We left Tonawanda at 4pm headed for an overnight stay in Medina. About 15 minutes later we passed the Sweeney Street Boat Ramp, which unofficially marks the beginning of the end of the Erie Canal. Headed westbound, you’ll see more and more private docks, boathouses and parks lining the banks.
Heading east, this section of the canal makes use of the natural waterway called Tonawanda Creek. Fifteen minutes past West Canal Marina, it’s starting to feel like we’re leaving civilization behind. There are streets and homes close by, but the sounds are quieted by the trees. There are roads lining both sides of the canal, but traffic is at a minimum, so it feels like we’re alone.
Amherst Marine Center is on Tonawanda Creek Road near Campbell Boulevard. This is the marina that Mia and I moved to a few years later, and eventually bought an owner’s share. The people there are still our great friends to this day. Amherst Marine offers gasoline, transient docks, travel lift services up to 30 tons, and a full service repair shop on site. This photo was taken in 2010, but not much has changed in 2024.
In the Deep Cut, reality hits us: What did we get ourselves into?!?! Fact is, it is exactly what we wanted to do. The man-made section of the canal begins just after Tonawanda Creek splits off to the west. The creek is not navigable except for a few hundred feet. This section of the canal was blasted out of bedrock in the early 1800s and enlarged as the system grew. The solid rock walls get higher and higher as we move through the Niagara Escarpment.
Life got very busy in Lockport. Admiral Mia manned … er, “womanned” the boathook on the bow to hold us near the lock wall. Cappy Rick manned the aft hook. It can get turbulent inside the locks when they’re filling, but the trip down is nice & easy. Unfortunately we didn’t get any pics of the approach from the west.
As I said, life got very busy! We spent about half an hour in the back-to-back locks. Twin locks 34 and 35 have a total lift of about 50 feet. Lock and bridge operators on the canal monitor marine VHF radio Channel 13. They are some of the nicest people on the planet!