From Little Falls it was on to Sylvan Beach, which was about 50 miles east of Syracuse, NY. What was interesting about this stretch was the Erie Canal ran right along Rt. 90, so close so we could see semi trucks and cars.
There were a lot more bridges in this area, strange looking bridges,
and many railroad bridges. We were thinking .... "this rusty old bridge bettter hold that heavy train!"
On the whole Erie Canal we only saw one barge and it was a small one. We still had to move over for it, they always have the right-of-way.
It was a calm, beautiful day which made passing through the locks easy, allowing for casual conversations with Rowe Boat.
This very unique looking vessel named Grande Mariner is a pleasure cruise that runs from Chicago to Rhode Island in 16 days. It has to be low profile because there is a fixed bridge on the western end of the Erie Canal that is only 15' high. Phase II being 17.5' tall can't fit under that bridge, which is why we couldn't get to Lake Erie via the Erie Canal.
Lock 21 at New London was the first lock going down when heading west. It seemed strange pulling into the chamber at the top . . . .
and dropping 25' to exit at the bottom of the lock.
After five locks and 49 miles we arrived at the wall at Sylvan Beach and quickly jumped into docktails. Another great day on The Loop!
On Thursday, June 16th we took off early to take advantage of the good weather report for a smooth crossing of Oneida Lake. Oneida Lake is the largest body of water on the Erie Canal.
Lucky for us, the "weather guessers" were right and the 20 mile crossing was sunny and smooth!
We arrived at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY to find about a dozen power catamarans and several other Loopers . . . it was a full house and great fun!
This marina was also a boatyard where you can have work done on your boat, if necessary. In the boating world, there is always work to be done!
Just like at home, Dave loves sharing new tools or new products with fellow Loopers, as you can see him behind the flag with his miracle gel for cleaning the stainless steel grills.
From Winter Harbor Marina, we rented a car and took a quick trip to the Finger Lakes with the crew of Rowe Boat. In two days we hit 16 winerys, all on Seneca Lake.
The weather was perfect and the views of the vineyards overlooking the lake were spectacular!
It was back to the boat and off to the Oswego Canal to finish our cruise of the New York Canal System. On Sunday, June 19th we exited the last lock on the 24 mile long Oswego Canal and spent the night at one last NY marina. From the start of the Erie Canal, we traveled 184 miles and passed through 29 locks in 10 days . . . what an adventure!!
GOOD BYE USA, CANADA HERE WE COME!!!!
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