It was late August, and we were just starting to see some colors in the trees. There is mist in the Catskills to the west of the Hudson River valley as we made our way south toward New York City. The weather was cooperating and we had a very nice trip down the river.
I had been planning for days to take a different way around the island of Manhattan, as we are headed east out Long Island Sound. There is a low railroad bridge over the mouth of the Harlem River right at the junction of the Hudson. All the books tell you that the bridge opens on demand. The Harlem River runs around the Northeast side of Manhattan and joins the East River at Hell's Gate. Hell's Gate is known for its very strong currents, so all the advice we had was to hit Hell's Gate at slack tide or with a favorable current. Knowing that it would take us an hour and a half from the Hudson to the East River, we had to time our departure from our marina 20 miles up the Hudson to hit everything at just the right hour. And we did.
Just one problem. As we got to the Harlem River bridge exactly on time, I called the bridge tender on Channel 13 of the VHF, who quickly informed us that they did not have sufficient personnel to open the bridge on demand. The next opening would not be for 4 hours!!!! So quickly on to Plan B. We continued south down the Hudson to the Battery at the bottom of Manhattan, then turn left and go back northeast up the East River and through Hell's Gate. So off we went. Luckily the view is spectacular.
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| The George Washington Bridge looking south down the Hudson |
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| The Freedom Tower is now topped out at 1776 ft. |
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| The United Nations Building from the East River |
The end result was a nice trip around Manhattan and another chance to see this beautiful city from the water. It took a bit longer, but we were still able to hit Hell's Gate at a favorable time to make our way through its strong currents. It starts at Roosevelt Island in the middle of the East River, and then shoots you out into Long Island Sound at LaGuardia Airport. I have flown into New York for years for business, but this was really a special way to see the city and its airports.
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| Roosevelt Island splits the East River into two channels. Texas proud in NYC |
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| Hell's Gate's current shooting us out to Long Island Sound |
The next leg of our trip is into Long Island Sound and explore a whole new cruising area. We hope to spend a couple of weeks off Long Island NY, and the Connecticut shoreline before we need to get south. I hate deadlines on a boat, but we have to be in Baltimore by Sept. 23. So we will see how much of this next waterway we can explore. The navigation will be challenging this time of year, as fog is common. So we will have to be on our best "game" in navigating our way through the Sound. Marc
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| Stepping Stones Lighthouse at the junction of the East River and Long Island Sound |
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| Fog in Mystic, Connecticut. About 100 yards visibility. We're not going anywhere |
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