Friday, October 5, 2007

October 5, 2007 - Utica, NY


Friday - On the move again. What a great day to be back on the canal. The best thing is that Marty is back onboard.
Shortly after leaving Brewerton, we were in Lake Oneida. This lake is approximately 21 miles across and provided a most enjoyable cruise, with gentle winds.

We were led out of Brewerton by Candor from Banbridge Harbor, Washington, which I think is a Krogan 39 trawler. We slowly overtook them as we crossed the lake - blistering along at our 7.6 knot trawler speed. That may seem slow, but our philosphy for this cruise is that it is the trip that counts (also, it greatly increases our fuel economy). As the day progessed, things really warmed up, with t-shirts and shorts the attire, and temperatures in the low 80s. It felt more like August than October.

We arrived in Utica, NY around 3:30 PM. We had our first chance to handle locking with the just the two of us and we did a great job - two locks up, one down. We really are looking like pros.
Here in Utica we are docked at the City's 'free dock'. What a nice amenity of the Erie Canal, which we don't see elsewhere - along the canal walls, the dockage, electricity, water, and restrooms are most often without charge. This dock is located adjacent to a very nice restuarant (linen table cloths and napkins). However, we preferred the 1/2 mile walk to the supermarket to get some ground beef, as Marty had her taste buds set for a good rare burger. Earlier in the week she had tried to order one at a tavern in Brewerton, and they would only serve it medium. I must say they were GREAT. We had entertainment during dinner, as a father and his two kids came to the dock for fishing and some parental bonding. The kids were interested in our boat and barbeque, incessently questioning us about all aspects of our seafaring lifestyle!















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