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Flooded public boat launch on the shore of Lake Ontario in the village of Dexter, Jefferson County.
(Gary Walts | gwalts@syracuse.com )
The phone message for a Fair Haven marina wasn't very promising - particularly if you're a boater inquiring about what's going on Memorial Day weekend.
"As of May 12 we are under water and we can only do limited things at this point," the message said.
All across the south shore of Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence, marinas, private and state boat launches and docking facilities have been affected by Lake Ontario's record high waters. Although water levels appear to have dropped slightly this weekend, it's a safe bet that recreational boating on the two waterways is going to take a hit this Memorial Day weekend.
From Buffalo to Alexandria Bay, finding open boat launches, places to dock boats and places to buy gas on both the lake and the river will be a challenge.
Here are five tips:
*Call ahead to see what boat launches are open. Local chambers of commerce, municipal offices and local marinas (that are still open) would be a good place to start.
*Call ahead to see where you can dock your boat during the day, or overnight. Otherwise, be prepared to put your craft in and out of the water each day.
*Call ahead to find out what marinas, launches are selling gas. Many pumps have been shut down due to the high waters.
*Be aware of the emergency declarations and no-wake zones that are in place to minimize damage to shoreline businesses and residences along the shoreline.
*Be safe. Be aware of the large amount of floating debris in the water.
At Alexandria Bay on the St. Lawrence River, village officials teamed with local businesses recently to purchase floating docks that will be put up alongside the village's stationary docks, The docks should be available by Friday, said Nick Speech, a village trustee.
Speech said the setup should accommodate 40 to 50 boats. Meanwhile, the village's boat launch is closed down.
"You can't tell where the ramps are," he said.
Meanwhile, over at Fair Haven, the state boat launch at Fair Haven State Park on Lake Ontario's shore is flooded.
"You can't even find it. The water goes up into the parking lot," said a staff member at the village hall. She added many recreational boaters and anglers are launching their boats at launches east or west of the village.
Christina Carosa, a staff member at Southpoint Marina on Irondequoit Bay near Rochester, said the marina is among those on the bay with an open launch. The marina is also docking boats and selling gas, thanks to the business's floating docks.
"A lot of people are coming over here from Sodus to launch at our marina," she said, "We're already filled up (for docking)."
Margaret Hummel, director of events and marketing for the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, said the museum has put a hold until further notice on its historic boat rides on the St. Lawrence River, which traditionally start on Memorial Day weekend. The wooden boats hold no more than six people, she said.
"Actually, it's not our docks," she said. "There's currently a high volume of debris in the river. Also, the water is still quite cold."
She noted the larger boat tours on the river which are given in larger, steel-hulled boats should be running this weekend.
Gary DeYoung, director of tourism for the Thousand Island Tourism Council, said all, if not most of the marinas on the river with fixed docks on pilings "are under water," but that some are "being very clever, figuring out ways to raise their docks."
His advice to boaters and anglers echoed others interviewed: "Call ahead."
Kim Nash, whose husband, Scott Nash, owns Bayside Marina in Fair Haven, said the staff is busy building docks on top of docks so they're out of the water for this weekend.
"We still doing boat repairs, as are other marinas," she said. "We're trying to do all we can to make the best of a bad situation."