Day's 24-26

• Pirates Cove to Sackets Harbor (Navy Point Marina)
• Start 7:45 am
• End 5:15 pm
• Underway 6:40 hours
• Locks - 7
• Distance 63
• Av Speed 9.5 knots

So where to start. Sundays trip was supposed to be a short day with seven locks. We left the Erie Canal and headed up the Oswego Canal to go to the 1000 Islands. The plan was to stop at the end of the Oswego Canal and tie up to a sea wall that was supposed to have electric and wifi for $20 a night. We were also supposed to meet up with my sister while we were there. When we got to the sea wall, the electric did not work and there was no wifi.

The Oswego canal is 23 miles long and runs between the Erie Canal at Three Rivers Junction to Lake Ontario. There are seven locks that lower you 118 feet from the Canal to the Lake. One of the locks also includes a draw bridge that has to be lifted before you can exit the lock.

I checked the weather forecast and found that we would have to wait in Oswego for 3 or 4 days because of they were calling for rough seas. The conditions on Sunday were perfect, so we decided to continue and cross the lake. What a great decision, the lake was like glass. We did not have a set destination, but headed to the St Lawrence River.

What an experience, 90 minutes out I could see nothing but blue skis and flat blue seas in any direction that I looked. (It was chilly and Angel was down below and missed the great view) While we were underway I started looking for a place to spend the night. The closest place I could find was Sackets Harbor. It was slightly off our path, but there were a couple of marinas that had transient slips. I called Navy Point Marina, and not only did they have room, they also said they would be available to help us dock. Check out the video on the video tab.

On our way to Sackets Harbor, we had our second mechanical issue on the trip. The tachometer on the port engine failed, and because the boat has an engine synchronizer (to keep both engines running at the same rmp's) the starboard engine not seeing any power from the port engine, came to an idle. When that happen the boat turned right. Once I figured out the problem, it was easy to work around and we continued the trip with no issues.

Navy Point Marine, not only had a slip for us, Monday the mechanic was available to help me diagnose the problem and order the part for me. The cable from the engine to the tachometer broke. They did charge me "Emergency Rate" because they had to take the mechanic off the project he was working on. The total charge for labor was a whopping $60 for 30 minutes. How refreshing to deal with a company that not only helps you but does not take advantage of you. Tuesday the cable came in, and I was able to replace it.

We did spend Monday and Tuesday exploring Sackets Harbor. The town is rich in history from the War of 1812. Once again the museums were closed. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays. But we were still able to check out the buildings and parks. Tuesday alone we put over 8 miles on the bikes. There are several shops and restaurants in town and after checking out the historic sites we walked thru the shops.

Tomorrow we plan to leave and head to Clayton NY.