Homeward Bound- Up the Hudson

Sunday June 14th- Anxious to be home we motored thru NY Harbor enjoying the sights. Being a Sunday the ferry and tug traffic was much lighter and the passage less stressful than on our southern journey. We were boarded by the Coast Guard off Manhattan for a safety check and thankfully all was in order. Chris had the wheel during this encounter as I was in the head. I'm still giving her a ribbing over the fact that the only time we were boarded in our 17 years of sailing was while she was in command.

Monday- found us anchored in one of our old haunts at the head of the Rondout Creek in Kingston. Flooding thruout the area had us fighting a swift current much of the day and as we sat at anchor much debris and tree limbs passed us by.

Tues-Tied up for the night at the town dock at Coxsackie (an area we called home for 6 years) where we enjoyed biking around for the afternoon. Along the way we passed the replica of Henry Hudsons ship the Halfmoon.

Wed - a short run to the Castleton Yacht Club where we used their hand crane to unstep our mast in preparation for the low bridges in the Champlain Canal. Kate came down from Albany to help and join us for dinner. All went smoothly and we spent a quiet night on their guest mooring.

Thurs. -Heavy rain much of the day. Motor to Waterford(where the Erie Canal and Hudson River split) and tied up for the night at their free town docks. At least 15 large boats (mostly power) were at the docks waiting for good weather to transit the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes. Many of these boaters were "loopers" (great lakes to Ohio River to Mississippi to Gulf then up east coast) that we had been seeing thru much of our journey.

Fri- On up the Hudson thru the first 7 locks. The current was very swift , in places over 3 mph from all the flooding in the area. The dredging project to clean up the PCB's at Ft Edward is in full swing with numerous barges, cranes, tugs and workboats making passage a challenge. We tied up for the night at the free dock above lock seven and walked around town. The basin at the town park and town docks there are closed during this project but would make a nice stop once the project is done.

Sat - On to Lake Champlain the balance of the locks went smoothly and we anchored in the lee of Fort Ti for a quiet evening.

Sun- motor to Point Bay (south of Essex) Fuel problems again so I pumped tank dry and filled with fresh fuel. Seems OK now but time will tell.

Mon- brought strong north winds and we pounded into steep chop all the way to Plattsburgh. Andros was home!