The highlights this week were: finding a movie set; starting our 339-mile journey up the Erie Canal; ascending the highest vertical lift lock in the New York Canal System; and, making a lot of looper friends (other people doing the America’s Great Loop).
Monday, August 15, 2022 – Poughkeepsie, NY (Shadows Marina) to Athens, NY (Middle Ground Flats Anchorage)
Last night we had a drink at the marina’s outdoor bar, which was on a hill overlooking the marina. We could watch the lights on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge come to life, as the sun set.
There was a plaque at the marina marking the ship building history of Poughkeepsie, which began in 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized the construction of two ships, and later the construction of fire rafts, galleys and gunboats to defend against the British advance up the Hudson River. In the 19th century it was a major center for whale rendering, shipping, millineries, paper mills and several breweries.
We wanted to see the little town of Poughkeepsie before heading off, so we walked about 10 minutes up to “Poughkeepsie Grind” to get coffee. We also walked by its Amtrak depot. We have seen lots of passenger trains going along the east side of the Hudson. The freight trains are going along the west side of the Hudson. Since I have readers that are train buffs, I’ll add pictures. The bridge in the background of the train station is an old train bridge that has been converted to the “World’s Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge.” We’ll soon be going under it.
After chatting with the fellow loopers in the boat docked in front of us (who we’ll run across two more times this week), we untied our lines and headed back up the Hudson. It was another calm, cool and sunny day for our 5:33-hour journey of 37.8 NM, going an average speed on 6.8 knots.
We were soon going under the bridge that was so beautifully lit last night. In 1930, the then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended the opening ceremony of this bridge.
The views of the Catskill Mountains were amazing! The wealthy New Yorkers of the late 19th and early 20th century thought so too. We caught a glimpse of Frederick Vanderbilt’s mansion.
The Vanderbilts made their money in the railroad, so perhaps that is why we see so many trains. We couldn’t see it, but Franklin D. Roosevelt’s estate was neighboring the Vanderbilt’s estate in Hyde Park, NY.
Also in Hyde Park, we cruised past the main campus of The Culinary Institute of America. It offers associate and bachelor’s degrees and certificate programs in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. Some famous graduates include the late Anthony Bourdain and Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes. The buildings were built by the Jesuits for religious training beginning in 1903 through 1970, when the property was purchased by The Culinary Institute of America.
The Hudson is a working river, so a few freighters coming south did pass us and we followed a yellow and white freighter most of the day. The picture also shows Esopus Meadows Lighthouse. Built in 1837 on the mud flats at the Port of Ewen, it is the only surviving wooden lighthouse on the Hudson River.
Because of rising sea levels on the tidal Hudson River, the flats are now covered with thick beds of water chestnuts, sheltering young striped bass and other fish. We also passed Rondout Lighthouse, lit in 1915 – the last of three brick lighthouses marking the entrance to Rondout Creek.
As we cruised through this area, I saw on the map that Woodstock, NY is off to our left. A Google search informed me that the famous Woodstock Festival, held from August 15 – 18, 1969 (exactly 53 years ago today), was actually held on a farm 40 miles from Woodstock. We cruised past Saugerties, NY, where a series of ”Woodstock Sound-outs” were staged in a field from 1967 to 1970. Saugerties, NY is where the big Woodstock Festival was supposed to have happen, but the town denied the permit. Much to Tim’s disappointment, we didn’t see any tie-dye stands along the waterfront. We did see the Saugerties Light, constructed in 1869. It is still an aid to navigation, but it is also a Bed & Breakfast and museum.
As we neared our anchorage tonight, we passed under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Constructed in 1935, it was named after the 1819 short story by Washington Irving. The story mentions Hudson and Catskill, the two towns that the bridge connects. The first anchorage that we tried was just past the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse.
We had high hopes for the anchorage that we had picked out – Hudson, NY on the east side of the river and Athens, NY on the west side. Both towns had breweries that we wanted to try. Much to our disappointment, I soon realized that on Monday…NOTHING in either town was open – ugh! Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be anyway. We tried to anchor five times in the anchorage, but each time the anchor would drag when Tim backed down on it. We eventually moved about a quarter of a mile up the river and tried a different anchorage. This time the anchor set in one try. It was a beautiful anchorage. The rain storms went around us, but we still got the benefit of a rainbow.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 – Athens, NY (Middle Ground Flats Anchorage) to Troy, NY (Troy Downtown Dock)
We woke up to a 56-degree morning with fog rising off the water. Tim quickly started the generator, so we could get some tea started. I had a surprise pulling up the anchor this morning. Instead of mud, I was greeted by a lovely garden! There was still a little mud, but a quick squirt with the hose and it was all washed off. Now that we aren’t in saltwater, I can hose the mud off the deck.
Our journey today lasted 4:45 hours for a distance of 29.3 NM, with an average speed of 6.2 knots.
The Hudson River Valley began to flatten out today and river showed its true working side.
As we neared the Port of Albany, the tall buildings of Albany, NY rose up behind the freighters. We found the freighter that we followed for most of the day yesterday. We cruised past the New York State Capitol building – called the most beautiful state capitol in the country. Albany was declared the the capital in 1797, but this building was not started until 1867. The building was elaborately carved by hand out of stone over 32 years. When it was completed in 1899, it was the most expensive government building of its time at $25 million ($675 million today).
After Albany, we had a short cruise to the Troy, NY, City Dock. I thought the best thing that we would find in Troy would be the aluminum statue of Uncle Sam. However, we would soon stumble upon a movie set.
We all know the image of Uncle Sam – the personification of the United States Government – but he was actually a real man from Troy, NY. Samuel Wilson was a meatpacker who supplied rations for American soldiers during the War of 1812. He stamped his barrels U.S. for United States; however, as the story goes, the soldiers jokingly said it referred to Uncle Sam, referring to Wilson. The image of Uncle Sam has evolved over time. The image that we think of today was created by James Montgomery Flagg during World War I – nearly two decades after Sam Wilson’s death.
We passed the Uncle Sam statue on the way to Jacob Alejandro Coffee Shop, in historic downtown Troy. As we were enjoying our coffee, we started talking to an 81-year-old, retired school teacher (believe me, she told us more about her life than that! 😂). She told us that she had trouble finding parking today because Season 2 of the HBO series ”The Gilded Age” is being filmed here…and she doesn’t even have HBO. After leaving the coffee shop, we saw people dressed in victorian costumes flooding out of a building. I began snapping pictures because I have an aunt who loves Victorian clothes.
On our walk, we found Bootlegger’s Pub. As we enjoyed a delicious white-sauce-chicken pizza, the bartender filled us in on how the the streets were covered in dirt yesterday and horses and carriages kept circling the block. She said the upside of the inconvenience is that the hoards of people associated with the show spend a lot of money in town. Since Bootlegger’s is the only restaurant and bar open on Mondays, she said there wasn’t an empty table in the place last night and she worked until 2:00 a.m. She said they filmed here in June and will be here all of August. She’s planning a trip with her kids to Disney in September with the extra money.
The historic downtown is so well preserved that it looks like a movie set, even if HBO wasn’t here. Through much of the 19th and into the early 20th century, Troy was one of the most prosperous cities in the entire county. It had a thriving steel industry and was a shipping center because of having the Federal Dam, which is the head of the tides in the Hudson River, and the Erie Canal.
Later in the evening, we walked back up the dock and had a drink at Ryan’s Wake, which had an outside-seating area overlooking HOMES. After sunset, we enjoyed sitting on the top deck of HOMES and hearing the sounds of the city.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 – Troy, NY (Troy Downtown Dock) to Waterford, NY (Waterford Harbor Visitor Center
Today will be our shortest cruise ever…I think. We went 2.9 NM and were underway 36 minutes, going an average speed of 4.7 knots. However, the highlight is that we went through Lock 1 of the Erie Canal! The purpose of these next few days is to get ready for our journey through the Erie Canal – the pinnacle of the trip for Tim.
This morning, Tim took the radar off of the flybridge arch. The bridge that is right in front of us is supposed to have a clearance of 20 feet. With the radar, we are 21 feet. We will progressively make HOMES shorter as the trip goes along. On the final leg of the canal, we will need to lower the flybridge arch to get under a 15-foot bridge – fun for another day. After topping up our fuel tanks and emptying our waste tank, we headed toward the low bridge AND the Troy Federal Lock – Lock #1 of Erie Canal.
We soon easily cleared the low bridge. Due to low rainfall, the bridge actually had 25-feet of clearance. As we came out from under the bridge and went around the bend, we could see the Troy Federal Lock. Tim called the lock keeper for an opening. Since we had a starboard-side tie up last night, I didn’t have to switch the fenders around. However, I did add two extra fenders and got my line ready.
As we approached the lock, the light turned from red to green. No boats exited, so Tim eased HOMES into the lock. He continued up the the middle of the lock and used the bow and stern thrusters to hold HOMES to the side of the lock as I wrapped my line around the pole. I held on to that line loosely as we ascended 15 feet.
Tim has a remote control for the thrusters, so he was able to leave the helm and talk with the lock keeper. The lock keeper requested our documentation number, name of our boat and how many passengers before he and Tim started chatting about the canal in general. After the water equalized, Tim eased out of the lock. With Lock #1 behind us, we had officially begun our Erie Canal journey!
At the bend, we turned left onto the Mohawk River and proceeded to the wall at the Erie Canal Visitor Center in Waterford, NY. If we had continued straight on the Hudson River, we would have gone onto the Champlain Canal – another canal in the New York Canal System.
At the Visitor Center wall, you can stay for two nights, with the payment of electric and water. We paid $20.00 for two nights and began preparations for our journey.
Thursday, August 17, 2022 – Waterford, NY (Waterford Harbor Visitor Center)
After a rainy night, we awoke to a clear and cool morning (65 degrees). First on our agenda was walking up to the little diner in town – Don & Paul’s. Tim loves little greasy-spoon diners with friendly people, and this lived up to expectations. After a hearty breakfast we walked over the bridge to the local grocery store.
With the cupboards, refrigerator and freezer restocked, we set to planning our next few days. Armed with information from the Visitor Center and our electronic maps, we mapped our next four days. We made a reservation at a marina in Schenectady, NY for tomorrow night. We also took some height measurements, so that we know exactly what we need for bridge clearance.
With plans on paper (well, in the computer) and measurements taken, we decided to walk up to Lock #2 and get the local information from the lock keeper. He was happy to fill us in and Tim was happy to find out that we can keep HOMES’s flybridge arch up for another 100 miles. We continued our walk along the 1823 entrance to the Erie and Champlain Canals and along the old towpaths. The building of these two canal systems was considered impossible at the time, but when it was completed, they changed the face of America – opening the northern and western frontiers.
Our next frontier was a walk around the Village of Waterford, which was incorporated in 1794 – making it the oldest incorporated village in the United States. It has had an important past – being a prime geographical spot for the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, bringing famed visitors like Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton; being a center for transportation and waterpower for the American Industrial Revolution; as well as a key spot of the underground railroad. It takes some imagination to see that past today. Our walk finally led us to McGreivey’s Pub, where two couples immediately joined us in their conversation. It may no longer be a prosperous village, but it is friendly.
Friday, August 19, 2022 – Waterford, NY (Waterford Harbor Visitor Center) to Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina).
Today we begin our journey up the Erie Canal – 339 miles from Waterford, NY to Buffalo, NY. We will go through a total of 35 locks. We went through Lock #1 on Wednesday. Today, we will do six locks. The first five are called the “Waterford Flight,” which will lift us 169 feet from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River. The flight was built from 1905 to 1915 and has the highest elevation gain relative to its length (1.5 miles) for any canal lock system in the United States. We were underway 5:30 hours today, but only underway for 2:46 hours. Some of that discrepancy was sitting in the locks on our 16.3 NM journey.
We were joined in the locks today with another boat, Sweet Louise, and her owners Greg and Louise. We originally met them last Sunday back at the marina in Poughkeepsie, NY.
We wear gloves to handle the lines in the lock. We also have a knife ready in case any of the lines get caught.
After exiting the last lock of the flight (Lock # 6), we had two guard gates to go under. These gates help to isolate the sections of canal in case of an emergency, such as a break in the canal wall, or extreme high water. They are also used when the canal needs to be drained for maintenance or winter freeze protection. The first gate was already up. The second one was a little drippy because it had to be raised.
There was only one lock that we had to wait on for other boaters to come out. Four people in kayaks and another boat came out of Lock #6 before we could enter. After the flight of five locks and the two guard gates, we emerged onto the Mohawk River. We had one more lock – Lock #7, before ending our day.
Feeling good about our successful first day on the Erie Canal, we pulled into Mohawk Harbor Marina in Schenectady, NY. Greg and Louise of Sweet Louise decided to join us at the marina. That evening, we all went up to Druthers Brewing Co. for drinks, appetizers, and sharing of stories.
Saturday, August 20, 2022 – Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina) to Amsterdam, NY (Lock #11 Free Dock)
We had four locks on our journey today. We only went 16 NM, but we want to take the Erie Canal slowly, since this is what Tim has always wanted to do. So, after 4:37 hours, at an average speed of 5.9 knots, we pulled up along side the free wall in Amsterdam, NY.
We left a little earlier this morning than our friends on Sweet Louise, so we were alone in the first lock of the day – Lock #8. You’ll notice that each of the locks has a dam beside it to supply the water. Sweet Louise just missed us in Lock #8, but caught up to us by Lock #9.
The only boat traffic that we saw on the Mohawk River was small fishing boats. At Lock #9, a boat did go in after we and Sweet Louise came out. Locks #9 and #10 were port-side ties – meaning we had to move all of our fenders to the left side of the boat to tie up to the left wall. We soon found out why. The water filled the lock from the right side of the lock, causing a strong current that pushed HOMES to the left.
After Lock #11, we pulled over to the Amsterdam, NY free wall and Sweet Louise continued on her way.
We were soon joined by another boat, Star Path. Tim helped them tie up. They are an English couple who sailed from England 4 years ago, sold that boat 2 years ago in Annapolis, MD and flew home for a visit. While there, COVID hit, but they came back to the U.S. as soon as travel restrictions were lifted; bought this trawler that they now have last April. They are doing the loop so that they can see the ”inside” of the U.S. We had a nice time talking with them at Russo’s, the only restaurant within walking distance.
Sunday, August 21, 2022 – Amsterdam, NY (Lock #11 Free Dock) to Ilion, NY (Village of Ilion Marina).
This morning, HOMES headed out behind Star Path for a 41 NM journey through seven locks (Locks #12-#18), taking us about 9 hours. We traveled along the Mohawk River, veering off a few times to enter the canal, only to rejoin the Mohawk River. The Mohawk River flows through the only low-level gap in the mountains along the Atlantic coast. The original engineers of the Erie Canal routed the canal along the southern bank of the Mohawk River, well above river level to reduce the likelihood of flood damage. We saw some remnants of that original canal.
The Erie Canal can now use the Mohawk, because of technology. You’ll see in all of picture of the locks along the Mohawk that there are structures that look like a bridge off to the side of the lock. These are movable dam structures and are designed to pass high water. The trusses support a system of gates and uprights that are lowered into the river to form navigable waters during the summer and are pulled up in the winter to clear the way for ice and debris-filled floodwaters. There are eight of these dam structures between Schenectady (yesterday) and Fort Plain (Lock #15- today).
Today, our scenery was mostly beautiful hills on either side of us. However, occasionally we were in the slow lane between I-90 on the left and trains on the right. We had originally planned to stop at St. Johnsville, NY today. However, a rain storm is moving in tomorrow, so we decided push on to Ilion, NY, where we’ll spend two nights. If we have to have a layover day, we’d rather do it somewhere that has a few shops and restaurants. So, the push to Ilion, NY, added three more locks to our day – locks #16 – #18.
Lock #17, at 40 feet, is the highest vertical lift lock on the New York Canal System. It was an engineering marvel when it opened in 1916. It was intimidating pulling though the guillotine gate, which drops down to hold the six million gallons of water. It took over 20 minutes for us to ascend the 40 feet.
After Lock #17, our friends in Star Path pulled off for the evening at a free dock. For our last lock of the day (Lock #18), we shared it with a little boat and a sight-seeing boat. Tim was happy to talk to some gongoozlers on the lock landing. Gongoozlers is the term for people who enjoy watching canal activity.
We pulled up to the Village of Ilion Marina at 5:00 p.m., which was a long day for us. We were greeted by our friends on Sweet Louise. After getting settled in, we all walked into town and had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant recommended by the marina staff.
This is where we will leave you. See you next Sunday!