Skaneateles

 35.5 miles

Tim Creamer arranged for me to sleep in the Amber Community Center. Margaret had come down to her dock to call out encouragement while I was rowing past on Otisco, while Tim, President of the Otisco Lake Preservation Association and a board member of the Community Association, pulled some strings to enable me to dodge the fierce thunderstorms that swept through last night. It may sound odd to say it, but my car smells a little better today because of Tim and Margaret.

Richard and Chris Thomas bought me dinner, another brick in the wall of my unique 400 Mile Rowing Weight Gain Program. Richard had some excellent tips for me while rowing alongside in his sleek Alden shell, demonstrating what seemed to me to be perfect form. He detected numerous oddball quirks in my style. I tried to address these flaws today on Skaneateles, but a 28 inch inseam, tragically advanced duck-footedness, and German obstinacy foiled any improvement. I’ll keep trying, Richard, I promise!

Skaneateles today delivered on the promise of crystal clear water, fantastic homes, and magnificent cliffside geology. It was calm when I hit the water at 7 AM at the NYS boat launch. I rowed 3 miles north to the town waterfront, and a gentle north wind sprang up for an almost effortless 16 mile row down the east side to the southern end. I was passed by what I’m certain was the old ‘Roamer,’ a tour boat I remember from the 50’s and 60’s on Lake George, and I stopped twice along the way for refreshing dips. This water, an unfiltered water source for the city of Syracuse, is crystalline clear.

Of course, when I got to the south end, the wind had built up significantly, right on the nose of the boat all the way, and my 5-6 mph groundspeed dropped to 2.5 at best, with the added effect of riding a bucking horse. But putting the blades in the water is the only way to get to where you want to go, and after 9:20 hours in the seat, my next-to-last lake, #10, was behind me.

Buzz and Gretchen Roberts are my hosts here and newest bestest friends. They are a part of a network that performs periodic water testing at specific sites in the lake, but they had to abandon today’s sampling because of the exceedingly rough weather. Nonetheless, they came out in their salty Boston Whaler to check on me and, tonight, along with their wonderful neighbors Matt and Wendy, fed me like the little prince I pretend to be when I’m home.  Buzz’s leadership of the Skaneateles Lake Association’s Watercraft Steward Program keeps him in intimate contact with his lake. A fantastic volunteer!

Buzz shares the opinion that a large part of Skaneateles’s enviable position as the cleanest of the Finger Lakes has to do with its relatively high elevation and small watershed. Most of the troublesome agricultural runoff nearby drops down into adjacent watersheds, and Buzz spoke glowingly of the progress that farmers and agricultural businesses have made in adopting best practices. It was nice to hear accolades for parties that are almost inevitably opponents in environmental matters, and his praise reminded me that people working with people will be the only way to pay it forward.

A row that pushed me to my limit on an exquisite lake, the best possible company, a sound night’s sleep on a picturesque sleeping porch, and running water. Am I one lucky dude, or what?

Tomorrow is Owasco, the last lake in my travelogue, and then home. I told Buzz and Gretchen that I could be available to like, ummm, you know, hang out on their sleeping porch for three or four more days … but there’s something to that old Broadway maxim of ‘leave ‘em wanting more.’

Love, Al