We departed Waterford around 2pm on Tuesday, Sept. 3rd and headed west. In rapid succession we locked through 4 licks, lifting us 150 feet above the Hudson and into the Mohawk River.

The locks are part of the third Erie Canal completed on 1917. This third canal was build to accommodate large commercial barges towed by tugs as opposed to the previous canals which used draft animals to tow barges from a shoreline tow-path (hence the mule named Sal of folk music fame). The licks are in communication with each other so most of the time the next lock is open and waiting for you. A 10 day pass cost us less than$5O and included free mooring (often with electrical power) at many lick stations. The locks were operating from 8am to 6pm.

The first night we made it through lick seven. There was a quiet, protected tie up inside the upper approach wall and we tied up in plenty of water with one other boat for company. The lockmaster was very friendly and helpful, showing us the power outlet (15 amp) on a light post and inviting us to use the washroom at the lock house until he closed up at 10pm. It was a restful night.

After a good breakfast, making a thermos of fresh-ground Starbuvks Pike's, and raking the dog for a giod walk, we were away from the dock by 9:15. This section of the waterway follows the Mohawk River with water levels controlled by dams with lick stations at each dam. There was much evidence of the damage wrought by Hurricane Irene last fall and by serious flooding this past spring. The Erie was closed for seven weeks this summer.

The waterway is paralleled by the New York Thruway on one bank and the tracks of the former New York Ventral (now CSX) on the other. It's a very busy traffic corridor.

We passed through the industrial city of Schenectady, once home to four GE plants, stopping at the yacht club for ice and a pump out. In contrast to the struggles we had over finding pump outs in Quebec and Nova Scotia, most American States have implemented programs to install them everywhere. In Nee York City they were free, elsewhere in the state they were $5.

We travelled through locks seven through fourteen and stopped at the town of Canajoharie about 5:30. Canajoharie has a lovely floating dock with about 7 feet if depth, free 30 or 50 amp power, very close to downtown in the town's waterfront park. It's very pretty, but a little noisy thanks to the railway and freeway. We had a good walk, found free wifi at the library (it was closed, but there was good signal on the front steps) and hit the sack.

Thursday, sept. 5th we got up and away in good time, even though we found ourselves stuck in the mud. The water level had dropped overnight, one of the lock masters we talked to said it was likely due to work being done by a repair contractor. We wiggled and pushed and got the boat out of the muck and proceeded upriver. At lock 16 we were into the first section
Of dug canal. The waterway departs from the Mohawk in several places to follow a man made ditch dug straight as an arrow.

We were also passing through the original homelands of the Six Nations and their presence is felt in the place-names and in the history. Five nations of the Confederacy sided with the British in the American Revolution and left their homelands at the end if the war to take up reserves in Ontario and Quebec.

We stopped for the night near Utica, another mud-state city, although it is invisible from the water and had no marine services. We stopped for the night on the up side if Lock 20 in Canal Park, a large municipal park with restrooms, a small floating dock (5-9' draught) and free 15 amp power. We passed a quite night.

We left Canal Park at 7:15 as we wanted to make an early crossing of Lake Oneida, which has a reputation for building up a nasty chop.

The morning was spent traversing the longest stretch of dug canal which carried us out of the Mohawk/Hudson river watershed and into the Oneida River watershed. We were now licking down towards Lake Ontario. We entered Lake Oneida about 11:45 and it was as smooth as glass.

During the crossing a part on the pump for the head snapped... I was not looking forward to the consequences, figuring I would likely have to install a new head as this one is 40 years old.

We decided to stay in Brewerton on the west end of Oneida and pulled into the highly recommended EssKay Boatyard. This place was amazing. Diesel fuel was $3.69 a gallon, 60 cents cheaper than normal, pump out was free, they offered use of a courtesy car and their slip fee was $1/ft. And their marine store (one of the most complete I've seen, a the replacement part I needed for the head!

Having arrived at EssKay about 3pm, Heather and I borrowed the courtesy car and took a sort trip to the grocery store in nearby Syracuse. We had a great dinner, a great sleep and recommend this place to anyone.

We departs Brewerton about 9:15 and continued down the Oneida through our last Erie lock (number 23) to Three Rivers, where the Oswego Canal branches off to head north..

The Oswego Canal, built a little later than the Erie, connected Lake Ontario to the system and allowed relatively inexpensive shipping a passenger travel from Ontario to New York City. The canal is about 25 miles long, drops through seven locks and follows a historic transportation route that dates back millennia. The village and forts built by the British here were destroyed by French forces in Montcalm in 1754, the British rebuilt, have to the Americans , reluctantly, after the Revolution, took it again in 1814, and gave it back. Fort Ontario, on the east bank overlooking Oswego Harbour, had been restored and is worth a visit.

At 4:15 Saturday we tied up to the guest dock at Oswego Yacht Club, back on our home waters of Lake Ontario for the first time since May. OYC is a great place, we adjourned to the clubhouse for Draught Guinness and the first two races of the America's Cup on the big screen.