Waterford, New York.

I probably should have titled this post wonderful Waterford because it really was wonderful. We left Shady Harbor Marina shortly behind Summerland and we both arrived at Waterford together. Upon arrival in Waterford there was less than 100' of dock available for both of us. Since they were ahead of us they went in first and pulled as far forward as possible. That left 48' for our 42' boat! Luckily the current was flowing swiftly against me and I was able to dock Navigator easily on the first try. For those of you that know about "Mertz Luck" it was working in overdrive. Both to have the space available and to get docked in such a tight space.

Waterford is the junction of the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal. The Erie Canal goes west, eventually to Lake Ontario via the Oswego Canal and the Champlain Canal goes north to Lake Champlain and eventually into Canada. Our choice has always been to go north on the Champlain Canal. There are three other boats going that way also.

Because the Erie Canal was closed due to flooding all the west bound boats were held at Waterford. The Champlain Canal wasn't closed. However, the vertical clearance at the first bridge right in Waterford was less than the 15' we need. Two of the other boats intending to take the same route were at least a foot higher than we are. Therefore we all stuck it out in Waterford until the water receded. When the Erie Canal was scheduled to reopen we were given permission to raft boats two abreast along the wall. We had three boats move from the Albany Yacht Club and raft up to three of us. As I mentioned in the last blog it was lucky that we didn't get into the Albany Yacht Club. We would have been stuck there for a few days rather than in Waterford.

Mark and Jane from Average Looper and Jan and I rode our bicycles to see Cohoes Falls, a beautiful waterfall.. The falls are supposed to be the second most beautiful falls on the east coast, second to Niagara Falls. They really were beautiful and with the flooding the flow of water was amazing.

We had a great time waiting in Waterford and got some projects completed. Just across the bridge was a very convenient super market. They allowed boaters to take their shopping carts back to the docks and they periodically picked them up. It is really unusual how they have to "unlock" the carts otherwise the wheels lock up when you leave their parking lot.

Docktails were a daily event. One bonus was that the there wasn't any additional charge for docking, just our canal pass that we needed anyway. There was a minimal $10.00 charge for electricity. Not per day but total. They were appreciative when we donated the $10.00 deposit for the bathroom key to their volunteer worker fund.

Waterford is definitely high on the list of favorite places.

It's unusual to have direction signs on a waterway. Our first view of Waterford.

I don't remember this from history class.

Main Street in Waterford.

This town is alive and well with many shops and businesses.

This statue, dedicated to the village firemen was in a small park in a prominent

curve on the main road through town. 

The Erie Canal Building, bathrooms, etc.

They have web cams that show the docks in both directions from the building.

The line up begins with this canal boat which can be chartered on the Erie Canal.

Annabelle and several others waiting for the Erie Canal to reopen.

Here we are waiting under the bridge for the water to recede.

We are looking toward the first lock on the Erie Canal.

We needed this gauge to drop to 17' to clear the first bridge on the Champlain Canal.

The gauge shows the pool level not the bridge clearance.

The current was flowing past Navigator this fast even though the boat stationary, tied to the dock.

We saw this unusual church on the way to Cohoes Falls.

Beautiful Cohoes Falls.

Another view of Cohoes Falls.

The buildings are for hydro electric power generation.

The Admiral and the Captain at Cohoes Falls.

These signs were on the Champlain Canal also.

We found them very interesting and helpful.

The canal finally reopens and the first load is preparing to go up in the lock.

Notice how the sailboats have their masts down to clear the bridges.

The first load leaving lock 2 for lock 3, just a quarter mile away.

The four Champlain boats awaiting departure.

Sorry, I zoomed in too far on this one and the picture isn't clear.

Our departure from Waterford. Not too many boats left here now.

Onrust again with her mast down for transiting the low bridges on the Erie Canal.

Rondout Creek New York to Waterford New York

After leaving Rondout Creek we continued up the beautiful Hudson River. We passed the town of Hudson New York. Again we were surprised to see the ships and lighthouses.

We stayed at Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore, NY. It was a nice marina with a pool, etc. and an extremely helpful staff. We used their courtesy car to run some errands as the terrain was way too hilly to bike.

There was an extreme amount of rain to the north of us and the river was flooding which created swift currents. There was much debris in the water.It was a challenging day trying to dodge the trees in the water. Thankfully nothing became a problem for us. The Erie Canal was closed because of the flooding.

We couldn't stay at the Albany Yacht Club, our next planned stop, because this large boat was going there and taking up all the available dock space. That turned out to be a good thing for us as we continued on to Waterford. More about this on the next blog.

Annabelle is the small boat ahead of us on the dock. 

She is on the loop and being single handed by a very capable woman.

We saw several commuter trains along the upper Hudson.

The river was flooding at the Federal Lock just between Albany and Waterford New York.

That looks dangerous over there.

Hudson New York looks a lot like Hudson Wisconsin.

Another lighthouse in the Hudson River.

This ship passed our marina. Notice the debris floating, a small one of the many larger ones.

The current was really swift and flooding.

Another ship on the upper Hudson. 

We were really surprised at the number of ships this far up the river. 

Half Moon Bay to Rondout Creek, New York

After our visit to Boston and Staunton's visit to the boat we moved upriver to Rondout Creek.

On the way, we traveled past West Point Academy. It was very impressive from the water. We did not land and visit as we did at the Naval Academy. We were surprised to meet large ships and see the lighthouses right in the middle of the upper Hudson River.

Rondout Creek was a good stop for us. It allowed us to catch up with a few other loopers and Jan visited the Vanderbilt Mansion with some of them. We had a very aggressive bicycle ride up and down the hills in Kingston and Port Ewen, New York. Rondout Creek was annexed by Kingston some time ago and is no longer it own town. There was an area with five churches in about a four block area. We found the downtown area of Rondout Creek very depressing. Except for a few restaurants near the waterfront the rest of the town was vacant. The maritime museum wasn't open while we were there. Port Ewen and the Kingston area above the hill were better. Port Ewen had miniature tug boats around the town all decorated differently. They must have had a contest or something. Several were very cute. After a couple of days it was time to move on again, up the river.

A view of West Point.

More of West Point.

We passed this ship in the narrow upper Hudson River.

One if the lighthouses  in the upper Hudson River

This lighthouse was at the entrance of Rondout Creek.

This is a view from Navigator looking at the bridge we rode across with our bicycles.

These are VERY steep hills for bicycle riding.

Looking across the bridge into Rondout Creek, the town.

Notice the church steeples.

I guess you could call this the house built on a rock.

The Vanderbilt Mansion.

Inside the Vanderbilt Mansion.

Another inside view of the Vanderbilt Mansion.

This ship came in one rainy morning for fuel and a pump out.

It is a replica of the first sailing ship made in America.

All the previous ships that arrived here were built elsewhere.

The ornate bow of Onrust.

The stern of Onrust.

This photo is self explaining of a PT Boat.

Another PT boat for the museum.

Tug boats in Port Ewen, there were lots of them.

Leaving New York City heading up the Hudson River

We left Great Kills Yacht Club after a very busy in New York City. Our views of the city and Lady Liberty from our boat were amazing. I was surprised seeing the Empire State building from the water. It was much farther from Manhattan than I expected. We went past it on the bus tour but I didn't have a sense of the distance. That city is really huge.

The Hudson River Valley exceeded our expectations for its beauty. It's like the Mississippi River Valley near Red Wing, MN only with mountains. Just beautiful! Unfortunately the pictures just don't capture the beauty.

We arrived at Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton on Hudson, NY with three boats and overwhelmed them. The marina is severely over rated! The manager is a scatter brain that can't focus and stay on task.Since our visit we heard they have hired 2 full time staff members. Hopefully that will help.  Because the weather was predicted to be unfavorable for boating we rented a car and drove to Boston to visit Amy and her family.

We had a very enjoyable visit at the Stauntons. We were able to enjoy some of the many activities with them. We attended Brendan's Lacrosse practice which is a  new sport for us, Lauren's dance recital practice. Brigid is continuing to amaze us for a three year old. They are all so special in their own ways.

On Sunday we returned to the boat with the Staunton family. They hadn't ever seen the boat and we enjoyed a short cruise on the river. It was very generous of them to spend the day with us out of their extremely busy schedule. 

This is an early view of the Verrazano Bridge, our entrance to New York Harbor

This is a closer view of the Verrazano Bridge

Obviously, the Statue of Liberty but this photo is taken from our own boat.

What a feeling!

Navigator in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Another view of Navigator in front of the Statue of Liberty.

We were traveling with Limelight and Average Looper, each taking pictures of each other in front of the Statue of Liberty. Manhattan is in the background.

Sing Sing Prison is right on the river. I suppose it might be difficult to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the river while incarcerated. Now it makes more sense to be sent up the river.

The view from Half Moon Bay Marina the morning we left for Boston.

This is a zoomed in picture showing Navigator.

The wooden barrier behind the boat was marginally effective in reducing 

the waves and wakes from the river.

Brendan showed us how to climb a tree. It obviously wasn't his first time. 

He was up there in a flash.

Brendan in his Lacrosse gear.

Lauren the dancer and her sister Brigid.

The little sister is always a copycat!

Grandma with the girls.

Amy has posted pictures of the kids on the boat with us on facebook. I would add them here if I knew how.

We are currently in Canada without our own internet service. We have to rely on wifi from the marinas which has been disappointing. We will attempt to get caught up with the blog as we get internet service. Blogging takes time and we are busy traveling and sightseeing.