On Monday, July 2, the volunteer relief crew arrived in Ithaca to find a fiesta with band playing, refreshment vendors, and a busy crew handling a line of visitors waiting to go on board. The previous crew was happy to turn their jobs over to the new crew and head for home! A total of about 1500 visitors came aboard that day. The evening was topped off with a reception for the crew and all the Ithaca volunteers at the Boat Yard Grill which sufficed as dinner for all!

The next day was just as busy, with the same fiesta atmosphere and long lines of interested folks waiting to board. All visitors in line were not accommodated until well after our usual closing time of 6:00PM! Again, about 1500 visitors came aboard. After these first two days of open visits, the people of Ithaca and the canal trip sponsors were ecstatic over the reception and turn out of about 3,000 visitors in two days!

The fourth of July dawned grey and wet, with rain most of the day. We cleared the harbor under tug power about 8:30AM and we then set the foresail in a light south wind. Captain Roger kept the tug on the hip to assure our timely arrival as we traveled North down the lake under duel power. Despite the rain, many boats followed us out and crowds also lined the shore.

We arrived at Cayuga village near the foot of the lake that afternoon and tied up to a jetty for a night of high wind and creaking timbers. We could hear fireworks around the lake but none could be seen due to the low clouds.

The next morning broke clear and very calm, perfect for crane work. The crane arrived right on time and all made short work of unstepping and stowing the masts and booms. (Traffic on the lake was much lighter and easier to control to low wake than the Saturday mast stepping)

We got underway right after lunch, passed through the double lock, 50 foot lift into Seneca Falls a day early experiencing heavy rain as we arrived. After fresh water intake and pump out, we settled onto our dock late in the afternoon. The following day was spent cleaning, setting up and relaxing before opening to visitors for the following two days.