Three Sons made it to the Erie Canal! We stocked up with extra fenders, lines, gloves and patience and are ready to take on part of the 363 mile journey. This historical canal in upstate New York, runs east – west traversing New York state from Albany to Buffalo. The canal was completed in 1825, to help reduce the cost of transporting goods and people. Now, it is used mostly for recreation and tourism and raises boats 566 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie through 35 locks. Since we can not fit under a low bridge on the western part of the canal, our plan is only cruise three fourths of the Erie Canal turning left once we hit the Oswego Canal.
After a breakfast with Lady Z and Camelot at Don and Paul’s Breakfast Shop, we ventured into the Erie Canal. As soon as we left the Waterford High Dock, we immediately started the famous “Flight of Five” locks. This series of 5 locks lifts vessels from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River. The elevation gain (169 feet) is the highest relative to it’s length (1.5 miles) of any canal lock system in the US. It took us roughly 2 hours to make the transit through the system. The first lock was exhilarating and frightful, Tracy wondered, “Umm, how many more? and Why are we doing this?” By the end we had our grove and the entire series of 5 went smooth.
We ventured on to lock 7 Vischer Ferry Lock and Dam and after 4 hours and 17 minutes of cruising (17 Nautical Miles) we docked at Scotia Landing. Once settled, we walked over to Schenectady and stopped at Frog Alley Brewery for a quick beer. Back at the dock, we joined Camelot, their guests, and Lady Z for once again Margarita docktails and belly hurting laughs. The night ended with a walk over to Jumping Jacks for ice cream and more giggles.
Today was a sad reminder why we must live each day to the fullest and why we are doing this nutty trip. Along with our buddy boats, we left Scotia Landing with a plan to cruise to Canajoharie, NY tackling the many locks along the way. Arriving at Lock 11, 6 inflatable rescue boats entered the lock along with us. The lockmaster told us a search and recovery was in progress and asked us to dock at the wall until further notice. A 31 year old man was fishing when his line got caught and his pole slipped from his hand. He fell in the water trying to retrieve it. The spot makes for a good fishing due to the difference in elevation but also a strong current from the river and movable dams creates a washing machine effect and strong undertow.
Seven boats ended up stranded on the top of Lock 11 and the Canal Cooperation continued to give us updates. Soon, we settled in for the night keeping positive thoughts for the family. Lady Z, Camelot and Three Sons prepared a lasagna dinner and we enjoyed dinner by the Mohawk River. Around 8:30PM, we were informed the efforts were stopped for the evening and will continue at 7AM. If we wanted to continue, we needed to at the next lock by 6:30 AM.
Engines were revving at 5:30 AM and we all started up the Mohawk River to Lock 12. No one had experience locking with more than a few boats but with lots of radio communications, cooperation and teamwork, it was a seamless experience with all 7 boats.
We were looking for a stop to settle into for a few days and do some resting and exploring. With so many boats on the move, it was not an easy task to find such a spot. We pressed on traveling 9 and a half hours/42 Nautical Miles and 7 Locks docking in Ilion, NY.
