The Erie Canal

We left the Hudson River today and, in a baptism by fire, learned how to “lock through”. The first lock was the Federal lock in Troy where we had the entire lock to ourselves. Once on the “official” Erie Canal, we bagged the “Flight of Five” – five lift locks which lifted Aurora 169ft (51m) in 1.6 miles (2.5km). The distance is twice the total lift from sea level to the summit of the Panama Canal!

The Flight of Five are the same routine so we have graduated from neophyte to rookie by the end of today’s journey…

Not everyone has to work so hard to climb the Flight of Five…

We’ve been remiss in posting… Memorial Day weekend weather meant we spent 2 days on the wall in Schenectady and after that it was days of water, trees and locks so I knew I could catch up and you wouldn’t miss anything…

Schenectady – Beth on Board!

We escaped the solitude and cold rain with a delicious, gracious breakfast with Beth (our Cambridge neighbor!), Barbara and Jane, then a tour of Schenectady. Beth was kind enough to schlep us to the grocery store, too! Thank you, Beth!

Canal Days

To be precise, our Erie Canal journey, until yesterday, took place primarily on the Mohawk River which was co-opted as the canal in the 1920’s when the Erie Canal was widened for the second time. We entered “strictly canal” territory (besides the Flight of Five) after Lock 16 yesterday and then re-joined the Mohawk today. You would almost never know though from the view from the bow of the boat. The river just bends more…🙃

We decided to share some color today, other than green…

Sylvan Beach, NY

Threading our way between rain showers and thunderstorms to Brewerton…

What was intended to be a 2-3 day side trip on Cayuga Lake has turned out to be what may be a two week delay in our forward motion to the Great Lakes.

The water level in the Erie Canal is controlled with a series of dams and guard-gates. A spillway between Lock 29 and Lock 30 failed catastrophically and emptied the dam, which in turn, lowered the water level in a 2.8 mile (4.5km) section of the canal. The normal depth of 12′ (3.6m) is currently only 6′ (2m). However, there is also a 1000′ (300m) section with silt deposits where the depth is reduced to 5′ (1.5m). The draft on Aurora is 5’9″ (1.85m)… 😕

More to come on how we solve this problem, in the meantime, we are capitalizing on our time here in Ithaca, NY.

As indicated earlier, there is a problem with the Erie Canal which prevents us to continue our journey. Between Locks 29 in Palmyra and 30 in Macedon, a dam was washed out back in May. (Yes, the canal has a leak 🙂 ). Here is a picture of the damaged area.

Because of this breach, the Erie Canal has only a depth of 5 feet in this section, too little for our boat, which has a nominal 5′ 10″ (1.75 m) draft. Most motor pleasure boats who pass through the canal, and in particular most of the boats other Loopers use, have less than 5′ draft, and are in fact able to continue their journey. It is mostly sailboats who are affected by this reduction in depth.

The new dam has been designed, but the design needs to be approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the New York Department of Environmental Protection. This approval is expected the week of June 14th. The construction is estimated to take 2 weeks. After that, the canal has to be filled with water, of course. That will take another day or two. The earliest the canal will be passable for boats with more than 5 feet draft is the first week of July.

We have another option to bring the boat to Lake Erie to continue our trip: go back to the Oswego Canal, continue to Oswego on Lake Ontario, step the mast, and sail on Lake Ontario to Youngstown, NY, located at the mouth of the Niagara River. In parallel to the Niagara Falls, the Welland Canal allows oceangoing ships to be lifted by 326 feet (100m) from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. In normal times, that would be a relatively easy solution to our problem with the Erie Canal. But, the Welland Canal lies completely within Canadian territory, and because of Covid we are not allowed to enter Canada. Therefore, we would have to hire a commercial captain and crew to bring our boat from Youngstown (still US) to Buffalo on Lake Erie (also in the US). This is not only expensive, but also requires a lot of bureaucracy. For now, we have decided not to pursue this option but to wait for the Erie Canal repair.

In the meantime, we are enjoying a vacation in Ithaca on Lake Cayuga …

A walk in the woods, close to town, along a creek which led to surprisingly large dam…

Another trail, in town, actually, on the Cornell campus, with, yes, more waterfalls…

While you can reach Taughannock (pronounced ta-‘gan-ick) Falls by car, the more scenic route is the Black Diamond Bike Trail. The Black Diamond was a luxury train which ran between New York City and Buffalo from 1896 through 1959. It is now a shady, peaceful, 7.5 mile bike trail with a gentle slope along the old rail grade. The bike path brings you to the place where Taughannock Creek starts to descend into the gorge. Although the creek is going down, the sights are all uphill from here!

Much like Taughannock Falls, there are two entrances to the gorge. At the bottom of the gorge is a natural pool created when the creek is dammed. The pool even has a diving board! There are picnic grounds and a bath house so this is a popular summer spot. At the upper end of the gorge is an old mill building and access to the intricate stone pathways and bridges which lead to the top of Lucifer Falls.

The last “Gorges with Waterfalls” posts, we promise! Watkins Glen is actually the best known and most visited gorge in the Finger Lakes area. It is certainly spectacular, but is it the best one? Decide for yourselves!

Yes, Ann, all of the Ithaca gorges were by bike so to shake things up a bit and see something outside of Ithaca, we rented a car to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. We had heard the museum was worth a trip and were pleasantly surprised to discover the town of Corning was, as well.

Corning, NY

The Corning Museum of Glass

With another week added to the estimate of when the Western Erie Canal will open for us, we will hedge our bet, re-trace our steps and head to Oswego. Depending on Canal progress reports, we will, either, head for the Thousand Islands (new scenery while we bide our time) or re-step the mast and initiate the search for a delivery captain to bring our boat through the Welland Canal (surrender). No matter which way we go from there, Ithaca was still the best decision to date… “Paradise”, as Christian refers to it daily.

You have seen the amazing geography, here are a few of the other wonderful things we enjoyed in Paradise…

Today was moving day: 46.2nm from Seneca Falls to Phoenix, NY. We are now sitting before the first lock on the Oswego Canal. Yesterday was a short jump from Ithaca to Seneca Falls with Mark joining through the locks, then a great dinner with Peter, Cindy and Kristen (thanks for the packages!) before they headed back to Boston.

Today’s big news was the maritime rescue we participated in near Plainville. A man had fallen out of his pontoon boat and it was drifting in the canal, him clinging to the end of the right pontoon, trying to get back on board. Christian dropped the dinghy and, the boat already grounded on the south bank, towed the man and his boat back into deeper water. Sorry, no pictures as I was alone on our boat wondering how I would get the captain back on board!😬

We are done scribbling with an orange crayon all over the map and have made the decision to plow through the mud between Lock 29 and 30. Back, a 3rd time through the route between Phoenix and the Seneca-Cayuga canal… But, if all goes well, we will be, finally, on our way forward. Wish us luck.🤞

The near daily thunderstorms across New York have produced painfully destructive high water levels between the Hudson River and where the Seneca River leaves the Erie Canal. Ironically, there are many other Looper boats who cannot transit past Lock 8 due to HIGH water…

We made it! The distance we covered in no way reflects the monumental advance we made; we are finally on our way to the Great Lakes!

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A beautiful, benign summer morning on the Erie Canal…. in some places.

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Less than 35 miles from the devastating flooding we saw between locks 24 and 26, this section of the canal is starved for water. These embankments would normally be under water. These water levels are high compared to where we are headed…

The Gates of Hell😏

This is Lock 29 being prepared for our tow boat which is on the other side of the lock gate. The lock itself was one of the cleanest, easiest we have transited.

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With our fellow intrepid travelers inside the lock; we ALL had our fingers crossed…

The water level in this section of the canal is so low that only boats with up to 5′ (1.52m) draft (Tiefgang) can pass. All the other boats in the lock had a draft of 5′ or less and they were still anxious. Aurora has a draft of 5’9″ (1.75m) so we were only allowed through with the tow boat.

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And this is why… These are the heat maps the Canal Authority provided to assist transiting this section of the canal. Red is bad.

The image on the left is the approach east of Lock 29. The water line photos above were taken along this stretch. The image on the right is the section west of Lock 29, the section between the two locks. At the very left edge of this image you can see the entrance to Lock 30.

Immediately after exiting Lock 29, you could see the dam construction that needs to be completed to remove this hazard. (See Stuck? No, we are on vacation …)

Hooked up and ready to go!

I won’t bore you with pictures of us being towed but will share what we saw…

First, a snapshot of our chart plotter on a happy day on the canal… What you want to pay attention to is the 2nd number in the list on the right hand side, the depth gauge reading. We like more than 10′ (~3m). We need at least 4’2” (1.26m) of water under the depth gauge.

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Yikes! Our keel was dragged through about 8″ (20 cm) of mud in the last 950′ (200m) of the passage. The tow boat had to work heavily; we would not have made it without their help.

Happily, everyone made it without issue. This is the flotilla heading into Lock 30.

Everyone VERY happy to be done with that passage.

Back to inviting and benign…

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So, we probably lost a bit of bottom paint but nothing worse. And we only made 14 miles (22.5km), but Fairport, NY was a nice stop. Fairport also introduced us to the NEXT canal infrastructure we will need to deal with: lift bridges!

And last but certainly not least, a shout out and a HUGE thank you to the NY State Canal Authority engineers and lock masters who went above and beyond the call of duty to help us. We are forever grateful and will make sure to pass this kindness on.

The character of the Erie Canal changed from the tourist bustle of the tiny towns (Fairport, Newark, Medina) to the quiet solitude of New York’s upstate farms. The western section is also where canal itself changed character: the banks of the canal varied from sandstone rock to poured concrete to sections where it was evident the canal was once chiseled out of the ground. A serene off-ramp after the uncertainty of the earlier part of the journey…

Medina, NY and it’s stunning facades…

The last miles on the Erie Canal…

Dad a ride through the Lockport locks. Thank you, Joe, for making it possible.

Some regular readers will have noticed our fascination with infrastructure made from steel, such as locks and bridges. Correspondently, we have often been asked how a good model railway layout should look like. Here are our suggestions.

The layout should be anchored around a small town with residential and small commercial buildings. Construction machinery adds color.

A July 4th Independence Day Parade will please patriots as well as fans of good, old fashioned entertainment.

Weddings have universal appeal and shouldn’t be missed.

If the wedding above was consummated, this is were you bring the children.

The inclusion of a large city with main railway terminal will significantly increase the status of the layout.

Five stopped passenger trains are considered the minimum to indicate a busy city.

School busses are a must. Accidents are optional …

Obviously, to support the city with goods, a multi-modal container terminal with ocean going freighters is required.

Long cargo trains with similar cars add heavy industry flair. Canals with locks and barges showcase what has been displaced by railways.

To keep the trains running, support infrastructure is required. Such as a railway turntable …

… or the more modern linear version of the turntable. A view into the maintenance bay with Diesel engines will support the education of the next generation of railway engineers.

Very important, a rail yard with a sufficient number of tracks to support …

… a never ending display of rolling stock.

A sawmill to support the local residential construction industry should not be missing.

Abandoned water towers are ok as they further healthy nostalgia about the bygone steam engine age.

Ore should be properly unloaded from train cars into lake freighters. But, please keep the load light on the Edmund Fitzgerald!

Finally, a steel mill to produce the steel needed for all those tracks, bridges, and locks!

We found this model train layout in the small town of Medina on the Erie Canal. It has been under construction since 2001 by a group of railway enthusiasts. Very well worth a visit!

A wider view of the layout. 204 ft x 14 ft (62m x 4.2 m), impossible to capture in a single picture.