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Ship’s Log 6.23 Mid Erie

We wake up in Fort Plain/Lock 15 to our little slip shrouded in dense fog. It burns off into a beautiful blue sky as we sip our coffee. Off we go for some more locking.

Lock 17 is the tallest lock and towers over us as we pull up. We are told on the VHF they have to do some sort of repair, so we have a bit of a wait. We tie up on the wall and settle in. A slightly inebriated fellow sitting on a park bench kindly tells us we should back up the boat because water gushes out, creating a whirlpool effect, when the gates open (taller lock = more water). Somehow in 5 minutes, he shares with Wm that he’s not from the area but ended up here after Sandy wiped him out and his wife left him. As Wm is comforting a stranger on the bank,  I have set up my home office to complete the paperwork for our Captain. What a relief that forms print and scan as expected.  Captain confirms his crew is in place, and we check another potential crisis off the list. Just one more example of “don’t panic”. Let’s put a bold check mark in Wm’s skills column for that one. The captain is also letting us use his car to get to Buffalo so I reach out to Trevor Stevenson to see if his fam can do lunch. Excited to catch up.

We get through 17. The small locks are so peaceful, slowly rising or falling, watching the walls disappear and the next vantage take shape. This big lock not so much. There is water churning and lots of pulling on the lines, maybe a bit of yelling, and some nervous Loopers in the boat behind us. We have been so lucky to be in most locks by ourselves. Headsets are a big heads up we are not on the same page. We are more “stomp on the floor when you need something.”

We make it through 5 locks today. They are much further apart, and we have the luxury of slowing down due to our Welland Canal appointment on Sunday. Somewhere in the middle, we tie up to an empty barge and consider a swim. It is still quite chilly, and the water is filled with reeds. We opt for a peaceful lounge instead and review where we should stop for the night. Rome wins by location and power.

The Waterway Guide (our trip Bible) gives a quick synopsis of a fixed dock with two power poles and a floating dock with no power. I like to read the online reviews for a more personal touch. There are three and they all say do NOT tie up on the fixed wall as there are boards and pilings in bad shape between you and the land. We have discovered on our journey that we are a mite younger than the average Looper and a bit more foolhardy. So we tie up to the pilings, bumpers firmly wedged between, and nimbly leap to shore, tiptoeing over the pilings. That’s how it looked in my mind’s eye anyway. It’s good to feel young! 

We are alongside a nice park and let’s just say the Legalize It campaign must have been a big success in the Copper City. Wm and I walk to see nearby Fort Stanwix while the children fish and hang in the boat. 

That night, we break out our boat grill for the first time and cook up some hot dogs. (Shoutout to Paula Edwards for stocking our freezer! Delicious meat and much appreciated.) Later, we pile into (and I mean pile)  the Dinette/lounge area for a movie. Mason has selected Safety, an uplifting film about a Clemson football player who becomes the guardian of his younger brother while playing ball. Enjoy the film, have a quick shower, and off to bed. 


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