Friday, June 28: Cruising up to Kingston, NY

Date:                           June 28, 2013

Day on the Cruise:      74

From:                          Half Moon Bay Marina, Croton - on - Hudson, NY                                                  

To:                              Kingston City Marina, Kingston, NY

Statute Miles:              57.3 SM

Time:                          6.5 Hrs

Cumulative Miles:       1,874.5 SM

On Board:                  Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut


Tonight we are in Kingston, NY which is about 90 miles North of New York City and about 70 miles South of the entrance to the Erie Canal.

Kingston, NY

Kingston, NY

We cruised up the Hudson River in mostly beautiful weather after getting a pump out at Half Moon Bay. Thanks to fellow Looper Fred from Bonita Springs, FL for helping us with dock lines and the pump hose at Half Moon.

We left Half Moon Bay in a rain shower

Soon the skies cleared and it was a beautiful morning

The Hudson Valley again did not disappoint. So beautiful with majestic mountain scenery around every bend. The sight of the Bear Mountain Bridge crossing the River in a gorge-like setting with the forested hillsides was beautiful.

The Bear Mountain Bridge

Soon we saw The U.S. Military Academy at West Point ("West Point") in the distance. The fortress appearance from the River is amazing. Talk about a symbol of power and might! West Point sits up on a high hill and the stone walls and heavy stone construction gives this facility a fortress appearance. On the North end of the property are some newer buildings that don't fit in with the original appearance. The Athletic fields are around a big bend in the River down along the water.

Approaching West Point

West Point from the Hudson River

The next memorable sight was Storm King Mountain. At almost 1,400 feet high, it's craggy cliffs are a sight to behold.

Here the Hudson River looks like a gorge

Storm King Mountain ahead on the Left

The craggy cliffs of Storm King Mountain

We passed the river towns of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. There are two big bridges across the river at Poughkeepsie. One is an old railroad bridge that is now a walking trail.

North of Poughkeepsie we saw the Vanderbilt mansion and other big homes along the river. We could not see FDR's home which we visited yesterday. The CIA also has a big facility along the River. The Culinary Institute of America has their training facilities here and many great chefs have trained here. The CIA is open to the public for meals. We have met many Looper who have partaken of this fancy cuisine.

The "CIA" (Culinary Institute of America)

Higher Mountains in the distance as we neared Kingston. We hit some rain showers as we were coming into Kingston.

We think this is the Vanderbilt mansion

We bucked the tide in the Hudson River most of the way on our trip today. It is hard to believe that there is still a strong tide of about 4' so far from the ocean. We will have a tide  all the way up to Albany.

Kingston, NY is a very old River town. It is located on Rondout Creek off the Hudson. We came into the creek through a jettied entrance and came about a mile to the very old downtown area. There are lots of boats and many are Loopers that are stuck here waiting for the Erie Canal to re-open, which did not happen today! We officially became one of the "stuck" Loopers!

Coming into Rondout Creek to Kingston, NY

Kingston, NY

At 5:00 we were invited to join about 14 other Loopers for dock tails. We are docked along a wall at the City Marina. There are several other Looper boats along the wall. Next to the City Marina is a Maritime Museum that also has a dock where Loopers are tied up. We had the dock tails next to the Maritime Museum!

After meeting the Loopers and enjoying drinks, most of us went to dinner at an Irish pub just up the street from the docks. It was very good. We walked the short distance to our boat in the rain after eating.

Tomorrow we stay here in Kingston. The Erie Canal did not open this morning because of heavy rains overnight. The Canal is now closed between locks E2 and E22, which means that you can't even get into the Canal from the Hudson at Waterford, NY. Someone said that there are 70 Looper boats waiting to get into the Canal. We look at the NY Canal Website several times a day for updates on the closings. We have about a week of buffer time to allow us to get into the Canal, so right now we are OK.

Thanks for Reading!