After the Waterford Canalfest, "Discovery"was trucked to the old harbor in Utica by the Thruway Authority.

The harbor area, now a terminal of the Barge Canal, was a busy batteau landing in the 1790s. After 1800, when the Seneca Turnpike was built running west from this landing, this spot became a point of transfer from batteau to stage coach for many early travelers.

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This map, drawn in 1803, shows the landing at Utica on the Mohawk River. This spot is now the Canal Terminal - a cul-de-sac on the arm of the river left of the landing. The old river east of Utica was diverted for the Barge Canal.

This was the embarkation point for a voyage that would take "Discovery" from Utica to Rome, and then on to a summer outdoor exhibition station at the Erie Canal Village Museum.

Having arrived by truck from Albany, "Discovery" is lifted into the harbor at Utica by Canal Corporation staff, to begin the main part of its 1993 waterway programming.

Moored alonside the canal terminal wall, and fully rigged for service, the batteau stands by for some morning visitors from the Utica-Rome area.

As the weather improved, the crew took time to explain batteau operations and the role of the very spot where we were moored as a batteau landing 200 years before.

Even in this sparse, urban setting, Bob Mulligan was able to transact a little stock sale business - every shilling counts!

Finally it was time to get underway. That evening we were due to camp at Lock 20 in Marcy, near the site of the first canal in New York. Discovered by the State Museum in 1988, the canal dated to 1730.

The crew, including John Anson, Phil Lord, Bob Mulligan and George Haswell, pull away to begin their journey to Rome.

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