July 21st 2016
Cold Spring, NY
The magic of a hot shower and comfortable bed should not be taken for granted. Yeah, I got to sleep in this morning. After a very long paddle the day and evening before, I rested well in a real bed. I woke up around 7am and got to work on the blog as I was just too tired the night before.
Arlene drove me back to Marlboro where I found my kayak locked behind the security gate on the dock and no one around to open it. Well that’s a little problem and one easily resolved…with a swim. Yep, I swam out to the kayak on the dock and untied her. Then I paddled her back to the launch ramp to load her back up with my gear. I hit the water at 1pm, my latest start to date, but one that would work well today as Arlene wouldn’t be able to meet up with me till about 7pm this evening and after yesterdays fiasco, I installed Kayak Launch sites on both our phones so we can see where I can get off the river in case I didn’t find a marina again.
I wasn’t on the water long before a large freighter was bearing down on me. She looked familiar and sure enough, I had or rather, she had passed me up in Kingston. She’s the freighter with the rescue pod on the back. I gave a wave as she powered on by. I find it remarkable that the wake from these freighters and tugs are smaller than the motorboats that pass by me.
It was hot on the river, but there was a gentle headwind helping me keep cool. I also noticed that since passing under the Mid-Hudson Bridge yesterday, I had not seen anymore dead fish. That was confirmed today with not one sighting down here. Perhaps because the river is much deeper, I don’t know.
The Newburgh Beacon bridge lay in front of me today and like the days before, these giant structures appear much closer than they are and it would take almost half my day to get under it. I stopped for a break at the Chelsea Yacht Club to get out of the sun for a bit and to wait for Slack Tide before Low Tide would begin and I could run the current. I got to talk to some nice folks there and watched the kids in the sailing program having a blast out on the water. Did you know you can get your kids into a sailing program? It sure is a great way to introduce them to boating.
After my break I hit the water and paddled through all the sailboats on their moorings as I headed for the bridge. I finally arrived passing under it and was in awe at how big it is from way down here. With the bridge behind me now I headed for Beacon. Passing Beacon and even Newburgh (on the west side) on the water is strange for me. I only know these two cities from the inner city. From the water, these two cities that sit across from each other look beautiful and peaceful. Even Poughkeepise from the day before looked charming from the river.
As I passed by Beacon, I saw the spot I had looked at on a map where I could camp if needed. Though I won’t be needing to camp from here through NYC, I still wanted to see what it offered. There were people on the beach enjoying the water, dogs frolicking and a child bathing while his Mom looked on so I paddled over to say Hi. That is where I met Wanda, Jan and Susan aka Suzy Red. These three ladies met each other forty years ago while waitressing at Monty’s Raw Bar in Coconut Grove, FL. They had not seen each other for forty years and thanks to Facebook, they found each other and came here to Beacon for a reunion. They were so much fun to talk to that I could have stayed all afternoon chatting with them, but I did need to make it to Cold Spring tonight so I said good bye and hoped to see them in Key West next year.
Pulling out from the shore I was again reminded of how rich this area is with free public parks where people can get out and enjoy the water. Why more people are not taking advantage of these places is beyond me. These free parks should be full of people on such a hot summer day and yet, there were 6 people in all there.
Bannerman’ Castle or rather Bannerman’s Island Arsenal lay ahead of me and the sun was beginning to set. Soon, I’d be loosing the Ebb tide as well so I paddled on toward Bannermans. Last time I was there, I had Lexie on board. In fact, the next couple of days would be tough as Lexie and I had paddled this region lat year as she was battling cancer and we had visited Cold Spring on the motorcycle one day too.
I took some pictures of the remains of Bannerman’s and paddled on toward Cold Spring. As I began closing in on Cold Spring I lost my bearings. Last time I paddled here, there was an island on the East shore that I had paddled around and it had a swift current. I didn’t see this island now and yet I could swear that what I was seeing up ahead was Cold Spring. I checked my map and it should be, but the missing island had me confused so I paddled on forward staying out in the middle.
Sure enough, it was Cold Spring ahead of me and I approached the Cold Spring Boat Club docks, but something was wrong. The island wasn’t the only thing missing. I wasn’t seeing the Boat Club building either. There were boats in the slips, but no Boat Club. I entered cautiously and found an empty slip to tie up to. I walked up and saw the entire area where the club’s building was now gone and there is a big construction project going on. This posed a problem as without a clubhouse for members to hang out at; whom would I ask permission from? Turning around to look back at the water, I caught a glimpse of some people on a boat on the other dock so I walked over and introduced myself. Well, actually, before I even got to introduce myself, one of the gentlemen on the boat said I look thirsty and offered me a beer; after that we got to the introductions and as it turns out, I was talking to Mark, the Commodore of the Cold Spring Boat Club.
Mark told me what was happening at the club. Turns out it’s a Super Fund site that the DEC or DEP is cleaning up and the building they were leasing had to be torn down. The club is facing a tough time ahead of them as they will be forced to rebuild the clubhouse. On a positive note, the club is going to have new facilities so if you are a boater in this area, you should consider joining them. They are great folks here. Very friendly and accommodating to this stranger.
Before I left Mark I asked him where he came up with the name of his boat. He told me the prior owner had named it, after his dog who had passed away. The name of Marks boat is Lexus. I showed Mark my tattoo of Lexie who is also named after the Lexus. Coincidence? You decided, but that was just too strange for me to discount.
Well, I’m quickly nearing the end of the Hudson River. Tomorrow I’m shooting for the Croton Sailing School. It will be a 16-mile push to get there, but it has some importance to me. This is where I learned to sail a keelboat and earned my ASA Keel Boat Certification many years ago. This is where I began making my dream of living on a sailboat a reality. Looking at the Sailboats at the 79th Street Boat Basin in NYC is where my dream of living on a sailboat began so I am hoping to make that a stop as well.
(side note: A few days ago, Lexie’s bone chip came out of my arm where it had been implanted a while ago. Arlene (Lexie’s Mommy) joked that Lexie really didn’t like to kayak like she did riding the motorcycle. I have to admit that is true. Lexie tolerated kayaking to be with me, but her thing was riding. Well, I mailed that bone chip back to Arlene on the 18th of July. It arrived today. That means that I paddled from there to here quicker than the US Postal Service delivered first class mail. Perhaps they want to give me some mail bags to take with me on my trip)
Day 20 Done.
Enjoy the pictures.
