We awoke to a cool morning with overcast
skies but no rain falling. We
got underway at 0740 with coffee perking
down below. We had breakfast under way. The
river/canal was very still - just the blue
herons and us out and about.
In contrast to last year, the Seneca River
was flowing with a considerable current and
much more floating debris. The current slowed
our progress significantly heading west.
You know it's been a busy spring when you
find buoys in pairs.
Things got more interesting later in the
morning. We noticed that the oil pressure
was dropping, and a peek down below showed
considerable oil had leaked out of the engine.
The pressure was dropping as we watched the
gauge, so we immediately shut down the engine
and dropped anchor. We called the MLN phone
numbers and managed to find Peter at the
boat barn.
He arranged for the Emita II, which was headed our way, to tow us to
the Weedsport wall. We stayed at anchor in
the middle of the Erie canal for about an
hour until the Emita II caught up to us. Given our anchorage in
mid channel, we were fortunate that the only
traffic was two fishermen in a 14' aluminum
boat. We shut down so quickly that I didn't
think about our position - just drop the
hook!
In a fitting change of events, the weather
deteriorated and started a cold dreary rain.
Just like the old days - a boat under tow
on the Erie Canal. The towboat and towee
boat aren't quite right, though.
Captain Dan on the Emita II expertly took us in tow, and brought us
to the Weedsport Wall where we tied up in
strong current. The Emita II is an excursion boat owned by Mid-Lakes
Navigation. When Dan approached, I asked
if they had any passengers on board. He replied,
"Yes, and they all have their cameras
out." The rescue mission provided the
entertainment for the morning.
Peter (MLN president) was waiting for us, changed the defective
part, cleaned the bilge, and got us back
on our way. What appeared to be a disaster
was remedied in about 2 1/2 hours. Excellent
service!
The leak was caused by the failure of an
oil pressure switch on the engine. I had
visions of a bad crankshaft seal from the
engine rebuild or some other major failure
ending our week's vacation on the first full
day.
Our son had flown from South Carolina to
join us for the week. While we had driven
to the marina, and could drive home, he didn't
have that flexibility. I was scheming how
else we'd spend our week's vacation before
Peter diagnosed the problem as a minor part
for which he had a replacement.
It was raining steadily now, and we made
our way wearing many layers of clothing topped
off with rain gear. At one point I had on
so many layers of clothing, that I couldn't
bend my elbows.
Onondaga has an auxiliary heater plumbed into the
engine cooling for some free heat while underway.
We used this extensively as the weather was
rather raw.
Ironically, last year we had Oneida, Onondaga's twin, sans air conditioner. Last year was
hotter than blazes. This year wasn't, but
we did have an air conditioner (usable when
connected to shore power). Instead, we used
the auxiliary heater and the furnace (only
one night, though).
We spent the night at lock 26 since it was
too far to the next good stopping place.
Clyde, the next town west, doesn't have any
suitable place for these boats to tie up.
Last year we spent a night in the same spot
at lock 26, and it's very peaceful. Both
years we were the only boats there. There
is a rail line not far away, but we weren't
bothered by noise during the night.
All the locks have a diversion for the current,
and the flow around the lock was very impressive
this night.
Because of the strong current from a very
wet spring, we only had been doing about
four and one-half miles per hour.
We grilled Father's Day dinner on shore on
the propane grill. We ate inside because
of the weather. Normally we left the table
in the bow with the doors open, but the temperature
was 52 degrees - about 30 degrees cooler
than last year! I turned the furnace on this
night.
In the course of the day, we saw one turkey,
one muskrat, one deer, and two osprey. The
ospreys were on their nest on the power poles
just before lot 26 (southeast of the lock).
They were there last year as well. Look to
your right as you approach the lock 26 from
the southeast.
Today we traveled 36 miles through Erie locks
25 & 26.
