Oswego Canal Is Open!

After a week closed the Oswego Canal system was finally opened for traffic On Saturday August 27th!  So we lost 2 days to "miscellaneous activities", and 3 days to Canal closures.  Once again our goal was to go with the flow, and we are!  That said - we have to make up for some lost time or we will barely clear the Canadian border!

So we set off on Saturday at noon and put in a full day with a goal to clear all 7 locks on the Oswego and get lined up or the Erie Canal.  All in all it was a smooth ride, very little traffic.

The main difference between Canadian and NY Locks is in the people.  In Canada we have 2-4 folks staffing the locks, helping with the lines, keeping you company, offering you advice on the next lock, handing out collector cards of wildlife and nearby attractions.  In NY there is only one person, a rope to hang on to and a request for your pass #.  that said, the pass was only 20% the cost it was in Canada and the over night moorage is free and sometimes comes with power - in Canada that will be another $50 a night thank you very much!  So all in all let's call it a push.

A little courtesy goes a long way!

A typical Lock on the Canal - kind of like a water castle

Those are channel markers covered in weeds

A typical in town tie up.

One of many stately homes on the waterway

Sue just loves ducks!

The Canal can be quite natural in spots.

When we first hear that the Oswego Canal was closed we thought it could not be closed for long.  So the water was a little high - they can drain it with the many dams along the way.  However, the water swell that they went through moved the water line up nearly 4 feet!  It wiped out shorelines, swept away thousands of old dead trees and logs, moved channel markers, threw sea weed up on everything and generally made the passage quite impossible.  Even after 5 days closed for repairs, there were a great many buoys and signs out of place or missing.  We were dodging logs and flotsam at all times.

That said, no damage and no real problems to report - so we continued on to the Erie Canal!

Now we can head South (well still more East actually!)