The Hudson, Kingston to Waterford

July 1, 2018:  Leaving Roundout in Kingston on a quiet Sunday morning.  One word for the weather, HOT, 80F at departure time 8:30 AM.  The National Weather Service official forecast is 99F and blazing sun.   We are traveling 65 miles to Waterford where both canals, Erie to the west and Champlain to the north begin.  The day takes us through heavily wooded shores and Catskill Mountains to the west, and beautiful estates on the east shore.  We pass under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  Does anyone remember reading Washington Irving’s story, published in 1819 about a Dutch-American villager who falls asleep in the Catskills and awakes 20 years later having missed the American Revolution?  Irving later admitted, “When I wrote the story, I had never been on the Catskills.”

USS Slater

In Albany, we passed the last floating WWII Destroyer, USS Slater, now a museum.  During WWII 563 Destroyer Escorts were deployed in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters to protect troop carriers and battleships.  Donna’s Dad served in combat on the destroyer USS Schroeder in the South Pacific as a sonar man.  Like most WWII Vets, he never talked about the combat part of his service but he left behind a diary (illegally kept) that catalogued the action.  Pretty sobering stuff!

July 2–3, 2018:  Traveling the Champlain Canal

After a peaceful evening in Waterford, we head to the Champlain Canal.  

Waterford, a [flooded] island near the park during our last visit in June 2017

July 1, 2018 ... what a difference a year makes!

Taking the road (canal) less travelled!

We are going to stop in Schuylerville after transiting just four locks.  Although only a 25-mile trip, the sun is blazing again today and another 99F forecast.  It is hot standing on the boat deck handling the lines through the locks.  All of the locks "lifted" us, the least was 10 feet, and the most was 25.5.  We were delayed at Lock #4 as a tug pushing a barge was locking through southbound.  Karl asked the lock tender if he was having a busy day, he answered affirmatively!  Funny, we were the only northbound boat, and the total southbound traffic consisted of a single sailboat and one tug pushing a barge ... hate to think what a slow day must be like for a lock tender.

Hmm ... what to do?  Take the the lock ... or jump the waterfall!

Overall, it was a quiet day reaching the end of the Hudson River’s navigable waters, the River narrows and the shores are lush with stands of deciduous trees, dotted with homes.   Just south of Schuylerville, the shores became more pastoral and hilly. It took us 4.25 hours to transit this 25 miles stretch.  

This is the Schuyler "Yacht" Basin

After another peaceful evening at Schuler Yacht Basin, a very small marina and campground, we head out to transit the rest of Champlain Canal.  At Lock #8 we have reached the summit of 139 feet and will descend Locks #9, #11 and #12 (Lock #10 was eliminated).  Along the way, we came face-to-face with a large tug pushing a gravel barge in a very narrow canal ... the crusty tug Captain called to us over VHF radio “boat in front of me, what are your intentions?”  Kapt Karl replied: “pull over and let you pass?”  Duhh!  Tug Captain: “not much room, come down my side and stay close to me.”  Strangely enough, as the tug passed us, we saw two smaller recreational Canadian vessels following behind the tug, apparently fearful of trying to pass.  So they decided to hailed the tug, and the tug Captain responded: “what'da ya want!”  Canadian vessel, “is this a good place to pass you?”  Tug: “do whatever you want ...  but if you don’t reach the next lock 20 minutes before me, they will make you wait for me to arrive before you can lock through.”  After we safely passed the tug port-to-port, we watched the two Canadian boats attempt to pass, then again tentatively hang back, then try again.  The third time was the charm for one of them and they were all out of sight before we could see if the second boat passed the tug and no idea if they were able to get to the lock 20+ minutes before the tug. The irony of all this is that the posted canal speed limit is 10 knots, meaning that the Canadian vessels needed to travel at 35+ knots in order to make it; or, end up waiting an hour for the tug to clear the lock first,  Commercial traffic has priority, and lock tenders will not permit commercial vessels and recreational vessel to "lock thru" together.

Looking back at boats attempting to pass the tug

We left the last lock in Whitehall and entered “The Narrows” of Lake Champlain, an area of marsh on either side that is a spawning area for many varieties of fish. 

Skene Manor 1874 looking over Whitehall

Lunch in Whitehall anyone?

The Narrows of Lake Champlain

The Lake began to widen and the Green Mountains of Vermont and Adirondacks of New York appeared on either side of us.  We ended our day at our planned anchorage in a basin below Fort Ticonderoga.  The Fort was originally built by the French as Fort Carillon and then held alternately by the British and the American Revolutionaries.  The hill across from the Fort, is Mount Independence named by Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys.  They were encamped there when they got the news in 1776 of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The late afternoon was breezy and the temperature comfortable, at last!

The eve of Fourth of July found us in the shadow of Fort Ticonderoga.

July 4–5, 2018:  Lake Champlain to the Chambly Canal

We headed up the Lake to the village of Essex and a chance to do our laundry and enjoy the most beautiful town on the Lake.  The entire village is on the National Historic Register and offers a summer playhouse, library and a number of small shops, an Inn and restaurants.  It is a treat to stroll past the lovely homes and their beautiful gardens.

Starting in 1790, the Essex Shipyard (next door to our marina) built a variety of ships, including three commissioned for the War of 1812 as well as cargo vessels and canal boats.  After the railroad became the primary mode of moving goods, the shipyard built sloops and steam ships.  We hope friends Joe and Terry will join us here again in August.

 

 

Not everyone arrives in Essex by boat, on water ...

Overview of Essex Marina

 

SANTORINI rested comfortably

We depart Essex at 6:45 AM in the rain in order to beat the predicted afternoon winds of 25-35 knots and 4-5' seas.  It was calm for the first hour and the clouds began to clear as we passed Burlington.  Then the waves began to build but we were lucky to be in the lea for some time and did not experience beam seas when we were on the open stretches.  We arrived at Gaines Marina at Rouses Point just as the big waves and strong wind gusts hit in earnest.  Rouse’s Point at the top of the Lake is a good spot to stage our entry into Canada and the Chambly Canal.  We are not sad to leave Champlain behind, as we will be revisiting the Lake for most of August upon our return from Canada.  

CLIO in her favorite place when cruising ... bird watching ... life is good!