TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

By the time we got to Phoenix it was 5 p.m. on Monday, September 22. So, we tied up to the dock at the end of the seventh lock on the Oswego River. Phoenix as you know is a very very little town, but it has an internet café from where I am sending this message.

It has been a busy trip as we pushed so we could travel when the opportunity for good sailing was available. We had about 20 knots on the beam when crossing the lake. The windvane kept us within a few degrees. We arrived at Olcott where we checked in with customs then moved on to Oak Orchard were we slowly motored up the long river in the dark to arrive at the Oak Orchard Yacht Club. The chart plotter reduced some of the fear of going aground – but not much – although we learned later that the channel was quite deep.

The next night we spent at the Rochester Yacht Club where we had an entertaining time with a few guys at the bar. One was on the supreme court of the US. All were fun sailors.

On Sunday evening we passed the lighthouse at the end of the Oswego pier just as the big orange sun slid below the horizon. We docked at the Oswego Yacht Club for the evening before moving on to the marine in the morning partly to avoid the rolling and also to enable us to prepare the cradle for the mast. Here we met our first fellow snow birds. Dave and Cheryl learned to sail at Humber just two years ago and now were on their first trip south. In addition Paul and Cheryl Shard were in their new boat on one of their many trips.

On Monday the cradle was ready, thanks to advice by Willie. The mast was quickly lowered by the crane masters from whom I learned how to get the strap over the radar? Keep the shrouds untied to the mast then angle them out so you can use them to slide the strap over the radar.

Its now getting quite cold at night. The leaves are beginning to change so the scenery thus far on the canal has been quite serene. Today we will cross Oneida Lake with, we expect clear skies and reasonable wind.