Locking Through and New Challenges

Every day seems to bring a new challenge on this Loop Adventure.  Yesterday, the locks opened.  The Waterford Visitor Center dock was overflowing with boats.  Three "looper" boats were rafted onto other boats.  We celebrated and said our goodbyes, as half the boats headed north towards Lake Champlain, and the rest of us headed west, through the Erie.

Getting ready for a new day.  Attitude Changer, Limelight, and Panacea are rafted to Navigator, Summerland and Above Average Looper.  My little Annabelle is in front of Freedom.

We were all very excited about Tuesday, as it represents a point in the Loop, where one decides which direction to go.  It was hard for me to watch many of my friends head north, while I headed west.  I even called the Canada Canal System, verifying I needed two people aboard throughout the province of Quebec.  I just couldn't take the chance, and once again chose the safe plan.

First thing yesterday morning, I decided to watch as other people went through the first "locking" in Waterford (Lock 2).  Amongst the seven boats in the lock, was "If", with Tom and his grandson Tim.  Tom is one of the oldest "loopers" and will be 80 in November.  They were the last of the boats heading into the lock.  Tim was at the helm and Tom was reaching out with his boat hook to grab the cable, when Tom fell into the water in the lock.  I think all our hearts stopped for a moment.

"If" has entered the lock and Tom has just fallen in, "Man Overboard!"  Nothing we can do but hope for the best, and start breathing again.

Tom swam to the swim platform and Tim is helping him.  Meanwhile the sailboat crew is yelling at Tim as his boat moves forward and is about to hit the sailboat.

With Tom safe on the swim platform, Tim has gone back to the helm to move the boat.

The lock doors are closing, and soon the chamber will be filling with water, raising the boats to the upper level.

Watching the lock fill with water.  In a few minutes it will be full.  The volume of water put into the lock can be over 1200 cubic feet per second.

Almost there... still filling.  The dimensions of the lock are 328 ft long by 45 feet wide.

Tom, still smiling, and considering the benefits of life jackets.  We were all smiling to see him safe aboard his vessel.

My friend, Jim, from Waterford offered to go up the first "flight" of locks with me.  I explained he could come with me, but I had to do everything myself.  He agreed, and we shared ideas about how to lock through, comparing our different boats and the different tools we each had to work with.  He has a twin engine or "double screw", while I have a single engine.  I have both bow and stern thrusters, and he has a bow thruster.  His boat is longer than mine, but his engines not as powerful.  Other considerations include being alone on the boat, versus having crew.

My plan for my boat, being singlehanded, was to reach out my window next to my helm, so I could still control my boat.  Then, put a loop around the cable, then hold myself against the wall by using my bow and stern thrusters as needed.  This is the plan that worked.  My secondary plan, which was my initial plan when I left Southport, was to grab the cable from the back of my boat, and use my bow and stern thrusters to keep me next to the wall.  The secondary plan did not work as well, since I lose forward and reverse control of my boat by not being at my helm.  With my helm station being on the starboard or right side of the boat, this limits me to tying up to the starboard wall of the lock, to have control of my boat.

After lock 6, I dropped off Jim and was back on my own again.  I had successfully managed the 5 locks, constituting the "flight".  I had one more lock to go before stopping for the night at Schenectady Yacht Club.  Row and Gus from Summerland made a great spaghetti dinner, and we checked weather and planned for today's journey.

Today, brought on new challenges.  Instead of cables, we only had ropes to hold onto.  The ropes are not attached at the bottom, like the cables, so they are not as effective at holding the boat near the wall.  It was windy and there was a strong current at the locks.  Lock 8 went well.  I tied to the starboard wall, fought off some wind, but managed to do okay.  For Lock 9, it didn't go as well.  Summerland and a sailboat were on the portside wall, with the wind holding them against it.  I was on the starboard side wall with the wind pushing me away.  I was doing well with my thrusters until the lock started filling with water.  The stern of my boat was over a filling pipe, which pushed my stern out to the middle of the lock.  Imagine ten times the power of a firehose, and you can imagine the force of the water.  I let go of the rope and re-positioned myself.  It all happened so fast.  One second I was next to the wall, the next second my whole boat had flipped around and I was perpendicular to the walls.  Fortunately, I have a small boat, so I didn't hit either of the other boats.  It was a close call.  I recovered and moved up a little on the wall, as the lock continued to fill with water.  We had one last lock, which was much better.

By 1:00, we docked at Riverpark, next to a good restaurant.  Other loopers shared their locking problems in the same lock.  One looper was grateful they were the only ones in lock 9, when they lost their lines, sure they could have hit someone.  We are all safe and sound once more. Annabelle is docked in front of Freedom, the big green yacht, like we were at Waterford.