Phased opening of the New York Canal System

Since our last post, we have signed up for the Alerts to Mariners from the New York Canal System.  The alerts allow us to stay up to date on the condition of the Erie Canal including the scheduled opening of the Erie Canal for the 2025 season.  This year is the Erie Canal's Bi-Centennial season celebrating 200 years of continuous operation since its opening in 1825.  The opening of the Erie Canal was important because it connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean for commercial traffic.  200 years later, the canal is maintained primarily for recreational boaters and because of the age of the canal system, periodic maintenance closures are not unexpected, necessitating an alert system.  

As background, prior to May 9th, all communications were that the Erie Canal would open on Friday, May 16th at 7:00am.  Getting Make Me Smile to Albany, NY well ahead of May 16th has been our goal for several weeks.  We wanted to be in position to begin navigation of the 363 miles and 36 locks between Albany, NY and Buffalo, NY via the Erie Canal on May 16th.

Hilary is pointing to where Make Me Smile is currently docked in Albany, NY.
We've come so far already and our extended Loop journey is about 90% complete.

The heavy rainfall in the weeks leading up to the scheduled canal opening created a serious high water situation as well as a significant increase in debris this year.  As a result, an Alert to Mariners was published on May 9th that the canal system would NOT be opening as scheduled.  The alert indicated  that only the west end of the canal would be opening and as conditions improved, the canal would open in phases.  

We received this news as we were driving to MI for Mother's Day weekend.  A setback to be sure, but based on 10 years of history, the canal system is typically fully open by June 1st so we anticipated a setback of a couple weeks.  Not ideal, but not the end of the world either.  We extended our rental car by a few days and took our time returning to Make Me Smile.  The road parallels the Erie Canal for much of the trip so we stopped and looked at several of the locks and general condition of the Erie Canal as we went to and returned from Michigan.  We also did a bit of sightseeing in Rochester, Buffalo and Sylvan Beach.  A nice trip overall.  We also did a side trip to Howe Caverns, which included a short boat ride in the cavern.  If you are ever in the area, we recommend a tour of the Howe Cavern.

Close up of the debris at the dam of Lock 8

Lock 8 on the Erie Canal

Then on May 14th, a more critical alert was issued announcing an extended 4-5 week closure between Lock 16 and Lock 17 for two separate damage repairs that are needed.  As you might expect, this alert came as a surprise to us and it has taken a bit of time to adjust to the impact the extended closure has on our journey across the Erie Canal.

There is another alternative, which is to continue north through the Champlain Canal to Lake Champlain.  This is also known as the Canadian route and would significantly increase mileage to complete the Great Loop.  We are not interested in taking the longer alternative route, and additionally, the Champlain Canal also remains closed due to the high water and debris.  An updated alert was published yesterday indicating a possible opening of the Champlain Canal sometime this upcoming weekend.  This is good news for all the Canadian boats waiting to move north and Loopers who want to take the longer Canadian route.

So, for now, we will remain in Albany, NY, indefinitely.  The few other Looper boats that are here are unoccupied.  As new boats have arrived, the owner's parked their boats and returned to their respective home's until the canal opens.  Most Looper's stopped pressing north when the extended closure was announced.  The folks here at Albany Yacht Club (AYC) have been very welcoming and we are integrating into our new community.  We have signed up to volunteer at the AYC Memorial Day picnic next Sunday and are optimistic as the weather warms, AYC will become more active.  AYC is a very nice facility and they have a pool, clubhouse, tiki, etc.  Since it is early in the season, currently there are only events on Wednesday and Friday evenings at the clubhouse.  One member of AYC is an avid fisherman and it is Striper season here.  We benefited from his angler skills and motto:  "Practice Kindness" when he provided us with a very nice and very fresh Striper.  Very good eating!!!!

Striper Bass we received as a gift
from a generous member at AYC

View of Albany Yacht Club from the bridge.
Make me Smile has a side tie on the long inner dock.

Additionally, we are learning our way around Rensselaer which is the city where AYC is located.  The next town north, Troy, has a farmer's market on Saturday's which we enjoyed last Saturday and will likely continue to enjoy each week for the foreseeable future.  We rode the Empire State Trail there and back which was very enjoyable.  We are finding walking/running/cycling routes and also learning the public transportation system to move us around distances too far for our legs.

Section of the Empire State Trail between Albany and Troy.

Based on the Alert to Mariners, the Erie Canal should be repaired and open sometime between June 11 and June 18.  We will use our time here to check items off the project list.  High priority items include changing engine oil on the main engines, completion of the dinghy davit installation, and re-assembly of the main generator.  The generator cooler that we had re-conditioned prior to departing Merritt Island back in March needs to be installed on the main generator, an unpleasant job in a tight space.  The finalization of the dinghy davit installation is critical because the temporary installation needs to be removed prior to us navigating the low bridges on the Erie Canal.  We need to "step down" our radar arch and this cannot be done until the temporary dinghy davit installation is removed.

Our days are slower and more relaxed here at AYC now that our Loop journey has been paused.  A welcome change as we settle into retirement.  On our way back from MI we saw a bench in Sylvan Beach with a timely message for us.  "Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully."  

Bench in Sylvan Beach, NY

Dodging Debris

We arrived in Albany, NY, yesterday as planned.  Albany will be Make Me Smile's home for the next week and we will take a week long break from boat navigation.  Albany has a very nice running, walking, cycling path along the Hudson River.  We got out on the path yesterday afternoon for a run and skateboard ride.  

Out for some fresh air and exercise along the Hudson River.

We are ready for a break from navigation and boating.  Over our past two days of travel, the Hudson River has narrowed from its widest point of 3.5 miles down to 1/4 mile across.  With the narrowing of the river, the current has gotten stronger and we've noted a significant increase in debris floating downstream.  

Rain and flooding has increased the natural spring run off which also includes an increase in debris.  The marina where we planned to stay a couple nights ago warned us off and told us not to enter the creek where the marina is located due to flood conditions, strong current and dock damage.

What kind of debris you ask???, mostly large logs, tree stumps, and firewood.  Our Captain has done an amazing job of dodging visible debris the past two days but we have had a few "bumps" on the bow from debris that wasn't visible sending a panic wave through the Admiral and causing our Captain to immediately put the engines in neutral to allow the debris to safely float by.  We've been fortunate that nothing has connected with the running gear.  It's been a slow go the last two days as we've traveled at a reduced speed to watch for and avoid debris and also due to the current running against us.

When we arrived in Albany the Dockmaster informed us that the locks on the Erie Canal are currently set open to allow the debris to clear out.  Eventually the debris will flow the 150 miles south, through NYC and out to the Atlantic Ocean.

At the last marina and this one as well the crew on the dock has been continually clearing debris caught on the floating docks, allowing it to continue to float south.  Yesterday afternoon we observed a crew at this marina moving log after log away from the docks by tying a line to each log and using a pontoon boat to drag the log out into the middle of the Hudson River and setting the log free to float downstream.  Some of the logs were longer than the pontoon boat!  

The smaller logs are pushed away from the docks with the biggest dock pole we've ever seen with a special spike on the end to get leverage to push the debris.  Each dock has this special pole.  The spike on the end of the pole reminded Hilary of a spike that would be used to poke firewood in a fire, but much, much larger scale.

In the picture below, note the size of the log floating in the water that is caught in the docks compared to the man standing on the docks.  This gives you perspective on the size of some of the debris we've been dodging the past couple days.

Note the size of the log in the water compared
to the size of the man on the walkway and the boats in the background.
Huge log!!!!  

Debris in the Hudson River.
This log was over 20' long.

In the video below, this stump floated by us in the marina after we were docked.  It was probably 10' across and will get caught in the next finger pier of floating docks behind us and need to be removed.  At this marina, all boats are required to dock with the bow facing north.   This is so debris will float on by and not get caught in the transom, swim platforms and running gear.

Welcome to America!!!!

The Statue of Liberty has become synonymous with the phrase "Welcome to America" due to her prominent location in the New York Harbor.  According to Google, Lady Liberty served as a symbol of hope and opportunity for millions of immigrants arriving between 1886 and 1924. 

We got to experience this for ourselves and see her grow larger and larger as we passed through New York Harbor towards the Hudson River early Saturday morning.  A once in a lifetime experience and certainly one of the highlights of America's Great Loop adventure!  Although it was a little on the chilly side, we uncovered the bridge and drove outside on the bridge for the first time in weeks to have the best views as we passed through the city.

Selfie with Lady Liberty in the background.
A highlight of America's Great Loop!

Fortunately the harbor was relatively calm.  Our Captain only had to take action to avert the high speed ferry's a couple times and did so well in advance so no safety concerns.  The ferry's, ocean freighters, tugs/tows all throw big wakes creating an uncomfortable rolling on the beam but all was manageable.  We passed more than one freighter bound for sea in the New York Harbor and countless tugs/tows as we proceeded up the Hudson River.

Manhattan Skyline

Freighter headed to the Atlantic Ocean

As we entered the Hudson River, there were a few interesting art pieces on the Jersey side, across from Manhattan.

Water's Soul

Sculpture depicts a woman with closed eyes holding a finger to her lips
 in a state of silent contemplation and self-reflection.

The Colgate Clock

4th largest clock in the world @ 50' in diameter
Built in 1924 to replace the original built in 1906
Original is now in Clarksville, IN

Another gem we got to see from the river was the Little Red Lighthouse at the base of the George Washington Bridge.  The Little Red Lighthouse, officially named Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse was built in 1880 at Sandy Hook, New Jersey.  It was decommissioned in 1917 and relocated to its current location in 1921.

There is a children's book, the Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, written in 1942 as a literary cry to save the lighthouse.  In 1979, the lighthouse became a spot on the national Registry of Historic Places.  It is the only standing lighthouse in Manhattan and has 48 cast iron spiral steps leading to the top.

The Little Red Lighthouse

As we moved up the Hudson River and NYC grew smaller behind us, the landscape changed from flat to mountainous.  We both agree the Hudson River has been some of the best cruising we have experienced in all of our Great Loop travels.  Pictures don't do the landscape and scenic views justice.

View of western shore of the Hudson River, north of NYC

View from the Hudson River
In the distance is the Bear Mountain Bridge
Built in 1924 and at the time, the world's largest suspension bridge.
Part of the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail

There is so much to see on this part of the trip.  On Sunday, we passed West Point as well as Bannerman Island which is home of the deteriorating medieval castle built between 1900 and 1918 by Frank Bannerman, a munitions dealer, as a summer home.

West Point Military Academy
circa 1802

Remnants of the deteriorating Bannerman's medieval castle.

Over the past couple days, we've traveled 75 nautical miles and are docked in Marlboro, NY.  About 30 yards from us, right next to the docks, is a well traveled train track.  At least once an hour a freight train goes by, including blowing the horn in advance of the next crossing.  They are long freight trains, stretching at least a mile.  On the opposite bank the high speed passenger commuter trains are constant.  The river itself, has a continual string of tugs/tows going up and down the Hudson  We have an exposed side tie on the edge of the Hudson at the Marlboro Yacht Club so each tug/tow and small recreational boat that goes by also brings the eventual wake on our beam so we are having a rocking/rolling stay.  

We are two days travel from Albany, NY.  Once we arrive, we will keep Make Me Smile there for a week.  We are right on track to arrive at the beginning of the Erie Canal for the 2025 season opening on May 16th at 7:00am.  This is the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.  More on that segment of the Loop to come in a future post.

Atlantic Ocean Complete - We made it to Lower New York Bay

Since our last post, we've covered A LOT of miles, 53 nautical miles south on Delaware Bay to Cape May and then 123 nautical miles north in the Atlantic Ocean to the New York Bay.  That is 202 statute miles over three days of boating, including our longest day yet, which was yesterday.  Whew!  Our reward after a VERY long day yesterday, which included deteriorating weather conditions the last few hours, was our first glimpse of the New York City skyline.

The tallest building in this image:  One World Trade Center
aka Freedom Tower, opened in Nov 2014
Foreground:  Romer Shoal Lighthouse (build in 1898)

Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge & NYC skyline.
The bridge connects the borrows of Staten Island and Brooklyn
and separates Upper New York Bay from "The Narrows". 

To backup and catch everyone up on the past few days, we covered Delaware Bay as planned on Monday.  It was a good day and a smooth ride and were were grateful.  Not much to see except large commercial freighters in the shipping channel, and a section of the bay where we believe a group commercial boats was rebuilding Oyster reefs.  No wildlife.  We did pass Ship John Shoal Lighthouse out in the middle of Delaware Bay.  

Ship John Shoal Lighthouse
Delaware Bay

All the excitement was saved for the end of the day.  We entered the Cape May channel from Delaware Bay at nearly low tide and pulled into the marina at exactly low tide.  The tide at Cape May is 6' so clearly high tide is much better to travel through "skinny water" than low tide.  Shoaling is a big problem in the area near the entrance to the marina and to enter the marina we were instructed by the Harbormaster to keep the long seawall protecting the marina very close at 20' and then at the narrow opening in the seawall make a hard 90° turn into the marina.  Our Captain executed this maneuver flawlessly.  To complicate matters it was a blind turn with no line of sight visibility due to the low tide.  We couldn't see over the seawall into the marina.  Thankfully no traffic was coming out as there is only room for one boat to pass through the entry at a time.  As soon as we were in the marina main fairway, we noted the first fairway off to starboard had all boats fully sitting in the mud.  No water at all!  Based on the depth finder, our Captain estimates we had just 6" of water to spare beneath us.  Too close for comfort.

Also an interesting side story, Tuesday morning the radio shared a brief news story that Monday late afternoon the Coast Guard shut the Cape May canal at the Delaware Bay end as unexploded WWII ordnance became exposed at low tide.  This was the exact area we had come through just hours before!  We are so lucky to have gotten through before the canal closed.  The bomb squad from Atlantic City was dispatched to "neutralize" the ordnance overnight and the canal re-opened on Tuesday morning.  It was awful for some regular passengers on the Cape May-Lewes ferry as they were stranded overnight until the ferry service resumed Tuesday morning.

Tuesday was a "no go" boating day due to wind.  Bert spent much of the day doing engine maintenance.  Hilary painted the parts Bert machined for the permanent dinghy davit installation and also went for a 4 mile walk to downtown Cape May and to the Cape May beach.  The wind was howling at the beach.  Definitely a "no go" boat day.

Cape May Beach has a plastic sidewalk.
Hilary has never seen anything like it before.

An unhappy Atlantic Ocean

As background, to get from Cape May to New York Harbor you can go inside or outside.  The inside route, the New Jersey ICW, has not been maintained for the last nine years and the guidebooks and  local knowledge strongly advise against the inside route due to low water and shoaling.  The guidebooks and local knowledge all strongly recommended doing the segment from Cape May to New York outside in the Atlantic Ocean. The wind predictions for all of this week and into early next week were not conducive for us to be in the Atlantic Ocean and we were concerned we'd be stuck in Cape May for a week or more.   We were having serious conversations about risking the inside route if the wind was going to continue to be uncooperative.  While pondering, we already decided Wednesday was a "no go" day due to wind the same as Tuesday.

All that changed at exactly 10:37am on Wednesday when the boat next to us (Iron Marriage) got a report from a third boat that had left earlier in the morning to make the run from Cape May to Atlantic City "outside" that the Atlantic was good enough to go.  So......just 20 minutes later both boats were off the dock and heading for Atlantic City as the weather window was pretty short Wednesday afternoon.  When we exited the marina on Wednesday, we did it at high tide, a much better feeling and visibility over the tall seawall.

The short 4.5 hours up to Atlantic City was manageable and we arrived before 4:00pm.  A successful 1st day in the Atlantic Ocean.  The marina was the city marina located at Golden Nugget casino which is the same set up as when we lived our three years in Biloxi, MS.  We were in the city marina behind the Golden Nugget casino.  It was sort of homey and familiar to be there Wednesday night.

Atlantic City skyline

Upon arrival in Atlantic City, we cleaned up a bit for a Happy Hour in the Casino.  Tuesday was our 14 year wedding anniversary which we unceremoniously celebrated by walking to a Mexican restaurant in Cape May for lunch.  Enjoying a couple hours at Golden Nugget was more suited towards celebrating our anniversary, albeit a day late.

Our original plan to get to New York was to take three days, stopping in Atlantic City and in Manasquan.  This was still the plan when we went to bed Wednesday night.  But when we awoke on Thursday morning and checked weather for the next several days, it was clear Thursday was the only good day so we made the decision to do a long day and get to New York and off the Atlantic Ocean.  We skipped Manasquan completely.  We pulled out of Atlantic City about 7:15am knowing it was going to be a long 10-12 hour day, but we had plenty of daylight to make the run.  We knew of two other boats also making the full run for the same reason, a closing weather window.  They both had left at 1st light at 6am and Iron Marriage confirmed conditions were good.

It was a calm day on the Atlantic Ocean with comfortable conditions until about 2:30pm when the wind started picking up and changing direction.  Suffice to say the last few hours were less than comfortable.  A couple hours of creaking, rocking/rolling, and hanging on.  It wasn't the worst we've been in, but still not nice.  Rounding Sandy Hook and getting from the Ocean to the Bay was challenging as the tide was going out and wind was blowing in, creating the worst possible scenario.  Our Captain ramped up the RPMs and Make Me Smile pushed her way through.  We crossed lower New York Bay and tucked ourselves away in Great Kills Bay on Staten Island.  Great Kills Bay has a narrow entrance and is a bay protected on all four sides.  As luck would have it, we entered the narrow channel at low tide (again).  The good news is we had 10' of water coming in.

Today we will recover from our long trip in the Atlantic Ocean and sit tight on this weekday.  Make Me Smile is covered in salt (again) and it is predicted to be 80° today so she may get a bath.  Our current plan is to go through "The Narrows" in NYC, pass the Statue of Liberty for our photo op and get north of the city early Saturday morning.  We've been warned about how choppy and busy the harbor is from all the commercial traffic and in particular the ferry services.  We hope Saturday morning early is a good choice to pass through.