ALBANY (AP) -- Boaters stranded in New York's canals by damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Irene will be able to get their vessels home when sections of the Erie and Oswego canals reopen for two weeks starting Sunday.

The regular season ended Tuesday. But the Erie Canal from the Hudson River west to Syracuse, and the Oswego Canal from Syracuse to Lake Ontario, will reopen.

Boats seeking to make it to home ports include a tugboat bound for Michigan from Albany; two cruise ships in Utica headed for Rhode Island; and several yachts on the Great Lakes bound for the Hudson River and points south.

Recovery crews loaded about 15,000 tons of flood debris on more than 100 barges and dredged massive amounts of gravel clogging navigation channels after the storms.

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