Day 16, 6.11.18, To Hyde Park Landing

Monday starts with a rosy sunrise, which we're up to watch. Gotta be to catch the north-flowing tide. Soon the wind picks up, pushing us south. So we tack into the wind all day until the wind dies mid afternoon as a front moves through. 

Schoner McClure at Poughkeepsie

In Poughkeepsie we try to find a secure landing in town, and wind up on the end of a float where the Lois McClure is tied! And just downstream is the Glass Barge. But we're not really welcome here, and are told we can only stay 15 minutes. Not very friendly. Across the river is a brand new park, and except for parking signs, there are no rules posted yet. We tie up at the float and make a picnic on the grass. But then the landscaping crew arrives and the noise drives us back out onto the peaceful river.

Picking lambs quarters at lunch break.

The wind has died and the current against us, so we motor to Hyde Park landing, home of the Vanderbilt mansion and FDR's home. We take a mooring ball for $35, row to shore, and walk to the mansion, now owned by the National Park Service. The tour is very informative, and the house is fully furnished just as when the Vanderbilts lived here.

Vanderbilt

The mighty Hudson from near the Vanderbilt mansion.

Formal dining room

The ladies parlor

We spend the night on the mooring ball out in the river, but it's less than ideal. Sure, it's secure and we won't drift, but we're totally exposed to the wakes of any passing boats. Carrot cake for our evening repast.

Southern trees grow here. Big leaf magnolia.

Day 15, 6.10.18, Haverstraw to Cold Spring

Sunday and there's no wind. We motor all day against the current to just past West Point, and the little town of Cold Spring. Here we go ashore for ice cream, and find the Clearwater docked at the riverside park. Clearwater is a 109 foot gaff-rigged sloop, which has been used as a floating classroom and advocate for the Hudson River. Pete Seeger was very much involved, and she is credited with bringing much awareness about pollution in the river, especially mercury, sewage and PCBs. We spoke with some of the crew, and it seems that two other important vessels will be right behind us as we proceed up the Erie. The 'Glass Barge' from Corning Glass Works, and the 'Lois McClure' sailing canal barge. 

We are both very impressed with the scenery and history here along the river. We see huge mansions on the hillsides, historic and not so historic boats, and the vistas along this majestic fjord.

WWII Landing Ship

Riverboat on the shore of the Hudson

Bear Mountain Bridge

Bear Mountain fading away to the south.  Partial Eclipse in view.

West Point

Pirates go ashore to get ice cream - Eclipse lays at anchor in the bay.

All ashore for Moo Moos Ice Cream

The dock at Cold Spring, NY

Foundry Dock in Coldspring hosting the Clearwater

Foundry Dock Park in Cold Spring

Mushroom Egg Omelette with bacon and a side of asparagus cooled onboard this morning

Day 14: 6.9.18 - A Day in Haverstraw, NY

Morning dawned clear with blue skies and light northerly winds. A cold front had blown through in the night, replacing the humidity of the day with clear Canadian air. Gary had draped the mosquito netting over the pop-top which lended the feeling of sleeping out of doors. Awakening to the sounds of birds chirping and to fresh breezes invigorated us to start the day.

We only had a mile or so to directly travel between our haven for the night in the lagoon and the Marina but we decided, after a breakfast of Grits with cheese, to undertake our trek to the marina by sail. With the wind out of the north and our intended direction being the same, this meant zigging across the Hudson, here three miles wide, to the other side and then zagging back. It was a wonderful hour wasted in the fresh, crisp air. The Hudson river, with wavelets flopping against the hull as Eclipse heeled over was just enough to let her passengers know she was moving with determination, 

HUGE Marina at Haverstraw

Eclipse in her slip at Haverstraw

We arrived at Haverstraw Marina and stopped at the gas dock where we were assigned a slip. We motored our way through a maze of boats to our designated spot where deckhands were waiting to help ease us into our slip. After tieing up and visiting the office, we headed off to walk into town about a mile away to procure some provisions at the grocery store. Returning back to the marina, Gary rowed Partial Eclipse over to the tree-lined shoreline park to install a new zipper that would ease the ability to cover and uncover her. I stayed back to handle the task of laundry and to install a new towel hook made from a drawer pull purchased at the local hardware store in town.

Gary works to add a zipper to make covering and uncovering Partial Eclipse a simpler affair

Around five-o-clock, we headed out once again to walk into town and then to the trailhead at the far end of town to hike to the summit of “High Tor”, an 850 foot high rocky promontory that was reputed to offer excellent views up and down the Hudson River. Entering the trail from behind a housing development on the lower slopes of the mountain, we quickly ascended up through dense deciduous woods to arrive at a rocky cliff overlooking the town and the Hudson River to our east and north. Moving around and upward to the actual summit brought us a view of the glimmering skyscrapers of Manhattan and New Jersey in the distance to the south. Spectacular!

With daylight waning, we ambled on back down the trail and through the town to our Marina for the night where we dined on Tilapia, pan fried, with a side dish of tabbouleh. A shower was appreciated by both of us and although marina life is not for either us long term, having the conveniences afforded was welcome after being on the boat for over a week. Tomorrow we consider our options to stay or set forth on our journey north towards Albany and the Erie Canal.

Haverstraw Marina where our boat is docked, as seen from the summit of High Tor

Telephoto from the summit of High Tor south to New York City

Day 13 - 6.8.18 - Piermont to Haverstraw

Friday gives us almost no wind all day. This type of sailing is called ghosting. But sometimes we burn gasoline to make the miles go by. Just past the Tappan Zee bridge, which is undergoing demolition, as the new Mario Cuomo bridge has opened, we espy a NYC Fireboat tied up at Tarrytown. Google tells us it's supposed to be a museum, so we motor over to check it out. No place to tie up (no surprise) so we anchor in a little bay right beside the fireboat and row ashore. There's no museum either, so we walk up the hill to check out the town. This area was the inspiration for some of Washington Irving's stories, and they have adopted the name Sleepy Hollow.' 

Old Bridge, New Bridge. Tappan Zee being disassembled while traffic flows on the new one.

Riding the Magic Sturgeon in Tarrytown

We return to Eclipse and the river current is just about to reverse to our favor. But still no wind. Finally, after motoring to within two miles of our destination we get barely enough wind to sail slowly.

Stuffed Grape Leaves!

 Kristen pulls together a lunch of stuffed grape leaves....grape leaves found along the road on our walk back to Eclipse from Tarrytown










We've had some things shipped General Delivery to the post office in Haverstraw, NY. We picked here as it is very close to a nice protected bay, plus a town, groceries, etc. We drop anchor half hour before they close, and we're nearly Ilene and Alison's last customer of the day. Kristen had called, so they were expecting us “Oh, you're the sailers!” they exclaim. They bubble over about meeting out-of-towners on a voyage. Afterward we motor past and they wave. But just then we run out of gas, so instead of waving back we are busy switching tanks.

Eileen and Allison at the Haverstraw Post Office!  It was awesome meeting you both!

This was once a major brickmaking town, and the harbor is deep but curiously not utilized by the town. There is a park along one side, and we anchor there. After Kristen makes a dinner of pasta and homemade sauce, we row ashore and find a very nicely manicured and equipped park with children's wading pool and waterslide (not open yet), playgrounds, a gazebo, benches and all. Plus way too many signs saying 'don't do this' and 'don't do that.'

Kristen flies her drone for some photography of the boat and the big river (there are no signs prohibiting drones) and we watch a parasail buzz by.

Eclipse as seen from my Drone

Haverstraw as seen from my drone

Back on board, Kristen replaces the old defective peltier device with a new one that came to the post office today. We have cold! This is a solid state device that passes electricity through a special plate, and one side gets cold while the other hot. The guts to our refrigerator.

Peltier, heat sink and fan. Making cold!

Day 12 - 6/7/18 - Entering the Hudson River!Bayonne, NJ to Piermont, NY

Gray skies and a gentle breeze from the south funnels up from the straits of the Verrazano Bridge as we poke our heads out of Eclipse this morning. Liberty Park in New Jersey was our home for the night and with a strong breeze and deep waters, we grabbed a mooring ball in the park and had tied up to it rather than to risk an anchor line. Gary pulled together a breakfast using the remaining Wild Boar Bacon and some toasted homemade bread and then afterward, we dropped the mooring and motored out into New York Harbor.

Lady Liberty greeted us once again as we passed behind the statue and continued on past Ellis Island. Ellis holds a special place for me since my great grandfather emigrated to this country from Armenia during the genocide in the early 1900's. I happen to have his certificate that was signed and given to him on Ellis Island and so it was meaningful to be passing right by the very building where my great grandfather once stood on the verge of starting a new life all over in this country! How cool!

Ellis Island

It was still early as we proceeded out into upper New York Harbor and then into the Hudson River. The afternoon rush hour traffic we had encountered yesterday had been replaced by a much less frenzied morning and with less turbulent waters to navigate. Still, rush hour was beginning to ramp us and ferries of all sorts awoke from their night's slumber and began to appear from unseen slips behind office complexes and wharves. Each one added to the waves in the harbor and within a half hour, by 8:00am, the city harbor was in full swing and the seas were back to their choppy rhythm.

Entering the Mighty Hudson River near Battery Park.

The old Lackawanna Ferry Terminal

With the tide going out and the winds blowing up from the opposite direction from the south, it was possible to raise the sails and sail the Hudson, sailing forward at about three knots and being pushed back down the river at two knot. As such, people on the shore were walking faster past us than we were sailing.

At the 79^th street boathouse, we decided that enough was enough and that we would wait for the tides to reverse the current. We grabbed a mooring ball and retired to catch up on blogging and other daily minutiae until we could once again begin traveling with some level of rapidity higher than that of a Devonian Sloth.

Gary watches as we approach the George Washington Bridge

The tide turned for us about 11:30 which was about two hours after low tide. We bid our mooring buoy adieu and raised sails. Sailing up the Hudson, how cool!!! We made excellent time at an average of 5 knots upstream and soon were wending our way under the George Washington Bridge and the little red lighthouse beneath. Off our port side, basalt cliffs lined the western shore of the New Jersey side.

Another hour of easy downwind sailing up the river brought us to Yonkers where we passed a replica of an old whaling ship on display in the port. From high above us, a construction worker on a high scaffold called out to us, “Like your Dinghy!”. That dinghy seems to get a lot of attention, there is no doubt of that! We sailed past waterfront parks where citizens strolling or sitting would wave to us as we passed.

The Tappan Zee Bridge loomed ahead now, 24 miles from where we started this morning at the Statue of Liberty. Here, the Hudson widens to nearly three miles wide in a broad expanse that is more reminiscent of a lake than a river. We cross to the west shore in the town of Piermont where we set anchor for the night. The Hudson is still tidal here, all the way to Albany in fact, and we are warned by a paddling team that our current anchorage is not in deep enough water to allow us to remain afloat at low tide. After a dinner of stuffed cabbage with sausage, rice, onion and pepper, we pick up anchor and motor out to deeper waters for the night. We watch as the sun sets behind the steep hills that line this beautiful gem of a waterway and bid another fine day goodnight.

Partial Eclipse, Also known as: 'P.E.' or 'The Toothpick Boat'

After swimming to shore on last summer's sail to Boston and back, having a dinghy became a priority. We looked at what's commercially available and saw nothing we liked. There are fiberglass or plastic tenders which are heavy and rather expensive for what they are; and there are inflatables, which are not only expensive but ugly too. So building one became a winter project. We bought plans for an eight foot skin-on-frame tender from gaboats.com, and started cutting wood. 

Stringers and ribs

The total number of pieces to cut and fit is very high, and each one gets glued in. Once we used up all the c-clamps available, we'd let the glue set before starting the next section. Stringers, keelson and gunnel are straight pine, 3/8”, ribs are oak – steamed and bent. Trim is mahogany, and seats are octagon cane mesh. Skin is dacron fabric with diagonal kevlar roving, polyurethane on the inside and white latex paint outside. Oarlocks are nylon, and we carved oars from a straight and clear 2x10 plank.

Applying polyurethane inside and out. 

With the mother ship named 'Eclipse' (by the previous owner, but we like it) her dinghy is christened 'Partial Eclipse.' She weighs about 30lbs, so we can lift her up on deck (when transiting a lock one is not allowed to tow anything) and at eight feet she fits between the bow stanchions and the mast. Not only that, but she's often the prettiest boat in the harbor, and rows beautifully. 

Maiden voyage

Prettiest boat in the harbor

Day 11 - 6.6.18 - New Rochelle, NY to Bayonne, NJ

Wednesday has us motoring out of our very quiet cove, and raising sails. Tailwinds again, which later shift to north. Other days the winds have been very steady, but they're fickle today. Our challenge is to get through Hell's Gate. This involves reading the tide tables for three different locations, and trying to ascertain the speed and direction of the current. Easier said than done, and we fail. We wind up wasting about four hours ghosting in and out of the entrance of Flushing Bay. The tide carries us one way, the very gentle wind another, and when a barge comes by we fire up the motor to get out of his way. 

Eventually the tides turn, and away we go into the East River and Manhattan. Lots of barges with tugs, way too many police boats going way too fast, and a few private motorboats and sailboats. Motoring through downtown, we have the river mostly to ourselves, while looking out at congested traffic and pedestrians, bicycles and joggers.

Toward lower Manhattan we encounter ferry boats either crossing the river or carrying people up or down river. Some throw a big wake, and we are challenged to maneuver in, around, and between them all the way to Staten Island. There are more barges here, and the straight concrete walls of the river reflect the waves back, making for a confused jumble of waves going every which way. The current is stronger at this end of the river and that adds to the energy.

Finally, East River delivers us to the mighty Hudson River, adding its currents and traffic and waves to the mix. At times waves splash over our bow. We round Staten Island for a close view of Lady Liberty between tour boats and a security zodiac boat. On the far side is a NJ state park with boat launch and anchorage in quiet waters. Phew!

We tie up at the float for the port-a-potty, and notice a diner nearby. Dinner solved! We buy reubens with french fries and a pickle. 

Gateway to New York City:  Throgs Neck Bridge and the East River begins beyond...

Throgs Neck Seagull!

Escape From New York:  Giant Jenga Block Barge?  No!  It's a floating prison!

The East River forks left and right at Roosevelt Island in Manhattan.  We bear right!

The United Nations building and the Empire State building come into view.

The oddest building I have seen yet.... framing the Empire State Building no less.

The Brooklyn Bridge.  Would you like to buy it?  I'll cut you a good deal.

World Trade Center - Tower One

Lady Liberty as seen from Eclipse

The New York City skyline as seen from near our anchorage for the night in Bayone, New Jersey