The Hudson River is an amazing river in many ways. It is very deep, tidal all the way to Troy (~160 miles), has very steep shoreline in some places making for dramatic canyon views, and it hasn't been developed like the Jersey shoreline. In fact, it takes a natural look right from the George Washington Bridge in NYC where the British scaled the ramparts north of today’s bridge to attack General Washington’s revolutionary army. It was not one of George’s better moments, he should have anticipated that one, but I digress.
The Palisades the British scaled to attack George’s army.
In the picture you can see the depth at 143 and we were only 100ft or so from the shore. It is really cool but inhospitable to the anchoring leg of the boater’s tirade; sailing, motoring, and anchoring.
We very much wanted to get out and tour the Military Academy at West Point but the charts and waterway guide didn't indicate anyway to do so. I assumed we could scope it out and see some detail that I missed by noticing what others were doing. We didn't see anything and the piers we approached were definitely not available for our use. In the world after 911 it’s all about security.
Anyone who's been to West Point knows it is a stunning view up and down the river. From the water, it’s not obvious those ashore have such a great view, instead we were looking up tall cliffs in a relatively narrow channel. As we transited the academy, the winds were blowing down the river between 15 and 20 kts with gusts up to 35kts. Add to that an ebb tide (it was flowing against us) at 2kts and we were only making about 4kts over ground. The waves started picking up as we traveled north when the fetch grew to multiple miles.
It was getting late, about 1500 and we were still about an hour out from the anchorage I'd selected. It was marked on the charts and the write up indicated it was an okay place to spend the night. What was missing from the write up was a reference to the size boat that would work in the designated location. I now suspect it was a skiff. Below is an illustration of the dynamic we encountered upon arrival.
We moved on as my anxiety rose, not wanting to be in a gale on a strange river at night. But the Lord provided us with an acceptable alternative with 30 minutes to spare before nightfall. And as we approached, we observed our concern visualized (see the picture below).
This poor guy was fine ultimately but he was stuck with a 30 degree list until the tide came back up. He was very lucky it worked out okay. In the end, we had a great evening and all was well. In the future we will try to have better intel our destination. But that doesn't mean we will, only that we'll have a plan unlike today.
The Palisades the British scaled to attack George’s army.
In the picture you can see the depth at 143 and we were only 100ft or so from the shore. It is really cool but inhospitable to the anchoring leg of the boater’s tirade; sailing, motoring, and anchoring.
We very much wanted to get out and tour the Military Academy at West Point but the charts and waterway guide didn't indicate anyway to do so. I assumed we could scope it out and see some detail that I missed by noticing what others were doing. We didn't see anything and the piers we approached were definitely not available for our use. In the world after 911 it’s all about security.
Anyone who's been to West Point knows it is a stunning view up and down the river. From the water, it’s not obvious those ashore have such a great view, instead we were looking up tall cliffs in a relatively narrow channel. As we transited the academy, the winds were blowing down the river between 15 and 20 kts with gusts up to 35kts. Add to that an ebb tide (it was flowing against us) at 2kts and we were only making about 4kts over ground. The waves started picking up as we traveled north when the fetch grew to multiple miles.
It was getting late, about 1500 and we were still about an hour out from the anchorage I'd selected. It was marked on the charts and the write up indicated it was an okay place to spend the night. What was missing from the write up was a reference to the size boat that would work in the designated location. I now suspect it was a skiff. Below is an illustration of the dynamic we encountered upon arrival.
We moved on as my anxiety rose, not wanting to be in a gale on a strange river at night. But the Lord provided us with an acceptable alternative with 30 minutes to spare before nightfall. And as we approached, we observed our concern visualized (see the picture below).
This poor guy was fine ultimately but he was stuck with a 30 degree list until the tide came back up. He was very lucky it worked out okay. In the end, we had a great evening and all was well. In the future we will try to have better intel our destination. But that doesn't mean we will, only that we'll have a plan unlike today.
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