Ok, ok, jeeesh! I guess I left a few of you hanging as to our current status as being ‘stuck’ in Little Falls, NY due to Fred and Henri’s rains. Well as of 8/28 we were FREE to move w/all the locks in the direction we were heading opened. We boogied out as quick as we could and planned to get as far as we could. It sure felt good to be moving.
So, we are currently located in Waterford, NY, at the end of the Erie Canal system, 1/4 mile from the Hudson River. Planning on staying a couple days to figure out what path Tropical Depression Ida is going to take. They have already shut down 6 locks in prep for potential rains.
I’ll get to busy and get a couple posts out…
30 Aug, 2021
22 Aug, 2021
The Journey…
Update – 8/22/2021 – 3 More Things
LITTLE FALLS, NY – 1) Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred really wreaked havoc on the surrounding area. Lots of rain fell just to the west of us and inundated a reservoir and the watershed around us, bringing the water up 5.5 feet from when we originally arrived in Little Falls. Part of our locations issue is due to the fact that we are located on a portion of the Erie Canal which joined back up w/the Mohawk River. Most of the canal parallels the river.
Notice Rory’s location changes, hard to tell but she started out w/her deck about 1 ft below the wall. With the water consistently rising on the 19th & 20th, if that water would rise above the already 5.5 ft, she’d have her waterline above the wall and that is NOT good. Lucky, very lucky, for us a floating dock existed at the marina. We walked her down the wall being very cognizant of the fast current. She’s tied up extremely well and quite far below the wall.
The Mohawk River as it goes thru town, quite a difference.
2) Tropical storm/hurricane Henri. SO, yet another system to mess w/the canal system as well as Long Island and the New England coast. Initially Henri was forecast to veer west which would have impacted our location w/high winds and 1-4″ rain. His path has changed so now we’re to get mostly rain. How much? Not sure. What will fall will mostly be down river/canal from us.
3) SO? What now? First, hoping that Long Island and New England fare well with the storm is most important. Us, we’ll be stuck in Little Falls for at least 2-3 days if not more. Obviously the water level needs to come back down that 5.5 ft that it rose and the debris that has been floating along w/the current needs to settle out. D has been monitoring the hydrological charts, tables, etc to check the height and flow rates above and below us in the canal. Going down very slowly at the moment. The Canal Corp engineers must be going thru adrenaline rushes trying to figure out how to stabilize it. Been doing this for years so probably not their first rodeo. Below is the flood watch for the area and a ‘notice to mariner’ email that we received stating their intent. At this moment in time Locks 2-28 out of 35 total are shut down. The ‘guard gates’ pictured, of which there are 7 sets on the eastern canal, were all closed. Their primary purpose is to protect the locks. They along w/some moveable dams are beginning to be opened today, we are west of Lock 17, not impacted by the procedure. It is what it is…
22 Aug, 2021
22 Aug, 2021
The Journey…
Quote – Uncle Kracker
It is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t
It’s life and it’s love and it ain’t gonna change
It’s a beautiful mess
I don’t wanna miss
It sits in the spins and it is what it is
It is what it is
Oh yeah
It is what it is
—From “It Is What It Is” – Uncle Kracker, album Midnight Special
22 Aug, 2021
22 Aug, 2021
The Journey…
Week 9 – Oswego Free Wall to Little Falls, NY – NM 967 thru 1057
Well we’ve hit the 1000 NM mark and have been gone over 2 months…
NY CANAL CORP SYSTEM, OSWEGO AND ERIE EASTERN CANALS
ABOVE MAP – This is our path for the next two weeks or so leaving from the NW in Oswego to Waterford east where the canal meets the Hudson River. We will transit 30 locks of varying heights, 7 to 40.5 feet; 10 up and 20 down. And yes up vs down make a HUGE difference. Uplocking means you start at ‘lower level’ and the water elevates the boat to the top of the lock. This occurs with the addition of a LOT of water to the lock making the interior of the lock very turbulent. It takes all ones strength to hold the boat securely and away from the lock wall, the majority of which are incredibly slimy and slippery. For one with no arm muscles its tough! Downlocking is the reverse, you start at the ‘top floor’ and are gently lowered. The water is expelled from the lock. One can almost hang on w/ones pinky. I like downlocking!
The process of uplocking. Pictures taken by the lockmaster and D.
Views along the canal en route to Phoenix, NY; again one can only take so many pics, they all start to look similar, this was an extremely wonderful day for transiting.
PHOENIX, NY – What a wonderful little town. Tied up to the free wall right in the center of town, bakery 1/2 block away, laundromat 3/4 block away, livin’ the dream! The Bridge House Brats is a summer program for kids the town established 25 years ago. They will walk dogs, run to restaurants to pick up meals for you, sell coffee and bagels, have exercise time, clean up the park and main street and sing while doing so. Their ‘clubhouse’ is in the old bridge tower. Great program if you ask me. The second pic may not seem like much but it was an entirely surreal moment. D & I were reading books under the picnic pavilion cause it was HOT; the kids were blaring golden oldies songs and playing Duck Duck Goose (Grey Duck if you’re from MN). All we could do was smile, a lot. The town had a daily farmers market w/great sweet corn which we cooked in the pavilion not getting the boat hot. Also had a great distillery serving meals outside. The next day we planned on leaving but due to the fact it was Friday the 13th AND we had bananas on the boat, we decided to stay one more day and were treated to a concert in the pavilion which we listened to from the boat.
Rory got a lot of attention in Phoenix. Surprisingly most people didn’t realize she was a sailboat, sigh. Even the local police officer who after looking at where we’re from on the back of Rory and proceeding to call us ‘Cheeseheads’; asked “how DO you drive that thing”?
LOCK 23, ONEIDA LAKE – We left Phoenix and the Oswego canal entering the actual Erie canal at Three Rivers. Rory at this point had been the only boat in the 7 locks we’d gone thru and were by ourselves as we entered lock 23. The lock doors did not close, hmmm. A few minutes later 11, yes 11, power boaters jammed into the lock with us, many of them sporting a bikini-clad person on the bow; me in long sleeves, pants and a lifejacket, yup. I wanted to take a picture but was hanging onto the line on the lock wall for dear life to not hit another boat. Pic is of them leaving. We tied up at the wall in Brewerton, NY for the nite; nothing special except it was the gateway to Oneida Lake. The parade of boats coming back from the lake on Sunday nite was incredible to watch; except for the dick boat which was EXTREMELY loud. It’s lucky that D never got me that bazooka that I wanted for my birthday one year. Next morning we crossed Oneida Lake, very shallow lake, medium breeze on the nose creating 2-3 ft waves that subsided as we got to the other side. Continued down the canal and tied up to a wall in Utica, NY odd location with restaurants 1/2 mile away that were packed for a Monday nite. Went to a weird takeout place and were rewarded w/horrible food.
LITTLE FALLS, NY – Left Utica w/plans to stop in Ilion, NY. However it was raining and was supposed to rain most of the day and more the next so we decided to push on to Little Falls, NY. SO glad we did!!! (Update to follow.) Dredging operations on the canal; depth can be an issue especially if you’re a sailboat w/a keel, so far so good. Example why there are not many pics of K. A group of mergansers on the water; at this point most birds are flocking up for fall the cormorants, starlings, geese, turkey vultures and some unidentifiable dickie birds. Our spot in Little Falls.
22 Aug, 2021
20 Aug, 2021
The Journey…
Week 8 – Youngstown to Oswego, NY – NM 843 thru 967
LAKE ONTARIO, NY – Taking off from Youngstown early on the 7th using Predictwind to help judge the timing presented us with a beautiful sail. We only had the headsail out and were still going 4.5-5 knots. Wimps, put out the mainsail! Ummm, no. The mainsail cover as well as the rest of the boat was covered in small lake flies of some sort. Not as nearly as bad as the bug-nado we experienced on Lake Michigan in 2018 w/Dave E. but enough of a one that we didn’t want a polka-dotted mainsail. With marinas full in Rochester, NY and others that were not deep enough for Rory we decided to anchor. D spent at least an hour studying the wind forecast, supposed to be very, very calm; as well as the charts looking for anything that appeared to be a sandy bottom on the coast of Lake Ontario. One typically does not anchor just off land on a major lake. He found an “S” (sand) on the chart which we headed towards and anchored there. Sand, no, but small pebbles, anchor dug in perfectly. D actually dove on the anchor to double check, brrrr.
We were treated to the best sunset of our entire trip. I’m a sunset/sunrise picture taker and could have put 50 more pics in, but D would’ve killed me. Sundowners were a local brew and went perfect with the scenery.
SODUS BAY, NY – Ok, so we fell off the picture taking wagon here w/2 taken in total. It is a marvelous anchorage with only a few boats screaming past you trying to take you out w/their wakes. We met a wonderful kinda-local couple Karl and Laurie, who are transitioning to boating 6 months and spending time in Florida 6 months. Pictures? No! Sorry? Yes! They are self proclaimed stink-potters who spend summers on the Great Lakes and surroundings and spend winters in a ‘tin-o-minium’ in North Port, FL. Many laughs were shared. This is why one cruises; to meet people, share stories and helpful information, have a sundowner and smile a lot. Covid has changed the protocol of this some, but w/caution one can still enjoy each others company.
View from Sodus Bay anchorage and sunrise pic this time. And I also didn’t state that they were 2 mediocre pics at best.
OSWEGO, NY – Where Rory’s mast was to come down. We had the most perfect sail yet to date getting there; both sails up, wind coming off land so no waves or fetch to speak of, just off the beam. As you notice speed over ground wasn’t shabby either. We got to Oswego around 1500 Monday aft and were planning on relaxing before Tuesday’s fast and furious taking the boat apart to get the mast ready for Wednesday am removal. The marina asked if we could be ready to have it taken down Tuesday am instead, weather was iffy for Wednesday. Ok, sure?!? So fast forward the fast and furious taking the boat apart and condense it into one evening. Reward? Ice cream sundaes for supper.
The next morning the marina staff came to take the boom off and unstep the mast; went pretty smooth only needing another winch to help get it up and out of the boat. With the mast down, D & I then needed to dismantle everything on the mast: take instruments and antennas off the top (hence no Marine Traffic data), take off the shrouds (wire cables holding the mast to boat), the spreaders (holding the shrouds away from mast), the backstay, and tie up all the lines, halyards and forestay to the mast in prep for its truck transfer to Catskill, NY. Long day but it felt good to have it all done.
FREE WALL, BETWEEN OSWEGO LOCK #8 and #7 – We ambled a whole whopping .62 nm down the Oswego river from the marina thru our first lock of this journey (for us that is) (easiest one to boot) to stay Wednesday nite. We tied up to a wall between Lock 8 and 7. Free walls are common the whole length of the canal system; locks sometimes have them close by and towns along the canal frequently have them to encourage boaters to explore, eat and shop in their locale. A great option.
Shop/eat in their locale? Here is a 4# loaf of cinnamon raisin bread purchased from Wade’s Diner, a local tradition. And boy does it make awesome french toast!
20 Aug, 2021
19 Aug, 2021
The Journey…
Update – 8/19/2021 – 3 Things
1) YES!!! I KNOW!!! It seems according to the Marine Traffic app that we’ve been in Oswego for 7 days. Well we’re not. While we were in Oswego we had our mast taken down (above pic). Unfortunately the antenna for AIS which drives the data for Marine Traffic was on top of the mast. Therefore, no antenna – no Marine Traffic updates. We had a backup plan/antenna ready but it was an epic fail. SO, until the mast goes back up or we find an adapter piece, Marine Traffic will state we’re in Oswego.
2) SO WHERE ARE WE? We are currently on the Erie Canal just before Lock E-17 in Little Falls, NY; roughly 80 nm from the Hudson River. The map shows one green flag NW which is Oswego(mast down) and the other green flag is Catskill, NY where the mast goes up. Little Falls is really nice place to be, great wall to tie to, great showers and great people.
3) AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE MAY BE HERE A BIT. We were planning on departing Little Falls yesterday but Tropical Storm Fred seems to think we need to stay here one or more days to go to the Ironrock Brewery in town that opens this afternoon. The water in the canal where we are has risen by 3 feet and still seems to be rising. And with that comes floating forests! And while I was typing this 2 more “Notice to Mariners” from the NY canal corp, closed down roughly 30 more locks due to high water, with more to come.
PS: I will use this ‘captive’ time wisely to go back to the regularly supposed routinely postings about Rory & Bo. Promise!
19 Aug, 2021
19 Aug, 2021
The Journey…
Rory Details – Energy
By D
Aurora’s Energy Budget: Just how do we make coffee and drink cold rum?
Our water pot makes about a quart of hot water for coffee and consumes about 2% of our battery capacity. No problem, right? We can last for 50 days with the batteries being charged just once! Oh, no it is not that easy, a good sailor can’t live on coffee alone! We must have cold rum which for me, means ice, which means a freezer. The freezer consumes 15% of our batteries every day. And, oh yes, we do need food which means a refrigerator. There goes another 15%. And there is more…lights, cooking, computers, phones, electric heads, water pumps, and other sailing electronics. All added together, we use about 2.1 kWh’s (2,100 watt/hours) per day (an average of about 90 watts running 24 hours/day) while at anchor, more while sailing. This does not include space heating or cooling or providing hot water. More on that later.
So just how do we manage that? For us, we have a variety of ways we can handle that load. Redundancy is good on a sailboat as things just tend to break.
By having a bank of batteries and charging sources to fill the batteries, we can use a good deal of electricity and live a “normal” life.
Batteries: We have 4 Lithium “house” batteries that hold about 5.2 kWh’s at 12 volts. Being that they are lithium, we can use about 90% of that energy which means we have about 4.7 kWh’s available. So, on a full battery charge, we can go for more than 48 hours without charging them.
Charging: We have several ways to add energy to the batteries: Solar, an alternator, a generator, and shore power.
Solar: Yes, of course our favorite. We have one 310-watt rigid solar panel mounted on top of our dingy davits that have produced, on average, about 1 kWh/day in these summertime northern climates. So those good at math can see that solar alone gives us about 47% of the energy we need. On a full sun day, with no shading on the panels, it will produce about 95% of our needs. So, yes, we need more solar…. Or do we?
Alternator: Our engine has a high-capacity alternator that can deliver approximately 900 watts (I keep it throttled down to make it last longer). So, for every hour and 15 minutes the engine runs, we add about 50% of our daily needs. The way we travel, we are most likely moving every three days, and like it or not, we motor for about 40% of the miles we travel mostly due to lack of wind. So, in most cases, we run the engine for at least 1 hour, sometimes many more.
Generator: We have a 6,000-watt diesel generator that can run many things on the boat, but for this discussion, a battery charger. Our battery charger operates at about 1,000 watts, so to put on a 90% charge (fill the batteries from near empty), it would take 4.7 hours. Based on a price of $3.50/gallon of diesel fuel, the price for generating electricity this way is $1.75/kWh (based on 0.5 gallons/hour)! At home, we pay $0.12/kWh. On the first 1,200 miles of our trip, we have not needed to run the generator to charge the batteries. Our goal is to not use the generator.
Shore power: When Aurora is in a marina, we can plug into the power at the dock which is called shore power. To charge the batteries, our battery charger can use that power to deliver 1,000 watts to the batteries. Shore power is usually free (or part of the fee charged for the boat) so we tend to use shore power to fill the batteries if needed. During the first 1,000 miles, the amount of time that we have used shore power for charging is about 3 hours.
Space Heating, Cooling, Hot Water, and Drinking Water:
Space Heating: Our boat has a reverse cycle air conditioning system that will heat the boat if the sea water temperature is above 40 degrees F. It uses about 1,600 watts of power. It will only run with shore power or the generator. We also have a small electric space heater that runs between 900 and 1,400 watts. We like to use this while we are in a marina. When we are not at a marina, K just adds more wool!
Cooling: Aurora has 3 air conditioners, and if all of them were running will use about 3,500 watts. They will only run with shore power or the generator. We did run the generator once for 20 minutes to cool the boat down one steamy night! I justified it to make sure the generator got at least some exercise. We have used the air conditioners while on shore power, but not very often.
Hot Water: This is one area that makes boating a bit different. We can make hot water several ways. When the engine is running, by running our generator, and with shore power. The boat is also wired so that we can heat the water with our batteries (one tank full will consume 25% of our battery capacity). We also have a “Sun Shower” which is a black plastic container filled with water that we leave in the sun. Each of these methods (except the Sun Shower) will give us 12 gallons of hot water that will stay hot for about 12-18 hours.
Drinking Water: We currently get our drinking water from marinas. We have 200 gallons of water capacity, and we use about 8 gallons per day (without much conservation). So, we can last about 25 days. Our plan, once we get to saltwater, is to add a “water maker” which will turn seawater (salted) into freshwater. All it will take is energy! The system we have planned will use about 1 kWh/week.
And there is more coming. K is wondering when the washing machine will come. I have my eyes on an ice maker. We will easily consume another solar panel. Now we just need to figure out where to put it!
