Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Still alongside At Castelton on the Hudson

This morning was the first that we slept past 0600 in over a week. We continue to wait for 2 PDQ's that are still in the locks. James of the "fix it" group is aboard one of the boats with the parts that are needed to repair some of our issues. We have another problem, we have found water under the floor boards in the galley. We are thinking that there is a fresh water leak, we have communicated the issue to James and we are hopeful that he will be able to get to us tomorrow and deal with the issues.

We took a Cab to the closest Target store late this afternoon. My small camera has given up the ghost, so I wanted to get a replacement, as well as pick up a few supplies. damn near cost more for the cab ride than the stuff we bought.

We have an appointment in Kingston NY to change the oil, oil filters as well as the fuel filters as well as a generator service.

We are hoping that the water is not a big deal and we can get the propane fixed to allow us to get on our way.

We are beside an Amtrack rail line with HIGH speed trains, which are great for the early morning wakewup call,

We are hoping that we get James onto the boat tomorrow and we can proceed to NYC.

More later.

rb

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Out of the Locks and settled on the Hudson River



We were up again at 0600 and into Lock 8 at 0715. It was a brisk 37.5 degrees this morning as we headed out. Larry & John were great crew handling the lock lines and I am getting better at getting the boat to go where I want it to, sometimes they look at me and shake their heads. Oh well we are through the locks and we all celebrated! We got the Customs jump and shout squared away today with the help of the Customs folks in Albany, NY. They could not have been kinder.


We are tied up at the SMALL Village of Castelton on the Hudson, NY. We added fuel and I was shocked that through the last locks, not pushing the boat we are burning 1.83 gallons an hour. As we begin to push the boat down the River and off shore we will not have that average, but it is great while it lasts!


We are waiting for a PDQ 41 to come through the locks , as they have parts and the folks to hopefully fix our propane problem as well as a few other problems.


Did a load of clothes at the Laundry and will be heading for a shower soon. Haven't had one since Friday. We have a shower on the boat, but getting up a 0600, locking until 5PM or after and then getting some food in us has been a challenge. Hopefully the "fun" can now begin as we are on a much slower schedule.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Little Falls to Above Lock 8 of the Canal System



We were out of Little Falls at 0700 and after we went through the first lock, we were informed that we had a delay at the next lock. We stopped at St. Johnsonville, a very small Village. We had the holding tank pumped out at a little marina and walked into the Village. We were told that the lock was going to open at noon, so we blasted down the river to make the opening. We got there just as the lock was opened and kept going until we were stopped at Lock 8.

During the morning, I had a call from Lynne at the PDQ factory telling me that the Customs Clearing that we thought had all been handled in OSwego, did not really work. So, we will need to deal with the Customs folks again when we get to Troy, NY at the bottom of the Waterford Locks.

We will have the oil changed in the engines and the generator and head south to NYC. We will be picking up Myron Rappaport, a fellow who is thinking about purchasing a PDQ 34 in Kingston, and he will accompany us down the Hudson.

The only pictures that I can upload today are of the boat and a nice Church in St. Johnsonville

More later

Ross
with John & Larry

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Phoenix to Little Falls




We were again up with the chickens, more like frozen chickens as it was really chilly last night. We left Phoenix at 0700 and again stuck with Mike & Monica on Lady Godiva. We stopped for fuel in Brewerton which is just before Lake Oneida. We took 61.5 gallons which worked out to a skinny 3.5 gallons per hour. We locked through One lock before we stopped for fuel and 6 after we crossed the Lake before we reached Little Falls. When we arrived the PDQ 44 that was ahead of us was tied to the marina wall. Lady Godiva and we tied to the marina wall, only to find that they had closed last week. We did find that the electricity was still on so we are able to plug in and run the heater, fridge and freezer and all the other conveniences of home. We joined the crew of the other boats and found a good dinner at the East End Steak House. Lots of choices and the cost was a mere $10.95 a person.

After dinner I stopped at the Big M supermarket and re provisioned the galley.

The lock downstream was closed all day due to high water. We are hoping that it will be open in the morning, If we can get through, we should be in Waterford on the Hudson River tomorrow night. We had NO rain today which was a real blessing, however it is really cold.

More tomorrow, from either here in Little Falls or farther down the system, We have 17 more locks before we get onto the Hudson.

Ross, with Larry & John

Saturday, October 27, 2007

We made it to Phoenix,NY today!





We were up before the chickens this morning, and left Cobourg at 7am. We were blessed with fairly calm seas as we crossed Lake Ontario. John thinks that we were in no more than 2-3 foot swells with some white caps. We arrived at just after Noon, a 76 mile crossing. We were cruising just about 15 knots. Once we settled the boat down we set our lines up to dock and use the Video Phone to clear immigration. We had been told by Lynne at PDQ that this time of the year we would most likely be stuck in Oswego or possibly Phoenix until Monday. To our surprise, we were cleared at the Video Phone for both Customs and Immigration, allowing us to head through the Canal system. We hooked up with a 54' sport fisher from Florida and shot through the first 5 locks and should have been able to get through the 6th, but the lock tender quit before 5 PM and we are tied up just on the North side of Lock #1 of the Oswego Canal. We will push on tomorrow, but we will be waiting for the arrival in Kingston NY of a PDQ 41 that is due to depart Whitby on Sunday. We have a few problems that we hope will be resolved there, the most important is that there is a leak in the propane lines, and that really needs to be fixed.

The BBQ is set up on the flying bridge and the I think that the microwave works, so we will have dinner! Pork tenderloin, veggies in the microwave and a Salad.

The pictures I am uploading today are of the chartplotter showing the boat we approached Oswego, Me at the helm, and one of us following the 54' lady Godiva up the Oswego River.

More later,

Ross

Friday, October 26, 2007

Stuck in Cobourg,again!





We made it into Cobourg yesterday afternoon, with all intentions of leaving this morning for the crossing to Oswego, NY. We had intended to leave at about 6am, but it was blowing a gale and as the morning wore on it was clear that we should sit out the day. This means that we will be crossing tomorrow in what ever the weather dishes out, and we will not be able to clear Immigration and Customs until Monday Morning. We MUST be through the Erie Canal System by the !st of November, or sit here until May of next year- We are going ;-)

I am having trouble with my e-mail and we are only to send updates when we can get to an Internet cafe or as we are now at a small coffee shop called the Human Bean. Great name, OK coffee.

More form the 3 of us as we progress through the next few days in the canal.

Ross
with Larry & John

Thursday, October 25, 2007

We are in Cobourg, Ontario


Flexability, the key to success, I think. The boats that were going to caravan across Lake Ontario were not leaving until Sunday, so after the last of the commissioning was completed, we left expecting a clam crossing to Oswego, NY. Well, we had our heads handed to us. We encountered 5-6 ft waves and we bounced like a cork. We decided to head to Cobourg for shelter. The usual 3 hour trip took 4, arriving at 2:30PM. The boat handled well, Larry, John and I sat, held on and kept looking at the charts. We did well, the boat did well and I could not be happier.


We plan to leave between 6 and 6:30 am to make the crossing to Oswego. We need to clear Customs and Immigration by 2pm or we will be stuck in Oswego until Monday. great motivation to get up and get going!

Monday, October 22, 2007

We are in Whitby!

Larry Doyle & I arrived in Toronto this afternoon. We were joined by Larry's Brother, John, who lives in Michigan. John jumped in when the boat was delayed and Joe Weathers had to stay back for his October 31 departure for the Baja Ha-Ha. From the airport we drove to the West Marine Store in Toronto and picked up all of the items that I had ordered. We are glad that I rented a mini-van as we were stuffed to the gunwales with fenders, line the BBQ, and all sorts of cool boat stuff!

We drove to Whitby and went directly to the PDQ commissioning dock. There with her navigation lights proudly blazing was Vita Bella. The commissioning team was still hard at work so we did not disturb there progress. We will visit the factory tomorrow morning and continue to outfit the boat at a big box store, Real Canadian, and then a trip to Wal-Mart. It is our plan to move onto the boat Tomorrow afternoon.

Instead of departing on Wednesday Morning as we had planned, we will be waiting until Thursday when 3 other PDQ's will also be heading off the Lake. Two of the 44' Sailboats, a 41' Powercat and Vita Bella will cross Lake Ontario and proceed through the Erie canal system together. The sailboats will be under the command of folks from the Factory, so any issues we might encounter can be checked immediately. We will stay together until we are half way down the Hudson River a bit below Kingston, NY.

We are also hoping to get some time with the RayMarine folks to go over the electronics, ans we will spend some time on Wednesday with factory folks out on the water, getting more familiar with the boat.

More later, and remember, "The Moose is Loose"

Ross

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A bit Delayed

We have been delayed at the dock. We should be aboard and away on Tuesday the 23rd. We will be posting starting on Monday the 21st from Whitby. Check back then.

Ross