Brewerton Speedway And Showers For All

June 3, 2022

We left the dock in good time today and had a short travel day ahead. We were crossing Lake Oneida and our destination was Brewerton. As we entered the lake, we made a joke about being in "open water" after having travelled up a river for so long. Lake Oneida is only 33km long and just over 8km wide, but it still had some waves for us. It was a bit of a splashy trip, but that was of no concern since we were in fresh water. We only travelled through two locks on this run and the total lock down was 32 feet.

We pulled into the Brewerton dock and tied up. Oh Henry and Dark Side weren't far behind and soon joined us on dock as well. The talk of the day was entry into Canada, since we planned to enter in two days. What places were POE locations, the procedure when we arrived, all the required documentation and what contents you can and cannot enter with were all topics of discussion. Oh Henry had a huge amount of conch on their boat and didn't want to cross the border with it. They offered to make everyone conch fritters for appetizers. When they were ready, we all pulled up a chair and sampled them. They were delicious. She wasn't kidding when she said they had a ton on board. They cooked so many fritters that it ended up being our dinner and she told us that was only half of what they had on board. They were wondering if they could find a recipe for conch burgers for dinner the next night.

While we were on the dock enjoying the fritters, we heard what we thought were loud motorcycles ripping up and down the nearby street. They were exceptionally loud and the noise continued far longer than a group of bikes just passing through town. Gord opened Google Maps on his phone to see what was around. It turned out there was a speedway within walking distance and the races were starting soon. We thought it would be fun to go see what it was all about so, our family and one of the Oh Henry girls, strolled over to the track.

What a fun and exciting evening. It was a dirt track, so when we arrived the maintenance crews were out prepping the surface for the races to come. We happened to sit close to the end where the races would start and had an excellent view. When the first race was about to begin, the group of cars followed the pace car. We could hear the engines revving and as they approached the bend, the engines roared and the sound was deafening. We all laughed at how loud it was. Fortunately, we had either brought ear protection or purchased some when we arrived, so none of us should have permanent hearing damage. The races were great and there was a lot of excitement. There were many spin outs, some crashes, and even one car that flipped and rolled upside down. The emergency crews were there in moments and had the driver out of the car quickly. Race after race, there was a lot going on. An announcement came on over the loud speaker that the feature race was about to begin, and suddenly all the people around us were putting on clear eye protection glasses, some were getting out ponchos and blankets. I asked the man close to us what was happening and he laughed and said we'd see in a minute. He had put on his glasses, but still didn't have any ear protection gear.

Soon, a large group of bigger cars started entering the track. In total, there may have been about 30 cars and this race was 35 laps. As the cars found their order behind the pace car and lapped the track, the pace car pulled off and the engines of the 30 cars revved up and rounded the bend to begin the race. Suddenly, a huge billowing cloud of dirt was in the air and blowing at the crowd. The noise was insane and the smell of fuel was strong. It was so much all at once, every one of us started to laugh. None of us expected anything like this. The cars raced around throwing more and more dirt into the air. People in the crowd covered their heads, eyes, faces, drinks, anything they could, and it was hilarious. This race seemed like it would never end. There was a yellow flag after yellow flag. We didn't' think the 11th lap would ever be successful. When the race finally continued, more dirt was thrown into the air. The bleachers were covered, the food we hadn't eaten was covered, our faces, clothes and hair were loaded with dirt. The race was entertaining until the very end and we had a great time.

When we got back to our boats, Luke asked why it looked like we were covered in soot. Their daughter starting talking a mile a minute to fill them in on all the details. They could hear the cars from the dock and see the dust flying in the air, and they had been wondering if we were having a good time. One thing that wasn't expected, was that we'd all need a shower when we got back from the race. No one was allowed to crawl into bed that filthy. We started the geny, and one by one, each of us showered, said our goodnights and crawled into bed.

Voyage Log

Lock E21 to Brewerton Lock E23 NY travel log here.