Sunday, June 25, we left early to lock through the Flight of Five, the highest lift in the shortest distance in the world. We were lifted 169 feet within 1.5 miles! After this initiation of locking, we were exhausted and relieved to cruise for 11 miles before the next lock. Since our “locking routine” was working so well, we decided to travel as far as we could that day. It started raining at Lock 11, so we called Jim and Sue and found that they were between Lock 13 and 14 at Riverfront Park, the free village dock in Canajoharie, NY, and there was room for us. When we arrived, there was no space left on the dock so we rafted to them. We joined the rest of the boaters for dinner at Tony’s Restaurant.
Monday, June 26: We decided to tour the small gallery containing 350 Winslow Homer paintings; after all, this was the one of the reasons we wanted to stop here. To our amazement, the librarian informed us the gallery was closed for renovation. Since it was still raining, we decided that locking in the rain was not fun, and we would just putter around doing stuff on the boat. A few boats on the dock departed leaving Palmetto Moon and Water Dancer rafted together. We were joined shortly by Gill (and dog – Tucker) on a trawler named Patience, Wendy and Bob Ellen on trawler Pelican with Mary Lou Hunt and Joan Gordon on sailboat Catnip Too (and Toby and Genny, their cats) rafted off of them, and Bill and May on sailboat Loon.
Tuesday, June 27: more rain, so once again we puttered around on the boat and walked over the bridge to the small town of Palatine Bridge. By evening, all of us started getting really concerned about the rising water level. After several rounds of drinks and dinner on Water Dancer, we got really, really concerned and disconnected our shore power before it was completely under water. After a discussion on the dock, it was decided that some of us would take two-hour shifts during the night and keep watch on the situation. Although this was reassuring, Jim and I still woke up several times during the night as the thumps on the bottom of the boat from debris became louder and more frequent. Looking out the window at the river, running around 10-12 knots, was very scary.
Wednesday, June 28: Jim woke me before 6 AM and told me to start packing as we are to be evacuated. He also said that he didn’t think we would ever see Palmetto Moon again so take everything we value. Well that was quite a statement – how could I pack and what should I pack and what’s not important! The firemen arrived with an air boat to take us off our boats to land – we were an island in the Mohawk River!!! Eleven people, three cats, a dog, and a parakeet were evacuated to the pavilion and then taken by ambulance to the Mid-County EMS Center in Palantine Bridge. Fortunately, the center had a large meeting room, bathroom with shower, powder room, and a complete kitchen. Several times during the day we walked down to the bridge and stared down at our floating homes still secured to the floating dock that continued to rise as the water rose. The pavilion with picnic tables, where we sat early that morning, was now under water. Everyone we encountered said that they had never seen the water so high. The village of Canajoharie was flooded. The homes and restaurants now had basements filled with water along with two feet of water on the first floor. Our hearts went out to these people who had been kind to us for the last several days when we dined in their establishments.
All of us were in awe of the kindness shown to us. The EMS crews were working around the clock yet they had time to keep us informed of local news about the flood and to make sure we were comfortable. People stopped by the center bringing food to us and asking if there was anything else we needed. Cots, sheets, blankets, and towels were brought in later in the afternoon. We assumed we would be there awhile! So, we go from the privacy of our boats to a giant bedroom with 11 cots.
Monday, June 26: We decided to tour the small gallery containing 350 Winslow Homer paintings; after all, this was the one of the reasons we wanted to stop here. To our amazement, the librarian informed us the gallery was closed for renovation. Since it was still raining, we decided that locking in the rain was not fun, and we would just putter around doing stuff on the boat. A few boats on the dock departed leaving Palmetto Moon and Water Dancer rafted together. We were joined shortly by Gill (and dog – Tucker) on a trawler named Patience, Wendy and Bob Ellen on trawler Pelican with Mary Lou Hunt and Joan Gordon on sailboat Catnip Too (and Toby and Genny, their cats) rafted off of them, and Bill and May on sailboat Loon.
Tuesday, June 27: more rain, so once again we puttered around on the boat and walked over the bridge to the small town of Palatine Bridge. By evening, all of us started getting really concerned about the rising water level. After several rounds of drinks and dinner on Water Dancer, we got really, really concerned and disconnected our shore power before it was completely under water. After a discussion on the dock, it was decided that some of us would take two-hour shifts during the night and keep watch on the situation. Although this was reassuring, Jim and I still woke up several times during the night as the thumps on the bottom of the boat from debris became louder and more frequent. Looking out the window at the river, running around 10-12 knots, was very scary.
Wednesday, June 28: Jim woke me before 6 AM and told me to start packing as we are to be evacuated. He also said that he didn’t think we would ever see Palmetto Moon again so take everything we value. Well that was quite a statement – how could I pack and what should I pack and what’s not important! The firemen arrived with an air boat to take us off our boats to land – we were an island in the Mohawk River!!! Eleven people, three cats, a dog, and a parakeet were evacuated to the pavilion and then taken by ambulance to the Mid-County EMS Center in Palantine Bridge. Fortunately, the center had a large meeting room, bathroom with shower, powder room, and a complete kitchen. Several times during the day we walked down to the bridge and stared down at our floating homes still secured to the floating dock that continued to rise as the water rose. The pavilion with picnic tables, where we sat early that morning, was now under water. Everyone we encountered said that they had never seen the water so high. The village of Canajoharie was flooded. The homes and restaurants now had basements filled with water along with two feet of water on the first floor. Our hearts went out to these people who had been kind to us for the last several days when we dined in their establishments.
All of us were in awe of the kindness shown to us. The EMS crews were working around the clock yet they had time to keep us informed of local news about the flood and to make sure we were comfortable. People stopped by the center bringing food to us and asking if there was anything else we needed. Cots, sheets, blankets, and towels were brought in later in the afternoon. We assumed we would be there awhile! So, we go from the privacy of our boats to a giant bedroom with 11 cots.
posted by Palmetto Moon at 11/21/2006 05:19:00 PM
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