North up the Hudson to Catskill July 5 and 6, 2009

Leaving the city behind.


Y Knot (trawler from Vancouver) and another boat at anchor at Polopel Island.




Train view from anchorage.


We let go of the mooring ball before 6:30 Sunday morning so we could catch the tidal current going north on the Hudson River. We kept turning around to see the skyline of NYC getting smaller and smaller. The mountain scenery on both sides of the river was spectacular. In the fall we had noticed that it was pretty but it had been overcast the days we were travelling. Sunday the weather was beautiful and with the recent rains everything was very green. While in the city Christopher had been disappointed that the trains all ran underground. Not far north though they emerged into daylight and he was treated to a steady stream of commuter and Amtrak trains on the east side of the river and the occasional freight on the west. As we got near West Point Christopher reminded us that our first anchoring spot on the trip was coming up soon, and that he expected we would anchor there again. It is a spot at Polepel Island where there are ruins of the Bannerman castle, but the real attraction for him is the prime train viewing location. As we inched our way into the spot we were feeling very reflective and nostalgic. This spot had been our first anchor spot on the trip (and our first time anchoring overnight on Tiffany Rose) and now after too-many-to-count nights spent at anchor it very well could be our last on this trip. (Our upcoming route through the canal and the south shore of Lake Ontario do not offer very many anchoring possibilities.) We sat in the cockpit as the day wound down and savoured the moment (and of course, the frequent train traffic).
Next morning we were pulling the anchor up just a little later than Sunday to again ride the tidal current north to Catskill. We pulled into Riverview Marina early afternoon, and once secured at the dock we anxiously went to search out the pile of lumber where we had left our wood for the cradle to carry the mast through the canal. Last fall the instructions had been to label it, put date of return on it, and no guarantees but they would try to keep it. We found our bundle of wood, every piece still there! If it had not been there it would have meant a lot of work measuring, cutting and constructing, not to mention about the problem of obtaining the wood. Mike, the marina owner told us others weren’t so lucky and there had been quite a scene when one boat owner arrived to find his wood being used on another boat.
Jeannette and Bill from the boat Myosotis, who we had rafted with at Vero Beach in January, live on their boat just a few minutes up the creek. Late afternoon they dropped by for a quick visit. By then we had stuff everywhere in preparation for unstepping the mast the next day. “Where will we store the sails? How about the floorboards for the dinghy? How did we do this last fall? My, this seems like a lot of work.” Later that evening Jeannette returned with their truck to take me grocery shopping. A real luxury and a generous gift. So of course I bought all the heavy things that we would like to have but avoid when we have to carry the groceries ourselves!
That night Dave and I shared the v-berth with the mainsail and genoa (big jib), hoping that by tomorrow our amnesia about where they had been stored last fall would clear up.