We left the dock this morning in the company of another boat that had been in Little Falls with us. Ahead of us were a few other boats who had been in Little Falls as well, but had left the day Deb and I were taking a day off. Deb was in touch with several of them who were heading for the same destination as First Light, that being a place called Sylvan Beech.
The Weather Man said today was going to be a very calm day. His idea of very calm and my idea of very calm are two different ideas. He wasn't off by more than 15 knots, maybe 20 in the gusts. But today's part of the Erie Canal was completely hemmed in by trees so the winds didn't really matter much. Still, there is an old adage in the aviation world. When the weather forecast gets the winds wrong, pretty much the rest of the forecast isn't even a good guess. But the skies stayed partly cloudy and the weather never took on an attitude.
About 30 minutes after the last lock, we started closing in on Sylvan Beach, which is nestled on the shore of Lake Oneida. Earlier in the day, Deb had checked in with some boats who were ahead of us as to dockage space. The news was there was a lot of room. But as we got closer, a miscommunication at the last lock had the lockmaster closing the gate minutes before we got there and thus putting us about 30 minutes behind. Our friends who made the lock were now ahead of us and let us know that the dock was getting pretty full. Fellow Loopers from another boat we had crossed wakes with allowed that “things were getting a little crazy”. That turned out to be a bit of an understatement. As we got closer to the free dock, Pontoon boats (tuners), little speed boats, big speed boats, cigarette boats with monster engines and straight pipe exhausts, center console power boats with 1600 horses hanging off the transom, little pleasure boats, bigger pleasure boats, wave runners, fishing boats, trawlers...every kind of boat one can imagine started filling up the waterway. It was a cacophony of wakes, noise, and color. I had no idea what Sylvan Beach was like, but I wasn't expecting that kind of show.
When we finally made it to the seawall, there was one space left, and it was an awkward fit. But most of the boats where ones we had run across before. We have even managed to catch up with a boat or two that left us behind in Delaware City. So there were a lot of new friends standing by to handle lines and get the boat secured.
From our spot at one end of the wall, Lake Oneida is off of our bow about a quarter mile. It is a pretty big lake. The next leg of the journey takes us along its length from east to west. If the weatherman gets the winds wrong, it will be an ugly ride as there is about 30 miles of fetch from the west. Assuming the weather is close to correct, pretty much every boat on the wall with us will be heading out as well. Since nearly every boat on the wall is also one we have run across before, it is a bit like a reunion run of sorts. Very low key but kind of fun. There is also some good information to be had as some of them have been this way before. All new to us, old hat for them. This “Looper” thing is turning out to be far more interesting than I might have guessed back when we were struggling to get off the dock in Delaware City. Tomorrow may be a bit like being part of the “migration” of cruising boats that we used to join heading south on the ICW each fall. Fewer boats, and heading the other way, but it feels similar. For now, it's just great to be on the move.
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