We made it up the canal to a little place called Schendectedy Yacht Club. Yacht Club….sounds so impressive doesn’t it? Check out the photo of the “yacht club”. It was the hottest day we have had and we had to traverse through 5 flight locks and 2 regular locks. If it wasn’t so hot maybe we would have enjoyed it more. So when we pulled up to the yacht club and found a pool that had just opened we were pleasantly surprised. Spent too much time in there and had dinner late. Also we met up with a couple, Keith and Joan, from Ottawa, who just bought their boat and were bringing it up from Fort Myers, Florida. Another group of fellas from Rochester were bringing their boat home too. We decided to travel together through the next bunch tomorrow.
The Erie Canal is larger than we thought it would be. It follows the Mohawk River for the most part and has a couple areas dredged out as a typical canal. It is slow going but we see a lot more sights.
Just getting set up for the canal. Scott has to make finder boards to protect the fenders and the boat. He has 4 – 10 x 2 x 8 ft boards that strap along the outside of the fenders to stop the fenders from getting caught in the crevasses of the lock walls. Hopefully protecting them.
I’m doing a final load of laundry and Aiden is fishing yet again. Breakfast is done and dishes are washed so all that is left is getting going.
The Erie Canal is still closed between Locks 24 and 26 and that portion of our journey is in about 3 days. So we aren’t sure what will happen and there are no updates that it is going to be open, or remain closed, for that matter. The Lake Champlain area was hit really hard with rain and it has overflowed its banks. Marinas along it still remain closed. Lake Champlain connects with the Erie Canal in that area.
I do know that WiFi is not always available on the Erie Canal so updates may be less often but I will continue when I do I have WiFi.
Just for some interesting facts on the first leg of our journey up the canal…..
The canal meets the Hudson River at Waterford, NY where the first of five locks are. These locks provide the highest lift, approx. 150 ft, over the shortest distance of any canal in the world. At the confluence of the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canals (that goes north to Montreal) is a junction where we will literally turn west. We are stopping around a small town of Amsterdam for the night.