Waterford to Amsterdam and through 9 Locks!

Our day dawned overcast, which wasn't bad, but rain was forecast for later in the day.
We didn't realize how that would impact what went on, for the day.
We were followed through the locks by a couple and their young adult son, from Toronto, in a 33ft Catamaran. They had to take the mast down, as do all sailing vessels, in order to get under the many low bridges.


Only .62 miles to the next lock! aieeee!

We started out locking through on the starb'd side... the wind blowing us onto the walls of the lock. It was difficult then, to push the boat away from the wall to allow the fenders to make their way up the wall with the water and the boat, without ripping their covers to shreds..oh well!

In one end and ...

Out the other...

 The turbulence  inside this lock wasn't helped  by the water entering over the spillway at the bottom of the gates.

The first couple of locks had this system of wires that are anchored at the bottom, making it easy, by comparison, to put the rope around (center of the boat ) and hang on while we go up. Waz took this shot out the captains window on the fly deck, looking down.  Of course it rained when we had to go out and lock through! hmm...then the sun would come out!

 This gives you a better eye view of what it is like at the bottom...taken from the cockpit out back.

 He surprised me! hanging on for dear life, while we went up! I didn't need his assistance on this occasion.

It is not only physically draining, holding on, but also the adrenalin kicks in and exhausts you. The locks are so close together, that you really don't have time to think too hard, before you are readjusting the fenders up and down, and getting the ropes ready for the next lock.

 Then we had a boat coming towards us...we had to veer right to let them past, before entering the lock he had just come out of, ahead. It is a delicate act, getting into position inside these locks. Waz had a couple of challenges, but did really well for the most part. It is tricky getting a 55,000lb boat into a small place and then making it just right for me to get hold of the ropes or wire. He has to then leave the captains chair and race down to help me with ropes. Turn the motor off...otherwise it smokes...idling!

Aieee!! low bridges...they make me almost as crazy as the shallow water. All the aerials are down, which makes for interesting communications, or not at all....We just got under this one. We really need a clearance of at least 20.feet! This was 24!

 and around the corner was another one.

More interesting homes up in the trees...

 ...and along the canal. Im sure I wouldn't build my home this close to the water level...it floods something awful on this canal!

 The last three or four locks were adjacent to Dams which control the water levels in the canal, of course. We are hoping they don't get too much rain and open the dam gates, which will create all kinds of additional challenges for us further up. Lots of Log dodging goes on, as it is. We should be out of the Dams by Lock 15.

 Another private home up on a hill...

 The canal walls look rather tenuous.

 Where the arch is, is the remains of an Aqueduct.

 We look like we are travelling over land, in this chart plotter photo...but of course we weren't!

 Bald Eagle! Our first for a looong time.

 And finally, around 4.30pm, we stopped at the Amsterdam Riverlink Park for the night. It had rained most of the final leg, and we were so glad to stop and rest. Exhausted doesn't begin to describe the journey.

 All tied up and resting after the ordeal.

I don't know if I can adequately describe the ordeal..

The locks with wires that were attached at the bottom of the lock were the easy ones.
The boat has to gently glide towards the wall, close enough for me to get hold of the wire...then feed a rope around that, and hang on for dear life, to keep the boat against the wall. There is ONE wire to hold onto. They are spaced really far apart, so we hold the wire in the middle of the side of the boat.

Now, the other locks...about five of them had only rope that weren't attached at the bottom. So, you have to grab the rope (if you can, the first time) as you are getting close to the wall, and tie it to a cleat on the boat, before racing up to the next rope to tie that to a cleat until Waz can help me with the first rope. You cant tie them off while moving up, or the boat will keep moving out towards the other side of the lock..the ropes do not hold you close in to the wall, unless the wind is blowing the boat into the wall. Holding two ropes while the water is being pushed back into the lock to go up, is very challenging. At the same time, the fenders are being crushed into the rough concrete wall and scraped (literally) up the wall, making holes in the fender covers...we wondered where they got those holes...now we know! They are getting shredded by the concrete walls.

You have to put the one end of the rope through the end of the cleat and pull with all your strength to keep the boat from moving away from the wall...sometimes the ropes are not very long, and initially it is very difficult to hang onto the ropes and keep the boat close. Our whole bodies ached at the end of the day, and all of the boaters who tied up at Amsterdam complained of the horrid locking, to date.

A day of rest was necessary, and we did that today, Wednesday.

It rained all day, but that didn't stop all but two of us moving onwards...west. I couldn't get myself together enough to go anywhere, so we sat at dock and enjoyed a quiet day. Short walk to the hardware store to get some threaded rod for Waz to fix something on the raw water pump, and we had a nap in the afternoon ,followed by dinner at the Riverlink Café...a really nice meal that we shared with Greg, who came in alone on a 32 ft Catamaran...soaking wet!  We meet the most interesting people on this journey, and wouldn't have it any other way. He was charming and intelligent company, and we enjoyed a good laugh over our delicious food...including dessert!:)

We are going to fall into bed shortly. I think we will be moving on tomorrow.


The Canada Geese didn't seem to mind the torrential rain,...a large flock went by us in single file, late afternoon:)

The view, for most of the day...