A Week in Waterford

It was up early and on our way for the three boat flotilla of the Carolyn Anne, Fidelitas and Lolligag as we pulled away from the city dock in Troy. Just around the bend in the Hudson River we will enter our first lock in since leaving the Dismal Swamp (site of the Lolligag’s television debut) in Virginia during July 2008. Surprisingly, “locking through” is rather like riding a bike…the knowledge and skills do return with almost auto-pilot finesse. Fidelitas and Lolligag are headed the 3.5 miles to Waterford and the Carolyn Anne is headed toward Lake Champlain. So it was that when we came to the parting of the ways there were boat horn honks, thrown kisses and best wishes given for safe journeys.



The Waterford City Docks are the first of the city docks that are available as a cooperative effort between municipalities along the Erie Canal and the state of New York. To promote tourism and the historical significance of the Erie Canal, financial grants have been provided to the cities along the Canal so boaters may receive free or reduced docks rates. This is a win-win situation for everyone as the cities and towns, many of whom have been severely impacted by the financial downturn as the Erie Canal is no longer used as a means to move commercial goods and commerce, can now benefit from the tourism dollar generated by recreational boaters. Each city can set the dock rates that they wish to charge as well as the facilities available.

Dock fees to stay in Waterford are free for the first two nights and then $10 per night thereafter payable to the Waterford Visitor's Center. The pump out fee is $2 and the restroom/shower facilities are certainly above average, making our stay in Waterford financially most refreshing after the major expenses we incurred in NYC. The volunteer staff at the Visitor's Center was extremely helpful and took great pride in their community and heritage. In addition, the local merchants actively cater to the boaters by allowing us to take the shopping carts from the grocery store to the marina area OR they will send a driver to pick us up and take us to their stores. Also, there is a terrific farmer’s market each Sunday morning in Waterford. Every item from local wines to goat cheese is available from a wide variety of local vendors. This was one of the best farmer’s markets that we have seen since leaving the Midwest. Sunday evening we feasted on fresh green beans with Smithfield ham (from our stay in Virginia), new potatoes, corn on the cob and fresh olive bread accompanied by a white wine from a local vineyard.

Originally we had planned to only stay in Waterford for a day or two but when we discovered that my friend Irene and her husband Joe would be able to visit us over the weekend, we decided to stay for a week. This gave us plenty of time for laundry, catching up with our sleep and the ever constant blog writing and picture editing. Of course, this also left lots of time for knitting and I am making great strides in completing the purple lace shawl for my friend Linda.

Hours on the water: 1
Nautical miles traveled: 3.5
Number of bridges to be opened: 0
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Number of locks: 1
Next Destination: Amsterdam, NY
Lesson for the day: Waterford was wonderful
Obligatory knitting report: Purple Lace Shawl for BFF Linda