NORTHBOUND: SYRACUSE TO LAKE ONTARIO

Humid dog days of August continued to plague us as we made our way down the Seneca and Oswego river-canals to Oswego on the lake, arriving at the end of our New York state canal experience on August 15.  It had been a 226 mile journey through 30 locks and 250 years of American history.  Construction of the original canal was a testament to the imagination, grit and determination that propelled our country from a British colony to a formidable world trading nation in a matter of a few decades.  And, as Captain Goss points out, the canal was built largely by amatures, learning the best construction methods and designs as they went.  They catalogued the dimensions and placement of every quarry stone to faciitate future repairs and replacements.  They surveyed with amazing precision to provide a one-inch per mile flow gradient for the length of the waterway.  They quarried in the winter when canal waters were frozen and heavy building stones could be easily moved across frozen ground. They were Scottish stone masons and Irish pick and shovel laborers, immigrants of little means but a lot of brawn and the ambition to work for a better life. The Erie canal is a great chapter in the story of America.
While it would be easy to become consumed with all this history surrounding us, Captain Paul sticks stubbornly to his afternoon naps and boat improvement projects as I am documenting in attached photos.  Those of us who have crewed with Paul over the years have long known that he uses boating not as an end in itself but as a means to an end.  Tragically, Paul is afflicted with COPD - Compulsive Obsessive Projects Disorder. While Jim and I are seeing the sights along the way, Paul visits hardware stores and chandleries.  While we bring life-envigorating victuals and drinks back to boat, Paul keeps our tiny vessel laden with lumber, fasteners and fixtures.  Poor Marj, she keeps sending Paul off with the boys hoping he will come home cured and it just never happens!

FROM ROME TO THE SALT CITY

On Monday, August 13 we left Rome across the 6-mile "carrying place" used as a portage route before the canal was built between the Mohawk river and Wood creek; This creek is a tributary to Lake Oneida and the Seneca river to the west. It was where the old portage route began at Rome that Erie canal consruction fist began in 1817.
Today's canal crosses the carrying place as an arrow-straight waterway taking us over the highest point of our New York canal trip.  From the Federal lock at Troy on the Hudson we had climbed 420 feet to this summit of our route.
Down-locking 50 ft we entered Lake Oneida at Sylvan Beach where my family would take us for summer swims - and in my case, a near summer drowming.
Favored by good weather, Nano comfortably skimmed along the 20 mile length of the lake to its outflow and down the Oneida river to its junction with the Seneca river.  Of course the original Erie canal had to bypass the lake and its ouflowing river because there could be no towpath for the mules.
Turning up the Seneca river, we took a sidecut into Onondaga lake where the original canal did run along its eastern shore to the "Salt City" of  Syracuse.
Since Jesuit explorers first reported the salt springs at Lake Onondaga in 1654, the abundant salt in this region has been a much exploited resource.  During the 19th century most of the salt consumed in the U.S. came from Syracuse and it was a huge business for the region and the Erie canal.  An interesting factoid is that Syracuse salt helped the north win the Civil War.  The south was so devoid of salt used for leather tanning that their troops were issued wooden shoes!
When the Syacuse salt industry finally closed in 1917 nearly 12 million tons of refined salt had been produced from the springs and wells around Lake Onondaga.
A trip to the Erie canal museum capped off our stay at Syracuse.  Housed in an original weigh station is a complete history of the canal including a scale used to weigh each barge for determining its toll
charge.
A striking feature of downtown Syracuse is the stone buildings erected in its heyday.  With the completion of the canal, the stonemasons who helped build it turned their skills to builing the towns that canal prosperity created.

UP THE MOHAWK TO ROME

It was a 3 day trip from the Waterford locks to the "carrying place" of Rome, NY., overnighting at Amsterdam and Little Falls along the way. The irony of Little Falls is the 40 foot plunge the Mohawk makes through its narrow gorge.  Lock 17 with its 40 ft. lift is chiseled into ancient dense limestone to bypass the falls and is the tallest lock in New York's canal system.
It was near here that we would hunt for Little Falls diamonds in rocky outcrops when I was a boy. I later learned they were quartz crystals.
Abandoned industries were evident all along the Mohawk where the corpses of old mills and factories still stand. An exception is the Remington Arms works at Ilion, NY where fine weapons worthy of our 2nd Amendment continue to be made.  Rome has not fared so well.
Griffiss Air Force Base closed in 1995 halving the population of Rome to 30,000. Gone too is the General Cable Corporation (formerly Rome Wire Company) which produced the Romex wiring that is in practically every home in America. My Dad's Montgomery Ward store is long gone and the Rome I knew as a boy is now only a memory.
Today, the most attractive part of Rome is the Francis Bellamy canal  stop, named for a former boyhood resident of Rome and the author of our National Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1892.
Another observation on the way to Rome is the absence of grafitti.  There seens to be more respect for personal and public property in this part of the country than in California.

EMBARKING ON THE NORTHEAST LOOP

The 6 blogs written to this point concern themselves with experiences and events that all took place before Jim English, Paul Goss and I actually started up the Erie canal on Nano. Starting at Waterford NY our journey follows the Erie canal westward up the Mohawk valley and through Lake Oneida to the Oswego canal which then goes north to the port of Oswego on the eastern end of Lake Ontario.
But first a disclaimer; Much as everyone speaks of navigating the Erie canal, very little of the original canal still exists.
After 8 years of construction the first Erie canal opened in 1825 allowing mule-drawn packet boats to be pulled along narrow tow paths paralleling natural waterways from Albany to Buffalo .  Today, many of the towpaths have been transformed into Canalway Trail segments for hikers and cyclists and the new canal system has been rerouted directly through the natural waterways of the Mohawk river and Lake Oneida.
Stretching from Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian mountain chain has been worn down over eons of time by erosion. During the Pleistocene epoch which ended about 10,000 years ago, glacial movement carved out the lakes and rivers of central and northern New York, including the Mohawk river valley that cuts across the Appalachian mountain chain forming a one-of-a-kind waterway leading to the west.  The Finger Lakes, draining to the north and providing source water to the western part of the canal system, were similarly  formed.
Starting up the Mohawk out of Waterford there is a flight of 5 locks that raised us up 165 feet in just over a mile.  This is the greatest lift in the shortest distance on any canal system in the world.  From there we travelled mostly in the river through largely rural countryside toward Rome.

PRELUDE TO BOATING: DRIVING THE OSWEGO AND ERIE CANALS

AUG. 1 & 2, 2018
Fort Ontario, like Fort Niagara, was originally established by the French to control the Oswego waterway route from Lake Ontario into what is now western New York and the Ohio valley.  Sheri and I bypassed this fort which the Nano crew would visit later and turned south to follow the Oswego and Erie  canals to Rome, NY.
It is striking how different these canals appear from the highway compared to experiencing them by boat.  From the highway we had only occasional glimpses of the canals but still got an appreciation for the lush woodlands of northern New York. These river corridors are now used by 18-wheelers, freight trains and boats alike and they appear congested when viewed from the highway. Later, when travelling by boat, we would be somewhat removed from the trains and highway traffic and be taken back in time by the history of these waterways and the importance of their geography to the westward expansion of early settlements and quest for empire.  Boating in historic waters is like time travel.
Revisiting Rome, NY was a pilgrimage for me.  My family lived here during World War II and I have many fond memories of that time in my life.  Although I could not identify our house on Maple street, I easily recognized Fort Stanwix Elementary school where  I entered first grade.  I also clearly remember my 1st grade teacher, Ms. Grovejohn.  Unlike anyone in my family she had very large breasts.
Fort Stanwix itself has been rediscovered and reconstructed as a national monument since I lived in Rome. It was strategically built to control the Oneida Carrying Place, a six mile portage connecting the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, served as a vital link for those traveling by water from the ocean to the Great Lakes. When Europeans arrived, nations fought for control of the carry, the homelands of the Six Nations (ie., Iroquois) Confederacy, and the rich resources of North America. In this struggle, Fort Stanwix would play a vital role in both the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars.  Known as "the fort that never surrendered," Fort Stanwix successfully repelled a prolonged siege, in August 1777, by British, German, Loyalist, Canadian, and American Indian allies. The failed siege combined with the battles at Oriskany, Bennington, and Saratoga thwarted a coordinated effort by the British in to take the northern colonies, and led to American alliances with France and the Netherlands. Troops from Fort Stanwix protected America's northwest frontier from British campaigns until finally being abandoned in 1781.
Our journey by car down the Mohawk valley from Rome to Albany will be repeated later as we return to Rome on our canal trip aboard Nano.
On August 2nd we rendezvoused with Nano and her crew at Donovan's Shady Harbor Marina south of Albany near New Baltimore on the Hudson.  Nano's delivery to Shady Harbor from Portland, Maine has been discribed in a previous blog.

FORT NIAGARA AND THE SEAWAY TRAIL

Aug. 1, 2018
Fort Niagara is short drive down the Niagara river from the falls to its mouth on Lake Ontario at what is now Youngstown, NY.  It was here that the French established a "House of Peace" in 1726 with permission of the Seneca tribe, who spoke for the Iroquois nation. The Senecas were also the western gatekeepers of the Iroquois territory that stretched across nothern New York from the Hudson to Lake Erie. Disguised as a trading post, the House of Peace was really constructed as a fortified castle to secure the Niagara  river pathway from Lake Ontario into the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. This was a vital link between Montreal and New Orleans that supported the New France territorial claim in North America. Thirty years later the House of Peace had developed into a full-fledged fort defending the Niagara river portage route up to Lake Erie.
Today, the New York Seaway Trail is a scenic parkway along the waterways of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence that traces the former eastern frontier of New France, including Fort Niagara.
With the outbreak of The French and Indian War of 1756–63, the colonies of British America fought for western expansion into the territory of New France and Fort Niagara was captured by 2,300 British and New York troops with their indian allies in 1759. This spelled the begining of the end of  a New France in what was to become the western United States.
Driving along the southern shore of Lake Ontario from Fort Niagara to Oswego we noticed the same lack of tourists mentioned earlier.
Roadside stands of luscious fruit grown in this region had few customers and we had the scenic parkway to ourselves.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Jul. 30 & 31, 2018

Driving east from a family reunion in Michigan, Sheri and I briefly entered

Canada to visit Niagara Falls. The tourist season there was in full swing and we avoided some of the crowd by staying out at Drummond Hill next to the site of the bloodiest engagement in the War of 1812: The Battle of Lundy’s Lane. It was here that 1600 British and  American lives were lost in a failed American offensive against British Canada.

Looking across the Niagara gorge to the American side, it was apparent that there were far fewer tourists viewing the falls from the U.S. side than from the Canadian side.  This noticeable lack of tourists is something we would continue to see during our subsequent visits to historic sites in northern New York state. Another first impression is the pervasive economic decline that once-thriving towns along the Erie canal are experiencing and that, coupled with an apparently low level of tourism,  makes for some pretty run-down and depressing neighborhoods and communities.

But the strongest impression, and one of the compelling reasons for taking this trip, is the rich history of these northeastern waterways and the critical role they played in the early development of America. This will be the subject of my next blog about the Seaway Trail.

DELIVERANCE

Thur. Aug. 2nd at Shady Harbor Marina

On a lighter note, Nano arrived at New Baltimore on the Hudson on schedule.  Delivery crew Jim Golden and Robin Matt (pictured below) were obviously delighted that their 4 day, 418 nautical mile journey from Portland, Maine was over.  Although challenged by weather in Buzzards Bay, the delivery was reported to be a gastronomic success. The Bosphorus restaurant at Port Washington on the western end if Long Island was their only noteworthy dining experience.

Good-hearted men, Jim and Robin were a perfect delivery crew.  Long-suffering able seamen and prone to strong drink (as pictured below), both took time away from caretaking their aging family members to help our aging captain and for this they deserve the Senior Service Above Self award. As the oldest crewmember on this journey, the writer is ever grateful to Jim and Robin for making this adventure possible.

THE STORY OF ANTHONY BLAAUBOER

Fourteen years old and afflicted with Autism, Anthony was a friendly kid known throughout Waterford.  He lived near the town docks and operated a donation stand in front of his house to collect money for local charities.

On Wednesday morning before we arrived, Anthony made his daily visit to the Waterford Visitor’s Center and asked for a copy of a Hidden Treasures notice posted on the bulletin board.  The poster was an ad for attic antiques to sell at a local consignment store. A short time later Anthony set off for a park next to the Erie Canal lock on his bicycle announcing that he was going to hunt for treasure.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after we arrived, we learned that Anthony was missing and that his clothes were found near his bike and next to the water in the park.  An all-out search continued into the night and continuing on Thrursday. Fire boats, a police boat, a Forest Service air boat, and townspeople in kayaks made up an armada scouring the river while a helicopter and a drone searced from above. Dozens of volunteers walked the banks of the river calling Anthony’s name.  All the while river traffic was stopped and the locks were closed.

Anthony was found late Thursday afternoon by Sheriff’s divers. It appeared he had waded out toward a small island, stepped off into an old barge channel and drowned in 7 feet of water.  Anthony was 5’8" tall.

All of Waterford was in mourning that evening and we passersby who witnessed the drama from our boats shared their sadness.

FOREWORD

Thurs. Aug. 9, 2018 at Waterford, NY town dock.

Thus begins another boating adventure, this time aboard Nano with Captain Paul Goss and our rowdy sailing buddies (RSBs).

Nano is a Ranger 27 Mini trawler that is a successor to Paul and Marj’s previously owned Pico, a 25' Ranger of the same design.

Since Sheri and I sold Adventure I have logged over 5,000 nautical miles sailing with Paul.

Although Nano has already logged 500 miles getting to this point from her home port at Portland Maine, this blog appropriately starts here, at this colonial fording place where the Mohawk river meets the Hudson.  It is here, too, that both the Erie and Champlain canals begin their respective routes to the great lakes of the west and the Saint Lawrence river to the north. These are the routes we will follow on this northern loop adventure.