  Our first lock on the Erie was E-23 (lifted up 7.1 feet).  By the way, the New York State Canals are structurally nothing like the beautiful wooden locks we went through in Canada.  These locks are “commercial grade” locks having steel hydraulic gates, chamber walls of either concrete or steel, and slimy grab-lines for the boat operators to hold on to stay their boats while going up or down (you cannot use your boat cleats) — and the lines are not secured at the bottom, so different techniques are required.  We use gloves to keep from touching the gooey lines. The rest of the canal is beautiful.  Trees on both sides of the canal were tall and thick protecting us from the high winds.  The canals are very scenic and some areas resemble the North Carolina Inter-coastal Waterway.  We arrived at the Ess-Kay Marina fuel dock around 3:00PM.  The wind had picked up and dark clouds loomed ominously in the West.  We took on fuel, got a pump-out, in our slip, and checked in before the skies opened up.  The wind was brutal.

We met up with Charlotte and Mike who recalled our boat, but couldn’t remember where.  They had just completed going out the Trent-Severn and back and crossed Lake Ontario the same day we did.  After a bit, we figured out they were the couple who checked just before us at the videophone upon returning to the US.  We enjoyed trading experiences and a glass of wine.  Charlotte was able to bring us up to date on another couple aboard Mazel Tug, whose boat was at the marina.  Ralph was one of the first people to welcome us to Montreal and was joined us for the fireworks.  Unfortunately, they had to depart quickly for family reasons and we weren’t able to reconnect with them.

We are concerned about tomorrow’s forecast.  It’s to be similar to today’s weather and we need to cross the full length of Lake Oneida from west to east (28NM, ~2 hours).  The best time to cross was early in the morning so we would have the smoothest possible crossing.

Day 73: Oswego, NY

Heavy rain and wind was forecast for today. We got the wind, the heavy rain not so much. I washed Splash Down this morning expecting the heavy rain to stand in for a hose — not.  Light showers and sprinkles this morning and into the evening. I finished washing Splash Down in time to go to the Oswego Rotary Club meeting by taxi.  Linda went to a nearby Spa for some R&R about the same time.  The Oswego Rotarians like to call themselves the singing Rotarians. It is not their tonal effluence that they make this claim. They sing a verse of a patriotic song from a Rotary song book, then after the pledge of allegiance and an invocation, they sing a verse or two of any other song. Today it was a few verses of John Denver's “Sunshine On My Shoulders”.  Then it was the usual Rotary meeting format. The guest speakers were a charitable organization running a backpack drive in conjunction with the United Way's Fill-The-Bus drive.  Their talk was short. So, President Sue

Happy Monthly Anniversary
(26 years, 11 months)

Witmer asked me to talk about the Hampton Rotary Club.  When I asked if there were any questions, I was asked to talk about our boat cruise. Although they don't threaten to throw rolls if the speaker is long winded, I think I rounded out the hour.  I want to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Oswego Rotary Club for their hospitality; especially Robert Rolf for giving me a ride back to the boat.  Later, Linda and I celebrated our monthly wedding anniversary with dinner at Alex's On The Water restaurant and a new DVD movie wrap in Christmas paper — American Hustle.

Day 72: Oswego, NY

We had a list of things to do today.  We needed to clean the boat, do some shopping, get a prescription filled, and play tourist. After some discussion on whether to clean the boat or shop, we decided to shop first and clean later.  We got Brian’s prescription turned in at a Rite Aid one block from the marina, then went to a grocery store and liquor store (just across the street from each other) about six blocks away but on the other side of the Oswego Canal.  The town has repurposed an old train crossing into a pedestrian walkway, providing a new view of the water area.  We’ve been using a collapsable hand truck over the past three years to haul our purchases to the boat. Well, it lost a wheel just a few hundred feet from the boat.  Honestly, we didn’t think we bought all that much.  Brian thinks he can repair the thing when we find a hardware store.  During lunch on the boat, we realized we needed a few additional items — like champagne for celebrating our monthly wedding anniversary on the 12th (tomorrow) and, a few gluten-free food items while they are available.  While Linda cleaned the inside of Splash Down, Brian picked up his prescription, the gluten-free items, and

Outside of Ft Ontario

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Inside of Ft. Ontario

most importantly, the champagne.  After a short rest, we walked over to Ft. Ontario for our touristy bit.  We learned more about American history, not just the War of 1812.  Prior to our visit, we did not know the British occupied this area of New York after the American Revolution and did not leave until 1796, thirteen years after the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and two years after Jay’s Treaty was signed between the United States and Britain resolving issues lingering after the Treaty of Paris dealing with war reparations and trade.  We also realized how history can be misrepresented.  When we were in Canada, the documentation (historic markers, interpretive placards, and information papers) openly talk about the American’s invading Canada during the war of 1812 and the defensive build up on their part in fear of a full-scale invasion — one of the big reasons for Canada’s Rideau Canal.  Unfortunately, their material failed to mention any portion of Britain invading the United States, burning the capital in Washington, or even where British were sheltering.  Ahhh, the “fog of war” — and history.  We also learned the fort was the only refugee shelter for Europeans fleeing their homelands during World War II.  Approximately 1,000

Refugees at the camp

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Refugee housing

were authorized by President Franklin Roosevelt to be brought over from Europe in 1944 to be kept here until the end of the war, with the promise that they would return to their homeland afterward.  Houses, schools and training centers were built.  A lively arts and music program began.  All this activity with good acceptance and support by the locals.  In 1946, the refugees were allowed to leave, but most decided to remain in the United States when they learned that their homeland and families were badly disrupted. The displays of their life and times during this period included photos of a wedding and the first birth at the fort, followed by a 55 year ceremony with the bride and daughter returning from California to Oswego.  To hear of their assimilation into the United States gave us hope for the current influx of refugees from war torn countries.  We returned to Splash Down and Brian began searching for gluten-free restaurant options nearby since tomorrow is 100% chance of rain and we will eat on the boat (and drink a little champagne).  Just up the road from Alex’s On the Water restaurant is G.S. Steamers Bar & Grill which offered gluten-free pizza, a rare and wonderful end to an interesting day.

Splash Down seen from the fort