Eschaton goes international

Hello cruiser companions,

Last week we began the Erie Canal at Waterford, which is one of 4 canals of the NY State Barge Canal System. You saw some of the locks and lock walls where we've stayed. The Canal System has a flotilla of work boats, all clearly identifiable-- known as the Empire State Navy. Here are some of them. They come in lots of different shapes and sizes. One of the first barges on the canals was named 'Urger" and the state publishes children's activity booklets about the canals featuring 'Urger."




Lest you think we see only cruisers or trawlers on the canals, here's a sample of another vessel. Mostly, though, we've seen fishing boats and kayaks.


After 22 locks (counting the Troy lock on the Hudson), we crossed Oneida Lake and came to Brewerton, which is a water-side town with lots of homes on the shores, beautiful green lawns, and dry, crisp air (kind of like NH or MN).



We tied up at EssKay marina, a 2nd generation facility known for its hospitality, repair work, ship store, generous courtesy car usage, and low fuel prices.




Liz and Steve of Shingebiss were waiting for us there, and we caught up on all the news.





We bought an inexpensive grill to replace the melted-down grill (see last entry).


Some assembly was required by Jack with assistance from Liz.















We left EssKay together with Felix, a catamaran sailboat (mast 'stepped' in order to get under canal bridges and through the locks).



We turned north onto the Oswego Canal after Erie lock 23.


This lock on the Oswego was unique in that it had a bridge across the lock which opened when the lock gates did, allowing you to cruise under the bridge and through the locks almost simultaneously.



We stopped for the night at Oswego, between locks 7 and 8.

In the background you can see the rushing water of the Oswego river, which has just come over a dam next to the lock.


All that separates the canal and the river is a wall, and across the front of the Eschaton you can see it's not a wall but a kind of 'fence.'




Here's another picture of the river with the calmness of the canal in the foreground.



This next pict is our view from our bow... looking towards lock 8 and Lake Ontario.









On Friday morning, after much debate and concern about wind and wave conditions, we set out -- with Shingebiss and Felix (who travels much slower than us or Shingebiss) for the nearly 50mile trip across Lake Ontario.







This is the lighthouse that marks the breakwater for the Oswego Harbor and river.
You can see that it was a beautiful day, and the wind and waves initially were pretty good.

But as we got to the half-way point and beyond, the swells (oh, how we now hate swells!) got bigger, the waves became whitecaps, and we had to keep going.

We have to say that we've added Lake Ontario to our list of least favorite days (the others being the Gulf crossing, and the 26 miles in the Atlantic).

Happily, we did cross into the Canadian waters of Prince Edward Bay safely (the others did too), and went to a designated 'marina' (I use that word loosely: think house with a pier) to call Canadian Customs and sign in via telephone.

We had all the required paperwork (passports, cat and dog vaccination records, boat registration, etc)... but all it was was a phone call. So much for international security. We did get a number to post on our boat indicating we had checked in. We hear it is much more complicated to get back into the US. Hmmm.

Here's a picture of the Prinyers Cove where we anchored. How we appreciated the serenity there after the chaos of the day's travel. It's a favorite anchorage for cruisers, both sail and power.


Today we traveled a very rainy 40 miles to Belleville ON. Although its Canada, it's really on a parallel with Concord NH... not really as far north as I would have thought.

You can't see much through a rainy windshield! Tonight we are in a marina so that we can attend church tomorrow.




With Canada comes some different kinds of buoys: we think these red ones look like rocket ships.

Here in Canada, we hope to be able to post weekly, but only if we get access to wifi. If you email us, please know that replies may take awhile. We won't be using our aircard while here.

Its always great to get your comments and to know you are on this journey with us. BTW, just today we passed the 3300 mile mark. (Yikes: that means we have about that much still to travel in the next 3 1/2 months! )

Be well, know God is with you, and keep in touch!
nan and jack

West on the Erie Canal

Hello Cruising Companions,

We're back on the water after our whirlwind trip to Nashville. We can't resist showing you 4 of the reasons we went (left: Ian with Popa, below: Caitlyn, Joanna, and Grant.) Oh yeah, and their parents too, plus aunt and uncle. Besides that, we were blessed to participate in the ordination of several friends and colleagues at Annual Conference. AND, we survived the 18 hr drive each way. We're still resting up from that!

We started traveling again on Thursday, heading up the last 40 miles on the Hudson to Waterford,
where this sign makes it clear that the Erie goes west, and the Hudson on to Champlain goes north.

We were glad to see Waterford again -- the beginning of the Erie Canal. We squeezed into the last place at the dock. This is the same dock where 2 years ago we rented a historic-looking canal boat with Nan's sister Elaine and her mother.

The next morning we followed this boat into the first of the Flight of Five locks, lifting you over 150', and giving you a wonderful view of the Hudson Valley, if you take a second to look over your shoulder. The area around Waterford has some of the original locks, and lots of information about the building and importance of the locks in the 1800s.















Words and picts are inadequate to describe the beauty of this area, and we had fantastic weather to enhance it all. Suffice it to say we are loving this area every bit as much as we did on our previous trip.















We haven't seen much wildlife anywhere, and below is a kind of where's Waldo picture. Somewhere in the middle is a heron standing in the water as we left a lock.


Every lock is a little different, but its always exhilerating to be in an ascending lock, and come
to the top to view what lies beyond. Here's one great scene.







NY is full of trains, and often along the Erie there are tracks on both sides. The trains are long, noisy, both passenger and freight. And close to wherever you tie up for the night. Sadly, its trains that put the canal practically out of business as a means of transporting goods and crops from mid-America.

NY State is very hospitable to boaters, maintaining the locks as well as many walls near the locks where boats can tie up for the night. Some towns even offer FREE docks, some even including electricity!!!
Boats have to purchase a pass to use the locks-- 2,10, or season pass-- based on the size of your boat, at bargain prices. Here we are at Lock 12 (right behind our boat, tent over part of the adjacent bridge for maintenance work). Dinah really loved the grassy area for running. The ever-present trains were just behind the trees, roaring past at all hours of the day and night.

Did you know that with enough heat you can 'melt' your grill? See the results here... plus the dust of the fire extinguisher. Flames were a foot high coming out around the cover of the grill, which was on the back deck just about 2- 80 gallon tanks of gas, and near other spare tanks totaling 45 gallons. Amazingly, Jack was fast enough with the extinguisher that we survived and so did supper. Whew. A close call.


Again, words and picts just don't due justice to the scenery here. BTW, I-90 runs parallel to and in sight of much of the canal in this area. But those drivers don't get to fully enjoy the view!














Canajoharie, home of BeechNut, is one of the towns with a new and beautiful free park and dock with electricity, water, and restrooms. A great place! The bridges here carry I-90.

One of the largest locks is #17 at Little Falls, rising 40'. Immediately as you exit, you see climbers on several of the rock faces.

Tonight we are just west of Utica, at Lock 20, again at the adjacent park. We have already come 106 miles (whew) and expect to catch up with Shingebiss tomorrow night in Brewerton. From there we'll turn north to Oswego, and then cross Lake Ontario. Total miles so far: 3162.

Oh... please check the previous blog for a correction... we surely don't want to mis-identify and leave you with wrong info!

We continue to celebrate this adventure... savoring every day, every view, every experience. We're so glad to know you are traveling with us!

Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.
nan and jack

Up the Hudson--- another world

Hello again, fellow cruisers!

Here we are shoving off from NYC and the marina on the Jersey side, after being awoken by the rocking and rolling of the waves created by the many water taxis, ships, and ferries, up and going earlier than us. We didn't leave until 11:30am because of the tides and currents... we wanted to maximize the boost and minimize the opposing flow as we traveled up the Hudson. After about 2 hours, we got a pretty good boost that lasted all day!

We think we identified the area where the plane landed in the Hudson... happily, no planes and few water taxis right them.. Quite an event to imagine, and then thinking that it happened in the winter! wow.

Further along, we saw the steeple of the Cathedral of St John the Divine, which is the largest Episcopal Church in the US. Very impressive, even from this distance. It's built of cut stone and a work-in-progress for many years.
CORRECTION: Our good friend Kathryn Mitchem, who knows her stuff-- tells us that is Riverside Church on the left (tall tower) and to the right of it, the Interchurch Center that houses all our United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries offices, plus the offices of the National Council of Churches, and Church Women United to name a few. St John the Divine is actually ten blocks away. Oops. Thanks, Kathryn.

Right after that, we passed under the George Washington Bridge, 2 levels which carry I-95, a main route from New England to Florida and other points south. This is 10-12 miles north of the Battery... but I used to think it was downtown when I drove across it years ago!

Right after the GW, the scenery changes dramatically: steep slopes on both shores, few buildings, trees, clear air... ah, our kind of country! Also, few marinas, homes, and coves for anchoring. We continue to marvel with the changes just 40 miles upriver from such a huge city! That day, we traveled 60 miles, passing West Point on our port (left) side. A facinating view from the water, and a commanding presence on the river.

We ended up that night at Newburgh Yacht Cllub, nearly under the Newburgh bridge, which carries I-84. When Nan and the kids lived in Allentown, a gas station in Newburgh was the designated point for meeting the grandparents or their father. And we've driven across that bridge many times enroute to NH. Actually, 'yacht club' is kinda stretching it. More like marina, and not too uptown at that. But hospitable and reasonable, and with the services we needed. Also, Dinah sensed this was more her kind of turf, and was able to resume healthy practices, a relief for her and for us.

The Hudson has some unique lighthouses... literally houses. Of course, they are historical now, with solar energy able to provide the light the keepers used to have to tend. This one sits in what seems to be the middle of the river, but does mark a serious shoal.

From Newburgh, we went another 50 miles to Catskill. The steep slopes leveled out to gentle hills, but the main river was sometimes over 120' deep! At the same time, along the shore was often 6" to 1' of water. Watch out!

We are leaving the boat and cats here in Catskill for 6 days while we go to Nashville to see the kids, grandkids, and to participate in the ordination service of several friends and colleagues. Our traveling buddies on Shingebiss are taking their time on the Hudson, and we hope to catch up with them within a week or two after we get back.

Maybe we'll see some of you in TN this weekend.

Having a very 'bon voyage'...

nan and jack

Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.

Eschaton beyond the Atlantic to NYC

Hello fellow cruisers,

We crossed the Delaware Bay on Sunday, the 30th in fairly calm water and bright sunshine. Here's "Ship John Shoal" marking the way. We entered the Cape May Canal amidst all kinds of
weekend boats, all of whom seem to make enormous wakes in the narrow passageway. Add to that the large Cape May/Lewes Ferries, and you've got quite a welcoming rock 'n roll. We spent 2 nights at Utsch's Marina out of the bumping. We rode our bikes to the beach but didn't pay the $5/person entrance fee (!), and rode along Beach Drive noting the houses.

While there we heard horror stories about shoaling all the way up the NJ ICW... and about how most people were opting to "go outside" (ie the ocean) all the way. To do that, boats wait for just the right wave conditions. Knowing that the Eschaton isn't an ocean boat, we took the ICW, but found that we had to take it pretty slowly through the narrow channels (wide water, but narrow channel within it). Some areas were miles wide but one could literally walk across, since it was 1'-5' deep --or shallow, actually-- all the way. We only went aground once, and that was because we wandered slightly off the channel. There's a longer story, but the short version is that a couple came by and graciously pulled us off the mud. Whew.

We also went slowly because of the many no-wake zones through congested areas and several lift bridges, many of which open only twice an hour. If you miss it, you're circling for 28 minutes in narrow areas. But it is the scenic route, and you do get to note the variety of buildings, boats,

and economic areas along the way.

Because we only traveled 20 miles the first day, we ended up in Atlantic City for the night, surrounded by skyscrapers marked "Trump" and "Harrahs". Happily, we found a basics-marina and were able to walk about a bit. There was heavy fog and rolled in and out... here's Jack and Dinah looking out the inlet. And right there is the Abescon Light, now surrounded by highrises etc , whose light can barely be seen at all, preserved for historical purposes. Hmmm.

The next day we caught up with Shingebiss at Beach Haven. They had waited several days and then traveled on the 'outside'. We walked across the island and found a steep beach and large breakers. Here's Jack and Steve.

From there, we traveled together to Metedeconk (we never were sure how to pronounce it), which is adjacent to Manasquan Inlet, the jumping off point for the unavoidable 26 miles in the ocean. We'd both been dreading it, and Nan was silently giving serious thought to arranging for a truck , but that seemed like cheating.

So at 6am after our worst time ever at getting the anchors up, we headed out, amidst fishing boats of every size, all speeding to the ocean fish and making big wakes through this narrow fast-moving channel. The inlet opening (could we call it an 'outlet'?) had all the wakes churning plus more waves, some higher than we want to tell you. But amidst all the traffic and the current, there was no turning back. So we went forward, with Shingebiss telling us it was better beyond the in/outlet. But, better enough?

The answer is that here is the Verranzano Bridge, entrance to the NY Harbor. We rolled with the swells on the Atlantic for 26 miles-- not life-threatening but stressful--- and then struggled across NJ's Raritan Bay, thrilled to see the Brooklyn skyline and the bridge getting larger.

The excitement continued when we hit a small log just as we approached the bridge (no hull or prop damage,miraculously), and then we encountered NY's water traffic and bouncing waves and wind within the harbor.

Large container ships and tankers were anchored in the harbor, sailboats of all sizes were zipping in every direction, and ferries and water taxis were carrying people to Staten Island and to the Statue and Ellis Island. More rock 'n roll. We will never again think Percy Priest Lake is rough under any circumstances.

All that said, words cannot describe the thrill of seeing the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, and especially from the Eschaton. 'WOW' is so inadequate!

So amidst all the other traffic, we circled with Shingebiss so we could each get picts of the other in front on the Lady. Here's proof we're here!

This is Ellis Island, close by the Statue. We hope to visit on another trip... (not by boat, thank you.)

Our marina is directly across from Manhattan, and what a view!

Yesterday we took a subway across to Manhattan... and were clearly tourists staring up at the tall buildings.

Here's the Empire State Building from the top of our tour bus.

The most moving was the area around the former Twin Towers and the displays at St Paul's Chapel, adjacent to the hole. St Paul's became the center of much of the relief efforts immediately after the bombing, with 14,000 volunteers serving 3000 meals daily, cots in the sanctuary, serving as a communications point and as a shelter of refuge for both victims and volunteers. Their ministry, besides some services and Bible study, now is in the displays both inside and outside the chapel. You may remember pictures of photos and remembrances hung on the iron fence that surrounds the church.

We were so emotionally moved-- (made us remember our reactions after visiting the Holocost Museum in Jerusalem)

that we walked several blocks without saying much.

But we had to have our picture taken with the bull at the NY Stock Enchange in the Wall Street area.

With us are Steve and Liz from Shingebiss, and Tom and Diane from Noah Agenda.



This is the skyline taken from Castle Clinton on the Battery. Not exactly our neighborhood!

This is/was called the "Sphere of Hope" and its original location was between the 2 towers. You can see how damaged it was from falling debris. It is now located within the park that is the Battery.

From there we rejoined the tour bus... feeling like we'd packed as much as we could in to a day in NYC, and information into our brains. Here's a quick look at Rockefeller Center. 'Looked small to us!

We have now traveled 2900 miles. From here we go up the Hudson... out of tidal water (at Troy), and away from the ocean (which our MN friends pronounce "OHHHH-shun" :)
That sigh you hear is one of RELIEF. We, and the Eschaton, are definitely river and lake boaters!

'Glad you could share this great adventure with us!

Blessings, nan and jack
Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.