Out of the Canal, into the Hudson

We had a busy day our last day on the Erie Canal, transiting through 6 locks in total, the last 5 dropped us over 150 feet! Overnighting at Waterford we discovered a very nice little municipal swimming pool and park which even had tennis courts! I suffered a crushing 6-0 defeat at the hands of the captain, who was feeling quite plucky indeed. Then on to Albany/Rensellear this morning and now we are at the Albany Yacht Club enjoying a warm Hudson River afternoon at a nice facility replete with wireless. There was one more lock this morning - the Troy Federal lock. Sailboaters beware: This lock has cable and pipe (mostly pipe) but NO ROPES whatsoever. Thank goodness we had done a cable and a pipe lock already on the Canal, it would have been very confusing if we had not. We are hoping to get the mast stepped at Catskill tomorrow and then have sailpower again. The Hudson has significant tides, and so we will have to consult the tidal charts on the way down to New York City. Hopefully, we will be able to stay a day or so in New York before plunging into the Ocean down the Jersey Coast.