Independence day was a travel day and a bit anti-climatic holiday for us. NO fireworks to enjoy but we made the best of it. We left Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton and headed for Oswego. This meant traveling our last lock (#23) of the Erie Canal and heading north on the Oswego Canal. The Erie Canal is actually 338 miles long if traveled through Lock 30 to the Tonawandas (Niagara River). From there you can travel to Buffalo and Canada.
Can you see the eagle?We traveled 155 miles of the Erie Canal before we "turned right" onto the Oswego Canal for 24 miles. We traveled until the Oswego, with Gypsy Soul; they are continuing west to Buffalo. The Champlain Canal compares at 60 miles long. We left Winter Harbor at 07:45 and arrived at 2pm, another 6 hour day.
Gypsy Soul off to Buffalo
They need to lift the bridge and lower the water for boats to get out of the lock! |
| Oswego Light |
Tired and hungry we decided we would eat out instead of cooking, Unfortunately all the "restaurants near me" recommended by Google were closed on Mondays, closed for the holiday, or just out of business! We ended up walking to Riverwalk Pizza. Nice antipasto salad and individual Margarita and Hawaiian pizzas. Leftovers for another no cook night! It was sad how many businesses were closed.
Back to the boat it was time to decide our plan for the next day. Weather prediction was less than ideal for our planned travel on Lake Ontario. First thing -- check out all the weather resources, consult the locals (a charter fisherman at the dock), and talk to the other loopers at the marina. Everyone had the same concerns but we were all headed in different directions! Tortue de Mer was going home to Toronto and Dorothy Gale to Niagara Falls, by car. So, next we plotted auto-pilot courses to Clayton and Sackets Harbor to give us options for the next day. 11:30pm, it's bedtime....
Tuesday July 5th
Still unsure what the best choice would be we knew that staying put would mean not being able to leave until Thursday due to the weather. Oswego would not be fun for 2 more days... So after a fit full sleep Jerry was up at 5:30 checking for weather updates. Prediction 1-2 foot waves, 10 to 15 knot winds, scattered showers. After discussion with the crew a unanimous decision was made to go to Clayton.
Winds blowing the flag and bunting
In hindsight, Sackets Harbor would have been a better choice. Route was closer to shore and a shorter travel day. We encountered LOTS of rain (no big deal as we are very protected in the fly bridge), variable winds AND BIG 4 foot waves. Not so much fun.
We did see a couple freighters. Weather wasn't the best for pictures. 
We are staying in Clayton tomorrow, traveling on Thursday -- weather for travel onward to Canada on Lake Ontario is predicted to be very good.
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| Raindrops keep coming |
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1 comment:
Clayton’s a beautiful little town. You should go up to Boldt Castle and explore before moving on. Have fun!
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