Westward

The locks reopened Tuesday the 17th and we were off. After waiting for 4 days, all of us along the Waterford wall were ready to climb the Waterford Flight.  The first group of boats left the dock before 8. We watched as they all took their places inside the lock and soon noticed the last boat in backing up, hesitating and then switching sides.  Turns out one of the crew members, an elderly gentleman, had fallen overboard. Fortunately he got back on board, and the lock doors closed.

Loopers starting the Waterford Flight

We joined the second, smaller group of boats and kept with them all day. As I mentioned in my last post, The Waterford Flight Locks 2-6) is a series of 5 locks that lift or lower vessels 169 feet in just 2 miles. That is the greatest height in the shortest distance of any canal in the world. Each lift was 33'-35'. We tied to the wall either by wrapping a line around a pole and cleating it back to the boat, or by grabbing a line that hung from the top of the wall. The line around the pole was easier and a lot less slimy! It was a fun and physical day.

Freedom entering a lock

It's a long way up!

The gates opening

Up against the wall

Ham supervising our entry into a lock

The dams alongside the locks are powerful and have provided power for local cities and towns since the early days of the Erie Canal

The weather turned windy on Wednesday and passage through the locks was much more difficult. We were pushed about by swirling waters outside the locks and one inside a wind tunnel effect took place, The lock masters advised us of the best places to tie up in  order to avoid and turbulence. Fortunately there were only two locks to maneuver before reaching the Riverlink Park in Amsterdam. The dock was full of Loopers: Summerland, Waterview, Midas Touch, Attitude Changer, Talisman and Annabelle. Soon after tying up the Capn's sister Robin and cousin Cynthia arrived for lunch. We had a great visit catching up on family news. Faithful readers will recall our reunion with Uncle Harry's Jarvis Newman Freedom on Charleston. Cynthia is Harry's daughter and was happy to see the "newest" Freedom. Later in the afternoon we walked into town but never did find the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame!
It was a beautiful June evening and the Looper's  gathered for dinner at the Riverlink Cafe overlooking the Mohawk River, exchanging life stories, boating stories, and Boat Cards.

Sadly we don't have any pictures of the cousins lunch or the Looper dinner :(

The Mohawk River is the Erie Canal and the Erie Canal is the Mohawk River between Waterford and Lock 19.  At times it is deep in a valley surrounded by rolling hills and lush landscapes. At other times, it rides along a ridge at treetop level. Trains rumble day and night on tracks both north and south of the waterway. Homes peek from behind the tree lined shores, geese are plentiful and the fish must be too from the numbers fishing at the locks, the shore, and small boats.  All those words you learn in poetry class apply here, as they did along the Hudson: sylvan, verdant, misted morn, dusky eve, etc. We have been struck by the simple beauty of it all.

I have also been struck by the fact that although I grew up in the Empire State I never knew there was a Mohawk River -- I always thought of it as a Native American Tribe and a much maligned airline (Slow-Hawk we called it). Shame on me.

Thursday found us traveling in company with Bob and Vickie from Waterview and Mike and Marion on Midas Touch. We fell into a routine of Waterview (the fastest boat) in the lead, followed by Midas Touch and then us. The first two boats tied to the starboard side lock walls and we took the port side. It worked out well as we traveled through locks 11-16. Unfortunately some transmission concerns came up as we locked up at #16. Our kind and gracious traveling companions made sure we were safely tied up just outside the lock before they carried on along the canal. Further proof that Canadians and Southerners are just plain nice!  The lock master Scott Bruce could not have been more accommodating as we spent the next day and half sorting things out. He arranged for a delivery of potable water and even rode over to the local auto parts store to pick up our oil.

Just after our lines were secured, Scott told us we were at one of the best spots along the canal -- "It's like a resort!"  We looked around: no pool, no tiki bar, no structures other than the lock masters house -- even the road was gone (washed out by last year's flooding.) All we saw were trees, grass, the canal and a few fisherman. He was right -- it was peaceful and relaxing and proved to be one of our favorite stops so far. It was fun to watch the east and west bound boats go through the locks -- everything from large tugs to small run abouts, and lots of Loopers. A few familiar faces passed by allowing us to catch up on their plans as they locked up or  motored slowly by. Even Ham loved it. He was able to run off leash up and down the nearby walking path, and investigate all sorts of new smells.

By Saturday afternoon we were ready to head for Little Falls -- about 20 miles and 2 locks ahead, including the tallest lock on the canal:  Lock 17. Instead of a gate, a guillotine door raises above the water for boats entering or leaving the east side of the lock.

The guillotine nears -- yikes!

Inside Lock 17

The door goes down, up and down

Water over the ledge

 It is a bit scary to pass underneath --and quite wet. We were alone in the lock and it seemed to be taking much longer than normal for us to start our rise after the door closed. After a few minutes the lock master radioed us that he was having trouble with the door. There we were in a 40'+ hole, wondering what came next. The guillotine raised up a bit and lowered with an echoing shudder. About 5 minutes later we began to move and breathed a sigh of relief.

Right now we are settled in at the Little Falls Canal Harbor, enjoying a quiet Sunday, doing some boat chores and hoping to find a spot to watch the Word Cup game later today.