Oops

Yesterday will be a day that Chrisy and I will talk about when we are in our nineties, sitting in rocking chairs, can't remember each other's names, but we will remember what happened on May 29, 2026.  

The day started innocently enough. Hoping to make it 80 miles from Kingston up the Hudson, left on the Erie to Schenectady, we departed at 7:40 AM - twenty minutes before Roger's panic time.  The trip also involved seven locks, which, at 30 minutes per lock, adds a chunk of time.  We buzzed up the Hudson to the Albany Yacht Club, where we took on more diesel and headed to the Troy Lock.  They were ready for us, and we made it through in great shape, getting out of the lock at 11:30.  

To set the scene for the next leg of the trip, one needs to imagine Chrisy and Roger cruising at 20 knots up the Hudson. Our focus moves from the buoys, to the water - to make sure there are no logs or other debris, to the chart, and then we start over again.  It's not very relaxing, but there is a rhythm to it. Sadly, there is one major disadvantage: we are focused on the chart in a very micro sense - no big picture when you're going 20 knots.  

I've been telling people for months that our itinerary is up the Hudson and left on the Erie, right on the Oswego, etc.  Well, you guessed it.  We missed the Erie. Nose in the charts, eyes on the buoys, we blasted right past it.  Wait, that makes it sound like we recognized our mistake and turned around in a quarter mile.  No - No. We continued on in this state of blissful ignorance for another half hour and even went through a northbound lock.  In fairness, the lock that we went through is called the Waterford Lock, and the first lock on the Erie is also called the Waterford Lock.  Shortly after going through the Waterford Lock on the Hudson, we FINALLY realized our mistake, which meant that we needed to turn around and go through the Waterford Lock - again.

The VHF conversation with the lock master went something like this:

Waterford Lock, this is  Egret - we would like your next opening to get a southbound drop.

Waterford Lock - didn't you just come through northbound? 

Egret - well yes, but we seem to have missed our turn on the Erie Canal.

Silence. I'm not sure, but I might have heard some gut-wrenching laughter.

To add insult to injury, we had to wait about half hour to allow another southbound boat to catch up and go through the lock with us.  Well, we finally made it back to the town of Waterford (the junction of the Hudson and the Erie) where we were greeted by boaters who left Kingston after us, traveled slower and and arrived hours before we did.   

Enough of our wows of 5/29!! Chrisy and I have spent hours reflecting and our rocking chairs await for more hours.  We have pledged not to make the same mistake again, otherwise, if we would miss the turn off of the St. Lawrence River onto the Richeleu River we will end up in the Atlantic Ocean and never be heard from again.

First - some pre Oops pics:

On approach to NYC 5/28

We had never been through the Harlem River. NYC never disappoints!

Heading under the Tappen Zee.

Sunset at Halfmoon Bay

West Point

The Admiral

Our buddy boat on the Hudson.

Finally, our track on our Oops day - up and down the Hudson.

And we're off 2.0

Pre-departure Memorial Day

Here's our route - counterclockwise - Hudson>Erie>Lake Ontario> Rideau>Champlain> Hudson>Home

Millie is ready to roll.

Egret happily resting on her mooring at the Niantic Bay Yacht Club

 

The happy couple with Steve and Margo.

Look what I found.  Here's the beginning of the unpublished final post from the Great Loop:

If I don't write the final blog entry, are we still on the Loop?  We are in a bit of denial that our journey is over and Egret is safely back on mooring 19 at Conanicut Yacht Club.  Getting back to Jamestown after being away for one year and one week has obviously invoked a sense of accomplishment.  After six thousand miles, the boat is running well, and all the systems are functioning.  If you've been a steady reader of the Blog, you know that for us, traveling on the Great Loop has been a bit addicting.  We constantly meet new and interesting people, travel to new places, and meet and overcome new challenges.  There's a rhythm to it all that is also very appealing and will be missed. 

But it's nice to be home.  It's nice not to worry about cell phone coverage, access to grocery stores, weather, or running into rocks.  Our bed is a little bigger, but it doesn't rock around all night.   We spent the first few weeks back with trips to Portland and Burlington to visit the kids, which was super fun.  Then off to Philly for a slew of doctor's appointments and some fun catch-up time with friends.  Never try to fit an entire year of doctor's appointments into a week.   

A quick statistical summary of our trip:

We traveled six thousand miles, through two countries, and nineteen states. Of the 371 total days away, we spent 289 on the boat and 82 off the boat.  Of the 289 days on the boat, we spent 181 in marinas, 70 at anchor, 30 on free docks or free walls, and 8 on moorings.  Over the six thousand miles, we used almost 3 thousand gallons of fuel and put 560 hours on the engine.