Sept 27 - To the fair
By morning today a few more boats had joined us at the dock forming a wall of boats. Some enjoyable sailing conversations always ensue. It has been great getting to know the interesting variety of sailors and power boaters all on route to different destinations. From young to old, the call of the water has caught them. Some have planned for their 'trip of a lifetime' for years, while others simply bought a boat, outfitted it with a few essentials and took off.
So thankful that Andrew has put so much planning into our journey. We are very well prepared, have more safety gear, are very informed of our journey ahead, and are travelling in luxury with air conditioning and many amenities that most cannot afford. I feel a little spoiled actually.
We said goodbye to Phoenix and our generous hosts and completed our journey through the Oswego canals, merging into the eastern end of the Erie canal. We had a long journey ahead, with plans to cross lake Oneida and reach Sylvan Beach (another free dock) for the evening. There would be no wifi or power but we do have batteries and a generator to power things.
Winds began to whip up as we crossed the lake presenting a possible danger. If winds picked up too much on this large but shallow lake, the waves could get as high as 5-6 ft. That is nothing when we have the sails up but with our mast mounted on top, it can be dangerous to motor through those waves.
Thankfully the wind did not reach critical levels and we crossed in less time then expected (yeah!). The storm clouds threatened above throughout the rest of the evening but the forecast winds and rain did not show up until much later allowing us to explore part of Sylvan Beach's town.
We enjoyed a sunset walk along the well maintained waterfront and explored a small fairground, including roller-coasters, games and vendor stands that was set up along the beachfront. The wind had whipped up now and fall leaves danced through the parking lot, adding a ghost like quality to the seemingly abandoned fairground. Now enjoyed only by the leaves and wind, you could imagine 100s of children screaming with glee as they went round merry-go-rounds and roller-coasters, finishing their dripping ice-cream cones as they gazed at their colourful helium balloon, dancing at the end of their wrist-string.
For dinner we enjoyed a tasty fresh haddock dinner at a local seafood restaurant, then settled back in on our boat. Before long we were meeting more boaters and learning about their journeys. The sun set beautifully behind us as we spent the evening sipping tea and watching traffic go back and forth over the bridge. It was weirdly relaxing.