A Watery Stairway to... by J.C. Kavanagh

 

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The stairway goes... up and down. Of course it does. But a watery stairway? The kind you find in a canal? Those stairways are called "locks." And yes, they go up and/or down, depending on which way you're travelling.

Let me explain.

Regular readers know that me and my partner, Ian, are heading home after our sailing adventures to - and in - the Bahamas. An important part of this journey takes us through two canal systems: The Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal. 

Our route home through the Erie Canal System and the connecting Oswego Canal systems (in red)

Remember last month's blog when I wrote about the shallow waters in the Intracoastal Waterway? And our physical reaction to it?

Guess what.

The sphincter pucker reflex was exercised yet again.

Between the 17th lock in Little Falls (a great place to dock) and the 20th Lock in Rome, we grounded our boat three times. That means we hit the bottom. Also stuck to the bottom. We were warned about these shallow spots so we travelled through them in idle mode, letting the current move us. Unfortunately, the suggested route through these sections was incorrect. The Lock 19 area was the worst - it took us about 45 minutes to steer through the muddy impasse. Let me tell you, when we were settled hours later, a glass of wine never tasted so good.

Did you know there are 23 locks in the Erie Canal system, rising 128 metres above sea level (420 feet) to the Rome Lock, and then descending 363 feet to the Three Rivers / Phoenix Lock south of the Oswego Canal? That's the up/down stairway. The Oswego Canal has seven locks spanning 38 kms (almost 24 miles).  

Docked for the night at Little Falls.

Me and our non-sailing sailboat (temporary, though).
The mast must be down in order to travel through the locks and under the dozens of short bridges.
It is snugly positioned on our uniquely designed structure.

To enter a lock, you must radio the Lock Master on your hand-held VHF, channel 13. (The regular antenna is at the top of the mast - but not while it's lying on deck!) When the Lock Master fills (or empties, depending which way you're travelling) the lock chamber, the metal doors will open and you proceed into the lock. There are multiple hanging ropes along both sides of the lock - pick the ones you want to 'hang-on-to' and wait till the lock chamber fills/empties. This is the tricky part. You have to hold the boat away from the slick/slimy/icky walls with a wooden pole while hanging on to the rope to prevent the boat from being pushed to the other side of the lock. My position is at the bow and Ian is at the stern because when the lock doors open, he has to jump to the wheel and throttle to put the boat in gear. Believe me when I tell you the current rushing in/out is strong enough to easily move a 20,000 lb boat.

In this lock, we will be moving upward. This is lock 17 in the Erie Canal system. 
At 12.3 metres (40.5 ft.), it's the tallest lock in the entire New York State Canal system.
It takes six million gallons of water to fill/drain the chamber.

And so our adventure continues as we make our way through the Oswego Canal. We hope to be home in Canada sometime next month.

If you ever wondered where I sourced all my watery adventures in The Twisted Climb series, well, I think you've figured it out. While my sailing adventure has been incredible, there are no paranormal activities like those found in the Dream World and the Un-World. 

At least, not yet.

Stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them.

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh 
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Instagram @authorjckavanagh
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