Every school child in New York knows about the Erie Canal, if only through the song “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” that’s a staple in the state’s elementary music classrooms.
The grand history of the canal is from another age, but a local event hearkens back to the early 20th century marvel through the humble tugboat.
This coming weekend, one by one, dozens of tugboats will parade 12 miles from the Port of Albany down the Hudson River before coming to a stop in Waterford to find their docking spots in the 14th annual Tugboat Roundup.
The event, which is the largest maritime festival in the state, according event coordinator Tom Beardsley, celebrates the heritage of inland navigation in New York.
“Watching a tugboat go by is sort of like watching a circus train go by,” Beardsley said. “There is something about the people that live on board the boat, the work they do … there is something romantic about it that stirs a little bit of wanderlust in a lot of us.”
Tugboats and Waterford go back more than 100 years, when Gov. Dewitt Clinton broke ground for the construction of the Erie Canal. Often referred to at the time as “Clinton’s Big Ditch,” the waterway was completed in 1825 and considered a marvel of its day. The canal was dug from Albany to Buffalo and allowed a less expensive way to ship goods.
Since the creation of the original canal system, Waterfordians have been familiar with the sight of tugboats floating by their backyards. The boats were as common as a bike rider passing by. The canal became an exciting place in the 1800s. Not only did the boats carry cargo, but entertainment was popular on the canal. The Waterford Wall was often packed with tugs and barges waiting to make their way up the canal.
For one weekend a year, the Waterford Harbor is a place to go back in time and celebrate the heyday on the canal.
“It came about just as a way for tugboaters to get together and have some fun,” Beardsley said. “All of a sudden to the surprise of everyone, people wanted to come down and see these tugboats. It became not only fun for the boaters, but fun for the public.”
Beardsley said the goal is to renew an interest in the world of inland navigation in New York state.
Today, the majority of the canal system is used by vacationers rather than workers. The waterway connects the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake and Lake Erie, and passes through 25 counties and close to 200 villages, hamlets and towns.
The event has grown tremendously since it began in 1999.
“The first year there were 10 tugboats and 1,000 people. Now we see 25,000 to 50,000 over the course of three days,” Beardsley said. “This year, we have about 35 boats, everything from mini-tugs to 140-foot real tugboats.”
The tugboats come from all over the state.
“There are more tugboats in Upstate New York than you think. We have boats that come up the Hudson from Kingston, a number that work for New York state, boats come from the central parts of the state, the Finger Lakes, and a few commercial that operate here in the Capital District,” Beardsley said.
Among the 26 tugboats that will be docked at the roundup is the John J. Harvey, a fireboat built in 1931. The boat has the capacity to pump 18,000 gallons of water per minute. The boat was retired by the New York City Fire Department in 1994.
The free event will feature tugboat tours; knot tying, beard making and fender weaving seminars; line tossing; kid’s activities such as pony rides, face-painting and a bouncy bounce; fireworks; and live music all day long. Boat rides will be available for a nominal fee.
“We have quite a range of music, from basic folk music to Zydeco to an easy Rock ‘n Roll nonstop all the way through Sunday afternoon,” Beardsley said.
Beardsley added that the roundup piques the interest of a wide range of people.
“For those interested in engines, it’s amazing. For those interested in boats, it tantalizes that curiosity. And for those interested in travel on the canal system and seeing the boats come around the bend, pass by and disappear to some other destination that is left to our imagination.”
It all starts on Friday, Sept. 6, at 2:45 p.m. when the boats leave the Port of Albany to make their way to the Waterford Harbor. The boats are scheduled to arrive in Waterford beginning at 5 p.m. The band All Night Long will play on the Grand Erie tugboat at 8 p.m. Festivities continue Saturday, Sept. 7, and Sunday, Sept. 8. Fireworks will go off at 8 p.m. on Saturday night.
For a complete schedule of events, visit tugboatroundup.com.