Tuesday August 28- Friday August 31: Phoenix to Waterford - end of the Erie Canal

Tuesday we headed out from Phoenix at 0745.  We had a twenty-some mile traverse of Oneida Lake and we thought it best to get an early start to take advantage of calm conditions.  The very hot, very humid weather is holding, and not a breath of wind until we got to the lake.  Then it was hot and humid with two foot seas and 10-15 kts from the SW.  It was an uneventful crossing:  very few other boats out there crossing with us.  We spotted a few fishermen at the beginning of the lake and a couple small sailboats at the other end.  We took a short break while still in the lake to practice using the anchor and go for a refreshing swim.  Cold water never felt so good!  The anchor windlass worked well, and the anchor held.  Good to know.

We had initially planned to stop in Sylvan Beach, but we really wanted electricity for the fan - who would have thought we would be those people?  - so we kept on going to the next town, which advertised electrical hookups at the town dock.  The advertising was correct, but the one working hookup was in use, so we pressed on to Whitesboro, where the one post was hidden but available.  Once we had the fan up and running, we walked to town for dinner in 69 Steakhouse and came back to find Tommie exploring the shore a little.  (Dan had left a window open and she took advantage of it.)  Fortunately for all of us she jumped back on board when she saw us coming.  New checklist - shut the doors and windows before leaving her alone…

Wednesday we left Whitesboro about 0945, after a short walk around the Canal towpaths.  Trying to get our steps in!  The plan today is to get to Little Falls where there is a very nice town-run marina and to have our first dinner guests aboard!  Dan’s Coast Guard Academy buddy Tim and his wife Sue came down from Richfield Springs to go for a short Canal cruise and enjoy some pizza. The thunderstorms (finally! a front coming through to drive away the humidity and lower the temperature!) held off until we were done with our little cruise.  Sue helped me put the toneau on while Tim helped Dan dock at the marina, then we sat inside our spacious saloon and chatted for another hour or so.  We had visited their dairy farm in 2015 when we came through, and it was good to see them again and catch up on all the family news.  

That propane alarm on the fly bridge went off again around 4 am Thursday - Dan has added it to the list of things needing to be tended to sooner rather than later - but at 4 am he just turned off the battery switch.  No fan, but no alarm, either.  Got underway about 10 and locked down 40 feet at Lock 17, the largest drop/lift lock in the US.  

Lock 17 - 40 feet drop

We made an afternoon stop for ice cream in Fonda, remembering our time there back in 2015 when my cousin was visiting, before pushing on to Amsterdam for the night.  We took a very long walk in the evening to find a place showing the Giants - Patriots preseason game - all uphill - which gave us a good tour through some of the neighborhoods.  There are some beautiful, stately homes with carriage houses here in Amsterdam.  

Friday was our last day on the Canal.  We had ten more locks to get through to Waterford, including the Waterford Flight, which consists of five locks in the space of a mile and a half. 

Lock 6 - the beginning of the West end of the Waterford Flight.  You see see Lock 5 in the distance.  Each of the five locks in the next mile and a half dropped us about 30 feet.

Last lock before Waterford Harbor. 

We arrived at the Waterford Harbor Welcome Center about 5:15 pm, and jockeyed for space at the dock with another vessel, seeking the elusive working electrical outlet.  Another boater came to our rescue, offering his splitter with a 50 amp adaptor so we could share the last working outlet.  Boaters are the friendliest, generous people around.