Waterford to Lock 16
This year is the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal.
Waterford, NY, is located at the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. Its series of five step locks represents the easternmost portion of the Erie Canal.
Having reached Waterford fairly early on Thurs., June 19, we had time to do a little exploring. But, first, I took the wagon to the grocery store for some reprovisioning, dodging a rainstorm on the way back. Meanwhile, Chuck and Kim (“Til You Can’t”), who hadn’t gone to Catskill with us, were already here and helped Den to move the boat into a better slip (with power) that we learned was available further down the wall.
It had been six years since we’d been to Waterford, and when we did explore the town later that day, it was unfortunately clear that it hadn’t prospered in the interval. In fact, we saw a good bit of decline. But, it was nice to be able to see McGrievy’s restaurant where we’d enjoyed some great meals in the past plus the Erie Canal “mule” still in front of where we were docked by the Canal Harbor and Visitor’s Center. We captured the photos below the next day when the sun finally shone!
After snapping those photos the morning of Fri., June 20, we left for our journey on (this eastern portion of) the Erie Canal. However, we didn’t get far before one of the ball fenders I thought was attached to the cleat wasn’t and floated away unbeknownst to me until Chuck on “Til You Can’t” signaled us. So, we had to do a water rescue in 15 mph sustained winds!
Part of a group of boats waiting to enter the locks, we maintained station outside of the first of the five step locks (numbers 2-6) until it opened around 8:15. In keeping with the theme for the day, I dropped a pipe pole in one of the first locks, but we got that back, as well. At least it’s not raining today!
The 259 foot “Day Peckinpaugh,” a 1921 canal motorship (pictured below) retired in 1994, is moored near Lock 2. Though big enough to traverse open waters like the Great Lakes, the boat was intentionally narrow in order to fit through the locks. It could carry 1,650 tons of product (e.g., wheat, sugar, pig iron) and was one of many such boats that brought goods from the middle of the country to NYC. Nearly all if not all of this type of commercial traffic has now ceased on the Eire Canal owing to an increase in trucking and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 which allowed for much larger ship traffic.
After completing the step locks, we passed under the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge (aka the Twin Bridges). Every time we commuted to and from the North Country during the three and a half years we lived in Albany we crossed this bridge.
While we were motoring along, our friend Don from our home marina whom we’d seen in Catskill called to ask why we hadn’t gone to Troy as planned as a last stop on the Hudson River before starting the canal system. (Instead of going to Troy, we’d gone directly to Waterford from Shady Harbor.) Turns out he’d hatched quite a plan to have his nephew who is a policeman in the Troy area approach us at the Troy town dock and tell us he was on a joint task force with NYPD Harbor police looking for a boat called “Exodus” that had entered secure water in NY Harbor! Don’s brother and wife had been sitting in a nearby cafe waiting to watch the show!
In addition to locks, the canal has flood gates such as the one “Exodus” is travelling under in the following second picture.
Below are some photos of Lock 7, the last picturing “Til You Can’t” behind us.
Then, an “action” shot from a lock further west.
Portions of the original canal walls and aqueducts (“water bridges” to carry canal water and boats across rivers and streams) appeared periodically.
At times, we’d be travelling adjacent to trains as well as vehicles on roads along the shoreline. The first photo that follows shows the railway below and the road with guardrails above it.
All in all, we traversed nine locks on this very windy day. Gusts ended up being over 40 mph at points which made locking quite challenging at times. In the late afternoon we docked at a public area quite close to train tracks. Christine and Ken on “Sea Horse” also ended their day at this dock. Comparing notes in the morning, we agreed that though we all heard the passing trains throughout the night, it had been more soothing than bothersome.
Sat., June 21, brought lighter winds and pleasant temperatures. Those of us lined up on the lock wall pulled our boats forward in order to be ready to lock through, as other boats were already maintaining station outside the lock. It feels like a new sport – perhaps “competitive boating” – as everyone is trying to race to get to the next lock to ensure passage through it. We’re not in a hurry, so we’re just letting boats pass us, especially boats being driven by delivery captains. We did recognize “Sweet Melissa” and “Galapagos” as they passed by us. “Last Tango” (pictured below) took a picture of us and sent it to us via Nebo.
Scenery on the Hudson River continues to be spectacular.
After finishing five locks (which went much more smoothy today as compared to yesterday), we were able to find dockage at St. Johnsville in the early afternoon.
As the day progressed, it became quite hot, so we were very grateful for power to run the air conditioning. Arriving earlier in the day gave us ample time to clean up the boat and do some laundry before walking into town for supper. Docked next to us was a beautiful Fleming, our friend, John’s, “dream” boat. We snapped a picture of Chuck (“Til You Can’t”) holding the keys to the new boat we (supposedly) purchased for John.
The town is known for its drinking water which we sampled given the temperatures!
On our hike to town we walked on a bridge over a railway hauling multiple cars of coal.
Waking on Sun., Jun. 22, we realized that it was a year ago today that we began the Loop! And, this June 22, we woke up to a thunderstorm with hard rain until around 7:30am.
After the rain stopped, Den took a picture (below) of a man attempting the Loop on a jet ski.
The plan for today is to be in line at 9:15 to pass through the St. Johnsville Lock (number 16). We knew that there were too many boats already queued up and maintaining station in front of the lock for us to make the earliest opening. We left our dock and made it to the lock only to learn that they’d closed it after the 8:00 lock opening!
We tied up to the lock wall and waited for some clue as to what would happen only to eventually watch the Lockmaster close up and go home (having received instructions to do so from the NYS Canal Corps).
Morale suffered! The Captain and First Mate disagreed over whether to return to the dock in St. Johnsville (First Mate’s preference, given the available amenities) or stay at the lock approach, thereby holding our place in line (the Captain’s vote). Captains tend to outrank, so we stayed. We later learned that because of all the rain, they closed locks 16 – 22! Locks 16 and 17 have had intermittent closures all season due to storm/high water damage.
We are amongst nine boats holding 22 people.
Having learned about the closures, the group quickly began to take bets on the day/time we’d get a green light from the Canal Corps that the locks were open. Employing their hard-earned survival skills, they also quickly organized “Locktails” plus found a nearby pizza delivery!
It was very foggy the morning of Mon., June 23, and the day proved to be another very hot one. We took the inflatable to St. Johnsville for breakfast, as there was no sign of the Canal opening anytime soon. The plan was for me to work on the blog in the public library there after breakfast, but, unfortunately, because of some problem with Spectrum, Wi-Fi was unavailable.
Sitting along a dock wall without electricity or water hook ups in the heat will challenge one’s patience, especially being a mere five days away from our home marina. So, when we received an unexpected visit later that morning from a fellow boater from that same home marina, it was not only a thoughtful gesture, it was a truly welcome diversion! John lives in nearby Rome, NY, and heard we were stuck somewhat close to there, so he came by to catch up.
He shared that he’d had to do some detective work to locate us. He’d first gone to Ilion, and they told him we’d had a reservation but had to cancel because of lock closures. He then went to St. Johnsville where he learned that we’d been but left, so that narrowed it down for him that we were at Lock 16!
In the afternoon, we were again treated to a visit, this time from Cathy and Lee (“Remedy”) who are stranded between Locks 17 and 18 but do have power and water. They rode their electric bikes down, providing such a nice surprise! We set up in the shade on the bank …
… and along with Kim and Chuck (“Til You Can’t”) – and much later Christine and Ken (“Sea Horse”) – enjoyed visiting throughout the afternoon.
The weather station says it’s 100 degrees, and the news tells us that we are experiencing a “heat dome” with high humidity.
We do try to run the generator to get some air conditioning, but there is a great deal of debris and foam (pictured below) in the water from the recent storm which often gets sucked into the generator’s intake, so we can’t run it for very long. Den and others work to pull up the larger logs and branches and pile them for later disposal by the Lockmaster.
In the late afternoon the whole group of boaters got together for “Locktails” and more wagering on the day/time we’d hear from the Canal Corps.
The day ended with a bit of exploring in the inflatables and the hope of catching a breeze.
Tues., June 24, is day three on the lock wall. The heat continues, but there is a breeze today. Den and another boater, Doug, from “Hiatus Too” took the wagon and multiple water jugs to a spring that is close by where evidently many locals go for water. Meanwhile, I loaded our laundry into Chuck and Kim’s inflatable and shared a ride to St. Johnsville where Kim had already got permission from the marina dock master to use (and found a way to cool off in) the marina’s laundry area! This was the marina at which we’d earlier stayed.
Owing to that same kind dock master, each of us was able to take a shower at the marina later that day.
The very best news, however, arrived that evening when a representative from the Canal Corps came through to take pictures of the sterns of our boats. When we questioned him as to why, he let us know that we would likely be moving through the lock at 4:00 pm tomorrow, and he was noting which boats were here, presumably to ensure that those of us waiting would be able to get through in the event other boats approached the lock simultaneously. His recommendation to us was to “Get to the lake,” that is, to move through the locks as quickly as possible toward Lake Ontario in order to not take the chance to get stuck again.
It turns out that the Canal Corps worker was correct: We left Lock 16 the next day! More on that in the next post.