Champ III: Going Places

The adventure starts here.

Town Docks, Fairport, NY to Town Docks, Spencerport, NY — July 23, 2014

01-Fairport-Lift-Bridge
01-Fairport-Lift-Bridge
02-Dock-Area-West-Of-Fairport-Lift-Bridge
02-Dock-Area-West-Of-Fairport-Lift-Bridge
03-Homes-Along-The-Western-Erie-Canal
03-Homes-Along-The-Western-Erie-Canal
04-Ferry-Boat-DOck-On-Erie-Canal
04-Ferry-Boat-DOck-On-Erie-Canal
05-Shoreline-On-Western-Erie-Canal
05-Shoreline-On-Western-Erie-Canal
06-Unusual-Silo-Probably-Repurposed-to-Office-Use
06-Unusual-Silo-Probably-Repurposed-to-Office-Use
07-Canal-Rental-Boat-In-Lock
07-Canal-Rental-Boat-In-Lock
08-Canal-Rental-Boat-In-Lock
08-Canal-Rental-Boat-In-Lock
09-Canal-Near-Rochester-NY-With-Work-Barge-In-Distance
09-Canal-Near-Rochester-NY-With-Work-Barge-In-Distance
10-Egret Catamaran-Waiting-For-Lift-Bridge-In-SPencerport
10-Egret Catamaran-Waiting-For-Lift-Bridge-In-SPencerport
11-In-My-Element-Moving-West-On-Erie-From-Spencerport
11-In-My-Element-Moving-West-On-Erie-From-Spencerport

Fairport was nice, but time to move on.  They were predicting a chance of rain and thunderstorms today.  I checked the radar and there was a large rain pattern over Lake Erie headed towards Buffalo but as it got near Buffalo it started to disappear.  After a short while it was all gone so we decided to leave for Spencerport.

We had a lift bridge to wait for to leave Fairport. We were able to call the bridge operator from the dock and while he was preparing the bridge we cast off. The ride on the canal was pretty pleasant and about 1/2 way to the first lock we picked up 2 canal rental boats.  I passed them because they travel at about 5 to 6 mph and I did not want to be held up behind them.

The firsts lock went well with the 3 boats in it but in the second lock we were on our way up and I turned around to see the one canal boat turned almost sideways in the canal.  There was a little wind but I think it was the current and someone in the cockpit did not hold the line at the lock wall. The guy in the front held his line all the way thru this episode. The lockmaster came over and talked to them and the captain was able to set the rudder and put the boat in reverse and get the back end over to the wall.  It was quite a site to see and probably more than a little embarrassing for the captain.

As we passed Rochester NY the skies started to darken and I could see on the radar that some rain had developed.  We ran thru a couple of rain showers but by the time we arrived in Spencerport it had pretty much stopped.

There were 2 other Looper boats in Spencerport and they helped us with the lines at the dock.  One of the boats, In My Element, We had met in 2013 at Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky.  They completed their Loop in November 2013 at Mobile.  They are headed to Duluth on Lake Superior.  They are going to ship their boat home from there to Seattle. The other boat is a catamaran, Egret, with John and Regina from Phoenix AZ. John and Regina started their Loop in Fort Lauderdale and are having a great time.

We ended up going to the Texas Style BBQ with both couples last night.  We had a great time and the food was good. They both left today while we are going to stay another day.