Hudson River Valley

**    New York City to Waterford, NY   **

We bid farewell to New York City and headed north on the Hudson River early morning. We hadn’t ventured north on the river through the city and all the sights of the city from the water were new and interesting. The city went on for miles. We cruised the portion where Captain Sully landed US Airways Flight 1549 on that January day in 2009. We have prepared ourselves for a lot of scenarios on our trip, but sharing the water way with a jet liner isn’t one of them. We have shared with sea planes and will have a lot more of that as we venture into remote Canada but for this day it was only ferries, running hard, and crisscrossing the Hudson.

New York City to Troy, NY

The Hudson River is 315-miles long flowing from north to south primarily through eastern New York. We would transit 156.5 miles of the Hudson River before turning west to navigate the Erie Canal. The Hudson originates in the Adirondack Mountains and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to New York Harbor between New York City and Jersey City, eventually draining into the Atlantic Ocean at Upper New York Bay. The river serves as a physical boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Farther north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties. The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary. Even as far north as the city of Troy, the flow of the river changes direction with the tides.

Good Bye New York!

As the city disappeared behind us, we settled into an old familiar rhythm. We were on a river again, with easy navigation, little traffic, and beautiful scenery. This reminded us of our home waters on the inland rivers. It felt welcoming and easy. It was the first time our captain relaxed at the helm in a long time.

George Washington Bridge and Little Red Lighthouse

We would cruise forty miles to Cortlandt Yacht Club, in Cortlandt, NY, transiting under the George Washington Bridge where the little red light house is tucked away by the bridge abutment. We would spend a couple of nights in Cortlandt, renting a car with our buddy boat crew to sight see north of the city.

Cortlandt Yacht Club on the Hudson River

Another nice yacht club along our route with welcoming members who helped us tie up and drove David and Jordan to get a rental car. We drove the river road about an hour north of us and dined at the Culinary Institute of America or as it is known, the CIA, in Hyde Park, New York. The first culinary school in the nation, specializing in culinary, baking, and pastry arts education. The campus and student run restaurants are nestled among the tree lined Hudson River, a beautiful back drop for an incredible dining experience.

Culinary Institute of America, Dave and Reed were twinning for dinner

The following day, a shorter drive along the Hudson had us touring the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. This fortress of a campus, training our Army officers, was originally established as a fort during the American Revolutionary War, and sits on strategic ground overlooking the Hudson River 50 miles north of New York City.

Hudson River view from West Point grounds

The Chapel was beautiful, and you can see the precise placement of the Bibles and hymnals.

West Point Chapel

Our guide explained a monument of thirteen chain links, the original chain links soldiers strung across the river. The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. They were to keep the British from sailing upriver.

The Hudson River Chains

Hand forged in a furnace burning one acre of trees a day, the links varied in length. Of those that exist today, some measure 19 inches in length while other are as long as 36.5 inches.

The United States Military Academy at West Point

After touring the Military Academy, we had the pleasure of seeing West Point by water as we cruised by the following day, wondering what it would be like to be met with those chains they used as a defense in the Revolutionary War.

West Point from the water

We transited slowly by Pollepel Island, a 6.5 acre mostly rock, uninhabited island, with the feature on the island being the ruins of Bannerman’s Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse. Built in the early 1900’s by Francis Bannerman and used to store his surplus military wares from his retail sight the city. Left vacant after a storm in 1950 and bought by the state in the late 1960’s it was devasted by a fire in 1968. The ruins of the mansion is now entrusted to the non-profit Bannerman Castle Trust, dedicated to pooling resources and funding to stabilize the buildings on Pollepel Island and raise awareness about the island value and history.  

Bannerman Castle

As we cruised the Hudson, we were met with some the most unique lighthouses we have seen on our voyage. Lots of them, light keeper houses, one now an Air BnB, all capturing the quaintness of the Hudson River. One such marks the entry to Kingston, New York where we would stop for a night and raft off Live the Dash enjoying the maritime museum and the hippie river town. Lots of shops, eateries, donuts, and drinking haunts. The hippie vibe made sense when we realized how close to Woodstock we were, just 60 miles away!

Hudson River Lighthouses

Kingston, New York

Making our way to Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore for some downtime, we caught up with Karen, Eric, and Tank on Tropical Horizons. They shared their vast knowledge of the Erie Canal and Trent Severn Waterway. The Tropical Horizons crew are Harbor Hosts in Trent, ON and have navigated this leg of the trip numerous times. Karen even gave us our first Canadian money of the trip, $5.25, as there is a bridge when entering Canada that only takes Canadian Cash to traverse. We would be set prior to entering Canada.

River shots near Shady Harbor, Tropical Horizons is a 1958 Burger

We also attended the Coxsackie Yacht Club’s open house with Karen and Eric. We have enjoyed the yacht clubs along the loop and this was no exception. A friendly group of mariners wanting to share their love of the water with others. They also shared free boater education, hot dogs and popcorn and $2 draft beers. We love the yacht club bar bills.

Our Captain has enjoyed the many trains along the Hudson River

We continue to cruise with the crew of Live the Dash, enjoying our time with this family and providing a little bit of normalcy to this nomad life. We share meals, laughs, routing and planning, and the occasional boat project or at least advice. It’s been a joy to see our travels through the eyes of Lauren and Reed. What an adventure for all of us, but so magical for a kid.

The crew of Live the Dash

We would pass Albany, the state capital on the way to our last stop on the Hudson River would be Troy, New York, a small town that has lay along docks on the waterfront. We stumbled into a VEG OUT Vegan festival and quickly made our way to the local BBQ joint for brisket, pork, and wings. This crew may be eating more vegetables than ever, but we will never be converted by a VEG OUT festival.

Albany and Troy New York

After our quick night in Troy, we made our way through our first lock of many we will encounter this summer. This lock on the Hudson River is just south of where the Erie and Champlain Canals start. We would be back in fresh water for the remainder of our loop and out of tidal waters. What a welcome sight.

Locking through to fresh water and to the Erie Canal

Up through the lock, we made a left in the channel and headed to Waterford, New York, home of the Erie Canal Visitor Center and beginning of the Canal from the East. We would spend the night on a free wall before beginning our westwardly jaunt on the Erie and Oswego Canals heading to Lake Ontario. We are so excited to cruise the canals into Ontario, it’s going to be a great summer!

Cheers!  David, Tasha,  

                 

& Remy, forever in our hearts. Loop Dog – 1 year and 3357 miles

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