07.16-17.23 Lake Erie in the Rearview; Entering the Erie Canal

On Sunday we left Erie, PA and headed to Buffalo, NY. It was a beautiful ride on this last leg of our 220 mile crossing of Lake Erie from Port Clinton, OH to Buffalo, NY. We were once again very grateful to have our Seakeeper! As you can see, George has been slacking a bit on his Cabin Boy duties.

We arrived at our marina for the night on the south side of the city with intentions to prep Robes for entering the Erie Canal system on Monday. BUT as is kind of becoming a theme for us (insert eye roll) another issue arose as we approached our slip… our thrusters were not working! As this is not a deal breaker on being able to drive the boat (Bob drove the boat for 5 years without thrusters) it does make it difficult to make sharp turns into a slip and thrusters are VERY helpful to manage our way through the Canal system.

When we realized we had no thrusters, we headed back to the fuel dock to let the Marina folks know and to troubleshoot. After Robes suffered through a 3 foot battle scar on his Port side, from large screws sticking out of the fuel dock (insert another eye roll), they were able to find us an end slip which we could go straight into. The slip was not ideal as it already had one boat moored there, so we needed to get in without hitting it, which is difficult without thrusters. A super lovely couple (shout out to Dave and Melanie!!) was waiting at the dock to help us and we could not have secured our lines without them! Robes’ bum, with our little dingy Snap! attached, was sticking out a bit, but we were safe and tied down.

Once we were secure, Bob went into troubleshooting mode. Did you know he is not only a surgeon, but got a little backup degree in Electrical Engineering (Wowsa!) He was able to determine that the battery charger to the thrusters was not delivering enough charge. We needed to recharge the thruster batteries directly to temporarily fix the problem – but where to find a plug in battery charger at 6pm on a Sunday?

And then the kindness of Dave and Melanie continued, as Dave went home and grabbed his 12V charger! After a few hours of charging followed by some charger reprogramming and connection adjustments, the thruster system was good to go. Dave came back the following morning to check on us and helped us unstep Robes’ mast (fold it down) to prepare for the Canal. We are sure this will not be the first folks we meet that go above and beyond to help out, this is how boat people roll, and we cannot wait to pay this forward.

Around 12:30pm, we brought in our lines and headed for Black Rock Lock, which is at the entrance to the Niagra River. This is a man made channel to protect water traffic from the rapidly moving water and eddies above Niagra Falls. Approaching the lock there were two bridges we needed to pass under. Even with our mast and bimini down, we still could not clear the bridges so they needed to be opened by the Bridgemaster. The first bridge, Ferry Street Bridge, is a bascule bridge. It raises from one side. The second, the Canadian National Railway Bridge, is a swing bridge. Both were super cool to go through. Then on to Julie’s first lock. It was not too bad as we were the only boat in and the drop was only around 5′.

Once through the lock, it was not a difficult ride down to the entrance to the Erie Canal at Tonawanda at MM (mile marker) 338. With the help of our “Waterway Guide” and the ever so important “NY Canal System by Skipper Bob Publications” we were able to determine the best place to tie to the wall. Here we are secured along the South side. (We’ll talk about the process of finding a spot for the night along the Canal in another post).

Tonawanda is a great first stop for us weary travelers AND… it’s the start of Canal Fest!, which could be good and/or bad lollll. First night here was fun… cooking out on our back porch, live music, ice cream cones and folks spilling into this little town by foot and by boat. We are practicing exhaling and are happily going to stay here another night. Picking up supplies via our foldable bikes, a little laundry, maybe an afternoon paddle and a few minor “to do’s” on Robes.

Down the Canal tomorrow! Many have asked our timeline and how long it will take to get to the Hudson River, it will be 338 miles and we think under two weeks. But weather can greatly impact and if we find a great little town along the way, we may linger a bit longer than one night. This is the beauty of the NY Canal System. Kudos to the State of NY for maintaining these ancient canals and by doing so ensuring the longevity and prosperity of all these little towns along the way. Here is a link if you are interested in learning a bit about the NY Canal System. https://www.canals.ny.gov/ There’s tons of interesting history and information on the Erie Canal online, but this link is a good start – go to the ‘history and education’ and ‘boating’ topics to begin.