Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Home at Poughkeepsie Yacht Club - Up the beautiful Hudson River

Bear Mountain Bridge - at one time the longest in the world
We left the Haverstraw Anchorage around 7:15 and headed north. It was a beautiful day with calm winds, full sun and no rain in sight. Every time we return home we're reminded of how beautiful the Hudson River is. It was first explored by, you guessed it, Henry Hudson who at first thought he had found the northwest passage but it was not to be. It is a tidal river all the way to Albany, NY with tides of 3 to 4 ft and currents of 1 to 2 knots. If you happen to catch an ebb tide when going north, it can be a long day, plan ahead.

Storm King Mountain - a stunning sight rising directly from the river
Unfortunately, when we left Tuesday morning the ebb tide was just starting and we had the adverse tide all the way to PYC 7 hours later! Oh well, we enjoyed the sights along the Hudson. The countryside turns mountainous as you head north. Storm King mountain rises 1340 ft above the Hudson as it passes through a narrow channel between mountains.

Hudson River is the home of West Point
Also along the way is West Point, the Army Military Academy. At one time a chain was stretched across the river to prevent British boats going further north. Passing by you enter World's End, an S shaped in the river where depths of up to 160 ft are reached with near vertical sides to the river. Not fun to meet one of the many barges that ply the river.

Storm King on the left, looking north
The whole world was out fishing in the warm weather, we dodged many boats. Eventually we reached PYC and were greet by members on our dock to help us in. One of the great things about a club is the help that members give to each other, you don't get that in a marina.

Don't hug this marker!!
We are back now for the summer. We'll spend a couple of weeks in Long Island Sound in July and then start counting the days until the fall when we plan on heading south once again on September 15. So this blog now comes to an end. There may be some entries from our Long Island Cruise in July but the blog won't restart in earnest until 9/15 - be sure to tune back in then! Goodbye, it's been fun, especially for us.

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