June 30 Brewerton to Oswego

June 30

To those who checked if we were OK since we had a few days without blogging, thanks for your concern.  We’re back on the water!!   We got to Brewerton and the next set of locks going through the Oswego Canal were closed due to high water with an undetermined time frame until it reopened.  We figured after 2+ months of traveling we ought to go check on the dirt house.  So we rented a car and drove back to GA, did some much needed landscaping chores for 2 days to make the house look somewhat less abandoned and then drove back to Brewerton. A busy few days but we have some peace of mind that the neighbors are doing a good job keeping an eye on things. A little less satisfied with the job the landscaping company  is doing in our absence..

Sunset at Ess-Kay Marina in Brewerton after our trip home

While we were away, they opened the canal despite some high water and strong water flows.   A pack of loopers went through the first day and based on their reports we’re glad we waited although our transit was not without issue.  We left Ess-Kay Marina around 8 and passed through Erie lock 23.    That was the final Erie lock for us and the end of the eastern section.  The western section continues all the way past the finger lakes region and on to Lake Erie.  At the junction of 3 rivers (Erie, Oswego and Oneida) we turned north and up the Oswego.  A series of 7 locks over 23 miles would drop us down to Lake Ontario at the town of Oswego.  

A bit of a dreary day as we head out in the AM

Leaving Erie lock 23 behind us 

Making the turn to starboard and heading for Oswego

The forecast called for a cloudy morning with sun developing but also winds building with expected gusts to 25 mph.  With no open water waves would not be an issue but since all the locks were taking us down that meant we would be exposed to winds when entering the locks which can make it a bit tricky getting secured.   Lock 5 was our biggest challenge.  Entering the lock we experienced weird cross currents due to high water flowing across the lock entrance.  The river runs on one side, the lock is in the center and a hydropower plant feed entrance is on the other side.  They are normally each separate but with the high water it was flowing from the power plant infeed across the lock entrance to the river side.  We got in OK but not without a few scary moments and judicious use of the rudder, throttle and thruster controls.  This lock has the longest drop of the Oswego system at 27’ and the wind was howling pretty good by this time.  We thought we’ld be fairly secure inside the lock but the wind was whipping over the top of the gate and shooting  directly down at our bow and pushing us off the wall.  It was everything Martha could do to hold the bow in position as I tended the stern line.  Another gust caught us as the front lock doors opened and almost shoved us off the wall again.  We finally made it to Oswego and happily caught  up with multiple looper friends.   

The day cleared up but winds picked up

Oswego sounded like a nice town to spend a few days.  A boater friendly waterfront, good restaurants, nice walking trails and interesting history.  We went for a tour of Fort Oswego.   It was a key strategic location guarding the entrance to the Oswego River so forts have been built there numerous times since the 1700’s but it’s also been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times in various wars.  The current iteration is basically the  restored 1840’s version.  It’s modern claim to fame was towards the end of WWII it was used as an internment camp that housed roughly 1000 displaced European Jews – basically the only Jewish refugees that the US allowed into the states.

Officers quarters at the fort which also housed WWII Jewish refugees

We would have liked to spend another day or two in Oswego but the weather forecast is calling for ideal conditions for crossing Lake Ontario.  With it being such a large body of water –  it is one of the GREAT lakes after all  – a fair weather crossing is essential. 

Red Sky at night - Sailors delight!!

Passing through Oswego Lock #8 finished  up another section of the loop – the Erie and Oswego canals and locks.   Open water for  a week or so as we head across Lake Ontario and into the Thousands Islands area of the St. Lawrence River

Journey for June 30