THE START OF THE LOCKS

I got up early this morning. My new friends, the Karen Ann and the Potest Fieri wanted to catch the first opening of Lock #2 at 7:15, so my CATs (Caterpillar diesel engines) were brought to life about 7 AM.  We were first into the lock, but Karen Ann pulled in next to us so she could pull out of the lock first and I would follow.  The lift of about 35 ft went without much happening.  As I went into Lock #3 Carol grabbed the cable that should be bolted to the top and bottom of the lock so she could hold me against the wall.  Carol would loop a line around a cable and Rich grab a line at the stern.  Rich stopped in the right place and Carol looped her line around the cable.   Surprise,   the cable was not attached at the bottom.  Rich and Carol scurried around and I was proud of them as they found another cable and held me against the wall. 

Coming out of Lock #3 we encountered this east bound tug.  There is still some commercial traffic that uses the Canal.

To the left is a picture of Karen Ann going into Lock #5 as you can see; it’s a long way up.

There are two guard locks west of Lock #6 that control the water float.  This picture shows Karen Ann going under one of them.  The second one must have just been raised because as I went under it I got a dirty water shower.  But that is Rich’s problem, with all the dirt from the lock lines he had to wash me later.  The lock walls and lines are really dirty and it all seemed to come off on me.

The Erie Canal follows the Mohawk River here and the scenery is pretty, but not as pretty as the New Jersey Palisades.  The side of the river has some very steep embankments.  I ended the day early at the Schenectady Yacht Club.

3 MILES TO WATERFORD

Today was another easy day, Rich filled the fuel tanks this morning before entering the Erie Canal System.  I heard fuel is really expensive there and Rich paid $4.69 a gallon the other day.  There was a 48 foot Sea Ray who filled up just before me and took off for the Troy Federal Lock.  I only took 50 gallons and the dock master had the lock tender hold the lock gates open until I got there, so we went through together.  These one picture is of what I saw going into the lock and while the other was taken when the lock was full.  I was lifted about 13 feet.  The purpose of this lock is to stop the tidal waters from going any further north.  The Hudson is a flat river and it is tidal for more than 145 miles.  Once through the lock I was in fresh water and will not return to salt water until we get to Mobile Bay next year.

 

This is the famous sign that everyone on the Loop takes a picture of so, Rich had to take one too.  It is located in Waterford, NY.  Rich turned me starboard into the Erie Canal and we stopped for the day. Today was sunny and warm.  What a difference from yesterday.  Rich gave me a good bath and took down my anchor light to make sure I can get under the bridges.

Rich and Carol bought the lock pass so I can begin traveling the Erie Canal tomorrow.  While Rich and Carol were out walking I took a look at one of the books they left behind.  Within the next 2.0 miles I will be lifted 170 feet from where I am today by passing through 5 locks, and I thought the travel lift at Canyon Club picked me  up high.

While in Waterford, I was docked below a bridge that was about 3o feet above the water.  Four were jumping off the bridge into the water.  They were having a good time, but then the police came and that ended that fun.  That was almost as much fun as on time in Onancock, VA when I watched some kids ride a bicycle off the town dock into the creek.  That had a personal floatation device on the bike but nothing on them.  I guess they wanted to make sure the bike didn’t sink so they could do it again.  The white pole in the picture is my VHF antenna that Rich had to drop down so I could get under some of the low bridges.

Good news I saw a flock of geese heading north today, I guess, they must have changed their mind from yesterday.

A GRAY CLOUDY DAY

Today was an easy day, I only had to travel 54 nautical miles.  It was a boring day, last night and early this morning it rained so we left a little later.  As we pulled out of Rondout Creek, Carol took a picture of the Rondout lighthouse.  The Rondout Creek is part of the remains of the Delaware and Hudson Canal which was built to transport coal from Pennsylvania to New York via barge.  The City of Kingston, like many other cities on the Hudson, was very wealthy and the buildings that remain show it.  As you can see from the picture the sky was gray with big dark clouds.  We had rain almost all day and the wind was coming straight down the river right on my bow.  But I pushed on and got us to Troy by mid afternoon.

This Lazzara express yacht did a slow pass and then opened up after she went by.  She was 96 feet long, sleek and beautiful.  When we got to Troy the Lazzara was at the dock taking on 1,000 gallons of fuel.  Rich had to guide me against the dock just in front of her fighting the current and the wind.  I heard Rich say something about having to go change his underwear.  Rich, Carol and a dockhand got me against the dock and tied down without incident

My friend BlueSkies was also in the marina before we got there.  We will part company tomorrow as BlueSkies is heading up through Lake Champlain and I am going out the Erie Canal.

Because of the gray skies and rain, today was not a good day for taking pictures.  Carol did get one almost good picture of the Saugerties Lighthouse.  Just past the lighthouse I looked up and saw a formation of geese in a perfect “V” flying south.  It felt cold with the wind and rain.It was no wonder the geese were heading south.  I was going north I thought there was something wrong.

Troy is a depressed city but its buildings that were erected in the later 19th century show how much money and what a thriving city it was.  Troy was also the city where Uncle Sam was created.  Sam Wilson a local meat packer packed beef for the Army during the War of 1812.  He stamped the beef with his initials and "U.S. Beef" later a caricature of him became the Uncle Sam we know today. There is a statute of him in the city----Rich and Carol did not have their camera with them so I can’t post a picture. 

I LOVE IT

I left Half Moon Bay Marina this morning heading "up the river" for Kingston.  The Hudson River is a beautiful place.  It is surrounded by green mountains on each side , but the day was hazy so the pictures that Carol took didn't turn out so well, so you will have to believe me on the river's beauty.  We first went under the Bear Mountain Bridge.  The water on the river so so smooth, I am not use to that.  Rich usually takes me into the ocean or a tidal bay, WOW this is fun

We saw a neat waterfall just south of West Point, you can only see it from the river

Next we came to  Esopus Lighthouse.  It sits out in the middle of the river and appears to be only accessible by boat.  Carol thought that the house would be a nice place to live.  It is small and certainly the neighbors will not come to borrow a cup of sugar.  Esopus derives it's name from the local Native American words for "land of the flowing water and high banks"

While pulling into Rondout Creek in Kingston.  Rich notices a World War II PT boat parked on the dock wall.  Carol and Rich's son-in-law really likes PT boats. So Matt, here's a picture for you

 It took Rich 1 1/2 to put 565 gallons of fuel into my tanks.  The marina they stopped at had two fuel hoses.  A high speed hose and a "sailboat" hose.  The high speed hose would not reach me so I got the sailboat hose and I sure was thirsty.  They left me behind as usual and they went into Kingston.  Rich told me they went to the Maritime Museum and saw some really interesting things.  They saw a 45 foot ice boat and were told that it could go up to 170 kilometers an hour with only a thirty kilometer per hour wind.  I don't think I would like to go that fast, some of those ice boats weighted a full ton,  I am a little fatter and weight a little bit more.  A lady never tells her weight.

In Kingston Rich and Carol saw a pay phone.  These things are very rare here now since cell phones came into being.  I wonder who goes around and collects the money.

They also got to see Larry and Christine on Blue Skies.  Rich and Carol met them in Norfolk a month ago.

Its now time to call it a night I am sure Rich will make me work again tomorrow.

WE FINALLY LEFT

At 7 AM this morning I left my comfortable, but shallow, slip at Canyon Club Marina in Cape May, NJ.  Rich and Carol's human friends were there to take pictures and help me get away.  I said good bye to Dealer Breaker, Yankee Girl and Bacchus, who share the dock with me.  We had an interesting ride up the Jersey Coast.  It was a lot like San Fransisco---if you don't like the waves wait 15 minutes and the wind and waves would change.

Carol wanted to take a picture of Lucy the Elephant, good thing that Rich's sister sent us the picture below because the fog was so bad Rich decided not to go in toward shore.  Lucy is a building in the shape of an elephant, built in 1881 that stands about 6 stories high and was originally used as a real estate office. It has also served as a summer home, a tavern, and now a tourist attraction in Margate NJ (just south of Atlantic City).


When we got to New York Rich took a picture of Lower Manhattan at about the same spot he took one in 2001. Below are both pictures, can you figure out which is which ?

 The dark building in the left center of the above picture is the new World Trade Center being built.  There are two cranes on top of it.  Today was a gray day so today's picture is not so good.

The New Jersey Palisades are an awesome sight.  Rich told me that the top of them is covered with condos and apartments, but you can't see them from the water so the lava flows look pristine

We ended the day at 4:30 PM when we pulled into Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton on the Hudson. The day was long but we managed to cover 154 miles.

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Early Morning in Cape May

The other day Rich took my Christmas lights off, it is a sad time for me because I will just sit in the water for the next 3 months.  The slip I rest in faces east and every morning I get to watch the sun rise over the US Coast Guard Training Station.  It is a great way to start the day.  This morning's sun rise was spectacular because there was no wind on the water so the sun just reflected off the water.  It is supposed to snow again today, I am not looking forward to that.  The marina had a thin layer of ice  on the water.  The good news is that not very much ice is coming through the Cape May Canal  from the Delaware River.

See you in a couple of months

It's that time of year

It is that time of year again.  It is getting colder the wind is blowing and the rain is starting to come down.  Rich got out the Christmas lights and decorated me, today.  I have a Santa, a spiral Christmas tree (with a star on top) and a wreath on my stern and there are lights on my railings and hand holds, of course red lights are on the port side handhold.  A number of Rich's friends asked him when he was going to decorate me, I guess people look forward to the season, for me it is just time sleeping in the cold Cape May water.  Salty Susan, a 50 ft Ocean fishing yacht down the fariway from me, told me that her owner was going to decorate her this year, we will see.  I don't want to win the title of best decorated boat in the marina by default, again this year. With the timer tthe lights will go on each night, until Rich takes them down, after New Years.