Published By
Created On
6 Aug 2021 11:11:02 UTC
Transaction ID
Cost
Safe for Work
Free
Yes
Erie Canal Part 2 from Little Falls to the Hudson (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 16
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week the crew of SV Catsaway complete their journey on the Erie Canal.
We left Little Falls and experienced the great lock 17, the highest lock on the Erie Canal. With a descent of 40.5 feet, lock 17 took over from 5 older locks on the original Canal. We felt like we were going down forever! Also, this is the only lock to have a lifting door at the end - which means you get dripped on a bit. :/
Our first stop was the village of Canajoharie. The name of the village means, “The pot that washes itself” and was named after a natural phenomenon in the Canajoharie Gorge. It looked like a hot tub that Mother Nature made. Unfortunately there was no swimming; the gorge looked like a beautiful place to swim. Canajoharie is also home to one of the only freestanding stop lights.
The city of Amsterdam is home to a beautiful new pedestrian bridge, and links up to lovely bike paths along the canal. Follow the bike paths to experience Erie Canal history with original locks and the Schoharie Aqueduct. It is wild to think that they built bridges for boats so many years ago, and that it was easier to build an aqueduct than traverse the rivers. We were in Amsterdam during mid-autumn festival, so we ordered take out Chinese food to celebrate.
Next up was the village of Scotia (close to Schenectady). Schenectady was the first bigger city we had experienced on the Erie Canal. We visited downtown, Union College and the Stockade District. We love how upper state New York has so much history attached to it. On an interesting note, the village of Scotia docks also offer the best internet on the Canal. Watch your draft as you come in though - it gets very shallow!
After Scotia, we went to Waterford and experienced the awesomeness of the Flight of Five: 5 locks that descend 170 feet. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get through the flight before they close. We stayed in Waterford for a few days; many cruisers were waiting for Tropical Storm Nate to pass through. We visited the Waterford Historical Museum, met up with some friendly viewers (who generously treated us to a delicious dinner!), had a fellow boater fix our drive leg, met some friends in Albany and explored Troy. It was a lovely experience!
Join us next time as we make our way down the beautiful Hudson to New York City!
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Credits:
Road Trip - Joakim Karud
Sing Swing Bada Bing - Doug Maxwell
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFMprJlQbQs
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week the crew of SV Catsaway complete their journey on the Erie Canal.
We left Little Falls and experienced the great lock 17, the highest lock on the Erie Canal. With a descent of 40.5 feet, lock 17 took over from 5 older locks on the original Canal. We felt like we were going down forever! Also, this is the only lock to have a lifting door at the end - which means you get dripped on a bit. :/
Our first stop was the village of Canajoharie. The name of the village means, “The pot that washes itself” and was named after a natural phenomenon in the Canajoharie Gorge. It looked like a hot tub that Mother Nature made. Unfortunately there was no swimming; the gorge looked like a beautiful place to swim. Canajoharie is also home to one of the only freestanding stop lights.
The city of Amsterdam is home to a beautiful new pedestrian bridge, and links up to lovely bike paths along the canal. Follow the bike paths to experience Erie Canal history with original locks and the Schoharie Aqueduct. It is wild to think that they built bridges for boats so many years ago, and that it was easier to build an aqueduct than traverse the rivers. We were in Amsterdam during mid-autumn festival, so we ordered take out Chinese food to celebrate.
Next up was the village of Scotia (close to Schenectady). Schenectady was the first bigger city we had experienced on the Erie Canal. We visited downtown, Union College and the Stockade District. We love how upper state New York has so much history attached to it. On an interesting note, the village of Scotia docks also offer the best internet on the Canal. Watch your draft as you come in though - it gets very shallow!
After Scotia, we went to Waterford and experienced the awesomeness of the Flight of Five: 5 locks that descend 170 feet. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get through the flight before they close. We stayed in Waterford for a few days; many cruisers were waiting for Tropical Storm Nate to pass through. We visited the Waterford Historical Museum, met up with some friendly viewers (who generously treated us to a delicious dinner!), had a fellow boater fix our drive leg, met some friends in Albany and explored Troy. It was a lovely experience!
Join us next time as we make our way down the beautiful Hudson to New York City!
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Credits:
Road Trip - Joakim Karud
Sing Swing Bada Bing - Doug Maxwell
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFMprJlQbQs
Author
Content Type
Unspecified
video/mp4
Language
English
More from the publisher
Controlling
VIDEO
BORDE
border-bounce-part-1-(sailing-sv
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we move onto the boat, travel to Oswego and get bounced back to Canada.
The last couple weeks in Ottawa were a whirlwind of activity - getting the solar system installed on the boat, trying to get a renter for the house, finishing up work, packing the house away, saying goodbye to friends and family, cleaning up the house and setting up an AirBnb. Finally the house was clean, thanks to a lot of help from Diana’s parents, Charles and Soph. :) The kitties were distressed the entire time, as we think they suspected change was on the horizon.
It was a cool and rainy day when we drove to the boat. Diana’s parents helped us take a carload of things. The cats took a while to settle down, as there were new smells and a lot of new noises to get used to. The first couple of days on the boat happened to be very windy as well - so they had more than their fair share of halyards slapping and other noises.
After a few days, the cats were accustomed to their new surroundings and relaxed. We decided to start the engine and drive to the gas dock - a short journey for their first time moving the boat. Jazz didn’t like the engine starting (no surprise there!), but Hercie was fine. Jazz came out of her blanket cocoon when we got to the gas dock.
We had been checking the winds for several days to see when would be the best time to go to Oswego. Thursday and Friday seemed like good winds, so we would get good speed. Unfortunately, a storm system that was supposed to pass south of us ended up swinging north and gave us more than we had planned. After motoring through a squall and having engine problems, we decided to duck into Henderson Bay until the system passed.
Henderson Bay was a great place to relax and tune out from the world. Neither of us had any cell reception, so our couple of days there were spent reading, relaxing and cooking. It was wonderful. The kitties even got a chance to explore the outside of the boat (with us keeping a close eye on them!).
A couple of days later, we left Henderson Bay for Oswego. We checked into U.S. Customs on Saturday afternoon and were told that we had to call the Syracuse office for our cruising permit on Monday morning. We got ready to unstep the mast by taking down the sails and boom, and loosening our baby stays. Then we decided to explore Oswego!
Oswego is a beautiful little city, overlooking Lake Ontario. It hosts lovely architecture, parks and a picturesque downtown. Known as the Port City of New York, it has mottos such as, “Where the Water Never Ends” and “Cool by Nature”. We biked around visiting coffee shops, the canal, and Fort Ontario.
We were also lucky enough to meet up w
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPe1ulydD7s
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
Controlling
VIDEO
OUR F
our-first-sail-on-sv-catsaway-(sailing
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we managed to adjust our rigging, set up our sails and finally get Catsaway sailing on the water.
Setting up our jib was a good learning opportunity for us as neither of us had worked with a rolling furler. Diana was the only one who had set up sails (during her course), so we did some troubleshooting. Our mainsail was more straightforward, except that we accidentally confused our spare halyard with the topping lift. Luckily, we’re still in touch with the original owner, so he gave us some guidance.
Our first sail was wonderful. Catsaway sailed easily at 7 knots, and tends to sail about half the speed of the wind. Our tacking was challenging, but we think it was because we were releasing our jib too early.
We also flushed our water tanks clear of the winterizing antifreeze. We didn’t realize that the dock taps were lake water (which we were using for the flushing). Although this negated our guilty feeling about wasting so much water, we realized that we needed to purify the tanks again. We set out to the gas dock to refuel and fill the tanks with potable water, which we then purified again with iodine tablets.
The next day we attempted to fix a leaking hatch, only to be stumped when we couldn’t release the hatch from the hull. As a quick fix ONLY, we decided to clean up the old caulking around the hatch and recaulk the outside. We realize this is *only* a quick fix, and we were need to seal it more thoroughly in time. We have purchased butyl tape for the seal and have also done some more research on how to get that hatch out.
We have been working on having more accurate and concise communication with each other. One of our improvements is to thoroughly discuss what our intentions are before actually putting the boat in action. This has helped clear up miscommunications. :)
A big thank you to all the wonderful folks at Treasure Island Marina. You have all been very helpful in assisting us, lending us tools, giving advice and helping us launch and dock the boat. You have definitely made this process a lot smoother, and it has been wonderful getting to know the community.
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Need Cat Stuff?
https://SVCatsaway.com
Credits:
“Acoustic Folk Instrumental” by Hyde
"I Know Where You've Been” (Instrumental) by Forget the Whale
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXsoy7ydG4w
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English
Controlling
VIDEO
COCON
coconuts-conch-in-the-bahamas-(sailing
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week SV Catsaway travels to Rudder Cut Cay.
Rudder Cut Cay is home to two beautiful caves, reefs, amazing scenery and a mermaid sculpture. The water and surrounding environment here is stunning; it was one of our favourite anchorages. There is a strong current here, so snorkel at low slack tide. We found our first conch here. The shell was so beautiful that we wanted to keep it, so we froze the conch in order to get it out without breaking the shell. After freezing it, we thawed it in the bucket of warm water before grabbing the claw and starting to ease the conch out. This method worked great! Greg then had the dirty job of skinning and cutting the conch, which was slimy and challenging to hold. He hammered it well to tenderize it, and then we fried it in breadcrumbs and butter; our version of cracked conch.
We continued to Lee Stocking Island a few days later. Lee Stocking Island was the home of a marine research centre. Unfortunately funding for this centre ended in 2012 and the institution was shut down. So much equipment was left behind that it seemed like people packed up and left within 24 hours. We saw the remains of several nice houses and good road infrastructure, including a surviving airstrip. We hid from a decent blow here and amused ourselves by collecting coconuts. We had no machete, so used a knife and a hammer instead - success!
After a few days in Lee Stocking, we continued to Barreterre, a small settlement in the north part of Great Exuma. The community makes Barreterre very special and we enjoyed our stay. If you need vegetables, ask for Sam and Louella Smith. They grow excellent tomatoes and cabbages.
Until next time!
Credits:
"Stronger Than You" cover by Brigit O'Regan
Youtube: Brigit O'Regan
Instagram: @brigitfiddle
"Coconut Woman" cover by Jeffrey Sings
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbpi2YTC_uM
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English
Controlling
VIDEO
SAILI
sailing-the-new-jersey-coast-and
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we leave New York Harbour and travel down the New Jersey coast and up Delaware Bay.
We left New York just before 6am. There was already a lot of marine traffic at that hour and the first couple of hours was spent dodging wake from ferries, water taxis, shipping boats and other vessels. We had a beautiful sail down to the Manasquan Inlet - pretty much zero sea state and winds blowing at a beam reach, about 10-15 knots.
Manasquan Inlet was a challenging experience. Firstly, there are dozens of fishing vessels that are blocking the inlet entrance. Secondly, the inlet has between 2-3 knots current and we were heading in at opposing current. We struggled in at 2-3 knots of speed, while fishing vessels with 300 or more horsepower zoomed past us. There was a beautiful little anchorage at Glimmer Glass Bay, but we had to go past the smallest bascule bridge in the world. We were afraid we wouldn’t fit through! Greg did a spectacular job of keeping the boat straight through the channel, against currents and wind that wanted to push us sideways.
The next day there was absolutely no wind, and we motored to Barnegat Bay. We saw dozens of dolphins, a couple of which came right past the boat. Again, a challenging and blocked entrance to the inlet, but a very nice anchorage at the end. We went ashore to try to find ice cream but alas, all the stores were closed for the season.
Another motor from Barnegat to Atlantic City. We specifically picked this weather window because we knew it would be calm, and it was Diana’s first time sailing offshore. However, it was a little too calm, and we missed using our sails! There was a storm forecast, so we hunkered down in Brigatine for a few days and explored Atlantic City.
Atlantic City was an odd place. There were huge casinos that were closed, and other bright and shiny things open with very few people around. It also seemed very tacky. We walked down the boardwalk, bought some salt water taffy, and looked for WiFi to download things and upload our YouTube videos. I swear that half our time on shore is spent looking for places that have fast WiFi!
After a few days in Atlantic City, we started to get restless and decided to head to Cape May. Since we had been motoring so much, we chose a day with stiffer winds and what was forecasted to be a slightly bigger sea state so we could sail. Unfortunately the winds were much higher than predicted - gusting over 30 knots - and had the corresponding bigger sea state. This wasn’t bad when we were heading south, but when we turned back to go inland, we were hitting 7-8 foot swells straight on, not to mention motoring through 30 knot winds. That was ver
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm4xdu6ObTc
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English
Controlling
VIDEO
FIXIN
fixing-boats-and-naming-catsaway
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we welcome our friend Charles back, fix the hole in the floor, rename the boat and prepare for becoming liveaboards.
Charles used plywood and fiberglass to reinforce the floor. The cut out section had gotten a little warped, so Charles and Greg stood on it while the fiberglass was setting. He used West Marine epoxy fillers to create a putty texture in order to fill the holes. We now have a finished floor!! We just have to paint it now to match the colour.
We celebrated by going for a sail. It was a beautiful day, with 5-10 knots of wind. We played with where to place the fairleads to get the optimal wind to speed ratio.
Later that week, we finally de-named Rhapsody and re-named her Catsaway! We invited some friends over and went through the traditional renaming ceremonies. We celebrated with a sail, champagne and snacks. It was a great day!
Diana put up the lifeline safety netting in preparation for the kitties to come on board. We also purchased a large fishing net in case we ever need to scoop them out of the water. ;)
Kurt from Downunder Solar was kind enough to do a last minute solar installation for us. We decided on a 315 watt Canadian Solar panel, plus a 5 kilowatt hour AGM battery bank. We have also switched all the lightbulbs in the cabin to LEDs to help save energy.
Join us next week as we move onto the boat and leave for Oswego!
We now have a live map on our website!
www.SVCatsaway.com
https://instagram.com/SVCatsaway
https://facebook.com/SVCatsaway
https://twitter.com/SVCatsaway
Credits:
“Coffee Stains” by Riot
“Feeling Sunny” by Scott Holmes
“Life of Riley” by Kevin MacLeod
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyTEc23UXFk
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English
Controlling
VIDEO
SAILI
sailing-the-exumas-in-the-bahamas
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week Catsaway sails through the upper Exumas!
We begin at Highbourne Cay, where we finally put some fins on our dinghy. Since we only have an 8 HP outboard, we sometimes struggle to get up on a plane with two of us plus baggage. The fins were straightforward to install and we have enjoyed an easier plane ever since.
We also had our first real Bahamian snorkeling experience in Highbourne Cay. There are a few reef rocks located by shore in the Eastern anchorage. Though small, these reefs are well populated and worth a visit. We felt like we were visiting an aquarium! We were also lucky to be snorkeling with marine biologists Gayle and Bill from buddy boat Spiraserpula, who generously answered any questions we had.
Next stop was Norman’s Cay, where we explored a submerged plane wreck. Left behind from drug smuggling days in the 80’s, the animals in the sea have now made it their home. It was quite a magical experience. Note that there is a strong current, so we would suggest visiting the site at low slack tide. The edges of the wreck are ragged, sharp and rusty; we didn’t feel comfortable exploring the inside with such a strong current buffeting us.
After our snorkel, we went spearfishing - didn’t catch any fish, but we did see a GIANT eagle ray raise itself from it’s sand bed. The tail was 8 feet long, and the wing span more. It was scary and amazing at the same time.
Now that we were in crystal clear waters, Diana dove on the anchor - fun to do when you can see all the way to the bottom!
The next day we sailed to Shroud Cay, in order to collect water from an old fresh water well. Fresh water will collect in a lens floating above the sea water. Early travelers took advantage to create and maintain a well that’s been in service for over 100 years. The cement wall was built by a caretaker in 1927 and still stands. We used a steripen UV-C light to purify the water before putting it in our containers.
We were expecting 35+ knots so we hurried down to Warderick Wells, the headquarters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We hiked up Boo Boo Hill with friends Katherine, Olivier and baby Charles from sailing vessel Boreas. We had scrounged a tiny piece of driftwood from the park and roughly scratched our name in it. We’ll do a better job on the way back! The creativity of the boaters was beautiful to see.
Next episode, follow us to explore Staniel, Blackpoint and Farmer’s Cay!
See our current location at https://svcatsaway.com
Credits:
“The Nest” Instrumental Version by Josh Woodward
“Maps” by Kara Keith
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Need Cat Stuff?
ht
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njxfGEQOvpI
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English
Controlling
VIDEO
SAILI
sailing-to-the-exumas-in-the-bahamas
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
SV Catsaway finally made it to the Bahamas!!
After a few weeks away from the boat, we finished provisioning and preparing for the crossing. We waited for an ideal weather window - light winds and definitely nothing coming the North. We checked multiple weather sources, including a meteorologist friend. The day was forecasted to be winds of 10-15 knots coming from the east. It would be blowing directly against us, but we went with it anyways.
We left Dinner Key Marina with buddy boats Bandera and Be As You Are at 3:00am. Crossing Biscayne Bay was dark and quiet. Going out the inlet was a strange experience - swells that are close together and gradually getting bigger that you can’t see - you can only feel. We headed south for the first part of our journey, as the Gulf Stream would be gradually pushing us north. It was clear when we got into the stream; our southern motion stopped being so extreme and started showing in the charts as an easterly heading.
Even though we had waited a couple of days to let the stream die down, it was still choppy and confused. There was no regularity to the swell and wave pattern, which gave us the feeling of being in a washing machine. Both of us became seasick, but managed to shake it off as the journey continued. Catching 3 tuna certainly helped perk us up!
After about 13 hours of motoring, we pulled into the Blue Water Marina in Bimini. Greg went off the boat to customs while Diana cleaned up. Everything went smoothly and when Greg came back, we celebrated by raising the Bahamian courtesy flag, and eating our fresh fish. The cats also enjoyed dinner!
The next day, we anchored north of the marina and explored Bimini. We also went to BTC to get our data plans sorted out, and stopped at the local liquor store to buy some cheap rum. Surprise surprise - our one tank of propane ran out, so we went to get it filled up. Figures!
We wanted to stay in Bimini longer, but the perfect weather window was opening to cross the banks. We left the next morning at 7am to meet buddy boats Bandera, Be As You Are, and Jennabird. While leaving the marina, Bandera had issues with the prop. We offered to wait while Michael dove on the prop, but they told us to go ahead. Unfortunately we had to part ways as it was discovered that Bandera needed an entire new propeller shaft.
We continued across the banks with Jennabird and Be As You Are. At first the winds were against us, but they eventually clocked around to a close reach and we put up full sail and stopped the engine. The 15-20 knot winds continued, switching to a beam reach and then a broad reach - and Catsaway took off. She rewarded us with over 8 knots of speed
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xRv2S3Y0PY
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
Controlling
VIDEO
COMIN
coming-home-motoring-across-lake-ontario
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
In this episode, Catsaway gets her mast stepped and journeys to her temporary home in Kingston, Ontario.
The crew at the Chaumont Yacht Club helped us step the mast. Due to time constraints, we didn’t wait to finish setting up the rigging, but departed immediately because of thunderstorms approaching. We lucked out with the weather - the lake was calm for the entire 8 hour trip, and the sun even came out about halfway through.
Stable flies travel up to 120km and breed in rotting vegetable matter in the lake. They swarm your boat and can bite through clothing. We are normally peaceful to all living creatures, but after being incessantly attacked by hundreds of flies - we went on the warpath!
Passing by Wolfe Island was beautiful. Wolfe Island is at the junction of where Lake Ontario becomes the St. Lawrence River. Home to the second largest wind power development in Canada, it has 86 wind turbines distributed around the island.
After about 7.5 hours of motoring, we arrived safely at Treasure Island Marina.
We used Navionics to help guide us on our journey.
Thank you to the crew at CYC, and Charles and Sophia for coming with us on this journey :)
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Need Cat Stuff?
https://SVCatsaway.com
Credits:
“Brave Pirates” by Frievents Orchestra
“Wholesome 05” by Scott Holmes
“Epic Chase Music - Run” by Ross Bugden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujsCRw-eA0o)
“Let’s Go Fishin’” by Karissa Hobbs
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cavnv7VLlk
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English
Controlling
VIDEO
360°
360°-vr-view-of-the-first-friday-in
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
Five Fs festival in Farmers Cay, Bahamas. Large Bahamian sailing boat race. Using an Essential Phone with 360 camera
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKx-uKQ7lxo
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
video/mp4
English