Sailing South- The Hudson River to New York

 

Wednesday September 30, 2009 - Down the Hudson

We were off the dock at 7 am and were sailing on the Hudson by 7:15 The early morning was a great sail under full main and a #3 Genoa. By lunch the wind had dropped significantly and we furled the #3 but retained the mainsail as we started the engine.

We encountered a few Hudson River barges as we moved down the river at 5 to 6 knots. At one point, we moved over to the east side of the channel to give a barge free access to the narrow channel. It turns out we chose the side of the channel where there was a significant reef – Diamond Reef. Fortunately our GPS navigation system showed the reef in such detail we were able to navigate around it, while keeping clear of the barge.

As the tide started ebbing, (current running in our direction) and the main trimmed for the brisk afternoon wind, we were able to maintain 6+ knots and reached our afternoon destination by 4pm. Docked for the night, we wandered through the many bars and restaurants of Newburgh, NY. 

In front of The Torch Restaurant, we realized that Mary had been retired for a whole hour. Wanting to mark the occasion, we went into the Torch, had a drink and an appetizer and toasted Mary’s new found freedom – and her total shock of having to decide what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Back on the boat, the decision of Mary’s next steps continued only to be put on hold by the thought she had the next 6 to 8 months to decide. Tomorrow – New York City. Our destination, the West 79^th Street Boat Basin and to prepare for brother Bruce (still not a monk) to arrive from Halifax to assist in sailing the boat from New York to Annapolis.

Thursday October 1, 2009 - Challenging NewYork Harbor

We were off the dock in Newburg at 0655. The sun was rising over the hills east of Newburg as we pushed Sojourn away from the dock.

We planned an aggressive 48 nautical miles to the West 79^th Street Boat Basin in Manhattan. The morning was lovely, albeit a little cool. One of our first sites was West Point. Magnificently set above the Hudson River, West Point was a solid wall of protection running for several miles along the river’s edge

We encountered several barges heading up and down the river. As each tug captain approached a bridge or tight turn along the way, they announced their intentions on Marine Channel 16. We could hear the chatter and if they switched to a working channel, we found ourselves eavesdropping for some local knowledge and colour. We cannot repeat anything they said because all radio traffic is considered confidential, even if overheard by a 3^rd party.

We motorsailed to the Tarrytown and the Tappanzee Bridge This seems to be the official start of New York Harbor, although we could find nothing to confirm this. Our regular insurance only covered us to Tarrytown and our cruising rider for the Eastern US waters to Key West and the Bahamas kicked in.

Next was the George Washington Bridge. The winds were picking up from the bow and the current pushing us along, we were only 5 nautical miles from the West 79^th Street Boat Basin. As we pushed through the mounting waves, now under power alone, our 30 hp Westerbeke diesel seemed a little underpowered, especially with the folding propeller our sailboat sported. Both the engine and the prop did their job and we approached the first mooring in marina.

It did not look good. There were no open moorings and a VHF radio call to the marina office confirmed – no room at the marina. We called the Liberty Harbour Marina in New Jersey and they confirmed they had a slip. We took it.

For the next hour or so, we threaded our way through the myriad of New York Harbor Ferries, taxis, barges and boats to get to the New Jersey marina. There are no large ships. They dock outside and the barges moves goods and materials up the Hudson.

As we neared our turn into Liberty Harbor, we caught our first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, just a few miles south of us. Even at a distance, it was quite impressive.

We turned into the basin, and Mary took the wheel as I went forward to secure sails. Something we decided not to do in the choppy and crowded harbor. I turned back and one of those New York / New Jersey ferries had followed us into the basin and was bearing down on us. Actually, he had slowed to the required ‘no wake’ speed and was proceeding to the ferry dock a few hundred yards past our marina. We got in, secured the boat and poured a healthy, post-sail drink. And then another.

As I was sipping my well-earned after docking drink, I saw the lit torch of the Statue of Liberty visible over the boat docked beside us. Tomorrow, we would meet up with my brother Bruce who was going to sail with us down the Jersey coast, and chat about ‘auspicious coincidences’ (from Blink by Malcolm Gladwell). The fact we had the celebratory drink at the Torch Restaurant, we were docked in Liberty Harbor and then we would sail past the Statue were definitely confirming our decisions to make this journey.

Friday Oct. 2, 2009 - New York, New York

The next day we decided to visit New York and started our education on the NJ/NY transit systems. Each one is excellent, run on time and connect to another system. It seemed, however, few people in each system could actually tell you about the next system – but they knew they connected. The amazing thing was that each time we stopped to read our tourist map or transit map, someone asked if they could help. Each time.

So we took the PATH from west of our slip to 6^th Ave and 33^rd, walked Broadway, visited Times Square, saw the Empire State Building and visited Macy’s – all in about 2 hours.

Heading to 11^th Ave. and 42^nd, we boarded one of those pesky New York ferries to Port Imperial terminal on the Jersey side and then caught the light rail back to Liberty Harbor.

That evening, I took the PATH system to the train, took the train to the Airport Light Rail Transit, and then 2 light rail trains to the airport to meet my brother Bruce. We took a cab back to the boat.  Note to self: Take the address of the marina to give to the cab driver.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Liberty Harbor Marina, NJ

The weather report for was not good. High winds, very cold and rain were forecast for the coast of New Jersey. The following 2 days were to be much better with sunshine and light to medium winds from the West. We chose to stick around New Jersey and New York for one more day.

Since my Brother Bruce had not been to New York since his honeymoon, we decided to take the same transit connections to downtown New York so Bruce could do the whirlwind tour. Beside the ferry terminal was the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and the Sea, Air and Space museum. We toured the USS Growler submarine – a cold war era sub that was capable of launching nuclear cruise-type missiles, a Concorde jet and the Intrepid. It was quite a tour with the collection of air craft on the landing deck, the displays in the below deck hangers and the information about a ship that served from 1943 to the seventies, including being the primary recovery craft for the Gemini space capsules.

Home again. Grilled steak and potato wedges for dinner so we could get away early on Sunday morning.

 

Aboard s/v Sojourn

Liberty Harbor Marina, NJ

En route to the Bahamas

 

Mary and Rob MacLeod

rob@informedboater.com