To Capt. Dick: Great article and hopefully more sailors will plan to use the Erie Canal. We have transited the canal 10 times 5 trips from Buffalo to Waterford and 5 from Lake Ontario to Waterford.  We spent about 3 weeks on each trip. So much to see and learn about the history in the towns along the way. We met many of the locals and became friends which lasted beyond the cruising to this day..  Thanks Leonard Stern, INDIFFERENCE