Waterford, NY

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

042-47.160 N
073-41.820 W

Ahoy from Waterford, NY!

When I last wrote we were Catskill, NY and were headed home for the weekend. It was a quick 2.5 hour drive home and we were happy to see that the place was still standing and even looking good. Of course we worked non-stop on small projects around the house and we really didn't have a moment to relax, but I guess that wasn't unexpected. All too soon we were headed back to the boat with a car load of gear. Somehow or another Sue did her magic and it all disappeared into the boat.

On Monday morning we headed up Hudson and enjoyed a knot plus of current going with us! I really like doing 8 kts under power. It was a stellar morning with nice dry air and crisp blue skies. We had a great view of the Catskill mountain range as we headed towards Albany. It's quite surprising how quickly the terrain goes from hilly to rather flat. Because we were making such great time, we decided to pull into the free public dock located in a park in Albany and explore the city. Albany has always just been a city that we've driven through without any thoughts of stopping. When you head along the Hudson, all that you see is the industrial side of things, but once you get into the city you're surrounded by stunning architecture.

Albany, which is the capitol city of NY, exudes its power through massive buildings which were designed by great architects and built by master craftsmen. Whoever laid out the city, at least in the government section, did a great job of providing sufficient space around these architectural gems for them to stand alone and not feel crowded, despite their size. When you walk up State Street from the waterfront you're first presented with the capitol building, which is a quite a commanding structure. To its right is the massive Education building and to the left is a huge reflecting pool surrounded by The Egg, which is an egg shaped auditorium, the NY State Museum, the Corning Tower which provides great views from the observation deck 44 stories up, and a series of state office buildings which are a study in linearism. If you visit Albany, you need to take a tour of the State House, as it boasts one of the most amazing staircases that I've ever seen as well as beautiful murals adorning the ceilings and walls. On the way back to the boat, we were presented with a great view of a SUNY building which boasts the largest windvane in the country atop of a huge spire.

From Albany we continued up river to Troy, NY which is where we encountered our first lock, the Troy Federal lock. The Troy lock, which is actually considered the first lock on the Erie Canal, changes the water level by 14'. Up until this point the Hudson river has been tidal, with an amazing 5' tide as far up river as Troy, which is 150+ miles from the Atlantic! After clearing that lock we pulled into Waterford, NY which is a wonderful little town with free docks and power. Wow, what more could a boater ask for?

We decided to spend 2 days here as the last time that we came through here we didn't get a chance to any of it. It's also the start of the Erie canal and has a flight of 5 locks which will raise your boat 169' in just 1.8 miles! Think about that...that's 17 stories!!! After that the, we go up more slowly, but by the end of the day we'll be up 275' over 35 miles.

-- Geoff & Sue

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For the cruiser: The docks at Waterford are free and the provide free power! Be sure to check out the mural in the bricks running along the dock, which depicts the Hudson river and the Erie canal. Waterford is nice to wander around and we had a great breakfast at Don and Paul's which is on Broad Street. We had an OK dinner at McGreivey's, but I can't recommend it.

Log ID: 1362