Bah! Windy again!!! and hot!!

We were late up this morning. Normally we rise before 6am, but Waz informed me it was 7.30, before I opened my eyes. We had been lucky with the locking for the day, yesterday...no wind and we had it down to a science...easy when there is no wind, let me tell you. We also had the locks to ourselves. We are surprised by the lack of other boats on the canals.

I have to say I wasn't very happy to see the wind patterns on the water, this morning. Waz checked the weather and the wind was 10-15 knots...some gusts expected.

By the time we sorted ourselves out and got underway, it was 9am. Another boat had just come around the corner behind us as we pulled out into the waiting pattern to enter lock #5. We would have company all the way to Lock #8 at Oswego. What we hadn't bargained on having, was an impatient and somewhat arrogant fellow boater in the locks.

We have a system down, to enter the locks and tie up, no matter what the method is...rope, pipe or cable. We like to take it slow and steady, and it works every time. We don't struggle with any of the aforementioned, so we don't care for those who would hurry us along. Safety is first, always.

Our first lock of the day...A Dam and Power Station.

 We had the dam to contend with also...lots of water rushing down there.

 Not sure what this 'thing' was...in the middle of the watershed from the dam

We were INFORMED by the following Navigator Motor Yacht, that he would be passing to Port...even though the speed limit is 10mph. We were doing 9.2knots, and he passed us! hmmm....We have an idea that they wanted to choose their favored side to lock through on, which means that the first boat in gets first choice of port or starb'd. If they are really rude, they don't leave enough room for the next boat to tie up behind them and that's what happened.
They had so much trouble, in the windy conditions, holding onto their boat, even though they had four people hanging onto the ropes. We had chosen port side locking due to the wind, and they chose to lock on starb'd. They only had fenders out on that side, where we have them out on both sides, just in case we have to make a sudden change.

So, at the next lock, we followed them in (and out, as seen here...they left in a hurry)..the crew had changed the fenders over to port, and that's how they locked through. They still struggled with the wind and ropes!

 

 This is coming out of lock #7, where the canal is a good 12 feet above the river at this point. We have one more Lock to go through, and it is just down the 'road'.

 Our mates had charged ahead...we think they may have wanted to lock through without us and they made a valiant attempt to do so...I urged Waz to call the lockmaster and tell them to wait for us...he did! We ended up tied to the wall at right, waiting for the lock to clear of an incoming motor yacht, while our mates juggled their speed, the wind and the oncoming boat in the narrow canal. We felt it was better to tie up, briefly, than struggle with all those factors. This is why we had to ask for the lock to wait for us. It took a while for the oncoming boat to get to us, and for us to feel we could safely cast off the wall. We were being pushed onto it by the wind...I didn't have the front fender down far enough and we now have another 'scar' on the side of the boat...hohum!..it crunked into the concrete wall because the fender was whipped up and over the wall by the boat coming in too fast with the wind behind us. We are SOOO careful when we do these things, but you cant win them all.

 In front of the boat is Lake Ontario...we are just above Lock #8, the final lock before the Lake.

We made it!!! YAY! Here we are tied up to the town dock on the starb'd side . Waz had to back onto the dock with a good stiff 25 knot wind trying to take us out from it. It was a hurried tie up, for me...and the adrenalin was rushing, I can tell you. I felt that let down afterwards as my legs were shaking!

Opposite us across the canal....a new roof needed??

 You can see where we have come from, since the Oneida Lake, bottom right.... Follow us from Brewerton to Phoenix, to Fulton and our night at Minetto, before ending at Oswego.

Our mates stopped at a Marina to put their Radar arch back up, now that they are through all the locks. They gassed up and then were off into the fog that was on the lake. We stayed on the dock for a couple of hours, and went into the town in search of some much needed coffee! It was so hot and humid, we also got some iced water. We were in search of a new coffee French Press. Our Bodum broke in my hands when I was washing it last night...bummer! We need our coffee in the mornings. Not the same, drinking tea!:)

 We walked over the bridge to the town side of Oswego, and I took this photo looking back up the canal to show the difference in heights between the canal and the river, on the right.

 and this is Lock #8, from the vehicular bridge. The last lock on the Oswego Canal.

 We checked the weather, once we got back to the boat, and decided to make a run for it once a shower or two had passed over us. We were watching the radar on computer...we closed up on the fly bridge, just in case we got wet, and waited for another half hour in case. With that cleared, the wind dropped a little...just a little, and we pushed off from this dock...

The Coast Guard were coming in through the Breakwater as we went out into Lake Ontario. The weather report said winds 5-10mphg, and waves, 1-2feet. We decided to take a chance, and with only 3 hours of motoring to do to get to our destination, we were happy to find the forecast was accurate...for a time.

Coming out through the breakwater and past the light house, we took a sharp turn to port and hugged the coastline, somewhat, rather than go out into deeper water.

Not much to see along the way, other than coastline, but some of it was significant...namely the scouring of the cliffs, and the erosion.

The following two photos are of Chimney Bluffs...they are a landmark in these parts, and I can see why.

 The wind came up further and the lake became VERY choppy. We were glad to see the light house at the end of the channel into Sodus Bay, about 27 miles along the southern shore from Oswego.

and the channel opened onto the bay.
A safe haven for the night. It was about 6.15pm, but then we didn't leave Oswego until 3pm-ish.

This chart shows us entering Sodus Bay. You can see our path from the channel, around the peninsula which had wall to wall homes...very pretty!

 The two homes right on the point of the peninsula

We headed straight up into a protected Bay to put down anchor.

The neighbors across from where we anchored. it looks Idyllic! Such a pretty place. So many of these homes here are Summer homes. I cant imagine what the last winter was like in these parts....just vicious, I imagine.