Loop 2 - Year 2 Day 1

      We delayed our departure until after 9:00 am when the fuel dock opened so that we could get fuel. The photo at the right shows Lucky Us at the fuel dock with Lucky Girl giving the attendant the benefit of her extensive cruising experience. The attendant asked about how much fuel we were going to get, and I replied "I think a little North of 350 gallons." The final tally was 349.65 gallons. What's impressive is that we have 4 fuel tanks and no fuel gauges. We have clear plastic tubing that runs down the sides of each tank, and we have added reference lines every inch. "Experience" has taught me that each inch represents about 6 gallons. So, a guess of anywhere near 350 gallons was at best pure luck...

     The folks and facilities at Winter Harbor are great, but in a cool 58F with partly cloudy skies we departed at (a rather late) 11:00am  to head east on the Erie Canal. The photo at the left also shows most of their limited docking facilities. Their main business is winter storage, but they do have dock space for about 15 transient boats in the summer. They also have a fuel dock with usually the best prices around. The view is from Lucky Us looking back to the west.

     As we headed east on the canal, we are also travelling upstream on the Oneida River that flows out of Oneida Lake a couple of miles ahead. In about a mile we passed the reproduction of Fort Brewerton (photo at right), which was taken earlier from the road. This fort and several others that we have seen along the canal actually date from the Revolutionary War. The original earthen works were laid by the British in 1759. We are heading east to the Hudson and Champlain River Valleys. Those valleys run N-S and much of the War of 1812 was fought up and down that region. Lots of history along the way...

    The video at the left shows Lucky Us cruising east about at the location of Fort Brewerton. The video is in real time and gives you a good idea of just what our 8.3 mph cruising speed actually looks like. About 20 mph faster and we could water ski... Seriously though, when we talk about how relaxed it is to travel at this speed, maybe this video will give you an appreciation of what that is like.

      We had 3 bridges before we entered into Oneida Lake, including the railroad bridge in the photo at the right. Once out into the lake the Admiral and I settled in for a delightful 2.5 hour cruise down the nearly calm lake. This is when it finally settled in for both Terry and I that our next Great Lakes adventure was truly underway. Indeed, it was a VERY good feeling.

      Four miles past the east end of Oneida Lake we came to our first lock for this year. Initially we are headed up until we cross a divide and head down over 300 feet into the Hudson River Valley. The photo at the left is looking out from the lock as we are abut to exit after a lift of 20 feet. There were 3 pleasure craft waiting to enter once we had cleared the lock. Construction equipment at the lock is not an unusual sight since maintenance is pretty much ongoing all year. This was the second day that the locks were open so it was a treat to have new lines hanging down the lock walls. To steady the boat during the locking operation it is best to have someone at both the bow and stern to grab lines. After the lines have been in the water for a few weeks, they tend to get very "slimey", and they only get worse as the summer goes on...

     We had one more lock today and travelled a total of 35.7 miles before reaching our destination of Rome, NY. We docked at the Rome City (free) Dock, which also provided free power but no other amenities. We went into town for dinner and then back to Lucky Us where sleep came easy. The photo at the right shows Lucky Us at the dock. The photo is a little misleading since to get from the wall to the boat it was necessary to walk across two rows of 16 inch pilings that were all cut off at slightly different angles and lengths. Executing that maneuver carrying Lucky Girl was not the highlight of my day, but when nature calls...

      All in all, Day 1 was a fine start to the cruising season.