CANAJOHARIE AND LITTLE FALLS

Wednesday, June 17

We left Scotia around 9AM  after a very pleasant stay. We went through a few more locks, then pulled over and tied up to a concrete wall after Lock #12 to stop at an historic site. Getting there was a bit of a challenge, walking over a two lane bridge with no sidewalk or shoulder. We managed to get across safely then walked another mile or so to a site of 1)an historic Iriquois village, 2) a French - Indian fort and 3) some remains of the original Erie Canal, built in the 1800s.

Elaine, looking at remains of the original Erie Canal

We managed to get back to the boat in one piece and kept on going to Canajoharie where we pulled into a free dock (with electricity), provided by the local Chamber of Commerce. We walked into the very charming town, bought a few groceries and checked out the Arkell Museum hours so we could visit tomorrow.

IMPROV, waiting for us at the wall

Original Erie lock remnant

Thursday, June 18

Well, the docks were nice and the electricity free, but we were sandwiched between a busy Tollway and a very busy train track across the river. Several times during the night it sounded as if the trains were coming right through the boat. We still got a decent night’s sleep then stopped by a cafe for a leisurely  breakfast. We had to wait until 10 AM for the museum to open, so walked around town for a while, looking at the many Victorian houses and old churches. Canajoharie is the site of the old Beech-Nut factory which produced many things, but was best known for their baby food line. The old, abandoned factory still stands between town and the river. The Arkell family owned Beech-Nut and also had an interest in fine art. They had a significant private art collection and sponsored an art museum to allow the public to view many of their pieces. The museum has expanded and now is a very impressive modern building engulfing the old museum and presenting a number of well-known early American artists. The building doubles as a very active community library. While we were touring the exhibits, it started raining quite heavily, so we took advantage of the library for a while until the rain stopped.

Arkell museum

We left Canajoharie early afternoon with the destination Little Falls in mind. There were two options for docking - the first being a wall just east of the town and the second, a municipal dock closer to town, but after a major lock. We took a look at the first wall, and, although not bad, decided to go through the infamous Lock #17 to the municipal dock. Lock #17 is unique in it’s structure and in it’s lift. It is a “guillotine” lock with a massive door which drops down to block the water flow, and the lift is greater than 40 feet high.

Lock #17

We got through the lock OK and found the very nice municipal dock with excellent facilities. The staff was very helpful and informed us that we had arrived for the “Third Thursday” event where the Main Street merchants have special events for the community. We walked into town and were very impressed with everything that was going on. This is a very lively little community, and a very pretty town located in the Mohawk River Valley. A new brew-pub was recommended, so we stopped by for a delicious dinner, and a brew or two…

STUCK IN THE SYSTEM

Sunday, June 15

It was raining on and off this morning, so we delayed leaving the dock to start our trek through the Erie Canal. I had the VHF radio on and heard another boat request passage through the lock and the lockmaster replied that it would be at least 30 minutes before he could open the lock. We felt we could be ready to go in 30 minutes, so got everything together and followed the other boat into the first of the Waterford flight of 5 locks.

We have a fair amount of experience in going through locks, having transited them in Seattle, Ireland, France, Lake Okeechobee, Norfolk and probably others I can’t think of right now. However, these locks are different due to their height. It’s not unusual to have locks on the Erie Canal lift 40 feet - considerably more than most locks. One enters the lock and positions their boat against one of the walls. There are different ways of securing to the wall, but, for the most part, the locks here have a vertical cable recessed in the concrete wall to loop a line around and keep you next to the wall. The gate you entered through is closed and water from upstream is allowed to flow in through a series of conduits which enter deep within the lock. The result is that the water level raises, but with a large amount of turbulence which moves the boat around and presses it agains the lock wall. To prevent damage, one places “fenders,” inflated vinyl cylinders, between the boat and the wall. Unfortunately, since the wall of the locks are underwater so much, a lot of gunky stuff grows on them. This stuff gets all over the fenders and then, all over the hull of the boat. This is exactly what happened on our first set of locks today. Because we decided quickly to enter the first lock, we didn’t set up our “fender boards,” wood guards that ride outside of the fenders and slide against the lock wall.

After waiting 45 minutes to enter lock #7 due to some repair work going on, we decided to dock in the village of Scotia, right across the river from Schenectady. We took a walk into the village, then spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning the fenders and hull.

Monday, June 16

Talking with folks from another boat docked next to us, we learned that the locks in the last part of the canal where we are headed are closed for the next week due to high water.

Runoff entering the canal system

There has been an unusual amount of rain here this month, and the forecast is for another heavy storm to come through today. We decided to stay put in Scotia for another day, since we are now stuck inside this canal system for another week - there’s no hurry to go anywhere.

There are a number of necessary procedures for taking the boat out of the country and returning. We went through these last year when we cruised the Bahamas, but Canada has a few more requirements. I spent a couple of hours on the phone today calling the US Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection trying to figure out exactly what documentation I need to get back into the US. It ended up being a three-ring circus. I got a different story from each agency, no one could tell me exactly what I needed, and each agency referred me to the other. I probably have enough pieces of paper, and emails, to get back into the country, if only because of all the confusion. 

Before the heavy rains came, I spent some time cleaning and oiling the bikes, which live on the aft deck, exposed to the weather. Then I installed the fender boards so I wouldn’t have to keep cleaning the fenders and hull. I tried with the fenders horizontal and vertical - I'll have to see which way works best.

Fenders placed horizontally behind boards

It looked like the storm was going to fizzle out, so Elaine walked back into the village to mail a package, and got stuck there during a huge deluge. During the downpour I went out on deck with the deck brush and scrubbed more of the “lock gunk” off.

Fenders vertical

After the rain, it started clearing, and we took a walk over the bridge to Schenectady, wandering around their historic district. Another squall came through so we ran under a nearby awning for protection - what do you know - it happened to be an awning for a nice tavern…

ERIE CANAL - WE'RE GOIN' IN

Saturday, June 13

We left Poughkeepsie late morning, waiting for the wind to die down - it was blowing 10-15 knots from the north and causing 2-3 foot waves in the river. The flood tide was coming in, and when the wind and the currents are in opposite directions,waves are often the result. The forecast was for decreasing wind, so we left the marina, expecting a bouncy ride for a while, then smoothing out. We stopped for fuel just above Hyde Park at a very exposed dock which moved around a lot as we were fueling. Another hour or so, we decided enough was enough and ducked into Kingston Creek, looking for some relief from the chop. We went upstream a couple of miles where the water was very quiet, anchored and relaxed over lunch for an hour or so. It looked like the wind had died down a bit, and the tide had changed, so we went back out into the Hudson and conditions were very pleasant.

Sunset from the bridge

We anchored for the night in Esopus Creek. What a fantastic anchorage! It was very protected, no wind, no current and a cute little village. The anchorage area was small - we were the second boat to anchor there, and there was not much more room. We explored the creek a bit in the dinghy, then went ashore to explore the village of Saugertie. We ran into a nice tavern with a deck overlooking a very picturesque dam and cliffs, so stopped for a beer.

Lighthouse at Esopus Creek

Back on the boat, it was barbecued chicken for dinner, then a relaxing evening on the bridge watching the sun go down. The weather was perfect, no wind, not too warm, not too cool and no bugs!

Sunday, June 14

After a relaxed morning routine of coffee and reading the Sunday newspaper online, we weighed anchor and found a smooth, calm Hudson River with just a bit of wind from the south. We rode the flood tide for a few hours then slowed a bit as the tide turned. It was a relaxing day, listening to music on the flybridge and viewing beautiful scenery as we cruised up river.

Hudson River Valley

Troy Lock overflow

We were so relaxed, we kind of forgot we were coming up on a lock just above Troy. We had to wait several minutes for another boat to lock downstream, so had time to get fenders and lines ready for locking through. Shortly after that lock, we entered the Erie Canal Inlet at the little town of Waterford. The town is very supportive of boaters and provides a very nice free dock with a nominal charge for electricity. We filled out the appropriate paperwork and walked up to the first lock to purchase our canal permit, a $75 charge to use any and all New York locks for a year - one of the few bargains left these days. We then walked through Waterford and helped out the local economy a bit by having a couple of cold ones at the local Irish pub. Tomorrow morning we’ll start the journey through the Erie canal with five locks in a row. We’re going in…

POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK

So here we sit, in Poughkeepsie, NY, under a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm alert. I don’t think it’s as bad as it sounds…

Thursday June 11

We weighed anchor (with some difficulty due to the clay at the bottom of the river), cruised up the Hudson a couple of hours to Poughkeepsie and pulled into a nice marina called Shadows. As nice as it is, however, it has minimal protection from wakes on the river. This includes wakes from power boats charging through the area to tug boats pushing 300 foot barges to ocean-going ships passing by. Even at our anchorage last night, we occasionally were rocked by passing traffic throughout the night. There is also the train traffic. On both sides of the river, tracks are constantly busy with freight and commuter trains (which blow their whistles for the slightest reason). Even with all that distraction, however, this is a beautiful area and we’re glad we came up this way.

Once we were settled into the marina, we got the bikes out with the idea of riding around Poughkeepsie, especially across the converted train trestle now known as Walkway on the Hudson.

Walkway on the Hudson

Unfortunately, my back tire was flat, and with the internal hub that I have on my bike, it’s not the easiest thing to fix. We abandoned the bikes and started walking… and walking…and walking. We couldn’t figure out how to get up to the trestle, and after walking a good 3-4 miles in 85 degree heat and 85% humidity, we stopped in a pub to have a cold beer. The barkeep directed us (after our cold beers) to the elevator up to the trestle, only about a block away.

Hudson River, north

Revitalized and rehydrated, we walked across the trestle, south to the Mid-Hudson-Bridge and back to town and our boat. All in all, about 5-6 miles for a hot afternoon.

Mid-Hudson bridge

Since we did not have TV reception for ABC and the Warriors game, we went up to the restaurant associated with the marina and watched most of the game on their widescreen TV in the bar. They closed before the 4th quarter, so, back to the boat, we managed to find a live stream of the game on the internet and watched the Warriors even the series with the Cavaliers at 2-2.

Friday, June 12

First things first, I fixed my bike tire which went flat because there was no rim strip inside the tire. I fashioned one out of some HDPE tape I had on the boat, repaired the tube, then checked the remaining three tires on our bikes to make sure they were set up correctly. 

We rented a car for the day so we could get up to Hyde Park and tour the Franklin D. Roosevelt home and Presidential Library.

FDR home in Hyde Park, NY

It is managed by the National Park Service and they do a very nice job of presenting the history of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, and the impact the two of them had on the US. We were there until early afternoon when we went to Val Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home a few miles away. Another interesting, and provocative, tour.

We had a couple of hours before our evening reservation, so took advantage of the rental car and ran some errands to Home Depot, a bike shop for spare tubes and the grocery store. Got back to the boat just before a thunderstorm hit with lightning, torrential rain and very strong wind. It only lasted about 20 minutes before the sun was out again, which was nice since we were getting ready to go to the CIA for the evening. No, not the dark suit, ear-piece CIA, the Culinary Institute of America - one of the premier culinary training institutions in the world.

CIA Hyde Park campus

Elaine had made reservations for dinner in one of their restaurants. We had a fantastic meal and are now back on the boat with the bad weather forecast to pass through about 1AM and another front about 4AM. We are safe and secure, tied up in a marina, so I don’t anticipate any significant issues…

HARLEM RIVER TO THE HUDSON RIVER

What a beautiful day! Hardly any wind this morning when we left from Port Washington, with the first several miles full of interesting sites as we passed by Laguardia Airport (where arriving planes flew overhead at about 200 feet elevation),

Harlem River

Rikers Island Prison, East River Hell Gate, then made a sharp turn to starboard into the Harlem River.

Prison barge at Rikers Island 

We decided to bypass Manhattan this time, since we could save a couple of hours by traversing the Harlem River up to the Hudson River. The Harlem River is about 7 miles long and puts one right in the heart, if not the gut, of New York City.

Arrival at Laguardia

Sirens blaring, traffic on all the bridges, trains and subways rolling by - it was a lively scene, the whole way through. Interestingly, we were the only boat the whole length of the river. We passed under 15-20 bridges, then had to radio in to have the last barrier between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers, a nine-foot clearance train bridge, opened for us.

Railroad swing bridge

Once on the Hudson, it was a major change in scenery.Heavily wooded palisades on the west bank, small cities on the right and many more boats, both commercial and recreational.

A real classic yacht

There are some incredible houses along this river, both historic big-money family mansions as well as many modern ones. As one follows the river north, the scenery is idyllic, with green hills all along the banks.

Our timing was not ideal, as we hit an ebb tide the first few hours on the river. Since we were traveling at our slower (trawler) speed today, we were only making a bit over 5 knots for a couple of hours. The tide finally changed, and we got up to our normal 7-8 knots by the afternoon.

West Point

We passed the very impressive structure of West Point Military Academy and, a few miles further up the river pulled into a sheltered cove at Cornwall-On-Hudson to anchor for the night. By this time, around 4 PM, it was in the low 80s with a sunny sky and wind of 5-10 knots. Perfect conditions for a quick dip in the river to cool off, then a short nap to refresh before dinner. It was still warm enough after dinner that another dive into the water was very refreshing. Nice not having to rinse off the salt water after a swim…

A swarm of kayakers at our anchorage

STILL IN LONG ISLAND

So we’re taking a short break from cruising place to place every day and are settled in Port Washington on Long Island for the week. This has given us the chance to see our daughter and our Son-In-Law for a few days as well as get caught up on some boat maintenance.

Sunday, June 7

One of the reasons I removed the built-in table on the flybridge was to make room for a comfortable deck chair.

Pilot chair

There is a nice, comfortable pilot chair, but whoever is not at the helm either sits on the cushions or on a separate, portable chair/cushion which is several years old and a bit worn out by now.

Deck Chair

So, today, we bought a nice deck chair which we will be able to keep on the bridge for the “co-pilot.”

On the way back from picking up the chair, we stopped by a street fair going on in Port Washington. Part of the fair was a “milk carton sailboat” race on a nearby pond.

Mil-carton sailboat races

The boats got dumped into the pond at one end with the finish line at the other end. Since there was no wind today, they “assisted” with a fan from shore directed at the sailboats. I’m not sure there ever was a winner of the race.

After a provisioning stop at the grocery store and getting things put away on the boat, we drove over to Brooklyn to watch a cabaret performance put on by Brooklyn Community Choir members. Mariko is heavily involved with the choir, was a musical director for this performance and performed, as well. It was an entertaining afternoon. Later, we hopped on the subway over to the East Village with Mariko to watch an improv performance by her husband, Sean.

The last entertainment of the day was back in Brooklyn, watching the 2nd game of the NBA finals on TV. Since it was being played on the West Coast, it finished late here in NYC and we didn’t get back to the boat until after midnight.

Monday, June 8

After sleeping in a bit, Elaine took off to spend the day with Mariko while I started in on the boat maintenance. The main project was changing the oil and filters in both engines, now that we have run them almost 200 hours since we left Florida. Being at a protected marina makes this job a bit easier, but it is still a chore. A few other projects kept me busy the rest of the day. Elaine will spend tonight with Mariko in Brooklyn and they’ll be back at the boat tomorrow. 

It’s about time to think about where we are headed next. We’ll be leaving this marina on Wednesday, tentatively planning on getting to the Hudson River via a shortcut on the Harlem River.  To do this, we do have to transit the East River’s Hell Gate one more time, so checking the tide and current tables will be a must…

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK

Elaine in her "cold" position on the bridge

Had a quiet night, Wednesday, anchored near Northport, even though the wind came up early in the morning, it was a very protected anchorage. Thursday morning we headed out of the harbor around 8:30 AM, going west toward Port Washington, a few hours away. We travelled at “trawler” speed, but still made 9 knots since we caught a flood tide and had the wind astern. It was a little cool, but not as bad as the previous days.

We are now at Capri West Marina in Port Washington, a very nice marina with nice facilities. Their weekly rate is a bargain for the New York City area at $12/foot. Since we will be visiting Mariko while we are here (and borrowing her car) we decided to stay for the week.

Capri West marina, Port Washington

The first day was spent washing down the boat, doing laundry and catching up on a few projects - one of which was to remove the table on the bridge which always seemed to get in the way. Mariko came out yesterday (first time she had seen the boat) and we spent the evening at her and Sean’s (her husband) apartment in Brooklyn, driving back to the boat around 10:30 PM and amazed at the traffic as half of New York City headed out to Long Island for the weekend.

Times Square, NYC

Today we took the Long Island Rail Road into the city to meet Mariko who got tickets for an off-Broadway show this afternoon.

NYC street food for lunch

We saw “Clinton - The Musical,” an hilarious re-telling of the events from his presidency. Dinner in Manhattan with Mariko & Sean, then the LIRR back to Port Washington. Tomorrow we’ll head back into Brooklyn for Mariko’s Concert, then to Manhattan for a performance of Sean’s improv group. It’s nice to have a steady home base, even if it’s just for a week…

"Graffiti" mural