In which we break our Personal Best Lock Record ...
Guess where we are!!! NOT SCHENECTADY!!!!!!!!!!
You know that saying 'fake it til you make it'? We decided to act like we were going to be able to move forward. Poor Rick slept very little, as he had to put all his energy into worrying the locks open. At 6am (haven't seen that o'clock in many days) we got the boat ready to go, and at 6:50 Rick called the number we had been given by the lock master at Lock 11 and had a little chat with the regional supervisor at the NY Canal Authority. Rick let him know just how much we REALLY needed to get out of Schenectady, and the supervisor said “well, I guess we are open” and then suggested that we call the lock master at Lock 8 to check the conditions. Rick called the Lock 8 master who said “well, I have to call the supervisor, let me call you back”. Ten minutes later we had the green light! Honestly, I am fully convinced that because of Rick's call they let us into the system, and once we were in the system they had to move us all the way through. My hero...
 |
| The grownup overseeing these Boys in a Boat was kind enough to get on his bullhorn and warn us (in an ominous tone) that the canal authority was lowering the water level in the 'pool' (the canal system). Which did NOT help our overtaxed nerves. Also, he clearly didn't realize that Rick and the Canal Authority are BFFs. |
As we mentioned yesterday, the level of the canal was being lowered in preparation for rain from Hurricane Ida. This meant that the dams at each lock had their upper “flash boards” removed so that water was pouring over each damn and the current was much stronger than normal. We had to be extra careful as we approached each lock as there was turbulence and debris.
 |
| Trust me this is a LOT of water boiling out and creating a heavy cross current right at the mouth of the lock. It was AWESOME. |
At each lock I drive, and Rick gets us snugged up to the wall. We settled into this system early on, when it became clear that my little T-Rex arms weren't long enough to get the line around a pipe - and it has worked well for us ever since.
At Lock 8, the first lock of the day, we ran hard into a large log floating at the opening of the lock and there were several loud thumps as the log bounced down the hull. It was very unnerving, and I had a bit of a nervy spaz, but it didn’t appear that we had done any damage. By which I mean we didn't sink and the prop continued to turn-always a plus. We kept a close eye on the depth gauge, and by Lock 13 the water level was back to normal and it was a PERFECT DAY. Everything was bright and shiny and new - due to our FREEDOM from Schenectady!
 |
| The scale here makes me giggle-the size of the tugboat makes the wall look HUGE. But actually it’s a normal sized wall, just a tiny tug! |
Rick called the dock master at St. Johnsville municipal marina and he moved EVERYONE around on the wall in order to make space for us. Because the locks further ahead of us - 21 to 25 - are closed until Friday, there are many boats stuck in this section of the canal and there are not many places to stay. It was super kind of both him, and the other boaters, to work to help us out. When we arrived the kindness continued as everyone came out and helped us with a tricky docking job in the space they had cleared.
After a short nap (did I mention that we got up at 6 am) we emerged from the boat and were hailed by the other boaters sitting together at a picnic table close by. Clearly they needed 'fresh meat' to talk to! The 4 other boats/couples who had been on the wall for a few days had become friends, and they warmly welcomed us into the group. They were delightful, and also - it WASN'T SCHENECTADY! We fed the mosquitos for an hour, and then made plans to all have breakfast together in the morning.
Quesadillas for dinner and then off to bed. Despite the nap we were dead tired after our long and stressful day on the Erie Canal!
No comments:
Post a Comment