Midnight Rambler on the Loop

The adventures of MR5 as she cruises America's Great Loop

Sylvan Beach, Lake Oneida, and Brewerton

June 14-19, 2026

Monday, June 14 was one of those pleasantly easy cruising days, with only two locks to navigate. That brought our grand total to 22 locks so far—all of them on the Erie Canal! We’re happy to report that both the boat and crew are still functioning well after all that lock practice.

We made our way to Sylvan Beach, our final stop before crossing Lake Oneida. A number of fellow Loopers had decided to stay put due to the choppy conditions on the lake, and after watching the few brave souls who ventured out take wave after wave of spray over their bows, we felt quite comfortable with our decision to wait for calmer waters. Sometimes patience is the best navigation tool.

An added bonus of our stop in Sylvan Beach was finally connecting with a couple of boating friends we had been trying to meet up with along the way. One of the great joys of this journey has been the friendships formed and renewed along the water.

After a relaxing night, we were rewarded with much calmer conditions and successfully crossed Lake Oneida. We once again met up with friends at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, which may be one of the nicest and most immaculate marinas we’ve stayed in so far. It was truly a pleasure to spend time there, and we would gladly recommend it to anyone passing through.

The photos below capture some of the highlights from this stretch of our adventure and tell the story far better than words alone.

One happy locker knowing that the end is near. In locks 21 and 22 we are now descending instead of ascending.

These are the boats behind Midnight Rambler on the free wall at Sylvan Beach…

…and these are the boats in front of MR5. There are more boats on the wall–such as those of our friends–just beyond the bridge.

Dinner and catching up with friends: Tim, Gail, April, and Rio from Tug Along and Ti Amo. The window is overlooking Lake Oneida and the blustery skies.

Don’t worry. No seagulls were injured in the taking of this shot. As a matter of fact, they all returned to the lot after we walked away.

Lake Oneida was calm and it was a clear day for crossing.

The Winter Harbor Marina was superbly pristine and everyone was extremely friendly and accommodating. In addition to the usual amenities of restrooms, showers, and laundry, it had grills, a gazebo with a gas fireplace, a courtesy car for shopping, coffee and homemade pastries, and a phenomenal marine parts store. It truly was outstanding.