Thirsty? Buffalo's Got You Covered

Well, that's the biggest six-pack of Labatt's I've ever seen. Joe Cascio took this picture of the Buffalo Waterfront for an article in the National Post:

Buffalo bringing new life to Canalside: Revitalization of Erie Canal launching tourism revolution 

Here's a brief excerpt:

"Buffalo’s waterfront is now a mixture of brand spanking new structures and looming icons of a long-gone transportation era. Billionaire Terry Pegula owns both the Sabres, and the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. He built the $200-million HarborCenter complex next door to First Niagara Center (new home of the Sabres).

HarborCenter has two NHL-size ice pads that seat up to 2,000 spectators, plus two destination restaurants. One of them — a sports bar named 716 (Buffalo’s area code) — has two-storey ceilings and one of its 70 TVs is almost the size of a drive-in theatre.

This past fall, a 205-room Marriott Hotel opened in HarborCenter. There is also a six-storey indoor parking garage.

On the corner of HarborCenter, facing the canal skating rink, is a Tim Hortons restaurant/museum. Patrons sit on replica seats from the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the walls are covered with Tim Horton memorabilia. He was playing for the Sabres when he died in a car crash on the Queen Elizabeth Way in 1974 while returning to Buffalo from Toronto."

Registration open for Cycle the Erie Canal Bike Tour

Parks & Trails New York each summer runs a 400-mile bike tour from Buffalo to Albany along the old Erie Canal.

This year's Cycle the Erie Canal tour along the historic corridor runs from July 10-17.

The $725 registration fee includes camping accommodations, breakfasts and dinners. Youth registration is $395.

Six hundred cyclists took part in the tour last summer. I can't see myself paying $725 to ride a bike down the canal when I've got a perfectly good boat, but then again, I'm pretty lazy. Anyways, I'll toast these crazy bikers as they ride by. I've got nothing but respect for them.

Register here. 

Lightship for Sale

You say you like boats? And Lighthouses? Why not have both?

Sula is currently housing a Centre for Complimentary Healthcare and offers various treatments. It also houses the Gloucester Buddhist Centre and offers accommodation for the owners.

Unfortunately, I don't think you could get very far up the canal with those masts.


Sula is 107' long, 26' wide and has a draft of 11'.

 • One of the very rare lightships with a Fresnel lens system in the light-tower. (very common for light-houses, not for light-ships)

• The foghorn design is only used on 2 ships worldwide

• The life-boat: one of the first fibre-glass life-boats ever built.

Built in 1958 in Beverley near Hull for the Humber Conservancy Board. There are 4 bedrooms, almost completely intact with teak bunkbeds, desks and seating. The main bedroom was created from 2 original cabins and can easily accommodate a large double-bed. All bedrooms have a variety of storage cabinets and have traditionally looking CH radiators installed. Bedroom-1 has got a telephone and TV connection. Click through for some great onboard pics.

Trawlers Are Too Cool!

I shot this video six years ago, while walking Huck down the towpath. I love trawlers, and this one was pretty sweet, a Seahorse with a steel hull. I really like the white on red color scheme. If I remember correctly, this trawler had some nice planters on board, giving it  a decidedly homey feel.

A couple of years later, I helped the owner and his wife moor up in downtown Fairport. I believe they said they lived on the lake, on the Canadian side. Unfortunately I didn't get their names. I fancied up the video with iMovie.

U.S. Coast Guard boat overturns while on rescue mission in East Rockaway Inlet near Queens

From New York Daily News:

Five Coast Guard officers on a rescue mission ended up becoming the ones in distress early Thursday when their vessel capsized off the Rockaways during a massive storm, officials said.

The 25-foot Response Boat Small was buffeted by 10- to 12-foot waves before flipping over in the East Rockaway Inlet about 5 a.m.

The five seamen aboard swam to shore near Beach 19th St., a Coast Guard spokesman said. Their vessel ultimately washed up on a nearby beach. The seamen were treated at the scene. No injuries were reported.

Read the full article here.

Colonial Belle Returning to Fairport

So, this was a chilly Thursday night late last summer (2015). How do I know? Easy, cuz every Thursday night me and a bunch of other like-minded folks gather online to watch MST3K.

Anyway, the first bell you hear is the Fairport Lift Bridge lowering after the Colonial Belle has cleared. The second bell you hear is me saying "Welcome Home!" to the Captain and Crew. That monstrous groaning noise is not Godzilla getting ready to attack downtown Fairport, but rather it's the Lift Bridge mechanism. The "Charles Rocket" line is me riffing on MST3K.

I'm moored on the south side of the canal, and directly across you can see Capt. JJ's boat, Penguin.

Ahoy!

Hi, I'm Dre, skipper of Huckleberry Finn (or just Huck Finn for short). I bought this boat last year (2015), after dinking around on the Erie Canal in Fairport for about three years on an 18' wooden sailboat that I built in my garage. That boat was Sweet Jane.

I wanted more room and amenities aboard, and I got it in spades. Huck Finn is 39' overall, and way more boat than I'm used to. So, through the help of friends and more experienced boaters, I'm learning the ropes, so to speak.

Anyway, we got about two feet of snow last Monday, and I've been dreaming about when we can lift Huckster off of her blocks, and drop her back into the canal.

So, I've been cruising the web and found some great English canal boat blogs (they call 'em narrowboats over there) and reading one in particular gave me the kick I needed to start my own (even though I'm sure Maffi would make fun of me for being a plastic boat owner).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you soon!