It's time for the canal system to begin public operations again. A large number of pleasure craft gather at Waterford Harbor prior to the opening before they head either west or north. This morning there were heated arguments between boats which had been moored for days waiting and boats which arrived from down the Hudson River to jump the line. There's nothing like seeing wealthy white people getting upset over important things like this.

Adding to people's irritation was the fact that, historically, the first passage commences at 7AM when the canal system opening is scheduled. Regular hours for the system is 7AM to 5PM daily. This year, on the canal system's web page, "extended hours" of operation during the "peak navigation season" (which starts today) are listed. Hours for the Waterford Flight are 8AM to 6PM. And, yes, the first locking took place at 8AM with boats lined up in the channel at about 6:45AM.

Last year, the first locking fit eight boats. This year, due to a couple of extra large craft in the first group, only six made it through the first locking.

Here are some images:

6:38 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. 6:45 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. 7:19 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 800. 7:37 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 800. Cropped. 8:06 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. 8:17 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. 8:24 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. 8:26 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/6000 sec., ISO 400.