Off to the Thousand Islands

We made all of the correct turns, and Egret made short work of the Erie and Oswego Canals. After traveling 10 straight days, we arrived in Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario and breathed a sigh of relief.  It feels great to be out of the rivers and canals and let Egret free without worrying as much about logs and depths.  

Egret hanging on a lock wall before the doors close.

A view off the stern after being dropped.  All of these locks work with massive pipes and valves. After everyone enters the lock, the doors close. If we are dropping, a valve is opened on the downstream side of the lock to release the water in the lock. If we are rising, the valve on the upstream side of the lock is opened, and water is introduced into the lock. On the Erie, we took 20 locks that lifted us a total of 420 feet, followed by two locks that dropped us a total of 50 feet.  There were seven locks on the Oswego Canal for a total drop of 118 feet.

A gorgeous day on the Mohawk River section of the Erie Canal.

Lock 17 is the only lock on the Erie that has a massive "guillotine" gate that slides down once you're safely inside the chamber.

This lock was followed by a road with a drawbridge that needed to be raised once we cleared the lock.

Egret resting on the lock wall after Oswego Lock 6. We're in an aqueduct three feet higher than the river.

Millie got a chance to get off the leash and run around at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Park.

Dinner onboard: spinach pasta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and a drizzle of fetta cheese. Mom always said that the chef gets an extra 10% when a meal is presented onboard. This meal didn't need the 10%.

A coastal freighter getting ready to leave the St. Lawrence River.

Our route through the Erie, up the Oswego, and out into Lake Ontario. Our first stop was Sackets Harbor and then on to Cape Vincent.

Oops

Yesterday will be a day that Chrisy and I will talk about when we are in our nineties, sitting in rocking chairs, can't remember each other's names, but we will remember what happened on May 29, 2026.  

The day started innocently enough. Hoping to make it 80 miles from Kingston up the Hudson, left on the Erie to Schenectady, we departed at 7:40 AM - twenty minutes before Roger's panic time.  The trip also involved seven locks, which, at 30 minutes per lock, adds a chunk of time.  We buzzed up the Hudson to the Albany Yacht Club, where we took on more diesel and headed to the Troy Lock.  They were ready for us, and we made it through in great shape, getting out of the lock at 11:30.  

To set the scene for the next leg of the trip, one needs to imagine Chrisy and Roger cruising at 20 knots up the Hudson. Our focus moves from the buoys, to the water - to make sure there are no logs or other debris, to the chart, and then we start over again.  It's not very relaxing, but there is a rhythm to it. Sadly, there is one major disadvantage: we are focused on the chart in a very micro sense - no big picture when you're going 20 knots.  

I've been telling people for months that our itinerary is up the Hudson and left on the Erie, right on the Oswego, etc.  Well, you guessed it.  We missed the Erie. Nose in the charts, eyes on the buoys, we blasted right past it.  Wait, that makes it sound like we recognized our mistake and turned around in a quarter mile.  No - No. We continued on in this state of blissful ignorance for another half hour and even went through a northbound lock.  In fairness, the lock that we went through is called the Waterford Lock, and the first lock on the Erie is also called the Waterford Lock.  Shortly after going through the Waterford Lock on the Hudson, we FINALLY realized our mistake, which meant that we needed to turn around and go through the Waterford Lock - again.

The VHF conversation with the lock master went something like this:

Waterford Lock, this is  Egret - we would like your next opening to get a southbound drop.

Waterford Lock - didn't you just come through northbound? 

Egret - well yes, but we seem to have missed our turn on the Erie Canal.

Silence. I'm not sure, but I might have heard some gut-wrenching laughter.

To add insult to injury, we had to wait about half hour to allow another southbound boat to catch up and go through the lock with us.  Well, we finally made it back to the town of Waterford (the junction of the Hudson and the Erie) where we were greeted by boaters who left Kingston after us, traveled slower and and arrived hours before we did.   

Enough of our wows of 5/29!! Chrisy and I have spent hours reflecting and our rocking chairs await for more hours.  We have pledged not to make the same mistake again, otherwise, if we would miss the turn off of the St. Lawrence River onto the Richeleu River we will end up in the Atlantic Ocean and never be heard from again.

First - some pre Oops pics:

On approach to NYC 5/28

We had never been through the Harlem River. NYC never disappoints!

Heading under the Tappen Zee.

Sunset at Halfmoon Bay

West Point

The Admiral

Our buddy boat on the Hudson.

Finally, our track on our Oops day - up and down the Hudson.

And we're off 2.0

Pre-departure Memorial Day

Here's our route - counterclockwise - Hudson>Erie>Lake Ontario> Rideau>Champlain> Hudson>Home

Millie is ready to roll.

Egret happily resting on her mooring at the Niantic Bay Yacht Club

 

The happy couple with Steve and Margo.

Look what I found.  Here's the beginning of the unpublished final post from the Great Loop:

If I don't write the final blog entry, are we still on the Loop?  We are in a bit of denial that our journey is over and Egret is safely back on mooring 19 at Conanicut Yacht Club.  Getting back to Jamestown after being away for one year and one week has obviously invoked a sense of accomplishment.  After six thousand miles, the boat is running well, and all the systems are functioning.  If you've been a steady reader of the Blog, you know that for us, traveling on the Great Loop has been a bit addicting.  We constantly meet new and interesting people, travel to new places, and meet and overcome new challenges.  There's a rhythm to it all that is also very appealing and will be missed. 

But it's nice to be home.  It's nice not to worry about cell phone coverage, access to grocery stores, weather, or running into rocks.  Our bed is a little bigger, but it doesn't rock around all night.   We spent the first few weeks back with trips to Portland and Burlington to visit the kids, which was super fun.  Then off to Philly for a slew of doctor's appointments and some fun catch-up time with friends.  Never try to fit an entire year of doctor's appointments into a week.   

A quick statistical summary of our trip:

We traveled six thousand miles, through two countries, and nineteen states. Of the 371 total days away, we spent 289 on the boat and 82 off the boat.  Of the 289 days on the boat, we spent 181 in marinas, 70 at anchor, 30 on free docks or free walls, and 8 on moorings.  Over the six thousand miles, we used almost 3 thousand gallons of fuel and put 560 hours on the engine.  

Friends and family on our trip north

When we last spoke we were dodging bees and moving north.  In spite of a one-week layover in St. Simons, GA, we continue to head north -  pretty quickly.  Cumberland Island was our first stop after Fernandina. For some reason, most of the cruisers tend to skip Cumberland Island. Not sure why as it's insanely picturesque with lots of wildlife and history.  The anchoring is easy and it's right off the ICW - no excuses.  

Sunset on Cumberland, Is

Roger and Millie show the wild horses a little respect.

Classic Cumberland Island trail.

Plum Orchard Mansion owned by Thomas and Lucy Carnegie

Egret at Cumberland Island

We headed to Jekyll Island after Cumberland and we were excited about getting the bikes out for some nice riding. Not to be.  After a short ride, Roger got a flat. No problem, we've got a pump and a tube.  Oops no wrench to get the tire off- that's not OK.  We tried to get a little air in the tire unsuccessfully when a good samaritan rider stopped by to help.  OK - great - back on the road. Well, it obviously flats again.  Chrisy heads off to grab a golf cart and Roger finds good samaritan #2 who happens to have a wrench and a functioning pump.  Roger changes out the tube, calls Chrisy and we're off.  Not so fast.  Roger flats again. Then Chrisy flats. I've lost count by now but it's time to put the bikes away, get a beer, and take the courtesy golf cart from the marina. The rest of the afternoon was actually quite pleasant.  As we found out when we got to a bike shop in St. Simons, our tires are ten years old, cracked, show evidence of being ridden while underinflated, and basically useless.  One of the problems with folding bikes is that their tires aren't exactly "off the shelf."  Amazon to the rescue.  Had the tires shipped to Hilton Head, and we were back in business.  

While we've been moving pretty quickly on our trip north we have been able to coordinate visits with lots of friends and family.  In St. Simons, we met up with Roger's sister Betsy and most of her family as well as cousin William Hanger with lots of his friends and family. 

Betsy and Rick on the beach - Sea Island

Classic Sea Island dinner on the ping-pong table.

We've been visited by a few green flies recently - big ones.  Turns out that Millie is not such a big fan. 

She found an escape on the bow. 

Chrisy has been desperate to get to Savannah, and Roger has always found a reason to keep moving.  Not this year.  A two-night stop gave us a full day to enjoy this lovely city.  Here is the statue of the Waving Lady as she greets returning captains. She's looking for her long-lost boyfriend.

 St. John Cathedral

One of the many squares in Savannah

Cruising buddies Nile and Linda Schneider in Savannah (who we met in 2013) with 

new cruising buddies Karen and Mark.

We have used our reciprocal privileges through Conanicut Yacht Club a few times, but this was probably the best. Free dockage for two nights at the Wexford Yacht Club in Hilton Head... a beautiful Club that you enter via a private lock.

 

..and a free pickleball lesson with a friend-of-a-friend, Karen and the pro, Brian.

On the dock at Wexford - the saga of the bike tires hopefully came to an end with four new tires.

We put those new tires to good use with a 26.5 mile ride around Hilton Head with more cruising buddies, Burt and Prue Preston, who we met in the Bahamas in 2015.

Roger's former colleague at Bancroft School,  Bud Brooks and his wife Carol, with the heavens opening up behind us in Hilton Head. 

Long-time cruising friends Cathy and Allan Rae at their lovely home in Beaufort, SC 

An Egret is always a welcome sight - Seabrook Island

Bruce and Heather Glendinning relocated from Philly down to Seabrook Island, SC

Roger's sister, Betsy's good friend, Clarke Weidlein, joined us for dinner in Southport, SC.