Brewerton lies on the northern most end of Lake Oneida and has a long list of marinas and facilities including a State dock, lying between the rail and road bridges. Theisen Marine Sales is just east of these landings and many substantial marinas lie on Lake Oneida, just the other side of Hwy 81. " Trade A Yacht" on the northern shore followed by Del Bliss Marina, around Woods Point with limited draft ais Bradburys Botel and on Milton Point, Big Bay Marine.

Morning dawned with light rain and overcast skies dulling the day. A check of Lake Oneida charts showed numerous shoals and obstacles close to the channel. Lake Oneida, although approximately 10 miles long and perhaps 2 wide, has a reputation for becoming somewhat nasty in a breeze due to its limited depth, so we wasted no time setting out This is not a lake for the first time transient vessel to pause, although there is a fabulous local playground with many cottages and small resorts along the shores. Numerous small boats and cottagers make life a touch difficult for a laden cruising vessel headed south. As a general rule you will find most of the buoys which should be left on your starboard side if downstream bound.

On later transit of this waterway we have anchored in Lower South Bay when the weather was fair. A well marked channel extends eastward to mid lake Frenchman's Island, marked by W133 & 131 having a channel to the south reaching into Lower South Bay with good depths averaging 12' to 15' for those who would prefer to anchor in open water rather than pause at a dock. Rejoining the main channel one must be very careful to avoid the dumping grounds extending over a half mile off Dunham Island from the entrance.

Marker R 130 is located midlake between the Long Island dumping ground to the north and another larger dumping ground to the south where depth is restricted to 14' mid channel.

On either side of the channel at R130 you will encounter depths of 9 to 10', as it is here the lake opens up for another mile and a half until one approaches Shackelton Shoal marked by 125 on its western end and extending for a little over a mile mid lake with many depth of less than 8 ', some parts shoaling to 4' to 5' which are well marked by a warning WOr CBB buoy slightly south of W 121.

Two and a half miles further eastward, after passing W115, clearly marked by WOr CB2 on the lakes western end is Messenger Shoal with a depth of 1'.

Soon after passing Messenger Shoal the breakwater and beach of Sylvan Beach a delightful vacation village came into view. Because of Lake Oneida's weather and depth there is an extensive breakwater which one leaves to port as one approaches the shore, stretching over 2000 feet out into the lake. It is well marked with a series of Red lit markers.

Re-entering the canal the town of Sylvan Beach lies to port and is well worth a break. since it has many of the type of beach town attractions that I remember as a child. Passing under a fixed bridge on the main street there are numerous marine facilities. On the south is Sylvan Beach Boat Yard, on the North Skinners Harbour which is flanked on the southern shore by Holmes Marine Basin with fine facilities. A little further down the northern shore and up Fish Creek, which has only 3' to 4' of depth, is Horse Shoe Marina.

We chose to tie up at 16:00 hrs at a canal side wharf in Skinners Harbour, this allowed for easy access back to the main channel when we departed and a convenient access to town. An annoying vibration had begun during our crossing and a quick check showed that the drive shaft bolts had loosened off drastically, so much so that it took an extended crawl into Prism's confined engine space and bilge to find the one that had worked completely loose.

Now no excuse for this preparation oversight, except our speedy decision to use her as a home for this sojourn and in the haste of getting her ready cut short many double checks.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering Sylvan Beach which is a great stopshould you have children on board. The folks at Skinners Harbour proved how friendly this part of NY State is. After supper we spent a peaceful night and slept well.