On Friday, June 14th, Brio completed her travel on the Erie and Oswego Canals. This is significant and momentous. What lay ahead late on Friday was the wide-open Lake Ontario. What a change from the tightly constricted Canal passage! It also meant an escape from the many trains that would pass us by every day. The sounds of train horns and the wheels of 100-car trains reminded us that the Erie was an important conduit for freight. As soon as we turned downstream on the Oswego Canal and headed north to the Lake, we sensed our compass was set to a different star. No more trains, all "down-locks," and a current that sped up as we approached Oswego and the Lake.
After leaving Brewerton, we traveled west on the Erie through Lock 23, which lowered us to an elevation of 363 feet above sea level. This compares to the previous high at Rome, New York of 420 feet. From the sketch below, we traveled to Three Rivers Junction.
Three Rivers was an important meeting point for troops during the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars as they advanced on the enemy in the area, such as the British at Fort Stanwix.
You can see that Brio descended quickly to Oswego and Lake Ontario once she turned on to the Oswego Canal. There are only 7 locks employed for the 24-mile transit north. The River itself is dammed to harness the stream flow and its energy to make the locks serve their purpose.
Locking is time-consuming. It delayed our progress to the Lake more than expected. That meant our final destination Friday night was unexpected. But before we realized that twist, we greeted our arrival at Lake Ontario with a cheer!
This is the last lock, Lock 8, before the Lake. Notice the kayakers who have just "up-locked" and are exiting Lock 8 towards us on our right. The Lake lies ahead.
It was now about 5 p.m. and we were eager to get west to Sodus Bay for the night! We had heard that even though it was another 20 nautical miles west, it would be worth the trip. We were so eager, in fact, that we plotted a course for Little Sodus Bay and not Sodus Bay, falling about 5 or 10 miles shy of our intended overnight spot.
In fact, when we got to Little Sodus Bay, we were only slightly disappointed. We found a quiet corner where we could drop our anchor and spend the night together with several beautiful swans!
Brio, and we, were tired and happy!
Cheers,
Brio
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