Murray Canal (2013-09-24)

N 44° 02.245', W 077° 39.527'

Tonight we're poised on the threshold of the next big step in our adventure.


We left Ottawa on Sunday to return to the boat.  We decided to wait out another cold night on Monday and we would head out back down the Trent River on Tuesday.  We took advantage of the day on Monday to do some last minute running around and some puttering on the boat.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear, and promised to be a great day to travel.

Saying goodbye to a great spot at Lock 6

Great weather to travel

We made it through the locks in good time, and stopped off at Fraser Park Marina to put some fuel in the boat and to have a lunch with Dar's father and sister.  After that we made a beeline for the Murray Canal, hoping to make it there in time to get through.


We're tied up on the wall at the west end of the Murray Canal, near the Brighton Road Bridge.  This is a great little spot, with a nice park like setting right next to the boat, bathrooms, and a small, well stocked variety store just up the road north of the bridge. 
 

 Our home for tonight

If the weather forecast for Lake Ontario holds, then tomorrow morning we'll beetle out of here and across the lake to Oswego New York.

Pretty rare weather for Lake Ontario this time of year

We decided we couldn't afford to ignore such a great weather window, so we're going to cross now, and then return from somewhere in New York for the wedding.

Where we end up is still a bit of a question.  We had originally looked at stopping at a marina near the Oswego end of the canal, and this was reinforced by an unexpected closure on the canal at lock E13.  The closure was only supposed to be for a couple weeks, to fix a problem with an undercut of a dam there.  If it was for longer we had a plan B route up through Montreal to the Chambley Canal, and then down through Lake Champlain.  We were trying to stay optimistic for the Erie Canal route, as going the other way would add many miles to our journey.

Now it looks like our hopes might have been answered.  The canal corp has announced an opening next weekend to clear boats through the closure area.  I have to do a bit more research, but I'm thinking that is probably something we'll have to take advantage of.  This would allow us to press on through and perhaps get through the canal altogether and do the wedding layover at a marina at the top of the Hudson River.  More to follow on that idea...