On the Road Again! And Back in Freshwater Too.

With thanks to Willie Nelson:

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again

And, we're off for the summer! A day later than we hoped because of BGR's Mondays and Tuesdays' closures for runway construction, we arrived at Katahdin in Half Moon Bay on the Hudson River in the early evening of June 4. It's always great to get back to the boat but there's an adjustment too. In this case, the Admiral had been off the boat for more than a month and it had been inhabited for half of that time by two ancient sailors. There was some grumbling as she reorganized, cleaned, and, tried to figure out where she and we had put stuff when we transitioned to the Sabre 45 from the Back Cove 41 during the first couple of days of May. As with all things, this, too, shall pass.

The following day brought more chores: cleaning inside and out, repairs, laundry, and provisioning. With sheets and towels from two grizzled sailors along with well used throw blankets and miscellaneous other laundry, we headed to the laundromat. (Can you imagine that anyone would sleep in a bed for two weeks and not wash the linens?) The Admiral loaded six washers (I might have used two) and our wait began. With a

washer and dryer that are near full size on the new boat , we're hoping to keep up with laundry on board and never have to cross the threshold of a laundromat again. We'll see. We also did obligatory runs to the hardware store, Target, Stop and Shop, a deli, and more. It was closing in on 6:00 when I returned the rental car. They were kind enough to give me a ride back to the marina (I had walked to them in the morning). The Admiral and I then hiked the mile long river walk to the Ocean House Oyster Bar and Grill. Their Oysters Casino were to die for. The sinking sun across the Hudson bathed us in gold as

we walked the River Walk back to the boat.

I am glad and relieved to have now left Half Moon Bay Marina. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we arrived there in a 30 knot breeze with gusts to 40 and 3 foot seas. Their wood slat breakwater was not up to the task. And, they put us in a slip that was much to short for the boat and barely wide enough to slide back into. It's lucky I was there that first night to tighten lines and adjust bumpers. The boat took a beating. To make matters worse,

while we were away, another boat crashed into our bow chipping and abrading our two week old paint job. Fortunately, another looper called to let me know and, after some back and forth, the owner/captain of the offending boat agreed to pay to have that side of the boat repainted this fall.

In any case, Friday morning saw us headed up the Hudson to a rendezvous with our great friends Ned and Tara Sullivan--more on that in a moment. The Hudson River Estuary offers a beautiful setting and panoramic vistas most of its distance. We enjoyed

seeing West Point, strategically situated by George Washington to defend the Upper Hudson during the American Revolution. And a lighthouse at a sharp bend just upriver

also caught our eye. Unfortunately, heavy rain has filled the Hudson with debris including telephone poles, logs, deadheads, and any number of branches and blocks of wood that you would not want to run into. Consequently, we spent most of the four hour trip focused on the water rather than the scenery and, surprisingly often, running slalom to avoid catastrophe. Nonetheless, we safely reached Rondout Creek where another

lighthouse greeted us. Our first stop for diesel and a pump out was Rondout Yacht Basin, slightly beyond our docking destination of the Hudson River Maritime Museum.

With those chores completed and the proper tanks full and the right one empty, we headed back downstream to the Maritime Museum--a beautiful, well-protected spot a short walk from a quaint Kingston neighborhood. There is traffic up and down Rondout

Creek as this picture of the Lily Anne going by shows. However, every boat that passed went by considerately slowly and left no wake.

Now, as to Ned and Tara: Ned and I first met in 1972 or 73 when I coached skiing at Williams College. Wanting to put together his downhill skiing and cross country running skills, he decided to come out for the cross country ski team. I was a skeptic--not looking for a wannabe walk-on with no previous experience. Ned was persistent and ultimately turned into a strong racer and accomplished cross country skier. Our personal and professional paths have crossed many times since--in Anchorage, in Connecticut, in Maine, and in Albany. Ned has served as the Executive Director of Scenic Hudson for 26 years and has creatively preserved and conserved countless parcels of land (over 70,000 acres), trails, waterways and historic buildings. His mark on the entire Hudson

estuary will last for centuries. Tara meanwhile has done a number of things including serving as the Director of the New York Bridge Authority. Currently she volunteers as executive at large supporting daughter Annie's restaurant, Bliss. Annie also became a good friend of mine while applying for and spending several summers at The Jackson Lab. Together, she, her fiancee', Michael, and Mom, Tara, are transforming downtown Red Hook with a high quality, trendy restaurant that leads the town's economic development effort. https://blissredhook.com/. She's a chip off the old block as her Dad, Ned, through Scenic Hudson, has been driving economic development and

conservation along the entire Hudson River estuary for more than a quarter century. https://www.scenichudson.org/

Of course, all good things have to come to an end and we bid them adieu after a wonderful farewell dinner at Stissing House in Pine Plains.

Today, we navigated up the final stretches of the Hudson braving a raging current filled with more logs and other debris.

We reached the Troy Federal Lock and struggled to maintain heading against a whitewater flow of 40,000 cfs to enter the lock--exciting and riveting to say the least. Note that the lock had a delayed opening that morning with four feet of water flowing over its top! With the lock behind us, we were in freshwater again for the first time since

November and soon arrived at the junction of the Erie and Champlain Canals. We stayed to starboard and set a course for Lake Champlain and Montreal.

Having successfully navigated the much quieter Champlain Canal Lock One, we're tied up for the evening at the Lock One Marina and Shipyard, an idyllic spot on the Champlain Canal but for the roar of water going over the Waterford Dam just downstream. Located halfway between Waterford and Mechanicville, NY, the surroundings are a bit short on amenities except for those with a naturalist bent. We did, however, find Norrine's, a bar and pool hall masquerading as an Italian American restaurant a short four minute walk away. Have to say, the Sunday afternoon burgers were pretty darned good!