Day 5
Begin: Waterford (Guard Gate E2)
End: Mechanicville Wall
Day 5 started late again, we had slept pretty poorly so we were not all that excited to get up. I got up and took a walk around, and while walking found a fish who was tied to someones fishing line. I went back to the boat and got my leatherman and freed the fish and gathered the loose line. There were also workers starting to dredge the area. I went back to the boat and we had breakfast. I had wanted to make it to Fort Edward so we got moving pretty quickly. It was going to be another hot one too, so the more ground we can cover before noon, the better.
Dredger outside Guard Gate E2
Grand Erie also working as part of the dredge crew
It was still early, but it was getting hot and humid. We made it through the locks pretty quickly and stopped at the Waterford Visitors Center. There were some nice people inside who we chatted with and we took showers and cleaned up. Leila also got a coffee as well. We milled around for about 45 minutes and we were off to start our journey up the Hudson. We seriously thought of sticking around, but Leila wanted to be to Plattsburgh to see her family for the weekend so we did not have all the time in the world, and pressed on.
We started up the Hudson which meant that we were going against the current now. We made it through the first few locks without saying much, just plugging away. It was HOT and we were not having a great time. We made it through Locks C1 and Lock C2 and stopped at Mechanicville. We had enough and needed a good break.
We walked into town to check it out and found that there are some handy stores nearby. There was Leila’s favorite, Dunkin Doughnuts, as well as an auto parts store, grocery store, bank and Library. We got her an Iced Coffee and some things at the store, and I got some supplies at the auto parts store. We walked back to the boat and found some kids playing in the water right next to the boat.
We moved the boat to the other end of the wall and relaxed for a bit. We were checking the weather pretty regularly as there were major storms likely and I was not sure if we would make it to Fort Edward without getting poured on. We have a bimini top, but it did not give much protection from sideways rain, it really was bought to keep the sun off of us, which it did quite well.
Mechanicville Wall with Glory Be
After litsening to the weather reports for a bit longer we were joined by a couple coming down from Plattsburgh and talked with them. After talking with them we decided we would just stay put for the rest of the day. Throughout the day more boats came and by the end of the day the wall was full, not what I had expected. We relaxed and did some work and played some cards. It stormed later in the day and we lost power a few times, but it was not a big deal as we all had generators.
I eventually got talking with our neighbor who invited me aboard and he showed be maps and such of Lake Champlain particularly around Plattsburgh and Valcore Island. It was nice to get ideas of good bays to achor in as I had done little research of good anchoring on the Lake.
The day somehow flew by and before we knew it, it was time for dinner, a movie and then bed. I also took a look at the maps and hoped to make it to Fort Edward that next day, a less than average length day, but at about 55 miles, Whitehall was awefully far, and there is no great spot to stop in between the two.