A Little Bird Told Me...

A little swallow sitting on our lifeline, singing away woke Greg at 5:00 this morning. That's how we came to be in Oswego tonight.

As per usual Cee Jem outcomes, it wasn't as planned.
We had hoped to get up around 6, see if Lake Oneida was calm enough to cross and get to Phoenix, a favourite stop on our way down, and stay for the night.
When Greg woke up at 5, he quickly checked the wind forecast. Before I had a chance to get out of bed, we were pulling away from the dock. Looking out the window, and seeing that we were underway, coaxed me awake on this chilly morning. Greg explained that the wind was expected to increase around 9, so hopefully our early departure would give us enough time to get across before the waves picked up. Waves are of particular concern at this point in the trip, as our mast is down. Stories of masts at the bottom of this lake, cause many a cruiser to carefully consider the weather before crossing the 18 mile length of Lake Oneida.
Sure enough, as predicted, the winds did increase. We were grateful that as they did, we approached the west shore, and though we saw whitecaps building, they never were a problem for us.
The remaining 8 miles to Phoenix went quickly, as we discussed what we might have for breakfast at the State Street Cafe.


While in Phoenix, we wanted to get in touch with Oswego Marina to see what the situation was there for mast stepping. The weather to cross Lake Ontario looks pretty good for this week-end and early next week, and we wanted to make sure we were ready to go. We knew we might have to leave Phoenix early in order to get to Oswego early enough for an afternoon stepping on Friday, or ideally on Saturday. Turns out they are pretty busy right now putting local boats in the water and stepping their masts. Bernie, the guy who runs the show, starts early and leaves at 3:30. Doesn't start any new work after 2, and won't be around this weekend, not back until Tuesday. Additionally, any boats who stay overnight at their marina are given priority for the next day.
So, a relaxing afternoon in Phoenix, turned into a quick and delicious stop for lunch, then back on the boat to try to get to Oswego. The limiting factor now became time: 22 miles, 7 locks ... and only 5 hours until the locks close. Would we make it??

Fortunately, we were now headed down to Lake Ontario, so the current was with us. Also, locking down is a lot faster than locking up, so we didn't spend very long in any of the locks. The Canal staff were great to have the locks ready for us when we arrived, doors open and ready to go.

All through the day, we thanked that little bird for singing his heart out...because of him, we were able to get across Lake Oneida, instead of waiting for the next calm day....because of him, we got underway in time to get to see Tammy, the owner, at the State Street Cafe in Phoenix....because of him, we had enough time to get to Oswego today, ensuring that our mast will go up tomorrow, and we can make use of the weather window to get across Lake Ontario this weekend.


At 4 o'clock, when the north doors of Lock 8 slowly opened, revealing the waters of Lake Ontario on the horizon, it was a pretty special moment for all of us. We felt like we were home.