Wednesday, August 31, 2011
August 31
Old Rosie weathered the storm well and we are now moored in Great Kills Harbour on Staten Island, heading back to NYC tomorrow via MTA :)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Rollin’ On the River…. August 19 - ?
It's August 28th, and our story of going down the Hudson River isn't over yet....
Hurricane Irene has slowed us down, but we are safe in a motel in Newburgh. Fifty miles to our southeast, Old Rosie is riding out the storm at a dock in the Tarrytown Marina. New York City is another twenty-six miles further down.
The last couple of days were busy with preparations to secure Old Rosie ...
A few years ago our Wiarton friends, Dave and Al, gave us some heavy spring lines that they no longer needed and felt we might use some day... well, we used every one and tied to all the docks and the pilings in numerous directions... Old Rosie looked like she was caught in a spider web.
So... while we wait out the storm, I might as well take you back ten days to our first days on the Hudson.
Castleton-on-Hudson is a yacht club where you can pay to use their electric hoist to lift the masts.
It's always good to have a little help from our friends on Dilly Dally and Thomas Leigh.
Ben, Marcel and Dale are a hard-working team...no funny business here!
Finally Jane got to control the remote...
After all that hard work, we motored across to anchor on the other side of the river. It was fun to get together for a singsong on Old Rosie. After a floating party, you have to row home!
The Hudson River has some interesting lighthouses,
and bridges,
The Hudson River is all about transportation... boats in all shapes and sizes...
The Clearwater is a 106' sloop which serves thousands of students a year as a venue for science-based environmental education. Pete Seeger (of Peter, Paul and Mary) became involved and co-founded the environmental organization Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in 1966. The organization has worked since then to highlight and clean up pollution in the Hudson River.
freighters...
PT boats,
...and even a motorized dock.
What's under the plastic sheet? People coming back from a lighthouse fundraiser during a downpour.
My favourite section of the river is the Hudson Highlands where amazing buildings are tucked up along the bluffs.
including West Point,
bluffs and mountains...
We loved the castle on Pollepel Island. According to Wikipedia:
"Bannerman's Castle is an abandoned military surplus warehouse.[2] It was built in the style of a castle by gilded age businessman Francis Bannerman VI (1851–1918).[3] Pollepel Island is sometimes referred to as Bannerman's Island.[5] One side of the castle carries the words "Bannerman's Island Arsenal".[2][3] The island has an interesting history, being strategically important during the American War of Independence and purchased by Francis Bannerman VI. However, after his death in 1918, the island experienced a series of disasters. Lightning was known to strike the flagpoles. Then, two hundred pounds of powder and shells exploded, destroying half the building. Later, a massive storm on the Hudson caused a freighter and passenger barge, the Pollepel, to explode and crash into the island (hence the name Pollepel Island). The name is from the Dutch word pollepel, meaning "ladle". According to Native American lore the island was inhabited by unfriendly spirits."
Here are some pictures of the castle:
At the anchorages on the Hudson, you can see that the train tracks are never far away. One conductor took great pleasure in blowing the horn for a loooooong time before, during and after he passed us.
When we were kayaking I found this water chestnut floating near the shore...they are also known as dinghy poppers!
Sunday afternoon update-
The rain and wind have subsided here in Newburgh. We've been able to go out to eat and even did some shopping at Walmart! But there has been some flooding and road closures, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that tomorrow we will be able to head back to Tarrytown Marina.
Old Rosie, hang in there for one more night!
Hurricane Irene has slowed us down, but we are safe in a motel in Newburgh. Fifty miles to our southeast, Old Rosie is riding out the storm at a dock in the Tarrytown Marina. New York City is another twenty-six miles further down.
The last couple of days were busy with preparations to secure Old Rosie ...
A few years ago our Wiarton friends, Dave and Al, gave us some heavy spring lines that they no longer needed and felt we might use some day... well, we used every one and tied to all the docks and the pilings in numerous directions... Old Rosie looked like she was caught in a spider web.
So... while we wait out the storm, I might as well take you back ten days to our first days on the Hudson.
Castleton-on-Hudson is a yacht club where you can pay to use their electric hoist to lift the masts.
It's always good to have a little help from our friends on Dilly Dally and Thomas Leigh.
Ben, Marcel and Dale are a hard-working team...no funny business here!
Finally Jane got to control the remote...
After all that hard work, we motored across to anchor on the other side of the river. It was fun to get together for a singsong on Old Rosie. After a floating party, you have to row home!
The Hudson River has some interesting lighthouses,
and bridges,
The Hudson River is all about transportation... boats in all shapes and sizes...
The Clearwater is a 106' sloop which serves thousands of students a year as a venue for science-based environmental education. Pete Seeger (of Peter, Paul and Mary) became involved and co-founded the environmental organization Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in 1966. The organization has worked since then to highlight and clean up pollution in the Hudson River.
freighters...
PT boats,
...and even a motorized dock.
My favourite section of the river is the Hudson Highlands where amazing buildings are tucked up along the bluffs.
including West Point,
bluffs and mountains...
We loved the castle on Pollepel Island. According to Wikipedia:
"Bannerman's Castle is an abandoned military surplus warehouse.[2] It was built in the style of a castle by gilded age businessman Francis Bannerman VI (1851–1918).[3] Pollepel Island is sometimes referred to as Bannerman's Island.[5] One side of the castle carries the words "Bannerman's Island Arsenal".[2][3] The island has an interesting history, being strategically important during the American War of Independence and purchased by Francis Bannerman VI. However, after his death in 1918, the island experienced a series of disasters. Lightning was known to strike the flagpoles. Then, two hundred pounds of powder and shells exploded, destroying half the building. Later, a massive storm on the Hudson caused a freighter and passenger barge, the Pollepel, to explode and crash into the island (hence the name Pollepel Island). The name is from the Dutch word pollepel, meaning "ladle". According to Native American lore the island was inhabited by unfriendly spirits."
Here are some pictures of the castle:
At the anchorages on the Hudson, you can see that the train tracks are never far away. One conductor took great pleasure in blowing the horn for a loooooong time before, during and after he passed us.
When we were kayaking I found this water chestnut floating near the shore...they are also known as dinghy poppers!
Sunday afternoon update-
The rain and wind have subsided here in Newburgh. We've been able to go out to eat and even did some shopping at Walmart! But there has been some flooding and road closures, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that tomorrow we will be able to head back to Tarrytown Marina.
Old Rosie, hang in there for one more night!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Oswego and Erie Canals - August 6 - 17
Sitting at the dock at the Waterford Welcome Centre, we are about two minutes away from the Hudson River. It is exciting to consider that we'll actually be travelling southward, but it feels a bit like we are leaving the schoolyard and going out into the real world. It's pretty comfortable travelling the canal from lock to lock. So, here are a few of our memorable moments.
On the other side of the Lake we hoped to meet up with my aunt and uncle who were travelling home along
I- 90 after a wedding and visits "up north". We had arranged to call them when we were at a dock, but were amazed to see them pulling up in the parking lot just as we arrived at Sylvan Lake....talk about luck!
We passed this little dog and his three buddies who were kayaking from Syracuse to Albany, and later shared a lock with them.
Rome is an interesting stop. We were docked beside a park near a dam and an elaborate canoe/kayak launch.
Best of all, this is where we met a family from Edmonton who are taking their sailboat south.
Later we toured Fort Stanwix where our paths crossed again, and of course, it was a photo op with our new friends.
Locking through with our friends on the Thomas Leigh.
Most of the time we motored right into the next lock, but sometimes we had to wait...
Little Falls has to be our favourite- great dock,
comfortable lounge with free WiFi,
biking and hiking trails,
there's more than one way to cross over a lock!
and amazing rocks...
Canajoharie is a town with an interesting intersection.
...Old Rosie rafted together with Thomas Leigh...
As a result of the spring flooding, there was lots of debris piled by the locks.
Nice misty view of the Mohawk River which was 'canal-ized' to become part of the Erie system.
We've learned that the railway line parallels the Erie Canal, so we are quite used to the rumble ...can sleep right through the night now.
Schenectady Yacht Club is actually in Rexford. There was a washer and dryer in the shower building beside the pool...I've never enjoyed doing the laundry more!
We were docked near the cut stone bases of the old aquifers.
The last locks were a series of five flight locks, very close to one another. First we motored through two Guard Gates.
Last stop on the canal is Waterford at the Welcome Centre dock.
The Hudson River is just around the corner...
Then, one last Federal Lock at Troy, and I will be able to throw the red gloves away!
They have come in handy when handling the slimy lock ropes.
'Bye for now...
The lighthouse mural at the start of the Oswego Canal.
Many little villages and towns along the canal have built free docks where crusisers can tie up overnight. This is River View Park in Minetto.
Phoenix is a great stop, free power and WiFi. In the morning, a group of young people called the Bridge House Brats would bring free coffee, take your order, run to the restaurant and bring back your breakfast.
We celebrated our 30th Anniversary here; a dock supervisor even sang "Happy Anniversary to You..."
On August 9th we entered the Erie Canal....the sign says Albany 170 miles...and we met our first barge, pushed by the tug.
Crossing Lake Oneida, we met one other boat and a kayaker. This Lake is about 22 miles long and you stay inside the channel markers all the way.
On the other side of the Lake we hoped to meet up with my aunt and uncle who were travelling home along
I- 90 after a wedding and visits "up north". We had arranged to call them when we were at a dock, but were amazed to see them pulling up in the parking lot just as we arrived at Sylvan Lake....talk about luck!
We passed this little dog and his three buddies who were kayaking from Syracuse to Albany, and later shared a lock with them.
Rome is an interesting stop. We were docked beside a park near a dam and an elaborate canoe/kayak launch.
Best of all, this is where we met a family from Edmonton who are taking their sailboat south.
Later we toured Fort Stanwix where our paths crossed again, and of course, it was a photo op with our new friends.
Locking through with our friends on the Thomas Leigh.
Most of the time we motored right into the next lock, but sometimes we had to wait...
Little Falls has to be our favourite- great dock,
comfortable lounge with free WiFi,
biking and hiking trails,
there's more than one way to cross over a lock!
and amazing rocks...
Canajoharie is a town with an interesting intersection.
...Old Rosie rafted together with Thomas Leigh...
As a result of the spring flooding, there was lots of debris piled by the locks.
Nice misty view of the Mohawk River which was 'canal-ized' to become part of the Erie system.
We've learned that the railway line parallels the Erie Canal, so we are quite used to the rumble ...can sleep right through the night now.
We had one day of nonstop heavy rain. The river level rose, some sections of the dams were opened. Branches, logs, and debris went floating down the river, thus requiring a sharp eye and quick reflexes on the wheel. (I've been wanting to use the word 'thus' :)
Schenectady Yacht Club is actually in Rexford. There was a washer and dryer in the shower building beside the pool...I've never enjoyed doing the laundry more!
We were docked near the cut stone bases of the old aquifers.
The last locks were a series of five flight locks, very close to one another. First we motored through two Guard Gates.
Last stop on the canal is Waterford at the Welcome Centre dock.
The Hudson River is just around the corner...
Then, one last Federal Lock at Troy, and I will be able to throw the red gloves away!
They have come in handy when handling the slimy lock ropes.
'Bye for now...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)