Tanya's Great Loop Adventure: At Waterford, after a long week.

I wish I had more pictures, but it hasn't been the best of weeks and I forgot to put the memory card back in the camera! The pictures I thought I had, were just thoughts of pictures! What can I say? Not every week is a "good" one.

Here is the one picture Jan and Tom, from Navigator, took of Annabelle, with all her gear, ready for the locks! She has five fenders on each side.

Annabelle, ready for the Federal Lock in Troy, NY

So, for a run down on the week - I stayed at Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore, NY for almost a week. While I was there, I decided to order some things for the boat, and take care of anything which needed taking care of before the locks, and before Canada. My toilet hinges had broken, and although my temporary solution of using super glue is working now, I decided to order new ones. I was two fender lines short, for my ten fenders for the locks. A bigger deal was cavitation, which was irritating me, from when I changed the pitch on my propellers. Cavitation is when the propellers are causing and moving air bubbles instead of just water. Based on how my hull is shaped, my ideal prop is 17 inches with a 17 degree pitch. So, I arranged to have my spare prop pitched back from 19 degrees to 17 degrees.

Simple, right? Well, some days, nothing is really simple. Wednesday, I sent my prop out to be re-pitched and Thursday went to pick up the prop an hour and a half south of the marina. About a half mile from the prop shop, I got into an accident, in the "loaner car" for the marina. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Nobody was cited or ticketed either... and it is unclear whose "fault" it was. Maybe it was mine, maybe it was his, but either way, I think we both did our best to avoid what could have been a serious accident. While waiting for the police to arrive, I had the flashers on and the lights were on, because of rain. The battery died in the car. So, once all was said and done, and I was going to drive the car back to the marina, I couldn't start it. So, the police officer called a tow truck, and the tow truck driver said he couldn't jump start it, and began hooking up the car, before I even had time to catch my breath. The prop guy was going to deliver the prop to the corner, I was trying to contact insurance, and working with the marina... and meanwhile the guy was wanting to take the car. I was still shaky from the accident. So, the tow truck driver took the car and me to their shop. Meanwhile, the marina wanted me to have the car towed north and west of the marina another 45 minutes. They actually texted me this: "Tanya, the company that will give you the best rate to tow to Frank's body shop in Scotia is Interstate Towing... We can pick you up at Selkirk exit." They wanted to pick me up at the side of the NY thruway! Also, I was told that it couldn't be fixed in the town I was in, because I would be responsible for getting the car to and from the marina. Meanwhile, I still don't know if my insurance will cover this, and I was charged for the towing, when all I needed was a jumpstart. So, I had the towing company, repair shop, jumpstart the car, and I drove back to the marina. I didn't pay the $650 for the long distance towing and did not get dropped at the side of the highway like I was asked to do from the marina. UGH!!!!

The following day, Friday, I went with the marina manager, to Franks Body Shop for an estimate. The car was not only drivable, but was used by other people from the moment I arrived back at the marina. The damage estimate was $2300, with damage to the headlight and front fender. Tomorrow, I can call my insurance carrier and see if they have any new information, and whether it is covered or not.

The good news was that the propeller guy had my prop delivered to the first car repair shop, so I was able to bring it back to the marina with me. It was a simple switch from one propeller to the other.

Friday night, after a long, exhausting day, I went in to take a shower, and SPLAT! Dog shit! Seriously?!? Apparently, someone had brought their dog into the shower, the dog pooped in the shower stall, and it was not noticed, until I stepped into it. Fortunately, I was wearing my flip-flops. I am sure, the owner of the dog had no idea about what their dog had done, or they would have cleaned up the mess. I tried, but kept gagging. I told the marina manager, and he had someone clean up the mess.

So, this bring me up to yesterday, Saturday. Although the winds,tides and currents were against me, I left Shady Harbor and headed north! At times, I was just going over 3 knots. It was a slow, slow day. I only had twenty miles to go. When I got to Albany, Larry and Jan from Panacea hailed me. They were with Barb and Ross from Attitude Changer. I stopped and tied onto Panacea, and stayed for a cup of coffee. I felt good to be on my way, up the water from Shady Harbor, and with friends. I wasn't exactly getting anywhere very fast.

From Albany, I went the next ten miles up to the Federal Lock in Troy. I was avoiding floating trees and debris the whole way. At the Federal Lock, "Lock 1", there was three feet deep of wood and debris for me to plow through, the winds were gusting and the current was strong. (Other boats had decided to wait at the Troy City dock until today, when the weather was calmer.) I was asked to wait ten minutes for the lockmaster to prepare the lock. I waited, with choppy waves and water pushing my boat every which way. I made it into the lock and was there by myself, no other boats. Having been told the middle is the best place, I headed to the pole marked with a 3 (of 5). It was difficult, and after trying and trying to put my rope around the pole, I headed onto number 4. I finally managed to grab the cable with my boat hook, out my window, and then get my line around the pole. The lock master filled the lock, raised me the 15 feet, and I was on my way to Waterford.

Larry and Jan had called my friends in Waterford to let them know I was on my way. Mark and Jane, from Average Looper, scoped out a place on the floating dock for me, with power. As I headed into Waterford, I made my way up to the front of the visitor's center, docked my boat, and breathed a sigh of relief. I am in a great place, with great friends, and Shady Harbor is behind me.

Today, we are all here, waiting for the Erie Canal locks to open. Locks 7 to 22 have been closed due to high water. Between locks 6 and 7, the wall for tying up our boats is full of other boaters, so there is no room and no reason to let all the boats here in Waterford lock through. Locks 2 through 6 are considered a "flight", meaning you get them all done and the next place to stop is before lock 7. The floating dock and wall are full here. Tomorrow, there are three more "looper" boats expected to come up here: Panacea, Attitude Changer, and Limelight.

Tonight, we will be having "docktails"... another way to celebrate and enjoy the many people we meet along the way. We had a farmer's market here this morning. I picked up a "Berry, Berry Pie", which I will bring to "docktails".

Tomorrow is another day...