www.YACHTAIDE.com: Portsmouth NH to Buffalo, NY Update 3

Monday, Sept 05 2011

After day of relaxation and fun, we are starting our journey up the Hudson River. The run from The Battery at the bottom of Manahattan Island to Troy, NY the terminus of the Erie Canal and Champlain Canal systems. For an 8 knot boat running against a 1.5 knot current on what will be an ebb tide for a portion of a days run, the trip to Troy will take a couple of days.

The word from the Canal System is that there has been some damage to a portion of the Erie Canal system and assessments are currently underway, so we are not in too much of a rush.

So, with that in mind we depart Liberty Landing Marina for a quick tour of Lady Liberty and a group photo.

Everyone is pleased as punch that we have put NewYork City behind us... well, sort of. We are chugging up the Hudson River at a break-neck speed of 6 knots over the bottom, so it looks like Manahattan is following us. All 112 horses in each of the DD 453s are galloping along in unison.

Lots of derbris, as expected, the boys are posted look-outs for huge trees and logs coming down the river. But the river is scenic and full of history.

As we round out towards the end of the day, we pass underneath West Point and Bear Mountain and spend the night on river's western edge at the Front Street Marina in Newburgh, NY. Nice floating docks; if you want 50 amp service, tie up on the south facing dock near the gate. The dockhouse and bath facilities are just outside the gate. There are 5 or 6 restaurants right in front of the marina... everything from ribs to sushi.

West Point

Tuesday, Sept 06 2011
Up and at 'em crew. It's Lisa's turn as captain and performs a flawless departure. Lots of logs and debris have clogged the docks and more than once last night I was awakened by a log bounching off our waterline. The water level is incredibly high and the river is swift. However, the slow ground speed makes for perfect oppotunities for photography.

Meadow's Point Lighthouse

A "real" Paddlewheeler

While we are on our route, I am on the phone checking on conditions ahead. The information is not good. At Troy Docks, the last stop before we head into the Erie Canal, all of the docks have been destroyed. The Erie Canal System is closed while they assess damage and clear away debris from the flooding associated with Hurricane Irene. So, it looks like we have some time to kill. One of my favorite stops on the Hudson River is a little town called Kingston, NY. There is a waterfront village called Rondoubt which is about a mile off the Hudson up Rondoubt Creek.

Bridge at Rondoubt

Really High Water

You Can Park Your Boat in the Livingroom

Four days of continuous rain on already saturated ground.

Quick Scout! Put it in Reverse!

Anybody Missing a Gazebo?

Kingston City Marina, the parking lot in the foreground was under several feet of water.

Several of the locks on the eastern portion of the Erie State Barge Canal have been damaged when the Mohawk River flooded during Hurricane Irene. The Erie Canal has been officially closed for the rest of the season.

The Erie Canal, from the Hudson River to Oswego NY on Lake Ontario, was the most direct route for our journey. The only other alternate route for us is via the Champlain Canal system. However, the lowest clearance along this route is 17 feet. Therefore, it is necessary for us to remove the vessel's hardtop and radar arch. So, while we are waiting for the storm waters to recede and the Champlain Canal to reopen, we will do the work required here in Kingston. Thanks to Jeff Correa at Jeff's Yacht Haven, we were successful in getting our air draft down to 16'6".