Tuesday, October 13th

New York City

Another day in New York City. I walked Central Park and then went through the Metropolitan Museum, before seeing Natasha for coffee and to say bye-bye. Maybe we'll meet in the Bahamas next?
Before I returned to the boat I went to Trader Joe's and found the bacon flavored chocolate bars I wanted to try. They will be my treat tomorrow (and a piece of cake)

Day 43, Wednesday, October 14th

New York City to Barnegat Light

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Today Caprice's 'Trip to the sea' reached a mile stone - we (the Caprice and I) reached the Atlantic. The water coming out of my pressure water system is now briny.

We had to leave the mooring early this morning to make it far enough down the coast to reach a good inlet. Because of tides and the big draft Caprice has, most inlets are either impossible or difficult. Barnegat was in range if we left early enough and avoided being slowed by the incoming tide too much. However, the sun doesn't rise before 7 now and I didn't want to drive through NY harbor in the dark. I departed the mooring at 79th Street at 5:30 and motored along Manhattan in the dark.

There wasn't too much traffic at that time on the Hudson and I reached the tip of Manhattan when it started to get brighter

Next past the Statue of Liberty, and now it was bright enough to deal with the traffic in the harbor

Dodge the Staten Island ferries

And when I got under the Verrazona Narrows bridge it was bright and sunny.

I had motored through the harbor, but when I got though the traffic I raised the sails to gain extra speed against the rising tide and stabilize the Caprice a little. The way across the Sandy Hook Bay was quite choppy. As I approached Sandy Hook I passed close to a Coast Guard Cutter, who's captain came onto the bridge and shouted at me that I should keep more distance, so I waved an apology and went around him. Once I got to Sandy Hook I closely hugged the shore and the ride got much smoother. The wind was perfect and I soon switched off the motor and went the rest of the day by sail at a perfect speed and comfort.

The coast is all beaches and small towns and the occasional larger city like Asbury Park. I didn't take photos as there wasn't anything particularly outstanding. I approached Barnegat as planned with ample time and fought my way through the ebb, carefully following the instructions in Activecaptain. I saw my first pelican of this trip, I didn't know they come that far north. I anchored in the middle of the mooring ball field of the Yachtclub here, but everything seems pretty deserted so late in the season.

I'll have another early start tomorrow to make it to Cape May.

Sunday, October 11th

New York City

Apartment hunting with Natasha - I tagged along with Natasha and her broker Jillian today through the Upper East Side and Brooklyn to see some apartments for sale. It was interesting to see what people are offering for what in other parts of the country would buy a big house. This is the downside of NYC. Housing is in short supply and the prices are ridiculous. Other things, like for example food, are no more than what you pay in Chicago. Same with beer and restaurant prices. The number of those places is gigantic and competition is fierce.

I'm glad I have no need to buy a place and leave the rat race to others. And they can be happy that I'm not competing. :-)

Monday, October 12th

New York City

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The day looked as gorgeous as yesterday. I'm really very lucky with the weather, it's much warmer than usual in the season and clear blue skies brought out hordes of people.
I met another single handed cruiser at the dinghy dock, John, who will sail his Pearson 365 down the coast on Wednesday, same as I'm planning. Maybe we can stay in contact and he can give me some moral support. I hope I won't need technical support... I walked south through Riverside Park and enjoyed the views.

Plenty of residential and commercial development in evidence

Spot the difference!

Can you see it? Two identical ships, but not the same. The second ship had lots of passengers on deck, and the reason for that was that it was about to depart. I watched that leviathan reverse out of the pier with the aid of its bow thrusters and 36000 horse powers. By the way, Caprice has 18 horse powers.

Here is the wikipedia info aboout AIDA:

AIDA Cruises is a British/American owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany. Originally founded as Deutsche Seereederei with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft("Friendship Between Peoples"), the company entered the cruise industry in the 1960s.^[1]

The company was acquired by P&O Princess Cruises in 2000.^[1][2] In 2003, P&O Princess merged with Carnival Corporation, to form Carnival Corporation & plc, the worlds largest cruise holiday company. Following the merger, executive control of AIDA Cruises transferred to Costa Cruises Group,^[3][4] one of the main operating companies of the Carnival Group, with responsibility for the group's European brands.

AIDA Cruises is now one of eleven brands operated by the Carnival Group accounting for 6.5% of its share of revenue^[5] and has its own executive team, led by company President Felix Eichhorn.^[6][7] AIDA ships cater to the German-speaking market. As seagoing "club resorts", AIDA ships have on-board amenities and facilities designed to attract younger, more active vacationers.^[8]

Next door was the USS Intrepid (CV-11):

Wikipedia: Also known as The Fighting "I", she is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. Because of her prominent role in battle, she was nicknamed "the Fighting I", while her often ill-luck and the time spent in dry dock for repairs earned her the nicknames "Decrepit" and "the Dry I"

My destination was West Marine close to Broadway to buy some Hypalon glue for the freshwater tank that's leaking, so I turned east away from shore. The city is a anthill of activity, with people of all races, classes and ages milling about. I love this city, I think it's all what makes a city put in concentration. I found the glue and next walked north past Times Square and to a Sushi takeaway. I munched it at Columbus Circle, the SW corner of central park and then walked a bit through the park before turning into 72 Street and Trader Joe's for provisions.

Day 41, Thursday, October 9th

Pollepel Island to Nyack
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I had a nice night anchored behind the castle, and did some cleanup of the boat before heading south today.

 I was picking up crew for a day or two, my good friend Natasha who lives in New York City. I had figured to pick her up at Cold Spring Yacht club, but when I approached that place against the strong headwind, I saw that the club had already pulled up their docks and was shuttered. That's why they didn't answer my phone calls...
There was a big dock that's normally used by tour boats and luckily a very nice and sprightly gentleman hailed me and told me to dock there. It took me a few attempts because the current and the wind was pushing the boat around a lot. After a few scrapes however I was safely docked and soon Natasha appeared who had taken the train from NYC.

We took off and passed some beautiful scenery - West Point and Bear Mountain.

We arrived in the Tappan Zee quicker than expected, the current from the tides was getting stronger the further south we got and our timing has been lucky to usually catch a helpful current. Also, even though rain and thunderstorms had been predicted they didn't appear before we approached our next stop - the Nyack Yacht Club. We hadn't actually planned on staying there but we were glad we did. The club members greeted us as warmly as if we were members. The rear commodore himself gave us his spot in the mooring field and ran the launch to bring us to shore, where we first had some drinks in an Irish pub before dinner at a Thai restaurant. Timing was perfect, the rain was fierce outside but we had a roof over our heads. By the time we went back to the Caprice the rain had stopped and we got back without a drop.
The night brought a strong south wind with balmy temperatures, so Natasha didn't even run the propane heater in the salon. However, the strong wind combined with a opposing current lead to big choppy waves and the Caprice did a wild dance overnight that woke me up several times. Poor Natasha had it much worse, she got pretty sea sick and threw up in the bathroom sink and eventually decided to sleep in the cockpit, while her captain slept oblivious through her ordeal.

Day 42, Thursday, October 10th

Nyack to New York City
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We had liked the town so much that we decided to go to shore this morning and walk around a bit, maybe Natasha would also feel less nauseous if she got some firm ground under her feet. The town was charming and after we had walked around a bit she was feeling well enough to have breakfast.
We strolled some more afterwards trying to find some shops selling apples from the local orchards, but unfortunately didn't find any.
At lunchtime we took the launch back to the Caprice and took off across the Tappan Zee to Tarrytown, where we wanted to get fuel and pump out the poopy tank. The pumpout was located in a shallow part of the harbor and we promptly ran aground. The girl running the fuel dock decided to tell us AFTER we ran aground that it was shallow there. Luckily we managed to escape out of the mud with full reverse power. The fuel dock however was deep enough and we filled the tank and the jerry cans, so we should have enough fuel to make it all the way to Norfolk if needed.
Now we turned south under the giant construction of the new Tappan Zee bridge, and got to see the destination of all the pieces of steel we'd encountered along the way. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in 2017 and will be a beautiful sight, I'm sure.
The wind had shifted to the North now and we raised the sails and tried our luck without the engine. The wind didn't last very long and shifted around and we decided to motorsail to reach NYC quicker. We arrived at 79th street boat basin and finally found a pumpout to relieve our poor overfilled tank.
The crew of a megayacht moored there helped us to dock - nice guys.
I dropped off Natasha here before I went north along the shore to look for an available transient mooring, luckily I found what appeared the last available one, but it was pretty far from the dinghy dock. 

I had established that the dinghy didn't leak after all, and fashioned a seat from one of the fender boards. Rowing to the dinghy dock from my mooring was a hard job as the current was starting to run against me. Supposedly the current can reach 2 knots, which would be very hard to row against in that ancient rubber dinghy. I'll have to be careful on my return not to overshoot and miss the Caprice.
On shore I paid my mooring fees (an astonishingly cheap $30 per day) and took off on foot along the river path and then took the train across town to meet Natasha again for dinner.

Day 40, Thursday, October 8th

Hyde Park to Pollepel Island
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The morning started with heavy fog and then a brisk N wind that lead to Caprice being pushed south by the wind, and north by the current, with the result of her 'sailing' at anchor. That means she doesn't stay in line with the anchor rode but tends to move to the left or right of it. I had a hard time pulling the anchor out but eventually got on my way to Poughkeepsie. The day brightened but the strong wind continued and made the autopilot oscillate a lot. I hadn't yet bent the jib on the forestay and when the boat yawed to the left the wind actually would catch the left side of the stern and the sailcover and push her around more. The autopilot would correct hard and make the boat yaw to the right, and then the wind would push the other side and try to turn her around that way. If I had the jib on it would be stabilizing the course and I would even gain some speed, but I didn't want to do this while running. Poughkeepsie wasn't far and I tied up at the Mariner's restaurant under the old railway bridge after a rider against the tide.

This was my destination, because that bridge has been converted into a pedestrian/biker path that allows you to walk a mile and a half over the river, my exercise for today.

The views were beautiful and by now the wind was subsiding, making this a very nice walk. This is a nice attraction and there were many people walking and cycling here, especially considering it's a weekday.

Caprice was still tied up at the restaurant, I was happy to see

South of the bridge is the Mid-Hudson bridge, a modern suspension bridge used by car traffic.

After crossing to the eastern bank of the river I turned around and returned to the Mariner's Restaurant. Docking is free if you eat here, so I had a nice lunch and then took off south.
The weather was still gorgeous and I got to Pollepel Island quickly because now the tide was pushing me along.

Pollepel Island is famous for its castle ruin

The castle was built 100 years ago for a Mr Bannerman who had a business buying army surplus items, including ammunition, and he needed a storage facility that would double as an advertisement for him. After he died the business shut down and the castle eventually deteriorated and became a ruin. The ammunition has long been removed.
I circled around the island and I'm now anchored between the island and the shore.

Day 39, Wednesday, October 7th

Kingston to Hyde Park

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I woke up in the same spot where I stopped last night, in spite of the tide having come and reversing my direction twice overnight. I think my anchor works very well.

The Esopus light house marks a big turn in the river, and some big ships are carefully maneuvering around it.

I'm keeping my distance, but yesterday I saw some cabin cruisers cutting right in front of one of those big freighters. The freighter captain stepped on the horn and probably had a fit on his bridge.

Just a little further downriver I saw I nice little home, Mt St Alphonsus. Formerly a priest seminary, then a retreat, it's now becoming a high school for the 'Bruderhof'. Not too shabby really.

RoseAnn of Pyxis had warned us about 'deadheads' floating in the Hudson, and indeed I had to keep a good lookout for them - some were large enough to have inhabitants:

I had planned to stop at Poughkeepsie and visit the FDR home and the Vanderbilt mansion from there, but when I studied the map I realized it would be better to stop at Hyde Park and hike from there. Activecaptain listed a little marina called 'Hyde Park Landing', I tried to snag one of the transient buoys, but wasn't successful grabbing it, so I anchored instead.

Next I got out the ancient inflatable dinghy (remember, my good dinghy is floating in Lake Erie somewhere) and inflated it, wondering if it still worked. The last time I used that dinghy I put a mother duck and her eggs in there many years back. A different story.
The dinghy seemed to work more or less and I rowed to shore. It doesn't row well but works in a pinch. But I really need another decent dinghy soon.
Nobody was at the marina and the listed owner Peter Andros didn't answer the phone. I had to search for an exit as all gates were locked, eventually I found a way through bushes on a side access road and made my way to the Vanderbilt mansion.

Today's blog post has lots of photos. Unlike on many of my other cruising days, I actually got to see a lot more than the river today.

The mansion is surrounded by a huge estate, complete with park and an Italian style bridge

The mansion was built for Frederick Vanderbilt and his wife Louise, and was preserved in a state closely resembling the time when it was used by them about 100 years ago. The house is full of furnishings and art bought all over but mostly in France and Italy.

The mansion isn't the size of a palace, but each room is exceedingly well appointed.

Louise had her bedroom (she had her own) built like Marie Antoinette's chambers, including a fence around her bed. Maybe that's why they didn't have children.

The 'Bridal suite' was used by freshly married visitors, all others had to sleep, like their hosts, in their own separate bedrooms. But even the bridal suite has two single beds instead of a double. What's going on here?

Our guide also took us into the servant's quarters and the kitchen:

A great tour, with lots of fun information.

Before leaving the grounds I visited the 'formal gardens'. Frederick loved plants and flowers (possibly more than people). He even had a degree in horticology and his gardens show well.

I hiked south next, past the anchorage (Caprice still there) and on the Hyde Park Trail through nice woods, up and downhill. I eventually reached the former house of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. I didn't want to visit the house itself, as it was getting late and there were too many other tourists. But I walked the grounds and saw the outside of the house.

He and his wife are buried in the Rose garden.

I hiked back to the boat and found my oars had gone missing, and some people pulling the buoys out from the water. I suspected them of taking my oars for ransom to make me pay the marina fee. They soon finished pulling the buoys and returned to shore and it turned out that this was the owner of the marina. We chatted with each other and he told me the marina rate was $35, as expected. I said I had the money but would need my oars back. He pretended that he hadn't taken them but said that we should go search for them since 'kids' sometimes play with things. Of course we soon found them and I gave him his money and he warmed up considerably. We had a long chat and he gave me more tips for the journey south.
The dinghy wasn't quite as firm as when I left it, I think the valves need some new o-rings. Either this or they have a slow leak. I'll have to work on this. Always something to fix on a boat...

Day 37, Monday, October 5th

Coeymans to Catskill

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I had arrived on Sunday afternoon at Albany Airport and had thought of taking the bus to Coeymans. Google maps can show what public transport options exist, cool! I thought. Unfortunately the route exists but is run only on weekdays, and just twice a day. I had to take the taxi after all and got there much faster and poorer (70$).

Caprice was hanging in the crane already, as Eric had promised:

We had been forced to leave the laundry hanging in the boat, since we couldn't finish drying things fully 5.5 weeks ago. I was fearing a mold circus, but was pleasantly surprised - all was well, no mold, no spoiled food (the fridge had worked well through all this time). The only problem was that the bilge pump had been switched off by the yard guys, and my bilge was again totally full. This time it must have come from above, but I really don't know where the leak might be.

I had also planned to clean the ugly diesel soot from the stern but got distracted by my neighbor and when we finished chatting I was ready to start that job. Suddenly somebody climbed up the ladder and said hi - it was Mike from the yard who lives there in a big nice RV. We chatted some more and he gave me some great tips for the route south. By the time we were done it was cold and dark and I thought of cleaning the stern in the morning instead.

The next morning was freezing cold, I could barely get out of bed. After breakfast the guys turned up and put the boat into the water where she promptly touched bottom and wouldn't move. We had to wait another 10 minutes before the tide was at its peak and could move her off. Then I realized that I had forgotten to clean the stern. It will have to wait until I inflate the dinghy I think.

I finally got to fix the wildly dripping (more like streaming) stuffing box with a big pipe wrench and a slip wrench that Mike let me borrow. I said goodbye to Eric, Mike, Hedy and Carl - really nice people!

Carl had told me that it was 28 miles to Catskill, so I called ahead at Riverview and asked for a slip for the night and a mast step the next day. I made good progress by taking off soon after high tide and getting an extra 1.5 knots.

The weather was fine - in fact it was getting so warm that I changed to t-shirt and shorts. Another piece of the Tappan Zee bridge was passing me its way down:

At the town called Hudson I passed the first of a series of pretty light houses 

Did I mention I love bridges? It must be my father's genes, because he's a civil engineer. This bridge is the 'Rip Van Winkle' bridge:

It was only just past 2PM, and to my surprise Catskill was jut around the next bend. Had I known this I'd have asked to have the mast done immediately today. As it was, Mike told me that his helper had already gone home for the day, so I had plenty time to work on other things and take a walk though charming Catskill.

I spent some time cleaning and reconnecting the flexible fresh water tank that I hadn't used for years - when on Lake Michigan I had considered the lake water cleaner than any water that had spent weeks in that old bladder tank. But I'll soon be in salt water if all goes well, and will need that tank. Unfortunately, it turned out that it has a bunch of pinhole leaks at the seam that show up when it's totally full and has high pressure. I'll try to glue it soon. I made friends with a Canadian boat Sante 1: John, Bruce and Marinete (from Brazil). They showed me their beautiful Beneteau 361 - I gotta say that's a very spacious and beautiful boat!

Next door was a Lagoon 38 - the 'smallest' of the Lagoon catamarans - but it's huge. I didn't meet the owners, else I'd have loved to see the inside of that one too. It's part of the fun of cruising - seeing other people's boats.

I walked to town and by the time I got back it was dark and cold already. A salad for dinner and to bed!

Day 38, Tuesday, October 6th

Catskill to Kingston

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I wasn't the first in line for the mast this morning, it was my Canadian friends. But I wasn't in a rush after I figured out that my next leg wouldn't be that long today either. When it was my turn everything went smooth. The only problems were that I hadn't realized that some of the clevis pins were a little different from the others, which had me scramble to exchange the pins on the forestay that was already attached with the upper shrouds. After I had fore and backstay, and the two upper shrouds secured Mike took the crane off and let me do the lower spreaders myself, with the result that I put one inside of the lifelines by mistake. However, that wasn't a big problem to solve. I had met another neighbor, John from 'Holly Jean', and he and Bruce helped me to reattach the heavy boom. Finally Caprice was a sailboat again. I didn't want to lose more time to put the sails up yet and departed soon after saying goodbye to my new friends. I hope I see them again on the way.

The weather was even nicer than yesterday, and the tide carried me quickly south, first past the Saugerties light house:

Then under the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge

All the bridges we went under are huge - the Hudson is wide in most areas, and to keep shipping unmolested, the bridges all have huge vertical clearance.

The entrance to Kingston Harbor is protected by the Rondout light house:

Just south of Kingston is Vanderburgh cove, a wider and shallow area of the Hudson, and this is where I dropped the anchor for the night.