Open Water on Lake Oneida and Soggy
Liverpool
Leaving at first light we cruised
across the open waters of Lake Oneida – a little over 20 miles with no locks
and only a distant view of the shore. We were fortunate that the windy weather
of the previous days died overnight to provide us a calm and glassy crossing.
Several of our friends had been stuck in Sylvan Beach waiting for the calmer
weather while we cruised in late and were able to leave early.
Our arrival in Brewerton gave us time to walk
the streets, search the flea market and wipe out the Ess-Kay ship store. I had
noticed that Ess-Kay stocked most of the remaining charts and guides we need,
so we now have both electronic and paper charts ensuring we know exactly where
we are at all times - even if we don’t know where that is. While we were at the
Ess-Kay Yards, we met Don Robertson who also owns a Kadey Krogen that he is
working on for future cruising. Steve and Don have chatted “Krogen” over the
last several years since they had mutual work acquaintances who helped them
connect. A tour of Don’s unique Krogen
layout was a treat. His boat while the same length as ours has two full heads
and a mid-ship master. While we also envied his pilot house doors, we are glad
to be cruising and not still working on our boat.
Back in town walking along main drag
we noticed several newly refurbished buildings. After Steve took a few photos,
a woman chased him down the street. It turns out Joyce is the owner of the
building we admired and the moving force for the redevelopment. Her buildings are currently the show places
along this stretch of Hwy 11, and we hope others will catch her enthusiasm
since the town has much unrealized potential.
We hope to see even more progress on our next visit. Oh yes, the flea
market did yield a few buttons for my stash!
The heavy “low clouds” in the morning
made us even more grateful for the fine calm weather we had enjoyed for our
crossing of Lake Oneida. As we pulled
into our only lock of the day, the clouds released a few drops. I was also glad
that my anchoring spot is mostly protected.
Even the lock tender was envious of my shelter as he had to run around
outside to get us through. As we moved on up the Oswego River and past the turn
for Lake Ontario into the Seneca River, the rain continued and increased. (Our
plan is to follow the Erie Canal all the way to Tonawanda where it ends near
Niagara Falls and Buffalo. Most loopers turn north at this junction and go to
Canada via Lake Ontario. That trip is in our future.)
I tried to be grateful that the boat was
getting washed with fresh water, but the rain masked our view of the lovely
riverside homes along this stretch of the canal. So sorry about the photos – I
tried to give you a sample. We also
deviated from the main canal a few miles further along going southward toward
Syracuse. We stopped at the Village of
Liverpool at their lovely Lake Onondaga Park Municipal Marina. They actually
have very few options for transient visitors like us, but the Dock Master,
John, after many phone calls, was able to find us a slip to borrow from a
boater who has not yet put his boat in the water. We sit here with power, super
clean restrooms, and a misty view of the lake/Syracuse. The constant rain and “cool” temps, however,
make me wonder if we aren’t in Liverpool, England. The village is quaint even
in the rain and comes with a grocery, post office, library, laundry and barber
shop, plus several eateries of the non-chain variety. As a special treat, Don
returned to carry us off to a super grocery store – Wegmans. We had not seen
such a huge and well stocked store since our stop in Elizabeth City or our own
Florida Publix. Fully restocked we planned to take a bus into the big city for
a tour of the Erie Canal Museum is housed in the only original Weighlift
building remaining. My misreading of the schedule put us at the wrong bus stop
at the right time – close enough to see the bus sail by. What else can we do in
rainy weather? I caught up on planning and made banana break while Steve
rebuilt his mast yoke with a two by four he liberated from a dumpster. Life in
the slow lane continues……
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