Thursday, June 22 - Sad Day

Thursday, June 22 - Sad Day

Today was the most unusual and upsetting day of our trip.  We were approaching Utica, NY about 10:45 when Danny pulled back abruptly on the gas.  He said he thought he just saw a body floating in the water.  I pulled out the binoculars but we still couldn’t be sure, so he turned the boat around.  Danny kept saying maybe it was a big doll, but it was definitely a woman’s body.  I called 911, they stayed on the phone until the rescue truck arrived.  Danny anchored our boat to protect the body from any passing boats and to indicate where we first spotted the body.  When they arrived, neither the rescue truck nor the fire department had a boat, and this town is ON the Erie Canal.  They asked us if we could use our boat to pull the body over to the shore.  Uh, NO.  Danny offered to get our dinghy down and use it.  He went to shore and picked up one of the firemen, then took him back to the body so he could do the handling.  The body was facedown in the water, so Danny never had to see the face, thank goodness.  The fireman grabbed her clothing and they motored very slowly to the shore.  They had to wait about 20 minutes for the big ladder fire truck to get there and extend its ladder down from the bank to the water, about 10 feet, so they could slide the stretcher up.  Danny was behind the fireman the whole time, and the body stayed face down. 

The Chief of Police asked Danny to pull over at a canal-side restaurant just past the bridge to give a statement.  Just as the investigator was finishing, a lady came up and asked if she could talk to us.  She was a reporter for the local television station in Utica and wanted to interview us.  (Thank goodness Danny had a haircut yesterday!) They saw our boat from the bridge when they came to cover the activity, and figured we would be at the restaurant dock.  The cameraman said he thought we were going to get a really strong drink, at least that’s what he would do.  The interview with Danny was put on the station’s web page, WKTV.com., click here for the story with Danny interviewed: http://www.wktv.com/story/35728974/womans-body-pulled-from-barge-canal-in-north-utica

Statement and interview complete, we headed west again on the Erie Canal.  We were saddened, shaken, and exhausted, but yet glad that we were able to help her family find closure.   We read online that her death was ruled a suicide.

  

Now to the “normal” events of the day.

We called Snug Harbor Marina in Sylvan Beach and they had space for us, so we left Ilium headed west.  We past three dredging operations.  Aren’t these little tug boats cute?  I guess they are used to ferry the workers back and forth. 

This was another barge terminal left from canal days, in Rome, NY.  These gentleman were fishing at the end of the park, reminded me of my Daddy fishing “below the dam.”

More locks - at least we are going down.  It’s much easier to grab the ropes that way.  This picture was taken as we exited the first downward lock.

The Erie Canal had been straight and dull all day!  There are very few houses, and no boats.  It finally dawned on me that there are no opportunities for recreational boats.  No rivers feeding in to the canal, no lakes connecting, just a straight ditch.  I thought we would see lots of little villages along its edges, but since it has been moved and modified several times, I guess those villages got left behind.  It reminded me of the Tenn-Tom.  As you can tell by the little blue line on the map, it was REALLY straight!  

As we got closer to Oneida Lake, we began to see houses again.  I didn’t realize how much I had missed them!

Sylvan Beach is at the eastern end of Oneida Lake.  It’s a resort town, with its own boardwalk! 

We pulled in to Snug Harbor Marina to a welcoming committee!  Gabe, the dockmaster, his wife and her friend were all standing by to help us with ropes.  And to give Danny advice.  They were delightful!  Once we were tied up, the gentleman on the boat next to ours brought Danny a beer and a bag of ice, he had heard him say he needed to buy some beer.  This gentleman, by the way, had 5 dogs on this boat.

Gabe and his wife and their friends had a nice little set-up on the shore.  They work here during the season, then take their motor homes to St. Mary’s, Georgia for the winter.

Gabe took Danny to the package store, and we settled in for a quiet evening.  We were drained!