Scotia to Amsterdam

Only three locks today, and about 15 miles of travel. So, a nice length. A bit wet and rainy but no winds. So, a decent day.

It's becoming clear that locks are going to be tricky. The locks themselves aren't the issue, but they are typically right next to rapids or a dam. These things cause crazy currents. All three locks, the first in particular, had wild, twisty eddys that caused Cat-n-Dogs to spin. It was all I could do to bring her back straight. Once you get into the chamber, everything gets calm.

The last lock had a strong current running at us. I used a fair amount of thrust just to keep her at 5 knots, which helped power through the current there. I will remember that for the next 200 locks.

No. Not an exaggeration.

Water like glass today

Amsterdam has a city park with a wall for boats, parallel to the Mohawk River (or the Erie Canal). Based on yesterday's experience we planned for a strong current. We found a spot, and turned into the current, waiting for it to move us around, and, well, nothing happened. We just sat there. Turns out we had almost no current at all. Go figure. I backed up and just parked her like I normally would. No drama today.

Additionally, it's also becoming clear that these upstate New York towns just relish their summers. It don't last long here, so they do everything they can for as long as they can. Right after work or school, parks fill up, outdoor eateries are jammed, baseball or pickleball or field hockey games are played. And we got treated to some interesting water sport activities.

Working on the pyramid, Schenectady

The Amsterdam Castle, an old armory, now a B&B.

Russ on the boat at Amsterdam City Park.