Heading north to Canada I do not really define as cruising, not at this time of year, anyway. It is an enjoyable motor trip nevertheless with lots to see. We are now traveling on the Hudson River. It is 300+ miles long and flows from north to south through eastern New York. There are many historical sights on both sides of the river. Some of the landmarks might be worthwhile to visit and I can imagine that in the summertime, this waterway will be very busy with recreational vessels. For the time being, most of those crafts are on shore, shrink wrapped or covered up and the marinas and yacht clubs are still closed this far up.





After leaving New York City we anchored for the night on the Hudson River, at the town of Ossining, within sight of "Sing Sing" the famous correctional facility you have probably heard of before. The town Ossining was called previously Sing Sing and had been derived from the name of the Native American tribe, "Sinck Sinck" or "Sint Sinck" from whom the land had been purchased in 1685. The prison complex is massive if you view it from the water and the many guard towers and shiny barbed wire around the compound really earn your respect. I'm glad we were staying on the outside of it.





The next day we passed the United States Military Academy at West Point. The academy sits high on scenic ground overlooking the Hudson River. I believe most buildings are constructed from gray granite and they looked most impressive from our viewpoint.





Was this plane parked for the winter or had barnstorming gone wrong?





What happened to this vessel? We speculated if the repairs of this commercial ship at the shipyard weren't completed before launching, the yard manager now might have terrible nightmares. It sat right in front of the slipway.




This paddlewheel ship we passed seemed to be authentic, using it's paddle wheel for propulsion and not just looks.





Leaving the Hudson river, we proceeded west up the Catskill Creek all the way upstream, where we dropped the hook for a week in front of the fixed low bridge. By the way, the chart we purchased for this trip which had been updated 2010, only two years ago, still lists this bridge as a bascule bridge, although locals told us that the bascule bridge was replaced with this fixed bridge 20 years ago!! This was a dead end for us but no problem to pass under for the many small fishing boats that have homes at the many small marinas lining the creek. A 15 min. walk up on Bridge Street West were a Walmart Super Center, a large Lowe's building supply store, plus other stores and a large Price Chopper supermarket. It was a convenient place for us to head into town for food and supplies. We will be taking our mast down at the Castleton Boat Club further up the Hudson, but that place was not open yet, so we had lots of time to start preparations and for Benno to fabricate a wooden mast support and a fender board to protect our fenders from the rough walls of the locks.





In all the seven years that we have been cruising, this was a first for us. This happened on the hottest day of this spring. The temperature was predicted to be 92˚F, although on the water I think it was probably more like 87˚F, but the wind blew very hot air for sure and it gusted a good 20+ knots from the south. We had left the Catskill anchorage and we were only going to be moving about 15 miles further on the Hudson to an anchorage in a little side arm called Stockport Middle Ground. Following the description of the latest edition of "Skipper Bob" and exactly the markings and drawings of the "previously mentioned chart" we got stuck in the channel at an outgoing tide. Yikes! Our guess is that last year's hurricane "Irene" which had destroyed most marinas on the Hudson River and surrounding creeks and which had caused extensive flooding to buildings on the river, must have caused severe mud slides as it tore through the area.




As the water rapidly vanished under us, Diesel Duck gracefully settled into the mud, making herself comfortable, but NOT US! I know all you sailors are used to be heeled over, but I bet Diesel Duck cranked over even further than what you deem to be comfortable. Let me tell you, walking around the deck or inside the cabin took an acrobatic effort. How long did it last? Well, we got stuck at around 5 p.m. and started working on wiggling free at 11 p.m.