The Circle is Completed

September 19 – 26, 2011

This is truly a momentous post for me.  I am writing from the same dock I where I first presented our cruising plan with the June 13 post, meaning we all (sometimes I wasn't sure all of us would be back here together) have come full circle.  Poor FLUKE is dirty and stained,  with a few new scratches and only a couple of missing parts, but she was put to the test and served us well.

Writing in the cold

Also, notice the date.  I've caught back up to the present time!  My crew members thought it would be a hopeless task, which meant I HAD to do it just to prove them wrong.  Of course on June 13 I had the fan blowing on me to try to keep cool, and now I've had to bundle up and sit next to the AC power cord adapter to get some heat.

I think when the day comes when I can't remember a lot of things, I will still be able to remember Waterford, NY.  I love this little town and have cried seeing the flood damage, but have marveled in how quickly the people are getting things cleaned up in the week we've been here and are trying to make everything look normal again. 

Lonely FLUKE

This picture tells a lot.  Ordinarily the whole dock would be full of boats, and most of them would spend at least 2 nights.  Now, only a few boats have stopped here, most for just one night.  I've seen two pull up to the dock and take a look around and just leave.  The power and water are not operational because the floating docks were lifted up over the concrete wall, breaking all the lines.  The water level rose above the top of the yellow dock bars on the left side of the photo.  The WiFi isn't working most days because work is being done on the inside of the Visitor's Center, and the power has to be turned off.  We aren't even worried about the NYS Canal police enforcing the 48 hr. mooring limit.  It's better to have someone here for a week rather than no one at all.

In the background, on the east shore of the Hudson River, you can see one small boat.  There is a marina there that is usually filled with boats.  Many boats were stripped out of their slips and washed 2 miles down to the Federal Lock.  Some of the boats went over the dam, and some got trapped within the lock.

Mohawk River gauge

This is the water gauge under the bridge right across from us.  During the storm event, the water was over the top of the gauge, above the 27 mark.  FLUKE would have been floated up on land.

Land flood level

Right across from where we are is where the bridge base intersects the riverside street, which was totally flooded.  You can see the high water mark above the fire hydrant. 

Mud, dumpsters, and gloom

Mud is everywhere and gets tracked all over everything.  When it dries, it blows all over everything.  The streets have been scraped off, but more mud gets added from all the basements and crawl spaces that are getting pumped out.  Volunteer firemen were out on Sunday with the big fire hoses spraying the streets, trying to corral the mud and wash it away.  It has rained or had heavy fog every day we've been here, so it's been difficult to get things to dry out.

But people are working hard.  Right after we had arrived and tied up the boat, a woman on the bridge yelled hello down to me and asked where we were heading.  I commented how shocked I was to see the damage.  She said “I lost everything I own because the water was 4' high in my house”  I told her how sorry I was, and she went on to say “Hey, I'm starting over.  You can't look back, you have to move forward.  It's all about attitude”.

Speaking of water

Ordinarily this area of the waterfront is a bustle of activity.  Volunteers man the Waterford Harbor Visitor's Center to answer questions from boaters and land tourists who come to see the locks and rivers.  Even the volunteers are lost without having their “jobs” to attend to; some come on a regular basis to see how the clean-up is progressing.

Wayne is pointing to the mud line on the speaker.  To the right, on the wall, you can also see the high water line. 

Not all citizens are being good neighbors in supporting the clean-up effort.  One morning Sherlock Eddie was headed to the dumpster and noticed a “stranger” cutting the electrical cable that runs the power to the dock.  Since we know all the workers, Eddie was suspicious and gave the guy the “detective” eye.  Eddie immediately notified the maintenance chief and by the time (only 3 minutes) they went back to the cable, the thief was gone.  The thief had hoped to be able to sell the copper in the wire to a scrap yard.  2 police officers showed up, and deputized Eddie and told him to call them if the guy came back. 

The lost child comes home

We had a surprise one afternoon when this little tug showed up with the kayak dock that had been washed away during the flood.  If you look in the upper left side of the photo you can see the ramp that was connected to the kayak dock.  Lock 2 of the Erie Canal is ahead.

So, we meet again

One afternoon we saw the Governor Cleveland, The Chief, and a scow come slowly around the corner and head up into Lock 2 to go to the maintenance facility at Lock 3.  We gave a shout out to Capt. Pete and the crew.  Lock 2 has had some “business” because of the NYS fleet going in and out of the yard.  The Erie Canal is no longer navigable all the way between Waterford and Three Rivers (where it intersects the Oswego Canal) because a lock station and bridge was washed away.  So, Fall boaters wishing to take the Erie eastward to the Hudson will have to go the long way around across Lake Ontario and over to the St. Lawrence River to get to Lake Champlain.  As a result, some have elected just to haul their boats out for the winter and not make the trip south.  What's even worse is that it is not known if the Erie Canal will even be able to open next Spring to service the boaters wanting to head West like we did this year.

Even my favorite walking place, Peebles Island State Park (over the bridge above us), was not spared from the flood.   The low areas are covered with mud, and there's lots of standing water.  The continual rains allowed a huge mosquito population to blossom.  You have to keep walking fast or you are a bloodmeal.

It's still coming

Some trees are dropping leaves already.  At least no one has to rake them at the park.  While there are a few picnic tables and hiking trails, it is an unimproved, natural area.  I saw a sign asking people to report any Canada goose nests because they have overpopulated the area, and make too much of a mess.  To help control the population, someone would come out and put corn oil on the eggs which would keep them from hatching, and the goose wouldn't lay more eggs which would happen if the eggs were removed.  There have been steady streams of flocks of the geese landing in the river here.  They honk continuously all day and even all night, making a real racket.  They really go into a panic when the bald eagle makes a fly over!

Forest friend

One day I saw 8 deer, two of which still had their baby spots, probably born this Spring.  They are used to seeing people, but still run away if you stop and stare at them too long.

The big drop

The island has a variable terrain, with big rock formations like this, and other areas where you can walk right down next to the still fast-flowing muddy water.

Making order again

When I came back across the bridge one time I saw the W & E Marine Maintenance Team working on putting the search light back up.  You can see the white satellite dome is already back in place.

It was Eddie's job to have to find someone that could give Wayne a ride to the West Marine store 7 miles away to pick up our new antenna.  He found a guy working on a tug, and he had a van to use which was a good thing since the antenna was in a 14' long box.  Wayne paid the guy $30 for the transport and to have to listen to his life history.  The WEMMT successfully installed the new antenna.

More bees

These honey bees were as busy as my two crewmates.  I was surprised to see the honey bees gathering the juice from these fermenting grapes.  Notice the mud on the grapes.  The vines were on a fence close to the Visitors Center and obviously had been under water.

Speaking of fermenting grapes.  One morning I walked up to Lock 3 to find out about getting the sewer pumped out.  After that, I walked further on to the liquor store and bought a 5 liter box of wine which I carried back to the boat, a round trip of over 3 miles.  For dinner that night I drank 2 beers and asked if I could have one more sip of another one.  The guys jumped all over me and asked what I did to warrant drinking that “much”.  I replied “I worked up a sweat carrying the 5 liter box of wine back to the boat!”.

Several of the local homes have devised unusual ways to channel rain water away from the bases of their homes.

Aerial gutter

Parking is a real problem in the community because most of the homes don't have garages, so cars have to park right on the street.  It's weird that the gutters drain right where the cars park.

The two local grocery stores (about ½ mile away) allow boaters to take the shopping carts back to the town dock.  You have to push the cart through the neighborhood, out in the street because the sidewalks are way too bumpy.  I always feel like a bag lady.  One day Wayne and I had finished shopping, and Wayne went back to one of the stores to pick up another item, and told me to take the cart back by myself and he would catch up with me.  The cart was really loaded, and I pushed it into a rut at the end of someone's driveway, right along side of the main road going back into town.  I kept trying to push it and then tried to lift up the front, but it was too heavy to get out.  I felt like a clown trying to wrestle the cart with all those cars going by, especially because I started laughing about how foolish I must look.  I knew the guys would be yelling at me if they saw me.  I finally was able to back the cart up and go around the rut.

Eddie and I went to the Catholic church's annual rummage sale.  They were selling books (they had thousands) for $1/bag.  I scored big – 30 books for $2!  I also bought a hummingbird feeder for $1.50 and plastic serving platter for $.25.  Eddie bought a sprinkler for the yard, which may or may not work.

Sunset over the Mohawk

Just like when the sky finally cleared enough one day to give us this beautiful sunset, the town of Waterford is clearing up too.  I will have many fond memories of all the time we've spent here and not have the picture “muddied” by the doom left from Irene.   Just like that local said “It's all about attitude”.