Ilion, New York

We were up early and ready for the 7:00 opening of Lock 14. The air was chilly and felt like fall. We bundle up and set off with our little caravan, slowly slipping away from the dock at Canajoharie. One by one, we line up to wait patiently for the green light to tell us we could enter the lock.  We passed whirlpools at the entrance but everything else went well for us. 

Serenity and Osimo following Mystic

Calm waters, gorgeous reflections

Large pile of debris pulled from the Canal

Red marker covered in logs

Lot's of private docks along the canal

Lighthouse keeper

Bike and kayak city at free wall

Train car cottage

There were four boats in lock 17; Griffin, Mystic, Serenity, and Osimo. We routinely secure our boats to the starboard or right side of our hull where we have fenders ready to protect us from the chamber wall. At lock 17, we had to tie off on the port or left side because the chamber filled from the right. We had an unexpected glitch that caught us by surprise. As I grabbed the last line in the chamber we both realized there wasn't a line for Dave to grab. Without that second line, our stern would swing out into the chamber creating a risk of damage to us or one of the other boats. We had to think fast. 

There were evenly spaced bollards running up the wall about 12 feet apart. These short thick posts are used to tie off vessels. Lock 17 raised our boats up. The bollards aren't very useful on a rising lock because they fall below you as you rise and the rope slips off. To overcome this, Dave had to resecure Mystic to the next higher bollard until we got to the top. In order to reach up 12 feet, Dave used our telescoping whisker pole to wrap our line above him. Brian on Serenity came on the radio to congratulate us on the acrobatics we performed to kept Mystic secured on the wall. We're not sure how we did it, but we made it through. 

Approaching Lock 17, Griffin is waiting on the wall

Griffin in front of Mystic

Photo by Brian Laux on Serenity
Dave holding onto the lowest bollard

Lock 18 wasn't much better, we had to wrestle to keep our boats on the chamber wall. Every one of us was literally hanging from our lines as we tried to use any leverage we could find to hold tight. Some Locks are more challenging than others but you never know what you are getting into. Today's locks were especially challenging.

As we passed Little Falls, Griffin pulled into the Marina. Mona Gee was already on the wall; Scott and Shelly were with us in Canajoharie but had left a day before us. He saw us waving at him and yelled, "Don't go too fast; your gonna get stuck at locks 29 and 30!" Yes, we're going to get stuck again; thanks for the reminder Scott.

Passing kayakers at Rome, NY

Tow Path Bridge over a canal dam

Rock Climbing along the Erie Canal - Little Falls, NY

Rock Climbers in Little Falls

Our flotilla arrived at Ilion and got settled at the marina which is also a busy RV park. Both the dock and the park were nearly full. A little restaurant was on site. We walked up to a window to order our food, then sat at a picnic table with Bob, Sue and Brian, enjoying a night out.

Oldest Gunmakers in Ilion

Tugboat reflection

Fall colors on the Canal

Old Gas pump .25/gallon

Osimo and Mystic at Ilion

Serenity and Mystic at Ilion

Mystic at Ilion

Our timing for local festivals is usually off. but we arrived on the last day of 'Ilion Days'. The grand finale was fireworks! We sat at a picnic table watching the great light show, hooting and hollering with the locals until the last bang! The mosquitos we're really bad in spite of the cool temps. Sue and I were wrapped in blankets trying to fend off the hungry blood suckers. We rushed back to the safety of our boats and retired for the evening. In the morning, we will head for Sylvan Beach at Lake Oneida.