Final Chapter

They say it's not the destination it's the journey.  I'd like to add, it's also the people along the way.  We have met up with old friends, made wonderful new friends, caught up with relatives that we haven't seen in a while, met relatives we had never met before, and have been befriended by people that came into our life for a short time.


Total Expenses

Fuel:  $18,549     Average $3.25 per gallon

Miles:  approximately 6,526.4

Marina cost:  $28,903.42

Restaurants, Groceries, liquor and entertainment.  Approx $18,000.

Boat repairs approx.  $3,000.

71 Locks

59 Marinas


Total cost  $68,452.42

Fairport Harbor & Home to Vermilion

The weather has been beautiful, little wind, blue skies and comfortable temperatures, a real treat on Lake Erie. Knowing how the lake can change, we have decided to head for Vermilion today from Fairport Harbor.  It is about 53 nautical miles, a good days run at 8 kts.  We are still in the "trawler mode" saving on fuel.

An overnight stay last night in Fairport Harbor would not be complete without a stop at Pickle Bills for all you can eat crab.  So we had a delicious celebration dinner, a day early, and stuffed ourselves with crab.

We will be heading into familiar stomping grounds today, no paper charts or waterway guides are needed now.  Such a gorgeous day to be coming home.

We crossed our wake in Vermilion at 2:25 P.M. and we are excited to be home, safe & sound.

Presque Isle & Erie, PA

Yea! We are once again in the good ole' USA.  The run from Port Colborne was about 65 miles across Lake Erie, we arrived in Erie, PA on Tuesday around 4:30.  Thankfully there was a break in the weather,  the lake was a little roley, but not bad.  Checking into customs was as easy as as a phone call.

Today is Jim's birthday, his second birthday on this trip.  We had a nice day walking around town, and his birthday dinner was pizza hut pizza!  Only the best for the captain!

Vermilion, our home port is approximately 120 miles from Erie PA, if weather holds and we travel everyday, we will be home in 3 days.  This is where it gets bittersweet, our adventure has been a great experience, but being away from family & friends for over a year has been tough. And now we are within days of being back home, and I think we will miss the boat.   When we have 3 ft of snow in the middle of February, I know we will miss the Florida Keys.

Pt. Breeze, NY / St. Catharine's & Welland Canal, Ontario

After leaving Rochester, we opted to travel about 30 miles to Pt. Breeze on Oak Orchard River.  The weather was calling for T'storms and there was a small craft warning issued for Lake Ontario, so we didn't go far. This was an interesting stop, with a few surprises.  The marina we stayed at had mostly fishing & charter boats.  Right off the bat Jim recognizes the fishing charter that he had been on a few times with his friends out of the Cleveland area.  About 10 minutes later there is another fishing boat  on the ramp going into the water, and it turns out to be Fr. Jenne, the priest that married us 32 years ago.  It was wonderful to see him again.  Then we get a call from our friends, Ed & Diane, who will be helping us on the Welland Canal.  A requirement of the canal is that a boat needs at least 3 people to transit the canal.  They were passing by Pt Breeze so they caught up with us there and spent the night before heading out to meet us in St. Catharines where our Welland Canal adventure would start.

St Catharines marina in St. Catharines @ Port Weller, is where we spent a few days before entering the canal.  Ed & Diane had a car, a real luxury when you travel by boat.  The four of us drove into Niagara on the Lake, a cute, quaint, small city, filled with gorgeous flowers, boutiques type shops, restaurants, and wineries.  This was our first visit to Niagara on the Lake, but Diane & Ed had been here many times.  So I guess we not only had  a chauffeur, but tour guides as well.  After the shopping, and exploring, there is only one thing left to do, visit the winery. We had a nice afternoon, and as we were leaving the winery, we bump into more friends.  Joe Box and his fiance Carol, they were there with another couple.  Incidentally, Joe was one of the guys that Jim went on the fishing charter with that I mentioned earlier. Diane & Ed knew Joe & Carol as well because in my real estate absence, Diane sold Joe's condo, as part of handling my business. 

The Welland Canal is primarily a commercial shipping canal.  It is 27 miles long and has 8 locks and 21 lift bridges.  All commercial traffic has priority over pleasure craft. We arrived at the canal at 8:30, tied up to the wall, and used the phone provided at the wall to call the lock master to request passage. They told us the wait would be about an hour and a half, we finally started our lock through at 12:30.  Once you start the Welland Canal, you must go all the way through, unless you are waiting on commercial traffic, then you have to wait outside the lock until you have the green light to move ahead.  We were on the Welland for 15 hours,  pulling into Sugar Loaf Marina in Port Colborne at 12:00 midnight.  It was a long day, with what we thought was needless waiting, since there was not any other traffic going our way except one large freighter. Trying to find a marina, and more specific, the assigned slip,  in the dark, is not an easy feat.  Jim did a great job of maneuvering around in the dark waters, where we temporarily tied up to an empty face dock.  Jim & Ed proceeded to walk around the marina to find " E-20", our assigned dock for the night. The security guard joined them, and finally we were tucked into a slip complete with electric and water. The day came to an end for us at 2:10 A.M.  Our friends, Diane and Ed left on Saturday morning to take a cab back up to St. Catharines to pick up their car, stopped back at the boat to get their belongings and were on their way back home.  I have said it before, what would we do without our family and friends.  We sure have some truly wonderful people in our life. Thanks again Diane & Ed for your help on the Welland.

We will spend a few days in Port Colborne, Ontario due to some forecasted storms over the next couple days.  At this point if we wanted we could be home in  2-3 travel days. Since we have never explored the east end of Lake Erie, we will take our time and see the other end of the lake. Crossing back to the States is a priority however, as soon as the weather permits, my cell phone bill will be outrageous if we don't get out soon. It is good to be in Lake Erie again and almost home. :)

Rochester, NY

Lake Ontario was a bit choppy when we started out, after a few hours it calmed down nicely.  The skies were cloudy and it was a bit cool.  By the time we entered the Genesee River going into Rochester the temperature warmed up and the sun was out.  We will spend 2 days in Rochester before moving west on Lake Ontario. 

The lighthouse was constructed in 1822 on a hill just west of the Genesee River and south of what once was a marshy area on the southern shores of Lake Ontario. The current Keeper’s House was built in 1863 to replace the original one which was just to the south of the current building. The Tower is 40 feet high with an additional 12 feet of height for the Lantern room. There are 42 steps and then an 11 rung ladder that takes you into the Lantern room.

Oswego NY

Today is Friday the 13th and we left the marina in Brewerton at 9:11.  Good thing I am not superstitious.  The  saga of the over heating engine on The Laura Lee continues.  Rich and Laura decided to continue travelling down the Erie Canal at a reduced speed of about 5 kts, it only overheats at 7+ kts.  So we wished them safe travels and fair winds as we parted ways. We will both end up in Lake Erie so we may meet up again.

The Oswego River is much the same as the Erie Canal.  Houses dot the landscape, along with small towns, bridges and locks.  Six hours on the water today,  we transited 9 locks
and 31 miles. 

Our destination today was Oswego Marina in Oswego NY, at the mouth of Lake Ontario.  We are officially back in the Great Lakes.  Notice how blue the water is now that the lake is in sight.  A nice change from the Erie Canal and further down on the Oswego river.

 

Amsterdam, Little Falls, Sylvan Beach & Brewerton NY (Erie Canal)

Our journey on the Erie Canal is almost over, we have visited a few towns along the way, it's impossible to see them all.  The canal is freshwater, no more salt, I think I can almost hear Sales & Nails cheering.  Along the way we have seen kayaks, row boats, john boats, canal boats, dinner cruise boats and the list goes on. There is a towpath that runs along side which is a great attraction for bicyclist, walkers and runners.  They enjoy watching the boats meander down the waterway an lock through.  For the most part it is quiet, very picturesque, and rural.

Amsterdam was a overnight stop, we pulled into the city docks to avoid the thunderstorm that was heading our way.  We secured the boat just as the first rain drops fell.  The docks were newer and surrounded by a park, all in all it was a good stop. BTW, actor Kirk Douglas was born and raised in Amsterdam, NY.

 Next on the list was Little Falls, very rich in history, as most of these towns are.  We went through Lock 17, the highest lift on the Erie Canal at 40 feet.  There are 35 locks on the Erie Canal, we will only go through 23 before we exit onto the Oswego.

Sylvan Beach is the last stop before crossing Oneida Lake.  An amusement park next to the water brings in tourist from all over.  We walked into town and went to the amusement park.  The rain moved in and we were stuck in a downpour.  There apparently are no taxis in Sylvan Beach, we ducked into one of those beach shops and bought umbrellas for the walk back to the marina.

We crossed Oneida Lake on Tuesday and stopped at Ess-Kay Yards Marina in Brewerton.  We knew it would be a 2 night stay,  Rich & Laura on "The Laura Lee" have an engine that is overheating, and we are reluctant to leave them without it being fixed.  Jim and Rich worked on it all day yesterday, while Laura and I went to get pedicures, haircuts and groceries.  Bobbie, my wonderful talented hairdresser at home, and Lesley my nail tech have been greatly missed.   I cannot believe how hard it has been to get good haircuts & manicures/pedicures on this trip.  I know... it's a tough life!!

It is Thursday afternoon, and we are back in Brewerton after leaving this morning. There was a 90% chance that the guys fixed the engine problem . After about an hour and going

thru Lock#23 on the Erie Canal, The Laura Lee overheated again.  There was allot of grass, and sea weed ( Jim calls it salad) on the other side of the lock, it may have clogged the sea strainer and burned up the impeller. So the repair continues, I'm thankful it is not our boat this time. The lock keeper had a garden along side the lock and invited us to tie up to the wall after locking thru and help ourselves to the fruits of his labor.  Some of the best cherry tomatoes I've had in a long time.  The bright side of coming back is getting more tomatoes when we lock thru again.

Here's hoping the Laura Lee's engine problem is solved soon and doesn't require a bank loan to do it. :)

Waterford to Schenectady on the Erie Canal

The locks did not open on time, there was a delay until 12:30.  We went through 7 locks today. Stopping for the night at Schenectady Yacht Club, the pool was a real treat.  The weather was hot & humid, with more of the same for tomorrow.