Theres no place like home.

 We departed Conneaut at 8:00 and arrived at Lakeside Yacht Club in Cleveland at 2:00. The lake was glass, a fitting end to a great trip.

Leaving Conneaut bound for home.

The Lake was as calm as the Erie Canal.

Cleveland, six miles out.

There's no place like home.

A welcome sight.

   Thanks to the super crew members on this voyage from Hilton Head, South Carolina, back to our home port of Cleveland, Ohio. You guys suffered through heat, cold, rain, high waves, fog, hard docks, less than perfect marina's, long days, and my cooking. 

                                                    It was a ball !

Sister Donna and her husband Tom.

"Skipper" Skip

Valerie

Brother Denny

Jeff

Moe

Bill  "slick"

Chris

Kenny

"Mareenar" Dave

Clark "the puppy"

Salty Dog, Tucker

 

NOAA missed this one.

    After checking the marine forecast last night and again this morning, Jeff and I decided to travel 100+ miles from Buffalo, NY to Conneaut Yacht Club (Ohio or bust) instead of stopping at Erie, PA. The forecast called for 2 foot or less waves in the morning and improving throughout the day. As we passed north of Erie the waves were building so we checked the weather again. Seems NOAA changed their mind and issued a small craft advisory for this area of Lake Erie with 4 to 6 foot waves and 15 + mph northeast winds. Great, we were committed at that point, turning back to Erie was worse than continuing on to Conneaut. The last three hours were brutal. "Shooting the gap" into the harbor off Lake Erie in six footers was interesting. Having just travelled over 1,000 miles in all types of water and weather; Lake Erie is the spookiest water I have found.

   We are settled in for the night and plan to arrive in Cleveland tomorrow afternoon.

4 to 6 footers

Tucker is an old salt and knows to brace himself in rough seas.

Conneaut Marina, a wonderful sight.

Relaxing with my best friend.

Working on my next to last post for this voyage.

Rainbows and blessed docks

   One of our concerns as we approached the end of the Erie Canal was finding dock space in Tonawanda when we arrived at 4:30 today. This is a very popular dockage right off the Niagara River, just 10 mile north of Buffalo, and 5 miles south of Niagara Falls. We cruised past over 2,000 feet of public docks without finding an opening large enough for "Whatever It Takes" with the exception of about 200 feet of premium dock space cordoned off for some event. We reached the Niagara River after passing through Tonawanda and Dave suggested we go back through town to see if something may have opened up. I was doubtful, but didn't have a better plan so we turned back into the canal. As we approached the cordoned off dock space the dock master was removing the signs and invited us to dock. The dock master explained that the "Blessings of the Fleet" had taken place on these docks today. A fitting end to our journey.

         Tomorrow is crew change day.  Dave, Kenny, and Chris have been a fantastic crew.

The last locks, 34 & 35. Note the old locks on the right. These two locks lifted us five stories (51 feet) to the level of Lake Erie.

The last two locks were the most difficult with swirling currents and high lifts. These were the only locks we had to share and we shared them with a LARGE ferry carrying 65 passengers.

The west entrance of the Erie Canal at Tonawanda.

Clark wasn't all that excited about reaching the Niagara River.

Right after we settled in we were welcomed to Tanawanda by this rainbow. The end of a magical journey across 342 miles of upstate New York, 35 locks, countless lift bridges, and small villages that comprise the Erie Canal.

Not Again !!!

Mural on a bridge near a lock. It almost looked as if you could walk through the old wooden door.

  The sound of props raking over rocks was all to familiar as we cruised at full throttle down the center of the Erie Canal. The canal is promoted as being 12 feet deep throughout, we found the only spot that was 4 feet with a rocky bottom. Unlike last falls experience with rocks we did not lodge on this shoal, we simply passed over it and dinged up both props. The Starboard prop was out of balance bad enough that we could only run on the port drive and we were still 100+ miles from Buffalo. Unbelievably, we found a full service marina just 10 miles ahead with a lift just barely capable of handling our boat and a mechanic available. We were out of the water 1 1/2 hours TOTAL; and on our way with the spare props installed. The cost was minimal and the people super.

  We actually made it to our planned destination by 5:30, took much needed showers at the marina, and ate dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. Afterwards Dave, the dogs, and I went next door for ice cream. A day that looked like it was going to be very bad ended up being almost perfect. We are only 80 miles from Buffalo.  

A canal festival in one of the villages. The crowds loved the dogs on the boat.

This was a leaky lock.

This was our favorite lock master. She asked if we were having a good lift (what a tease).

New York State husbands only park.

Deja'vu



Dave inspecting the damage.

Deja'vu, again.

Stupid dog is interested in the leftovers.

Technical difficulties in the galley and slat fishing.

  One of my favorite methods of cooking on board is using a slow cooker (crock pot). Today's menu was pork tenderloin slow cooked with onions, potato's, and chicken bouillon. The tenderloin was about 14 inches long and frozen solid. With the water and other ingredients in the crock pot, I placed the loin in the water with 1/2 sticking out the top. My intention was to coil the upper half in the water as soon as the lower half thawed. After about 30 minutes Dave was in the galley getting a drink and called up to me that the loin was still hard enough to drive a nail. I went down to check. Dave suggested I place it in hot water to thaw it. Frustrated, I said "Christ Dave, I've got it in the crock pot and have it set on high. How much hotter can I get it". That's when Dave suggested my plan would be more effective if I plugged in the crock pot. Dinner was a little late.

  Last night Kenny and Chris were fishing from the wooden dock 50 yards down from the boat. They couldn't fish any closer or the dogs would see them and go apeshit (these dogs are fishing fools). Chris caught a nice 14 inch bass and Kenny hadn't caught anything, so Kenny decided to change his bait from a worm to a lure. Laying his rod on the dock, Ken searched the tackle box for the right lure not realizing his baited hook had slipped through the slats between the boards. Suddenly his rod was moving and the water under the dock was splashing. Ken had hooked a fish on UNDER THE DOCK. Between the two of them they managed to pull the fish from under the dock. Chris laid claim to 1/2 the credit for the fish.

  We passed through 4 locks today and travelled nearly 90 miles, including 22 miles across Oneida
Lake. In addition to the great scenery we saw a deer, fox, and a Bald Eagle. 

Dinner was a little late due to technical difficulties.

Leaving the last lock of the day.

Oneida Lake was clear blue and 22 miles across.

Kenny guiding us across Oneida Lake.

Our electronic chart showing the way through the Erie Canal. There is more to it than just following the waterway.

Yes, there are some road signs.