Day 20: 6.15.18 - Arrival at the Erie Canal!

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.

The Not-So-Dramatic skyline of Albany, NY

He parked in my favorite spot!!!!

We have arrived at the Erie Canal

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.

Looking for parking at the Erie Canal in Waterford

We're in Waterford!

Again.... Another Waterford sign....

This town doesn't let you forget you are in.... what town is that?

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.

Evening at Waterford Locks

Boats are lined up for free docking with wi-fi, showers, bathrooms and electricity.

Lockmaster Tom

Original locks of the Champlain Canal. Later the Erie began at the top. 

Day 19: 6.14.18 - Bethlehem, NY

Thursday was bright and sunny with a brisk wind out of the north. We procrastinate at our nice dock in Coxsackie until it looks like the tide has changed, then cast off and buck the wind for fifteen miles to the Henry Hudson Park in Bethlehem, just before Albany.

Whitetail Deer along the river run from a scary sailboat

The southern end of the park is defined by Vlorman Kill, a nice creek just big enough to float Eclipse. We set both bow and stern anchors to keep her in the middle. 

Family!

At 5pm my cousin Dorey meets us, drives us to her house where my other two cousins, Caroline and Roy await us. We enjoy a dinner of shrimp, rice, salad and broccoli, catch up on old times, and chat. They all have work tomorrow, so Dorey drives us back to the park, and we row out to Eclipse. The wind has pushed her out of the channel, so before we can settle in, I use Partial Eclipse to re-set the stern anchor and get us back into the center. 

Eclipse at night

Day 18: 6.13.18 - Coxsackie, NY

Wednesday brings rain in the forecast. Three miles up the river we have a General Delivery pickup at the post office. Wind and current are favorable, but we make this a 'nero' day (near zero) by hanging out in the town of Coxackie. There's a farmer's market at 4pm with live music and baked goods and more. There's also a library. 

The town's name of Coxsackie is a Native American word meaning hoot of the owl. Owls seem to show up everywhere around town As A result and the local residence celebrate the relationship this town has with the owl in many diverse ways.  Sculptures of owls can be seen all about the town in many of the different neighborhoods and each is as whimsical and as varied as one's imagination can wander.

Tohastu recommends the first oil change at 20 hours, and we're probably about there. So we set up on the dock and figure out how to do it without adding oil to the river. 

Breakfast this morning while sailing the Hudson:  Homemade bread and eggs with Chorizo sausage

At the farmers market we find mushrooms, wild boar ribs, beets and cinnamon rolls. And we meet --- selling homemade jams at the farmers market. Like us he's polymathic – so many interests, and always jumping from one to another. 

We met these two selling jam. What a hoot. 

Day 17, 6.12.18, Athens

Tuesday we're up early again, and while the current starts out against us, and the wind too light and fickle, after an hour of motoring we can comfortably sail. The wind keeps building, and the current stronger. Soon we're flying up the river at six and seven knots! Such fun!

Hard to read, but upper right corner says 7.5 knots!

There's a maritime museum in Kingston, so we go in and tie up, but they won't be open today, and neither will the trolly museum. So back onto the river. We're going so fast that we stop early in the town of Athens, stroll the town and settle into the library for wifi.

Maritime museum, Kingston NY

Looking aft, P. E. trailing along behind, Tibetan prayer flags flapping furiously.

Lighthouse on the Hudson below Athens, NY

Athens, NY

Athens street scene

The wind doesn't abate until 5pm, and then only slightly. Leaving Athens with a single reef in the main and no jib, and against the current, we're still making 4.5 knots. In five miles we come to a nice bay in what was once the thriving town of Stockport. On the way into the bay, we ground the rudder, and the cable snaps. We can still steer with the motor, and find a good place for the anchor. 

Everything that hangs down from Eclipse can be folded up – the motor, ladder, centerboard, and rudder. The centerboard hangs down deepest at about six feet, but it will fold back if it hits anything. The rudder hangs down about four feet, and is held down with a cable. We have to release the cable to raise the rudder. It's this cable that snapped. Once we are secure, we investigate. The cable had corroded at the waterline, and the strain as we hit the mud was too much. Luckily we have a length of cable and clamps, bought when we had the centerboard problem in Niantic. As daylight fades we effect a good repair.

Kristen tightens cable clamps

Gary is doing something to the rudder from the stability(!) of Partial Eclipse

Record distance of 40 miles today. Dinner of spaetzle and chorizo as we watch Amtrak roll by.

Day 16, 6.11.18, To Hyde Park Landing

Monday starts with a rosy sunrise, which we're up to watch. Gotta be to catch the north-flowing tide. Soon the wind picks up, pushing us south. So we tack into the wind all day until the wind dies mid afternoon as a front moves through. 

Schoner McClure at Poughkeepsie

In Poughkeepsie we try to find a secure landing in town, and wind up on the end of a float where the Lois McClure is tied! And just downstream is the Glass Barge. But we're not really welcome here, and are told we can only stay 15 minutes. Not very friendly. Across the river is a brand new park, and except for parking signs, there are no rules posted yet. We tie up at the float and make a picnic on the grass. But then the landscaping crew arrives and the noise drives us back out onto the peaceful river.

Picking lambs quarters at lunch break.

The wind has died and the current against us, so we motor to Hyde Park landing, home of the Vanderbilt mansion and FDR's home. We take a mooring ball for $35, row to shore, and walk to the mansion, now owned by the National Park Service. The tour is very informative, and the house is fully furnished just as when the Vanderbilts lived here.

Vanderbilt

The mighty Hudson from near the Vanderbilt mansion.

Formal dining room

The ladies parlor

We spend the night on the mooring ball out in the river, but it's less than ideal. Sure, it's secure and we won't drift, but we're totally exposed to the wakes of any passing boats. Carrot cake for our evening repast.

Southern trees grow here. Big leaf magnolia.