Champlain Canal

         When we left Hyde Park, we traveled up river until Coxsackie, where we paused to stretch our legs and have a look around.  Coxsackie is in the process of utilizing a very large grant to upgrade their riverfront town.  Consequently everything was under construction and/or readying for their grand opening in just a few days.  We saw buildings being painted and windows being washed and people inside setting things up, but nothing was open Wednesday May 31st.  It was hot - the first day of a four day 90+ degree weather streak - and we retired to the boat to wait for the first day of the Coxsackie Farmer’s Market, which opened at 4:00pm.  Dan decided it was a good day to take down the mast, so that’s what we did. 

About 3:45 we wandered back to the riverfront park where the Farmer’s Market was setting up, and within ten minutes we returned with fresh peas, strawberries, some really tasty cheddar shortbread, and the only dozen eggs available.  We stashed our booty, untied from the dock and moved onto an anchorage farther up the Hudson River.

Thursday we got to Waterford, the staging place for both the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal.  This is a great place to rest and reprovision.  Most places (laundromat, grocery store, pharmacy) are within easy walking distance, and anything else is a short Uber ride.  Dan even managed to get us an appointment at a nearby vet for Tommie to have her annual physical and updated vaccines.  Waterford is very welcoming to boaters and a very friendly town.  There were “Be Kind” signs in almost everyone’s yard or window.  Below is Dan’s account of someone we met at the laundromat.  We stayed two days.  

Friday night the heat wave broke and a light misty rain coated the air on Saturday morning when we took our departure.  Back into the Hudson River, this time to head north all the way to Lake Champlain and beyond, to Canada.  

The NY Canal system is experiencing some issues with the locks - a worker shortage means some lock masters have to roam from one lock to the next, and some of the locks have been experiencing mechanical issues, creating back-ups of transiting boats.  We arrived at the first lock in the Champlain Canal (C-1) and found they were only open on the odd hour, which meant we had to tie to the rock wall to wait for an hour.  

The lock master told also told us C-3, a few miles up river, was not operational, and gave advice on where we should spend the night.  Then he asked our height - was it 13 feet? - and Dan said something like “Sounds about right.”, not thinking too much of it.  Consequently, we had to wait forty-five minutes at lock C-2 for the lock master to draw down the water under the bridge after the lock to accommodate our need for 15’ 8”. 

He also told us C-3 had ordered a generator, but advised us to call ahead to find out their status.  Turned out C-3 was working, and we passed through it and on through C-4 before stopping for the night in a pretty little anchorage just out of the river channel, in Stillwater.  Navionics had billed this place as having “awesome sunsets”, but it was too cloudy for us to confirm this.  However, if this morning’s sunrise is comparable, sunset must be spectacular.  

We stopped this afternoon at the free wall of Fort Edward, just before Lock C-7.  We’re here with four other Great Loop boats, all of whom are going on to Montreal, so we’ll be seeing a lot of Tis Grand, Recess, and Sweet and Low.  

Dan’s account of the laundromat:

We went up early to the very nice coin operated laundry on Fourth Street.  We put the loads in to wash and went into town for breakfast.  When back to change from washers to driers, we exchanged greetings with a local lady from town.  Right off the bat she allowed that she had had been experiencing some stomach troubles lately, didn’t know what it was.  And that she had gone camping this last week and wished she hadn’t.  

Apparently things related to her stomach trouble came to a head and let’s just say things were exciting front and back.  She also mentioned she didn’t quite get to the facilities in time and had to “throw my clothes away and run back to the campsite naked!” 

After telling us that in much more graphic detail, she asked how long we’d be in town and said if we wanted, we could drop by her house for a while.  

The local people are just so thoughtful!