(Retracing our steps…)
After entering New York Harbor and spent one night at Liberty Landing Marina on the New Jersey side. Friday, June 7 we headed up the Hudson River in the pouring rain, a reoccurring theme! Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson, 30 mi. north, is a popular stop with easy access to the NYC. The Hudson River is 134 miles long, averaging 40-50 deep and over 120 wide in places. Even our slip depths are no longer worrisome. It is an area steeped in history. We’ve read about the sites we would see from the river but it was raining so hard the on the Isinglass windows, many details were obscured.
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| No Pictures from the Bow of Irish Attitude... |
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| With Lady Liberty, It Was Raining To Hard |
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| Jersey Side |
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| Oops! Florida Flashback |
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| Columbia University |
After passing under the George Washington Bridge there was a definite separation between cities. To the west, the rocky cliffs of the Palisades were faintly visible through the rain. Yonkers is to the east. New York State was now on both sides of the Hudson River. Author Washington Irving wrote tales based on the Catskill Mountain region. Henry Hudson was on a mission for the Netherlands when he 'discovered' the river that now bears his name. He traveled as far as Albany aboard his ship Half Moon. Dutch influence is evident along the Hudson. A word seen often on the navigational charts is 'Kill'. It is Dutch for river or stream. New York was once New Amsterdam. Even the Bowery and Coney Island can be traced back to the Dutch.
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| The George Washington Bridge Has an Upper and Lower Traffic Level |
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| Yonkers |
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| Tarrytown (a.k.a. Sleepy Hollow) Lighthouse |
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| Cliffs of the Palisades |
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| The City of Ossinsing (formerly Sing Sing) Changed its Name to Separate Itself from the Famous Prison (Barely Visible in the Rain) |
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| Half Moon Bay Marina |
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| Condos Line the Waterfront |
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| Pool and Fitness Room Off Limits to Transient Boaters, Pets Too. Journey (Monk) had to Load their Yellow Lab, Mango, into a Dock Cart and Bring Him Ashore! |
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| A Brief Reprieve from the Rain |
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| (Mike's Brother-In-Law) Eddy and Mike |
(Moving on again....)
Loopers that had gathered at Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson were slowly heading north. We had not met some of them since we had been so busy touring NYC. Days of heavy rain caused flooding. Flotsam and jetsam (debris) were drawn from the river banks and headed down the rivers and canals all the way from Canada. The Erie, Champlain and Oswego Canals CLOSED! The Catskill and Adirondack Mountains channeled the flow. Creeks that were quickly becoming rivers, were anxious to join their big brother Hudson. Boats heading north began to bottleneck in Troy, NY ahead of Lock 1, the Federal Lock. No matter which route you choose, it all begins at the Federal Lock. I guess there is no hurry!
Loopers that had gathered at Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson were slowly heading north. We had not met some of them since we had been so busy touring NYC. Days of heavy rain caused flooding. Flotsam and jetsam (debris) were drawn from the river banks and headed down the rivers and canals all the way from Canada. The Erie, Champlain and Oswego Canals CLOSED! The Catskill and Adirondack Mountains channeled the flow. Creeks that were quickly becoming rivers, were anxious to join their big brother Hudson. Boats heading north began to bottleneck in Troy, NY ahead of Lock 1, the Federal Lock. No matter which route you choose, it all begins at the Federal Lock. I guess there is no hurry!
Fifty nautical miles to the north is Kingston. More sites to (attempt) view along the way. The Army’s West Point Military Academy stands out even in this weather. It resembles a castle on a hilltop. Now I understand why the Army Corps of Engineers uses the symbol of a 3 castle towers. (They built and maintain many of the locks, dams and bridges we have seen along the loop.)
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| Tappan Zee Bridge |
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| Water Rushes Down From the Mountains |
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| Approaching West Point Military Academy |
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| Fortified Like a Castle |
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| Athletic Building - the Far Side of Roof Says, "Sink Navy" This Side Says, "Beat Air Force" |
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| Blue Grass Approaches a Tow w/ a Barge |
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| Imagine Autumn on the Hudson! |
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| This Castle was a Private Residence |
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| Poughkeepsie |
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| Culinary Institute of America (CIA) |
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| Add caption |
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| Lighthouse at Rondout Creek |
The lighthouse at the entrance signals our arrival to Rondout Creek. The rain picks up momentum! Out on the bow the rain is warm not the chill I have been dreading. We pass Carried Away, Symmetry, Daisy Mae, the 2 Journeys and Spiritus. We followed Blue Grass into Rondout Creek Yacht Basin. Cheryl, the dockmaster expertly directed us into our slip in the strong current. Again, the guy in a yellow raincoat! (Tony from Blue Grass) Thank you Tony! It’s only a one night stay…. Or so we thought. The ‘symbols’ (representing eddies) on Active Captain resembling swirling water should have been a clue. This creek is not a hurricane hole due to the run off from the Catskill Mountains. Blue Grass invited us over for chili. A perfect complement to the day! As seems to be the pattern, the sun came out the next day. We considered moving on but Rondout Creek and its accumulated flotsam flowed faster than a 7 man crew team. Night 2 of the chili cook- off was aboard the Irish Attitude. White chicken chili was our entry. We always have fun with the gang off Blue Grass.
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| Single Rainbow |
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| Double Rainbow! |
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| Threatening Clouds |
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| What is That Bright Light? |
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| Stephanie, Margie and Tony |
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| Rondout Yacht Basin |
The next day we planned to pull out, which we did. Less than an hour later we had returned to Rondout Creek. The river had too much floating debris to dodge. Who knew how much was just under the surface! So we pulled in alongside the Kingston Maritime Museum and Marina. Everyone inched closer together, making room for us. Dockage was $1.50 (per ft.) plus a $25 seasonal membership fee is paid in lieu of a charge for power. A good deal! Better deal the longer you stay. We were in Rondout Creek for 11 days! We could inch our way north but would soon run into the bottleneck. (Erie Canal Closed)
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| Hudson River Tours Ran Continued Rain or Shine |
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| Kingston Historic District |
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| Daisy Mae, Aurora, Spiritus, Journey (Monk), Carried Away, Journey (Cat) and Blue Grass Line the Dock At Kingston |
Every cloud has a silver lining. Our extended stay gave us an opportunity to meet more Loopers and explore the area. Linda and Eddy, aboard Spiritus, are fun couple and we shared a lot of laughter! They began their loop in Florida. Later in the week, a 22 ft. sailboat named Aurora pulled in. Mike helped them dock. The guys recognized each other but it took a minute to zero in from where. Oh yea, Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky. There were so many loopers there it was hard to connect with everyone. It had been awhile! Mike and Cindy are from Minnesota.
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| Waterfront Property Across the river... This guy had blasted out a river lot with dynamite! Now he has all the comforts of home. |
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| Linda and Eddy off Spiritus |
The crew from Blue Grass had rented a Suburban and we went in for a 3 way split. We drove over the Hudson River to Hyde Park. The FDR and Vanderbilt mansions are National Parks and are open for tours. Their contrasting lifestyles can best be described as polar opposites. Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt settled in a home. The Vanderbilt’s occupied a showplace. It was not the full time residence for either. The first, raised families while the second, did not permit children. FDR served as our President (an unprecedented 4 times) and the estate was gifted as a national park. A welcome center and Eleanor Roosevelt Library have been added.
One similarity; both properties rise above the east side of the Hudson River and have breath taking views. The Astor mansion was also along the same road but we chose not stop in for a visit!
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| Eleanor and Franklin in Bronze |
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| Mike and Stephanie Enter the Roosevelt Home |
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| Steph and Margie Admire FDR's Residence |
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| The Stables |
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| FDR's Burial Site |
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| Busts of FDR and Churchill 'Freedom From Fear' Shilouttes Are From the Berlin Wall |
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| Taking a Break Mike, Tom, Margie, Stephanie and Tony |
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| Approaching the Back of the Vanderbilt Mansion |
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| Zoomed In |
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| Entryway |
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| Dinner for 12 was a Small Affair |
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| Mrs. Fredrick Vanderbilt Wanted Her Bedroom to Resemble Marie Antoinette's |
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| Sitting Room |
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| Ceiling Mural |
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| Thanks for Visiting! |
Our group needed recharging between mansion tours. We stopped at a Hyde Park pub that carried a classier menu fare then most I have experienced. With the CIA (Culinary Instituted of America) nearby, the bar (no pun intended!) has been raised in all the local eateries. We had hoped to visit the CIA but time would not allow. Our group headed back to the dock for a looper potluck, always a feast!
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| Back to Reality - Looper Potluck! Jim, Melesia, Rick, Eddy and Bonnie |
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Tanks Become Canvas
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| City Art |
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| Irish Symbols! |
Occasionally we ate at one of the many restaurant choices just up the street in Kingston. By ‘up’ I mean up the steep incline of the main street in town. Dermot Mahoney’s Irish Pub was a favorite. The outside seating accommodated our large groups. The music was just right. (They knew their audience.) Mike’s favorite entree was the Guinness Stew. We also had brunch at Dulce’s. The breakfasts were excellent but the owners were not customer friendly. Remember the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi? “No soup for you!” You get the idea.
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| Hank, Dottie, Melesia, Tom, Me, Mike, Bill, Joyce, Margi, Rick and Carl @ the Irish Pub |
On Sunday, July 16th, Blue Grass decided to make a break for it! The Erie Canal was still closed but they were heading up to Lake Champlain and Montreal. Those canals were now open. We were sure we would see them again on the Trent –Severn Waterway in Canada. Now you say, “Well why didn’t Irish Attitude and the others leave with them?” In our case, our boat is too tall for some of the fixed bridges. Plus it can add an additional 600 miles (depending on route) and 3 weeks in time. The rains had slowed; lock repairs were being made, so we opted to stay in Kingston. Surely it couldn’t be much longer. We had been checking in with Larry from Lady KK, holed up in Albany and Larry and Anne off Great Laker detained at Waterford. Great Laker and the other boats tied up at the Visitor’s Center wall (dock) made the cover of the local newspaper. Such is a price for fame! Those boats were moved into the lock at one time to protect them from the flooding waters. It rose over the wall, flooding the 1st floor of the Waterford Visitor’s Center! At least in the lock, water levels can be controlled. The lock masters brought in a huge generator and their wives took the cruisers to the store for provisions. Everyone was trying to make the best of a long, drawn out situation.
That just shows how lucky we had it here at Kingston Maritime Museum and Marina. The museum curator Linda and Ron a museum volunteer (and all around man of the hour) were great people. They sympathized with our plight. Ron offered trips to the grocery store, insight on area attractions, directions and more. Before Ron retired he worked at NYC’s Museum of Natural History. Our looper group had a brunch and Linda and Ron attended, contributed and even gave each boat a box of delicious assorted shortbread cookies from a local bakery! (Did I mention the CIA trains pastry chefs? Hmm?)
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| Looper Brunch |
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| Cindy Slaves Over Their Colman Stove Making a Danish Pastry |
Joyce, Melesia, Margi and I rode the city bus to the mall one day, just for something to do. The cost was $1.75 round trip and the ride was half the fun. Good thing, as it took nearly 2 hours each way due to transfers and waiting for the mall loop bus. We had nothing but time.
Friday, June 21, Tom on Journey (Monk 36) said they were pulling out and heading up to Shady Harbor Marina, 30 miles north. They needed 5 boats to make the trip and then they would qualify for a discount rate. He only needed one more to make 5. What the heck, a change in scenery would be nice! A half hour later we were off. So long Kingston! My plans of running for mayor… over! Our Looper buddies saw us off. We waved good bye, sure we would see them along the way.
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| Keeper of the (Bathroom) Key Ceremony. Tom turns the key over to Eddy with Ron's blessing. Hank and Mike (Aurora) witness! |
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| The Lighthouse Was Easier to See on the Way Out! |
The landscape north was less populated but very scenic. The Catskill Mountain range was waning. Our focus was on the waterway. Debris was a frequent companion. It’s not easy to bob n’ weave in a 36 ft. boat! We overheard Journey (Monk) radioing Whish. They could not hear us so we relayed our regards through Tom on Journey. Like the Tortoise and the Hare, the turtle was in the lead again! We’ll catch Jeff and Donna again soon.
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| River Debris |
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| The View to the West |
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| Commuter Trains Run from Albany (NY's Capitol) to NYC |
Shady Harbor Marina is along the west side of the Hudson. The Donavan’s purchased the marina a couple years ago, then came Hurricane Irene. The next year, Hurricane Sandy! Looking at the positive, Brian was able to improve the marina property and update the docks. Two of the 4 docks are face docks and 2 others have individual slips. The staff is friendly. Everybody truly wanted our stay to be enjoyable. There are multiple grills, a pool, a paved pavilion with a canopy, nice digs! At one time there were 7 yellow labs belonging to 5 boaters. I was able to get my big dog fix! Derek, the dockmaster, had a Great Dane that towered above the others.
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| Approaching New Baltimore, NY |
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| Shady Harbor Marina |
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| A Pool Too! |
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| Covered Patio with Grills |
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| Breakfast Pizza On Sunday |
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| Golden Hawk joins Tom and Mike |
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| Big Dog |
Many Loopers have gathered here, waiting to advance north. Jay and Sharon from Golden Hawk, Mark and Allyn on Second Wind, Ken and Ann aboard Charis,
Sue and Jon from Rejoice (a tug), and Rick and Angela on Chicaboom came and went at different times. Mike and Yonetta on M.Y. Therapy had left Indiana in March, of this year! They are on a record pace! We all gathered for docktails each night, sharing what we had heard and deciphering who’s ‘source’ was the most reliable.
The reports from the canal were improving. After a week at Shady Harbor the New York Canal System posted that the Erie Canal would open on Friday, June 28, weather permitting. Heavy rain were predicted for Thurs. and Friday. No surprise, delayed again! While fires raged in Colorado and California, record heat scorched Las Vegas and Death Valley, our area experienced record rain amounts! These dangerous, flooding rains brought forth water, mud and anything in its way. Towns along the Erie Canal were considered disaster areas. Debris damaged more locks. Now the talk was of another 2 weeks of delay!!!
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| Another Trunk Lodges Against the Docks |
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| Shady Harbor Staff Worked to Clear the Area |
All was not gloom and doom. Loopers are resilient and changes are expected. We met for docktails, planned potlucks, revised routes, ran into town for provisions, did laundry, went on dinghy rides, revised routes, read, played cards and revised routes! Jeff and Karen aboard A Cappella are licensed paramedics. One afternoon they gave the group a talk on emergency preparedness/assessments/actions. They are also the faces behind "Active Captain" which we have referred to often.
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| Bill, Joyce, Carl and Dottie It was the maiden voyage for the latter's dinghy. |
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| We Visited Sea Hunt IV, Anchored Behind an Island Updating Them on the Locks Lisa, Luc, Pierre and Andre |
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| Luc Snapped this Group Shot |
Some loopers stopped by Waterford to see how everyone was doing. Donna and Jeff from Whish were sightseeing with Ron and Lynn on Northern Spirit and dropped into see us. How nice of them! In the rain even! They said everyone in Waterford was being very accommodating. They had to move above the lock when the floods came and the lock masters had a large generator brought in. Once back out of the lock they were given free dockage on the town wall, no charge for electricity. I guess they are surviving just fine. Outside of having this urge to keep moving, it’s a wonderful life!
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| Our Nightly Discussions.... |
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| Comparing Notes and Relaying Stories Of Loopers Stuck in the Locks. |
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| Margi Listens with Mike and Yonetta on M.Y. Therapy. Jeff and Karen off a Capella Are the People Behind Active Captain! |
We celebrated Independence Day early before Journey (Monk) pulled out on July 2. We will miss Melesia, Tom and Hank (and Mango too). Brian gave us use of an extra room in the marina. He stopped by for a bite and brought dessert too! Hank enjoyed it so much, he had a second!
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| Loopers Know How to Eat! |
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| Out of the Heat |
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| Cuarenta Y Tres or Licor 43 with Cream, Unique Dessert! |
After the news from the NY Canal System stating it would be at least 2-3 weeks to make new repairs the guys began to talk boat heights. New clearance measurements were taken, checked and rechecked. Surprise! It looks like the Irish Attitude would clear the lowest bridges with room to spare! Our height is 13' 08"! (Not the 17' the Carver diagram depicted) We decided to go the extra miles through Lake Champlain to Montreal, down the St. Lawrence River to the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal and into Kingston (ON) at the northeast corner of Lake Ontario, over to Trent where we start up the Trent-Severn Waterway. It is hundreds of miles out of our way but a beautifully scenic ride. This is not an uncommon route, just not on our radar. It’s coming into range now! The old plan was - Erie Canal to Oswego Canal, across Lake Ontario to Kingston, ON. Either way, we will be re-honing our locking skills. Mike and I don’t feel the same time urgency as most of the others here. Our adventure is winding down and Lakes Huron and Michigan are our old stomping grounds. There is no rush to ‘get off the Great Lakes by Labor Day’. A general rule of thumb but not without a little leeway. It's better to stay in port and await a safe travel day than to rush to meet deadlines.
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| Is This One of the Gods of Wind? |
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| Storms Damaged the Tent Over the Patio |
Irish Attitude, Carried Away, Harmony and Journey (Cat) planned to pull out the next day. Remember what I said about making plans. They change! The women made one last trip to the grocery store and post office. Upon our return, we got word from Melesia that the clearance on the bridge north of Waterford dropped from 17 ft. to 15 ft. That is too close for Carried Away and Harmony (at 16' 06") should there be any water turbulence. Sign us up for another night! Thanks for the call Melesia!
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| Carried Away Removed Their Radar Arch! |
It is now July…..July! We entered the Hudson River on June 6th and left Shady Harbor on July 5th!
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