UP, UP, UP, WE GO!

May 30, 2022 - June 2, 2022

Leaving Ole Savannah with warm baked goods, coffee and tea in hand was a great way to start our travel day. We had a long day ahead of us, with a planned stop in Coeymans for fuel. We had a good run to Coeymans, but entered the marina at low tide, which for future reference, isn’t ideal for a boat with almost a five-foot draft. We got to the fuel dock, filled up, then tied up just down from the fuel dock to wait for high tide before making our exit. We were surprised to learn the tide here is a six-footer.

Once we were on our way, we encountered our lowest bridge yet. We’ve measured Holy Cow’s height and we are reasonably confident in her height, but this bridge felt like we might need some grease and luck to slide under. The bridge is stated to have 20 feet of clearance which should mean we would have about 18” to clear. As we approached the bridge, 18” doesn’t look like much to be confident on a pass. I crawled through the hatch and got on the roof of Holy Cow. Gord told me be to be prepared to lay down. As the bow went under and the bridge and radar of Holy Cow neared the steel and concrete of the traffic bridge, this was as nervous as I’d been. We did clear it, but I wouldn’t want to face many more of these.

We have 74 locks to go through between here and home. The first lock was only a 2.5 foot lift and good practice for the ones to come. We made our way to the Waterford Visitor’s Dock and met up with Oh Henry and its crew again.

We had a late start the next morning because a member of Oh Henry’s crew had a medical emergency (he’s okay now) and our morning wasn’t going so smoothly either. When we finally got off the dock after noon, we made the best of the day, hoping it continued to turn around for the better.

Voyage Log

Kingston NY to Waterford travel log here.

WATERFORD NY TO LOCK E8 – SCOTIA NY

We had a long day of locks ahead and I prayed that everything would go smoothly. Our goal was to make it to Lock E11, but that didn't work out because the locks were working on shorter hours through the week. It was a good run up the river, but there was a lot of debris in the water to dodge, a few bridges to duck under and some Sea-Dooers that followed us begging for us to throw them a huge wake to play in. Gord finally indulged them and our hearts sank when we heard the police siren and saw the sheriff's boat speed up towards us. We didn’t think we were breaking any laws, and as it turns out, we weren’t, but the Sea-Dooer was. Much to our relief, the sheriff sped passed us and pulled the Sea-Doo over.

Fun fact about locks south of the border. You leave your engines running during the lift and drop, and most of the time, there are no secure wires, cords, or bars. Instead, you hold on to a weighted line which is unattached at the bottom. Truthfully, it seems futile. There isn’t much you can do if your 65,000 pound boat starts to get away from you in a lock and the crew is standing holding a loose line with virtually no leverage. Fortunately, the engines stay on, so the captain can make corrections as needed. A total of 7 locks were completed successfully today and the total lift for the day was approximately 210 feet. When we arrived at blue line at the top of Lock E8, we set out some chairs to sit in and let the dogs have a bit of a run.

Voyage Log

Waterford to Lock E8 Scotia NY travel log here

E8 to E11 AMSTERDAM NY

The next morning, we finished what we had started the day before. It was a short run to Lock E11, where there was a nice park for the kids to run around and play. Oh Henry was celebrating their daughter's birthday, so we joined in on the cake being passed around. Riverlink Park was a lovely stop. There were flags and flowers left over from Memorial Day, which added to the beauty of the park. The total lift for the day was approximately 42 feet.

Voyage Log

Lock E8 to Amsterdam Riverlink Park travel log here.

LOCKS E12 - E17 LITTLE FALLS - MOHAWK RIVER

We travelled with Oh Henry and Dark Side again today. The river was narrow, with dense tree growth up both sides. Being up on plane seemed like something an outlaw would do, but it was permitted, so we did. It was fun to fly through the winding river with the waves crashing behind us. We were blessed with rain today, and I mean rain. Like the straight down sheet rain kind of rain. Jaxon, Gramps and I are the deck crew of the vessel and we were wet. At Lock E15 things started to get ridiculous and in Lock E16 the sky opened up. Poor Jaxon had rain dripping down his back and he complained of it running down his bum crack, but don't tell him I put that in the blog. At this point there was no varying degrees of wet. We were soaked through. Even the rain gear couldn't hold up. I watched a crew member of Oh Henry try to adjust his baseball cap to change the flow of the rain and I watched the river of rain run straight down into the back of his shirt. I don't expect that's what he had in mind and when he looked back at me, I just shrugged. To keep the mood light, Gord blared the "Rubber Ducky" song sung by Ernie from Sesame Street through the speakers of Holy Cow during the lift. I mean, technically, we were just like bath toys floating in a tub. Jaxon said the only good part of the rain was that maybe it would help fill the lock quicker. We only had one more lock after E16. We pulled off, tied up and got some warm cozy clothes on. The dogs jumped off the boat to play on shore and two of them needed a bath from sliding around in the mud. We made the best of the soaking day and evening and woke up to a beautiful morning and a great travel day ahead. Total lift for the day, 96 feet.

Voyage Log

Amsterdam Riverlink Park to Little Falls travel log here.

E18 TO E21 - ROME - THE COPPER CITY

These places along the Erie Canal make it sound like we have been world travelers these last few days passing through Amsterdam and Rome, but we haven’t left the United States. Fun fact, there is a summit level between locks E20 and E21 that drains west toward Lake Ontario and east toward the Hudson River, so today, we hit the peak of the Erie Canal. We stopped and tied up on the blue line for the night at New London and let the dogs off to play. All of the kids, Gramps and me, and our two dogs, walked across the lock gates to the other side and took a lovely stroll up the paved trail in search of some Geocaches. We were still travelling with Oh Henry and Dark Side and we were all pleased that it had been smooth cruising so far. The total lift for the day was approximately 82 feet.