June 8 Sylvan Beach to Lock 7 in Oswego

The sun was shining as we shoved off the wall at 06:00 and I snapped this photo of the bridge in Sylvan Beach.

We then headed out on Oneida Lake which would be about a three hour crossing for Persuasion.

The lake was just like glass and so calm. We were fortunate to enjoy a calm crossing across Oneida Lake last fall too. However, when we crossed in May of 2015, it was so rough that we almost lost our dinghy tow. It can be wild!

Here are some photos of the day captioned below:

A different type of tug

Looking across the lake

Coming in to Brewerton and the Oneida River

Just a few of the fishermen that were out on the river

Look at this fairy tale house

A great free wall to tie your boat on

Ess-Kay Yards and Marina; we’ve stayed here twice. Just stopped today for fuel and water. And to wash lots of white flies off the boat and out of the cockpit. Mike said there were a trillion on it and he had killed at least a billion. They were awful coming across the lake. We had to close the hatch on the companionway. Once we were off the lake, they weren’t so bad.

Unfortunately, while we were hosing off the boat, this tug and barge got in front of us. 😦

So pretty along the river

There was a Guard Gate right in front of Lock 23 but it was open. We had to wait for the tug and barge to go through the lock first. Hindsight, we should have tied off on the wall for awhile and let it get further ahead.

A better photo of the little work boat that’s tied up on the other side

Lock 23, Brewerton

After we exited the lock, I watched as the doors closed and snapped a photo. It was our last lock on the Erie Canal

More beautiful scenery along the Oneida River

As we went under these bridges, we were at Three Rivers. Looking back from where came from, the Oneida River

The Seneca River takes you down to more locks on the Erie Canal

And the Oswego River which takes you up through the locks that lead to Lake Ontario. That’s the way we headed. Yay, getting closer to home!

Syracuse Canal Maintenance Facility on the Oswego River

We heard the tug calling the lock and thought that he’d be through before we got there. Unfortunately the lockmaster said he was going to lower the water to bring a speed boat through. 😦 We hoped the tug would be in the chamber and when we lowered the water for him, then the boat could come up.

The first lock we came to on the Oswego Canal was at Phoenix

There was a nice park and a wall to tie on to. So while we waited, we ate lunch

The tug and barge going in to the lock. It is easy to see why no other boats go in with them. 🙂

Finally, it was our turn and we headed in.

Lock 1, Phoenix

After we were lowered,the lockmaster lifted the bridge (because we were over 15 feet) before opening the lock doors

Canada Geese and their goslings swimming alongside the lock wall

Lovely homes among the river

This home has a neat looking little house down by the river. You can zoom in and see the sign by the door that says “Welcome to our Beach House”

The next lock was closed when we arrived and we had a bit of a wait. We had radioed the lockmaster and he said that he was lowering the tug and then had to refill the chamber for us.

Lock 2, Fulton

Another half hour and we came to the next lock in Fulton. And of course waited a bit for the tug. Two trawlers joined us in the lock. It took awhile as this lock was the biggest drop on the Oswego at 27 feet.

Lock 3, Fulton

A huge chunk of a tree was lying alongside the long wall after the lock

A pretty waterfall

On to the 5th lock (there is no Lock 4 on the Oswego Canal). We all waited a bit for the tug and barge to go through.

Lock 5, Minetto

The power house for the dam

Looking back at the dam and bridge

Lock 6, Oswego

Two dams here

The tug and barge finally tied off after exiting the lock. 🙂

And just a half mile away, we entered Lock 7. Lots of construction going on, a new lockmaster building and landscaping. The lockmaster had all the lines up as he was expecting the tug and barge to go through. He didn’t put them back down and it was a long reach with the boat hook to try and get it. Overall, we did not find the Oswego Canal staff as helpful as the staff on the Erie Canal. And there were not as many lines along the side to hang on to. That’s my gripe for the day. 🙂

Lock 7, Oswego

We tied off on the long wall just before Lock 8 at 17:30 and travelled 48.3 nm.

The trawler in front of us was the one who had been with us in a few of the Erie Canal locks and warned us of a big tree in front of one of the lock doors. He and his wife came by to talk to us and asked us to join them (and a few other boaters that were tied on to the wall) to go down to some picnic benches for a visit. A couple that we met in Annapolis were there and another couple. It was a good time exchanging boat cards and hearing of their plans for the summer. We came back to the boat, ate supper and uploaded a blog. I snapped these photos from Persuasion. An old railway bridge is now a foot bridge and our view looking over to the city was very pretty.

There was free wifi offered there and we uploaded a blog. Our US phone plan had run out the day before and being so close to home, we didn’t renew it. We were tired as it had been a long day. Locks are hard work, although going down is easier than being raised up. The next morning we would go through our last lock and then be heading across Lake Ontario. We would soon be back in Canada!