Friday, August 5, 2022

We covered 65 miles this morning in just over 4 hours – fast cruise all the way.  That sounds awfully slow for a car, I know, but it is quite respectable for a boat.  

It was cloudy this morning, with some drizzle, but the lake was like glass.  We don’t mind rain at all; we are warm and dry.  It’s the sea conditions that concern us, and they were perfect.

Once you leave Lock 12 behind, you are in Lake Champlain per se.  It starts out narrow for the first hour, often cutting between sheer cliffs, with water as deep as 400 feet!   Yikes!  Then it widens out as you continue north; here at Burlington the Lake is several miles wide, with beautiful mountains on the other side.

To the left of the bridge is a large monument erected to commemorate the tercentenary of Samual Champlain’s discovery of the Lake. It was designed as a lighthouse and includes a bronze of “La France” by Rodin, presented by the people of France.

One thing that is continuing to surprise us is how few boats we pass or see.  All the way up the Hudson; all the way through the Canal, and all the way up the Lake, I’ll bet we didn’t pass more than a dozen boats (coming or going)!

For those of you who haven’t been there, Burlington is a very HAPPENING town. The U of VT adds a youthful vibrancy; there is a gorgeous waterfront park directly adjacent to our marina; a 28-mile bike path along the lake where you take the world’s only bike ferry to cross an inlet.  There’s a FREE shuttle bus right from our marina, and at least one shopping street is closed to vehicles.  We are staying right in the heart of the harbor, at a marina called the Burlington Community Boathouse.

This afternoon was consumed by chores: the boat was filthy, and Lynn took the shuttle into town to buy groceries and supplies. “ Lynn here” – that was an adventure! Had a long list – Diet Coke, lunch stuff, persecco, light beer, snack stuff. Weighed in at about 40 lbs and no bus. After walking about 5 blocks, the same bus driver that took me to the grocery, picked me up and dropped me right at the entrance to the marina. The people in Burlington seem very nice – almost like the Midwest.

Because we are a little tired, we are going to dine right at the marina tonight, and explore the rest of Burlington tomorrow

August 4, 2022

We traversed five more locks today – all routine.  We were still in the Hudson River for about half the day – the second half was canal.  Both are narrow, with trees on each side.  Very bucolic.  There are two principal differences between the river sections and the canal sections:

• The river curves; the canal is fairly straight

• The speed limit is 10 mph in the canal

The Canal was scenic with the mountains (Vermont) in the distance.  We knew there were restricted speeds and a number of locks, so we planned to go just 35 miles today. 

We moseyed along at 10mph, and guess what?  We got there just the same.

Here’s a photo of Lock #12 – the final lock in the Canal.  We are all the way through and tied up for the day.  It’s expected to hit 99 degrees today, but we are plugged in and air conditioned!

This appears to be a rather impecunious part of the world, and there are no restaurants as far as we know, so we’ll eat aboard: hot dogs and beans – one of my faves!  Lynn deserves accolades for planning all the food so carefully.

Tomorrow, we run from here to Burlington – roughly 70 miles.  From what I recall, Burlington is quite attractive and sophisticated; it will provide quite a contrast with tonight’s humble setting.

Thursday August 4, 2022

Sorry y’all. No detailed. post tonight. Terrible internet and my devices can’t see my phone for a Hot Spot.
Good trip today – 5 locks. Almost all day at 10 mph thru bucolic surroundings. Tomorrow we break out into the Lake and run for Burlington

TTFN

August 3, 2020

Today we passed through 5 locks, raising us a total of 82 feet.  We left shortly after 7 AM, and we tied up at 2:30.  A long day.  Not particularly difficult, but made somewhat longer by lock procedures:

• The first lock is called Federal Lock, and it is located at Troy NY, right where the Hudson ceases to be navigable.  We had to wait about 20 minutes while they discharged a southbound boat that was already in the lock chamber.

• Right after the Federal Lock, you turn left for the Erie Canal or straight for the Champlain Canal.

• Next is C-1 (for Champlain 1).  New this year (and unbeknownst to us, C-1 now accepts northbound boats only every two hours (on the odd hour).  We arrived at 10 and waited until 11. C-1 is also now “double-flushing (they raise the water level, drop it and raise it again) in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Round Goby, an invasive species.  So once we got into C-1, it took 30 minutes, instead of 15.

• C-2 is also double-flushing.

• From there on, it got a lot easier, as each lockkeeper called ahead to tell the next lock that we were coming.  So we usually had a green light to enter as soon as we arrived, and C-3 and C-4 took just 15 minutes apiece.

The procedure itself is pretty simple:

• We set fenders and a mid-cleat line on the starboard side.

• I drive the boat into the lock.

• Lynn stands on the starboard side-deck, holding the line.

• The lock chamber has long “pipes” that run vertically.  These are located every 50 feet or so.

• I line the boat up so that Lynn can slip the line behind (around) the “pipe”.

• As the water rises, she holds the boat in position by slipping the rope up the pipe.

• Despite some initial apprehension, Lynn reports that “It was fun!”

We covered just 45 miles today, and I am so glad I didn’t plan on more.  I believe I planned appropriately for the impact of the locks.  And because I did, we never felt worried about how long it was taking.  Anyway, now we are fueled, and pumped out, and tied up in Schuylersville, NY, which Lynn tells me has a lot of good restaurants.  Who knew?

Tomorrow, I am planning to cover just 35 miles, because we have 5 locks and more reduced speed zones in the canal.   That will put us in Whitehall, NY, just at the southern tip of Lake Champlain.

TTFN

R&L&G

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

First, an additional note about Newburgh.  We had posted the blog before we went to dinner, and as we waited for our table, we met a woman and her son who knew the Drennen family – Cathy’s relatives.  And they bought us a round of drinks.  Irish hospitality!

Again, today, a very pleasant run up the Hudson.  I have never cruised anywhere quite like this…towering granite cliffs and hills on either side, the water almost 200 feet deep in spots like West Point.  Picturesque old lighthouses along the way.

And this river just goes ON and ON and ON.  We are two days into the trip up the Hudson (about 120 miles under our keel) and still not at the end.

We truly felt some appreciation for what the early explorers must have experienced, as they pushed up this massive body of water, searching for a Northwest Passage to the Orient.

About halfway into today’s trip, the Catskill Mountains appeared on the horizon, dwarfing the cliffs beside the river.  I mistakenly thought that we were already seeing the mountains surrounding Lake Champlain, but of course, we are days away from that.  That being said, the Catskills are VERY impressive from this perspective!

We are now tied up at Donovan’s Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore NY.  Tomorrow morning, we’ll run the final 20-mile leg, past Albany to Troy, where we’ll enter the first lock.

Yowza

Monday – August 1

We’ll get to Newburgh in a minute. But first a final note about Liberty Park, where the Liberty Landing Marina is located. As you approached the Hudson River on foot from the New Jersey side, there is a spectacular 9/11 Memorial, titled Empty Sky. Two towering aluminum monoliths direct your gaze across the river to where the twin towers once stood. As you walk between the aluminum panels, they are etched with the names of all the New Jersey residents who died when the twin towers fell. And when you reach the end of your walk, your gaze is centered on the new World Trade Center. It is beautifully understated and surprisingly powerful.

OK, Now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

We had a perfect trip up the Hudson River this morning: flat sees with the wind and tide at our back.

It’s no wonder that the early explorers marveled at the Hudson River: it is wide, and it is 100 feet deep, and the area called the Hudson highlands is spectacular, with high granite cliffs on both sides and towering up-thrusts like Storm King Mountain and Bear Mountain.  And of course, West Point, which, unfortunately, is rather ugly from the water. 

Now we’re docked in Newburgh, just in the shadow of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. 

I have been to Newburgh several times before; my late wife Cathy had family here. But I never really put it into its context on the Hudson. The vistas looking south really are remarkable.

Nothing exciting planned for tonight; a boring meal in a boring restaurant, but today was a very scenic ride.

Tomorrow: one more day on the upper Hudson; then we enter the Champlain canal on Wednesday.

ttfn

R&L&G