Chris Boyle's journey takes him from Alaska to the Florida Keys
PHOENIX (AP) -- The news of lock closures along the Oswego Canal and Erie Canal would make a lot of boaters cranky.
But not Chris Boyle.
For the England native, it's just one bump in his 16,000 mile journey from Alaska to the Florida Keys.
"I have two thousand miles to go from here, through the Great lakes, down the Mississippi (River) to Key West," he says, "Then I've done the Super Loop."
Boyle moved to the United States in the late 1970's, and for the past fifteen years, has lived on his boat. He says he loves the constant adventure and ability to be spontaneous.
"I'm free to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and I'm not inconveniencing anybody else," he says, "I'm having all the fun I need."
And while Boyle was all smiles when I spoke with him, he admits Sunday and Monday were too soggy for his taste.
"The first two days were wet--very, very wet," Boyle says, "It just seemed to sit around this area, so it was a little depressing with all that rain and wind."
That being said, Boyle says Phoenix is a pretty nice place to be stranded. Restrooms and food are close to the docks, which he says is great for boaters.
"Boaters don't have cars," he joked, "Simple as that. We're very good at walking, but we don't like to walk too far if we can avoid."
It looks like Boyle won't be stranded for too long. Canal officials tell me the Oswego Canal should be opened back in the next 24 hours. However, when it does open, boaters will be urged to take caution. Meanwhile, floating debris in the Erie Canal are making the clean-up efforts there a bit more difficult. Officials say it might not be back to normal until Friday.
Earlier Coverage:
A 100-mile stretch of the eastern half of the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal north of Syracuse are closed because of high water levels.
New York state Canal Corp. Director Carmella Mantello says heavy rain in the region Sunday and Monday raised water levels and forced the closure Monday of the Erie Canal from Lock E2 in Waterford, near Albany, to Lock E21 at New London in Oneida County.
A 20-mile stretch of the Oswego Canal from Lock 0-1 in Phoenix to Lock 0-8 at Oswego is also closed.
Mantello says canal officials will determine Tuesday morning if the canals can reopen.
Canal system crews are clearing debris that has washed up along the waterways and replacing buoys that have been displaced.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
