Friday gray and gloomy with a north wind. Within an hour of hauling up the anchor we're in cold wind-blown drizzle and making slow progress against wind and current toward Albany.
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| The Not-So-Dramatic skyline of Albany, NY |
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| He parked in my favorite spot!!!! |
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We have arrived at the Erie Canal
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But progress we make until we stop at a marina for gas and water. The attendant points to a bridge a mile upstream. We'll not get under it. So while at his dock we remove the sails and lower the mast. Now we're just a motorboat. In a few more miles we arrive at the Troy Lock, the end of the tidal Hudson. The great doors swing open for us to enter and rise about fifteen feet, then we motor out onto new waters. In a few more miles we arrive at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, where we tie up to the wall at the Waterford Canal Welcome Center. Free docking, free wifi, free showers, and lots free information from friendly people.
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| Looking for parking at the Erie Canal in Waterford |
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| We're in Waterford! |
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| Again.... Another Waterford sign.... |
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| This town doesn't let you forget you are in.... what town is that? |
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| Damn! Our boat is so small compared to the other "cruisers" |
After dinner we take a walkabout up to the first lock. We almost startle a man polishing the machinery. Tom is very friendly and happy to talk about working at the lock and the turn of the century motors and drive systems that make the lock work. But he's got work to do so we continue our walk up the towpath of the old Champlain canal, which was completed two years before the Erie. The two canals diverged at the top of this first lock, which was once a flight of three locks.
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| Evening at Waterford Locks |
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| Boats are lined up for free docking with wi-fi, showers, bathrooms and electricity. |
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| Lockmaster Tom |
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| Original locks of the Champlain Canal. Later the Erie began at the top. |
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