Croton-on-Hudson

We left Sandy Hook and headed up the Hudson River towards Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson. This is the same place we stayed at last year when we visited our friend John.

We woke at first light so we could catch the flood tide. I was nervous to do the Hudson River again and hoping there would be less traffic early in the morning. Last year, there was so much traffic that my charting software kept crashing. I had to turn off the AIS because there were too many targets for it to track.

To our surprise, the Hudson River was empty. I think we only saw a single Staten Island Ferry, and a couple of tug boats. I’m not complaining, just very surprised.

We rode the current the entire way. We stopped off to fill our diesel tank and then pulled into our slip at the marina. Once we docked, one of the first places we went to was the local bagel shop, and that evening we got pizza. I love the bagels and pizza in New York. We were able to get good pizza in Palm Beach, but not the bagels.

While in Croton-on-Hudson , we were able to meet up with our friend John and have dinner again. New York had just started to allow indoor dining so we took advantage of that. It wasn’t too popular since we were the only ones eating in. Everyone else was still doing takeout.

During our week stay, we rode our bikes to the Croton Gorge state park, which was open and allowing visitors. The county park next to the marina was only allowing county residents in and had guards checking IDs.

We’ve been in flat lands since we left Quebec last year, so we didn’t think anything about the 3 mile bike ride to the state park. Well, we’re not in the flat lands anymore. I was huffing and puffing trying to make it up some of the hills, wishing I had even lower gears. A few times I’d give up and just walk the bike. We eventually made it without my heart exploding. We were both amazed at how beautiful the area was, and the size of the dam. We didn’t do much exploring last year because we were hurrying south before it got too cold. And yes, the bike ride home was much easier. I might need new brakes, but it was easier.

To go through the Erie Canal, we have to take our mast down. We were still trying to decide if we’re going to ship the mast on a truck, or carry it on the boat. If we shipped it, the radar had to be removed. I never saw how the boat yard installed it, and was concerned they used rivets instead of screws, which is common on masts. Sue didn’t feel comfortable raising me up the mast and offered to go herself and check it all out. Up she went and she was able to take lots of pictures of the radar and spreaders.

After many phone calls and going back and forth, we have decided to carry the mast on the boat.

But, more on the Canal issues and the decisions we made next time…