Waterford, NY

Today marked another milestone in our great adventure - surviving our first "lock-through" at the Federal Lock, Troy, NY. We're in good company in that thousands of boaters have celebrated this very same rite-of-passage.

Nerves were tight this morning as we surveyed Dunworkin, picking the best locations to hang our fenders and lines in preparation for the big event. As a result, we got off to a late start but the trip is short to Waterford, only 3.5 hour and 20 nautical miles. The shoreline up to Albany was unremarkable. Rounding the bend into Albany we caught a glimse of The Nord Tradition, the ore carrier, which we cruised with from Haverstraw to Rondout.

The Albany skyline and waterfront was interesting with a mixture of industrial and recreational sites as well as many skyscrapers and a few architecturally interesting buildings.

At one pier sat an old WWII destroyer escort, the USS Slater De766.

As Troy NY came into view we executed our mornings plan, put out the fenders and lines and girded ourselves for our first lock-through. Thom radioed the lock master and waited a few minutes for the doors to open and the light to turn green.

We crept forward into the lock, positioned Dunworkin on the port wall, and were immediately followed in by another boat.  With a line from the amidships cleat around the wall pipe we struggled to adjust the position of one of the fenders so it didn’t get stuck in the pipe shaft while trying to keep the stern from wandering away from the wall. The ride up was so gradual that it was barely noticeable and before we knew it the doors opened and it was over. Whew!

We arrived at the Waterford, NY visitor’s center dock a short while later and like everyone before us took this picture of the sign pointing the way to the Erie or Champlain Canals.

Arriving on Monday morning proved to be a good plan as there were few other transients there and we picked out the best spot. After a short check in and a walk for the dogs, Thom and I set out to Hannaford’s Supermarket. It gave a chance to walk around Waterford, a town time has forgotten…with folks to match.

Now time for a nap and tomorrow we start a new leg of the journey up the Erie Canal.