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