We had a great time in NYC. The boat basin is about 8 blocks west of Central Park. Goliath got to go for some long walks and we did some sight seeing. We got to visit the 5th Avenue Apple store.

What a place! It is open 24/7 and was absolutely full of people. Goliath got to go into Tiffany’s and a few other stores and also got a horse and buggy ride!

We were wandering around and noticed a crowd gathering near the Ed Sullivan Theater (David Letterman Show) so of course we had to join in. Turns out Faith Hill and Alec Baldwin were due to show up. Faith showed up in her limo and quickly ducked into the back door. We could hear her warming up inside. Everyone was now waiting for Alec Baldwin, who almost entered unnoticed as he walked down the middle of the street and into the back door. Well we figured that was it but then the staff started organizing one of Dave’s outdoor deals so we stuck around. We got to see Biff, Allan Kalter, Pat Farmer and Rupert G.

We were in the background as they shot a segment on parallel parking in New York. It was quite funny as no one got near to the curb. Alec Baldwin came out and almost took out he grille on one of the cars and finally parked it perpendicular to and over the curb.

Our friend Dori, from Madison, gave us the tour of her old haunts in Queens and Flushing. We had a great time but she gaves us a gift we didn’t need. Mary now has a sinus infection and feels like crap.

On our last day we took the subway back downtown and picked up our mail from Pete Dodenhoff, a fellow O’day owner. Thanks Pete! We did a little more sight seeing and retired to do some laundry. We know how to have fun!

Famous haunted Central Park West building (Ghostbusters).
We left Saturday morning for Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Pretty foggy so no great shots of the city as we left but got to see Lady Liberty and Ellis Island up close.

We’re sitting in Grand Army Plaza at Central Park South and 5th Avenue in New York City. We’re resting after taking Goliath for a long walk through Central Park.

Mary got her long awaited horse and carriage ride.

The boat is moored at the 79th St. Boat Basin. $30 per night! Where else in NYC can you stay for 30 bucks. We meet Dori tomorrow for another fun day.

More later.

On 9/28 we motored to Catskills Creek to have our mast stepped (put up). Right after Waterford is the last lock in Troy which is actually on the Hudson and not part of the Erie Canal. It was a challenging one again, but we made it through just fine. We passed Albany, NY which is beautiful. As you get past Albany though there is a lot of industry. We had heard that the Hudson River was beautiful, but this was far from it. No need to worry though, because just a few miles down the river beauty abounded. We were surrounded by the Catskills and they are breathtaking. The lighthouses on the Hudson are actually houses…. We had never seen anything like it before.

All of these beauties are in need of funds and our friend Mike was sailing in a fundraising race for this purpose on that Saturday. We arrive at the marina Hop-O-Nose on Friday and had our mast put up on Saturday. Sean ran the marina, stepped the mast, and was the chef at the restaurant. What a combination, but he was successful at all. The marina was a bit rustic, but was only $55/night. The mast stepping was $3/foot, $2 less per foot than taking it down! Sean was great, but his skills as a chef were even greater. The calmari appetizer and the clam chowder were outstanding. He had stepped about 40 masts in the past couple of weeks and is a chef to boot… I don’t know how he does it.

Putting the boat back together after stepping the mast took all day Saturday. John and I were exhausted, but we are a sailboat once again.

On Sunday 9/30 we motored to Chelsea, NY and stayed on a mooring ball at the Chelsea Yacht Club. Our O’day friends Mike Colucci and Dennis G. met us in motor boats as we arrived and brought us a gift of wine. (sorry about the picture quality)

Mike motored us ashore where we shared wine and cheese with Mike, Dennis and Dennis’ wife. The Chelsea Yacht Club was very generous in opening their doors to us and we will always remember their kindness. The sunset from their pier was another sight to remember. Mike took us out for an Italian dinner in a nearby town. We are still eating the pizza that John ordered. We had met Mike at an O’day rOnDAYvous at Liberty Landing (New York Harbor) a few years ago. The group of O’day owners that we met really became good friends and kept in touch trough the internet. It was great getting to see him again. By the way … He won the race on Saturday! Thank Heinekens for that!

On 10/1 we took off for Haverstraw Bay, hoping to anchor out. Haverstraw Bay is about half-way between Chelsea Yacht Club and NYC. It was not a good day for us. Well the sights were great and included a castle, more lighthouses, more mountains, more beautiful fall colors, and West Point. But, we had a hose come off the water heater and spray water everywhere. John quickly turned off the water and I cleaned up. John fixed the hose problem later. The main problem though was running out of fuel! Apparently our gas gauge wasn’t working properly because the 1/4 tank of gas that showed was really less than 1/16 of a tank. We discovered this after a motorboat rocked us with a 3- foot wake… this must have loosened the stuck gauge and lo and behold it registered no fuel. We were running against the current and knew we would not make the next fuel stop, so we anchored and called Towboat US. They came all the way from the George Washington Bridge in NYC to bring us fuel. It took them over 2 hours but they saved the day. We then motored to the fuel dock in Haverstraw Bay and they were closed for the night. Grrr. We pulled up to the fuel dock and tied up for the night. No charcoal-cooked supper when you are at the fuel dock. Well just one more day in the life of John and Mary!!

We have completed the Erie Canal. What a ride. Goliath loved it because he was able to get to shore every day. John will be posting lots of pictures… it has been beautiful and calm.

I will quickly recap the second half of the canal.

On 9/22 we went from Pittsford to Lyons where we met a lovely couple, Pete and Sue, from Ontario. Most of the cruisers that we have met have been from Canada, what’s up with that, eh?? (Just in case you’ve been thinking that all we see is beautiful scenery all day, here’s what you see most of the time ….)

On 9/23 we went from Lyons to Baldwinsville. The Erie Canal connects with the Seneca River during much of this stretch. Some of the locks are really beautiful with parks and well maintained and landscaped grounds. This was our favorite.

We tied up outside of lock 24 at a city park and walked into town to watch football. We found a sports bar with about 15 TV’s all on the NFL channel. We got to see the last play or so of the Packers win. We drank adult beverages and ate 30-cent Buffalo wings. The last time we had wings, John ended up in the hospital with appendicitis, so we were a bit leery, but these were great. We watched a bit more football and then off to the boat for our 12 hours of sleep time.

9/24 we traveled to Sylvan Beach which is at the east end of Lake Oneida. Lake Oneida is a narrow but long lake and we traversed the entire length, about 20 miles. Luckily it was a calm day, so John was able to put it on autopilot. Unfortunately, the autopilot makes one a little less observant and we almost rammed a fishing boat. They blew a whistle (wimpy one at that) and John was able to avert disaster. He did hook the fishing lines but we were able to turn sharply and put the boat into neutral to avoid fouling the prop. We felt very guilty about this mishap, but everyone makes a mistake once in a while. I should always be on the lookout if John is distracted when the autopilot is engaged. Sylvan Beach has an amusement park and lots of restaurants right at the free dock. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) since it is off-season, they were not open on a Monday.

9/25 we traveled to Lock 18 and just tied up there and stayed overnight. We wanted to be rested for Lock 17 which we went through the next day. Lock 17 has a 40-foot drop (the largest drop of all the locks) but truly was no different than any of the others. Well you be the judge … personally I thought it was pretty impressive. Handled the same way but it was LARGE! This is a regular lock, maybe a 15′ drop.

This is #17 …

The gate lifted over your head rather than swing and you get wet. JM

Just to prove that we don’t sleep ALL THE TIME, this is sunrise!

On 9/26 we stayed at a city dock in Amsterdam. We were going to stay at the free dock just before Amsterdam, but there were a couple of men camped in the woods right by the dock and we didn’t feel secure. As it turns out the pay dock at Amsterdam ($1/foot) was great. There was a shower and laundry and we partook of both. A couple that run a local restaurant also manages the dock. In season, there is a restaurant right at the dock, but it was closed when we arrived. We met another group of people from Canada. They traveled with us the next day.

On 9/27 we were to finish the Erie Canal locks #10-2. We awoke to thick fog. We had hoped to make lock 10 by 8:00 am but we postponed it to wait for the fog to lift. We took off in medium fog (we could see a marker ahead) but it soon changed and we were searching for markers in dense fog. By lock 9 everything had cleared up and we had caught up to the Canadian group who had left an hour earlier. We locked through all remaining locks with them. This is the view of the Hudson River valley ahead from the second lock down.

We dropped about 190 feet on 9/27 with the last five locks one right after another without stopping in between. At the end of this ride was Waterford. There were only a couple of spaces at the free dock in Waterford but we were able to squeeze in. John and I are getting better at docking, even with 20 extra feet of mast hanging off the ends. We met up with many of the other boats that we had seen along the way. Pete and Sue, who we had met in Lyons, were there and we did a mini book exchange… she gave me books actually but didn’t want any in return. It was nice to see them again. They had run aground a couple of stops back, but had managed to right themselves after being frightened by Towboat US who wanted an arm and a leg to tow them off. Waterford is a lovely town with a $1.75 breakfast place and a nearby grocery that allows you to take the carts (with permission) to the docks. They pick them up on Saturdays. We caught our breath and another 12 hours of sleep then took off down the Hudson River.

We left Albion, nestled between our two lift bridges and proceeded slowly down the canal.
We had two locks to pass through today and we were a little apprehensive. The canal towards Rochester is cut deeply into the limestone.
It is a very beautiful part of the canal system. We saw the old locks that used to allow traffic to Rochester but they closed long ago. The canal got quite shallow as it crossed the Genessee River and stayed shallow almost to Lock #33. We locked through without incident and did as well through #32. A mile later we were in Pittsford.

We stopped along the free south wall in a little park which was very nicely designed (coming from me that’s quite a compliment). We had to wash the duck poop off the wall by the boat but it was my civic duty to help out in some way.
We had wanted to reprovision a bit so we headed off to Wegman’s. We have been using Skipper Bob”s, “Cruising the New York Canal System” ( a great guide to the services and facilities along the Canal) and cruisers had pointed out that there was a Wegman’s about a mile and half walk from the park. It was a lot more than that! We ended up taking the bus.

Wegman’s (for those who don’t know) is not really a grocery store but a SUPER market! Unbelievable selection. We needed some meat for the freezer and they have vacuum sealed packs that last longer. We had a great time and bought more than we needed. Now it was time to get back. We weren’t sure where the bus would pick us up so we asked a policeman. He wasn’t sure so we went on our way. I saw him head out but he turned around and drove up to us. He asked us if we wanted a ride back to the boat so we got a ride in the back of the Sherrif’s car.

THANK YOU, Sgt. Jim! You sure meet nice folks when you’re cruising in a boat.

We had a nice Greek meal at Alladin’s across the canal and settled in for the night. About 2:30 I awoke to the sound of rain but it stopped quickly then started again. I got up to close the hatches when I realized that the park’s irrigation system was on! They used large full circle heads like you see on golf courses and they were spraying over the boat. It only lasted 15 minutes so off to bed I went. We awoke today and it sure looks more like fall. Lots of leaves in the water and a little more color.

We left early the next morning for Holley. Weeds had fouled the prop and it took quite awhile to get the boat to move and regain steerage. We went through locks #35 and #34 which were consecutive. Read elsewhere of our adventures there.

The canal has many looks. The western end has lots of areas of the original canal. It is very scenic and reminds us of Sunday drives in the country except now it’s at 7 mph. In many places the canal is actually above the surrounding landscape. It’s wierd to see farms, roads and fields below your line of vision.

There are lots of lift bridges along the way. The operators are very helpful and friendly. The Holley lift bridge needed emergency repairs and closed long enough for us to be delayed to the point we stayed in Albion. A very nicely restored small town with free dockage along the wall. They provide showers as well.

The trip to Tonawanda was just 11 miles. We left hoping to hit the hourly opening of the Black Rock Canal just north of Buffalo. We made it in time as the lock was just opening. It only dropped 5′ and so was uneventful.

We got to Wardell’s about noon but had to wait as he was trying hard to get a Hylas with a boom furler stepped. They were not having fun and so he moved them elsewhere to wrestle with their boat as he tackled ours. Dennis is a one man show and does a great job.

We went the half mile to Tonawanda and tied to the wall. They charged $20 for the night. It was noisy and there was lots of boat traffic.
We realized it was “Talk Like a Pirate Day” so we dressed Goliath in his pirate suit and did a lot of “arrrrrgh”ing at anyone who passed by.

We ate at a place (Swiston’s) that was famous for their “roast beef on a weck”, sliced beef on a crusty roll with kosher salt. It was really good, I ate two, but it didn’t make my honor roll of really tasty treats.

While in Buffalo I built structures to hold our mast while we transited the canal. Since I had two poles already in place for the radar and wind generator, I just added a cross piece. I simple nest for the mast on the bow pulpit was made and then a saw horse for the center. Pretty simple stuff. The sails were taken down and stored as well as the boom, boom vang and all lines. I stored everything outside.

I had a quote of $5 a foot from Wardell’s in Tonawanda. Seemed fair. I removed all the rigging and unhooked the mast down below. He climbed the stick (I cranked) and fastened his strap below the spreaders. He then removed the mast and placed it in the cradle. He helped tidy up the lines and rigging. Final bill … just as quoted.

That night I met a guy with a 47′ Beneteau who used Rich Marine on the Niagara River. He had been quoted a similar price but his final bill was double the quote. Everything was “extra”!

He shipped his mast ahead. I wondered why, he explained that it can be quite a pain to have the mast on deck in the locks. I was to learn how true that was.

Our first lock was #35 in Lockport, 18 miles into the canal. It was almost the end of the trip. The aft end of the mast managed to get hooked on a cable loop. I jumped up on the wall to free it while signaling the lock operator that there was a problem. Guess he thought I wasn’t serious as he started to lower the water level. I freed the mast and jumped back on the boat from about 6′ above the deck. I’m just glad I didn’t have to jump all the way since it dropped 25′.
The remaining 3 locks we’ve done so far have not been a problem. We have found that we prefer the ropes over cables.
It is far easier to control the movement of the boat if we can both have a rope, one fore and one aft. If you try to do it as others suggested the boat pivots too much.

Here we are comfortably secured to the “free” wall in Pittsford, NY.