Log June 4th 2010 – Up the River and Down with the Mast

No time for hanging around. After a great sleep and after tidying up the boat we set the course for up the Hudson River. We had about 170 miles to go to get to the entrance of the Erie Barge Canal.

A motor trip through New York Harbour gives you lots to look at – ferry boats, big ships, helicopters, tall buildings and of course the Statue of Liberty. It was not nearly as busy and scary as we remembered….but then again we have a lot more experience now!

Once past NYC there was no traffic on the river at all. We decided to have a couple of days rest at Nyack and picked up a mooring ball – the weather was supposed to turn rainy and windy and nasty. Imaging our surprise when the next morning a guy comes over on a skiff and asks us for $35 DOLLARS for the damn ball! (Our cruising guide had listed it at $5). We got huffy and paid the man, and promptly pulled up anchor and left.

There was a good anchorage just 6 miles away and we dropped there among all the little weekend warrior power boats, looking scruffy and conspicuous among the shiny little fast boats. We stayed there two nights, while the weather deteriorated. It got squally, cloudy and cold. We saw 47 knots in a sustained squall which turned the anchorage into a very rough place. Motoring into the wind took some of the strain off the anchor. Most of the squall was over by nightfall, but it was a bouncy night for sleeping!

On Monday, we set the alarm and were underway by 5AM for a long run to the next anchorage. It is much colder now and we’re freezing. After a long motoring day we found the very narrow entrance to a tiny creek listed in the cruising guide as an anchorage. Saugerties. We stuck our huge old boat into a tiny spot meant for a canoe or something because it sure wasn’t very big. Thank god there was no wind. We spun around there for the night and were gone first thing the next morning.

Temperatures in the mid 40’s. Brrrr!!!! We motored the short distance (16 miles) to Catskill where we docked to a low little dock ready to take down the mast.  We took advantage of being there and filled diesel, water and I did 3 loads of laundry in the coin-operated washer. All the canvas and the dodger frame had to be removed.  The team of three guys and Ed got the boat into the little slip and pulled the mast out with the crane. It was stuck pretty good. But finally she popped out and they laid the long mast along the length of the boat where they balanced on two by fours it and tied it up tight. We remained on the dock for a couple more hours to put the canvas back up (protection from rain and cold). And then we were off again, to anchor for the night out in the river out of the big boat traffic lane.

Once again we set the alarm for 5AM and motored the rest of the way up the river. This was to be a day we were not looking forward to – locking through into the Erie Barge Canal. A very cold morning with dark clouds threatening to rain, we motored up towards Troy lock and called the lockmaster on the VHF. Here goes nothing.

The Troy lock is very long, not very wide, and there was nobody else going through with us. Hooray! Chance to get practiced. We have 23 or so more of these locks to do before we are done with the Erie Barge. Ed motored us into the lock, and I grabbed a big 6” steel pipe, which I wrapped around with a line from our mid-ships cleat. Then it was a matter of turning off the motor, Ed manned the line and I fended us off the walls with a boathook.

We were through the first hurdle. A short motor up river, we turned off to the Erie Barge Canal where there is a Visitor Center, a FREE dock with FREE power, FREE water and FREE WiFi. Now that’s a town that knows what they are doing. We plugged in our heater, dropped down the plastic around the cockpit and closed up the boat, basking in warmth while it rained all night.

 We are staying here an extra day to let the rain pass and to do some much needed grocery shopping, since we are down to pancakes and hot dogs.

Tomorrow we start locking through.