Day 291 - So Close, Yet So Far — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 65, fuel purchased $729, slip fee $5, daily high temperature 70° f. So far we have cruised 4,986 miles and purchased 3,928 gallons of fuel. The faster we go the better mileage we get.

The view cruising up the Hudson River from Kingston to Troy is spectacular. The rolling green hills carpet both sides of the river. This is the area where Rip Van Winkle fell asleep in the Catskill Mountains for 20 years. If you are familiar with the story, Rip goes up into the mountains and sees bearded men bowling. They are alleged to be the crew from Henry Hudson’s ill fated voyage. We also passed by Sleepy Hollow, NY where the Headless Horseman rode.

At the dock in Kingston CL was the backdrop for a wedding. CFJ was not the wedding officiant but CL was in the photos.

We heard some bad news from our Looper friends Jim and Gwen Drabble on Chimea II. We met them in the Bahamas and they had been cruising with Mitzvah. They are in Kingston, Canada and only 100 miles from completing the loop and their transmission failed. They only have one engine so they have no option except to replace it. They are so close, yet so far.

We fueled up in Troy at the city dock and then transited the Troy Lock. This was the first lock we transited since we exited the Tombigbee Canal in Alabama in November, 2015. We inflated the three orange tear drop fenders we had deflated and put in the basement. It was a 14 foot rise up to the Blackhawk River. The wind was blowing hard and creating a vortex in the lock chamber. There was a Canadian single handing his 40′ sailboat. He entered the lock ahead of us. To make it more interesting he had his 50′ mast strapped to his deck. He never did tie up to the post until the lock doors were opening at the other end. We entered the lock and were blown around and spun with the current. After a few tries to tie to the starboard wall I said this boat wants us to tie to the port wall. After some quick crew work we were safely attached. Why fight it?

Photo from Andy.

We passed our Canadian friend heading up river. Photo from Andy.

The Waterford City Docks are 2 miles north of the Troy lock. This is decision time. It is the only place on the Loop that has a road sign. Do we go straight up the Champlain Canal or turn left and go on the Erie Canal. We turned left and stopped just below the first lock on the Erie Canal which is lock 2. I am not making this up

CL is too tall to get under a fixed bridge on the Champlain Canal so we turned left.

Photo from Priscilla.

The town of Waterford has an inviting city dock. The dock fee is free! There is a $10 fee for electricity. The downtown is only a few block walk. The Lake Erie lock where we will buy our lock pass is a 10 minute walk. The lock pass is $50 for a 10 days. We will stay in Syracuse for ten days while Dale and Andy get off the boat to baby sit Brody and Kaden while Jason and Monica attend the Country Thunder music festival. We will buy a two day pass for $20 to transit the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario when they return.

Photo from Priscilla

We will stay in Waterford for two nights and then transit the first set of locks up 169′ to the next level of the Erie Canal. They no longer use mules to tow the boats through the Erie Canal. There is a large supermarket, consignment store and the best greasy spoon breakfast restaurant for miles.

Bonus photo – how many people in Waterford, NY have head lice? It must be enough to fund a store front on Main Street.

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“I hate storms, but calms undermine my spirits.” – Bernard Moitessier

Bernard Moitessier (10 April 1925 – 16 June 1994), a French national born and raised in Vietnam, was a sailor.

In 1968 Moitessier participated in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first round the world yacht race. With the fastest circumnavigation time, Moitessier was the likely winner but he elected to continue onto Tahiti again and not return to the start line in England, rejecting the idea of the commercialization of long distance sailing.