We are on our way!!!!
27 October 2008 | Waterford, New York - Top of the Hudson
Raining, moderately mild.
I am so excited. Not only because we are actually underway, but because I am finally able to post on our blog again.
We left Hamilton Harbour on Monday, October 6 at 8am. Our trip to Port Dalhousie was rough with the wind hitting us directly on the side. We had to turn into the waves at a 45 degree angle so that we wouldn't be thrown around. This meant zigzagging along until we reached our destination at 2:30 in the afternoon.
Port Dalhousie is where Michael's mother lives. We wanted to stop there before continuing on to Oswego (entrance to the Erie Canal system at eastern end of Lake Ontario), so we could say a proper good-bye to her.
Zoe, Maia and Liam spent most of the next three days at Baba's house along with Auntie Ollie, who came from Barrie to say good-bye.
Friday, October 10, Matthew and Tina made a surprise visit to Port Dalhousie on their way to Annapolis. Around 11am, with hugs and tears, we said good-bye to Baba, Katya and Viera, and where cast off by Marilyn and Gurney, a couple we met at the Port, who had spent numerous years sailing the southern seas.
It was a sad but exciting moment. Our hearts went out to Baba as her tears flowed, yet we couldn't help be excited about truly starting our adventure.
Winds were calm and from the south/southwest. The sun was shining and the day was warm. Calm winds were forecast for the next two days. We were heading due east on our 20 hour trek along the southern shore of Lake Ontario to the town of Oswego, New York.
I was on evening watch. Michael went to bed around 10. At midnight he was dealing with a fuel injector line from the injector pump which would not stop leaking. He wrapped the line with a rag that lead to an empty gas can to catch the fuel leak that he wasn't able to stop.
Back to bed.
Meanwhile, I was up on deck, leaning on the horizontal mast, completely enthralled by the beauty of the lake. The moon was almost full. The water was glassy, undulating gently with just the odd ripple of wind. The loons were calling to each other, much to my surprise. I didn't expect them to be so far out on the lake and up so late!
Around 3am, I went below to wake Michael. I couldn't stay awake any longer. I was literally just getting into my berth, when I heard a alarming yell from the engine room: turn off the engine, there is oil everywhere.
Michael went to work on the engine while I dozed in the cockpit as we drifted around. What luck that the lake was so calm. It could have been quite harrowing if the weather had turned bad.
From 3am until 8am, Michael tried diagnosing the problem. Diesel oil was getting into the crankcase oil. The lift pump was the most likely culprit. Off it came. Examined. Looked okay. Sounded okay ( the manual said that it should make rude noises when the lever was pressed - it did). Replaced. By then it was 4:30am and a decision had to be made; to either bypass the pump with parts on board or change the oil and continue motoring onwards to Oswego. Michael was thinking that our whole trip might be in jeopardy due to possible engine damage because of the the thinning of the the crankcase oil by the diesel that was somehow migrating into it. He changed the oil and we proceeded carefully arriving at Oswego in the afternoon. We checked in at customs via videophone, locked through lock #8 and moored on the lock wall.
To be continued......
We stayed moored at the lock wall for 2 days while Michael searched for the solution to our engine woes. He was in daily contact with the mechanic, Bryan, in Canada, who overhauled the engine. After a few ideas, we set off to the next lock. No change; diesel still leaking through. Another couple of days at the lock in Fulton trying a few different things and again a short run to the next lock, Phoenix, with smoke billowing from the exhaust. No change and out of ideas. It was now Thursday and we were still in the Oswego River. Worry was beginning to set in.
Continuing......
It was, however, our lucky day, because we met Sandy and her daughter, Beth just after our arrival. We told them of our engines troubles and the next morning after we locked through Sandy and her husband, Butch dropped by to see if we needed anything. Butch had the name and number of a diesel mechanic. Michael called him and he came by in the afternoon. He was convinced that our problem was the injector pump. The one that had just been rebuilt in Canada, and that we had tested in Syracuse, just days after arriving in Oswego. Michael spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the engine room. Finally, a father and son diesel mechanic team came to see if they could figure it out and within an hour they had discovered that a push rod had come loose. It was a quick fix and a huge relief!
Some of our injectors were still in Syracuse being rebuilt and Butch, who had driven Michael here, there and everywhere, picked them up for us and brought them to us en route.
While all the engine stuff was happening in Phoenix, the kids and I kept busy with school, laundry at the laundry mat and cycling around town to the cafe, the library for internet access and a bit of shopping at the corner store. Sandy, who took us under her wing, drove us to the next town to do some grocery shopping. We went to 'Sam's', which is like our Costco, and to Wegman's, which is similar to our Zehr's/Loblaws chain. It is said and I believe that there is a silver lining in every dark cloud. Butch and Sandy were our silver lining. We were completely overwhelmed by their kindness and generousity.
Wednesday morning, all set to cast off, engine repaired, fridge and cupboards full. The morning was cloudy, but not too cold. We got about 2 miles south on the Oswego River when our engine overheating alarm sounded. I quickly turned it off and Michael went to investigate. We were at the junction of the Oswego River and the Erie Canal. It was fairly wide open so it was no problem to put down the anchor, so that we wouldn't drift into shallow water. I was sitting in the cockpit, waiting with a knot in the pit of my stomach, when Liam popped his head out of the companionway shouting, "Here's the problem, Mom. Here's the problem, Mom!". We a huge smile, being the bearer of good news, he opened up his hand and in it was a golf ball sized chunk of compacted seaweed. This seaweed had blocked the water intake hose to the point where the engine began overheating. On our way again! Destination: Brewerton, 20 miles away. Plan: to cross Lake Oneida early the next morining, before the wind gets too strong and, being a shallow lake, causes high waves.
To be continued.........
Up at 6:30 and cast off by 7:24. A small breeze on the lake and a very sunny, beautiful morning. We were travelling at about 7 knots, so our transit time was less than 3 hours across the lake. We made it as far as Herkimer, arriving around 5pm. This is the spot that we stopped at on our way home from North Carolina the year we brought the boat home. The reason this place is so memorable is because it is nicknamed 'the haircut place'. My sister, Astrid and her family were travelling with us for a few days in 2005 and when we arrived in Herkimer about 1/3 of the boat's population got there hair buzzed by 'hair-maniac' mom. I pulled out our hair clippers and the guys just lined up. One after the other, Michael, Liam and Keiton, maybe even Skye, went under the blade. It was a hair buzz bonanza!!
Back to the present, we left Herkimer (I'd like to know the history of that name!) at 8am the next morning and motored all day until we arrived in Amsterdam, renamed by the kids: Hamsterdance. After we arrived, we did a bit of dinner prep and then got on our bikes - Michael walked, as we only brought 4 bikes- and did a tour of the town. Just as it was getting dark we crossed the pedestrian bridge that spanned a few lines of railway tracks. We could hear a train approaching, so we waited to watch from above as it passed below. We were not prepared for its arrival. It seemed like any old train coming down the track while it was still about 1/2 a kilometre away. Then it reached us and it almost sent us reeling. First, the loud whistle blaring directly at us, so loud it was deafening. I think I jumped when it first blew Then an incredible whoosh of warm air from the diesel engine. And finally many minutes of car after railcar screaming away underneath us, throwing a fairly strong gust of wind up. After it had passed, we just stood there for a few seconds, almost like we were in shock. It was the kind of feeling you get when you have been on a ride at an amusement park that you weren't quite prepared for. I felt like the train literally took my breath away. It had an awesome power.
The next morning was grey and rainy. We were getting closer to our goal of arriving in Waterford - only 11 locks away- so we didn't rush as much to get going. Most of the locks average anywhere from 1 to 10 miles between them. But locks 5,4,3 and 2 are all within the last mile. Just a couple of miles before the gauntlet of locks, the wind kicked up and hit us with gust after gust. This turned out to make our trip though these very close locks very, very stressful. Already, coming into a lock with a 38.000 pound boat and making it stop right at the point where the tie on point is, can be a challenge. Then add wind and gusts of wind. We were being blown around and in one case, Michael and I were hanging on with all our might as the boat started pulling away from the wall of the lock. However, the worst experience was in the second last lock. Usually, you don't get off your boat, you just grab the lines that are at the walls. Because the wind was so strong, Michael and I decided to get off the boat to gain better control. This worked really well the first time we tried it. The second time, the lockmaster wasn't paying attention and began the process of emptying the lock while we were still standing on the side. The boat start to descend and we began to yell at the top of our lungs that we weren't ready. Luckily he heard us, otherwise we would have been waving to our kids on the boat as they floated around 20 feet below in the lock chamber. How do you spell stress? All this probably made our arrival at Waterford all the more wonderful. It is great place to be. A fantastic visitors centre and very helpful volunteers. The next morning, Sunday, was farmer's market day. How lovely to wake up, step off your boat and go shopping for fresh, local produce. Our best buy was fresh farm eggs. We bought 17 dozen, yes 17! Our aft cabin is as cold as a fridge so, storage isn't a problem. Send us your egg recipies!!!!!
To be continued......
And it continues.....
We stayed at Waterford from Saturday, October 25 to Thursday, October 29. We had many preparations for stepping (raising) the mast. Michael was crazy busy with organizing the standing rigging (wires that hold the masts up): 10 on the main mast and 8 on the mizzen mast (smaller mast behind the main). He also rewired the autopilot, the toilet fan - an essential!, drilled the last hole in the mast foot and generally organized everything that neede to be ready. I did the usual stuff like school, meals, grocery shopping and so on. One of my other jobs was to inflate the dingy and make sure it still held air. What a physical job that was! It had sat in our basement rolled up for two years. First part was, with a foot pump, partially pumping up the air chambers so that I could put in the floor boards. With a little air in it, I could see how dirty was, so I had to pump it up completely to be able to rinse it with the hose. Right, dig the hose out of the lazarette (large storage area at the rear of the boat - sort of like the trunk of a car, only this one is about 10 feet wide and 5 feet deep, with an opening of less than 2 feet by 2 feet -whatever you put in there, be sure that you don't want to use it for a while!). Now, head to the anchor locker (small locker at the very front of the boat, which houses all that is necessary for anchoring) to find the hose nozzle attached to the other hose. Good, the dingy is now clean, or clean enough. Deflate it again to be able to wrestle the boards and connectors in. Happily, it holds air fairly well. Just a slow leak which is perceptible over the span of a day.
Then there was the propane tank refilling trip. Our tanks are the newer fiberglass style. They look just like the steel tanks you find on a BBQ but they are much lighter. They don't feel lighter though when you put one in a bit duffle bag, strap it onto your back and cycle about two miles up hill to get to the hardware store. At least the trip home was down hill, albeit with a heavier tank! We're finding that most jobs take exponentially more time and effort than when we did them in our 'land life'. Not a complaint, just and observation. And we are still lucky to have been tied up at docks so far in the trip. As of tomorrow, we will be anchoring every night, so, to go anywhere means loading all of us and our 'stuff' into our dingy and ferrying to shore. I can't wait to do laundry! Anybody for a bike ride?!!
To be continued.....not sure when as we are anchoring now. I don't know where the next wireless connection will be. When I find it....I'll be back!