Month: September 2019

Well, I’m back to work on the big boat for the next four weeks. In the mean time, I’ll have to make do with gazing longingly at this webcam footage. Once I’d gotten Sylphide all laid up at Coeymans, I headed back to central NY to deposit my dad, and to get myself ready to head […]

We made it to Coeymans Landing on the Hudson yesterday afternoon. The staff here are very helpful and accommodating, and they have the nicest bathrooms I’ve seen since I left my house. I was going to pull Sylphide out and leave her on the hard while I’m away at work, but I decided that I […]

Well, after a marathon of ELEVEN locks today, Sylphide, Dad and I arrived in Waterford. That’s a record number of locks for me, and one I’m not keen to break any time soon. We’ve officially done all 362.9 miles and 36 locks of the Erie Canal. I wish I could have taken my time and […]

I spent a few harried days in Sylvan Beach running errands, and moving more stuff. This is as close to my house as I would be for the foreseeable future, so I wanted to take advantage of that, and get the rest of my junk aboard the boat. I didn’t have much left after the […]

The final leg of the first voyage took two more days. The first was a run from Clyde to Baldwinsville. It was a very pleasant day of locks and sunshine. After passing the junction with the Cayuga Seneca canal, we entered familiar waters for the first time this trip. We’d all traveled this part of […]

Craptain’s log, stardate 9/12/19 Good morning from clammy Clyde, NY. It’s a cool, gray, overcast morning, with at least 200% humidity. You join me in the living room, where I’m enjoying a rapidly cooling cup of french press. Mom has found an outlet on the dock to use her hair dryer, and I’ve just completed […]

Well ladies and germs, it’s officially official. I’m the proud new owner of Sylphide. The sale process was a long drawn out emotional roller coaster. At a couple of points I was pretty overwhelmed, and starting to second guess myself. Now that the dust has settled, though, I’m sooooo glad I went to the trouble. […]

Pronounced Cill Feed, Sylphide is the German word for ‘a whale’s vagina.’ No. Not really. What It actually means, at least according to the internets, is: La Sylphide (English: The Sylph; Danish: Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville’s is […]

Hi. I’m Dave. I’m a native of Central New York, and I’m a commercial sailor by trade. I suspect a large portion of the people reading this already know that, but just in case you didn’t, now you do. As of this writing, I’m 35, and for more than half of those 35 years, I’ve […]