Sonny III goes to Newburgh - Part 2 - Finally!

[DougSea]

Well, I posted part 1 back in August and I know Rob hasn't slept since then, waiting for part 2!

To save you from having to go back and re-read the first post - I was travelling from Sonny III's homeport in Norwalk CT (Home of the New England In-water Boat Show) up to my annual away port in Newburgh NY. Got about halfway there and got stopped by the heat jammed Spuyten Duyvil Bridge where the Harlem River meets the Hudson. So the pics below make up the 20 mile "detour" and the remainder of the trip. Since it hit the 60's here today it seemed appropriate to complete the tale before moving on to 2011 stories!

So here we go. First we get to check out the Columbia University crew facility (opposite the big "C")

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Another view of Manhattan's Red-Neck Yacht Club. Always amazes me! The swamp should consume it soon, there's less and less of it above water each year.

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Where's Spiderman? The Rosevelt Island Tram.

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Here's the UN. Don't see any black helicopters. They must be around here somewhere. For those who've never been here, there's a pretty significant set of standing waves just north of here (I'm on the East River now) when the tide and river run against each other.

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If you look REALLY hard you can see the Statue of Liberty under the bridge.

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Requisit picture of the Brooklyn Bridge. I hear it's for sale...

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Oh wait! There ARE black helicopters!

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Ok, we're in the Hudson now, finally heading North. There's the Intrepid, recently back in place after a significant makeover in New Jersey.

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And one of the Concordes sitting next to her.

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Here's the "Little Red Lighthouse", or more correctly the "Jeffreys Hook Lighthouse", tucked under the eastern end of the George Washington Bridge.

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And look! There's the Spuyten Duyvil again! Right as I was approaching it an FDNY patrol boat pulled up to it and asked for an opening. Denied! I would have been a little less than happy if it had opened! I was reading water temps in the 90's at this point!! And no breeze.

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Now we're in Yonkers. Great restaurant, X2O, jutting out into the river.

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The Tappen Zee Bridge. Almost 3 miles long! The size of the barriers around the base is pretty impressive.

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Now we're getting someplace. Tomkins Cove, just north of Haverstraw Bay. The river starts to narrow down and feel like a river instead of a bay. The Indian Point nuclear plant is here.

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And one of my favorite sights! The Bear Mountain Bridge rising above a much narrower, and MUCH deeper, river. Up until now the max depth has been an occasional 50' with 20-30' more common. For the next several miles there will be sections that go over 160' down.

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The USMA at West Point. It goes on for a while but this is the "traditional" view.

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Finally, off of Newburgh, just 2 hours later than planned!

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Front street in the distance.

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And finally, after all that, Sonny at the Dock. AC plugged in and cranking! Had some great dinners at the nearby restaurants. Hoping I can make the trip again this year.

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So there you have it. If you ever find yourself in a position to run up the river I recommend it. I've only been as far up as Kingstown, about 40 miles further up, but am really looking forward to trips up to Troy and the canals beyond.

Now...can spring show up??

[RobS]

And I thought Part II went by the wayside with Sonny III. You're gonna miss that boat but it will be easy to overcome for sure with the fine replacement in Sonny IV.

Thanks for the posting, can't wait to be back out there! John on HomeInstead and I have talked about doing a run up the Hudson.

And I thought you did that trip alone - who is the girl in the boat at the dock!!

[Chuck Waygood]

Great photos and excellent commentary, Doug. I look forward to your journey to Kingston (not "town") and beyond, maybe all the way to Lake Champlain and Vermont? Spring is coming, 41 days until April Fools Day when Spring is within hailing distance ! Cheers...

[rcornejo]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for sharing that with us. I have never had the time to travel to that part of the US so I enjoyed seeing your photos and getting a little information about it. Great shots and history.

By the way, I noticed that you had two chairs at the stern of your boat. Do you have the flush deck on your Albin or enginie box?

Roland

[jcollins]

Thanks for posting Doug. I was wondering about Part II. You will have to duplicate the run with new boat and let us know how it goes. I do love cruising the Chesapeake but it's always fun to come into the Baltimore harbor and see the city skyline.

Thanks again,

John

[tbnolin]

Great photos! All reminiscent our trip up from the Sound last Spring. With Brenda's iphone, were able to take the snapshot and send it out as we headed up river. A great trip. Highly recommend it to anyone that's looking for a nice easy cruise.

[zinbaad]

Thanks Doug for sharing all those great pics..Sometimes I take all those beautiful sites for granted being so close to most of them... This year I do hope to travel up to West Point & Bear Mountain and spend the night on the hook, get Mahalo a good fresh water bath too

[DougSea]

Thank you all for the kinds comments! It does feel nice to know the posting (and FANTASTIC writing) efforts are appreciated!

Rob - you caught me...

in a bit of editorial slight of hand! The picture at the dock is just before we left for the return trip. Still warm but not nearly as bad as the trip up. The best part of my spot there was the side to tie. Had me parallel to the river current which made things MUCH easier.

I am going to miss Sonny III, she has been everything I'd hoped and so much more. As much as I think I'm going to enjoy the 35 I'll always think of the 28 when I hear the Albin name. They are such awesome boats!!

Chuck - you know, I typed "Kingstown", looked at it, said "that's wrong"...and then forgot to change it! I think at that point I was 30+ minutes into picture loading and writing and I was afraid something would happen and I'd lose the post. So I hit submit.

Kingston is a nice little spot. I'm hoping we can do a night there if I get up the river again this summer.

Roland - Engine box model. Sit back in my comfy West Marine SS deck chairs, feet on the engine box, very nice!

And John, as I always I say THANK YOU for running the little group of ours! I do like to get down to the city every now and then. Long Island Sound is great but when you circle Manhattan there's just so much to see.

I'm looking forward Tom to getting up to your neck of the woods one of these days. I know on another post (Intro Sonny IV I think) you said I could ask all the questiions I want about the run up the river. If it's ok with you I thought I might start another post here in the cruising section - make it easier for others to find it in the future. What do you think?

And Ed - watch for the upcoming "cruising the Hudson" post! I highly recommend making the trip. Newburgh should be an easy one day ride for you, leaving plenty of time for sightseeing along the way. There are a couple of spots that would probably work well for an overnight stay on the hook. I'll see if I can post some lat/lon's with a bit of commentary soon.

[tbnolin]

I think that sounds like a great idea. The area up this way shouldn't be missed if you have some time to cruise it.