Troy NY West on the Eire to Oswego

It is time to leave Troy, NY and head West on the Eire Canal. Captain is geared up and looking for the directions to Eire Canal. Knowing that it is hard to communicate early on we got the wireless head sets and light weight life jackets to make working the lock system on the Eire. We have had very little experience locking the boat through. The locks vary in tie ups to stablize the boat as water is fed into the lock to raise the boat and let out of the lock when lowering. We had worked out a system, so that Nancy would manuver the boat close to the lock wall, and I would reach out and grab a rope at the bow, cleat it off, run to the back of the boat grab another rope and pull the stern close to the lock wall. Over the head set I would tell Nancy I am ready, she would leave the helm, come to the stern and take the stern rope, I would run back to the bow to man the bow rope. The Eire consists of 20 locks up, for a raise height of 420 feet, and three locks lowering about 40 feet. Then the Oswego canal has 7 locks that lower the boat to the height of Lake Ontario. These were busy and tiring days. These days we spent the night on the wall. Some of the pictures show the locks, some of the Eire Canal and Mohawk River. The other pictures are of the towns we passed thru. Also, you will see the Security Gates that were to help to reduce debris and assist with water control during flooding. The last 2 pictures are Onidea Lake which we crossed to go to Brewerton, NY where we spent the Forth of July. We had firework displays on the 3,4,and5 of July. Had a great time before moving onto Oswego, NY. It is July 13th and we will try to leave for Kingston, Ontario in the morning. Hopefully we will cross Lake Ontario tomorrow.