Underway Again #4

 

Here is a good picture of the Waterford Visitors Center with Lock 2 behind it.  Our boat is the third one back

 





 

 




 
I had mentioned Hurricane Irene last year and the flooding that occurred.  To put it in perspective take a look at the white plaque to the right of and above the door of the Visitor's Center.  See how far up that is and now look at the picture of the boats along the waterfront.  The water had to come up over the docks, over the sidewalks above and almost completely cover the first floor of the building.  There was a lot of damage and many homes had to be evacuated.

 

My foot has continued to really hurt and so does my chest so I decided to go back into an emergency department.  I had just called a taxi when one of the volunteers, a wonderful woman named Barbara Danskin offered to drive me to Samaritan Hospital in  Troy as she had to go in for a chest X-ray as well to the same hospital.  She dropped me off in emergency at about 10:30.  The care was phenomenal!  I had an EKG even though I said my it was my chest that felt tight, blood work done, a chest X-ray, a X-ray of my right leg below the knee and an ultrasound of my entire right leg to rule out a blood clot all completed by 12:30.  My left knee was also checked out and it's multi coloured but fine. 

 

It was determined that I have broken my leg and I have pneumonia.  I was given antibiotics, prednisone, an OptiChamber with Ventolin and a mixture of hydrocodone (narcotic) and acetaminophen for pain.  They called an orthopaedic doctor and I was wheeled across the street from the hospital to his office.  That was the only place I had to wait for any time at all.  He gave me a removable cast that I keep on at all times except for when I shower.  By 3:00 I was all done!

 

Barbara and Roman came back for me; we got the prescriptions filled and I was back on the boat with my foot up by 4:00.

 

 

Coming down the ramp to our boat.

 

 

This is a better view of our boat just beyond the ramp to get down to the dock.

 

 This cast feels very heavy and makes it harder to use the crutches.  I was told that I would have to wear it for at least three months.  We talked about going home but we decided that we wanted to go on to warmer climates and by the time we get there my leg should be healed.  We initially decided to stay in Waterford for another few days so that I can rest and get this bacterial pneumonia under control.  There still is one more boat part to arrive and we then we will go on to Riverview Marina where we will do repairs and step the mast. (put it up)

What I didn't realize at first was just how difficult it is for me to use crutches as I have rotator cuff tears in both my shoulders.  The crutches just aggravate the pain.  Roman and I discussed the difficulties we would face.  My leg should be seen again in 10 -12 days which means finding another hospital and going in through emergency.  My confidence in that method had rapidly eroded with one hospital telling me my leg was only contused and to put weight

 

on as tolerated and the next saying it's broken and do not put weight on for 12+ weeks.  Also we considered the problem I would have getting in and out of a dinghy with a cast and crutches.  Often the docks are very high or very low and you have to step up or down.  We figured out that it would be impossible for me to manage, so we decided that I will have to go home.  I made a train reservation for Thursday morning and it would take all day but it is faster than the plane as there is no direct flight.  Not only would I have to change planes but I would also have to wait anywhere from 5 to 15 hours between flights depending what airport they fly to.  Unbelievable!  Although the train stopped at all major centres, the route was direct Albany - Oakville and they had a disability service with seating with more room.  At the border all the passengers had to get off the train with their luggage for custom inspection except for myself.  I was accommodated with the custom officer coming aboard the train to see me.   Here we are waiting for the train at the station in Albany. 

What makes any trip memorable are the people we meet along the way.  While we were waiting for the train at the station we met a very fashionable young woman, Eliza, who was waiting for a train to New York.  She turned out to be a fashion stylist and image consultant and we had a most entertaining conversation while we waited for our trains.

We met a boat captain, Richard, who has befriended Roman and will continue with him to Riverview Marina and then down the Hudson and out onto the blue water (Atlantic Ocean)  Roman will then continue on his own all the way to Florida.  I hope to be back with Roman as soon as I can.

 

Roman with Richard Powell

 

I have come home and found out that my leg is broken more severely than I originally thought.   Tomorrow I will be going into Sunnybrook Hospital to have a titanium rod placed in my bone for support and bone immobilization. 

Here is the before picture.

 

We shall see what the future holds!

To be continued...................................

 

 

Underway Again #3

We are still here waiting for the parts that Roman ordered. My left knee has turned multi-coloured but does not hurt unless I kneel on it and even though the swelling has gone down on my right foot as I have been resting it, it hurts!!!

On Sunday morning I took a taxi to St. Nicholas Church for the 9:00 Ukrainian mass.  What was interesting was that as soon as you entered the church there were pamplets welcoming you to the church as well as a the four sided leaflet explaining all the icons. I just showed one of the sides.  What a good idea! The congregation was very warm and welcoming thinking that I had perhaps moved to the area. I was invited down to the parish hall after mass for coffee and sweets and one of the parishioners lived in Waterford, about 7 miles away and offered to drive me back to the Waterfront Town Dock in a nice red Mustang.It sure was a lot nicer and cleaner than the taxi.

 

When I came back from church, the weekly farmer's market was set up.

Unfortunately it was drizzling and very few farmers or customers showed up.  Roman and I bought a bag of our favourite apples, Honeycrisp.  The entertainment went on rain or shine.  And, of course, I had to participate singing Crazy to Roman.  Jean who we had met the first night was selling jewellery she had made and I bought a very nice pair of earrings.

 

 

2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War 0f 1812. Over the weekend an exact replica of the Lois McLure, an 1862-class canal schooner part of Lake Champlain's Maritime Museum was docked at the Waterfront Visitor's Center. Travelling on a mission to preserve and share the region's heritage, the schooner's voyage is part of a three year programme to examine the War of 1812.

From the time people first inhabited North America, the interconnected waterways have played a decisive role in the political, social and economic fortunes of nations. For Great Britain,  the War of 1812 with the United Stated was a secondary conflict far overshadowed by their long and intense struggle to stop France's Napoleon Bonaparte.   However, American war hawks with expansion intentions and unrealistic expectations led the United States to declare war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812.  The first year of conflict, 1812, saw setbacks for American land forces. In 1813 and 1814, American naval victories on the lakes helped bring the war to negotiated conclusion in which no borders were changed and no territory changed.  While the War of 1812 was a draw for the Americans and the British, it was a source of national cohesion for Canada.

When the War of 1812 ended, both combatants were concerned about a future conflict. In the decades following the peace treaty, Americans and British military planners actively considered new canals. These engineered waterways dramatically transformed the transportation systems of North America, with the New York and Canadian canals being in the forefront of this activity. One such result was the construction of a 125 mile long military canal from what is now Ottawa to a fortified Kingston, Ontario. The Rideau Canal opened for traffic in 1832.

 Onrust, a replica of a 1614 Dutch sailboat was also on display. Roman and went and looked at everything but I could not get in and out of the boats.  The amount of intricate detail on the boat is remarkable.  Look at the unique bow.

 

 

Here we are in front of the schooner replica.

 

 

 

Underway Again #2

We played follow the leader through the locks until we reached Herkimer.

 

Herkimer does not have depth above 6 feet this year as the water is low so "Saber Tooth" went on to Lock 18. The plan was to catch up to them as John had to replace a rudder seal.  However after I hurt my leg, we decided to spend the next day in Herkimer so I could rest my leg but "Saber Tooth" went on. The following day was sunny and Roman helped me up to the front of the boat where I sat on one of my old patio cushions with my foot elevated and my camera, binoculars and Skipper Bob book beside me.

 

For those who do not know Skipper Bob wrote a series of guides indicating where best to stop, to anchor and things that you generally needed to know. His guides are greatly prized as he died in Dec. 2007 and very few are available. Every time we came to a lock I would grab the rope with my boat hook and things went along smoothly. If you notice, I am leaning against the 2x4 support Roman had put together to support the mast.  It was sturdy enough and did not move at all.

 

The locks were all going down now and that was much easier.

 

In this lock the door opened up and not from the centre.  It was like a shower going under the door.

Here the sign on the trail near the canal indicates the trail is for bikes. I guess the horse couldn't read the signs.

 

Lock 17 is impressive.  Not only is it the highest Lock on theErie Canal, it is one of only two locks in North America where the entrance gate is lifted above the boater. 

 

It was a beautiful day! Great rail for laundry. We made it to Amsterdam by 6:00 and stopped just before Lock 11.  It was a tiring day and we went to bed early with the sun.

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The next day it was drizzling but we decided to push on. We were hoping to catch up to "Saber Tooth" I had on my rain gear and a plastic bag around my foot as it was too swollen to put a shoe on.

It cleared up and remained cloudy but clear and calm We easily made it through Lock 11, 10, 9 and were slowly approaching Lock 8 going eastbound when the boat started to accelerate instead of slowing down.  Roman had lost control of both reverse and forward (single lever control). The lockmaster and I tried to stop the boat but were unable to do so. Our reaching hooks were bent and broken. The boat continued to the end of the lock and stopped only when the mast and the two furlers (main jib and stay sail) which were on top of boat crashed into the closed gate at the end of the lock.


We sustained major damage as the two furler foils were snapped and the drums were smashed. The bow sprint was pushed to the back and the bow and starboard side rub rail was scraped and damaged. There may be more damage but we won't know until we go to step our mast in order to continue down south to Florida. We pulled the boat back through the lock to assess the damage. Roman discovered that the throttle linkage connection to forward and reverse at the end of the cable to the gearbox had broken and it was stuck in forward position all the way down. He had a brand new replacement cable with me and replaced it. We called our insurance agents, Robertson & Robertson and so far they have been very helpful.

 

 

 

Here we are just before Lock 8.  I am sitting resting my foot with my crutches beside me while Roman is fixing the cable.  This is a large tour boat that went through Lock 8.  If you look closely you will see all the tourists taking pictures of our boat - something for them to talk about when they get home.

We continued onto Waterford through Locks 7 to 2.  Each of the locks was over 30 ft.

 

We arrived in Waterford about 7:00 on Wednesday September 23 and we are still here.