Day 45, 7.11.18 - Oswego, NY

Oswego – Day 2

With a cold front having blown through during the night, the winds this morning were from the north, off of Lake Ontario. The fresh breezes kept Eclipse and the floating dock to which we are attached, rocking and swaying throughout the night and providing the perfect recipe for a good night's sleep. We dress and head in to the hotel where we find the continental breakfast shutting down. We grabbed what we could of what remained out on the counter; a bagel and a yogurt, and retreated back to our boat to eat on board.

Eclipse docked in Oswego - Bet Western Hotel on left

Lake Ontario as seen from Fort Ontario

One of the many buildings within the Fort Ontario compound

Maritime Museum in Oswego

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Some very odd stories were to be noted at the museum

A most unusual story!

Our first stop of the day was to Fort Oswego, lcoated about a half mile away where the edge of the city juts out into Lake Ontario. We pay our way and amble inside to learn of the history of this place. Burned down three times by a combination of Americans and British, it found it's fourth life in the hands of the park service. The most sobering of the stories was of its use as an internment camp for nearly 1,000 refugees during the Jewish holocaust. Although they found refuge in this place, it was sad to learn that at the conclusion of the way, they were to be shipped back to their homelands, decimated as they were, without their homes, their property or their loved ones remaining. Only through the diligent efforts of the residents of Oswego petitioning the U.S. Federal Government were they allowed, finally, to stay. What is even more sobering is that many other of the European countries welcomed these refugees openly into their countries. It is sad to think that the U.S was not as open hearted.

Gary at the Helm on the Tugboat

The engine room on the tug

When we returned to Eclipse in the early afternoon we found that we had been joined by another sailing vessel, a 38 footer, with a crew of two from New Hampshire! We were welcomed aboard and spent some time chatting about our respective adventures. Suffice it to say that their adventures and mishaps were similar in many ways to the dynamic nature of the challenges we faced! It appears that such challenges are quite commonplace in the boating world as I am coming to discover!

The U.S. had a very small role in helping the displaced victims of the holocaust who sought asylum in the U.S.

Our new friends were now heading off to visit the fort and we were now off to visit the maritime museum located on the opposite side of the river we were docked at. Gathering skateboard and scooter, we set off and over the bridge to the end of the west side of the river channel where we found the museum. What a museum it was too! There was a steam derrick barge, one of the last of its kind, on display and a tugboat that had seen service in the battle of Normandy during WW II where it was used to set up an “artificial reef” made of floating concrete barges that would form a string of floating piers.

The interior of the museum held more artifacts and information which showcased some of the inventions that were created or originally used in or on ships in Oswego. Such innovations included the first use of the screw propeller and a beautiful 4^th order Fresnel Lens.

Returning to Eclipse, we set out to make dinner, erect the mast of Eclipse to be ready for our departure tomorrow and set sail for our next destination at the far east end of Lake Ontario, Selkirk, NY.