Haverstraw to Port Washington, NY

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A set of bridges on the Harlem River

Looking down the Harlem River

Going Through the Spuyten Duyvil RR Bridge Harlem River



The George Washington Bridge looking south



Cormorants on a buoy



The Palasades of New Jersey

We left Haverstraw Marina at 0700, headed south on the Hudson and waited for the Spuytil Dyvel RailRoad Bridge to open on the Harlem River. It's much easier to take the Harlem than going around the Battery of NYC since it's only a 50 minute ride, less miles and no water taxis to deal with. The water at Hell Gate was calm and we caught the tide pushing us for a while. The only bad part was after the Whitestone Bridge we got waked from other boats more than we ever had on any of our travels. Parades of boats passing on the left, coming on the right, 4 boats following each other with no place for us to turn into the 3-4 foot wakes made for an awful ride. Things began to fly open and fling around. Boaters are responsible for their wake, but most don't get it. They need to turn around and look what they have done.

We settled in, Jim and Lily took naps. and I put away all the stuff that flew around from the wakes!
We'll be heading home tomorrow.

Kingston to Haverstraw, NY



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Kingston Maritime Museum



Mathilda the Tug



The Kingston waterfront

Here's the only little white duck!



I guess this is why the dock was filled with duck poop! There were way over 50 ducks being fed by people who miss the water and throw bread on the dock. There was 1 lone white duck that joined the flock of mallards. It must have been someone's pet at one time.



Jim wanted to time going with the tide as much as possible, so we departed Kingston City Dock at 0930  and turned up Rondout Creek to the marina to top off our tank. It's the first time we stopped for fuel since we left home. We traveled over 500 miles and still had at least 1/2 a tank, but that's because we travel between 7 and 9 knots unless we get a push from the current. It gives us a chance to see the scenery and relax on the water.

As soon as we entered the Hudson River, we knew being a Saturday we would enter "moronsville" as Jim calls it - boaters that don't respect passing without giving a 4 foot wake and boats cutting in and out. We did meet a few, but it could have been worse. We passed Westpoint and under the Bear Mountain Bridge. We arrived at Haverstraw at 1600 and much to our surprise there were not very many boaters in the bay, so not the kind of wakes we had on our way north. We are at the same dock but 1 slip over and in calm water. I guess on Sunday afternoons boaters are all coming in after being away form the weekend and more activity on a Sunday. We will be leaving here before 0700 tomorrow to set up for slack tide at Hell Gate in NYC.

Albany to Kingston, NY

 

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View of the waterfront at Kingstron

 

 

Kingston Lighthouse at the opening of the channel into Kingston.

 

 

Replica of Henry Hudson's Halfmoon.

I can't imagine crossing the Atlantic Ocean on this vessel!

 

Hudson/Athens Lighthouse with Catskill Mountains in the background.

We woke up just before the alarm went off - 0500 to get underway by 0600 which we did. We have it all timed to get things done in 1 hour. We had the current with use for a few hours and were hitting almost 10 knots until the tide turned. Then, at the same RMPs, we were only moving a little over 7 knots. But it's a beautiful part of the Hudson River with tress and homes high on the hills and the Catskill Mountains in the background.
We pulled into Rondout Creek just after passing the lighthouse and went up about .7 mile to Kingston City Marina. We are docked right in the town. I had forgotten that last year when we came here, I named this the "duck poop" dock! People feed about 100 ducks from the wall and instead of throwing the bread into the water, they throw it on the dock. First off I hosed down what was near our swim deck for boarding. It's not too bad in front of us since we are at the end of the dock, but behind us is a mess and I feel sorry for another boat that has to dock there! We will be here tomorrow and leave Saturday for Haverstraw.

Mechanicville to Albany Yacht Club

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Albany coming from the north.

Waterford - First lock on the Erie Canal

Sign for Erie and Champlain Canals

Passing Waterford

Leaving Mechanicville town wall

We poked our way this morning, leaving about 0900 and traveling about 7-8 knots. We arrived at the Albany Yacht Club across from the city alittle after noon. We are docked at the same place as we were when we stopped heading north. We need to put up our mast so our radar will work until we reach Haverstraw when we will drop it again to get under the bridges of the Harlem River.

Schuylerville to Mechanicville, NY

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Looking south down the canal, our route tomorrow.

Looking north with Lock 3 in the background.

The famous very low Mechaniville RR Bridge

They "dropped the pond" to give us 17 ft. clearance. We are 16 ft. high

Docked alongside the wall

Welcome to Mechanicville

After saying good bye to Phil and Judy and our new RVer friend, Bob, from CT who we met at Gulf View RV in Punta Gorda last winter, we sailed through the 2 white buoy markers and into the canal for a short, 16 mile, 1 1/2 hour ride to Mechanicville. Storms were forecasted for later in the afternoon, so we wanted to get to the free town wall by noon.

First thing I saw after only 5 minutes underway was a 38 foot express cruiser heading our way putting out a huge wake. He kept coming and when close enough behind us, he swerved to our port, and just 20 feet from our side, kept going. I motioned with my arms to SLOW DOWN, but he didn't get it. When traveling on the canal, it's not necessary to stow everything as you normally would when in open waterm and we were lucky nothing flew around. His wake was at least 3 feet and with a lot of force, rolling us to no end! Jim got on the radio and yelled at him, and his reponse at first was, "The speed limit is 45 MPH.!" In that section it is, however, if he had taken the time to read the rest of the speed limit signs posted all over the locks, you are supposed to slow down for locks, docks, and passing boats. He finally got the idea after Jim yelling again, and apologized. Wonder if he learned anything?

We arrived at the wall, free electric and water, at Mechanicville. The wall was the perfect height to walk right off our pilot house. We had a nasty T storm as predicted, but after, the sun came out and temps dropped significantly. We were able to finally open all the windows and get in some fresh air.

Fort Edward, NY to Schuylerville, NY

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Phil's Recycling Center!

Schuyler Yacht Basin office and deck

This gate is used to control the water along the canal.

                                          The channel to Ft. Edward is to the left ofthe lock

We got an early start right after the folks aboard "Touche", American Tug, and MTOA members stopped by and brought us 2 homemade muffins. I gave her some sprigs of my basil. After the Kadey Krogan left, both tugs left the dock wall and headed down the narrow channel and under 2 bridges. The American Tug headed north through lock 7, and we headed through the dredging activity again going south. We were behind a large pushed by a small working tug and had to keep communication going with the dredges.
Lock 5 had 2 boats in it, and we rushed to get there. I had to quickly move the 2 orange fenders bow and stern since we had to move to the right side of the wall. I always keep 3 black fenders ready on each side. The one fast cruiser who pulled up to the left lock wall was at the back end and we could not fit between him and then pass the Krogan to get in front of him. He would not move which is not really good lock etiquette. The lock master said to come up, yet suddenly he closed the lock doors just about in our face. We were 2 minutes from the lock! So we had to doodle for 20 minutes while he locked them through and then filled the lock up again. We believe the cruiser guy was in a hurry because when we reached lock 5, the Krogan was doodling to get in since the lock master there passed the cruiser through since it travled faster and did say he "was in a hurry".

We arrived at Schuyler Yacht Basin just before the heavy down pour hit. Jim walked up to the grocery store, and I did a small load of laundry. The sky is still gray, but the air is cooler. Thunderstorms are in the forecast for the next few days.

Whitehall, NY to Fort Edward, NY

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Looking north on the Hudson at Fort Edward. This is as far as boats can go on the Hudson River. To continue north, you have to continue on the canal through lock 7 and into the dugout portion of the Champlain Canal.

Looking south on the Hudson and the bridge we came under to Fort Edward

The gazebo on the green along the town dock.

Golden Lily docked at Fort Edward

Covered bridge

Old boat house

Pigs along the canal

Working turn on the cleat, line around the pole

Jim guiding the line up the pole

Entering the lock

                                                              Approaching Lock 12

                                                           Leaving Lock 12 Marina

We awoke at 0530 to get ready to start our locking at 0700 when the locks open. We called Lock 12 for a 7:00 opening. We had 5 locks to do today, 2 up and 3 down. It's a little tricky going down because we usually use a line to wrap around the pole on the lock wall and do a working turn on the center cleat. Jim uses the boat hook to help the line move along and I hold the line. We come into the lock high up and it's hard to reach the pole. So I take the line attached to the mid cleat and walk back to the cockpit where it's lower and easier to get the line around. Jim then backs the boat up so we are at the center of the boat. I use leather sailing gloves for protection, and we both use rubber gloves when there no pole and we have to grab one of the slimy lines hanging on the lock wall. We arrived at Fort Edward at 1130.

The wall here at Fort Edward is the free town dock and is very high. Most boaters have to climb down a ladder to get on and off the boat. We have a very high bow and pilot house entrances, but there was still a 2 1/2 foot step up and down, not easy for Lily. Lucikly we were able to tie up along some steps that reach our pilot house deck. We had to tie a few lines on a bollard and on the railing of the steps! But we have free electric and no charge for the visit, so we will be here 2 days, leaving July 25.

Westport, NY to Whitehall, NY

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Jim's brother, Bob, and Donna Benjamin and Jim's cousin Leslie and Kitty came to the marina in the evening, and we all went out to dinner at the new City Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Whitehall. We then took a ride up the hill to Skene Manor, built in 1875, with a great view of the town and canal. However, I forgot my camera and was so disappointed because it was an unbelievable view of the town, mountains, and canal. We are leaving tomorrow to head south on the Champlain Canal.

Skene Manor view from the canal.
The mansion is in a book about New York state mansions with ghosts!

Lock 12 Marina and Finch and Chubbs

There has always been a deadhead in Benson, VT for the past 10 years and someone finally put a plastic flamingo on top so it can be seen. It's right in the middle of the channel. You will have to enlarge the picture to see it better. 

Bob and Donna Benjamin's house on the lake just south of Ft. Ticonderoga. It's the tall green house in the middle with the peaked roof.

Mt. Defiance

Fort Ticonderoga

                                                      The Adirondack Mountains

                                                            Leaving Westport Marina

We left Westport Marina at 0800 to find a blue sky and a very calm lake for our 5 hour 1/2 hour ride to Whitehall at Lock 12 Marina. Lily will miss watching out the pilothouse door for the resident cat, Tiller, who she discovered sleeping in the ship's store. We have not seen many boats traveling this summer on the lake. Most of them are from Canada.