Erie Canal, Day 5, June 19

Since I was docked at the lock I had to wait until it opened at 7:00 AM, then it took a few minutes to 'turn it around' for me. The weather was improving, some blue sky showing through.

The river really gets wide through here, and the land around it quite hilly. I think this may have been the most senic section of the canal. It also became clear and suny as I went along, so maybe that helped my view.

It was very calm and smooth, nice reflections on the water.

More of the shale rock this whole end of New York seems to be on.
I went through about 4 locks with a boat right behind me- "the motor vessel Oddsey" as he said in his radio calls. He was a very pushy guy, on the raido several minutes out from the lock, making rather stern calls for attention. The lock guys seemed to get a bit put off, and at every lock they pushed me through, then he arrived and had to wait for the lock to turn around. When we got into the final flight of 5 locks he called every one of them on the raido- even though each lock is visible from the previous one and they closely coordinate the movement through. He had a tough ride through, and I sailed into almost every lock with the gate open and waiting for me.
I was going to tell him at the end that he might try to be a bit less pushy, but when he came to the dock at the welcome center he barged into the dock and hit another boat. I figured he was hopeless.

I like bridges, this one is I-87. I think its a nice design.

The final flight of 5 locks is protected by this gaurd gate- the only one on the canal that is actively operated. It is only opened to allow a boat through, then immediaetly closed. It was being operated by the same guy that was running the first lock, so he drove to it to let me through, then closed it and drove to the lock to let me through. Just about them our 'Oddsey' friend was on the radio that he was waiting at the guard gate. The keeper told him to keep waiting.

This is the wall at Waterford- the entrance to the Erie Canal. A very nice visitor center, free docking, free Internet. This was the only place on the entire canal I found net access.

Solitude at the dock with lock 2 in the background. There is no Lock 1 on the Erie canal. The best explanation I could get is that there is a lock 1 on the Champlain Canal, and the Hudson River lock, all in Waterford, so there just couldn't be another lock 1.

So I have finished the Erie Canal. I am very happy to have seen it, but Im not sure I would do it again. I do want to learn more about its construction, in particular how it was upgraded and moved over the years. I would also like to drive along some of the western end and see those places where the canal is above the surrounding land.

I was surprised there were not more nice towns to visit, but the canal is really a transit route. I passed boats with hailing ports all over the country- even one, a 50 ft steel trawler, from France. Everyone seemed to be going somewhere, the canal was just the path.

It was about 3:00 when I finsihed my net update and I thought about just hanging at the ceneter overnight. It was a beautiful day, all blue sky, light breeze, and Waterford sounded like an interesting place to see. But I just had to push on, so I headed out into the Hudson River.

Back to the Trip Log

	It was very calm and smooth, nice reflections on the water.
	More of the shale rock this whole end of New York seems to be on. I went through about 4 locks with a boat right behind me- "the motor vessel Oddsey" as he said in his radio calls. He was a very pushy guy, on the raido several minutes out from the lock, making rather stern calls for attention. The lock guys seemed to get a bit put off, and at every lock they pushed me through, then he arrived and had to wait for the lock to turn around. When we got into the final flight of 5 locks he called every one of them on the raido- even though each lock is visible from the previous one and they closely coordinate the movement through. He had a tough ride through, and I sailed into almost every lock with the gate open and waiting for me. I was going to tell him at the end that he might try to be a bit less pushy, but when he came to the dock at the welcome center he barged into the dock and hit another boat. I figured he was hopeless.
	I like bridges, this one is I-87. I think its a nice design.
	The final flight of 5 locks is protected by this gaurd gate- the only one on the canal that is actively operated. It is only opened to allow a boat through, then immediaetly closed. It was being operated by the same guy that was running the first lock, so he drove to it to let me through, then closed it and drove to the lock to let me through. Just about them our 'Oddsey' friend was on the radio that he was waiting at the guard gate. The keeper told him to keep waiting.
	This is the wall at Waterford- the entrance to the Erie Canal. A very nice visitor center, free docking, free Internet. This was the only place on the entire canal I found net access.
	Solitude at the dock with lock 2 in the background. There is no Lock 1 on the Erie canal. The best explanation I could get is that there is a lock 1 on the Champlain Canal, and the Hudson River lock, all in Waterford, so there just couldn't be another lock 1.