August 9 – Thursday
We decided on an early start, again, and were underway by 06:50. Somehow, without any storms or rain, the system with the high temps and humidity had moved out and this day was clear, sunny and on the cool side – nice. We had decided we would get all remaining locks out of the way and push down the Hudson about 20 miles to New Baltimore, where Shady Harbor Marina is located. We had stayed there on the way up and it is well run and the family that owns it, are most friendly. The WX forecast for Friday is not great so we wanted to be at a pleasant spot if we layover.
A number of significant things related to our cruise happened today. We cleared the last of the Champlain locks at 10:37, completed the loop course as we passed Waterford at 11:00, and cleared the Federal Lock at Troy, the first and now last lock of the entire trip, at 11:40. The lock total is 112. Also, Polly and I are still married, somewhat happily. Now we would just be back tracking our course home to Rock Hall for the remainder of the cruise.
Another somewhat significant event of the day was passing beneath the lowest overhead clearance structure, a RR bridge near Mechanicville, NY. It has a published clearance of 21’ but is actually something between 15’ and 17’ depending upon river water level condition. I (RCB), had done several approximated measurements of the top of our bimini from the water and they ranged from 15’-1” to 14’-9” (average 14’-11”). I really didn’t want to disassemble the top with the enclosure, if I could avoid it. At the lock preceding the bridge, the attendant told me we should be OK – that morning the water level provided 15’-7” - no worries mate.
With pleasant weather and no more locks to interfere with our schedule, Polly fixed tuna salad for lunch and we dined with Albany passing by to provide entertainment. The upper Hudson is a pretty waterway with small towns, parks and some very lovely waterfront homes and properties. It is well marked for navigation and there is also some commercial traffic, tugs with barges and the occasional ship, to keep things interesting. Albany is actually a seaport.
We arrived at Shady Harbor around 2:30 PM and waiting to help us with our lines was another Monk 36 couple, Connie and Don Rutsch. They are retired educators and have been cruising seasonally aboard their Monk (Schiffli) since they bought it in 2000. They had been in Lake Champlain for a period of time and also on their way back to their home port near Barnegat, NJ. Later we enjoyed a glass of wine and nice cheeses aboard their boat before Polly and I went to dinner at the Boat House restaurant situated on the marina property. The forecast is pretty solid for heavy rain beginning after midnight so we will likely be another day at Shady Harbor.