The Erie
Canal has a closing date around October 15. By then autumn winds start picking up on Erie and
Ontario and 20 knots is not unusual. Nights start getting chilly, but the days are gorgeous. The leaves changing along the Mohawk and
Hudson Rivers, reflected in the
water is really amazing.
Assuming that you are leaving from southern Lake Michigan, and you want to keep the pace you described of 8 hour days and that you will break for 2 days out of 7, it’ll be just over a week to Detroit and then two long days to Buffalo.
You can enter the canal at either Buffalo or Oswego on
Lake Ontario. If you go the Oswego
route, you have to transit the Welland Canal and bypass Niagara Falls. That
passage is only open three days per week in each direction and you have to be at Port Colburn on Lake Erie very early in the am (the night before is better) as they only do one flight per day. They told me on the
phone that the flight would leave at 8 am, but in the event we left at 6.15. Stragglers waited 48 hours. Also, they will require you to have two on board (three coming up) to transit.
You have to factor in those days as well.
Three days across
Ontario at the earlier stipulated pace to Oswego. Some time to step your
mast (there is a
DIY yard in Oswego). From Oswego to Waterford (where you must be by 15 October) is a gentle week. The pace will be set for you by the lock hours. After Labor Day they are open 9 am to 5 pm. You just stop at where you are at 5. You can tie up at all of the locks and some have
power available. It took me a week from Oswego to Watertown but I wasn’t rushing.
After Watertown you are on the Hudson and you can set your own pace. There are a number of
marinas on the upper Hudson that will rent you space in the fall as it is getting to be the season that people are pulling
boats. The closer to
NYC, in general, the more expensive. Catskill Marina in Catskill offered a really good rate to me for a week. They also restepped the
mast. If I were to do it again I would stop at Castleton Yacht Club to restep as they had
DIY facilities.
At the pace you propose, which is morning to late afternoon and allowing for a few
weather days, I think 16 days is optimistic. I’d
budget 21 days or plan a couple 24 hour
sails when
weather is benign. It won’t be benign every day in the fall.
It’s a lovely trip. Hope you enjoy it. We did!
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