Cruisin' on the Hudson

 (Or, when will we be free of these infernal TIDES?)
 

Cruising north up the Hudson River has been an absolute joy after the Chesapeake/Delaware/Atlantic portion of our voyage.   Calm waters, light boat traffic, consistent water depths, pleasant scenery, reduced risk of being blown out to sea.  What’s not to like, right?   

When last we spoke, we were in Half Moon Bay, where Henry Hudson dropped anchor and dispatched his longboat u river in search of the Northwest Passage. (Hudson would later die in the Arctic seeking the same route.  Bad idea, all around, I guess.) 

Departing Half Moon, we headed for Poughkeepsie, NY as the river narrows and the country becomes more mountainous ( by NY standards.  Just hilly, really)    Our route took us past West Point

USMA water view

and the United States Military Academy,  stunning sight from the water.  It was here, some 51 miles upriver from the Statue of Liberty,   we encountered the deepest water (172 ft) of our trip to date.  (Note, there are at least 5 boatable lakes within an hour of the Spokane deeper than this.)  We have  learned quickly that someone in upstate New York has lost a lumberyard and it is floating in the Hudson.  We dodged boards, sticks, logs, and entire trees spread over miles of river.   These have now replaced crab pots as the new bane of our navigational existence.  We arrived at our destination, Shadows Marina, on the full flood tide (full of lumber, too.) with a current of about 2 kts.   Dockmaster Keith coached us thru a unique entrance to the marina, involving entering stern first and crabbing sideways to our secure berth using only the current and our throttles and shifters.   An instructional exercise in trust, if there ever was one.

Our time in Poughkeepsie proved to be busy and delightful.   Kathleen’s 2^nd cousin, Patrick

Us with Cousin Patrick

(who recently relocated from NYC) joined us for dinner on the boat, along with his partner Andrew and cousin Caitlyn .  Commodore Kathleen was delighted to have company to entertain and outdid herself with a Mediterranean pasta with shrimp and salad. 

What your $45K tuition to C.I.A. pays for

Our stay in the  Poughkeepsie area had several notable experiences.  We worshiped at an Episcopal parish founded in 1766. We  visited  the homes of both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, We strolled thru the grounds and gardens of the Fredrick Vanderbilt Mansion.  And we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at the American Table restaurant on the campus of the Culinary Institute of America. 

Timing our departure at slack water, we proceeded on to Kingston, NY and the Kingston City Marina.  The colonial capital of NY, Kingston was also the scene of Benedicts Arnold’s secret meetings with the British.   ( Fortunately, his efforts failed.  Unfortunately, Kingston lost out to Albany as the post-revolution seat of government.)   The waterfront on Rondout Creek was busy and festive even if the marina’s facilities were 2^nd rate.  There are multiple good restaurants, a maritime history museum, and prime dog walking options.

Our highlight here was that son Daniel and his fiancé’ Alexandria drove down from Boston for the weekend.    We had a great visit and caught up on plans for their Sept 2021 nuptials.   Saturday, we belatedly celebrated Alex’s birthday with a very good Italian dinner. 

The soon-to-be Bride and Groom

Sunday, they treated us to a Father’s Day brunch buffet at a locally famous German/Dutch bakery before they headed back to Beantown.

On Monday, we were joined by old friend Pat and Kelly Rusnak, up from the Philadelphia area.   With the weather forecast to change, we slipped lines and cruised with them up to New Baltimore, NY and Shady Harbor Marina.  This is by far our favorite stop on the Hudson.  Nice docks, knowledgeable and extra helpful staff, and, best of all, a courtesy car which we used to return Pat and Kelly to Kingston on Tuesday.  Plus there were several Looper boats present, making for nice Docktails event.  

A word about Courtesy Cars:  We love them all because they mean FREEDOM.  To transport guests. To buy groceries. To find a boat supply store.  Or maybe a LIQUOR STORE!   This despite the fact that they all seem to have 200,000-+ miles,  worn and cluttered interiors, permanent Check Engine lights, and the general air of a maintenance orphan.   Each one is a new adventure.

On Thursday, we again moved upriver to Albany, NY  where we had some critical events scheduled.  Our stay was at the Albany Yacht Club,  Of primary importance was a grooming appointment for fur-Admiral Maggie, which went well, despite a big and (and expensive) Uber fustercluck getting her to and from the chosen PetSmart.    Commodore Kathleen was also able to schedule some personal maintenance services (more Uber)  and Wade journeyed to West Marine (yet another Uber) for some larger round fenders for use in the canals.  (Suffice to say, Uber had a good couple of days.  NY taxes Uber fares somewhat heavily.  Perhaps for the benefit of destitute taxi license holders?)

A word about Yacht Clubs:   The term Yacht Club covers a lot of ground in this neck of the woods.  A vey few are boater’s country clubs with all the attendant amenities and membership requirements.  Others are just adequate local marinas with co-op ownership.  And some are a couple of ratty docks, a gravel parking lot, a Tough Shed office,  and an extremely aspirational name.   Most require a reciprocal club membership for transient moorage.  Fortunately, membership in the Holder of Cash or Credit Card Club usually suffices.  Can you say “Ka-CHING!” 

While at Albany, we took delivery of the final replacement components for our dinghy, and she is now fully rehabilitated.  Plus our insurance company (finally) came thru with full payment for our loss.  Can we get a “Woo Hoo!”?

Friday was a BIG DAY!   Leaving Albany Yacht Club for our destination at Waterford NY, we transited OUT FIRST LOCK, a 14’ lift on the Hudson River, in the company of our new friends Larry and Mary aboard Living the Dream   With Commodore Kathleen manning the lines and Wade at the helm,  we scored a Perfect 10 our first time out!  

Yay, us!!!

As an added bonus, this means we are now finally (154miles upriver from NYC!)  free of the tyranny of tides!   

We will rest a few days in Waterford NY before we begin our westward journey on  the Erie Canal

NOTE:  No matter who you are, the Mclaughlin family of Oak Park, IL, and the Rusnak family of Newtown, PA have you outpaced by at least 2 to 1 in visits to the boat.  So, step it up if you’re coming, bucko!!!

 

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Special Update: It's Official!

Prime Minister Trudeau, the Younger, awarded Least-Favorite-Person status among Loopers.

Today, Canada announced that its border with the US (as well as some of its internal provincial borders) will remain closed to "nonessential" (i.e. recreational) travel until at least the end of July.   😭😠  We were hopeful that our dawdling schedule on the Hudson would allow the border to be open we reached the Erie Canal.  But no such luck. 

So, we will proceed with our original plan of transiting the canals to Lake Ontario, hiring a delivery captain and two crew to take Irish Lass thru the Canadian Wieland Canal (where the Lass likely will be thoroughly searched by two Canadian Customs officials), and bringing her back to us in Buffalo NY on Lake Erie.   (A boat delivery is a commercial, and therefore "essential", activity.)

Now, we could invest in endless speculation how all this enhances public health over two fully vaccinated US citizens cruising almost quietly thru southern Ontario sprinkling US credit card $$ like holy water,  But instead, we will just.......

BLAME CANADA!

(Click link above)

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The Atlantic, The Inlets, Land o ’Bruce, Giovani’s Bridge, That Certain Statuesque Lady, Baked Big Apple. and Henry’s Bay

 

Well…..

It’s been a while since we spoke (our bad) and SO much has transpired.   Pull up a chair, crack open your beverage of choice, and let’s get caught up, OK?

Alternators are like Deer (When you see one, start looking for the next one.)

When last we posted, we were in Cape May, NJ waiting for a storm front to pass.   As the forecast improved, we made plans with a group of Looper boats to head up the NJ coast toward New York on Sat, 6/5.  On Friday, we made a trip to the fuel dock and lo and behold, saints preserve us, we got an alarm on the PORT alternator.   (Heavy sigh or words to that effect)   A brief inspection with a voltmeter showed only 4.5 volts of output (vs. 13.5+ normal.   No one in the area had an appropriate replacement in stock.   Bur since we cruised successfully (if unknowingly) all last summer on one alternator, we decided to proceed with our voyage and look for a repair/replacement along the way. ( It was Commodore Kathleen who had the foresight to call our Dela, MD mechanic and ask him to ship a replacement to our NYC-area marina.  YAY, Kathleen!)

The Atlantic (OMG!)

At the crack of 6:30 am, we were underway from Cape May, through the inlet into the ATLANTIC  OCEAN.  Our destination was Brielle NJ on the Manasquan River, a distance of about 100 miles.  Turning north, we had the NJ coast to port about two miles and Portugal some 3,000 miles to starboard.  Seas were calm, winds were light. And, of course, the port alternator alarm ceased as soon as we hit open water.  Go figure.

As we proceeded north, a minor wave of hysteria swept our fleet-for-the-day because one forecast model (out of 6) showed a chance of rising winds and seas further north.  As a result,  a bunch of boats led by a Gold Looper in the Grand Banks 36 elected to bailout and pull into Atlantic City.  (We suspect they heard the siren call of a casino buffet.)  Some later continued north up the inside of NJ’s barrier islands, but only us and Hallelujah stayed the course north.   Included was a 10 kt tour of the Jersey shore, including Asbury Park, where Bruce Springsteen cut his chops.   At 2:00 Pm we ran the Manasquan inlet, home of infamous Random Railroad Bridge, to our berth for the night at the Brielle Yacht Club.   Hallelujah arrived about an hour later.   The feared rising winds and seas never arrived.

Inlets

The NJ coast is protected by a long string of barrier islands.  These hold a continuous string of beach towns and hamlets chock full of seaside homes, condos, and resorts, punctuated by the occasional boardwalk and amusement park.   

The barrier islands are periodically pierced by inlets that provide openings between the Atlantic and the protected inland waters.  These inlets are subject to significant tidal flows in and out, in some cases exacerbated by an outgoing river current.  But they’re real purpose seems to be to strike fear in the heats of inexperienced boaters.   To believe the dock talk and the cruising guides, you should never attempt to run an inlet on a day ending in “y” , on a sail or power vessel, or when a Democrat or a Republican is in the White House, because  you are going to die!

Killer (not) Inlet

Certainly, you must treat inlets with respect and with awareness of the state of the tide and the winds.  And some inlets are better than others. So, it pays to call the USCG or TowBOATUS for some local insights before entering an unfamiliar inlet.  But the reality is that the locals run the inlets every day without incident.  Be smart, be aware, and don’t succumb to TMI from somebody’s brother-in-law’s cousin’s, next-door neighbor’s plumber.   (Sheesh)

Giovanni’s Bridge

Sunday morning, after worshiping with the nice folks at First Presbyterian Church, we headed back out the Manasquan Inlet and north around  Sandy Hook (truly a hook and truly sandy) into Lower Bay and Sandy Hook Bay to our marina for the night.   As we turned the corner, we got our first glimpse of the NYC

skyline.  Despite a minor rub rail  incident while backing a 15’ 6” boat into a 16’ wide slip (nothing a few screws and some 3M 4200 couldn’t fix) it was a smooth, uneventful day.

Monday morning dawned bright and calm, with a little bit of fog along our planned course north.  We reconnected with Steve and Ann on Halleluiah and steered a course between Staten Island and Coney Island and under the (Giovanni) Verrazano Narrows Bridge into……..

……….. NEW YORK FREAKING HARBOR, BABY!

We’re not sure to who Steve knew or who he called, but the fog lifted, the waters were dead calm and there was almost no boat traffic as  we made our way to The Battery and to the Statute of Liberty for buddy boat photos.    Hallelujah then headed up the Hudson while we cruised far enough up the East River to say we had passed under the Brooklyn Bridge and had dodged the Staten Island Ferry.    Our destination for the day was Liberty Landing  Marina, just west of  Lady Liberty on the NJ side of the Hudson.  WOW!  A red-letter day, indeed.

Baked Big Apple

Liberty Landing is a big splurge on the Loop, at double or triple the cost of other marinas.  But with the proximity to Manhattan, it is hard to resist.  We caught up on laundry and mail and did a Docktails social with fellow Loopers.  On Thursday, we found a doggie daycare for Admiral Maggie in Jersey City (and learned the ins and outs of transporting her there by Uber.)  A water taxi took us across the Hudson and landed us on the Lower West Side not far from the WTC Memorial. 

View from our marina

Unfortunately, we caught NYC in a heatwave, with temps of 90 and heat indexes approaching 100.   On Tuesday, we went over and wandered down to Battery Park,found sone lunch, and did some sightseeing.  On Wednesday, we went back for a (disappointing) Hop On/Hop Off bus tour of downtown and mid-town which showed us lots of sights but afforded little opportunity to explore any in detail.  Still, NYC is a fascinating place to visit.  Can’t imagine living there.

Henry’s Bay

Thursday, we made preparation to head up the Hudson when the port engine failed to turn over.   Secure in the knowledge that we have a spare starter in the cargo hold, Wade applied the ’55 Oldsmobile solution (3 sharp raps with a 1# Craftsman hammer) and the reluctant starter awakened to its task.  And off we went, cruising up Henry Hudson’s River, under the George Washington Bridge, past Harlem,  Columbia University, and Yonkers.  In Half Moon Bay (named for Hudson’s ship) we first put into Stony Point to partake of (relatively) cheap fuel.  With our tanks topped off with 300 gallons of fresh diesel, we crossed the Bay to Half Moon Bay marina where we encountered yet another crowd of Loopers and yet another Docktails event.  (Oh, darn!)   With prudence and luck, we should not have to refuel until Buffalo, where we will enter Lake Erie.   Our supply of Dewars, Rolling Rock, and Malbec will not last that long, we suspect.

Next Stop

Poughkeepsie!  (Poo-kip-see)  Which apparently is a real place, not just a funny name on a board game.

 

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Four Days Out.........

 .....And Still Afloat!

Monday, May 31, we left Deale, MD (HOORAY!) in sunny but mildly breezy conditions.  Our course took us north on the Chesapeake Bay past West River, Annapolis, the Bay Bridge, and the Patapsco River that leads to Baltimore.   It being our first day on the water in several months, we experimented with different speeds and such and enjoyed the scenery.

    Just before  Hart-Miller Island, we  ducked thru a narrow but well-charted cut into Middle River and on to our destination at the Baltimore Yacht Club on Sue Island.  We were feeling good.  Nice weather, the boat running very well, new alternator spinning merrily away, only a few crab pots to dodge.  What’s not to like?  As we approached our designated dock, a helpful boater came to catch our lines and said, 

“Hey, why does your dinghy look like that?” 

Oh, Shit! Unbeknown to us,  our new dingy davit was holding the dinghy low enough that, at certain speeds between crawling and on plane,  our wake was filling the dinghy with water.   As the weight of
the water grew, the lifting rings in the bow of the dinghy failed.  The bow then dropped out of the davit, and we were dragging the dinghy behind the boat backward.  And the wash of our wake stripped everything loose out of the boat.  Oars, seats, fuel tank, and, most critically the rigid inflatable Air Deck floor.  

Rescued dinghy, minus missing pieces

Oh Shit, indeed.   We are now awaiting delivery of replacement components (to the tune of $1,000+) and “negotiating”  with our insurance company.   We are hoping all the pieces will catch up with us in New York and we will become dinghy-capable once again.   We are also awaiting the delivery of Wade’s repaired cell phone which is undergoing warranty surgery in Baltimore.   (Living with one phone in a household is yet another lost skill we are having to relearn.)

On Tuesday, June 1, we voyaged some 52 miles to Delaware City, DE at the north end of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. 

Scene from the C&D Canal

After some final adjustments (and one bailing) of the dinghy, we made  a delightful voyage to the north end of the Chesapeake Bay and into the C&D Canal.   The C&D is a 10-mile sea-level canal that

joins Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and serves the lion's share of ship traffic from the Atlantic to the port of Baltimore.   (Fortunately, we did not meet any ship traffic.  Whew!)

Near the end of Tuesday’s voyage, we dodged two bullets.  First, our navigation software attempted to route us thru a back door passage to our destination at the Delaware City Marina.  Even though the passage was marked “Not Maintained’ and “Not Recommended for Navigation” on their own  charts  and despite the presence of the highway  bridge with a kayak-appropriate 6-foot fixed clearance, Navionics (from Garmin) said, “Hey, THIS is the way.”   Commodore Kathleen was skeptical, but Helmsman Wade made the turn anyway and we immediately ran aground.  Embarrassed and chastened, we were able to back out without apparent damage. ( Thanks for nothin’, Garmin.)

But now our second challenge for the day emerged when the port engine began to randomly surge at low RPM.   Suspecting bad fuel (we had topped off at Baltimore Yacht Club) or a clogged fuel filter,

we pressed on the Delaware City. The marina crew there skillfully spun us around in their narrow fairway and secured us to the dock.   We decided to divide and conquer, with Commodore Kathleen Uber-ing to the grocery and liquor store (Tax-free Delaware.  Yay!) while Engineer Wade changed fuel filters.  And they certainly needed changing, those on the port side being particularly nasty with black tar and bits of rubber bands stuck in the filter elements. 

Our respective tasks done, we reunited for an excellent 5:00 pm briefing from the marina staff on our next day voyage down Delaware Bay.  In the process, we discovered the docks were full of fellow Loopers!   We made acquaintances and agreed to travel together on Wednesday with Southern Estate, Hallelujah, and a few others. 

Our cruise down Delaware Bay was serene,  covering some 55 miles at about 9 knots.   We led a flotilla of 5-6 boats, departing our marina at 6:00 am to ride the falling tide down the bay.  Seas were   calm, skies were clear,

Delaware Bay ship traffic

 engines ran smoothly and NOTHING ELSE   WENT WRONG!!   The most excitement we had was a propane     tanker who came roaring thru our flotilla at 15 knots, horn blowing,   and wake aboiling.

Our voyage ended thru the Cape May Canal to  Cape May, NJ where we will wait for some stormy weather to pass.   For those of you with

Irish Lass on Delaware Bay

weak East Coast geography, that puts us where the Delaware River and Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Where it means the sea, the Bay is 30 miles wide and passes substantial ship traffic for both Philadelphia and Baltimore.   While our marina is mediocre (Memo to self:  “family-owned” can be code for poorly maintained and under-invested),  Cape May has a lovely well-preserved historical section.  Lovely 18th and 19th-century homes and inns on oak-shaded streets. 

We attended our first Looper “Docktails” gathering Wednesday evening, meeting several others on the same journey.   We enjoyed a very nice dinner on Friday at the Merion Inn with fellow-Westerners  Steve and Ann of Halleluiah who hail from Longmont, CO.

On Saturday, we will venture “outside” (in fleet with others again) for an open water run north with the NJ coast 2 miles to port and Europe 3,000 miles to starboard.   

 It’s fun to try new things, right?

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