LOCKING,DOCKING & WALKING

With the bow thruster fixed we were able to leave Waterford confident that we could handle the boat well inside the locks. So, early Tuesday morning, we untied the Summer Wind and made our way towards the locks and began our journey through the Erie Canal.

The Erie Canal was started in 1817 and finished in 1825, its purpose to transport goods through the canals on barges. Today very few barges go through the canal because trains and trucks can ship goods quicker and more economically.Pleasure craft are the main boats traversing it today.The Erie Canal is over 340 miles long, and has been changed and diverted a few times.We won't be passing through the whole canal.

Locks #2-7. Very interesting Lock #2 is the beginning of the " flight of five" locks, one almost right after the other and a lift of 169 ft. the guide books tell cruisers to add 1/2 hour travel time for every lock, so our plan was to possibly stop in Schenectady a mere 16 miles from Waterford. Because we were the only boat travelling through, by the time we finished each lock the other was open and ready. After lock 6 there are two gate guards which can be lowered to stop the water. At this point the canal system opens up into the scenic Mohawk River. We made great time traversing the locks. As we were passing the Schenectady yacht club, we were able to see the remains of an early aqueduct which used to span the Mohawk River.

Locks #8,9,10- These locks only offered ropes for locking. One of the things we discovered is the lines are placed quite a distance apart. We should mention that all these locks are different than Florida or Virginia because controlling the water comes through pipes and pumps from below, not through opening and closing of the gates. The lockmaster can control which side to let the water in and that will hold the boat against the wall. We were making great time so we decided to continue on and go to Amsterdam. There is a new floating dock at the the Riverlink Park.

Riverlink Park Marina is a new harbor front park, the idea was to entice boaters, offer clean amenities and make cruisers feel welcome. This was not a free dock, but again very clean and the owner of the Riverlink Cafe came out to greet us. She apologized profusely about the restaurant being closed, there just isn't enough business to justify a 7 day opening, so she's closed Tuesdays, and Wednesdays for dinner. The day had been sunny, hot and very humid, we both looked at her and said no problem but where is a good ice cream shop. She laughed and said her restaurant, which she told us to come up and she'd serve us some great ice cream, and it was absolutely heavenly. While we were eating our ice cream we took the opportunity to do our laundry. By the time we were finished, we were soaking wet, hot and too tired to walk into town.

That night we were treated to great thunderstorms but by morning, it was just grey so we decided to go onto Canajoharie. Again, the scenery is quite beautiful. There are many natural areas.

Locks #11,12,13- There are many interesting sights along the way.Lock 11 has a historic home on Guy Park built by Sir William Johnson, unfortunately not open for the public. There is a National Shrine of the North American Martyrs, a beautiful 16 sided building. This route also takes you past the town of Fonda, named after Henry Fonda and family.

Canajahorie offers a free dock to cruisers,enough room for 2 good sized boats. There is water and electric available. So, we tied up and went into town to explore. We could see the Beech Nut factory from the harbour, and this company is a mainstay of employment, however we learned that this factory was moving. This little town shows signs of struggling with the economy, many shops empty. We talked to a town member who told us the shops are very old and need repair, unfortunately most have some kind of asbestos, so very costly to update. Canajahorie is an Indian term for bubbling pot, and there is a 45 ft waterfall, however the town sadly blocked it off because there had been a few teens who jumped off and didn't survive, so they didn't want anymore sadness. He made recommendations to go to "Melissa's" for lunch. Melissa is a graduate of CIA (Culinary Institute of America). She was a chef for the Famous Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach and also a chef for Walt Disney. So, we took his advice and the sandwiches were delicious. So, after lunch, the sky was very dark and our cue to go back to the boat. Just in time too, because the skies opened up and the rest of the afternoon was a wash. So, we snuggled down for the night and watched some great movies.

Note of Interest: Canajahorie was also the home of the academy where Susan B. Anthony once taught and became head of the girls' department for two years.The shell of the school still stands, it was purchased and the developer started to turn the school into condominiums. Unfortunately with the market crashing its assumed he ran out of money because the school has stayed the same for the past 2 years.

July 30th we untied from the dock and headed up the Mohawk River. Our goal for the day was to be the town Ilion. We could probably spend the whole summer on the Erie Canal to absorb the history, but we need to make up a few miles.

Locks #14,15,16,17,18 As we're traversing through the canals we notice signs at the exits of the locks giving the elevation levels since we started at sea level and distance to the next lock. Lock 17 was the highest lift on the Erie Canal of 40.5 feet,and instead of the gate opening, the gate is lifted for boats to enter.

Ilion Marina, is a small RV park with cleats along the wall for boats to tie and was very clean. Ilion was great fun, we tied up and went into town to find the Remington Arms Factory Museum. They offer tours and on the second day in Ilion because of the weather we were able to take part. They have a custom engraver that hand engraves the metal parts of the rifles and embosses with 24 kt goldUnfortunately when this man retires his position will no longer be needed because most engraving will be done with laser and computer. He works just on custom made rifles that have been ordered. These rifles are from $2,000 to $10,000 each. We both found the factory fascinating. Ilion also offered a free concert by the Ilion Civic Band. This band played various themes from movies and was great fun guessing the movies. We met the Golden family on a boat in front of us who were doing the Erie Canal in 3 weeks from Maryland, very nice getting to know them.

Woke up to morning fog, but all boats departed from Ilion. Off the wall we went for our next stop will be Sylvan Beach on the eastern edge of Lake Oneida. Slowly the sun shines through and there are more local small boats on the water. The day turns out to be wonderful!
Locks 19,20,21,22. Lock 20 is the last lift, we've reached an elevation oft 420 feet. At lock #21 the lock starts to take us down, we weren't sure how bumpy the ride would be, but found it effortlessly. The other interesting thing is that lock tenders talk to one another and they were aware of who was on their way.

Sylvan offers a free wall for cruisers. There are no ammenities but very close to the beach and all the action. Pulled up to the wall and took the only available spot. There is about 700 ft of wall space on the east side of the bridge and 500 feet on the west. Sylvan beach is a resort with cottages, beach area and amusement park. Saturday, and a glorious day the beach was in full swing. The action didn't stop through the night until the wee hours of the morning. This morning , Sunday August2nd, woke up to rain and a very different scene. Staying for one more night because crossing Lake Oneida wouldnt have been too pleasant. All we can say is having a fantastic time!! What a difference a day makes!!