First, in response to other posts, the reason for going through the canal is
an enthusiasm for canals in general and the presence of both my and my
wife's family in New York. This means they can share some of the transit
and enjoy some time on the boat. Many of them would have no enthusiasm for
rolling around on the ocean.

That said, timing this long trip around all sorts of other family events and
commitments is very complex. I was pretty shook today when I called canal
information to inquire about the closures mentioned by other posters. They
basically said, "Oh yeah, we close all the time, sometimes for several days,
whenever it rains hard." Yikes, I don't mind (much) grinding along in the
rain but having the boat stranded somewhere could end in divorce. Then I'd
have to sell the boat.

I'm looking harder at the Oswego route since the shorter canal time reduces
the exposure to weather events. I've also got to find that "Old Farmer's
Almanac" that's been kicking around the house and see how wet a summer they
expect.

I've also worked out the St. Lawrence route again. If I found three other
people as nuts as I am, we could do it passage style in 11 days if we
averaged five knots. No family involvement though and there are a lot of
things I'd like to check out and toughen up before taking the boat out on
the ocean. One attraction of this route is that sails are a lot more
reliable than engines.

The Chambly / Champlain / Hudson route would be a good compromise, cutting
the moving time in half from Sorel and with minimum canal time. I'd like to
hear from anyone who has any intelligence about that route, especially the
Canadian part.

I know what my wife is going to say as soon as she hears all this, "Call a
truck and lets do our sailing in Maine!"

Say, I just noticed you are from Cornell. I designed their Isle of Shoals
research vessel and my brother and sister-in-law teach there.

--

Roger Long

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma