Day 297 - Pirates Cove — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 43, fuel purchased $350, gallons purchased 177, slip fee $36, daily high temperature 76°f, the next time we buy fuel we will be in Canada.

A Canadian sailboat with her mast lashed to the deck joined us on the dock wall in Rome. She is also westbound heading back to Lake Ontario. After tying up on the wall they cast off and anchored in the canal. Perhaps out of concern for safety. There is no security on the dock wall. There are numerous biking and hiking trails along the canal. Several fisherman were casting their lines in the murky waters. There is a vending machine next to the canal that dispenses live bait and fishing tackle.

John and Priscilla got off the boat and went to dinner near the harbor. We passed by the Asian and Pizza restaurant and went to the one that looked like a real pizza joint. It was hot as Hades inside. We glanced up and noticed an air conditioner that was not running. Somehow it was miraculously turned on and all was well. The pizza was large enough for three meals.

We passed a bus company that has a toy bus for a mailbox.

We cast off at 9:00 am and cruised 8 miles to lock 21. This was our first lock in seven months to drop us down. We were lowered 25′. The distance to the next lock was only one mile. Lock 22 also dropped us down 25′.

The lock doors did not quite close all the way and a lot of water leaked in.

As we passed Sylvan Beach there were a large number of open spots on the public dock wall for us to tie up. We could have come here yesterday. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. We were fine at the free dock in Rome and we were plugged in.

If we stayed on the wall in Sylvan Beach we could have had dinner at the Crazy Clam.

It was a quick 20 mile run across Lake Oneida to the Oneida River and the Ess-Kay Marina to fuel up. This is the last time we will fuel up in the US. Our next fuel stop will be in Canada. Priscilla found the perfect clock for our condo in Stuart at the Ess-Kay gift shop.

We cast off the fuel dock and cruised 2 miles west to lock 23. We dropped 7′. Lock 23 is our last lock on the Erie Canal. We will cruise up the Oswego Canal and transit eight locks on our way to Lake Ontario.

Pirates Cove Marina in Clay, NY is 6 miles past lock 23. We arrived at 3:15 pm. This will be home for CL for the next two weeks. Dale and Andy will fly to Chicago to babysit their grandchildren and John and Priscilla will rent a car and visit Dick and Candy Smith at their cottage on Lake Champlain.

Bonus photo

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.”
Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher. Considered one of the most important social commentators of his time, he presented many lectures during his lifetime with certain acclaim in the Victorian era. One of those conferences resulted in his famous work On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History where he explains that the key role in history lies in the actions of the “Great Man”, claiming that “History is nothing but the biography of the Great Man”.