You Sunk My Battleship?

Well, eight days into the trip I almost sunk “Thistle”. We were on Lake Erie in heavy air and seven foot seas. I used the head (toilet) and didn’t completely close the seacock. By the time we went to bed that night, we had buckets of fresh water in the toilet and chain locker area. As my dad said when Eric proposed, you better be handy marrying her!

We spent a day in Buffalo and what a great vibe on the waterfront. Paths everywhere for walking or biking. They have a memorial park for veterans of every conflict. The museum had two battleships and submarine on display. Volunteer gardens lined the pathways. The marina facility was a great place to catch your breath. They had fine dining, casual dining, bar, and ice cream to choose from and no Lake Erie flies.

We had a wild ride down the Niagara River to the entrance of the Erie Canal going downstream with 30 knot headwinds. It was our first introduction to lift bridges, draw bridges, swing bridges, and a lock. Quite a day.

This begins the next phase of our trip transiting the Erie Canal. Thistle’s mast was unstepped at Wardell’s boat yard. It’s resting on custom made horses from the wood scrapped from previous mast supports. First time Thistle’s mast was handled by someone other than Tim Sarns. Very nervous moment and not the same love!

The Erie Canal is surprisingly more interesting than we expected. Locks 34 and 35 are tandem and lower the boat 50 feet. Why start small? Small towns dot the waterfront all along the canal. Lock 33, we picked up a hitchhiker. Eileen climbed an embankment to watch the lock. We were waiting for another boat and she was saying it was on her bucket list to go through a lock. She asked for a ride down (25 Feet) and the lock master said jump the fence and hop on. Nice lady!

Happy 4th of July! Enjoy and be safe. Eric and Sharon

Books Light of Paris. Eleanor Brown. 5 out of 5

By going through the locks we are descending the height of Niagara Falls without actually going over them.