Awoke this morning in Amsterdam, NY to frost on the boat and docks! OMG we are clearly too far north.
Headed towards Albany with good haste and joined up with two other sail boats on similar treks: Carpe Diem is a catamaran couple heading for Panama; Serenity is home to Ted and Shirl from Ohio who, like us, are headed to Florida and points onward.
We were corralled into a flight of 3 by the lockmasters in lock 8 and 7 who prepared us for the final 169 ft plunge through the "Flight of Five" locks into Waterford NY through 5 locks in 1.5 miles.
Here's a time-lapse of the "Flight of Five" transit on the Erie Canal.
Arrived in Waterford, NY where we stayed along the wall at the Visitor Center.
We went grocery shopping a short walk from the boat and across the Hudson. We were told that we could bring the grocery cart back if we told them we were here on a boat.
Here is Jeff crossing the bridge with a full cart!
Sunday, October 14 - On the Hudson!
Left Waterford in wet rain and motored down the Hudson to the Federal Locks, where we were delayed for about 20 minutes. Finally completing the last lock, we motored to the Albany Yacht Club where Jo Wilcko joined Shawn and us for the passage to NYC.
Jo getting into the Northern Lights Spirit!
Northern Lights at Albany Yacht Club
Monday, October 15 - Almost a Sailboat
Motored down river again to Catskill, NY. We had a good breeze on the nose that made for some choppy waters but we enjoyed the fall colors. Made our way to Hop-o-Nose Marina and had dinner at a very fine Thai restaurant. So fine, we were told, that people drive up to it from NYC.
Jo & Shawn rolling on the river
Tuesday, October 16 - Finally a Sailboat Again!
Stepped the mast. This involved pulling some new wires in the mast and installing 2 new antennas before they raised the mast and we became a sailboat again.
Not Iwo Jima
Hop-o-Nose did a very professional job and we recommend the marina because it is off of the Hudson and very quiet. Had dinner in the marina with Ted & Shirl of Serenity who had arrived the day before. Enjoyed Shirl's Peanut Butter Fudge that she had whipped up that afternoon.
Wednesday, October 17 - On to The Big Apple!
Departed Hop-o-Nose with Serenity at 6 am with light fog steaming off of the water.
Within an hour, the light fog began to thicken and we wished Jeff had hooked up the radar before we left. Fortunately, our GPS and AIS were working and there was no oncoming traffic.
Once the fog lifted we had a beautiful motor down the Hudson past historic light houses and famous landmarks including West Point.
The academy is located near the deepest point on the Hudson (169 ft) amid steep cliffs that were covered with fall colors.
When we got to the Tappan Zee bridge we had a 2 knot tidal current working with us and our boat speed over the ground was almost 10 knots so we decided to continue on to NYC estimating we would arrive by dusk.
Well, dusk happened fast and after we passed under the George Washington Bridge the city lights began to come on quickly making for a spectacular New York skyline.
Unfortunately, it got dark!
Transiting the New York harbor at night is not something for the faint of heart. There were large fast moving ferries crisscrossing the harbor on all sides and the AIS dangerous target alarms every 15 seconds were driving us crazy. Jo, Shawn and Neala kept watch pointing out all the traffic and suddenly we saw a searchlight being pointed at us from a tug pushing very large barge right towards us. "Port! Port!" cried the lookouts and with quick maneuvering we avoided certain catastrophe! We finally arrived at Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club at low tide, in a huge surge with little assistance from the marina staff. We spent the night rocking and rolling until the ferries finally stopped running and then spent a chilly night because we didn't have the right shore power adapter.
Thursday, October 18 - We're Outa Here!
As soon as possible in the morning we checked out and motored down river in search of Liberty Landing, recommended by our friend Jim McBrier.
Motored past the marina in morning sun past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty before returning to the marina. It was really exciting to experience these landmarks and the lower Manhattan skyline from Northern Lights. Boy was Jim right! Liberty Landing was a 180 degree switch from Lincoln YC. There was no surge, the staff on the fuel dock was helpful and the facilities were top notch. The four of us took the water taxi over to the financial district and had lunch. After lunch Jeff & Neala came back to the boat to check in and meet his cousin Amanda who joined us for the rest of the day. We toured the 911 Memorial and walked around SoHo finally meeting Jo & Shawn there for dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant. It was great that Amanda was able to join us.
Friday, October 19 - The Met, Pamela, Isabella and Grady
Jo & Shawn departed to take the train back to Albany in the morning. It was great to have them on board and to have shared the Erie Canal and Hudson adventures with them. Later in the day Jeff & Neala headed back to Manhattan to meet her friends Pamela and Isabella at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had lunch then spent time wandering the Impressionist wing before returning to the boat. Jeff's son Grady arrived shortly to sail with us down the New Jersey coast to Annapolis. We had a great dinner at the marina restaurant, Marinaparc.
Saturday, October 20 - Work Day
Spent the day preparing for our voyage down the New Jersey coast the following day. Grady, Neala and I bent the sails back onto the mast, completed the electronics installations and checkouts, filled the water tanks and generally cleaned up and organized the boat. Enjoyed a colorful and joyous Indian wedding with loud music on the dock ashore while we were working in the warm sun and temps in the low 70s. We took the dinghy over to Liberty Harbor to visit Ted & Shirl who recounted a similar harrowing experience at Lincoln YC. Walked to a nearby grocery store and topped off our provisions before returning to the boat. Finished off the evening with another wonderful meal with Ted & Shirl back at Marinaparc. A nice Australian Shiraz accompanied tasty entrees of roast duck, local scallops and sword fish topped off with warm apple cake with home made caramel ice cream.
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