Erie Canal, Day 3, June 17

A bit slower start today, out of lock 24 at 8:15.Still grey and windy, but less rain today.

Another of those brdges I wanted to see- this one is on I-90 just west of Syracuse. You see a nice park and the end of Onondaga Lake from the road.

Under the bridge you see all these signs from the rowing teams. This section of the canal is the home port for the Syracuse University rowing team. There were also two guys sititng on lawn chairs fishing from the bridge foundations.
I've seen a lot of interesting fishing seats along the canal- lots of old car seats, odd benches, even one 3 sided plywood shack with an old couch.

This duck and her 3 ducklings locked through with me at lock 23.
I stopped just past lock 23 at Winterport Marina for fuel and pump-out. This is right at the west end of Oneida Lake. It was still blowing hard, from the west, and the cruising guide has strong warnings about the lake- its 20 miles long and fairly shallow. I radioed a boat coming in and asked about the conditions. He said it was 'a litle rough, not bad' so I decided to cross.

The last 5 miles were pretty nasty- a short chop, maybe 3-4 feet high, but with a wavelength of barely 30 feet- that means when my stern lifted up on a wave the bow just about dug in. I never got water over the deck, but it was close.
The chop also made it hard to find the bouys- I sure was happy for my Raymarine chartplotter- I set it for a course on the entrance mark and just steered for it.
This is looking back out to the lake, along the entrance breakwater, with the waves rolling over the wall. It looked a lot worse in person that the photo.

Just inside the canal I saw MISS HAPP and made a quick stop. MISS HAPP is an Albin 36 on a cruise from the Cheasapeake area and the owner has been writing a runing log of his travels on the AlbinCruisers group on Yahoo Groups. I was hoping to see him, but I checked out the nearby restaurants and could not find them. I waited a while. left a note, and moved on.

Another long cut, all these canal cuts are starting to look the same. I still find it interesting to run along and watch, but I don't think I need to do this again.

I stopped for the night at Bellamy Harbor Park, near Rome. I got a rain shower just as I stopped, but when it ended I went for a walk- its to far to get into Rome, just up a few blocks into an industrial park.

Several other boats have tied up here for the night. Its not the most quiet spot, as the mainline ConRail track is just over the canal, and Ive heard several fast trains roll by already. But I was ready to stop, needed some time to read and write my web pages, and start trying to figure out the next leg.

I talked to the couple on the next boat over, they are doing the 'loop', around the eastern half of the US. They started in South Carolina in April, will go through the Trent- Severn, around the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ten-Tom waterway. Thats another trip I always wanted to take, but for now I'm ready to get back to Maine.

Day 4

	Another of those brdges I wanted to see- this one is on I-90 just west of Syracuse. You see a nice park and the end of Onondaga Lake from the road.
	Under the bridge you see all these signs from the rowing teams. This section of the canal is the home port for the Syracuse University rowing team. There were also two guys sititng on lawn chairs fishing from the bridge foundations. I've seen a lot of interesting fishing seats along the canal- lots of old car seats, odd benches, even one 3 sided plywood shack with an old couch.
	This duck and her 3 ducklings locked through with me at lock 23. I stopped just past lock 23 at Winterport Marina for fuel and pump-out. This is right at the west end of Oneida Lake. It was still blowing hard, from the west, and the cruising guide has strong warnings about the lake- its 20 miles long and fairly shallow. I radioed a boat coming in and asked about the conditions. He said it was 'a litle rough, not bad' so I decided to cross.
	The last 5 miles were pretty nasty- a short chop, maybe 3-4 feet high, but with a wavelength of barely 30 feet- that means when my stern lifted up on a wave the bow just about dug in. I never got water over the deck, but it was close. The chop also made it hard to find the bouys- I sure was happy for my Raymarine chartplotter- I set it for a course on the entrance mark and just steered for it. This is looking back out to the lake, along the entrance breakwater, with the waves rolling over the wall. It looked a lot worse in person that the photo.
	Just inside the canal I saw MISS HAPP and made a quick stop. MISS HAPP is an Albin 36 on a cruise from the Cheasapeake area and the owner has been writing a runing log of his travels on the AlbinCruisers group on Yahoo Groups. I was hoping to see him, but I checked out the nearby restaurants and could not find them. I waited a while. left a note, and moved on.
	Another long cut, all these canal cuts are starting to look the same. I still find it interesting to run along and watch, but I don't think I need to do this again.