Day 27-30: Repairs! and On To Clayton, NY

 Day 27-29: August 14-16: The days have passed by in pretty much the same manner. Sunshine one moment, a thunderstorm the next. I have managed to continue the hour long morning walks and John and I have ridden the bikes a few more times. One day we ended up riding off the quiet road onto a more heavily traveled one; something I absolutely hate. Despite my complaining John kept riding as he was on a mission to find some vinyl cleaner at one of the marinas that are close by. No luck in that department so the bimini windows will remain dirty for now. 

We expected a package from home to arrive on Monday. But it didn't, even though our good friends, the Palmers, went to the post office on Saturday and mailed it overnight. The secret is when you mail something overnight the post office guarantees arrival or your money back. 

What is more important is that on Tuesday the hydraulic pump finally arrived. John K and John got right to work disassembling the old one around noon. John said the rusty bolts came off quite easily and things were looking good. John K. had to take a trip to a store to have new hydraulic hoses made to replace the existing ones which were extremely rigid.  John figures they were probably original to the boat which is a 1989. They finished removing what needed to be removed and will tackle the replacement in the morning. Feeling a bit positive for sure. 

While we were sitting on the flybridge in the early evening we heard some hooting coming up the bay. We looked and saw 3 water-skiers flying past. Might have thought we were watching a professional water show, as a young lady was standing up on the shoulders of the other two skiers. It didn't take long for them to fall only to get up one more time before calling it a night and heading back down the bay.  It was a fun moment in time! Not long after we were treated to a stunning sunset. Why is it that they are always more vibrant when you are on the water? God's gift! 

On Wednesday John K showed up right at 9:00 a.m. like he said he would. He and John worked until around 1:00. Once the new pump and associated parts had been installed, John spent the next hour or so bleeding the air out of the system while filling it with hydraulic fluid. He then spent some time cleaning up the engine room and the rest of the boat where tools had been placed. We want to thank John K from Henchen Marine and Fish Camp once again for his support. We called numerous marinas after the very frustrating stay at Navy Point Marina and John K was the only person who agreed to help us and help us he did. He was attentive and did what he said he would do; whether it was to call us, order or chase after a part or simply show up. Many thanks!

Having been delayed for 2 weeks, we wanted to get going ASAP but we had to keep an eye on the weather. Since Thursday through at least Saturday looks like the wind is going to blow we needed to think about a few things. First we needed to plan how to back out of the travel lift area safely. It's a really tight spot so choosing a time when there was no wind and very calm waters was paramount. It doesn't take much for the swim platform to clip a piling; something we want to avoid. Conditions were good Wednesday night so we moved out and anchored in the bay. That way, if the wind should be strong in the morning, we would not have to worry about leaving the tight quarter and could easily head across Lake Ontario. 

Here are some shots of the beautiful anchor area. The bay became glass overnight. We could not have asked for a more peaceful night. 

Day 30: August 17: The day finally came. We pulled the anchor and headed back to Henchen Marine for the final time. We got a pump out and then bought some swag in the store to remind us of our "wonderful" time in Henderson Harbor. At about 9:30 am we got UW and headed across Ontario to Clayton, NY. The lake wasn't too bad early on but soon got riled up. Although the Windy app suggested we would have a northern wind, it became apparent it was blowing westerly at an average of 10kn. The resulting waves were hitting us broadside; while uncomfortable we have been in similar and worse conditions on Buzzards Bay. As we got closer to the St. Lawrence River the waves built up a bit more, I didn't engage the stabilizers as we kept thinking we didn't have too much farther to go before we made the turn into the St. Lawrence. Bad decision. We would have had a much more enjoyable trip if I had turned them on. The last mile or so got pretty snarly and we were both thankful to finally make the turn into the river with Canada on our port and the U.S.A. on our starboard. At this point we had following seas making the remainder of the trip much more enjoyable. 

Whenever possible we usually anchor but I wanted to have easy access to the town of Clayton so we  made reservations at Clayton Municipal Harbor Marina. As we pulled in another GB (God's Grace) with an AGLCA flag was already docked and of course the conversation began. The owners are "dreaming" of doing the loop and have been doing shakedown cruises in preparation. I'm sure we will catch up with them later on.

The marina is very well maintained and offers nice amenities; showers, laundry, recycling (we've been hanging on to our cans so this is a plus), pump out, water and electricity. The docks are floating, made out of Trex decking. There is a beautiful aluminum ramp leading up to the Harbor Hotel and a fantastic river walk that leads into the small downtown area. 

Once we got settled, we walked about a mile to the grocery store, showered and then sat on the flybridge for awhile before heading along the river and into town for some dinner. Right on the waterfront a band was playing in the pavilion and folks were sitting and strolling all along the river enjoying the beautiful evening and watching boats including huge lakers cruise by. 

We ended up having dinner at the River Bottom Bar & Grill. The french onion soup was delicious! I took this picture of a Lyman boat carved into a toilet seat??? I have to wonder why someone thought a toilet seat was the right medium for the carving. I noticed the Lyman because we had seen one a bit earlier in the evening while sitting on the flybridge. We love seeing the different kind of boats, especially classics. 

Here is our NEBO log for the day. Speaking of NEBO, we started off using the free version which requires I turn the App on and off as we start and stop our journey. We purchased the NeboLink before we left Westport but it arrived after we left. The device was one of the items we asked to be sent to us. John installed it easily, attaching it to a constant power supply on the boat. Now we don't have to worry about turning it on and off as it starts up and stops automatically. It detects the movement of the boat and even sends an email: "Slàinte Mhath is moving!"