Day 13 - Fri 10 Jun 2016
Docked - Amsterdam, NY

[Diva Di at the Riverlink Park in Amsterdam, NY]

After a wonderfully restful night, I got up at 0500 to get the coffee going, turn on the heat (it was about 48F outside), and do some Internet stuff. The blog site would not load, so you got yesterday's edition late. Diane was up by 0530 after a less than good night's sleep.

I washed the whole boat again after more bugs attacked last night, filled the water tank, and by 0700 it was time to move to the pump-out area. The canal barge intruded by 10 feet and another cruiser was over the line by a few feet, so we only had about 38 feet to squeeze in, but it worked fine in the light wind.

When done, I called the lockmaster and he had the lock ready for us in 5 minutes, with us being the only boat. We locked through by ourselves for every lock today and got through the first Flight of Five in just one hour and twenty minutes, which is very fast. Traveling between the locks was no challenge; it was just wind on the nose for the most part. Inside the locks, however, the wind was making things much more difficult. Handling the boat under power was not that big a deal, but holding the lines securing the boat to the lock wall was difficult.

Unfortunately, Diane has to take the bow line as I maneuver to the wall, then I race down the ladder (carefully, of course) to grab the stern line while the boat is still properly positioned. It does not give us the chance to really swap positions, but it leaves her with the hardest job. After 9 locks today in gusty winds, she is sore.

One sight that puzzled me for a while was seeing several large boats up on someone's lawn. What I was seeing was a large mass of floating green weed that from 200 yards away looked like grass. I had to laugh out loud at my mistake. For the most part, the scenery was nice, with stretches of industrialized areas that were not.

Owing to the weather forecast for Sat and Sun, we wanted to make some miles today, and we did. It was only 34nm, but each lock takes about 20-30 minutes, so it was a tiring day. We docked at Riverlink Park around 1430, which is not really a marina, but has nice new docks, electrical power (with some issues) and a restaurant and park right there. So far, it is a pretty nice place to be. Diane was excited about the free laundry, so made me change into new duds and she put my existing clothes in the toxic waste bags she carries.

At 1700, we went up to check the laundry, take showers (hottest water we have ever encountered), and then enjoy a Happy Hour beverage. By 1730, at least 4 boats that had been with us in Waterford pulled in and pretty much filled up the place. Getting up and going early usually saves you some of the stronger winds that build later in the day and helps your chances of finding dock space at the end of your journey.

Unlike yesterday, Diane was the social one and stayed at the bar with some of the cruisers. I went back to Diva Di to relax a bit. To say we were both fatigued is a big understatement. By 1900, we had had a few bites of leftovers and were fast asleep.