The Hudson, Kingston to Waterford

July 1, 2018:  Leaving Roundout in Kingston on a quiet Sunday morning.  One word for the weather, HOT, 80F at departure time 8:30 AM.  The National Weather Service official forecast is 99F and blazing sun.   We are traveling 65 miles to Waterford where both canals, Erie to the west and Champlain to the north begin.  The day takes us through heavily wooded shores and Catskill Mountains to the west, and beautiful estates on the east shore.  We pass under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  Does anyone remember reading Washington Irving’s story, published in 1819 about a Dutch-American villager who falls asleep in the Catskills and awakes 20 years later having missed the American Revolution?  Irving later admitted, “When I wrote the story, I had never been on the Catskills.”

USS Slater

In Albany, we passed the last floating WWII Destroyer, USS Slater, now a museum.  During WWII 563 Destroyer Escorts were deployed in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters to protect troop carriers and battleships.  Donna’s Dad served in combat on the destroyer USS Schroeder in the South Pacific as a sonar man.  Like most WWII Vets, he never talked about the combat part of his service but he left behind a diary (illegally kept) that catalogued the action.  Pretty sobering stuff!

July 2–3, 2018:  Traveling the Champlain Canal

After a peaceful evening in Waterford, we head to the Champlain Canal.  

Waterford, a [flooded] island near the park during our last visit in June 2017

July 1, 2018 ... what a difference a year makes!

Taking the road (canal) less travelled!

We are going to stop in Schuylerville after transiting just four locks.  Although only a 25-mile trip, the sun is blazing again today and another 99F forecast.  It is hot standing on the boat deck handling the lines through the locks.  All of the locks "lifted" us, the least was 10 feet, and the most was 25.5.  We were delayed at Lock #4 as a tug pushing a barge was locking through southbound.  Karl asked the lock tender if he was having a busy day, he answered affirmatively!  Funny, we were the only northbound boat, and the total southbound traffic consisted of a single sailboat and one tug pushing a barge ... hate to think what a slow day must be like for a lock tender.

Hmm ... what to do?  Take the the lock ... or jump the waterfall!

Overall, it was a quiet day reaching the end of the Hudson River’s navigable waters, the River narrows and the shores are lush with stands of deciduous trees, dotted with homes.   Just south of Schuylerville, the shores became more pastoral and hilly. It took us 4.25 hours to transit this 25 miles stretch.  

This is the Schuyler "Yacht" Basin

After another peaceful evening at Schuler Yacht Basin, a very small marina and campground, we head out to transit the rest of Champlain Canal.  At Lock #8 we have reached the summit of 139 feet and will descend Locks #9, #11 and #12 (Lock #10 was eliminated).  Along the way, we came face-to-face with a large tug pushing a gravel barge in a very narrow canal ... the crusty tug Captain called to us over VHF radio “boat in front of me, what are your intentions?”  Kapt Karl replied: “pull over and let you pass?”  Duhh!  Tug Captain: “not much room, come down my side and stay close to me.”  Strangely enough, as the tug passed us, we saw two smaller recreational Canadian vessels following behind the tug, apparently fearful of trying to pass.  So they decided to hailed the tug, and the tug Captain responded: “what'da ya want!”  Canadian vessel, “is this a good place to pass you?”  Tug: “do whatever you want ...  but if you don’t reach the next lock 20 minutes before me, they will make you wait for me to arrive before you can lock through.”  After we safely passed the tug port-to-port, we watched the two Canadian boats attempt to pass, then again tentatively hang back, then try again.  The third time was the charm for one of them and they were all out of sight before we could see if the second boat passed the tug and no idea if they were able to get to the lock 20+ minutes before the tug. The irony of all this is that the posted canal speed limit is 10 knots, meaning that the Canadian vessels needed to travel at 35+ knots in order to make it; or, end up waiting an hour for the tug to clear the lock first,  Commercial traffic has priority, and lock tenders will not permit commercial vessels and recreational vessel to "lock thru" together.

Looking back at boats attempting to pass the tug

We left the last lock in Whitehall and entered “The Narrows” of Lake Champlain, an area of marsh on either side that is a spawning area for many varieties of fish. 

Skene Manor 1874 looking over Whitehall

Lunch in Whitehall anyone?

The Narrows of Lake Champlain

The Lake began to widen and the Green Mountains of Vermont and Adirondacks of New York appeared on either side of us.  We ended our day at our planned anchorage in a basin below Fort Ticonderoga.  The Fort was originally built by the French as Fort Carillon and then held alternately by the British and the American Revolutionaries.  The hill across from the Fort, is Mount Independence named by Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys.  They were encamped there when they got the news in 1776 of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The late afternoon was breezy and the temperature comfortable, at last!

The eve of Fourth of July found us in the shadow of Fort Ticonderoga.

July 4–5, 2018:  Lake Champlain to the Chambly Canal

We headed up the Lake to the village of Essex and a chance to do our laundry and enjoy the most beautiful town on the Lake.  The entire village is on the National Historic Register and offers a summer playhouse, library and a number of small shops, an Inn and restaurants.  It is a treat to stroll past the lovely homes and their beautiful gardens.

Starting in 1790, the Essex Shipyard (next door to our marina) built a variety of ships, including three commissioned for the War of 1812 as well as cargo vessels and canal boats.  After the railroad became the primary mode of moving goods, the shipyard built sloops and steam ships.  We hope friends Joe and Terry will join us here again in August.

 

 

Not everyone arrives in Essex by boat, on water ...

Overview of Essex Marina

 

SANTORINI rested comfortably

We depart Essex at 6:45 AM in the rain in order to beat the predicted afternoon winds of 25-35 knots and 4-5' seas.  It was calm for the first hour and the clouds began to clear as we passed Burlington.  Then the waves began to build but we were lucky to be in the lea for some time and did not experience beam seas when we were on the open stretches.  We arrived at Gaines Marina at Rouses Point just as the big waves and strong wind gusts hit in earnest.  Rouse’s Point at the top of the Lake is a good spot to stage our entry into Canada and the Chambly Canal.  We are not sad to leave Champlain behind, as we will be revisiting the Lake for most of August upon our return from Canada.  

CLIO in her favorite place when cruising ... bird watching ... life is good!

Traveling the Hudson

June 22, 2018:  Leaving Jersey City mid-morning, the weather was subdued, mostly cloudy, calm winds and in the low 70’sF.  Until we motored under the George Washington Bridge and out of NY Harbor, ferries and water taxies criss-crossing between the Jersey and New York sides of the river really churned up the water.  After the bridge, all was smooth sailing. 

Upper West Side, Riverside Cathedral and to left, Grant's Tomb

Next we cruised under the Tappan Zee Bridge, which is the longest bridge to span the Hudson River.  Last year, we took pictures of the new spans nearing completion.  Now much of the old bridge spans have been dismantled.  We observed a tug and barge loaded with a section of the steel work from the old bridge northbound ahead of us and the tug captain announced on the marine radio that they were headed to Albany. 

Our destination for the day was an anchorage in Haverstraw Bay, a five-mile long shallow bay on the east shore of the Hudson.  Since the navigation channel hugs the western shore, we were away from any wave action from the passing of other vessels.  Native Americans harvested oysters here and now the bay is surrounded by State parkland with a swimming beach and forest to either side.  It was a very relaxing couple of days.  Only three other boats were anchored overnight the first night and we had the anchorage to ourselves the second night.

June 24, 2018  We began the days cruise with a little light fog and mist on the water, expecting a mix of sun and clouds later with a forecasted thunder storm in the late afternoon hours.  The fog disappeared quickly but it was still mostly cloudy when we entered the Hudson Highlands, a ten-mile stretch of River 40 miles north of NY Harbor.  This section of River includes Bear Mountain and West Point is often compared to Germany’s Rhineland.  The River narrows and makes sharp turns as it cuts through the Appalachian Mountains.  This beautiful area is inspiration for the Hudson River School of landscape painting in the 1800s. 
  

World's longest suspension bridge in 1924 at Bear Mt

 
Our destination for the day is Roundout Yacht Basin in Kingston, NY.  The Dutch settled Kingston in 1653 on land purchased from Native Americans.  A few years later, they built a fort or redoubt and that is thought to be the genesis of the name Roundout.  At the time of the Revolutionary War, Kingston was the Capital of New York and was burned to the ground in 1777 by British sailors arriving on 30 war ships.  The town was rebuilt and in 1828 the Delaware and Hudson Canal was completed from Roundout Creek to Honesdale, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains.  The canal was 108 miles long and was closed in 1904 when trains became the preferred mode of transportation for goods and people.  The entire length of the Hudson River you are never far from the sound of a train as they travel through communities on both shores of the River.  Surprisingly, we never learned about the Delaware and Hudson Canal during the twelve years we had a cottage in the Poconos, near Honesdale!

Roundout Lighthouse

The tranquil (not captioned) view is taken from
Santorini at the inside face dock at the marina.  We were provided with hours of entertainment by a doe and her fawn, turtles sunning on a log, a Giant Blue Heron coming in to fish and a variety of serenading small birds. 

Kingston is a favorite stop for us to resupply with fresh food from the farmer’s market, visit sites in this history rich area and to visit Donna’s family in northern New Jersey.  The friendly marina also has a lovely pool, laundry facility and a great dockside café open on the weekends.  We have planned a week here and the timing couldn’t be better.  While in Haverstraw Bay, Donna came down with a miserable head cold that kept her coughing and fatigued for three days and now Kapt Karl has succumbed just as Donna is feeling better.  It is good that we do not have to handle cruising the boat for a few days and have a rental car to go to the pharmacy. 

June 29, 2018:  Friday afternoon we drove to Wayne, NJ to visit Donna’s Mom Lorraine and have dinner together along with siblings Debra and Michael, Michael’s wife Colleen and Donna’s Aunt Louise, cousin Val and his wife Barbara.  We stayed at the restaurant until closing and had a wonderful time catching up and laughing at each other’s clever puns and turn of phrase. 

June 30, 2018:  Our last day at Roundout is filled with departure activity including an early morning trip to the farmer’s market, return of the rental car and other exciting stuff like vacuuming, changing out Clio’s litter box, laundry and topping off the fresh water tank.  Tomorrow we leave for a 65-mile cruise to Waterford and the start of the Champlain Canal.  We will leave salt water behind us for a time after transiting the Federal Lock at Troy. 

View looking up Roundout Creek to the rail road bridge

Catching our breath

Summer 2018 -- Reprise cruise to the North Country:

A shorter cruise planned this time, three months instead of five and a half months, cutting the Erie Canal leg and going straight up through Lake Champlain to Montreal.   New this year is a ten-day visit to Quebec City.  We will spend August on Lake Champlain going to new destinations and revisiting last year’s favorites.  We will be meeting Karl’s family again at Basin Harbor Club and hope to catch up with more friends and family along the way.

June 15: Off to a slow start!  We delayed our June 15 departure date choosing instead to share Docktails with good friends Harvey & Sara, and meeting Sara’s cousin Diane and her husband Duane.  Di and Duane are seasoned boat travelers, currently on Diva Di a PDQ 34 power catamaran with their cat, Bud.  Donna used Duane’s blog for planning our trip last year as more than other blogs, Duane provides excellent detail and insight.  He was also extremely helpful and gracious when contacting him via email with questions.  As expected, we really hit it off and had a delightful evening.   We were glad we had not left the dock that morning for another reason, as the Bay was quite rough that day. 

And, we did not depart on June 16th so we could meet another pair of great friends, Rick & Ellen who are leaving in two weeks to live in Paris for the next one, two, three years – or beyond!  Donna couldn’t let Ellen leave the country without autographing her copy of Ellen’s wonderful novel, The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno.  If you have a chance, check it out; Ellen’s last name is Bryson.

And, we did not depart on June 17th, deciding to spend the late afternoon at our Cambridge Yacht Club gazebo and bar that Karl and other member volunteers spent a weekend this spring prepping and getting it ready for the summer season ... and yet, we won't even be there to enjoy it. 

Are they celebrating our departure?

View of Cambridge Lighthouse as seen from the yacht club

June 18-21: Catching our breath!

Whew, this was a long first day for me!

We finally did leave the dock on Monday morning June 18.  The Chesapeake was pretty flat and we made it; 85 miles to the top of the Bay and into the Chesapeake Delaware Canal where we anchored for the night in the Chesapeake City basin along with a sailboat and a trawler.  A nice breeze mitigated the hot day; we showered in the cockpit and turned in early.

After coffee and one of Kapt Karl’s excellent oatmeal-raisin breakfast cookies, we departed with the outgoing tide and rode it down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, a 62 mile run.  After tidying up Santorini, Karl tackled a couple of minor boat issues, and Donna walked to the beach, admiring the architecture and gardens along the way.  The beach and wading in the ocean is always therapeutic.  It was overcast and really didn’t present any photo ops but beautiful none-the-less.

Leaving Cape May on June 20, at 6:30 AM, we made the 120 mile offshore run, an 8-hour cruise to Liberty Landing in Jersey City.  Last year we cruised up the Jersey coast and ran a course between 6-8 miles out.  This time, based on predicted winds, we travelled the Jersey coast only about a mile out; it was fun, close to land, and we enjoyed the view of the small beach towns that brought back a flood of childhood memories for each of us ... Karl and his dad fishing for flounder in the whirlpool at the Townsend Inlet Draw Bridge in a wooden rowboat with a small motor off the back; or fishing under the Avalon Route 601 Swing Bridge where they caught sea bass; or at the tender age of seven, Karl's mom and dad would send him to catch crab off a small bridge over a tidal creek, or to the beach to dig for clams.  He said it was quite the seafood feast, and back in the days when children could be out and about by themselves without fear or a cell phone.  Karl and his dad once rescued a group of Catholic nuns out on a cruise boat that ran aground near the Townsend Inlet bridge ... but that’s a story for another time.

For Donna it was Sea Side Heights, crabbing with her grandparents and being frightened when the bushel basket overturned on the sidewalk at the apartment as the crabs all rushed to one side.  They tried to scramble away to Donna’s shrieks as grandpa picked them up.  Donna didn’t have an issue with feasting on them later that evening.  Donna’s dad spent a fortune playing games of skill on the Boardwalk such as ring toss and knock the pins down so he could win three stuffed animals for Donna, her sister Debra and brother Michael. 

Wow, we actually were able to take advantage of three consecutive "perfect" cruising days to push through to the Hudson River and take a lay-day to rest. 

June 21 we walked into the historic district of Jersey City and had lunch at our favorite chinese restaurant Shanghai Best.  You know its authentic when the restaurant is filled with Asians and nary a word of English spoken.  Our waiter approved of our selection of one of their specialties, fresh chicken in a special sauce redolent with fresh ginger and garlic; not sure we want to know what part(s) of the chicken we ate but it was delicious.  After lunch we walked to a French bakery and bought pastry for tomorrow’s breakfast.  Just in one block we passed a Wurst House, Jamaican, Italian, and Vegan restaurants and a Jewish Deli ... diversity appropriate for a city that grew up in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!  Residential blocks are tree lined with old brownstone town houses reclaimed after years of neglect, complete with window boxes and tiny gardens exploding with a riot of flowers. 

2017/2018 Clipper Race

Leg 8 is the last leg of an around-the-world sail boat race; they are leaving Liberty Landing this weekend headed for Ireland.

Santorini basking in the shadow of Manhattan

Tomorrow we are leaving Jersey City for a short cruise up the Hudson River to another anchorage for a couple of days in Haverstraw, NY.  We will let you know how that turns out.