Mid-way down the Hudson
Pictures: The last of the locks; old Erie Canal; two reluctant visitors; views & lighthouses on the Hudson; Vanderbilt Mansion, part of West Point; Sea Plane visits gas dock.
Hudson River
September 25, 2010
Good afternoon. We have completed the Erie Canal.
We arrived in Waterford, NY this morning after leaving the Schenectady Yacht Club. The yacht club consists of a collection of floating docks on the side of the Mohawk River. Many of the docks float at strange angles, like a car with flat tire on one side. There was no club house, no bar (much to Mike’s dismay) and little in the way of facilities. In addition we were only a few hundred yards from a bridge, which had construction all night long We were lulled to sleep by the sound of jackhammers and large construction vehicles making that irritating sound as they backed up. Ear plugs kept it to a dulled roar.
At 6 AM this morning we started our way down the last of the Canal locs.. We started at Lock 7 and finished after Lock 2, a drop of 150 ft. Lock 1 is a federal lock and not part of the canal. Waterford is the home of the “Waterford Flight”, the highest set of lift locks in the world. It is also the oldest incorporated town in the United States.
When we arrived we were greeted by friends whom we met back on Lake Erie. We are on a wall right in town. The town of Waterford is having a community garage sale. We walked up and down streets looking at people’s “stuff.” It reminded us of all of the “stuff” we had sold at our garage sale at our “residence formally known as home”. OK - how do you go to a garage sale without buying something? We have wanted a small dust buster for the boat that we can use when we don’t have electricity. Sure enough we found one for $3. How could we resist? Yes, we sold our dust buster at our garage sale. We have also talked about having a FoodSaver, one of those things that seals food. On our way to the library, after our initial walk, Francie spied one. We are now the proud owner of a FoodSaver with a year’s supply of bags all for $15.
We are looking forward to the morning, there is going to be a Farmer’s Market along the wall were we are docked.
September 27, 2010
This morning we left Waterford and headed down the Hudson River. We had enjoyed not traveling one day. We have been surprised at how many people we have met who retired, sold their home and moved on to their boat just like we did. We thought we were the only crazy people doing such things. Some are American and some are Canadian.
Our first day on the Hudson has been in the rain. We arrived at the marina that is going to put up our mast. We are hoping to get ours up sometime tomorrow if the rain stops. It is almost nice to be confined to the boat. It is giving us a chance to get caught up on some banking and other chores on the boat.
It will be nice to be a sailboat again, although it will take us another half day at least to rig and connect everything that gets disconnected when the mast comes down. We have motored over 60 hours since having the mast taken down in Buffalo.
We are in an area that has a 6 foot tide twice a day. When the tide was going out, we were traveling at 7 to 7.3 nautical miles per hour. When the tide came in, we were only going about 4.8 to 5 at the same engine rpm. We have more to learn, as we study the tide charts to make sure we optimize our traveling. We have over a hundred miles to go on the Hudson before arriving in New York City.
September 28, 2010
We are a sailboat once again. We have it all rigged but the main sail. It took most of the day. Two other boats that we have seen often on the Canal had their masts put up here as well, Midore & Renaissance both coming from Ohio and traveling south. We first met them both in Dunkirk, Ohio.
Our mast is over 60ft. long and is very heavy. We take the mast off every year so we know what we have to do, but still hold our breath when it goes in and out. The crane that was used today was 60’s or earlier vintage. The boom on it was tiny. It is a toy in comparison to the cranes we have used in Chicago. I have lots of faith in the ability of the people working on our mast, but we have a mast bigger and heavier than the others near us. Also the tide was coming in and so was a storm. The men from the marina controlled the crane but it is our job to make sure that the mast landed on the mast boot inside the boat. They are taking a very heavy mast, putting it in a tiny hole on the deck and dropping it onto a plate with grooves. Francie and I were both trying to control it and give direction to the man up above who signaled the crane operator. All in all it went very well. We were then moved out of the well and a new boat was put in it. Everyone helped each other and then went back to working on their own boat until they were needed to help on another boat.
September 29, 2010
We left the dock before 7AM and used the tide to move us quickly down the river. It is amazing the speed we gain. The homes/mansions on Hudson River are amazing. On Lake Michigan we would see the McMansions and think how beautiful. Those buildings looked like shacks in comparison to the huge old mansions we saw today. Every few minutes, one of us would say, “Wow! Look at the place over there.” We read on the internet that the Marlboro Yacht Club had mooring balls that you can use for $10 a night. We arrived in the afternoon but could not raise anyone from the club so we put ourselves on a mooring ball. This was a first for us, but it worked out quite well. Later in the afternoon our friends from Ohio called to ask us if there were any mooring balls left. They had gone further down river and the mooring balls they were on were not rated for boats as large as theirs.
September 30, 2010
I can’t believe we are at the end of September. The temperature is certainly dropping and the time we have to travel is getting less as the days get shorter.
We arranged to get a rental car for the day. We were up at 6 and the Enterprise was picking us up at 8:00. We had the codes to get into the yacht club so we decided to go in and shower and get ready for our day. Of course it was supposed to rain all day. We loaded our waterproof bags into the dingy and motored in the pouring rain to the yacht club. We arrived dripping wet ready to take our second shower of the day.
Once in the car we drove to the Vanderbilt Mansion. This particular mansion was their spring and fall residence. The winter season was in NY City and the summer in Canada – rough life. It was small in comparison to the other mansions the family owned. They would entertain on 10 or 15 people at a time. Its opulence was so over the top that it bordered on gaudy. We were told the gardens are spectacular, but the sky looked like it would dump on us once again so we traveled to FDR’s home which was down the street. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family was the established rich (old money) unlike the Vanderbilt’s. Their home was also a fall and spring residence. We toured the home and went to his library also on the grounds. Our only regret was not having enough time to absorb more information. Our last visit was to Eleanor Roosevelt’s home called Val-Kill. Again we were running out of time and only had the opportunity to just get a glimpse into her life. On the return trip we passed a BJ’s warehouse store and did manage enough time to stop in for a couple of things. Bulk shopping is a habit and will take time to break!
When we returned to the marina, the wind was quite strong. Waves were rolling onto the dock. The ride back to the boat was a challenge and a bigger challenge was getting on to a bucking boat. There were wind warnings for the afternoon and evening. We checked our lines on the mooring ball and they had somehow gotten twisted under the ball. The force of the boat pulling against it made it impossible to fix. It seemed that we were now closer to shore. I kept checking throughout the evening. I was sure it was my imagination. It seemed we were about a hundred yards from the rocky shore, barely enough time to get the engine started and get moved if we broke loose. We could hear the wind howling through the rigging. We were both worried. Will the ball hold us? Is it designed for a boat our size? What could we do to make the situation better?
We finally gathered up things that we would need if the boat broke loose. We decided the only course of action was to get off the boat if it hit the shore. Somehow it made us feel better to have a plan.
October 1, 2010
Rain Rain Go Away.
Obviously we made it through the night although Mike did get up several times to investigate different noises.
Our friends from Ohio said they were up half the night as well, with the wind and because their mooring ball kept hitting their boat.
It rained all day and the wind was not as strong as last night but made our plans to travel were cancelled. During the late afternoon the rain stopped and we decided to go to the yacht club and have a pizza delivered to the club. We meet a couple of guys and they gave us a menu of the local pizza place. Then they offered to take us to the local restaurant and then pick us up. It was half a mile away but straight uphill. We took them up on their generous offer. It felt good to be off the boat and not cooped up. After dinner we walked down the hill, the street had no streetlights and we could hear an owl near us. When we arrive back at the yacht club, we were greeted by 4 or 5 couples. The people at Marlboro Yacht Club were warm and welcoming. We had beer and great conversation. It was a perfect way to spend a Friday night.
October 2, 2010
Up at 6 AM and on the water before sunup. One plan was to head to NY City and down the Atlantic Coast on Sunday. The weather window we thought was there disappeared so we changed our plans to anchor in Haverstraw, NY. The place we wanted to go was too shallow. Our friends from Ohio were on the other side of the river and we were headed toward them. Along the way, Francie was bargaining with one of the marinas. She managed to get a price that was acceptable so we arranged to dock for two nights while we wait for a weather window to head down the Coast.
We met our neighbors on the dock, went shopping in town and had a pleasant evening.
October 3, 2010
Up early and off to the exercise room. That is correct, they have an exercise room. It is all part of our interval training. We worked ourselves into lather, sat in the sauna and took a bike ride for an hour. Now we don’t have to exercise again for several weeks.
We are planning our trip to NY City. It looks like we may sail to Cape May on Tuesday overnight to Wednesday. We are keeping our fingers crossed about the forecast.
Good afternoon. We have completed the Erie Canal.
We arrived in Waterford, NY this morning after leaving the Schenectady Yacht Club. The yacht club consists of a collection of floating docks on the side of the Mohawk River. Many of the docks float at strange angles, like a car with flat tire on one side. There was no club house, no bar (much to Mike’s dismay) and little in the way of facilities. In addition we were only a few hundred yards from a bridge, which had construction all night long We were lulled to sleep by the sound of jackhammers and large construction vehicles making that irritating sound as they backed up. Ear plugs kept it to a dulled roar.
At 6 AM this morning we started our way down the last of the Canal locs.. We started at Lock 7 and finished after Lock 2, a drop of 150 ft. Lock 1 is a federal lock and not part of the canal. Waterford is the home of the “Waterford Flight”, the highest set of lift locks in the world. It is also the oldest incorporated town in the United States.
When we arrived we were greeted by friends whom we met back on Lake Erie. We are on a wall right in town. The town of Waterford is having a community garage sale. We walked up and down streets looking at people’s “stuff.” It reminded us of all of the “stuff” we had sold at our garage sale at our “residence formally known as home”. OK - how do you go to a garage sale without buying something? We have wanted a small dust buster for the boat that we can use when we don’t have electricity. Sure enough we found one for $3. How could we resist? Yes, we sold our dust buster at our garage sale. We have also talked about having a FoodSaver, one of those things that seals food. On our way to the library, after our initial walk, Francie spied one. We are now the proud owner of a FoodSaver with a year’s supply of bags all for $15.
We are looking forward to the morning, there is going to be a Farmer’s Market along the wall were we are docked.
September 27, 2010
This morning we left Waterford and headed down the Hudson River. We had enjoyed not traveling one day. We have been surprised at how many people we have met who retired, sold their home and moved on to their boat just like we did. We thought we were the only crazy people doing such things. Some are American and some are Canadian.
Our first day on the Hudson has been in the rain. We arrived at the marina that is going to put up our mast. We are hoping to get ours up sometime tomorrow if the rain stops. It is almost nice to be confined to the boat. It is giving us a chance to get caught up on some banking and other chores on the boat.
It will be nice to be a sailboat again, although it will take us another half day at least to rig and connect everything that gets disconnected when the mast comes down. We have motored over 60 hours since having the mast taken down in Buffalo.
We are in an area that has a 6 foot tide twice a day. When the tide was going out, we were traveling at 7 to 7.3 nautical miles per hour. When the tide came in, we were only going about 4.8 to 5 at the same engine rpm. We have more to learn, as we study the tide charts to make sure we optimize our traveling. We have over a hundred miles to go on the Hudson before arriving in New York City.
September 28, 2010
We are a sailboat once again. We have it all rigged but the main sail. It took most of the day. Two other boats that we have seen often on the Canal had their masts put up here as well, Midore & Renaissance both coming from Ohio and traveling south. We first met them both in Dunkirk, Ohio.
Our mast is over 60ft. long and is very heavy. We take the mast off every year so we know what we have to do, but still hold our breath when it goes in and out. The crane that was used today was 60’s or earlier vintage. The boom on it was tiny. It is a toy in comparison to the cranes we have used in Chicago. I have lots of faith in the ability of the people working on our mast, but we have a mast bigger and heavier than the others near us. Also the tide was coming in and so was a storm. The men from the marina controlled the crane but it is our job to make sure that the mast landed on the mast boot inside the boat. They are taking a very heavy mast, putting it in a tiny hole on the deck and dropping it onto a plate with grooves. Francie and I were both trying to control it and give direction to the man up above who signaled the crane operator. All in all it went very well. We were then moved out of the well and a new boat was put in it. Everyone helped each other and then went back to working on their own boat until they were needed to help on another boat.
September 29, 2010
We left the dock before 7AM and used the tide to move us quickly down the river. It is amazing the speed we gain. The homes/mansions on Hudson River are amazing. On Lake Michigan we would see the McMansions and think how beautiful. Those buildings looked like shacks in comparison to the huge old mansions we saw today. Every few minutes, one of us would say, “Wow! Look at the place over there.” We read on the internet that the Marlboro Yacht Club had mooring balls that you can use for $10 a night. We arrived in the afternoon but could not raise anyone from the club so we put ourselves on a mooring ball. This was a first for us, but it worked out quite well. Later in the afternoon our friends from Ohio called to ask us if there were any mooring balls left. They had gone further down river and the mooring balls they were on were not rated for boats as large as theirs.
September 30, 2010
I can’t believe we are at the end of September. The temperature is certainly dropping and the time we have to travel is getting less as the days get shorter.
We arranged to get a rental car for the day. We were up at 6 and the Enterprise was picking us up at 8:00. We had the codes to get into the yacht club so we decided to go in and shower and get ready for our day. Of course it was supposed to rain all day. We loaded our waterproof bags into the dingy and motored in the pouring rain to the yacht club. We arrived dripping wet ready to take our second shower of the day.
Once in the car we drove to the Vanderbilt Mansion. This particular mansion was their spring and fall residence. The winter season was in NY City and the summer in Canada – rough life. It was small in comparison to the other mansions the family owned. They would entertain on 10 or 15 people at a time. Its opulence was so over the top that it bordered on gaudy. We were told the gardens are spectacular, but the sky looked like it would dump on us once again so we traveled to FDR’s home which was down the street. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family was the established rich (old money) unlike the Vanderbilt’s. Their home was also a fall and spring residence. We toured the home and went to his library also on the grounds. Our only regret was not having enough time to absorb more information. Our last visit was to Eleanor Roosevelt’s home called Val-Kill. Again we were running out of time and only had the opportunity to just get a glimpse into her life. On the return trip we passed a BJ’s warehouse store and did manage enough time to stop in for a couple of things. Bulk shopping is a habit and will take time to break!
When we returned to the marina, the wind was quite strong. Waves were rolling onto the dock. The ride back to the boat was a challenge and a bigger challenge was getting on to a bucking boat. There were wind warnings for the afternoon and evening. We checked our lines on the mooring ball and they had somehow gotten twisted under the ball. The force of the boat pulling against it made it impossible to fix. It seemed that we were now closer to shore. I kept checking throughout the evening. I was sure it was my imagination. It seemed we were about a hundred yards from the rocky shore, barely enough time to get the engine started and get moved if we broke loose. We could hear the wind howling through the rigging. We were both worried. Will the ball hold us? Is it designed for a boat our size? What could we do to make the situation better?
We finally gathered up things that we would need if the boat broke loose. We decided the only course of action was to get off the boat if it hit the shore. Somehow it made us feel better to have a plan.
October 1, 2010
Rain Rain Go Away.
Obviously we made it through the night although Mike did get up several times to investigate different noises.
Our friends from Ohio said they were up half the night as well, with the wind and because their mooring ball kept hitting their boat.
It rained all day and the wind was not as strong as last night but made our plans to travel were cancelled. During the late afternoon the rain stopped and we decided to go to the yacht club and have a pizza delivered to the club. We meet a couple of guys and they gave us a menu of the local pizza place. Then they offered to take us to the local restaurant and then pick us up. It was half a mile away but straight uphill. We took them up on their generous offer. It felt good to be off the boat and not cooped up. After dinner we walked down the hill, the street had no streetlights and we could hear an owl near us. When we arrive back at the yacht club, we were greeted by 4 or 5 couples. The people at Marlboro Yacht Club were warm and welcoming. We had beer and great conversation. It was a perfect way to spend a Friday night.
October 2, 2010
Up at 6 AM and on the water before sunup. One plan was to head to NY City and down the Atlantic Coast on Sunday. The weather window we thought was there disappeared so we changed our plans to anchor in Haverstraw, NY. The place we wanted to go was too shallow. Our friends from Ohio were on the other side of the river and we were headed toward them. Along the way, Francie was bargaining with one of the marinas. She managed to get a price that was acceptable so we arranged to dock for two nights while we wait for a weather window to head down the Coast.
We met our neighbors on the dock, went shopping in town and had a pleasant evening.
October 3, 2010
Up early and off to the exercise room. That is correct, they have an exercise room. It is all part of our interval training. We worked ourselves into lather, sat in the sauna and took a bike ride for an hour. Now we don’t have to exercise again for several weeks.
We are planning our trip to NY City. It looks like we may sail to Cape May on Tuesday overnight to Wednesday. We are keeping our fingers crossed about the forecast.