Day 23 to Whitehall, NY

      Today we departed Ft. Edward, NY in high scattered clouds with the promise of a warm day. We will go through the 4 locks on the Champlain Canal with only one remaining at the start of the day tomorrow, and we will also cross a drainage divide between the Hudson River that flows south into the Atlantic Ocean and the artificial cut for the Champlain Canal that goes down into the drainage basin for Lake Champlain. The photo at the right is looking back at the Town Dock at Ft. Edward. The dock and the electricity were free, but technically there was only one 30 amp circuit for each boat. Luckily, we were able to use two circuits, which means that we were able to run both AC units.

      Perhaps our big excitement for today’s trip was passing a bald eagle in a tree that was no more than 50 feet away (photo at left). This was the closest that either of us had ever been to a bald eagle in the wild. Pretty neat!

       Less exciting was this derelict boathouse that we passed (photo at right). There was not much scenery today as the topography was low, and there were almost no houses, except for farm houses in the distance. This was especially true between Locks 8 and 9 as we were in a ditch as we crossed the drainage divide. There were lots of dairy cattle as well as planted fields.

       The photo at the left was taken looking back as we departed Lock 11, which was the second of two locks going down today. In keeping with the theme of very low topography (i.e. pretty flat) for today, all of the locks were between 10 and 15 feet up or down. There was no Lock C-10, which was replaced during one of several periods of rebuilding the canal. The drop between Lock C-9 and C-11 was only 12 feet over a distance of 9.6 miles. That is very flat. For example, even if the Earth were perfectly flat, it would be impossible to see something only 12 feet high from 9.6 miles away.

 

      The photo at the right was taken as we approached the town of Whitehall, which was our destination for today. There is a large park on the left (west) side with several boats at the town dock just before the bridge. While walking Lucky during the evening, we explored the park as you will see below.

      The photo at the left was taken from the park and shows Lucky Us (third boat, dark blue stripe along the top of the hull) moored at the town dock. You can also see that after a day with little topography, we are now surrounded by (low) hills.

      The park had a museum, tiered concert area and several outdoor exhibits.  We walked around a corner of the museum and came upon this large, life-sized (?), wood carving of a sasquatch (photo at right). Lucky even felt compelled to bark at the carving, which is kind of scary looking.

      The photo at the left shows a large part of the hull of the steamer USS Ticonderoga that had been the flagship during the battle of Plattsburg in 1814. So far on our trip up the Hudson River, most of the history has been related to the Revolutionary War. This has surprised me since a lot of the fighting during the War of 1812 was in the Hudson and Champlain Valleys. The original Champlain Canal was completed in 1823, and it opened up the town of Whitehall to transportation to New York City (and beyond). As a result, manufacturing flourished in Whitehall. Many of the original plants are still standing and have been placed on the National Register.

      Whitehall is also famous as the birthplace of the US Navy. On October 11, 1776, the American fleet was defeated by the British in the Battle of Valcour Island off the west coast of Lake Champlain. This battle delayed the British who then had to wait out the Winter of 1776-7 before continuing their advance to the south. This delay gave the Americans time to gather and equip men for what turned out to be the Battle of Saratoga in September and October of 1777. The American fleet consisted of at least one captured ship and new ships constructed in Whitehall during the summer of 1776. The ships were built by carpenters, riggers and blacksmiths recruited from as far away as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island who used local timber to build the ships. Once again, Benedict Arnold played a key role in anticipating the British advance south toward New York City, and he was the one who assembled the fleet to at least delay the British. The construction of the fleet and the ensuing battle are viewed as the birth of the US Navy.