When we set the anchor yesterday afternoon, we monitored our position for a few hours to make sure it had firmly grabbed hold and was not dragging. Barry likes to do his monitoring via the chartplotter and an app on his phone. I prefer to find a reference point onshore and just keep an eye on it. Yesterday my target was a downed tree at the water's edge. We went to sleep last night confident we would wake up in the same spot. The hatches were open to a cool breeze and, best of all, there were no marina lights falsely turning night into day. We both had a solid night's sleep and the occasional creaking and chattering of the anchor chain as it moved in combination with the wind and current did not keep us awake. Best of all, when we looked out the window this morning the tree was just as we had last seen it.
Today was planned to be a short day, but we packed a lot into it. The first order of business was to lower the mast and dinghy crane in preparation for the many low-clearance bridges we'll encounter in the next few weeks. (Yes, we had done this yesterday, but had to put it back up to get the dinghy off the roof.) The anchor came up clean and no powerwashing was required to remove caked-on mud common in the Chesapeake. We were underway and soon came to our lone bridge of the day. This one had air draft boards clearly displayed at its base, reading 24 feet. With our newly adjusted height of 16 feet, we passed under confidently without slowing down.
Another short distance passed and then it was time to enter our first lock of the trip -- the Troy Federal Lock. Our three fenders deployed, we pulled into the chamber, secured our line to the pipe, and waited as the basin filled with water to raise us up 14.5 feet.
We did fine in the lock and hope the next 100 locks go just as smoothly. We have made some notes as to how to get better -- starting with using shorter docklines of a different color from our standard ones. We have seven, 50-foot, 3/4-inch black docklines positioned at cleats around the deck and sometimes there are times I cannot tell where one ends and other begins.
Waterford, NY marks a split in the waterway as the Erie Canal goes off to the west and the Champlain Canal continues north. The town provides boaters with free dockage (and power for only $10 per stay) in hopes of enticing folks to come into town and enjoy what they have to offer. We immediately liked what we saw and decided we would stay here for two nights.
We showered then went out exploring, first to find a post office (Zip Code 12188), then identify the laundromat, and a spot for dinner. Walking through town we spotted this pretty little courtyard full of hanging baskets and herb window boxes (best looking mint north of Clemmons, NC). Turns out it was the exact restaurant recommended to us by a couple on the trolley ride back in Kingston. We came back in the evening and had a great meal on the patio at McGreivey's.
Following dinner, we walked to the other end of town and tried to make our plans for tomorrow. We definitely want to do a load of towels, jeans and sweatshirts and then visit the Waterford Historical Museum and possibly a waterfall. If we walk to the waterfall, we will walk further than we traveled by boat today -- and in about the same amount of time.
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