Day 4 & 5 Shodack Creek to Waterford

Day 4: July 21: After a peaceful night at the Houghtailing anchorage on the Schodack Creek, we woke up to a cloudy, drizzly morning. After yesterday's extremely calm weather the slight breeze blowing in the am felt like a hurricane (just kidding). We were in no rush to get UW, waiting for the weather to clear a bit before heading through Troy Federal Lock 1 and to our destination in Waterford. At 10 a.m we got UW. Given that we had a slight breeze and the river wasn't flat ass calm (LOL) I of course kept my eye on the mast with every little wake even though John didn't have a care in the world. After 43 years you would think I would trust his judgement. We had an uneventful trip, passing beautiful scenery, marinas and some industry up through Albany. Here are a few pictures of sites along the way from left to right. Just a sample of some of the barges and industry we saw all over the Hudson. Bulk carrier Atlantis Discovery out of Majura ( I had to look that up and found out it is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands). Along the way a University of Vermont research vessel named Marcelle Mirosira overtook us. We were curious that although she passed us, by the time we got to the Troy Lock she was behind us. We did not see her pull over along the way and wondered where she had made a stop. The picture on the right is one of men working on the Castleton Bridge which connects Coeymans, Albany County with Schodack, Rensselaer County in NY. It is situated in close proximity to the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge which is used by rail traffic. I snapped the picture because there is no way I would ever hang around doing anything under a bridge as high. 

I thought Albany looked interesting from the water. Here are a couple of shots.

About 3 miles out from the Troy Lock I started to feel a bit anxious. We had watched many videos about locking through but until you've done it the nerves kick in. As we approached the lock I radioed the lockmaster requesting a north bound passage as is protocol. No answer! I radioed again. No answer. Since we had experienced some radio issues prior to leaving Westport I immediately assumed the worst. Our radio must be dead. John tried and again no answer; however as he cruised closer he saw that the lock was open and the green light was showing. So on we went. I wrapped the line around the pipe at midship and waited. A beautiful 52' Fleming, Encantada, was already in the lock! I guess you could say it was nice to have company. 

Once I had ahold of midship John came down from the flybridge (thinking I needed his help 😉). The gates closed and we waited while the lock filled and then we were on our way. With that behind us I think I will relax as we travel through the 22 Erie Canal locks and 7 Oswego Canal locks. Here is a picture of the the Troy lock as we headed in, John trying to help (or just look cool) and the other looper Encantada who was ahead of us. We chatted with them once we docked in Waterford. Turns out they are from Punta Gorda and have been looping for about 4 months. 

Once through the lock we immediately traveled under one of the low bridges (about 21'); reason for lowering masts! We weren't sure how far we had to travel to get to Waterford (the gateway to the Erie Canal) but before we had time to think about it, the sign we had been looking for appeared. We knew we needed to head to port as a starboard route would take you up through Lake Champlain and on through Canada's Trent Severn Waterway. We are not choosing this route because there is a 17' bridge. Given that our flybridge is 15' we certainly could make it but decided against it for this trip. Maybe next time 😆

As we approached Waterford the crew from Encantada called us on the radio. John heard them and answered on 9, not realizing the call came on 16 as he monitors both. As any boater in our area knows, hailing on 16 is not a good thing. We found out that in this area it's acceptable. 

As we made our way onto the "FREE" dock, the wind kicked up as a thunder storm was on its way. We were grateful to the folks from Encantada (Tom and Kristina) who helped us tie up.  We chatted for quite a while and exchanged boat cards. This was our first encounter with Loopers so it was fun to exchange personal stories. Within a few minutes the thunder storm hit right over head. It poured for about 20 minutes with lightening and thunder crashing around us. 

Waterford, the eastern end of the Erie Canal, is the oldest continuously incorporated town in NY. The free dock is located in front of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Visitors Center. Volunteers run the center; they are friendly and very helpful. Electricity is $10.00/per night, a do it yourself pump out is $2.00 and dockage is free. Folks are allowed to stay for 48 hours before moving on. This is a great spot to replenish groceries, hit the laundry mat, get to the post office or grab a meal at a restaurant. Upon arrival (around 2:30) we checked out the visitors' center and took a 10 minute walk to Hannaford's to get a couple of items for the morning.  You can see our boat hooked up at the free dock from one of the bridges.

Day 5: July 22: We decided to stay the day in Waterford to explore and regroup. We walked to Hannford's again to grab some fresh provisions such as milk and juice. Fun fact, boaters can take the grocery cart back to the dock and leave the cart at the visitors' center to be picked up by the folks from the market. We dropped laundry off at a local laundromat and went to breakfast at a typical old-fashioned diner called Don and Paul's while we waited for our laundry. This place reminded me of our restaurant days at Moby Dick Sandwich Shop. After collecting our laundry we took our Lectric bikes out on the Old Champlain Canal trail, a real backwoods kind of trail for a couple of miles. It took us to the top of Lock 2 where we stopped to watch a group of kayakers lock through. Here is John acting as our official sherpa, us in front of Lock 2 which we will head into tomorrow and the kayakers locking through. And by the way we only use pedal assist as absolutely necessary. 

After a brief respite, we took the bikes out again around 5 p.m. this time through the Empire State Bike Trail. This trail connects New York City with the Canadian border via the Hudson River Valley Greenway and Champlain Canalway Trail and Albany with Buffalo via the Erie Canalway Trail.  It is a 750 mile trail that showcases NY's beauty and landscapes.  We managed to ride for 6 miles 😀.  One point of interest out on the trail was the other side of the Troy Lock and dam where the dam's waterfall can be seen.  John said he saw it while we were locking through yesterday but I missed it as I was on the starboard side of the boat the entire time. 

A note about the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. We found out it is one of nearly 30 federally designated national heritage areas. Its purpose is to help preserve historical, natural, scenic and recreational resources and foster revitalization of canal side communities. It includes 524 miles of navigable waterway that make up the New York State Canal System including the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego and Champlain canals as well as the communities that touch the canal system. Unlike traditional national parks, the federal government does not own or manage national heritage area lands.

Tomorrow we will begin our journey through the locks, beginning with Lock 2. As I noted in a prior blog number 2 begins the NY system as the number 1 Troy lock is part of the federal system. As seen in this sign Waterford is where it begins and it is appropriately named the Gateway to the Erie. Once in the system tomorrow we will go through 5 locks numbers 2-6 identified as the Flight in about 2 hours. There are no stopping points between locks 2 and 6 which span just over a mile and raise the canal way by 165 feet. Once through the Flight, we will see what life brings. Our thinking is we will continue on to lock 8 and dock at another free dock. FYI : there are many free docks on the Erie so these "Yankees" love it! 

Our Nebo report says we traveled 24 miles in about 4 hours from Schodack to Waterford with winds about 5 to 6.5 knots. It was a wonderful trip!