The India Jayne: 07/05/16

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

July 5, 2016
Kingston, Ontario

June 27, 2016
After leaving Ft Plain, Lock 15 wall tie-up, on the Erie, we went through Lock 16, a 21' lift, Lock 17, a 41' lift, Lock 18 and finally tied up to the wall at Lock 19.

The next day we went through Locks 19, 20, 21 and 22, finally tying up to the wall at Sylvan Beach, just east of Lake Oneida. The west wind was blowing up some big waves out on the lake, so we opted for a tour of town and an early start the following morning with low predicted winds.

At normal cruising speed I noticed the dinghy bouncing a bit in the wake. Wondering what could cause such a thing, I looked under the cover inside to find it half full of water, like 600 lbs. worth. The culprit was gravity. Someone had forgotten to pull the plug after the last use, and the waterproof cover wasn't. Don't know who to blame, but obviously the Captain could not be at fault. Therefore the crew will be on restricted Chardonnay rations until further notice.

The next morning had the boat covered with May Flies as there had been a hatch right by us.

After Crossing Lake Oneida we stopped at Winter Harbor for fuel. Unfortunately, the port engine would not turn over as we prepared to leave.

We waited two days for a mechanic to look at it late on the second day, just in time for "overtime" to begin. The engine, in the meanwhile, had resumed starting. The mechanic found nothing wrong, so we're hoping it will continue to work.

Built to never be repaired.

Oh, I see the problem, too many damn wires blocking all the other damn wires. That way you couldn't get at it to fix it even if you knew what was wrong. This is what is known as SBD (standard boat design).

Oh yeah, no access problem here.

Shortly, we turned north off the Erie and up the Oswego Canal toward Lake Ontario.

The locks began to lower us back to sea level, or at least Lake Level.

Here is a view of Lock 8 on the right, last on the Oswego Canal, with Lake Ontario in the background. The Oswego River is on the left.

View of India Jayne (third back) from a bridge. We are tied to the free wall between Locks 7 & 8.

Clearing the last lock and out to Lake Ontario.

Chartplotter showing Lake Ontario. Underway, almost due north to Kingston, Ontario.

Lots of water out there. No land in sight. Hope those engines keep running.

Kingston is a quaint historical town of about 150,000, our first stop in Canada. We hoisted our Canadian flag and cleared customs here.

It is the oldest city in Canada, beginning as a trading post in the 1600s. It was a receiving center for Loyalists fleeing the new republic to the south (USA). Queens University has a student enrollment of 25,000.