We made it back to the boat parked in Newark, NY on the Erie Canal. There are a few more boat parked here now than when we left on our mini boat vacation. There are now 14 boats parked along both the south wall and the north wall of the canal. Today is day 13 of being stranded in Newark with the locks closed. We are starting hear of things opening up on the Erie Canal. They are opening the closed sections in phases, starting with the eastern most portion of the closure opening first from locks 2 – 20 and another section from 26 to 34. We are currently sitting just west of lock 28, so we could technically go a bit east however we will not get past lock 26 right now and there are no good places to stay between Newark and lock 26. So, we are all staying put until they announce that locks 25 through 21 will open. Right now the anticipated reopening is on September 3rd at 7 am. That will put us at 17 days waiting in Newark.

So, what do 14 boats stranded in Newark do? Throw a party of course! We planned a pot luck in the picnic pavilion right by our boats. It was complete with decorations, party favors, lots of great food and great company. We dubbed ourselves the “Stranded Boat Club” and everyone got to take a little life ring as a token of our time together.

We met so many great people during our time so far in Newark. John, who watched our boat for us while we were in upstate New York. We even met a couple on a sailboat who just arrived who are from Manitowoc WI! They left from the same marina we did and we hadn’t yet met each other. We had heard about each other through other friends at Manitowoc and then we meet face to face in Newark. How cool is that? We also met Ed and Evelyn aboard Jersey Grace who are from North Carolina and are heading back there with the boat. We also met another Island Packet who recently pulled up along the wall as well.

One common conversation that everyone is having….when are the locks going to open? We are anxious for any little bit of information anyone has. Our friends Dwight and Kay got stranded further east on the Erie just before lock 17 in Little Falls. They were having issues there with the water level rising 5 1/2 feet. Here in Newark the water has dropped about 3 inches.

We spent the next 3 days doing little things here and there. Washing the boat, put a couple of coat of varnish on the eye brows of the cabin top. We did some grocery shopping. Ed and Evelyn happened to have a rental car and Evelyn offered to take me to the grocery store with her. How nice!

We did some laundry and everyone, including us, have been pumping out their holding tanks and filling up water tanks in anticipation of Sept 3rd at 7 am for the proposed opening of the remaining locks on the Erie. Here’s hoping that Sept 3rd is our day.

We have been in Newark, NY with the locks closed for 4 days now. Hurricane Henri is now heading up the east coast and likely to dump more rain in the area. We are hearing that it will be at least 3 or more days until the locks will open. The New York canal system folks have decided to drain a large section of the canal down to winter water levels in anticipation of the rain that will come with Henri. This is all we know, which leaves us with more questions than answers at this point.

How often do they drain the canal? How long does it take to refill it? What will that do to the water level where we are? So many questions.

So, when life gives you lemons, your supposed to make lemonaide right? So, we decided to take a boat vacation and visit our daughter in upstate New York while we are here and go and have some fun.

We tried to get a rental car, however the local Enterprise only had 3 cars and 10 reservations. So, Abbie was gracious enough to come and pick us up from the boat and bring us to her house.

We spent a week with Abbie and her husband Ryan and packed in quite a few fun activities.

One day we went to Alexandria Bay which is up by the Thousand Islands area of New York by the St Lawrence River. We took a ferry over to Boldt Castle and took a tour. Boldt Castle was constructed as a summer home in 1900 by millionaire hotel magnate George Boldt for his beloved wife Louise. Mrs. Boldt died suddenly just months before the castle was completed. George was inconsolable and immediately stopped construction and the property was vacant for 70 years. The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority is still actively restoring the property and providing tours. Here are some pics from the castle.

We also went to the local race track one night near Ryan and Abbie’s. It was really fun to see! There were a few mishaps on the track too to add to the excitement. At one point one of the cars lost a tire and it went bouncing around the track and through the infield before coming to a stop. There were a few bumps and spin outs too.

One of the best part of the trip however was Ryan flying the 4 of us to Lake Placid for the day in a Cessna. It was about an hour flight and Ryan is an excellent pilot. We had a great brunch at Big Slide Brewery and then toured the big ski jump that was used during the Lake Placid Olympics.

The scenery from the air was breathtaking!

Here’s a view of the big ski jump from the bottom.

And here’s a view from the top! Nope, not going down that….

The views from the top were amazing however. That’s the airport down there, where we landed.

We also had lots of great meals together, both home cooked and eating out. Played lots of card games, lots of chatting and visiting during our week long visit. Ryan also gave us a great tour of Fort Drum where he is stationed in the army. No photos of the base however, security you know. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Abbie and Ryan and hope to see you guys soon!

What do you do when the locks are closed? We walked about a 1/2 mile from Newark up to lock 28B to take a little tour. It was great to see the locks from a little different perspective rather than on a boat.

This lock is typical of most of the locks that are on the New York Canal System on the Erie Canal. As we approach on our boat, we call the lockmaster on channel 13 on the VHF. This is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of the response you might get. You might not get any response at all, they might answer and tell you they are ready and waiting. You might have to wait until the lock can be refilled or traffic let out going the other direction before it is our turn to lock through.

Once the lockmaster is ready he will open the front doors. They usually open with a loud creak, groan or clank that can be heard quite a ways off, so you know the doors are opening. Once the doors are open, there is a red light that turns green telling you it’s time to proceed into the lock. You are free to pick which ever side of the lock you would like. Generally there are weighted ropes hanging down every so often and I need to get out my boat hook and hook one of these lines as the boat slowly moves forward. Generally I hand this first line back to Mark at the stern of the boat. Then I head back up to the bow area to hook the next line for me to hold at the bow.

Now let me give you some pointers that we have learned along the way for all my boating friends who might have an occasion to go through a lock:

1. On your boat hook, get rid of those plastic tips on the end of the hook and the end of the boat hook itself. It is so much easier to hook a line without those plastic tips on the boat hook.
2. You need 2 boat hooks – one for the person on the stern and one for the person on the bow. You will use these to push the boat away from the lock wall.
3. When going down in a lock the water action will cause the boat to move away from the wall
4. When going up in a lock the water action will cause the boat to move into the wall
5. You do not need to keep the boat tight against the wall. Relax!
6. The boat will move forward and backwards in the lock. As long as you are holding on to your line. Relax!
7. The lock master’s are your friends. Ask them questions, they are happy to help.
8. It’s always nice to great the lock master and thank them at the end.
9. The walls and the lines are slimy – wear gloves!
10. Regardless of what it looks like, most boats in the lock are just as experienced at this as you are.

Once the water in the lock lowers or raises, the doors will open on the other end, again with a creak, moan or clank and then you are free to drop the lines and motor out of the lock.

Across the street from lock 28B was remnants of an old lock that existed before it was modernized in the 1930’s. I was cool to see the old original locks when the Erie Canal was built.

These gears cut into the stone were where the doors were for the lock and they would be able to crank them open along the gear track.

This particular lock used to generate it’s own power from the hydroelectric operation of the lock. The hydroelectric generators are no longer in use however the lock master gave us a tour of the building that still houses this equipment.

Even though the locks are closed, the lock masters still work everyday. When they aren’t operating the locks that are also responsible for caretaking of the grounds and buildings of the lock. So, they mow the lawn, paint the buildings, railings, etc. Anything that needs painting! I guess they also act as PR people giving people such as us a little tour.

It has been 3 days since we arrived in Newark and we haven’t the foggiest idea of when the locks are going to open.

Well we left Fairport around 10 am headed to Lyons. We went about 7 miles to our first lock for the day. Lock 30. We have gone through 4 locks now, so I finally got comfortable enough to actually take some photos while we are trying to manage the lock.

Look at the walls in the lock. This one is pretty rough. Sometimes you have to be careful that your fenders don’t get stuck in one of those indents in the lock wall. Every lock has this sign that lets us know how far it drops or raises and the distance to the next lock depending on which direction you are traveling.

Before we started on our way down the Erie Canal, we signed up for the Notice to Mariners on the New York Canal Systems website. The Notice to Mariners will send you an email letting you know about lock closures, openings, low water or other hazards that might be going on in the canal system. Just before we got to lock 30 we received a Notice to Mariners on our email that read as follows:

Notice to Mariners

Canal System Update – Weather Related Closures

August 19, 2021

The New York State Canal Corporation today announced the following sections of the Canal system are closed due to the recent heavy rainfall, high flows, and extremely hazardous conditions:

Erie Canal

Lock E-16 (St. Johnsville) through E-22 (New London)

Lock E-24 (Baldwinsville) through E-28B (Newark)

Oswego Canal

Lock O-1 (Phoenix) through Lock O-8 (Oswego)

Cayuga-Seneca Canal

Lock CS-1 (Cayuga) through Lock CS-4 (Waterloo)

Additional closures may be announced through the day.

Updates to follow.

That part in red there is the part that we had to pay attention to. With this notice we will not be able to go any further east past Newark until they re-open locks 28B and those further east. The lock numbers go down the further east you go, so lock 24 is further east than lock 28.

This was confirmed to us by the lock master at lock 30 who also let us know about the lock closures further east. At this point, we can keep going and get through lock 29, however the lock master said they may close 29 and 30 later today. Hearing this news we put the petal to the metal and pushed hard to get to lock 29. We didn’t want them to close that lock before we could get through. All the rain we got in the last day or two was from the remnants of Hurricane Fred and it’s all that water that raised canal levels to the point that they needed to close the locks.

We did however still enjoy the scenery along the way.

We also quickly assessed where we could tie up and spend the night since our plans had changed with the lock closure. We decided it would be best to tie up at Newark, NY.

There are only 2 other boats besides us here in Newark right now. It’s a cute little town with a nice park just adjacent to the wall area where we are tied up. The white building in the left of the above picture houses the bathrooms, showers, laundry (FREE!!!) and the Chamber of Commerce who operates and coordinates the boats who dock here.

We had a nice dinner just across the canal at Craft 120 Brewery and it was great!

We had a few more boats pull up to the wall as the day wore on. Everyone understanding that we are all stranded until the locks re-open. Another sailboat pulled in with a crew of 4 and a small tug with a guy by the name of John. Of course, there is a lot to talk about with the lock closures and what everyone has heard and it anyone knows when they might open.

The next day we enjoyed coffee on the boat and I walked to a nearby Dunkin Doughnuts and picked up a dozen doughnuts. I shared the doughnuts will all our other stranded boaters on the wall. Must keep morale up!

We did some boat jobs, laundry, grocery run. We grilled some steak for dinner and corn on the cob. The evening was topped off with live music in the park right by our boat. We sat on the bow and listened to the music. It was a great evening.

Have you noticed a theme that all the towns along the Erie Canal are called “something PORT” It all gets so confusing which town is which after awhile.

Well, remember I said we stayed in Brockport for an extra day to avoid the rain. Well, the rain was just delayed a day and it rained ALL day on our way to Fairport. Thankfully our cockpit enclosure kept us fairly dry. However we had some locks to go through today so we had to don our rain gear and get out of our enclosed cockpit to grab those lines in the lock to get us through.

I have very little pictures from today since they would all be nothing but rain.

I was able to get a few pictures as we left Fairport when it wasn’t raining.

So, all this rain we are getting is the remnants of Hurricane Fred. All this moisture is coming up from the south and saturating the northern states, including New York.

We went about 33 miles today in total. Here are some other stats from today:

Fixed Bridges: 39

Lift Bridges: 4

Guard Gates: 5

Locks: 2

We are getting better at going through the locks!

Once we got settled in Fairport, we hunted out a good restaurant for dinner. We finally settled on the Irish Pub in the area. It was great fun because we discovered it was trivia night! We ordered our food and down loaded the app we needed to play trivia. Once the round started, we collectively came up with our best guesses to answer the questions. We did ok…then they had this lightening round where whoever got the correct answer the fastest jumps in first place! Well, I don’t even remember what the question was but the answer was Albert Einstein. And we were the first to answer correctly! First place! Well, that didn’t last long as we watched our first place slowly dwindle down with every subsequent question. It was exciting while it lasted.

We walked back to our boat in the rain and called it a night. Tomorrow we are leaving rain or shine for Lyons.

We left this morning from Medina. Before we left we had a boat job to do that we must do periodically. We had to pump out the head. Luckily there was a pump out just at the end of the dock where we spent the night in Medina, so we just had to pull out, turn around, dock again near the pump out.

This was the cutest pump out facility I have ever seen. They had the equipment in what looked like an old fashioned out house that was painted red. Too funny!

After we pumped out, we headed out to continue east on the canal.

On the right hand side of the canal just out of Medina there was an area that is a spillway for when the canal has high water and the excess water can spill over this area. It’s kinda scary to motor past because it feels like you could just go over the edge if you got too close.

The canal continues to have beautiful vistas around every corner.

One of the highlights on today’s journey was an area of the canal that actually has a road that runs UNDERNEATH the canal. Yes, I said underneath. Here is a pretty good photo as we went by.

We also encountered our first canal boat. These are rental boats that people rent for about a week and take up and down the Erie Canal. Sometimes you have to watch out for these boats since they may or may not be experienced boat drivers.

After not too long of a day we arrived at the wall in Brockport.

Stats for today include:

Miles traveled: 25

Fixed bridges: 18

Lift bridges: 7

Guard Gates: 4

Locks: 0

I must say that lift bridges are getting less scary and it seems routine now to call them and have them open the bridge for us and no big deal to wait if you have to. At 7, that is the most lift bridges we will have in one day for the rest of the canal, so we had a lot of practice today.

After we arrived in Brockport we wandered around town and ate at a great little restaurant right behind our boat along the wall. The town was very cute and historic.

We decided to stay in Brockport for 2 nights since the next day it is supposed to rain for most of the day. So, the next day we decided it was a boat chores day. We did laundry. There was a great laundry for us to use just steps from the boat at the building that you check in at when you tie up to the wall. Could not be more convenient. Other items were phone calls to family, as Mark’s mom is still in the hospital. Writing a blog post or two. And just some general lounging around.

Today we met an awesome couple from New Orleans, Alan and Brooke. They walked past our boat and we struck up a conversation. These conversations tend to go something like this: Where are you from? Where are you going? How long have you been on the boat? They are doing the Great Loop but in the correct direction. They are heading west through the Erie Canal, through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River system to the Gulf of Mexico, back to New Orleans. We must have talked for about an hour. This is what happens when you meet people, whatever you have planned goes out the window while you chat with new friends, not that we really have anything planned anyway. They brought their dinghy here to Brockport and their big boat is parked in the next town east in the canal, Spencerport. Today is Monday and there are not a lot of restaurants open today, so they came over to Brockport to find a place to eat.

Well the rain that we were anticipating today never really materialized. We got some spotty showers but not what they were predicting for today. It appears that the rain is a bit delayed and will come to us tomorrow. We decided we really couldn’t afford, time wise, to spend another day in Brockport to wait out the rain, so tomorrow we are leaving come rain or shine.

We made it fairly close to Medina and had to go under the Prospect Street Lift Bridge in Medina before we got to the wall to tie up. This particular bridge operator is responsible for both the Prospect Street bridge in Medina and the Knowlesville lift bridge which is about 4.5 miles away.

I called the Prospect Street bridge phone number and got no answer, so I called the Knowlesville lift bridge to see if he was there. He answered and said he had to let a boat through going westbound and then drive over to the Prospect bridge to let us through. No worries, we can hang out for 20 mins. We ended up turning around in the narrow canal which is no easy feat and going back about 1/2 mile before we turned around again and floated toward the Prospect street bridge.

We got out the binoculars and we could watch as the bridge operator got out of his car and climbed the stairs to the bridge tower. We watched him get settled and then he called us on the VHF to let us know to proceed and he would be ready to open.

We came ahead and he opened for us just as expected.

Joe the bridge operator came to meet us at the wall to greet us, give us the code for the bathrooms and gave us the local town tourist booklet that outlined what was in the area. How nice!

Then we tied up at the wall in Medina. It’s right along the edge of town with main street just a block up from the canal. We walked around town to see all the shops and restaurants

There were a couple other boats on the wall with us in Medina. This is the most boats we have seen on our trip on the Erie so far.

We had a late lunch/brunch at a great little local diner called the Country Club Family Restaurant. It was a great place with great food!

Here are just a few pics of the area.

Just kind of a quiet night and a quick stop here before moving on to the next stop.

Coming into Lockport we had to go under our first lift bridge, pictured above. The bridge clearance is 3 feet in the closed position and 16 feet 6 inches in the open position. We have to call the bridge operators on channel 13 to ask for the bridge to be lifted.

After we passed under this bridge we tied up to the wall just after the bridge which is the free wall in the town of Lockport for the night. After we got all secure and checked out our surroundings, we walked about 1/2 mile to the downtown area where we found some restaurants to have a bite to eat for dinner. We ate at Lock 34 Bar and Grill which was a great place downtown. We thought perhaps it might overlook lock 34 but no so. Lock 34 which we had come through earlier was a few blocks away. We thought about walking back to the lock to see it but decided we didn’t want to walk that far since we still have to walk back to the boat.

We just spent a quiet evening listening the traffic rattle across the bridge behind us. We got up the next morning, made some coffee and left the dock around 9 am.

The Erie Canal is quiet, peaceful and beautiful. We haven’t seen another boat all day except for one pontoon boat.

Most of the Erie Canal so far has been lush with trees and scenic beauty. There is a bike trail the runs along the northern side of the canal for at least 100 miles, so we see people walking their dog, biking, walking, etc as we motor past. They are all friendly and seem interested in a boat passing by and we wave to everyone we see. Occasionally the shoreline is dotted with some homes as well.

We had to go under 4 lift bridges today in total. It’s interesting that the bridge operators will sometimes be responsible for more than one bridge. This was the case as we came through both Gasport and Middleport. These 2 lift bridges are 5 miles apart and the same lift bridge operator is accountable for both bridges. So, it goes something like this. Call the Gasport bridge and ask for the bridge to be opened. He opens the Gasport bridge and lets us through, lowers the bridge, climbs down the tower, gets in his car and drives the 5 miles to the bridge in Middleport before we make it there and ask for the Middleport bridge to be opened.

Now as you can imagine we aren’t the only boat going through the canal and there is boat traffic that heads in both directions, so you can never been assured that the bridge operator is at the bridge you want him to be at when you get there.

So, we kinda got the hang of this after awhile and started to call the bridge operators on the phone when we were about a mile out from the bridge. This ensured that if he was at the other bridge, we would have time to slow down and wait for him to drive to the bridge we needed opened. We also caught on that if they didn’t answer the phone when I called the Gasport bridge, then I called the Middleport bridge and found him there. Once we knew where he was, we knew how much time we needed to allow before we got the bridge. Then we would call on the VHF when we were within sight of the bridge to have him open for us to come through.

Here we are coming under the Middleport bridge

Here are the stats for today:

Miles: 17

Fixed Bridges: 11

Lift Bridges: 4

Guard Gates: 2

Locks: 0

At the end of the day we pulled into the dock in Medina.