Days 5 & 6: Waterford to Lock 15 (Fort Plain, NY)

Day 5: July 23: We woke to another beautiful day. The volunteers at the Waterford Harbor Visitors' Center at One Tugboat Alley alerted us to the fact that there was a farmers' market right down on the dock every Sunday from 9 to 1. Always looking for some fresh veggies we stayed around to check it out. I'm happy we did as I purchased some fresh golden beets, green beans and tomatoes. I also taste tested some local beer from Bye-i Brewing, based in Cohoes, NY. After sampling a few, I chose a 4 pack of "Not Your Breakfast Juice" double IPA. I may have to skip the bananas and yogurt for the next few mornings. 😉

Before we got underway we filled the water tanks and pumped out at the do it yourself pump out for $2.00! We are so fortunate to have an expert at poop pumping onboard! After helping I think I'm ready to apply for Assistant Harbormaster and work side by side with Captain John next summer. 

As we pulled away from the Waterford dock we immediately locked through Lock E2. As a reminder Lock 2 is the first lock on the NY Canal System. We traveled through locks 2-6 which together are known as the "Waterford Flight". This series of locks lifts vessels form the Hudson River to the Mohawk River. It has the highest elevation gain (169 feet) relative to its length of 1.5 miles of any canal lock system in the U.S. It took us approximately 1.5 hours to lock through this system. 

Posted at the top of each lock is a sign that identifies the lock and the upstream/downstream elevations as well as the lift. Here is a picture of Lock 4's data. Once we locked through number 6 we had to pass through two guard gates. The purpose of guard gates was to keep the Erie Canal safe from flood waters.  

Once we exited the Flight and the two gates we were in the Mohawk River, named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Mohawk is a 149 mile long river; it is the largest tributary of the Hudson. It is a stunning river surrounded by lush vegetation and for miles nothing else. As we cruised along in the silence, I imagined how Native Americans must have lived by and fished this body of water. The river has long been important to transportation and migration to the west as a passage through the Appalachian Mountains, between the Catskill Mountains and Allegheny Plateau to the south and the Adirondack Mountains to the north. It was the highway of the native Mohawk people. The Mohawk name for the river is Teionontatátie, "a river flowing through a mountain" or Yeionontatátie, "going round a mountain". Pictures do not do it justice!

Our plan for the day was to stop at Lock 10 and stay on the free wall for the night. Unfortunately when we arrived at Lock 9 at about 5:05 p.m. we discovered the lock closes at 5:00. I had checked lock hours earlier in the day and didn't notice only specific locks stay open until 7:00 while most stop at 5:00. Learn something new every day! 

We have been following and locking through with a 43' motor vessel called The Ark (being transported to Kentucky) and we both ended up docking at the wall just at the entrance of Lock 9. Shortly after we tied up some folks we met back in Waterford on the sailboat Wayward Wind (Jonathan and Morgan) pulled up. At the end of the day all 3 of us stayed on the wall for the night. You can see The Ark in front of us, a beautiful rainbow that appeared after a brief rainfall and Captain John enjoying the evening. 

Here is our route and data from the NEBO app for July 23, 2023. We were underway for 4 hours 20 minutes, traveling a distance of 25 nautical miles. 

Day 6: July 24: Happy birthday Captain John.  The Ark and we left from Lock 9 at 7:15 a.m. Our other friends Wayward Wind decided to hang for awhile and continue on later in the day. Once again the Mohawk River amazed us as we cruised for miles in the quiet of the natural surroundings. Becoming part of the continuously flowing river as it tumbles along despite obstacles, winds and tides, reminds us that there is always peace to be found in life. You just have to take a deep breath and go with the flow!

Another boat must have been above us on the lock as we came through as I received this picture from the boat Gosling on the NEBO app. Notice we have on our headsets. These are invaluable under many circumstances such as locking or mooring. Their official name is marriage savers! 

It's always fun when other folks take the time to snap your picture and send it to you. Thank you Gosling! 

We locked through with The Ark until we reached Lock 15 in Fort Plain, NY where John and I decided to stay for the night. Perfect timing as a thunder storm was approaching. We tied up on a free wall again that provided free electricity! LOL a Gifford day! We laughed when we saw a whisky barrel at the end of the dock with herbs being offered to boaters! I had originally planned on bringing potted herbs and a tomato plant onboard but decided against it before we even left Westport as the pots kept tumbling over.  That's all it took for me to rethink my decision. 

The lock master who was probably in his 20’s wandered over and chatted with us for quite a while. What a splendid young man! Our sailboat friends Jonathan and Morgan caught up to us later in the day and are docked here as well. We had two major thunder and lightening storms come through, each lasting about 20 minutes. Take a look at that ominous front approaching. What fun to be on the water in a T&L storm directly overhead 😝. 

Here we are at Lock 15. The first picture is one of a whiskey barrel full of herbs. If you can't read the sign, it says Herbs for Boaters: Grown by Friends of Fort Plain. How fun is that? 

We have had some trouble with the port engine oil pressure gauges at both upper and lower helms reading incorrectly on the high end. John has had several phone calls with his brother Craig (our personal electrical engineer, on call at a moment's notice 😂😂😂) trying to figure out the root of the problem. It seems to be a faulty oil pressure sender. After a couple of hours in the engine room today John is pretty convinced it's the unit itself. We aren't concerned with it reading high but we would be worried if it didn't read low oil pressure correctly. 

Nebo log for July 24th indicates we traveled about 30 miles in 6 hours today.