June 9 - Waterford, New York

After a rainy morning, the weather cleared enough for us to walk to Lock 2 (the first lock on the Erie Canal) to get our 10 day lock pass and have a great conversation with Leroy, the lock-tender. We then got a personal tour of the tug, "Urger", which was built in 1901 and went into service on the canal in 1922. Later in the evening we went out for dinner at "McGreevey"s", an excellent local restaurant. Charlie will be leaving us tomorrow, and George's sister, Pat, and our brother-in-law, Al, will join us tomorrow night.

June 8 - Hudson River

Today we decided to make our way up to Waterford, a distance of 59 miles, instead of anchoring up the river as we had originally planned. We did this because the weather report for tomorrow is for heavy rain. The Rondout area of Kingston where we stayed at the Kingston City Marina is very quaint, and last night we had a lovely dinner at the Mariners' Harbor restaurant only a few steps away from our boat along the waterfront. Today despite a late start, we quickly made our way north, again passing a variety of scenery, which changed dramatically from rural to industrial at Albany. We made our way to Troy Lock, and as we were the only boat in the lock at 5 p.m., we made a very smooth lift. We were tied up to the floating dock at the Visitors' Center in Waterford at 5:30 p.m. Several other boats that are also making the Great Loop are tied up here.

June 7 - Hudson River

After a peaceful evening at anchor we began the trip up the Hudson by following the cruise ship, "Norwegian Dawn" as she returned to her berth. The scenery changed dramatically along the way from skyscrapers to more open waters after the Tappan Zee Bridge. In Haverstraw Bay we encountered a number of sailboats and even a few antique sailing vessels who were in the area to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson's original voyage. The scenery along the way was lovely as we passed many lighthouses, mansions, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and much lush foliage along the shoreline. We arrived at Kingston, the first capital of New York, at 4:40 p.m. after a trip of 82 miles.

Departure Day

Saturday, June 6

"D" Day arrived - our long-awaited departure day for the continuance of our Great Loop Adventure which we actually began on 4/11/08 when we left Palm City, Florida and brought "Reflection" up the ICW to our home in Seawood Harbor. After over 13 months of work on her, she looked beautiful and as ready as we could make her for this voyage. Many of our wonderful neighbors were at our dock to share a champagne toast with us and to say good-bye. We left promptly at 10 a.m. and made our way through the Point Pleasant Canal and out through Manasquan Inlet on our way to New York City. Our friend since high school days, Charlie, is with us for the Hudson River portion of this leg of the journey, and by the time we passed Sandy Hook the sun was shining and the view of the Verrazano Bridge and the sky-line of NYC looked magnificent. We anchored the boat at 4:40 p.m. in a great spot behind Liberty State Park near the Statue of Liberty.

A one-day delay

Like General Eisenhower before the D-day invasion, I consulted with my meteorologist to make the “go no go” decision. However, instead of using one in England I used one from the National Weather Service in Mount Holly NJ. Like the great general, after weighing several factors, I decided that the weather and sea conditions would be more favorable for the start of our expedition on June 6th rather than the 5th.

All great leaders have to make tough command decisions. That’s why I am paid the big bucks to be the captain.

We wait and watch

Now we know how General Eisenhower felt before the D-day invasion. Do we go on June 5th as planned or wait for better weather on the 6th.

Except for some last minute groceries, everything is ready to go. There is little to do but wait and keep checking the weather forecasts. The current prediction for Friday, June 5th is for northeast winds 15 to 20 knots, seas 3 to 5 feet with a 60% chance of rain. Saturday’s outlook is better, with northeast winds 10 to 15 knots becoming south, seas 3 to 4 feet, with sunshine, and 0% chance of rain.

We can only wait and see what develops.

Bon Voyage Party

On Friday evening over twenty of our neighbors surprised us with a wonderful “Bon Voyage" Party. The food was sumptuous and everyone had a great time! We are deeply grateful for their gifts and good wishes, and we are especially blessed to have such terrific friends.