We have left and are almost in the Erie Canal. WoooHooo. Our friends Blake and Jane arrived on Saturday, June 4. First, to back track, I never did get a chance to ‘practice with the boat before we left the marina for our trip home. Now, back to the story. They arrived Saturday, and our ‘plan’ was to leave Sunday. However, the weather did not cooperate. The storm was supposed to hit all day, but as the day progressed, it was later and later, however it was very overcast and foggy. Not good weather to see New York City! So we waited till yesterday, Monday, June 6, D-Day, to depart Sea Bright New Jersey. Lance, the owner of the marina came out to see us off and to also let us know that the ‘Seabright Bridge’ had to be called and opened, which we did not know. That was good information. We left, got through the bridge and out into the ‘outer’ or lower harbor of New York. We passed under the Veranzano Narrows Bridge and entered the upper harbor. Manhattan was coming up on our left, and we passed Governors Island, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We passed One World Trade Center. It was AWESOME. Blake helped out at the helm, the boat ran good and we enjoyed the view. We travelled up the Hudson River to Haverstraw, stopping at around 2:30. As this was my first attempt to dock the boat, it provided many in the marina with something to talk about for a long time. My first stop was the fuel dock, not the cleanest arrival. After fueling up and leaving the dock, I spun the boat around and attempted to pull up to a dock on my starboard side. This really did not go well. The dock master was on the dock and I believe she either called people down, or they watched me attempt to dock MULTIPLE times. A guy on the dock kept asking Nancy, doesn’t he have twin engines, why is he using the wheel? They all kept giving advice. They were very patient with me. After eventually giving them a month’s worth of entertainment, we finally tied up. I apologized profusely to all, then humbly thanked them for their patience and help. I did not sleep well last night thinking about my docking experience and having to leave the dock this morning. FINALLY I fell asleep. This morning I pulled away from the dock actually looking like I knew what I was doing.
Today we travelled up the Hudson, past some unbelievable scenery, past some wonderful mansions, past the Roosevelt Mansion and the Vanderbilt Mansions. We travelled past West Point, totally AMAZING AND HUGE. TOTALLY IMPRESSIVE. We travelled up to Albany today. We left around 7:30 AM and got into Albany, NY around 6:30. We are now only about 7 miles from the entrance to the Erie Canal. We have had a great time over the past two days. I actually brought the boat in today, WITHOUT using the wheel and docked the boat just using the controls. Hell, I looked Like I actually knew what I was doing. So tomorrow when we leave, we travel up the Hudson to Troy, NY and enter the Hudson River. I’ll check back in later. Thanks for reading and your support.