Heading north to Oswego and the blue waters of Lake Ontario

PHOENIXVILLE, New York, USA - The motoryacht Ziggy just transited lock No. 1 on the Oswego-Lake Ontario canal, with the goal of getting into Lake Ontario Wednesday morning.

The canal system is similar to the main channel of the Erie Canal, but the debris  (big logs, brush, old docks) have all but disappeared.

In fact, this canal seems to be mostly dotted with expensive homes,  fine boats and big expanses of forest.

Looking for some waterside property?

Perhaps the most amazing part so far has been the weather. It's gorgeous. The temperatures are in the 80s, very light winds, and about as nice as it ever gets in New York in the summer. And the water temperature in the canal is in the 70s - not that it looks particularly inviting for a swim.

Tonight's goal is to be at a marina within easy reach of Lake Ontario. Then Wednesday we will make a jump through Lake Ontario to the Welland Canal so we can get into Lake Erie.

Tiki Bar on the canal

Brother Dan Schwartz - who drove us to St. Johnsville where Admiral Fox and I jumped aboard the boat -  did another trip Monday to bring us our passports. Part of this journey takes us through Canadian waters and we were going to have to hide in the engine room if we didn't have our papers.

That didn't sound very inviting,  though the engine room on this yacht is the size of my office in Watkins Glen.

Adm. Fox and Captain Elizabeth went provisioning this morning and came back with sufficient supplies to get us to Bay City, Michigan (the end of our journey). In fact, the hard part is staying away from the goodies.

Five more locks to before Oswego... Hmmm... How many more chocolate-chip and oatmeal raisin cookies will be eaten by then?

Scenic spot to watch the boats go by