8/21/17 – 8/22/17: There were severe storms forecasted for the day after we left Newark, but we wanted to make a little forward progress. We had everything options: Baldwinsville, a 50 mile journey; Clyde, about 10 miles away, or Lyons, only 5 miles from Newark. Our first choice was Clyde, but they only had dockage for 2 boats, and we were concerned that once we got there, there would be no space. We opted for Lyons, and it turns out, we made a very good choice.

We made the journey to Lyons in about an hour. When we arrived, we saw that all the power and water stands were on top of the high wall, and we were shocked at how high they were. They were about 5 feet higher than the side of our boat. There was a floating dock there that had a pump-out station and maybe room for one small power boat, but it had no power or water. There was also about 50′ of a lower wall that only had 15 amp service and no water. It was a really hot day, and with everything we run on board, including fans, we weren’t sure that 15 amp would suffice (we normally plug into 30 amp service). We tied to the higher wall to get the higher electrical service and we t to shower (these were inside the Fire Station). It was really hard getting on and off the boat. After we both scraped our knees and tushies getting on and off the first couple times, we decided to take our chances at Clyde.

We left Lyons, and about 1 mile down the canal, we met Clairvoyant with Brian and Jeanne (who we met at Newark), coming BACK from Clyde. They decided to go there instead of Lyons, but ran hard aground at the Clyde docks. Since our draft (6′) was the same as theirs, we decided to also turn back and go to Lyons. We both decided to try for the lower dock, knowing that we would have only 15 amp of service, but it would be easier to get on and off. For both of us to fit, their how had to be on the high dock with stern on the low, and our bow had to be on the low with the stern on the high. We managed to make it work and were both able to get some power and easier access to our boats.

The first day there we walked around town to see what was there and admired all the murals painted on the sides of buildings. We picked up a couple things from the hardware store and got our McDonald’s fix taken care of for dinner. That evening we met Bob, a town greeter, who gave us information about what to do and see in town, and took a couple pictures of us and Shanti.

The following day we met Les, another town greeter, who would have given us the same information had Bob not already done so. We also made a quick trip to the grocery store for some supplies. Storms were predicted for early afternoon, and about 1:00PM, Jeanne called us to their boat to show us that there were multiple tornado warnings in effect for many of the surrounding areas, and moving our way quickly. Oh crap! We got out 2 or 3 more lines to secure the boat to the wall better, added another tie down to our mast, and secured the dinghy as best we could. We then played the waiting game, ready to run to the Fire Station if needed. It wasn’t needed, as the storms lessened in intensity as they passed over, and we just got a couple heavy downpours. Whew! Between storms, we walked to a local pub for dinner with Brian and Jeanne.

The next morning, we departed for Baldwinsville, and Bob was there to see us off. We were pleasantly surprised to also see him on top of a bridge about 2 miles down the canal taking pictures of both our boats as we passed by. All in all, Lyons turned out to be a very nice stop. There’s a lot of things within walking distance for boaters to see, and it also provides easy replenishing. We also want to thank the Lyons Fire Department for allowing transient boaters to use their rest rooms and showers.

Pics of Lyons