Riverview Marina, Oct 4, 2011

  Today Ken and I took a taxi to Super Walmart.  We  got a scoop about 'Harry Potter'. No, not the notorious one, and maybe that might not even be his real name, but the gossip is that he was run over, his mother or sister thought he was asleep in the road (no, I didn't get that either), that he's one of 16 children from 1 mother, and she no taller than 4'10", and the poor mother had to be transported to the hospital when she found out he had been run over and killed. 

  Ken was amazed at Super Walmart, also, and we picked up quite a few, little things, like needle nose pliers (Ken dropped his in the filthy water), 2 for $4.56...can't beat that!  We came back and did boat organizing, washed clothes, then had happy hour with Katja and Geoff on their boat and discussed our plans for the next day.  We decided the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club would be a good destination and I'd call and see about getting mooring balls.  Their are few safe anchorages south of here and they are few and far between.

  When Hurricane Irene came through this area, all the marinas prepared their boats by putting them on the hard, as they due in the winter, only they had flooding of 13 feet above normal and all thos

e boats were floating.  Riverview was practically destroyed with the docks haphazard and missing, the bank wall eroded, everything under water.  So, the place looked quite different from when we were there spring of 2009.  But they were operating and plan to rebuild everything.

Riverview, Monday Oct 3,2011

  To continue...we put up the jib, furled it, then the m'sail, because the forecast was rain and wind for the next day.  We were exhausted and it was dark by the time we finished but the boat was ready for a quick get away, if that's what we decided. Ha! 

  I have great pictures of Blue Planet's stepping of their mast, which I will post when I have more time on the internet, but none of ours because I was at Super Walmart....Catskill was a beautiful town in its hayday, which was late 19th century, and early 20th century when it was the gateway to the Catskill Mountains.  The town has beautiful brick buildings but most of the activity has now moved to a huge shopping complex outside of the center of town where there's a Super Walmart open 24/7.  Katja and I shared a taxi and bought more than we should have, or I did, because we are now living on a 34' sailboat!!

  Due to weather and needing another day in port, we decided to spend another day at Riverview.

Riverview Marina, Catskill, NY Oct, 3, 2011

Sunday started out the usual drizzly and cold and going thru the Troy Federal Lock was wet but uneventful. We were going with the current and would get up to 9 knots over ground (SOG--speed over ground). Blue sky started peaking through and then the sun came out and Geoff informed us it was 72 degrees and they were practically singing, enjoying the scenery and the view from the river.

I've got to break here. Ken pulled the jib up the companionway and he needs help hoisting it...until later...

Waterford, NY wall, October 1, 2011

A blustery, freezing cold miserable day. By the way, we have been cold since we started. We actually missed our weather window about 4 days before we left, and now it feels like winter. The morning started out drizzly and 45 degrees.

The wind picked up and with the current we were doing 9 knots. The water is muddy and about 2 feet higher than normal. We'd get into the locks and the wind would hit the boat since we were at the top of the lock going down, Lock 8 being the highest point. I was at the helm and Ken would grab a line midship and wrestle control until I could take that line, then he'd grab a bowline and we'd exchange lines, he, literally having to sit down and brace his feet against the cockpit side to hold it, finally able to cleat the line until the lock was closed and the water was released. Once going down, we were more sheltered and okay.

We could have taken a break and waited for better weather, which would have been the smart thing to do, but we opted to continue and fought the next few locks until Waterford.

In Waterford, which is usually a rip roaring place full of boats from the Erie Canal, boats rafting off each other, people milling around, etc, we were shocked to see only 1 other boat and the place looked dead. It was dead. Aug 31st the whole place flooded and we could see damage to houses 2 streets up from the water. The office was closed because it had been flooded; there was no clean water or electricity. However, there were docks to tie to and a bathroom open. And we walked up to Hannafords for some groceries and a few other boats came in, one a 42' Catalina (their 2nd trip to the Bahamas...the first one in a 32' sailboat. The wife said she wouldn't go again unless they had a bigger boat! Hmmm....), another a trawler from Vermont on their way to the Caribbean, and another trawler that hit an obstacle in the Hudson that bent their propeller and they were having it hauled out.

It was so cold we dressed in long underware (thanks, girls, wonderful stuff they're made of!) and foulies. We cooked on the stove which brought the temperature up to 50 degrees inside the boat, and it dropped down to 45 by morning. Lots of condensation on all the ports and hatches.

Lock 5 South Wall, Champlain Canal, Sept 30,2011

We went through 6 locks, which was enough. All went smoothly. We saw 2 sailboats heading north??? Why??? From where?? Another is headed south and is on the north wall. We sat on a bench with drinks and told secrets. No, I am not going to share.

Whitehall, NY Sept 29,2011

We left Kingsland Bay right at 0700 into a gloomy, ominous day. Ken activated the Serius weather and saw a black cloud w/yellow in the middle indicating heavy rain sitting over Whitehall. It started drizzling until past the Champlain bridge,a gorgeous feat of construction, this bridge replacing the old bridge, which they demolished. We saw 2 canoes laden with people and supplies heading down the lake (a group of teenagers on a survival course, we imagined--who else would be in those conditions?)

We kept vigilant during this leg (yes, I had to put down my crossword puzzle book and pay attention) and watched the buoys marking the channel, sometimes not much wider than a stream. K&G hailed us to warn of a powerboat overtaking us, which was a 50-60 foot ocean fishing boat from Pulaski, NY, having to go around the St Lawrence and down the Chambly Canal, Lake Champlain, and now the Champlain Canal due to the Erie Canal being closed. We joked that they were probably griping about the extra couple of hours it took them (versus the extra days it'd take a sailboat).

We got to Lock 12, paid $15 for a 2 day pass, and locked through then tied to the wall at Whitehall, making room for the Lois McClure, a canal boat replica, and a canal tug. There's a beautiful little park with a visitors center with bathrooms and showers, all free. Since it was my birthday, we opted to eat at City Steaks and Seafood in a converted bank building. Great food! I had broiled scallops and we all shared a huge piece of cheesecake for dessert! It was a great birthday.

Up Champlain, Sept. 28, 2011

We headed out at 0900 with a little chop in the inner Malletts Bay and a little more in the outer bay with the wind coming from the south and the waves hitting us on our beam. We were better in the lake heading into the waves, but they kept getting bigger and bigger, the fetch from the south about 50 miles. The bow was crashing into 2-4 footers with spray coming back into the cockpit. With the mast on a cradle, the boat tends to roll if a wave hits it sideways, but it was still uncomfortable hitting them straight on. Katja and Geoff were ahead of us on Blue Planet and they hailed on the VHF. We both agreed to head on to Converse Bay.

Around Point Bay Marina things started calming down and we agreed to continue to Kingsland Bay where we rafted together in perfectly calm conditions. A beautiful night after a rather harried day.