Travels of "At Last": West Point, Poughkeepsie, NY, Castleton on Hudson, Fort Edward

June 17, 2015

While we still have the car, we take a ride to visit the US Military Academy of West Point in West Point, NY. The one hour tour gives us a brief view of the Academy and its history. It is an impressive stop. West Point was the first military school in the US. It is located on the NY Hudson River and was the site of a Revolutionary-era fort built to protect the Hudson River Valley from British attack. It was established as the US Military Academy in 1802. In 1817, the Academy was reorganized by superintendent Sylvanus Thayer, known as "the father of West Point", and it became one of our nations' finest sources of civil engineers. In 1870, the first African-American cadet was admitted and the first female cadets were admitted in 1976. The school has expanded its curriculum and today there are more than forty-five majors which provide an appropriate balance between technical topics and the humanities. All cadets are judged on their academic, leadership, and physical abilities. Upon graduation they are commissioned as second lieutenants in the US Army. Notable alumni of the Academy include Robert E. Lee, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, Buzz Aldrin, Edgar Allan Poe, and Norman Schwarzkopf.

View of Mess Hall from Parade Grounds
4000 cadets are served in 30 minutes

Superintendent's House

Stained Glass Windows
The same Philadelphia family produced all windows over 3 generations
$300 per window and the price was never increased

Visiting West Point

Million Dollar View Looking North up the Hudson

Original cannons from various wars

Lady Fame Welcoming Soldiers Home

Over 300 pipes in cathedral ranging from the size of a pencil to very large

On our way back to Half Moon Bay Marina, we make a quick stop at West Marine, have lunch, and then return the car. The mail we have been waiting for arrives during the late afternoon. We decide to leave the dock and anchor out for the night. Tomorrow we head towards Castleton on Hudson where we will unstep our mast so that we will be able to transit the Champlain Canal System.

June 18, 2015

We are up early and haul the anchor. Unfortunately, we encounter another residual problem that was caused by our tow into Cape May. The up switch on the windlass is dead and Dave has to haul the anchor and 60 feet of chain by hand. We secure the anchor and head out. Our day is uneventful and the weather is a bit gray, but it is a very nice ride as we continue up the Hudson. We pass West Point and various lighthouses along the way. We also encounter a schooner that seems to be cruising from one side of the river to the next. Not sure what is really going on.

Schooner crossing the Hudson

Lighthouse along the way

Another Lighthouse

View of West Point from the Hudson

Around 3:00 we decide to look for someplace to dock or anchor for the evening. We are approaching the Poughkeepsie Boat Club so Dave calls and we secure a mooring ball for the evening…$20…..We dock the boat in order to pay and to get our mooring ball assignment. It is small, working club with an amazing view. Joe checks us in and Rudy points out our mooring ball. When he learns we are from RI, he mentions that another boat from RI just came in. Dave and I walk down the dock and see the boat has Westerly, RI as its hailing port. The three gentlemen on board invite us aboard and it turns out the boat belongs to David Sayles, the former fire chief in Westerly. Dick Anthony, a former town councilor, and another gentleman are also aboard. Small world. We chat a bit and then Dave and I head out to our mooring ball.

June 19, 2015

Our destination tonight is Castleton on Hudson Boat Club. They have a crane that will allow us to put our mast down as well as our boon, radar and Intellian. This is necessary because we will need to pass under several low bridges. Our clearance with our mast up is over 26 feet, but with it down we can get to 16 feet and even lower if we take the bimini down. It is a nice ride and we arrive at the Boat Club around 3:30. Albie directs us to a dock where Dave and I will use this gigantic crane to take down the mast and secure it on the top deck. Dockage is reasonable. Since we are using the crane, we only pay $1.00 a foot plus $50.00 for the use of the crane. It takes us about an hour to prep the boat for the unstepping. The dinghy must be moved and Dave engineers the best way to lower the mast. We have been at this Boat Club before when we stepped "Sojourn" on our way home from Quebec. We are very pleased to learn that the crane is now operated electrically rather than by the hand crank that we use the last time. It is quite the production, but it goes flawlessly. The crane helps to take the weight off the mast and it lays down much more easily than the time we unstepped it at MYC without a crane. Dave secures all the rigging and ropes and we are ready for our trip on the Champlain Canal. After a dinner of meatloaf that everyone on the dock comments on, there is a gorgeous sunset.

"At Last" without her mast (front view)
Notice the crane on the left hand side

"At Last" without her mast (side view)

Sunset at Castleton on Hudson

June 20, 2015

Today is our first day for locking. Before leaving the dock at Castleton, we pump out and position our fenders that we will need as we go through the locks on the Champlain Canal. We depart at 7:00 and head up the Hudson toward Albany. The city is located about 15 miles north. Not much further along,

Port of Albany

we pass through the city of Troy. Our first lock is approaching. It is the Federal Lock. We enter the lock. We have a line at midship and I loop it around a pipe as Dave steers us toward it. He then takes the line and I run to the stern and grab a hanging line on the lock wall. The doors of the lock are then closed and the lock master fills the lock. We are the only boat in the lock. Our first locking is successful! We exit the lock, pass through Waterford, NY and reach the sign which indicates that one must choose to take either the Erie Canal to the left or the Champlain Canal to the right. Our plan has always been to take the Champlain Canal and we are glad because the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal have been closed for several days due to high water. The reports that Dave receives indicate that the canals might not open until sometime next week. Most of the Loopers that we have met on our trip are transiting via the Erie so they are probably delayed for a few days.

Waterfront Festival in Troy

Troy, NY

Waterford, NY

Federal Lock in Troy, NY

Which direction???? Champlain Canal for Us!!!!

We continue up the Hudson to the start of the Champlain Canal. At Lock C1, we are again the only boat in the lock. In this lock we must purchase our canal pass. For $20 we buy a 2-day pass because we will not be able to finish the 12 locks today. Each lock has a sign indicating the elevation, the lift height, and the distance to the north and southbound locks. Our water will rise in Locks C1-C7 and then we will be lowered beginning in Lock C-8.

Welcome to the Champlain Canal Sign
Bienvenu!

Information Sign

Doors of lock are open waiting for us to enter

We continue north. The ride is very scenic and quiet. There are not many boats along the way. From Lock C-1 through Lock C-4, Dave and I get into a system of locking. The walls are dirty and slimy and I am glad that I have my locking gloves with me. The fenders on the boat are doing are good job of protecting the side of the boat. Sometimes we have to wait for the lock master to prepare the lock for us before we can enter and sometimes the light outside the lock is green and we can enter right away. The information we received was that we should plan on a half hour for each lock. As we continue along the way we notice several barges. Some are occupied. Some are not. We see many tugs positioning themselves at the barges and moving some back and forth. We learn that this is the Hudson River Dredging Project. This project is being funded by GE who the EPA cited as being responsible for the PCBs in the Hudson River. Here is a summary as to the progress of the dredging.

"GE has begun the sixth and final season of one of the largest and most complex environmental dredging projects ever undertaken in the United States. At the close of this year’s work, 100 percent of the PCBs targeted by EPA for removal — approximately 2.9 million cubic yards of sediment from a 40-mile stretch of river between Fort Edward and Troy, N.Y. — will have been addressed. The Hudson dredging project is being undertaken by GE under an agreement with the EPA, which selected dredging as the remedial strategy to address PCBs in sediments in the river, and determined the size and scope of the project, after thoroughly evaluating a full range of options including more dredging. EPA, which has repeatedly commended GE’s work as “extraordinary,” oversees every aspect of the dredging project. GE is paying for the project and conducting the work. The project is being undertaken under the federal Superfund law. GE has invested more than $1 billion in the project and met all of its commitments to EPA."

During this project, navigation on the river between Troy, NY and Fort Edward, NY has been allowed. However, as Dave and I soon learned, the pleasure boater needs to be very careful when passing these barges as well as having to yield to a tug pushing a barge on the river. We first encounter this in Lock C5. We enter the lock with no problem and the lock master fills the lock for us. When we reach the top of the lock, he informs us that a tugboat who is pushing a barge will be headed south towards us and that we need to pay careful attention. He informs Dave that the captain of the tug will hail him on Channel 13. The lock master bids us farewell and opens the doors of the lock for us. We notice that the river is quite narrow in this area and are wondering how we will both pass on the river. The tug captain hails Dave and asks if we have left the lock. Dave informs him that we have and he tells us to continue and that will be going under a bridge at the same time. He indicates that the river is wider here. I am happy to hear this because we have just passed a very narrow section with rushing waterfalls on our right. If we were to pass each other here, the only place for us to go would be towards these falls. As we pass the falls, we see the bridge as well as the tug and a huge barge. We pass each other as we are going beneath the bridge. Remember, the tug is pushing a barge and its maneuverability is limited. Of course, Dave expertly steers us past the barge.

Waterfall and dam to our right just before we meet the tug and barge

Stern of tug as we pass….the barge is front of it

One of the working barges in the Hudson River

I finally exhale as we clear the barge and thinking that the worst is over, we continue to Lock C6. Again, we are alone in the lock and the lock master fills the lock and we rise. The lock master receives a phone call while we are rising. As soon as we get to the top, he informs us that another barge and tug will be coming south and the captain would like us to exit the lock and wait on the wall until the barge and tug approach. Then we will be able to go around it. Dave pulls up to the wall and there is nothing for us to attach our lines to. Dave is very unhappy about the conditions along the wall and is considering reporting it to the NY Canal System. With the help of the lock master, Dave secures the boat and we patiently wait and wait and wait…….about a half hour later, we see a HUGE barge and tug. Its name is "Bass" and the captain hails Dave and tells him we need to leave our spot on the wall because he is planning to pull up there. Dave backs off and heads to the other side of the river. The tug pulls into the spot where we had been minutes before and we pass by them. It is almost 7:00 pm and we have been on the water for 12 hours today. We decide to go to Fort Edward and stay in the basin where there is free dockage including water and electricity. When we arrive there are only two other boats on the wall. We dock "At Last". We are both exhausted. Today is the anniversary of our first year of retirement and we had planned a special dinner. However, we decide to walk to town, get a pizza, and save our dinner until tomorrow night. We will complete Locks C-7 through C-12 tomorrow.