GRAY DAY ON THE LOWER HUDSON

The sun never appeared today, August 13, 2009. We would have been depressed having to travel all the way through New York harbor in the gray haze visible in the photo if we hadn't already cruised through the harbor on a stellar day in years past. However, we had to wear long sleeves!

As Lower Manhattan Appears in the Mist

We still had to keep our eyes sharp (including the Helm Queen) with all the ferries, barges, water taxis, and commercial vessels underway or anchored in the huge harbor; with the terrible weather there were very few recreational boats like us. There was a regular broadcast from the Coast Guard telling marine traffic a restricted zone had been established in the area where the plane and helicopter had crashed. When we went by, there were several police boats forming a barricade and a barge with a crane on it. Eddie heard on the news they were getting ready to move the wreckage to Delaware today.

The Helm Queen

Traffic thinned out a lot once we got close to the George Washington bridge and began the northern stretch up the Hudson River. The scenery began changing on the port (west) side of the river with a higher, steeper bank. At the base of the GW bridge sits a pretty little lighthouse, now out of service, since if you can't see the bridge, seeing the lighthouse would be less likely. In which case, you shouldn't be on the river in the first place.

No Light, But Still Bright

The scenery really kicked up a notch again, once we entered the area known as the Palisades. Gone was the metropolis surroundings of the NYC area skyscrapers, replaced with 300-500' cliffs made of columnar basalt. The name is derived from their similarity to the old wooden barrier fortifications. The picture taken on this cloudy day doesn't do justification to how spectacular they appear as you look up at them from the river below.

Palisade Barrier

We were only making about 6 KTS of speed going against the current, so there was plenty of time to see the scenes. Passenger commuter trains were on the tracks that snake along the east shore, serving the local communities and going into NYC. Their mild horn blows provided a quaint backdrop to the hum of our engine. Our sounds were drowned out when we passed under the noisy, ugly, 138' high Tappan Zee bridge. It is having some kind of undercarriage work done, and the porta potty platforms suspended off the sides of the bridge caught my attention. I speculated if they just pulled a plug to drain them!

When You Gotta Go, You Go Anywhere

Since everyone likes lighthouses,including myself I'm always on the alert for them. Once an important navigation aid for the early days of river traffic, they are decommissioned and mostly used as park areas. This one was in such nice shape it deserves some recognition.

Someone Cares

In the movies you always hear about the bad guys (or those so wrongly convicted) getting sent to Sing Sing prison to do their time. We passed right by the sprawling complex. Some of those convicted felons are privy to spectacular scenery. The Fall foliage and snow on the cliffs must be gorgeous!

I Didn't Really Do It, Judge

We called it an early day at 2:30 p.m., not far beyond the prison, where there is a wide area in the river that affords suitable protection from the wind and current, Croton Point. It is across the river from Haverstraw, NY. The state of New York is now on both sides of the river, when we started up river New Jersey was on our port side. Shortly after we had the anchor down, several ducks showed up, thinking BOAT meant “bring out another treat”. This duck had some kind of attachment; perhaps she was on day leave from Sing Sing!

You Can't Tie Me Down