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Foggy & Cold on the Niagara River just before 7am.
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Entering the Erie Canal at Tonawanda (Buffalo) NY - heading
eastbound.
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Boat House Row.
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I AGREE! - Character, not Condos. |
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The Swiftwater Power Squadron promotes their USPS boating
course
on the canal walls through Tonawanda. |
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Capn Greg & Dave at the helm.
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Foggy & cold in the early morning down the Erie Canal
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Dave & Cheryl Furbee (Lisa's sister) - wondering what they've
gotten themselves into - a week or more on a small boat with 4 adults, a
teenager, 3 big dogs, and a parrot!
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Our first of a series of 35 locks across New York State.
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Jessica's artsy photo
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Lisa & Cheryl working the stern lock line. |
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A long way down! - With all 35 locks we have to drop over 500
feet from the elevation of Lake Erie to that of the Hudson River going into
New York City.
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The locks we came through are on your left, but if you look
to the right (going up under the yellow truck),
you'll see the original 5 locks that were built almost 100 years ago. Locks
34 & 35 in Lockport NY.
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Jessica & Louie Dog. |
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One of the many Canal boats you can rent for a week or more
to cruise the New York Canal System. - Great vacation in the summer or early
fall. |
A black lab, chocolate lab and mongrel - Cassie, Moca &
Louie.
3 big dogs on a 35 foot boat!
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Most of these photos were taken by Jessica or her mom.
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Working an aft lock line can be hard work. :-)
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Break time while Dave takes the helm.
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Dave on the foredeck getting ready for the next lock,
while Greg takes the helm (right).
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I think Jessica & Louie dog are enjoying the trip,
while Moca dog chills out with Cheryl (left).
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One of the many lift bridges along the way.
It's original closed position at left, and above after it lifts. |
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Tied up to the approach wall at Lock 33 at the end of the
day.
Cheryl likes the feel of solid ground again after over 12 hours underway!
Run today: 75.7 nm (by GPS). 81 Statute Miles by the chart. 12.9 hour
run. |
After 12 hours the dogs were SURE GLAD to get off and Pee! |
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An early morning start on Tuesday, Sept 23rd. |
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These are guard gates, and there are many along the canals. The engineers
can lower these to seal off portions of the canal for flood control when
needed. Sometimes the lockmasters also have to run down to open these for
you when you pass through by boat - they open them and then close them
behind you. When this happens you get dripped on by dirty water (the bottom
of the gate was just down in the muck) as you pass under the gate.
Fortunately all the gates were already up for us on this trip, except the
last one on the last day.
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I finally got the laptop computer mounted at the flybridge.
We have nautical charts, but there are no nautical charts for the stretch
from Buffalo to Lyons NY (east of Rochester) so I used Street Atlas 2007
navigational program hooked to our GPS to follow us in real time through the
canal. If anyone wants a copy of the file I made with notes and locks all
along the way - just send an email to
CapnGreg@BootKeyHarbor.com &
I'll forward it to you.
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One of Lisa's artsy photos - reflections in the water from
boat wake.
You can tell she likes reflections (left photo too). |
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Homes along Fairport NY |
Harbormasters office in Fairport NY
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The Marathon Sail & Power Squadron Burgee
flying from the bow staff of our boat.
Marathon - here we come! |
David Stock aboard "Loon-A-Sea".
He's been working on this boat for 8 years and just got it launched.
We met them in the locks on day three (Weds).
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Storage space is at a premium on a 35' boat, with all of us
onboard for a week. The space under the flybridge helm has TONS of room for
Dave and Lisa's beer stash!
(Greg keeps his wine below - easier to store).
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Dave at the helm.
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Moca & Louie like to explore out the V-berth hatch -
especially when all the Geese are honking! |
Bomber squadron of Canadian Geese as we exit a lock.
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Jessica at the helm with Dave as the lookout.
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We made a "pit stop" in Palmyra to replenish the wine supply.
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Palmyra City Docks. Nice Victorian homes in town. Dave & Lisa
onboard. |
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"Loon-A-Sea" stopped at Palmyra with us.
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Now why is it that it is both illegal and ethically improper
for us to make a big wake as we go by docks and other boats, but New York
State work boats can plow through the same areas pushing BIG wakes, but have
no consequences?
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Lisa takes after her mom - hiding from the camera.
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Captain Greg is happy - at the helm of the M/V Nova -
regardless of where we are.
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Cheryl Works the aft lock line.
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Dave works the bow. Some of the "holes" in the lock walls
are more like Caves! |
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Interesting bridge abutment paintings.
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We slowly motored through a HUGE flock of geese waiting just
outside the lock gates.
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Oooooohhhhh - the FUEL BILLS!
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Coming up on Lock 28 in Newark NY.
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Dave & Cheryl Furbee
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Whatt???? Are They Doing?????
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Sunset while tied up to the dock at Coopers Marina.
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Early morning moving out. |
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Brewerton NY, just West of Lake Oneida
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Full throttle all the way across Lake Oneida.
Greg lost his Greek fisherman's hat on this leg.
The 20-30mph winds on the flybridge blew it into the Lake!
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Dave took the Helm most of the 20 miles across Lake Oneida.
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Jessica found a salamander on one of the lock walls when the
water receded.
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Canal dredging operations.
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We tied up to a lock wall park for the night, tied the dogs
out and had a
picnic with Dave cooking hot dogs.
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Moca Dog & Jessica. Even the bird got to get out landside for
a while! (right). |
Cassie the dog & Tara the Quaker parrot.
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New York State workboat
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Last night on the Erie canal at Amsterdam NY - city docks.
I wouldn't stay here again.
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Dave decided to shave his moustache as a surprise ....
so we all painted moustaches on ourselves as a surprise to him!
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Greg doesn't have exactly the same sense of humor, but
Lisa roped him into it too!
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The last day on the Erie Canal was wet, cold, and miserable.
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Cheryl looks like a gigantic Bug!
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It's Soooo Much warmer and dryer below!
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Greg takes his turn at the Helm after Dave froze to death and
went below
to sleep with the dogs and stay warm!
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Greg had on only sandals and socks - which were getting quite
wet!
A canvas bag to slip his feet into solved that problem.
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This guard gate was down as we approached the row of the last
5 locks.
they automatically lifted it for us as we approached.
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Here they start closing the gate after we pass.
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We enter lock 6 - the first of 5 consecutive locks one after
another, known as the flight of five.
These are our last obstacles to the Hudson River Valley, and on out to the
Atlantic Ocean.
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FINALLY! We exit the last lock from the Erie Canal to get to
the Hudson River. There is still one federal lock a few miles down on the
Hudson, but that's it until the Atlantic Ocean! |
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Town docks at Waterford as you exit the Erie Canal, right at
the junction of the Erie Canal and Hudson River.
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Dave's a happy camper! He and Cheryl now have a Master's
Degree in locking through!
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Enter the Hudson River on Friday, Sept 26, 2008 in the early afternoon.
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Lisa lost our new boarding mat overboard at the lock wall.