The Erie is Open

According to a local news source, the Erie is now open.

This is lock 11 in Amsterdam this morning.

What An Imbecile!

If there's one thing that really pisses me off, it's power boaters who don't have a clue.  Sure, there are sailors who don't have a clue too, but any damage they do is usually to themselves.  Power boaters can endanger the well being of others, and their property.

Yesterday, Pam and I decided to attend a music festival in Stillwater, New York at Admirals Marina, which is on the Hudson River north of Albany.  This is also the Champlain Canal.  Between sets, I wandered down to the water to get my boat fix when I saw three boats leave the lock headed north.   A small runabout, which headed towards the marina.   A canal boat, which was traveling at a leisurely couple of knots.   And a red trawler which decided it had to pass the canal boat as quickly as possible, and in doing so tossed up a huge wake.

You can see how close he is to the marina in the pic above.  In the photo below, you can see his bow pointed skyward, and his huge wake.  

When his wake hit the marina, boats and docks rocked like crazy, as you can imagine.  If anyone was on the docks, especially children, they would have been tossed into the Hudson.

This is, of course, not only dangerous but illegal.  In New York, it is against the law to operate a boat at more than five MPH within 100 feet of a dock, the shore, or a moored boat.  Five MPH is a fast walk.  This clod was motoring at least twice that speed.

Quite honestly, this is one thing that I don't miss about boating.   The inconsideration of others, that their time is more valuable than your safety, or that of your property.

If you see the owner of this boat,  please give him a link to this blog.  Thanks.

The Erie Canal is Still Closed

I've never seen so much rain here in upstate New York.   Since we left Drift Away and drove up here, it's rained every single day but four.  And when it's rained, it's often rained big time.   June set a new rainfall record.

The Erie Canal has been closed since mid-June.   There's been flooding in Ft. Plain and the canal is so high and flowing so fast that it's just not safe.  According to the NYS DOT website,


REMAINING CLOSED - LOCKS E-8 TO E-18

locks E-8

For updates and information monitor 1-800-4CANAL4 and www.canals.ny.gov. (Scotia) to E-18 (Jacksonburg) remain closed until further notice and will reopen as soon as flows recede and conditions allow.

I know this is a real problem for you "Loopers".  It may be that this isn't your year.  Then again, with climate change, this may be the new normal.  The Erie isn't closed because of a hurricane like in years past.  This is only from rain.  Al Gore predicted this in An Inconvenient Truth, record heat in the southwest and rain in the northeast.  Has the time come?