6/02 North on the Hudson to the Erie Canal

Hydrophilic at Waterford Dock

It was another bright and sunny morning as we left Shady Harbor and headed north on the Hudson to Waterford, the start of the Erie Canal.   Before Albany, there is much industrial activity on the waterfront.  Remember that we saw the work on the new Tappan Zee bridge and saw the barge with one of the blue spans on it?  Well, today we saw all spans lined up ready to be placed on barges.

It wasn't long until we saw the Albany skyline.  Here are two views.

Then we passed Troy, NY.  Our daughter, Christine, graduated from Rensselaer Polytech so we got some pictures of the Troy waterfront.  A tour boat called the Henrietta III that was recently moved from Wilmington, NC where we live to Troy was docked along the wall.  I had to get that picture.

The next challenge was to navigate the Federal Troy Lock.  The lock master gave us very clear instructions and we locked through without incident.

Green Can G1 Buoy was next on sites to see.  This buoy starts the Erie Canal but it is also the furthest east that we will go on the Great Loop.  The coordinates are Lat 42 degrees 47.080 North and Long 73 degrees 40.574 West.

  Just in case you get lost, there is a sign on shore that directs you to the Erie and Champlain Canals.

Immediately, after the turn is the Town of Waterford.  They have a free dock, where you only pay $10 for electricity.  The town is celebrating 200 years this year.  They have a walkway where the bricks show all the towns on the Erie Canal and is laid out showing the elevation of each lock. 

We walked up to the first of the locks that we will go through tomorrow.  That lock will raise our boat 34 feet.

You can see part of the original canal there too.

The town has a painted mule to celebrate the 200 years.  Why a mule, you ask?  Because  before motor boats, the barges were pulled by mules.  The song says "Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal" a day to get from Albany to Buffalo.

The town was an easy walk.  It has many parks on the water, including a Soldiers and Sailors Memorial. 

Tomorrow, we will go through at least 5 locks and maybe more.
Lat 42 degrees 47.40 North
Long 73 degrees 40.73 West