Newark NY, Erie Canal August 6, 2015

It was a long travel day today. It was a beautiful morning - clear, crisp and with a mist rising from the still waters. We left at 7:00 AM and arrived here a little before 3:00, a trip of 47 miles.  None of it could be steered by the autopilot. Even the ladies got tired, that is once they got up! A lot of sleeping going on today. Marty got up first when she realized she was missing some great scenery. We went under a 16' clearance bridge. Kerry went on the top and said we cleared  by at least 2'. Yea. The lowest bridge has a clearance on 15'5", so it appears we will be OK on Annie.

We saw lots of beautiful birds today. It was like a sanctuary. We saw eagles, ospreys, herons, night herons, hawks, etc. I took too many pictures of birds, but most did not come out. Here are a few that did:

Our chart books are good. The only problem is that they have different ways to measure the distance. Skipper Bob's uses miles from the Hudson River. The NY Canal Book uses the marker numbers. This makes it a little bit more difficult when we are trying to follow along in the two books. I am going to call Skipper Bob and suggest they add the marker numbers, as their book is really the best. 

Our electronic charts have ended. That is, all the detail is gone. There is still a blue ribbon that is the shape of the canal, but no detail at all. This is true of my Garmin chart, Jim's Navionics chart and also my phone app. Strange. Fortunately we have the books I just discussed. Marty is doing a great job of advising me as we go along. 

The lock masters are quite nice and helpful. They maintain the locks in a pristine condition, and it's easy to see they take pride in their locks. The only trouble is that they are yellow and blue, and remind me on Michigan colors. I suggested to one that they would be nicer looking if they were scarlet and gray. He said that was not the first time he has heard that suggestion. 

We stopped at Millers Marina  right after Lock 27 and bought fuel. Very few places sell diesel fuel on the canal, which we thought surprising. We asked the owner about that. He replied that it is a lot of trouble selling diesel, because a many sailboats come by and purchase 7 or 8 gallons - more trouble than it is worth. 

The facilities here are wonderful. It is a free dock, with free showers, electricity, washers, water and wifi - can't beat that, plus it is clear and new. The attendant suggested we try Parker's Sports Bar for dinner. We did and it was very good. The sandwiches were huge, so we have lunch tomorrow.  The ladies went to a farmer's market after we ate, while Jim and I came back to the boats to listen to the "Little 7" Presidential Debate on Fox. 

We received some pictures from Anne from a recent photo shoot of the Clark family. This one is my favorite, and shows Nate with Grayson and Andrew. Nate reminds me of a papa lion.

We listened to the Fox Debate last night. It was pretty interesting but we found ourselves annoyed with the gotcha type questions asked by the moderators at the beginning. From what I hear on Fox and Friends this morning, we were not alone.

I sat on a park bench and enjoyed a cigar after a nice shower. Soon I was joined by Jim and Marty, and another boater who stays in Buffalo. He gave us some good local knowledge and helped us firm up the rest of our canal voyage. He was a great help. 

Our 4x4 fenders are working great. No problems at all. They just slide up the walls with no problems. Some of the walls are really slimy, and we end up with a couple inches of slime on the top of them once their trip is done.

Finally, I spoke to the current owner of Excalibur last night. He called with a question, but said he has done the Erie Canal, and thought the coming part was the most interesting. Apparently the canal is elevated down the way, and it is over the top of the roads. That should be fun to see.