NY is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Voyage of Henry Hudson and his "discovery" of the river named for him. In 1909 there was a huge celebration. This year there are banners everywhere, many local events, (see www.exploreny400.com) and starting June 6 a parade of sailing ships and special boats leaving from New York City and travelling all the way to Albany. One of the ships is a reproduction of Hudson's ship "Half Moon". We past this ship as it was heading south to NYC. (See picture.)
At Kingston, NY we stayed at the Kingston Town Dock that was right downtown on the Roundout Creek. This picture was from our boat. There was a Maritime Museum, a Visitors Center, historical building walking tour, and some excellent restaurants right near by.
The next day we rented a car and headed for Hyde Park to see FDR's home, tomb and the town of Hyde Park. Back in Kingston we picked up some medicine, saw the old town area (early 1600's), filled the car with groceries from WalMart and saw the movie "Up " at the local shopping mall theater.
The next day we rented a car and headed for Hyde Park to see FDR's home, tomb and the town of Hyde Park. Back in Kingston we picked up some medicine, saw the old town area (early 1600's), filled the car with groceries from WalMart and saw the movie "Up " at the local shopping mall theater.
Leaving Kingston is the Roundout Lighthouse which is a typical example of the 2-story lighthouse that is common along the Hudson. It was the largest and most recently built of eight on the Hudson. Originally one of these was the Statue of Liberty. 
The Saugerties Lighthouse allows overnight visitors and I saw a women doing meditation outside this lighthouse when we motored by. I guess it was a peaceful place. The Roundout Lighthouse had a tour group on it when we went by.
We rose early on Saturday June 5, to get to Troy, NY. We weighed anchor about 0715 and caught some favorable current heading north. We passed, Albany, the capital of New York state (pictured).
Right above Troy was our first lock. The Corp of Engineers runs this lock. Kaye and I read through all the guide book instructions about going through locks but it was a little nerve racking going in those high walls and figuring out where to tie and what each of us would do. The lockmasters do not help with lines. There are either pipes or cables attached at the top and bottom of the lock OR there are ropes hanging down every 20 feet or so. Skipper Bob said only tie a line from a mid-ship cleat to the pipe/cable. This was difficult for Kaye to do and difficult on a 41 foot boat. So after 2-3 locks we worked out a routine that Kaye would stand near the stern and grab a rope with a boat hook. I would get the boat close to the wall and go out and either grab a rope at the bow (using a boat hook) or run a pre-tied line from the mid-ship cleat around the pipe/cable and back to cleat. Sometimes I could do both. This technique coupled with my improving skills at positioning the boat close to the wall has us starting to look like experts.
The Saugerties Lighthouse allows overnight visitors and I saw a women doing meditation outside this lighthouse when we motored by. I guess it was a peaceful place. The Roundout Lighthouse had a tour group on it when we went by.While heading up the Hudson we ran across two men standing on a pontoon boat that didn't appear to be moving. I turned over close and asked if they needed help. They said their motor died and they wanted a tow to another town or the boat ramp on the east side of the river about 1/2 mile away. I checked the charts and could see the depth on the east side of the river was way to shallow for Higher Ground so we anchored in 40 feet in the channel and got the dinghy down. I was able to tow them to the boat ramp where a friend brought a boat trailer to pick them up. They really needed a USPS Boat inspection or Boating Course since
they apparently had no anchor (and were floating down the Hudson at nearly 2 knots), had no VHF radio, and their lines were old rope. At least all this took less than an hour and we reached out anchorage about 1600.
they apparently had no anchor (and were floating down the Hudson at nearly 2 knots), had no VHF radio, and their lines were old rope. At least all this took less than an hour and we reached out anchorage about 1600.
We rose early on Saturday June 5, to get to Troy, NY. We weighed anchor about 0715 and caught some favorable current heading north. We passed, Albany, the capital of New York state (pictured).
We reached Troy before 1100 which allowed us time to walk to the Post Office to pickup the mail we had forwarded to the downtown post office. On the waterfront there was a Saturday morning Farmer's Market so we browsed and Kendall bought an Asian meal from a vendor before we strolled back to the boat (pictured in the distance at the center of the picture.)
Right above Troy was our first lock. The Corp of Engineers runs this lock. Kaye and I read through all the guide book instructions about going through locks but it was a little nerve racking going in those high walls and figuring out where to tie and what each of us would do. The lockmasters do not help with lines. There are either pipes or cables attached at the top and bottom of the lock OR there are ropes hanging down every 20 feet or so. Skipper Bob said only tie a line from a mid-ship cleat to the pipe/cable. This was difficult for Kaye to do and difficult on a 41 foot boat. So after 2-3 locks we worked out a routine that Kaye would stand near the stern and grab a rope with a boat hook. I would get the boat close to the wall and go out and either grab a rope at the bow (using a boat hook) or run a pre-tied line from the mid-ship cleat around the pipe/cable and back to cleat. Sometimes I could do both. This technique coupled with my improving skills at positioning the boat close to the wall has us starting to look like experts.
