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| Morning at Johnson Brothers Point Pleasant NJ. Let the Adventure begin! |
Early Saturday morning. Sea conditions were finally favorable for Salty Paws' six-hour cruise up to New York Harbor to meet Sally W.
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| Lillian + Ethan join Aunt Jeanne for a trip up the Hudson on Salty Paws. Michelle will meet us in Croton. |
Bob and Jeanne stopped at Liberty Landing to take on friends for the first official day of our trip.
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| New York skyline as seen from a southern approach. |
Sunny days don't always make for the best photos. Skies turned gray and didn't disappoint, providing a dramatic backdrop to the New York skyline.
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Look carefully over Lily's shoulder and you will spy the famous Little Red Lighthouse tucked under the Great Gray Bridge (GWB)
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George Washington Bridge
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The Hudson River runs 135 miles to Waterford, NY, where the Erie Canal begins its westerly path.
The Hudson is tidal and traveling against the current can reduce forward progress by 2 knots. Our tugs cruise at 7 knots so that makes a big difference in estimated arrival times.
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| The Tappan Zee Bridge crosses the Hudson at one of her widest points. |
The Tappan Zee Bridge is 24 nautical miles (NM) from the Battery. The old bridge is currently being replaced by a new bridge. A construction project that has been ongoing for several years. Not finished yet!
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| Captain Bob of Salty Paws |
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| Captain Allan of Sally W |
In case you thought the Hudson River is for pleasure boats only, both captains need to stay vigilant at the helm. The waters are a shared thoroughfare with plenty of commercial traffic.
This day marked the onset of a long stretch of unsettled weather, with lots of rain and seasonally low temperatures.The low temperatures did not bother us but rainfall can fill waterways quickly and create yet one more thing requiring vigilance.
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| Salty Paws in front of West Point |
The cityscape gradually gives way to unexpected bucolic river settings. We settle into the pristine views of undeveloped shorelines. Then all of a sudden the fortress of West Point appears: nearly two miles of castle-like buildings. The chosen location speaks volumes for strategic placement at a narrow dog-leg in the river. In 1778 the Continental Army ran a chain across the river to hold off the British trying to get up stream to Albany.
Just beyond West Point it is back to nature and a stretch of the river called World's End, the deepest part at 216 feet.
A few miles later another surprise; the ruins of Bannerman's castle, former home of a Scotsman who made his fortune selling munitions.
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| Twin Bridges of Poughkeepsie |
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| Esopus Meadows Lighthouse |
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| Kingston Lighthouse at Rondout Creek |
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| The waterfront of Kingston |
Kingston, New York is a highlight for boaters making the journey up the Hudson.
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| Bob, Allan, Tom and a Tug on the hard. |
Kingston is a home for boat restoration and boat building projects
Kingston is also a place where retired tugs go to tug-no-more.
We stopped for the night and for a birthday surprise. Daughter Poppet traveled from Vermont with treats for Dad and friends!
Exactly 20 years ago Tom and Allan raised glasses of Mongolian vodka in Ulaanbaatar during a Land Rover expedition. This time it was ice cream cones.
Kingston is the home of Bodacious, one of our Lord Nelson Victory Tugs.
We were happy to find the owner, her son and friend aboard. They invited us to tie up with them. For one day we were Three Tugs Travelin.
Love the blog- haven't seen any of you for ages and now living vicariously through your trip- jealous.
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