Kingston, NY to Coeymans, NY

Stats Day: 3

Nautical Miles Traveled Today: 37

Nautical Miles Traveled in Total:  138

# of Locks  Navigated to Date: 0

We departed Kingston shortly after 8:00 but found we had miscalculated the expected current behavior.  We had the current against us for the whole trip today, so we averaged more like 6.5 knots.  Consequently, we did not reach Waterford today and instead stopped at Coeymans, NY which had been recommended to us previously by boater friends. 

Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY

Travels were quiet today.  We passed a tug and a few pleasure craft, but nothing too noteworthy.  Clark took a picture of the tug which on the AIS reporting system claimed to be 94 foot long.  Maybe someone transposed some digits because it was nowhere near that length.

94' - I don't think so!

Along the way we passed under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  The Captain asked me the story behind Rip, and all I could remember was he slept for 20 years.  Wikipedia to the rescue, I was piloting the boat at that time, so Clark looked up the Washington Irving story and gave me the highlights.  The only other part of the story I remembered from my childhood was something about bowling pins.  Rip Van Winkle Bridge is located in the Catskills, and that is where old Rip’s story takes place. 

Rip Van Winkle Bridge on the Hudson River

Numerous trains run up and down along the Hudson River, freight trains on one side and Amtrak on the other.  Frequently we saw one train stops to let another pass.  We saw that with Amtrak - the southbound train gave way to the northbound train.  Just before we saw the 2 trains pass, the Captain pointed out a couple of railroad bridges to me.

Railroad bridge used by Amtrak -  looks pretty rusty to me

Amtrak passing over a railroad bridge

The Hudson River has several lighthouses which we admired along the way like the Hudson-Athens lighthouse shown here.

Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

We arrived at Coeymans, NY just before 2:00 and decided that another 4 hours of boating to get to Waterford was more than we were interested in pursuing today.  We had just enough time to tie up before the skies opened up and buckets of rain fell straight down.  We quickly closed windows, etc.  That storm passed as quickly as it came, but 5 minutes later we got more of the same.  Just enough to make everything very wet.  I noticed a man in a kayak stopped in the rain as it poured down on him the first time, and then again, as we got hit with the second storm.  After the passing deluge, the sun came out bright and hot to help dry things off. As I reopened windows, I watched the drenched kayak'er start on his way with rain dripping from his hat as he paddled towards shore. 

I’m generally oblivious, but the Captain must have inherent radar because no sooner did we tie up than he said, “Look there’s a Mainship!”  I looked around and didn’t see anything I recognized (even though the boat of interest was within 20 feet of me) until he pointed to the next boat over from where I was looking, and sure enough, there sat a carbon copy of our boat, so not just any Mainship, but a Mainship 350 just like ours.  I thought we might meet the owners later, and the Captain could indulge himself in a sharing of Mainship maintenance problems and remedies like he does whenever he finds a fellow Mainship owner.  They do say, “Misery loves company”, and we do have some less-than-favorable Mainship stories of our own to talk about plus any number of wonderful improvements the Captain has added for convenience over the years.  Alas, we never saw the boat owners on the boat.

Before dinner, since we had some spare time, Clark suggested we pull down the kayaks from on top of the boat and go exploring.  We decided to paddle upstream against the wind and current for an easier ride back after exploring.  We were surprised to find parts of the new Tappan zee Bridge either on a barge or being prepared to be loaded onto a barge.  It turns out that Coeysman is where the girders are being fabricated for the new bridge.  

New girder for Tappan Zee Bridge on a barge headed South

Evelyn exploring the work area for the girders

We got back to our boat just before 7:00.  Time to get supper going.  Presently, the boat is overstocked with food since I took everything I thought we might eat from the house to the boat.  We are eating well as we are consuming all the perishable items as quickly as our appetites will allow.  I haven't seen much of a dent in the fridge yet, so I guess I just have to keep eating.  Life is rough, you know!

Believe it or not, already we had a few chores to complete on the boat after dinner; for example, the Captain wanted to rewire his AIS so it didn't have to be on whenever the WiFi is on, which was the case.  We have no need of AIS in the evening which is when we use our WiFi.  We had to lift up the upper helm console, fish around for the wire, and then reconnect it to another switch that gets turned off when we are done navigating for the day.  Surprise, surprise!  While he was looking around under there he found a wire that had come about at its connectors, so he did that quick repair which related to the haler on the boat.  Two repairs for the price of one, and both free except for time!  So nice that the Captain is handy with wires and tools!

After so much excitement today, it is time to call it a day and prepare for more excitement tomorrow. The Captain learned by talking to other boaters (one of his favorite past times) that we may hit a snag on the Erie Canal as several sections of the canal are closed due to high rainwater damages.  They are expected to reopen by Tuesday if there is no more flooding, so that's not so much of a concern. However, since the Erie has been closed since the 16th, boats are collecting along all the available lock walls and marinas while they wait for passage to be open.  We may have difficulty staying at Waterford - a favorite of any boater on the Erie Canal, or perhaps, anywhere else for that matter.  I guess as we get closer to Troy, NY we'll see what we're getting ourselves into as far as places to stay for the next few nights.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of "Boating with CMOS"!