The New York Canal System
As we made our way North on the Hudson River, we came to a fork in the Waterway. If we were to go right, we would head to Lake Champlain. But turning left was our ticket to our next Great Loop Adventure. The Erie Canal and the New York Canal System.
The left turn takes us to the visitors center in Waterford, New York, and the beginning of a series of locks which will ultimately lift our boat several hundred feet. We did this trip in 6 days and went 192 miles. We travelled up and down in the locks a total of 560 feet!
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied. Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to cross land that is not level.
Going through locks is a joint effort between Jim and I. Jim of course has to drive the boat, which makes me responsible for getting the deck ready and getting us on the wall. The walls of the locks are slimy and very rough. You must have fenders ( which are big, inflatable bumpers so to speak) attached to your boat on the side to protect your boat from the wall. There are, most times so far, lines that hang from the wall that you hold onto as the boat rises or falls in the lock. They are slimy too, so gloves are a must. As Jim guides the boat into the lock, I state how far I am from grabbing the bow line on the wall. Once I secure that line, Jim will bump the stern in towards the wall. He then will put the transmissions in neutral and leave the helm to grab another line in the rear. Both of us will handle the lines, either pulling up, or releasing down, all the while using our boat hooks to keep the boat off the wall.
Locks are like bathtubs. Think water being added to float us up, or water being drained, to float us down. It is a chamber, and feels like you are in a dungeon! After you are secure on the wall the rear door closes, and the Lockmaster ( the guy who regulates the water flow) begins his job. If you are in an “up” Lock, water is let in from the bodies of water around you and if you are going down the water is removed from the chamber. At the end of the ride, Jim will return to the helm, as I push the boat off the wall, and we cruise right on out of there! Wind is not your friend when exiting a lock. It’s down right petrifying!
This is an illustration of the Locks we went through this past week. The big red circle encompasses the route we took to get us to Great Lake Ontario. You can see how many feet up, and down, we traveled. See Lock 17? We travelled up 40.5 feet. This Lock was huge and you can see it in a picture below. It was way cool!
Our waypoints on this Erie Canal adventure took us to Schenectady the first night. We stayed at Schenectady Yacht Club, which was like a cute little campground with a great pool. This was a nice ending to our first day through the locks. I was so happy that Jim got to enjoy the pool with a few boater guys! He’s with me 24/7, so a little male bonding time, shooting the shit, was probably a nice thing for him.
Off early the next morning to conquer locks 8-13. This part of the journey will take us into the Mohawk River. The weather was great, breeze blowing. A nice change from the hot days we have been having. I felt much more confident in the locks today. It was pretty uneventful. The Mojawk River reminded me of our trip through the Dismal Swamp. The water was like glass and the trees reflected themselves in the water. It was a long 7 hour day on the water, and 10 miles out of lock 13 we were able to tie up to a free dock, with electricity. Welcome to Canajoharie, New York. We both took a swim in the Mohawk River!
Next morning we were up and leaving the free docks at 7:30. We have found that if we leave early, we are usually at our next stop by 2:00, if not earlier. Today our trip included Locks 14-20. We have been traveling with a few other boats today. We end up waiting for the other boats who don’t go as fast as we do at the lock gates. It is pretty customary for the Lockmaster to hold the locking process until all the boats going in the same direction are present. That way, they only have to drain the pool once! We ended our day in Rome, New York after traveling 52 miles. We stayed at another free dock with no electricity and used our generator for the first time. The generator allows us to charge our phones and prepare a meal. We never left the boat because we were tied up to a rickety, wooden piling. But, free is free!
I have come to appreciate our Happy Destiny Boat much more as of late. She is tough and self sufficient.
July 12, 2018 we leave Bellamy Park and only have 2 Locks to get through this morning. Locks 21 and 22. This will leave us crossing Oneida Lake and into Brewerton New York where we will stay two days. We are going to Ess-Kay Boat Yard and Marina. We have put a few hundred hours on the boat now, and it is time for an oil change. We also are having a electronic guy come to look at our depth gauge and our VHF radio that quit working. Luckily we have a spare of each. Both of these are very important in the navigation of a boat.
We are back on the Erie Canal at this point and it is just as beautiful as when we left it back in Schenectady. Again, with mirror like water, and beautiful bridges. Lake Oneida is not a great big lake, but it sure feels big when you are in the middle of it on a boat. We had an uneventful crossing. Great weather, no wind and no swells. We arrived in Brewerton and got settled. The marina offered us the use of their loaner car. Jim and I went to eat sushi and then did a little grocery shopping. We met a couple, Barry and Carol, who are loopers also. They have never boated before! I find that amazing. I can’t imagine doing this trip with no experience. Unfortunately for them, they limped into the marina after hitting a log on Lake Oneida. They bent the hell out of their propellers and had to be hauled out of the water at Ess-Kay. I felt so sad for them. “BOAT” - break out another thousand.
Carol and I decided to treat ourselves to a manicure and pedicure at the local nail salon. It was quite nice and certainly comforting to have some girl time. Living full time on a boat is hard work. It’s nice to know I’m not alone.
Here are some pictures of those last few days.
This picture of Jim on the Erie Canal makes my heart just melt.
LIVING THE DREAM
We left Ess-Kay early on July 14. We traveled alone the whole day. No other boats in sight. We locked through 9 downward locks. The last lock on the Erie Canal Lock E23 put us into the Oswego Canal. There were 8 locks to be had on this leg of the journey into Oswego. I was making a video when it started to rain, so I passed on that idea, since I am recording the videos from the bow of the boat and did not want my phone to get wet. Jim and I handled the locks like pros today! I didn’t feel so stressed today. Maybe because there were no other boats to deal with and when you are going down in a lock you can float your boat to the middle which makes getting out of the lock fairly easy.
We ended in Oswego, New York, where we tied up to a wall in front of the Best Western Hotel. Oswego is a very cute, old town. We wandered over the bridge and found a meeting at a place called Serenity Hall. I thought of all my tribe in Whittier tonight! It was in an old building, upstairs. The smell of cigarettes and coffee took me back to the days when all meeting rooms smelled like this. The secretary was Al, and there was another guy. Jim and I made four. Where two or more are gathered, as they say.
When we returned from the meeting, we barbecued burgers and called it a night. We had to get an early start the following morning. We are Canada Bound!
Oswego
Our week was very cool! It’s been a week of learning for both of us. We are certainly getting to know the boat up close and personal. Jim is doing the best job ever navigating the waters and getting us where we need to go. I can’t imagine doing this trip with anyone else at the helm. He is a great captain and he has taught me so much. When I get afraid, and trust me I do, he snaps me back to right here, right now, pretty darn fast. This adventure is not for sissy’s ! You really have to be a badass! You have to not mind bugs! If you can’t handle bugs, you would never, ever, ever, fall in love with this adventure. I have seen, swallowed, gotten bit, and annihilated millions of f@#&en bugs! They love poor Jim. You will often find me sitting next to him with the fly swatter and we burn a Thermacell most days. We love when there are no bugs! No bugs and a breeze = heaven.
The next part of our Great Loop Adventure takes us to Canada. We are going to traverse The Trent-Severn Waterway, The Georgian Bay, The North Channel, The Straits of Mackinac, down the Eastern Shores of Lake Michigan, and into Chicago, Illinois.
I’ll fill you all in on our first week in Canada in my next blog posting. But, just so you know where we are today, July 16, 2018, we have crossed the border and cleared customs. We are in Kingston, Ontario.
We are enjoying the sites here for a few days and I’ve got to tell you, I’m in awe of the gift I’ve been given. I know the next month or so, as we head West, is going to be amazing!
Peace and Love❤️
Kim and Jim
Bonjour
