Kingston - Main Duck Islands - Oswego, NY
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2001
1
13
45
Trip End
Apr 22, 2002
Oswego, New York
Monday, August 27, 2001
The PORTS guide states: "Over 100 years ago, Main Duck Island was privately owned by a Canadian, who operated a thriving shipbuilding operation. At that time, there was a gambling casino and a schoolhouse was erected for the children of the ship-builders near where we were tied up in Schoolhouse Bay. In the mid-40's the island was sold to John Foster Dulles, the US Secretary of State, who "constructed a simple log cabin where he could find isolation from the stress of government, far from electricity and phones". The island is administered by St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada and there are hiking trails throughout the island.
This is an excellent wilderness anchorage providing protection in all winds and we have decided to stay an extra day before the start of the next stage of this great adventure. I promised I'd make note of the following: The Walczyk's left this morning but not before a keen young man showed everyone how he could catch bass. Congratulations Dylan!
We have spent today polishing the hull, exploring the east side of the island and enjoying swimming in the crystal clear waters. Not only are these waters as clear as those in the North Channel but they are much warmer!!! It is another peaceful night and I have updated this log before leaving Canada as we had some problems while in Lake Erie with the American cell phone system. Will write when we can. Peace to all.
August 27
A long motor sail to Oswego, but we have made it across the length of another Great Lake. Since leaving home on July 21, it has taken us 38 days to cross three Great Lakes traveling in total 911 miles (806 nautical).
Now we start the next major stage of our journey. There are several marinas in the area but Oswego Marine is the only place to go if you want to have your mast stepped or taken down. It is also the closest to the downtown area and in the afternoon we went to a great "Price Chopper" grocery store, just a few blocks from the marina, to restock for the next part of our voyage. In the evening, as per instructions from the marina, we stripped the sails and the boom from the boat and undid all the rigging except the fore and aft stay and the port and starboard stays which run to the top of the mast. Tomorrow, if all goes well, we
enter the historic Erie Canal.
A Brief History of the Erie Canal
One of the great things about cruising is that it makes geography and history come alive. In reading about the history of the canal system in "The Cruising Guide to the New York State Canal System", I was amazed at how one man's vision transformed an entire country. At the beginning of the 1800's the Allegheny Mountains were considered to be the western frontier of the United States. The city of New York was a small seaport far behind Boston, New Orleans and Baltimore.
The Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton (no, not President Clinton) embarked on a plan which originally was called Clinton's Folly". He convinced the legislature to spend seven million dollars for the construction of a canal 363 miles long, 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep. He wrote in 1816: "As an organ of communication between the Hudson, the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes of the north, it will create the greatest inland trade ever witnessed."
He envisioned all of this trade would funnel down the Hudson straight to New York City. It's hard to believe how accurate his vision of New York City would be. He saw that "The city will, in the course of time, become the granary of the world, the emporium of commerce, the seat of manufactures and the focus of great moneyed operations. And before the revolution of a century, the whole island of Manhattan, covered with inhabitants and replenished with a dense population will constitute one vast city."
In 1825, Governor Clinton opened the Erie Canal. In the following years, "freight rates from Buffalo to New York by canal only cost $10 per ton, compared with $100 per ton by land. In nine years, canal tolls more than recouped the entire cost of construction." Within 15 years, New York City was the Nation's largest seaport, "moving tonnages greater than Boston, Baltimore and New Orleans combined." All due to one's man vision and persistence in carrying it through.
The Canal was enlarged three times before commercial traffic declined dramatically with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. Today, the waterway network has been renamed the New York State Canal System and "it is enjoying a rebirth as a recreational and historic resource."
