The 45 Formula named “Chill-Laxin” performed flawlessly today. We had a slow run, but we sure did maximize our time on the water. We pulled out of Smith Boys Marina this morning at 5:50 am and made out way to the start of the Erie Canal. I was on the canal by 6:00 and dealing with the dreaded speed zones. It was a mere 5 mph to start the day for the first hour before it doubled to a whopping 10 mph. Now we are moving.
I got to the first set of locks around 8:00. I paid for my canal pass and kept on trucking. The lock operators and all the bridge tenders were great today. Most were ready when I arrive and the bridges were going up as I got there. I did have about a 20 minute delay this morning at Gasport Bridge, but that was the worst of it for the day.
One of the lock masters allowed me to “float” through one of the locks since I was by myself. It sure made things much easier on me. I did just 4 locks today, but covered 94 miles in just over 11 and a half hours. The entire day the maximum speed was 10 mph, so I keep things moving all day long. I had to “bribe” the last bridge tender to stay open past 5:00 so I could get on the other side of the bridge where there was a lock wall I could tie to. It cost me $20 bucks and a beer, but it was worth it. I’m in a good position to make the most out of tomorrow. Otherwise I would have been about 14 miles behind where I made it to tonight.
Dinner was just okay tonight. There wasn't a lot to chose from in Fairport, NY. People are out in droves this evening due to the nice weather and the restaurant I went to on the canal was grossly under staffed and not expecting the crowds. Other than a long wait for the food and poor service, the food itself was actually pretty good. It was “Fish Fry Friday Night” so guess what I had. You guessed it; and it was pretty good with homemade hand cut fries and coleslaw.
I’m looking forward to getting to bed early since tomorrow will be another long day. The locks and bridges are only open from 7 to 5 so I need to make sure I’m doing all I can. It just kills me to stop with so much daylight left. You have to play the cards you are dealt. Overall, it was a really good day.
Early morning entering the Erie Canal.
Coming to the second RR Bridge before sunrise.
Good morning ladies crew team.
Coming into the first lock of the day. Lock 35.
Lock 34
The back of the lock wall at lock 35. Pretty big
The Erie Canal actually goes over the top of this road. It was a little weird going across this.
One of the many low bridges that needed to be raised to continue the trip east.
This reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting.
The back of Lock 33
Tied up in Fairport, NY
Fairport, NY, my stop for the day. This was the bridge I had to bribe to get to under.
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