The Hudson River

Aug. 12

Hudson River :  Castleton on the Hudson . 

We have a number of items on the to-do list.  Eat at Don and Paul’s Coffee Shop for breakfast.  A local breakfast dinner / pool hall combo… Wonder if our kids remember Franklin, Kentucky?  Similar but less grease to sop up.   Next the bank for a notary signature… a few legal documents to send off and then a run to the post office for our mail.  Finally, groceries.  The harbor master / town wall has an arrangement with the grocery store… you can cart your groceries back to your boat (5 blocks) with their carts.  Leave the cart under the covered porch by the restrooms.  The grocer picks them up weekly… So we load up on supplies.  When you don't have to carry the goods on your back or in shopping bags… Woo Hoo!   Make it count.  The cart near capacity, we have to have an escort for the cart to the edge of the parking lot… The carts (wheels) have an electronic lock mechanism built in… They freeze up when you get to the curb.  The guys lift the cart up and onto the sidewalk, the store clerk deactivated the theft device from the wheels and we are good to go.  Over the Hudson River and back to the boat.  I stow the groceries, the guys put the lights and wind instruments back on the mast head by pivoting the boat so the mast is just about even with the dock.  Then, we are off.  It’s already noon.  

We have decided to go down the Hudson to Castleton on the Hudson and the Castleton Boat Club to step the mast.  about 25 miles down river.  We have 1.2 knot or so current, the waters are still muddy from the rains yesterday.  We are about 150 miles from New York city but there are tides reaching this far up.  Mother Nature is pretty awesome!  We pass Albany, NY., then a few refineries and industrial sites.  Before long, we are at the Marina / Boat Club.   It is parallel and open to the Hudson River.  We pass by, come about so we can dock into the wind and current.  One of the Boat Club Members greets us.  Within a short time we have the run of the place.  The Club lets reciprocating Club members use the Gin Pole (la crane) to de / re mast their boats.  It is all do-it-yourself however.  We pay the $50.00 for the use of their equipment.  An electric hoist Gin Pole.  Jim says it will be just like setting an electric pole… No problem!  Done it hundreds of times… OK.  Within an hour we are hard at it.  Jim rigs the lines, Jan helps to guide the mast as does Jim and I get to run the hoist controls!   It goes off without a hitch!  We started the project just after 3:30and by 7 the mast was in and secure enough to relax and have a bite to eat.  Tired but feeling pretty good about the days accomplishments.  

Another amazing day.  

Aug 13 Castleton on the Hudson / Castleton Boat Club

Very bad men.... Dan and John

Jim starts the day tensioning the rigging.  We run lines for the sheets, bring the boom and whisker pole aboard and return them to working order.  Then the sails.  The weather cooperates, partly cloudy and just a bit of a breeze.  The only issue are boats speeding by.  The floating docks and boats bouncing around reacting to the  wakes.  This part of the river has no speed limit but most boaters slow down when passing by.  Several freighters and tugs pushing barges pass by as well.  We continue working into mid day.  The sails go on without any trouble.  Jim hooks up the wiring for the electronics at the base of the mast.  Jan and I get to work cleaning the top sides.  The last 2 weeks of de-masting, motoring through canals and locks, a few rains and wind have made a mess.  The lock walls with their algae growing on the tether lines and rubbing onto the fenders has left green smudges in numerous places.  A bit os tiles and some elbow grease and she's back looking pretty good.  We are done around 4pm… a little over 24 hours after arrival.  We shower and head to the clubhouse.  It is private and members pay a nominal fee to join but all are expected to volunteer for events and ‘work’ to keep the place running.  After dinner Jan gets a fire going in the fire pit.  We are joined by a couple of Boat Club members: John and Dan… who turn out to be ‘very bad men’ ! They bought us a few rounds of beverages and we are up till the REAL midnight… John brings out some snacks and Dan follows suit with homemade meatballs that are fantastic!  We drag ourselves down the boat ramp and to bed… heads pretty fuzzy.  We had a great visit with these guys… 

Maritime Museum

The Castleton Boat Club is hosting a speed boat race Saturday.  Top speeds in excess of 100 miles and hour rivaling the Amtrak the speeds by several times a day… 90 -110 MPH !!!   Slips are at a premium and rafting off will be necessary.  The parking lot will be closed to street traffic, allowing for and auto show.

Aug 14 Kingston

The night is cut short with sunrise and our departure at 6am.  We now have to consider the current and the tide flow to plan our departures accordingly.  It is cool as we cast off lines, our heads tired and foggy from the evenings shenanigans.  The river is wide and ships and tugs going up and down throughout the morning.  We each take a nap en-route.  

Vanderbilt Mansion Cottage

Kingston arrival just afternoon, 50+ miles the current boosting our speed and time.  We choose the ‘free’ dock infant of Ole Savannah Southern Table and Bar.  The service provide with the expectation you'll dine with them… We will.  The smoke house meats are already getting to our hungry tummies.  The town is built along the Rondout Creek and along a steep hillside.  We walk around town, tour the Maritime Museum and then more chores for Jim.  The oil needs to be changed due to all the motoring… 

Hyde Train Station

Our dinner is pretty good and the setting is amazing in what was the Cornell Steamboat Company shops.  The Steamboat company dominated the towing industry on the Hudson from 1880 -the 1930’s.  The restaurant has left the building structure and overhead hoists and mechanism in place.  Seating indoor or out (overlooking the beautiful Inishnee!).  We luck out as tomorrow is the classic boat show here in town.  We get front row seats to nearly all the oldies passing by as they make their way to their nearby slips.  

Aug 15

Hyde Park

We’ll have a favorable tide / current about 9 - noon down stream.  We took a quick stroll past the boat show boats then off for Hyde Park about 9 am.  It’s getting warm enough already to shed the extra morning layer but the wind is cool for the helmsman.  There are quite a few lighthouses along the way, proudly keeping watch.  The homes are getting bigger and more stately.  

storm front passing through

I get some practice today piloting the boat as we catch a mooring ball.   We are just off the Hyde Park train station, now a museum.  A short walk to the Vanderbilt’s spring / fall home known to the family as the ‘cottage’, as it was the smallest of their estates.   It is a National Park now and nearly everything inside is original and in good repair.  The original house that came with the property was converted to a pavilion for parties as well as a guest house after the Vanderbilt’s purchased it.  They built the new ‘Italian’ inspired mansion including a lovely garden with pond and sculptures a short stroll from it.  Volunteers keep the grounds in pretty good order relying on donations for plantings, etc… We take the free shuttle to Franklin D. Roosevelt's home.  We weren't able to get a home tour due to availability, but we toured the grounds and paid our respects at his final resting place amongst the flower garden, his mothers favorite place on the estate.   Continuing, we shuttle to Eleanor Roosevelt's ‘get away’ home, then to Franklin’s getaway home… all several miles apart… Again, unfortunately no tour just a look see and drive by as others exited the shuttle for their tours.  Back at the Vanderbilt Mansion, we took our secret path home along the creek.  Pete the marina / mooring ball attendant gave us the shortcut directions following the creek near the river.  Before heading back to the boat via dingy we took a quick tour of the Hyde Park Train Station.  F.D.R. used the station when coming an going from the city.  His body was also brought back through here after his death.  It is absolutely awesome to see these places,  having learned about them through school, books and documentaries. 

West Point 

View from our anchorage

We had a refreshing Mandarin Orange Salad for dinner.  It has been near ninety all day.  While relaxing in the cockpit and talking to friends Jake and Sue from home, the wind kicks up, the skies open up and the conversation ends abruptly.  We grab pillows and cushions and head below where it is hot and stuffy.  The rain pours down, lightning erupting to the west then overhead.  The wind instruments register 20 then 25 knots then blank out as a crack of lightning sends shivers through us.  The flag is snapping sideways, the boat turns 45 degrees while heeling over 10 degrees.  The skies are dark except for the lightning illuminating the sky.  Forgotten items in the cockpit begin to topple over and blow about, but we managed to rescue all wayward items.  15 minutes later, all is calm.  The sky now flashing to the east, a bit like the 4th of July fireworks, ohhhh, ahhhh, wow!   Then another blow and a down pour, quick lived.  More lightening as we sit watching the show from the soggy but cool cockpit.  The winds down to 3 knots.  Another train speeds by, a freighter passes and it is time to call it a night.  The radar looks clear with possible light rains throughout the night.  

Aug 16

Roundland Lake State Park / Ossining 

Jim quoting Rosanna Rosanna Dana ‘ if it ain’t one thing, it’s another…’

Tappan Zee Bridge 

Feeling rested but groggy we decided to depart about 7am to have a favorable current for most of the day.  We plan to go about 45 - 50 miles.  It is pretty foggy out too.  We have relied on Jan A LOT so… we decide to give him a break and Jim and I would drop the ball and motor out.  I get helm duty.  Jim up front grabs the boat hook to pull the bridle (lines going to the mooring ball) up to unhook them.  He pulls with all him might… they won’t budge. Jan it call to help.  Both pulling, it barely budges.  I idle the boat forward to ease the tension from the lines.  The bridle lines are wrapped around the chain for the mooring ball.   Clarification : Pete the mooring ball / marina attendant told to NOT use the mooring ball eye to secure the boat:  ‘use the chain itself. You can pull it up using the blue floats…’  So we did.  Probably not a problem most days but with the storm last night and the swing of the boat with the winds, then the current shift from up stream to down stream… we have a tangled mess.  It took both guys a considerable effort to heave up the ball, pull and tug on the lines, untwist and repeat to get us free.  about 15  minutes of sweaty work at 7am… but we are off.  The river continues to widen, the landscape getting more dramatic with rock cliffs and mountainous backdrops.  We cross under numerous bridges, dozens and dozens of commuter trains going to and from New York all day.  Coming around a bend we spot West Point amongst the mountains cliffs.  It is a formidable looking structure, having started as a Fort and now the home of Army Cadets.   What does one do to commemorate passing here?… (Jim)  How about get a hair cut?  I have no way to authenticate it but I'm pretty sure this could be the a first.    

New York Coty on the Horizon

We make a stop for diesel where Jim earned his Masters in Maneuverability.  Our boat does  NOT turn well in tight spaces or back up in a straight line.  We prefer a   W  I  D   E  area.  The fuel dock was a sliver of floating timbers, on a cement wall with maybe 50 foot wide channel with pilings and boats marking the other side of the cannel.   Our boat is 40 long plus the dinghy = 45.  We HAD to turn the boat to fuel and eventually get back to the river.  Jim did some fancy throttle work and was able to somehow turn the boat.  Jan on the dock said there was maybe 2 feet of clearance between the bow and the dock!!!!  The fuel topped off, we head out and across the Hudson to anchor for the night.  The days of free slips and walls are behind us.  We will have to pay $2 - 5 a foot (X40) for slips nightly, slightly less for mooring balls due to the proximity of New York City 25 miles down river!  

We selected a spot, dropped the hook and he guys jumped in.  The air temps today topped at 91 F, the river water 88.6 F !  The water is pretty murky looking.   The rain runoff  and surrounding farm lands emptying into it.  The Hudson River is on the Super Fund clean up list… Portions having just received the approval for clean up with funding. 

Our back door tonight: The Tappan Zee Bridge to the south, a new bridge being built alongside it.  Sing Sing Correctional Facility to the east. Rockland Lake State park directly to the west, cliffs towering over us.  

We are still melting in the heat and just setting back and trying to catch a breeze.  A cool Greek Pasta Salad for dinner.  With a fresh evening breeze setting in, Jim goes up the mast to free up a snagged line for flags on the starboard side.  Mast climbing: a sailors version of mountain climbing.  The ‘day ball’ hanging from the port flag halyards to tell others we are at anchor.   At dark the anchor light goes on to alert the boats we are here.  A cool breeze is making it’s way into the cabin finally.  Sleeping should be good, bobbing on the hook with the temps steadily dropping.  No lights from shore shining on us.  No trains whizzing by.  As I look up tonight from my seat the bow, I saw my first star: “Star light, star bright, first star I see to night…”   but I really have nothing much to wish for.  I feel sooooo incredibly fortunate.  I grant my wish to you… thanks for reading my silly ramblings.