Amsterdam, NY to Schenectady, NY

August 28, 2012 Tuesday

Schenectady Yacht Club is a full service marina with a swimming pool, but that's not why we stopped there.  Terry likes the name and likes to say it so that's why we stopped in SKA-NEC-TA-DEE.  Glenn Bruyn is the dock master and he was great.  The yacht club has utilized the old Erie Canal as a boat lift.  We walked down to see it.  There was a 100 year old boat that was just pulled out of the water for a small repair.  The owner, Clarkston , 91 years old himself, was happy to pose for us next to his boat.  The boat was built in 1912 and used as an inspection boat on the Canal.  Clarkston is still navigating her with help through the Canal today.
As we come to the end of our Erie Canal journey we thought it was time to share some "Canal Facts" (complimentary of Skipper Bob publications).
The Erie Canal was a real engineering marvel in it's day.  Originally 363 miles long, it connected the Hudson River with Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes.  The canal opened the entire population in the center of this country to shipping to and from the rest of the world.   Construction began in 1817 and was completed in 1825.  The original Erie Canal was very different from the Erie Canal today.  It was designed as a ditch filled with water.  Mules and horses could walk beside the ditch on a towpath and pull the boats through.  The Canal was normally a ditch dug alongside the river.  When it came time to cross a river or creek, it was necessary to build an aqueduct across the river or creek to carry the canal water and the path for the horses and mules.  The original canal was only 4 feet deep.  Today the minimum depth is 12 feet from Troy, NY To Buffalo, NY.  The Canal rises and falls and rises from sea level at Troy to 565 feet above sea level at the Niagara River.  There are a total of 34 locks on the Erie Canal (Buffalo to Waterford).
We completed the eastern half of the Erie Canal. Our lock completion included, Welland Canal with 8 locks, the Oswego Canal with 7 locks and the Erie Canal with 23 locks.  These are all part of the New York State Canal System.  There is one lock in Troy, on the Hudson River that is a Federal lock.  Including the Federal Lock, we will have completed 39 locks!!!!  We started at 577 above sea level in Lake Michigan, and when we complete the Federal lock on Friday we will be at sea level in the tidal waters of the Hudson River.

"The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm."  Thomas J. Watson

Glenn Bruyn, Dock Master 

Old Erie Canal used as boat lift

Boat Lift

Clarkston , 91 y.o. and his 100 y.o. boat

Canajoharie, NY to Amsterdam, NY

August 26 - 27, 2012 Sunday and Monday

Sunday we left Little Falls in the late morning.  Our first lock for the day was #17, with a 40 foot drop, it is the largest single step lock on the Erie Canal.  It has a gate that is pulled up over the canal and you travel underneath it....things get a little wet.  We were heading for Amsterdam, but we had a late start and it was a hot day.  We decided to stop in Canajoharie, NY and we are glad we did.  David Johnson the harbormaster talked us in to the deepest part of the dock.  Canajoharie was once a village of the Mohawk Indian nation.  We learned about the river gorge and pools where Canajoharie gets it's name, translated it means "boiling pot" or "the pot that washes itself".  David Johnson took us by car to the gorge, a beautiful place where you can walk on the gorge bottom and among the pools and falls.  We never would have seen this without David.  After walking through the gorge we went to "Jim's Harbor Irish Pub" for a beer.  Terry enjoyed a "Black and Blue", Blue Moon on bottom and Guinness on top.  They never mixed while drinking it, pretty tasty.
In the  middle of town is one of three "dummy" traffic lights still in use in America, and the residents are quite proud of it.  It was first installed in 1926.  A dummy light is mounted on a pedestal in the middle of an intersection.
In the early evening we sat in the cockpit eating leftovers for dinner.  A couple, Bill and Nancy Lyker, walked past us just above the dock and said hi.  They went up to a swinging chair and sat there quietly. We made eye contact and waved.  Soon after dinner, they were next to our boat asking us if we needed anything, a ride to the grocery store offer, something a cruiser never refuses.  After the grocery store, they took us up to McDonald's for coffee.  We enjoyed their company and appreciated their generosity.  They asked us what we were doing the next day, that they would like to come by in the morning with vegetables from their garden.
Monday morning we walked into town to the Arkell Museum, Library and Art Galley, that features many impressionist works including several Winslow Homer and Grandma Moses paintings.  The Arkell family of famed Beech-Nut Packing Company believed in promoting the arts for the people that worked in their factories and for the community at large.
We returned to "Chasseur" where Bill and Nancy were sitting on the swinging chair, just as they promised, with a box of fresh vegetables.  Bill brought with him a couple of very old "canal lamps" used as markers in the old Erie Canal.  Nancy gave us a couple of newspapers, some bakery buns, and a thermos bag as a gift.  They insisted on bringing us a bag lunch for our transit to Amsterdam and said that they would meet us in Amsterdam for dinner.
This trip on many occasions, has been a humbling experience, total strangers just freely extending themselves with acts of kindness.  We have been renewed in our belief, faith and trust in mankind.
We experienced some interesting scenes along this stretch of the canal, photos will speak for us.  No one believed us about the cows until they saw the photos (see below).
Bill and Nancy were at the Amsterdam dock when we arrived.  They took us to see local damage from hurricane Irene, an old Erie Canal site and the Aquaduct of Schoharie Creek, the first bridge on the Canal, that was partially destroyed by ice in 1814.  After dinner at Ruby Tuesday, we stopped at Walmart still looking for collapsible water containers, no luck.  We said our good-byes to friends Bill and Nancy Lyker, and hope we will cross paths again.

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."  Mark Twain

Lock 17 gate lifts up over the canal, boat goes under and through

Lock Management

Working our way down

Canajoharie Gorge, pool

Canajoharie Gorge

Walking the gorge

David Johnson, Harbormaster, touring us through the gorge

One of many falls in the gorge

"Black and Blue"

"Dummy" traffic light, 1926

One of the "Noses", mountains reaching to the shores of the Canal, created by melting glacial water

Couldn't believe we saw this on the shores of the Erie Canal

In the wilderness as we moved along the canal!

Nancy and Bill Lyker

Bill with the old Erie Canal marker lights

Remnants of the old Erie Canal

First aquaduct bridge on the old Canal

Vegetables from Bill's garden

Little Falls, NY

August 24 - 25, 2012 Friday and Saturday

We arrived in Little Falls, NY Friday afternoon and took a walk to Moss Island.  Here you can see and climb the oldest rock formations in North America.  The cliffs are made of Precambian syenitic gneiss, the ancient root of the Adirondack Mountains, among the oldest rocks known in geological history.  The layers of granite and syenitic gneisses were formed from the intense pressure of the continental plates of earth colliding and produced the Adirondack Mountains.  There are enormous potholes 15 feet wide and 30 feet deep, we did not find them.
We could not sleep Saturday night after the phone call regarding our friends Hank and Carole.  Saturday we felt numb and lost, still feeling the shock of losing them.  We were befriended by sailors Keith and Brenda Houseknecht on S/V "Twocan".  They had been stranded in the Erie Canal last year from hurricane Irene.  Complete strangers they "scooped" us up and took care of us through the morning, offering a lending ear.  We did not have the energy to move the boat , so we stayed in port, walked through town and visited the historic Herkimer house.
The Herkimer house is the 18th century Georgian home of Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer, a Palantine German farmer, Indian trader and prominent Mohawk Valley businessman.  He was a commander of the Tryon County Militia and hero during the Battle of Orishany in 1777.  Despite being wounded and outnumbered, he and his command held the field.  He died 10 days later from his wounds.    We took a tour of his beautiful home.  We spent the afternoon walking quietly on a path back to "Chasseur".
In the evening Keith and Brenda took us to an Italian restaurant and a trip to Walmart.  We shared many sailing stories.  They offered much advise for our miles ahead.  They were heaven sent to us this day.

"Life and economics, as well as health, run in cycles, so we must be able to handle the bitter and the sweet."  J. E. Adams

Climbing the oldest rock formation in North America

Rock climbing school

Mohawk River in Little Falls

Homes on the cliffs of the Mohawk River

Little Falls 

18th Century Herkimer House

A few photos inside the house

Straw and rope bed

Our tour guide in a traditional 18th century kitchen

Herkimer House "Root Cellar"

In Memory of Hank and Carole

August 25, 2012 Saturday

The familiar ring tone on our iPhone was ringing at 12:30 am this morning.  We talked or texted everyday with our dear friends Hank and Carole Austin.  It was unusual to be hearing from them at that time of night.  When I first saw the time and the number I assumed that possibly a late call was regarding Carole who had been having episodes of atrial fibrillation.  By the time I got to answer the phone, it had already gone to voicemail.  The message was from their home phone number but the voice on the message was from Dan, Carole's son, that it was important and to call as soon as possible.  Today we are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friends, Hank and Carole, in a powered parachute crash in the dunes over Silver Lake, Michigan.
It was Hank and Carole who flew over us while sailing Lake Michigan and took the photo of "Chasseur" that we now have on our cruising card.  It was Hank and Carole that housed us homeless sailors for several weeks this Spring while we readied "Chasseur" for her adventure.  It was Hank and Carole who had been providing us with weather reports and radar on this trip when our iphone could not get it's 3G.
We communicated everyday.  Often it was just before dinner when Hank would text "WATF (wine at the fire), Life is Good."  and so would begin the hour of texting between Terry and Hank.  It is not often that you have friends that you share everything with, your deepest feelings, and moments of joy.  When we were wintering in Florida this year, Hank and Carole flew their plane from their place in  Lake Placid, Florida to visit us to bike ride, or just hang out, every weekend.  It goes without saying...we were very close.  Life will not be the same without them.  This world has lost two very generous, great people, and we have lost two of our dearest friends.

"Memories last forever, never do they die, friends stick together and never really say Goodbye."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hank and Carole flying over "Chasseur" to take photos below

Flying in to Naples, Florida to spend Christmas with us

Sailing on "Chasseur"

Hiking the dunes of Lake Michigan

WATF (Wine at the fire)

From the wing of his Comanche, Good bye Dear Friends

Dedicated to my Father

August 23, 2012 Thursday
,
The plan was to tie up just befor Lock 20 in Marcy, New York.  Pulling up to the dock another sailor came out to help us tie up.  His name was Mike and he was heading home to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He had a long story he said, but did not elaborate too much, just that he had to get back to save his marriage!
We sat at the Marcy dock for an hour and watched the crew on "Eastbound n Down", and "Sunkissed" lock down. They were all headed to Utica.  They helped us change our minds and so we shoved off the Marcy dock to Lock 20 heading for Utica.
We (Suzanne) had concerns about docking in Utica because the guidebooks said maybe 6 feet at the dock ("Chasseur" draws 6.3 dry) .  As we approached the dock, we asked the crew on "Sunkissed" if  they knew the depth at the wall.  Captain John said to give him a minute and he would lead line the depth.  He said he was getting 6 to 6.5 feet.  Terry decided to try it.  "Chasseur" is lighter and sitting higher on the water line without her mast and boom. Closer and closer we edged to the wall, then "Chasseur" "found" the bottom! That's where we stayed, not moving much in the water for the night.
At 1800 hrs Marguerite and Jon Edwards showed up at our boat with some "Italian Utica" delights, Tomato pie, veggie pizza, and "Utica Greens".  Terry washed it down with "Utica Club".  "Utica Club" has the distinction of being the first craft beer to be sold in the U.S. after prohibition.  We will enjoy the garden tomatoes, peppers and zucchini they brought us.
After dinner we climbed into their car for a promised tour of Suzanne's father's birth and childhood home and neighborhood.  A treasured gift, and much gratitude to Margeurite and Jon!!!!  Dad, this stop was for you....enjoy the photos.

"You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."  

Desmond Tutu

Morning on the Erie Canal

Reflections on the Canal

Marguerite Edwards and Utica Tomato pie

Jon and Marguerite "Utica Greens" and "Utica Club" in foreground

Down it goes....

Taylor Avenue, Dad LaRaia's childhood neighborhood

1662 Taylor Ave. Dad's birthplace and childhood home

Looking down Taylor Ave., Adirondack foothills in background
(sorry it was garbage night)

Stanley Theater Downtown Utica

Blessed Sacrament Church where Dad was an altar boy

Blessed Sacrament Convent