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!
