The Erie Canal

After two days on land with Don, we headed north to the Erie Canal.  We pushed off at 9:45 AM and chose to wait for a cruiser to go by first.   The boat was Desiderata!  (we met them in Cape May) We followed them up to the Federal Lock at Troy and then into Waterford. On the way we saw a rowing team in training. We sounded our horn at them (at their request). We are sure y’all know the Internationale gesture for honk your horn!

We had to wait 15 minutes for the lock, so we tied up for short time.  Desiderata decided they would stay the night at Waterford.  We decided to get through the “Flight of 5 locks” that begin the Erie canal. 

We were with a group of two other boats. It took a shorter period of time than expected.  The locks are very close together (within 4 miles you have 5 locks) so the lockmasters have the next lock ready for your group as you travel through them. 

The Erie Canal is partly a river once you get through the first set of locks but you can see cliffs that seemed to have been cut out. There are also Guard Gates – This type of gate helps to isolate sections of the canal in case of emergency, such as a break in the canal wall, accident, or extreme high water. They are also used when a section of the canal needs to be drained for maintenance or winter freeze protection.The Erie Canal is partly a river once you get through the first set of locks but you can see cliffs that seemed to have been cut out. There are also Guard Gates –

We ended up in Schenectady Yacht Club more because we were tired.  We could have gone a few more miles but we were ready to stop and rest.