In this post I will write about passing through Albany and Troy (and a lock) then ending up at the Waterford Visitor Center with a nice floating dock, power and water- watch that pressure!! I’d thought this might cover all the way up to Whitehall, NY but I’ve taken so many photos that doing it justice requires more than one post, so we’ll tackle up to Waterford for now.

Our anchorage spot between Esopus Island  (just north of Hyde Park) and the eastern shore was calm, but the trains made it not so peaceful. Up “early” then, as were two tugs pushing long barges north toward Albany. Scenery continued to delight and while not “autumn foliage” gorgeous, you couldn’t help but smile.

We came upon several chimney stacks, remnants of days gone by, and of course several lighthouses.

Marinas are mostly just along the shore, some lucky enough to be tucked in slightly or with a small jetty at best. Small boat traffic seemed to depend on the area and most were locals out enjoying the ride and the very rare sandy beach anchorage.

Most exciting of all, eagles began to appear frequently. Not only did they perch majestically in tree tops, we saw many in flight.

Hard to capture when we are both moving, but I tried my best.

Osprey didn’t make an appearance until further north. This may have to do with a lack of fish, and since eagles are upper-class scavengers they aren’t bothered as much by the lack of fresh, live fish.

Years ago GE spent many years dumping waste containing PCBs into the Hudson, killing off more than just the fish. Dredging to remove the infected sediment was completed last year and the River is slowly rebounding (but there’s some debate on that). Signs indicating “Catch and Release Only” are a clue to the river’s delicate condition.

Possible cruising boats were in short supply and as we closed in on Albany, sailboats with their masts laid horizontal gave a strong clue that they were either looping or heading up to Lake Champlain. Seems dicey to me to carry your mast like that when in most cases it’s longer than your vessel.

The Federal Lock at Troy came at the end of our day, Aug 2. Troy, aka “the collar city”, is just a few miles south of Waterford. Now, we thought our research on the locks, bridges and places of interest was pretty thorough. Russ did most of it ahead and I caught up. We had several charts loaned to us by friends Mike and Ann, multiple online resources including blogs and official sites that provided detailed info on the locks and bridges, and of course ActiveCaptain. We even knew peeps who’d gone up to the Lake or done the Erie Canal, so we had some info from them.  Guess what? STILL NOT ENOUGH! Nothing like first hand experience to learn the ropes 🙂

Procedure is you hail the lockmaster on VHF 13 when you are “close” and he tells you how long of a wait, because the lock is never ready for you, even if it’s in the correct position for the direction you are traveling. At best, 5 minutes, worse case 20 minutes. We didn’t know it at the time, but our 20 minute wait was due to another boat heading north, locking through just before we approached. This required a wait for the water level to come up 16ft, then for it to flow out so we could enter at our lower level.

Still waiting….and wondering if we are prepared.

Now we enter, slowly.

Too bad no Go-Pro set up for this first event. We had lines ready, gloves on and a boat hook within reach.  We didn’t know what the “grab onto” situation would be and as you can see below, it’s essentially that large metal pipe. Of course I couldn’t get the end of a line around it- see how far you have to lean over the railing? I should have used the boat hook to grab the ladder and pull the bow in, then get the line through. After three tries we managed. But then the pipes are so far apart that we could only hold on to one at mid-ship. Russ took over the holding on. By the time we got situated, the lock was already slowly filling; thankfully it was a calm event and we exited in one piece, although my nerves were sorely frayed.

A few more miles and our day would be done. So happy to see the Waterford docks, with lots of room!

We turned around to dock facing the way we’d be going when the time came to depart.  Peter, a single-hander and New Zealand native had just docked, and caught lines for me. He apologized for making us wait for the lock, but it wasn’t his fault we were only minutes behind him.

Reviews warned not to dock at the western end of the floating docks as turbulence from the lock could be unpleasant.

Turbulent uh?

The volunteers were full of knowledge and the three of us (Peter, Russ & I ) signed in and got to know one another. Peter grabbed a shower and the three of us headed into town for a fantastic and fun dinner at McGrievey’s.

 

Dinner was thoroughly enjoyable as was hearing about Peter’s extensive cruising adventures. Dessert was the icing on the cake!

The Champlain Canal did not always exist where it does today. Originally it was shallow and narrow and essentially dug by hand. Mule or horse teams would pull the wooden canal barges along a towpath. Passing and meeting up created interesting maneuvers.

 

Good thing we aren’t doing the 363 mile-long Erie Canal; singing the song seems to be mandatory!

 

Do I hear you singing? Alright then, perhaps you don’t want to because you know we are cruising up the Hudson to the Champlain Canal and therefore, no song. But you may recall, the Lake has Champ- the monster of Lake Champlain. Maybe Champ has a song. 🙂

 

 

 

So how do you get to Lake Champlain? From Westbrook, CT on the north shore of Long Island Sound, here’s the route- if you are in a boat that is: head west- oh wait, first head east and then up the Connecticut River to Old Lyme for the best fuel deal around and pass under the decrepit Old Lyme Draw- twice without needing an opening.

Ok, so now head west. Make a right hand turn into the East River, riding a favorable current of course. At the infamous Hell Gate you have a decision to make, which hopefully you made before you got here; continue on the East River and hang a right at the Hudson, or be daring and hang a right up the Harlem river with its winding ways, barges galore and a very often closed train swing bridge at the north end which dumps you out into the Hudson.

The end.

No, wait, there’s more. You don’t think I’d write that teeny paragraph when I could tell you all about our first few days, do you?

Sunday, July 30 was a lovely day and just perfect for a final boat and cushion washing and getting everything put in its place and ready for heading out into the big blue water. The batteries got equalized, the dry packets got cooked in the oven (they eat moisture), lights and sounds tested, bridle re-attached and charts reviewed. I’d read about a product on The Boat Galley, called Concrobium, which was touted as being a near miracle killer and preventor of mold and mildew, two determined nasties on a boat. Sprayed it on our exterior cushions, dinghy life jackets and the horribly mildew prone VHF radio cord on the flybridge. Maybe I’ll remember to let you know well it works.

After two months of not moving, except to turn the boat around with lines and one very short test run, would we still remember how to do everything?  Let’s hope so.

Come Monday leaving the slip was easy-peasy in a no wind morning kinda way. After that two hour detour for diesel we cranked up the RPMs and the watermaker and zoomed down LIS toward the skinny west end, anchoring in Manhasset Bay near Port Washington. Ok then, Day 1- check!

Tuesday ended up being a 10-hour, 90 nm day and no we did not go up the Harlem River which would have saved time. Instead, we chose the bustling, scenic, wild ride route around the tip of Manhattan. We had a favorable current carrying us along in the East River but once we turned up the Hudson, wow we got a major slap back, making only 5.5 kts at normal 2000 rpm, aka 8kts!

Before the Hudson and the spot of Sully’s Miracle, we watched a seaplane touch down near the United Nations on the East River, probably scaring the crap out of the boat behind us who swerved to avoid what he figured would be a collision.

Well, that’s a first.

So yes, the Hudson was a busy place- did I mention that? Ferries crossing left and right, boats leaving marinas, tour boats- the old Circle Line was alive and kickin’ and we watched for the general vicinity where Cap’n Sully performed his miracle… and I think it’s right about here….

The George Washington was a sight to behold and one we had never seen from the water. No tolls or traffic jams this way. A bit further north is the Tappan Zee which is a better choice if you are in a land vehicle. Three years ago we crossed over on our way to a small RV Show and saw the very beginnings of footings for the new bridge.

 

Now the bridge is nearly complete. Just need that one span- kinda important.

Continuing north, you find Sing Sing Prison on the eastern shore. A rather large and imposing complex.

The trains,oh the trains! Little red caboose, boose, boose…. Blowing that horn, all night and day!!

And there’s West Point- hard to miss.

Don’t know the history of this arsenal, but it’s a historic site on a tiny island very close to New York’s eastern shore.

And then we anchored- yes, close to shore and thus the train tracks. Hey we needed to get going in the morning, so why not get a wake-up whistle every few hours???

Next stop Waterford, NY. We will pass through Albany, Troy and our first lock. Not looking forward to locking through 12 locks before arriving in Lake Champlain, but at least we aren’t doing the Erie Canal!