Day 70: Waterford to Lock C-5 in Schuylerville, NY
Day 70: Friday, June 24th: Well, we didn't get underway as early as we thought but we did leave Waterford about 10:15am. A couple miles up the Hudson River we came to the "official" Champlain Canal start at lock "C-1":
All of the Lockmasters take pride in the landscaping, painting and general attractiveness of their lock - and they all look perfect in spite of the age of the structures.
Here is a lesson in "locking through". We entered the first lock from the lower side (northbound). Note the ropes hanging down from the blue and white floats along the lock wall. You pull up to them, grab them (with gloves on) and hang on. It helps to put a line around one of the cables or pipes, depending on the lock, that they have installed vertically in the lock wall every 100 feet or so:
Sometimes the wind will whip the boat around in the lock basin. The flags are a good indicator:
The dams in the Hudson (around which the locks provide safe passage) are awesome and scary!
But on the upside, literally, it is calm and serene. The upper gates open, we start the engine, cast off and are on our way:
The bridges get lower and lower as we go along; this is the reason to drop the mast and antennas. Another dam and lock ahead beyond the bridge. There are eleven locks on the Champlain - curiously numbered 1 through 12. There is no lock 10. Although the original survey provided for one, they were able to eliminate it, and kept the numbers as planned:
At Mechanicville, NY, the city offers a free dock! Actually there are several in the canal system. We chose to continue on since we had only gone about eleven miles. It looked like a good dock and the price was "free". Good price!
Lock C-3 provided an extra challenge: a work boat on the down-side wall that we had to sneak around:
You can see the handling ropes better in this picture:
Each lock provides a sign with the vital statistics:
Just above C-3 is "THE BRIDGE!!" This is THE reason for dropping the mast. The bridge height is seventeen feet and Integrity is now about fifteen feet and a few inches tall (we think). GREEP!
Closer: Double GREEP! That sure does look low!
Webmaster note: Doesn't that pipe look like a little guy with his arms akimbo?
That's the book that tells bridge clearances in Bill's hand.
SCRE-E-E-E-CH!!!!!
Leaving lock C-4 we saw friends Steve and Bruce aboard their Mainship Trawler tied up at the upper wall. Actually they weren't on the boat, but probably taking a walk around the park-like grounds of the lock. Tying up to the lock wall is OK and no charge. We plan to do so tonight. The other boat is moving into the lock to go down:
Through this part of New York State the homes are more modest than some of those in the Carolinas and Florida. Just as pleasant, if not more so, in a slower, more natural setting:
Through the trees in this part of the canal we could see prosperous farms:
In this part of the canal (actually part of the Hudson River still), it looked like the only civilization was us and the Mohawk Indians, and the Mohawks left many years ago!
We pulled into the Schuyler Yacht Basin, a small marina that had a chart book that we needed. It was a delightful spot run by a couple that couldn't do enough for us. Among their talents was a knack for gardening. Samples follow:
We arrived at C-5 and had decided to tie to the lock wall. The Lockmaster advised us to lock through and tie to the upstream wall although it looked lovely below the lock:
We tied to the lock wall upstream of lock C-5, near Schuylerville, NY:
While we were enjoying a cool beer in the 90+ heat, a pair of young women cleared the lock. The lockmaster told us later that lots of small boats lock through the canal:
An hour later, here they came back:
The water rushes in around the upstream lock doors:
And the kayakers paddle out the gates:
They seemed to enjoy our taking pictures. We emailed all of the pictures to them:
We ate supper at one of the picnic tables next to the lock wall. Delightful barbecued chicken meatballs and noodles with a mandarin orange salad. Yummy!
Position tonight: N43 06.819 W073 34.732
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