Ah, the adventure of "lock foolery" begins. We left Waterford at about 7:45 to go through the first lock at 8AM. There was a short wait for traffic that was heading in the other direction. Since the lock was "raising" us, he let the west bound boat in first, "lowered" him and than allowed us to enter. By the time we got into the lock there were four boats. One, a new 55' Sea Ray was manned by a three person crew who did not have a lot of experience in locking. Although their fenders where on the starboard (right) side, they were drifting all over the lock before getting settled. At the second lock, they started to enter the lock as soon as they saw the doors opening. Unfortunately, there was another boat exiting the lock. We got their attention by blowing the horn and explained you could not enter a lock until the lockmaster gave the green light. Anyway, as they were backing to avoid the exiting boat, they slammed their swim platform into the concrete wall surrounding the lock. Oh well, so much for a pristine new boat.
The day was very blustery, with sustained winds around 20 mph and gusts to 40 mph. Luckily, we were locking up all day which meant the lock walls provided a shelter while we tied up. We made it through 10 locks today, a rather long day. From the pictures, you can tell the Boyz were not very concerned. Stayed in Amsterdam, NY at a dock provided by the city, which is common along the canal.
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The boat at the forward right is the Searay I mentioned as having some difficulty
in the lock. Note how far we stay behind him |
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Locking can be a spectator event. These people came to watch us and other boats
conduct locking operations |
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Each lock normally has a dam associated with it. This one had quite
a bit of overflow water. The lock doors are on the left. |
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| Typical information placard at each lock |
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| The Boyz seem to be getting into a routine |
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| A small working tug belonging to the Erie Canal maintenance organization |
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