We never expected to be able to put in a full day of sailing on the canal, but we certainly took advantage of the blustery conditions today. The banks of the canal were a veritable blur as we sped downstream, Boldy the Beluga Whale cutting through the whitecaps as Jay and I sat back and let the sail and wind do most of the work. We caught up to our canoeing friends, too. They were also taking advantage of the wind with their giant umbrella held by John sitting in the prow of the canoe as Doug steered in the back.
Going through the locks was a bit hairy for us. Our sail would be trying to pull us forward as we hung on to the rope on the side of the lock, attempting to keep our boats from running into the forward door of the lock. We nearly lost our boom to the depths of one of the lock chambers. This being the first day we used our sail while going through the locks, we received a lot of compliments on our odd little vessel, and two lockmasters had a dilemma as to how they should classify our boat. Boldy certainly is one of a kind.
Tonight we're camping in another nice backyard just east of Scotia, and tomorrow we'll make it to the Hudson if all goes well. No highway and freight trains nearby to keep us awake tonight, so we ought to be well-rested for a good day of paddling tomorrow.
~ Shannon
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