Familiar Haunts

Schodack Creek,N42 26 W73 47(10/17/05)For nomads, Libby and I seem to like familiar places. We lie at anchor tonight in Schodack Creek, just off the Hudson River. At this place we had diner with Pete Lemme and Glen Kaatz, and we went swimming with John and Grayson Undrill, and where we went swimming with John, Cheryl, Nick, Sara, Katelyn and Victoria.

We enjoyed the sail today. We started at lock 4 in Stillwater. The air felt cold and clear, but the wind blew less than yesterday. The flow of water in the river looked very high. We saw every power dam spilling water as fast as it could. Since water means money they must have been forced to spill. The river is full of logs and debris and many of the buoys are half submerged.

In Waterford there is a supermarket on the shore with a dock for customers. We took the opportunity to buy a couple of week’s groceries. That must be the most convenient place for boaters to shop on the whole east coast.

At the Troy lock we had to tie up to the wall to wait for the lock. I made the error of tying too close to the end. On the other side of the wall there was a powerful current as the river spilled over the dam. The end of the wall was only 10 meters behind us. When it was time to move a powerful eddy of the current held us pinned. It took all our strength and some more scrapes on the rub rail to get off the wall. If I had moved another 30 meters forward to tie up we would have had no problem.

When one exits the Troy Lock there is a wall of rock to the left and open water to the right. The water is very turbulent, being just downstream of the dam. If we had tried that yesterday when the wind was blowing so powerfully from the right, it might have blown us right onto those rocks. I’m glad we decided to lay-up yesterday because of the wind.


As we passed Albany I used my cell phone. I called farewell greetings to my friends Norman and Celia. Then I called Rollie, our attorney. The sale of the house seemed at risk again as we heard signs that the buyer may be getting cold feet. By the end of the day I think we surmounted the problem. Libby and I will both rejoice when the deal is closed. Ownership of the house is the last remaining apron string tying us to land life.

Layed To

Lock 4, Stillwater NY,N42 56 W73 39(10/16/05) First thing this morning Fred Mueller joined Pete and I. Before setting off we listened to the weather forecast and I got a big surprise. The forecast said heavy winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour. Category one hurricanes blow at 70 mph so that got my attention. Tarwathie does not handle well under motor power in heavy winds. The wind can turn the bow and neither the motor nor the rudder can control her. I would feel safe under sail with 70 mph but not under power.

I changed the plan to go to Troy today. Instead we went down to lock 4 in Stillwater. There is a sheltered canal here next to the lock with a big concrete wall to tie up against. I plan to spend the night here and continue tomorrow.

The voyage went well. The wind was gusty but not overpowering. I regretted one thing though. As we approached lock 4, we saw a dock adrift in the river and I saw the owner standing on shore looking forlorn. I briefly considered going to aid him but I thought that the wind would blow the dock to the far shore and he could fetch it later. Later in the day Pete and I were walking and we saw that dock caught at the edge of the dam. The water will wreck it in a few hours. I felt guilty for not trying to help that man when we had the chance.
Pete and Fred had to go home and Libby came back to rejoin me.

Three big sailboats from Quebec came through the lock and I talked with the captains. For once, these people could speak good English and they seemed very pleasant. My favorable reaction had absolutely nothing to do with their remark -- "Nice Westsail 32" :) However they did not want to spend the night anyplace that did not have electricity and water. I smiled and thought how different Libby and I value comforts compared to them.

FLASH: breaking news. Just as I finished writing the above, the three Quebec sailboats came back. The river water was so high that none of them could pass under the next bridge downstream. They came back and tied up on the wall in front of Tarwathie. Two of them had to raft to make room for the third.

I helped them to tie up and I must say that all 7 of those Bequers impressed me as very nice people. I was glad to have met them.

Intrepid Monarch

Whitehall NY, N43 54 W73 24(10/14/05)We left Chipman Point around 0900. I see it as a milestone event because we are starting our trip south for the winter. The lake seems very narrow down on the south end. It felt like a river journey. The weather was cool but very pleasant, and the fall colors were nice.

After a while a very nice monarch butterfly landed on the boat and rode along with us for a while. I thought about his journey to Mexico. He (she?) was starting very late in the season and probably isolated from fellow monarchs. Mexico lies far away. I thought about the energy to make such a journey. I wonder how efficient the butterfly’s means of transport is (joules per gram payload per kilometer traveled). It must be many times more efficient than human transportation. I wonder if the butterfly eats during the journey or if it just uses stored energy. Libby and I thought that the butterfly could ride south with us and get a leg-up. Alas, a while, the butterfly took off and headed south on his own. We were traveling about 4.5 knots and the butterfly did about 6 knots. He disappeared into the sky in few minutes. Good luck intrepid butterfly.

After lunch we arrived in Whitehall at the bottom of Lake Champlain. Ahead of us lies lock 12, the beginning of the Champlain Canal. We’re going to wait here for Pete Vonie. Libby will take Pete’s car down to Albany. Pete and I will spend the night in Whitehall and start the canal in the morning.

Whitehall looks picturesque from the water, but ugly from up on the road. It is the birthplace of the United States Navy. There is a dam here and the water discharge today is rather violent because of the recent heavy rains in this area.

Pete is a teacher, so after supper I read to him the history of the world from the book called Anguished English. We both laughed so hard we cried. If you haven’t read that book I suggest that you look it up.

Back In The Saddle

Orwell Vermont, N43 48 W 73 22
(10/13/05) Well, after a three-week hiatus we’re back onboard Tarwathie. The boat suArvived well. We found her in the same condition as we left her. One exception, the refrigerator/freezer had stopped. The weather was cold and rainy, and the solar panel won’t charge the battery without sunlight.

Another big difference this time -- we moved out of our house. We gave the truck to our son John and the car to our daughter Jennifer. We sold the house – not final until November. We disposed and/or stored our belongings. At this point, Tarwathie is our one and only home. It feels very good. More important, we said goodbye to our children and grandchildren for a long time. Our next planned contact with any of them is in Alaska next June. It was hard to part. We miss all of them already.

Our first item of business when back on the boat was to take the mast down. This time it seemed much easier than the first time. A little recent experience goes a long way. We knew what we were doing this time.

We also stocked up on food to last several weeks.

It has been a pain in the neck to use our cell phone. We had to drive almost 30 minutes to find a place where we had a cell phone signal.

The Champlain Canal was closed last weekend because of excessive rain. Hopefully it will be open when we get there on Saturday. The plan is for Pete Vonie to join me Saturday at the top end of the canal. Libby will take Pete’s car and meet us at the bottom end of the canal. Another friend, Fred Mueller will join Pete and I Sunday.

Another good reason for heading south is that it’s cold and wet. I should say COLD and WET. The tropics seem very attractive right now.

The fall colors were late and unimpressive this year and the geese migration seems to be very late. Global warming?

My beard is getting so long that if I don’t trim it soon I’ll look like a Hassidic Jew or an Amish elder.

Ready to sail again

West Charlton
(10/9/05)Well, we sold the house and moved our furniture into storage, I've been to Alaska to take the dog up to live with our son Dave and his family in Fairbanks. Now we're ready to sail again.

Here's the plan.

• This week we'll head back to Champlain and take the mast down.
• The weekend of October 15 and 16 we'll head down the locks through the canal toward Albany. I've invited Rollie Faulkner, Pete Vonie and Fred Muller to come with us.
• We'll get the mast raised and rig for sailing in Catskill the week of the 17th.
• The weekend of October, 22 and 23 we'll sail down the Hudson toward New York. We invited the Undrills and the Faulkners to sail with us.
• From New York we'll head for Cape May, NJ, then up the Delaware Bay to the canal, and over to the Chesapeake Bay.
• We'll explore the Chesapeake for several weeks then set sail for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.

The bad news is that I suspect that it may be 2-3 more weeks until I get to post blogs again. I bought two PCMCIA cards for my laptop and both stopped working. There may be something wrong with my laptop's PCMCIA port. If so, the remedy is a new laptop. Nevertheless, I'll ask Jennifer to post status reports to the blog so you'll know we're not lost.

By the way, don't miss Jennifer's photo gallery of pictures sailing with us. Here is the
link The link is also on the blog sidebar.