Tuesday, May 24th - We headed out of Oswego Harbour in sunshine although the wind is still a little cold and on the nose so a motor to Sodus Bay. We tied up at the Yacht Club just like in the old days when we cruised on Lake Ontario. It is still early in the season and many boats are either not launched or don't have sails on yet.

Next morning we headed for Rochester. The weather is improving - its another sunny day and a little warmer. At Genesee Yacht Club they scrambled to find a slip for us - most are too narrow but by lifting our fenders we were able to squeeze in. They are still one of the friendliest clubs on the lake. They said "our house is your house" when Ron asked about the club house. We walked to the grocery and liquor store which is close by.

Thursday we planned to stop at Oak Orchard but it was another warm sunny day and it was still early so we travelled 62 miles to Wilson and docked at Tuscarora Yacht Club. They have renovated their club house adding a beautiful modern kitchen and new expanded washrooms. We spent the wvening chatting with members, two that plan to start the Loop next year.

Friday, May 27th we thought we'd go to Youngstown, NY but the docks were full of members getting their boats ready so we crossed to Niagara-on-the-Lake, called customs and took a dock at the sailing club for the night. I walked to town while Ron cleaned the boat and in the evening we walked back to town for dinner. The weather has been getting warmer and more humid every day.

We left about 9:30 to make our way to Fifty Point, the last 26 miles of this adventure. There were lots of flies - all kinds so it wasn't the best day. We tried to sail but even with the DRS we couldn't do more than 3 knots. We arrived at the gas dock and sitting enjoying ice cream were Dave and Bev! We docked on G dock for a night but next day moved over to D dock just a few slips from where we were. It was. So nice to see everyone here again! It has been 11 years since we have had a boat here - lots of changes and new faces but still many old friends. Colleen, Gord, Abby and Jake joined us for dinner and the next night they came with all four kids and a Welcome Banner the kids made. We have travelled 3100 miles since getting on the boat in November.

So that completes this adventure - we have travelled full circle from here to Georgian Bay and the North Channel, completed the Great Loop and two more trips to the Bahamas for a total of about 15,000 nautical miles! We have been on the boat for 36 of the last 48 months. Now...time for a rest...for us and the boat! We've joined the Yacht Club here and will spend the summer here.

Wednesday, May 18th we left Catakill for Waterford, New York and the beginning of the Erie Canal - a 40 mile trip. We arrived about 3 pm and it is warm...warm enough for shorts! We walked to the grocery store to reprovision (they let you bring the cart back to the marina) and later after we cleaned up, we had dinner at our favourite restaurant, McGrievey's. It was just as good as we remembered. Our friend, Lockmaster Rick is now at lock 5 so we won't see him until tomorrowbut in the restaurant we chatted with Chris Callaghan who wrote a song about us when we were stranded here in 2013.

Our first day on the Erie Canal we did 9 locks and stopped at Riverlink Park in Amsterdam. Day 2 took as far as Ilion and the next day, Sylvan Beach on Lake Oneida. It was fairly quiet here - next weekend is the big opening of the Amusement Park and little shops. Train noise is very loud in all the stops on both the Hudson and the Erie Canal. Most of the way, the freight trains run down one side, passenger trains the other.

On our 4th day, we made the turn into the Oswego Canal, which is new to us - we have always before gone to Buffalo. The scenery is very nice and there are just 8 locks to Oswego. We had hoped to make it to Lock 7, but were too optimistic! We docked between locks 2 and 3 on a short little dock in a very tight little marina. We didn't find out until morning that there are washrooms and showers here and the lockmaster has the key!

Monday, May 23rd - We are just 5 locks and 10 miles from Oswego! We arrived at 10 am - at 11 am they stepped the mast. The rest of the day was spent rigging and getting the sails on. After a quick shower, we treated ourselves to dinner at the Pressbox Restaurant and an early night.

Saturday, May 14th - very foggy! We waited until about 8:30 for the fog to lift to be comfortable leaving. Down the center of the valley, there was fog sitting low on the water - sunny anove and all around. Once out in the channel, we coudn't see anything for the next hour until it burned off. It was a much warmer day today - at last!

Our plan was to stop at Mariners on the Hudson - great restaurant, passable docks. As we approached we could see that the docks were missing and the restaurant was closed! So, another 10 miles put us in Kingston, NY, a really nice little town and another restaurant with a dock. Food was excellent and the dock was better than Mariners. An excellent stop!

Now, it's just 20 miles to Catskill, where they will take the mast down for the Erie Canal. Ron scrounged parts to build mast supports and as usual Riverview did an excellent job getting the mast down. Tomorrow, we will leave for Waterford qnd the start of the canal.

Wednesday, May 11th - Today is a much better day to make the run on the Atlantic - swells but little wave action, cloudy but not as cold. We left at 7am along with several other boats making their way north. We decided to stop so we could pump out and do laundry. Once again, all our cold weather clothes are dirty!

Thursday was an 80 mile run to Sandy Hook. Even leaving at 5:45 am we can just make it before dark. The day began clouded over but it soon cleared off and turned sunny but still cool enough with the enclosure up. We had little to no wind in the morning but in thr afternoon we motorsailed at 6-7 knots. It was a long day - 13.5 hours. There is quite a bit of ferry traffic here, but otherwise a good anchorage.

Friday we debated stopping at West 79th Street moorings in Manhattan but it was raining and forecast to be the same for the next few days so we just kept going. Fog was quite heavy at times and it was a little scary knowing what the river traffic is like in New York Harbour but once through the Verrazano Narrows Bridge it lifted enough to make our way through. Finally about 4 pm we arrived at Croton on Hudson and stopped for the night at Half Moon Bay.

May 9th was going to be a long day, so we were up at 5am and on our way by 6 am. It is 64 miles from Chesapeake City to Cape May with no good places to stop, once commited. We had tide with us for most of the day and were able to sail most of the distance at better than 7 knots except for about an hour when the tide was against us.

Just before we entered the Cape May Canal we caught a crab trap, but it appears the cutter on our shaft prevented any damage; the fisherman may have lost his trap.

Next morning, Tuesday, May 10th, the winds and waves were too high to leave but were forecast to lighten over the afternoon. About noon we untied and headed for the inlet. We could see sailboats bigger than us coming in and getting tossed around by the waves. We decided it wasn't safe and returned to the dock. Tomorrow is supposed to be better!

Cape May is a lovely town that deserves a road trip some time in the future.

Saturday, May 7th - it is still rainy and cold but it's time to move - this time to Rock Hall, another town we've read about but never seen. It was a short 20 mile day and before noon we were tied up at Rock Hall Landing. We had some sun in the afternoon and it was a bit warmer. I was finally able to do laundry. It has been so cold we've worn our same few cold weather clothes over and over! Laundry is down the road, outside at a motel and only one washer and dryer so two loads took a while. We had dinner at The Waterman Restaurant, where the fishing boats come in. We had excellent seafood - fried oysters and a seafood pasta.

Sunday morning was sunny and a little warmer. We headed out at 7:30 in light winds but by 11 am the winds picked up with gusts to 30 knots. We were taking waves over the bow and we would have been wet if we hadn't had the enclosure. This continued until we entered the shelter of the C and D Canal. We anchored at Chesapeake City. There are two reataurants here and both were packed for Mother's Day. People came both in cars and boats. We stayed on the boat and Ron cooked a really good roast beef for dinner.