10/16/15 Ordinary Point

To   39 22.372N,    75 58.545W    Ordinary Point, Sassafras River    38.4NM

It was nice to enjoy a leisurely morning with breakfast at anchor after getting down the NJ shore and up the Delaware.  We had a quiet night behind Reedy Island, although Deeter reported hearing the waves slap on the stern when the current held us stern to the waves during the night.  She did say it didn't prevent her from sleeping after the long haul from Atlantic Highlands.  With the morning relatively calm, we wondered if we'd made the wrong decision to have kept pushing yesterday, but the wind was soon piping up from the NW and was forecast to be even gustier and stronger which would have made for an equally long day had we stopped in Cape May.  Besides, we were glad to have both these, less favorite, legs of the trip behind us and be heading through the protected waters of the C&D Canal and upper Chesapeake.

After looking at distances and currents, Leonard decided we should get underway by 1030 to take advantage of the current once we were half way through the canal and to push us into the Chesapeake.  Although both the chart plotter and computer were in agreement on the current timing, nature was not, and nothing tops  (or changes) Mother Nature.  Well beyond what was supposed to be slack water, we were still fighting the current, and the boost down the Elk River into the Bay was minimal.  What you see is what you get and part and parcel of cruising.  At least we arrived at the anchorage behind Ordinary Point at a reasonable hour and could relax and enjoy the scenery! 

Sunrise on the Sassafras River

10/14/15 - 10/15/2015 Offshore New Jersey and up the Delaware

One of the Atlantic Highlands Victorians overlooking Raritan Bay

 A closer check of the weather indicated we could head to Cape May around noon today, giving us time to go ashore in the morning before we departed.  The forecast said the winds might be a bit gusty making for less than ideal sailing conditions, but we would tuck along the shore so fetch wouldn't be a problem in a NW wind.  The NWS predicted a brief spell of SW winds before they clocked back into the NW until next Tuesday, hardly ideal for doing the Delaware, but we'd keep a close eye on the forecast before committing to running up the bay.  We hoped to reach the Chesapeake before the flow of NW winds began since they would provide great sailing winds to head down the bay, besides we didn't want to spend a week sitting in Cape May.

Interesting Victorian house and public steps heading down the hill in Atlantic Highlands

Rather than launch the dinghy or anchor closer to the dock for a drier ride ashore, we paid $25 to tie up at the Municipal Marina for 3 hours - it would be perfect timing with our intended departure time.  We made the mandatory stop at the Flaky Crust, an interesting bakery/deli, for some treats before heading to the store to pick up a few things.  On the way back to the boat, we explored part of town and did a short walk on the nature trail along the water. 

Our timing was perfect - we departed at noon as planned.  After motoring into the wind to round Sandy Hook, we were off and sailing.  We spent much of the trip about 1.5NM offshore which kept the waves to a minimum.  I think this was the first trip where we actually sailed the entire NJ shore to Cape May.  The wind had us reefed down, but we were more concerned about going too fast and arriving before daybreak - the entrance to Cape May is easy, but depending on how other boats were already anchored, finding a spot to drop the hook in the dark might be tricky.

Sunset off the New Jersey coast.  The new moon gave us a dark and starry night offshore

It was a great sail.  The skies cleared and gave us a great view of the almost new moon low in the sky at dusk.  The wind held throughout the night, blowing enough to take in some on the jib occasionally.  Since we were so close to shore, we didn't have to worry about big boat traffic, just keep an eye out for the local fishing fleet.  Another sail boat shadowed us down the coast, headed for Ocean City and Norfolk.  Conditions would have been ideal to head for Norfolk, but that would preclude cruising in the Chesapeake, something we look forward to each trip and wanted to share with Deeter.

Another sail boat, well reefed, heading down the New Jersey shore at dawn

A song sparrow hitching a ride after a long flight - we had several visitors and saw a number of flocks of migrating birds

It's great having Deeter aboard for the this portion of the trip. It's wonderful to have an experienced extra hand on board to help stand watches and lend a hand, and she's perfectly happy to share the 'garage' with our bikes and other gear.  And best of all, she doesn't have a schedule and is willing to stop or go as chance dictates (we're known for having rather 'fluid' plans on these trips).  She's open to finding transportation back to Jamestown from a number of different places on the Chesapeake, so we'll see how far we get - there are lots of options.

10/15/2015    To 39 30.538N,  75 34.416W    Anchorage at Reedy Island

As we approached the Cape May entrance, Leonard checked the weather for any last minute changes (he planned on spending the night at Cape May).  The forecast wind velocities for Thursday on the Delaware had dropped to 10 - 15NW, switching to W and SW during the day with 2-3' seas.  An improvement from the 10-20NW with gusts to 25 forecast earlier, with the wind backing to the WSW in the evening, and even less ideal conditions until next week.  I was not a proponent of the idea to run the Delaware at night during the brief period of SW winds - we'd need to stay in or close to the big ship channel to avoid bobbers and big ship traffic on the bay can be busy.

A brief discussion yielded a consensus to go for it.  Why we ever trust the NWS is an open question.  They may only be 20% off not only in the wind strength (not necessarily an insignificant amount if you happen to be on a small sailboat) but also direction and timing.  We knew we'd be going to weather, and the conditions wouldn't be great until the current switched (against us) to run with the wind sometime mid morning, and they weren't.  We don't like going to weather for good reason - it's miserable and an extra 5 kts of wind make it worse.

We considered heading back in  the Cape May Canal from the bay, but the reason we hadn't taken it in the first place (it's a shorter route) was a high, spring tide.  Bottom line, we don't fit under the 55' bridges and there's no place to anchor bay side while waiting for the tide to drop in a NNW wind.  Even with a current boost, it was like walking through glue, a very slow process.  Deeter didn't mention doubting our sanity, but did say our upwind track looked more comfortable than the 2 boats heading across the bay, rolling in the seas, trying to reach the canal entrance.  She must have trusted we knew what we were doing - it made a bit more sense when she looked at the chart and saw eventually the fetch would lessen as the bay narrowed and the seas would calm down as the current switched.  It's not often we appreciate a current pushing us backward!

Conditions did improve - gradually - as the wind backed slowly to the W a bit allowing us to head up the bay and the current began to ebb, but it would be a long day, after dark before we'd reach the anchorage at Reedy Island where we hoped the wind conditions would allow us to anchor, and close to 2300 if we went to Chesapeake City, about 10NM W on the C&D Canal.  What kept us going was the reality that these were the best weather conditions we'd get for some time.  Ah, the pleasures of cruising - nothing but fair winds, blue skies, balmy temperatures, and a glass of rum!

At 1915, we shut down the diesel for the night behind the Reedy Island Dike, some 31.25 hours and 185NM After leaving the Atlantic Highlands. We enjoyed a celebratory dinner - we'd finished 2 of the least favored legs of the trip.  We were all tired and ready to call it a night, sleeping in will be a well earned treat before we head on to explore the Chesapeake in the morning. It had been a long day. We'll have a leisurely morning while we wait for the ebb current (E bound) to go slack around noon, which will give us time to either reach an anchorage on the upper bay, or stop at Chesapeake City - the free dock may be open!  After the Delaware passage (we'll likely have burned as much fuel as we saved on the sail down), we're all looking forward to seeing some of the highlights of the Chesapeake - it will be difficult to choose which to explore.
 

10/13/15 Atlantic Highlands

To  40 29.978N,   74 01.181W    Atlantic Highlands, NJ      57.3NM

Thankfully the old weather adage of the wind dying at sundown held true.  It got a bit unpleasant before it did, with the waves building and being timed to catch both the bow and stern on the bigger sets.  Not sure the aft cabin would have been a better choice than the 'V' berth to spend the night with the scoop plunging into the water as well as the bow.

Dawn saw no wind and a few sprinkles that soon cleared up. We headed out with the tail end of the ebb current at 0700. According to the NWS, this will be the last 'warm' day for a bit, with daytime highs in the 50's for the remainder of the week, and 30's at night.  Good thing we brought our old sleeping bag for Deeter since it has both a light and heavy side.  Long johns and extra blankets will feel good!

Palisades along the New Jersey shore - note foliage is still in the early stages

We planned to meet Deeter at Liberty Landing Marina and it looked like she would arrive before us if Amtrack was on time.  Our progress was slow thanks to the flood current and a slowly building S wind as we headed for the city.  Our ETA hovered around 1400, but the current would dictate our arrival time.  It would have been nice if the wind had gone a bit more to the W so we could have raised the main and got a boost, but Murphy's Law said it would blow either up or down the river, and it did, right on the nose.  Good part was the wind was in sequence with the flood tide, so we didn't have nasty, short choppy waves to slow us down even more.

Work being done in the new Tappanzee Bridge - the crane is placing huge steel beams that
 are constructed in Albany and brought down by barge

Extra wide barge raft - needs 2 tugs to push it

An interesting new building along the Hudson

When I spoke to Deeter, she was hiking to  the ferry dock from the train station, and it looked like our timing couldn't have been better - we'd arrive about the same time.  With transient rates at $4.40/ft, spending the night at the marina wasn't going to happen.  We opted to top off the diesel to give us an excuse to park at the dock until we connected.  We arrived shortly before Deeter and found a yacht taking on diesel, so waiting on the dock wasn't going to be a problem since it took a while to fill their tanks. 

The dock hand was a hoot.  He had no problem (I think he was from the Islands) with us hanging out, urging us to slow down and relax.  Best of all we were on a finger dock, out of the main channel, out of the way for all traffic and didn't have to deal with pilings.  Deeter arrived as I was purchasing some vinyl tape at the ship's store. The Liberty Landing Ferry had dropped her off practically next to the boat - really convenient!  We still had a bit of a wait while the dock hand helped the yacht tie up at a nearby dock before we got fuel. 

Deeter on board  with a Manhattan skyline backdrop

With a full fuel  tank, the Captain opted to head to the Atlantic Highland anchorage rather than the one behind the Statue of Liberty for the night.  On the way out of the harbor, we raised sail for the first time since leaving Vermont.  A couple of stronger gusts had us reefing to keep Antares under better control, and we headed out the harbor passing under the Verrazano Bridge at 1545.  Of course, the wind didn't hold, so we motor sailed down to the anchorage at Atlantic Highlands where we joined a small fleet of cruisers waiting for a weather window to run the Jersey shore. 

We got the chance to try out the new side curtains during dinner.  I'm pleased they fit nicely, especially given the lack of fitting time in the rush to depart.  Placement of grommets to run lines to tie them down will wait until another day, Leonard jury rigged some tarp clamps to keep the sides from flapping in the wind for the night.  They certainly made the cockpit warmer, although it didn't rain hard enough to see if we got the attachment to the dodger right to avoid rain running off the dodger dripping into the cockpit.  Even the Captain is pleased with the outcome, especially in the morning when they kept out a cool breeze while we enjoyed the view at breakfast.

10/12/2015 South on the Hudson River

 To  45 24.477N,  73 52.317W    Off Montrose Pt,   64.6 NM
 

Sun rise on the Catskills as we depart

Layers of fog in the mountain valleys

Monday morning we were glad to see only a few wisps of fog on the water and were under way before sunup. It promised to be a pleasant day, warm, sunny and with light S winds. The ebb current would be with us until Kingston (not as long as we'd have liked) but little wind, that made for an easy motor. With the current high pressure sliding E, the wind would be from a southerly component until the next cold front arrives sometime Tuesday, not ideal, but fine so long as it doesn't build. 

Esopus Light House - the entrance into Saugerties

Middle Hudson Light House - 2 examples of light houses on the Hudson - this one marks a shoal in rather than an entrance

Being a sunny and pleasant day, we had more than our share of motor boats out on the water enjoying the holiday.  Their wakes, combined with wind (which was S 8-10 by afternoon) against the current, gave us a bit of a lumpy ride during the late afternoon as we continued south.  When we turned into the broader Hudson south of  Peekskill, the Captain decided he'd had enough wind against the current lumpy conditions, so we anchored by Montrose Point hoping the forecast would be correct and the wind (now in the mid teens) would die back with the sun since there was little if any protection from the waves. 

It would be another 10NM to Nyack where there would be slightly better protection, more than 2 hours given the conditions and would have been a 12+ hour day.  The wind appeared to be dying as we ate dinner, but we were still bobbing in a 2+' swell left from the current against the wind.  As the current switched, the waves gradually dissipated to a gentle rocking. With 40+NM to NYC, hopefully we'll get underway before the wind and waves build and have easier going.  In the past, the Captain hasn't been one to stop when the current is in his favor, but it is tiring and unpleasant to slog into waves, spending as much effort going up and down as forward.

We're trying to time our arrival in NYC to pick up our friend Deeter Dodge who will be joining us.  We met Deeter in the spring of 2003 when she was the loan officer at the bank who helped us figure out the logistics when we purchased Antares.  She provided a seamless, much appreciated transfer of funds for us, so we had one less worry.  As a fellow sailor, she was happy to help, and has been a friend ever since.  Several years back, we helped her deliver Thalassa to Jamestown when she moved, and had an enjoyable trip.  We miss seeing her on the lake and are looking forward to spending some time with her again. 

We're thrilled we could mesh our schedules and hope to show her some of the Chesapeake. Columbus Day was her last shift on the Jamestown Ferry for the year, so she'll arrive, via train and ferry, sans schedule - the best way to be when sailing.   We'll figure out the departure later (we'll see how she adapts to sharing the aft cabin with bikes and other gear).  We may be able to pick her up at the launch ramp at the anchorage behind the Statue, or else we'll slip into Liberty Landing Marina just to the N for the pick up.

The most recent check for weather windows to sail the Jersey shore indicated a possibility of leaving later in the day Wednesday into Thursday with a stop in Cape May to allow the next cold front to move offshore, and the winds to shift out of the NW.  We'll play it by ear and plan accordingly.

10/10/15 - 10/11/15 Catskill

  To and at   42 12.656N,    73 51.414W    Riverview Marine, Catskill, NY    13.8NM

Early morning calm on the Hudson

 More reflections on a still morning

The usual dawn start had us arriving at Riverview Marine by 0930 Saturday morning.  When I'd called to arrange for dockage and having the mast stepped, Susan told me we'd get in line, and would be taken by who was ready first.  There was a line!  A big 47' cat had just been done and was putting the sails on, another boat was in the process of getting the mast stepped and a huge green ketch (2 masts), Reflections, was waiting at the fuel dock for their turn.  It was great seeing Mike busy - he said he thought the Canadian $ was down, but wouldn't know it given the number and size of Canadian boats heading south.

By 1030 we were ready.  About 1130 we helped cast off the lines to the boat by the crane and moved over to get our mast stepped.   Reflections indicated we should go ahead, and we didn't question his logic (good thing!).  By 1230 the mast was up and after getting the stays attached, we moved to a slip to finish the work.  With little wind, we got the sails on, the battens in and the main cover and jack lines up and adjusted.  By then it was after 1700 so we decided to wait until morning to deal with the solar panel and bimini. 

Late in the afternoon, Reflections moved over to the crane and had one of their masts placed on shore for them to work on antennas and the radar.  A Canadian couple on Marsea, a motor sailor arrived during the afternoon and tied up in the slip next to us awaiting their turn. Work on Reflections was not progressing very quickly (couldn't figure out why they hadn't done some of it beforehand and didn't seem to work very hard) , and we were thankful they let us go ahead of them.  The folks on Marsea were patient, but ready to get stepped and wondering how long Reflection would take give the lack of progress.

We walked into town to check out some of the new restaurants that had opened recently for dinner.  Unbeknownst to us, the music we'd been hearing during the afternoon was part of a dance performance raising money for AIDS down at the building at the entrance of the creek.  The street had been filled with cars and by the time we'd chosen where to eat, the performance was over and folks were streaming through town, some stopping for a bit to eat.  The wait time was over 30 minutes, more than we wanted to wait, so we walked down to Port of Call, the waterfront restaurant (5 min wait) just past the marina for dinner.  Leonard reconnected the mast wiring after we got back since it's easier to check lights after dark.  Everything worked!  Time to call it a day.

With a good 1/2 day's work yet to do, we were started by 0800.  I helped shift the bimini supports and hoist the solar panel into position before leaving Leonard working on reconnecting wires and walking to Price Chopper to pick up a few things.  It's just under 2 miles one way, a reasonable hike if I don't overload the back pack.

One of the not-so-painted ladies in Catskill

I made a detour on the way back to check out the little local health food store who frequently has fresh, local produce.  She'd been closed the evening before with no hours listed, so I gambled she'd be open.  She was, and I picked up a few things, and discovered the now, very small, local farmer's market in town by the new information center as I headed back to the boat.  Catskill used to have a great Saturday Farmer's Market down at the creek entrance, but after having the location changed multiple times over several years, had alienated the vendors.  There were only a handful of vendors, but I learned Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole House was hosting an event and would be open to visitors, something I been hopping to see, and would have time to do since we decided to stay another night..

Back at the marina, Reflections had one mast part way  up - with a lot of discussion going on.  Both masts were deck stepped, so it shouldn't have been such a difficult job.  The folks on Marsea we waiting their turn with a bit less patience.  He had mentioned that Hop-O-Nose, the competition, doesn't work weekends, so they had little choice but to wait.

Cedar Grove, Thomas Cole's home

The often painted view (sans roofs) from the south porch at Cedar Grove

We finished up the chores Leonard had started, ate lunch and headed up to check out Cedar Grove, Thomas Cole's home.  Thomas Cole is credited as the founding artist of the Hudson River School of Art, a group of artists who produced beautiful paintings of scenes along the Hudson River.  Many years ago, on another boat trip, we saw an exhibit of the Hudson School paintings at the Smithsonian in Washington, and were fascinated with the beautiful play of light depicted in the works. 

Thomas Cole was also an early environmentalist, calling attention and writing about the wanton destruction of the environment by people felling trees with little thought as to what they were doing, and the arrival of the train.  He worked to preserve some of the land in the Catskills that is still undeveloped and preserved today.  The changes he saw would have been all too visible from the porch on his house which had beautiful views of the Catskills that he frequently painted.  The site included his studio, the house and gardens and a 'new' studio that he only used briefly before dying at 47.  That studio had been torn down,after his death, but has been reconstructed and will be open to the public next spring. 

Rip Van Winkle Bridge - Olana is the house at the top of the hill to the right of the bridge

Looking S toward the entrance of Catskill Creek.  Antares is just west of  the storage tanks

The current exhibit consisted of works by contemporary artists and was shown in conjunction with an exhibit at Olana, Frederic Church's estate across the river (another artist from the Hudson River School).  Realizing how close we were to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, we walked over to see the river from above, and part way across bridge - it was getting late, and we had chores yet to be done on the boat. It would have been interesting to hike over to Olana and checked out the house and grounds  (more extensive than the Cole property), maybe in the spring.  It is surprising to realize how much of Catskill we've discovered over the years, regularly finding something we've not seen before.

Olana, Frederic Church's home on the east side of the Hudson

At the marina, Reflections, with still only one mast up, had moved so Marsea could get stepped, and another large Canadian vessel, Champagne Madam, was waiting at the fuel dock.  Busy place!  We hustled over to the far end of fuel dock to top off diesel and get a pump out so we could depart early in the morning.  Still to be done were picking up the dinghy, scrubbing the dingy bottom (it's been towed it since leaving LCYC to allow enough room on the deck for easy locking) and decks, and cleaning up the mess below.  I  decided to run a quick load of wash.  Unfortunately the washer had been unbalanced during the final spin, and when I went put things in the dryer, I found a couple of inches of water standing in the tub.  Not good -  I rewashed the clothes, keeping a close eye on the spin cycles and eventually we had clean and dry clothes.  It was another long, interesting day!

10/9/2015 Houghtaling Island Anchorage

10/9/2015  To 42 25.859N,  73 46.497W  Houghtaling Island Anchorage    45.5NM

With rain pattering on the deck we didn't hop out of our bunk at the crack of dawn.  We couldn't complain, the weather was forecast to clear late in the day and warm up and be sunny through the holiday weekend.  As we locked through, the Lock Master said it gave us something to look forward to tomorrow.  We were thankful the rain wasn't accompanied with wind since it's much easier locking in light air.  Leonard rigged a tarp to put over the boom to help keep us dry, unfortunately he'd grabbed the smaller tarp that left a good 12" gap between the dodger and the tarp.   Once up and tied, he wasn't going to switch tarps.  It did cover the wheel, it was easier to get around to get on deck and gave better forward visibility.

It rained much of the day, sometimes quite hard.  It had been great, the locks opened as we approached and locking was easy until Lock 1.  We heard a northbound boat call just before we approached the lock and we had a 30 minute delay while he locked them through and took their fees - there were 3 power boats.  We considered stopping at Waterford where the Erie Canal heads W, but we arrived shortly around 1300 and walking in the rain didn't sound like fun. By 1337, we'd exited the Troy Federal Lock and continued down the Hudson for one of the anchorages S of Albany.  Given the dreary day, we didn't have the camera out and missed a couple of interesting photo ops, but did keep the camera dry.  It appeared we were moving south in lock step with the heavier rain associated with the cold front - bad timing!  I can't complain too much, I got to stay dry and work on my log while Leonard steered, tucked under the dodger.

Albany on a rainy day

Our lunches have been a treat this trip.  On one of our visits to New World Tortilla, owned by an LCYC member Chris Hathaway, I'd noticed  packaged tortilla for sale.  When I asked Chris if he would sell them, he said yes, so we stopped in Tuesday to pick some up while doing last minute errands.  The difference between fresh (the spinach ones were still warm) and the packaged grocery store version is indescribable, read flaky and tasty versus damp cardboard.  We're spoiled now and can only hope to remember how good these tasted when I make wraps on the trip. 

I am always amazed at how beautiful the trip is through the canal and down the Hudson River.  Bucolic is probably a good description of the countryside that in many ways seems almost unchanged from a century ago.  Fall and spring provide a wonderful backdrop for our trips south or north with a fascinating display of colors.  As many times as we've made the trip (maybe 25) I've always enjoyed the scenery and exploring the towns along the way.  I admit the trip is more fun when it's sunny, but there is a certain beauty in the rain as well.

We've contacted Riverview Marine and are on their schedule for getting the mast stepped Saturday - 1 of 3.  Susan said who ever's ready first gets done first.  We'll anchor at the Houghtaling Island anchorage, about 15NM N of Catskill and plan to arrive by mid morning to get the boat prepped.  Most of the work happens after the mast is up - sails, solar panel, bimini, hooking all the wiring back up (keeping our fingers crossed that everything works) and finally bundling up the mast cradle so we'll have all the pieces come spring.

10/8/2015 To Lock 5

To 43 06.835N, 73 34.711W    Lock 5 Dock Schulyerville    64.9NM  

Sun peeking over an Addison County farm

Other than the geese chatting and the occasional whir of the wind generator, it was peaceful night. Hoping to getthrough a number of the locks, we were underway at 0630 and watched as the sun peeked over the horizon, lighting up the foliage on the hills across the way. Given how dry the fall has been, there is more color than we expected. 

Foliage in the early morning light

One of 4 eagles spotted along the southern end of the lake

With an invitation for dinner at the Finns in Saratoga Springs, we were underway before sunrise to get us within pick up range  It was a beautiful morning, cool, but with sun and light wind forecast for the day.  As we motored through the narrow portion of the lake, it looked like we might be the only boat locking through - no sign of the boat that had spent the night tied up on the monument dock.  But eventually we saw them gradually catching up with us about 5 miles north of Whitehall, and we slowed to let them go past. It was Largo 1, an older model center cockpit boat in the 40' range with 2 guys on board.  Our options were to continue at our  normal motoring speed of 5.5kts which gives us good fuel economy, and possibly wait for each lock to clear after they locked through, or nudge the throttle up, burn more fuel, and keep them in sight so we could lock through together.  We opted for faster since it would be a 60+NM day, and the locks would stop operating at 1700, making it impossible to clear Lock 6 before it closed for the day.

One of the turns at the southern end of the lake

As we approached Lock 12, we saw Largo 1 making circles in front of the lock door.  I suspect this was their first trip through the locks and they were unaware that all southbound vessels must lock through on the east wall due to the velocity of the water when the lock fills - they had fenders on the wrong side.  Leonard tried calling them on the VHF, but got no response (he hadn't hear them contact the lock either). When we got closer, I yelled they needed to switch the fenders (there is a sign posted just before the lock).  While they did, they indicated we should go in first which didn't make sense since they were motoring faster, but we did.  They followed us all day, obviously happy to have a lead boat and someone to contact the locks.  They didn't appear to have a handheld VHF on board.

It was a pleasant day in the canal and the locks opened soon after we contacted them, making for a fast rip.  Largo 1was efficient in getting tied up behind us so locking through was quick.  At Lock 8 we asked if it was possible to tie upat the wall by Lock 6.  The cleanup in the Canal and Hudson
River is still underway some 10 years after it started, and the tugs and barges tie up at the various locks overnight.  Wewere informed the little floating dock on the canal N of Fort Edward (Lock 7) was available,  but the town basin was not,nor were the walls at Lock 6.  A conundrum since we'd havea problem clearing Lock 6 before 1700 and Chuck indicated Fort Edward was too far to drive to pick us up for dinner.

A bit more of a sag to the roof, but it's still standing and for sale

Cell phones are great and we used ours to call the various Lock Masters to check our our options.  The Lock Master at 6 said he'd lock us through whenever we got there since the locks south of 7 were operating 24/7 due to the cleanup.  The Lock Master at 5 indicated the floating dock just N of the lock was free of vessels, so that became our destination.  It would be a 12 hour day, but Lock 5 was fine with Chuck who said they would meet us around our estimated arrival time of 1815.  There was a bit of a delay while the Lock Master at 8 talked to Largo 1 (who had no idea of where they were going)  and us.  I confirmed I'd spoken to Lock 6 and that there was space (at least for us) at Lock 5.

Reflections as we approach the dam at Lock 6

It was 1830 when we shut down the engine after tying up at the dock.  Leonard opted to have Largo 1 dock ahead of us since our mast head instruments (delicate and important) were aft and the dock was short for 2 vessels with the masts down.  When I went to grab their lines, they decided to tie up on the lock wall across from us, that appeared to have space behind the 'Stop Here' mark.  Chuck and Mary appeared in a few minutes and we were off to one of Mary's delicious dinners and a pleasant evening with cruising friends.  We got a tour of their 'new to them' RV.  It looked very comfortable. Mary also filled a bag with pears, peppers and a jar of fresh honey for our journey.

It was 2230 when we got back to the boat and Largo 1 had been moved back around the corner where a tour boat usually is docked.  It appeared they had a problem as we overheard a comment whatever was wrong could be dealt with in the morning.  We'd wondered if they planned to depart with us in the morning.  At 0030, I heard a tug and barge lock through, probably the reason Largo 1 had been repositioned, and the reason the locks are manned 24/7.