On Thursday, September 1, at 6:25 AM we quietly slipped away from our dock in Chaumont Bay to begin our second journey back to the Bahamas. Of course we have many legs to complete before we reach our final destination. When we left the marina the winds were at our stern, blowing lighter that was predicted. So, the first stop, after a 7 hour motor sail, was the Port of Oswego Marina where we had the mast taken down so that we can go through the locks on the New York Canal. Everything went smoothly with the mast take down, other than my complaining about how heavy the sails are to take off of the boat, fold and put down below into the cabin. They seem to get heavier each year.

While we were at the marina, a large Polynesian catamaran from Hawaii pulled in and tied up at the marina's north wall. The boat had 12 people aboard. They will be traveling 60,000-natical miles visiting 27 nations. The mission is titled "Malama Honua" which means to care for our island the Earth. They are looking to see how other nations are protecting the environment. They said that NY is one of five states that recycle. That felt good to hear. We wished them safe travels and of course gave them a donation.

The next day we left the Oswego Marina to start our trip up the canal. We went through seven locks. Once we went through the Phoenix Lock we tied up to the wooden dock where we stayed for a couple of days. This lock is just a few miles away from where our kids live. We had dinner with them, spent the night and said our sad goodbyes in the morning. We will be flying back to see them during the Christmas holidays so it wasn't too bad saying our goodbyes.

On Sunday, September 4, we went through Lock 23 to Brewerton where we stayed on the south wall for the night. One of my work friends John and his wife Nancy stopped by to see us. They have a home in Brewerton on the river. It was really nice catching up with them.

The next morning, we crossed Oneida Lake and tied up to the north wall in Sylan Beach where we planned to wait for our dock mates MaryBeth and Joe to catch up to us on Sapphire, their Tartan 37. While waiting for them, our friends Jerry, Karen, Liz and Mike joined us for a homemade spaghetti dinner. It was a lot of fun talking about our cruising adventures. Both couples have been to the Bahamas and back many times. MaryBeth and Joe caught up to us yesterday, September 7, and tied up behind us. Last night we all went to the restaurant, "Crazy Clams" for Wing night. This morning we said a very sad good bye to Jerry, Karen, Liz and Mike. We will move on with MaryBeth, Joe and their dog Flexy on Sapphire in the morning.