BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The Erie Canal boat "Seneca Chief" set sail from Buffalo on Wednesday morning to commemorate the canal's 200th anniversary.

People packed the commercial slip at Canalside to see the Seneca Chief take off.

With the help of volunteers, the Buffalo Maritime Center built the replica boat between 2020 and 2024. It's now headed on a 33-day journey, making 28 stops along the way.

"We're gonna be hitting all of the towns on the Erie Canal that still survive, that are still on the canal that DeWitt Clinton had visited when he opened the canal 200 years ago," said Buffalo Maritime Center Founder and Trustee John Montague.

The voyage will end in New York City. White pine trees will be planted along the way as a symbolic tribute to the Haudenosaunee.

Additionally, water fr

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