Back to NYC and up the Hudson River

August 8 was the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics and we were able to watch some of it while on the mooring ball back in Port Washington. We were there again to reconnect with Kyle. He came in on the train to begin Part II of his Loop experience. The next day we did the reverse trip from Long Island Sound to NYC via the East River. It was fun having Kyle along on this portion. He enjoyed sailing under the bridges he’s driven over so often and getting a different perspective of other familiar places in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Hell Gate wasn’t “hellish” this time either; the trick is leaving at the right time to have the tide in your favor.


We turned into the Hudson River at the tip of Lower Manhattan with another view of Lady Liberty. This was new territory for us seeing Manhattan from the west side of the island. We got a mooring ball at the West 79th Street Boat Basin for $30. It was a great location right at Riverside Park where there were lots of bikers, joggers and families out for a stroll – great for people watching. This was the first mooring ball in a long time that had a dinghy dock instead of a water taxi so that’s how we got to shore to see some of the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

This is the view looking north toward the George Washington Bridge from our mooring ball. Believe me it wasn’t always this peaceful! The basin is well known for rough water and we did our share of rocking and rolling from the passing tows and other boat traffic. We knew it was only for a night so we weren’t too bothered by it.

We had a great lunch at a place Kyle knew, Niko’s on Broadway at W. 77th Street. Then we walked to a little bakery and had what we thought to be the best cookies in the world! We walked some more and saw part of the west side of Central Park. I’d seen this balloon on TV a few times on the Today Show so I got a kick out of seeing it “in person”. People were out in rowboats on this little lake in the park - one of several. Building such a large park right in the center of Manhattan Island seems like a brilliant idea to me.


Kyle showed us the Dakota Building where John Lennon was killed and where Yoko Ono still lives. It was also the film location for "Rosemary's Baby". We picked up a few groceries at a packed little market and visited a wine store. No celebrities were sighted.

Monday it was time to head north up the Hudson. This is a view of the famed George Washington Bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey.

This was momentous for us as our boat insurance rates drop considerably once we’re under this bridge! We went past Yonkers, another place where Kyle lived during grad school. Just north of there is the northern border of New Jersey. New York is on both sides of the Hudson from here on. The next famous bridge was the Tappan Zee, another name of Dutch heritage. This area is the setting for Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". In fact, in 1996, North Tarrytown, NY changed its' name to Sleepy Hollow and the author is buried in the cemetery there. We were able to sail a lot of the way as the river is quite wide – 3 miles at the widest point with high bluffs on either side - beautiful scenery. Water depths reach over 100 feet here.

This is an area familiar to Kyle; he and Lizzie enjoy hiking near here. This is Bear Mountain Bridge where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Hudson River.

We anchored off a county park in Haverstraw Bay near Croton and had a much more peaceful night. Kyle really enjoys the peace and quiet and wide-open spaces. It’s therapeutic for the city dweller who grew up in rural Wisconsin.

It was mainly a motor trip on Tuesday; part of it in some heavy rain. The West Point Military Academy is very impressive from the water. Paul had visited there in the sixties for his Brother Jim’s graduation. It’s no longer possible to dock your boat and tour the academy but we would have loved to do that. Kyle voiced his opinion by yelling "War is not the answer!" while we passed by, but I don't think anyone heard him!

Here are some of the helicopters we saw airlifting cadets in training.

We went about 42 miles to the Hyde Park Marina just past Poughkeepsie. We passed Vasser College on the east bank of the river and saw two of their sculling boats gliding down the river. Capt. Joe was there to greet us. We felt a bit dwarfed docked behind “Blue Sky” at 103 feet!

On Wednesday Capt. Joe (what a character) gave us a ride and we toured FDR’s boyhood home and museum and library just a few miles away. It was all very interesting and informative learning more about his presidency from 1933 to 1945. Here’s part of the front of the home.

We learned that the Dutch pronunciation of Roosevelt would be Roosenvelde which means garden of roses. It's appropriate then that the gravesite of FDR, his wife Eleanor, and favorite dog Fala, contains many varieties of roses, all of them beautiful.

Then it was a last farewell to Kyle. It was fun having him share a few more days of the trip with us. Capt. Joe gave us a lift to the train station in Poughkeepsie and Kyle was off to Grand Central Station in NY, then the subway to Brooklyn.


Here’s the view north from the marina where we stayed two nights. The scenery is gorgeous here.
It was just a half day trip for us to the Hop-O-Nose Marina on Catskill Creek where we’re having the mast taken down for the Erie Canal. The sails are off and bagged and Paul will work on re-building the supports this afternoon. This is where he really envies the Loopers in their trawlers who don’t have all this work taking down their masts; however, we wouldn’t trade them their bills at the fuel dock!

Misc:
It was interesting to be in the NY area when all the Brett Farve hubub was going on. We bought a "Newsday" in Long Island with a full page picture of Brett with “JET FARVE” in huge green letters. TV covered his meeting with Mayor Bloomberg but he wasn’t presented the key to the city – yet! What a strange turn of events.

All for now from Catskill, NY.