Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Lock18 finally open, so off we go. Unfortunately when we got to Lock 18 the lock master said that Lock 17 (Little Falls, NY) the deepest lock was not open, in fact there was still debris at Lock 17. We tied up on Lock 18 with the help of the two other boats that had been our companion at Ilion, NY. The wind gusts were picking up and Gordon was concerned about steerage problems in the lock, since there are only 2 of us. We decided to turn back to Ilion which was only about 7 miles back. Before we left Lock 18 the Lock Master let several boats tie up in the Lock as all the backed up traffic starting lining up at Lock 18. I took pictures of the large sail boats that came into Lock 18. They all had several crew helping them tie up at the dock. They all looked like they were headed to the Atlantic as they had all the necessary gear on their decks! I wonder if any were headed to the Caribbean 1500 rally. This is an annual gathering of boats that head out from Hampton Virginia to the Virgin Islands (1500 miles) on Nov 7th. You can check the web page www.carib1500.com/c1500/index.htm to see all the activities and boats registered this year (50 boats). We hope to try again tomorrow morning.


Jabberwocky tied up to Lock 18, watching a sail boat approach the lock.














Several large sail boats tying up in Lock 18, waiting for Lock 17 to open.













The Lock is filling up with sail boats that have been delayed for several days because of high water and debris.