New York to Erie Canal on the Hudson River
June 2015
Sailing past the West Point Academy.
Building the cradle for the mast.
Unstepping the mast at Castleton.
Ready to continue on the Erie Canal with mast stepped down.
After a pleasant 10 days at the 79th Street Boat Basin and we were ready to start travelling north. During our 2010 trip we had taken the East River to come out to the Atlantic Ocean. This time we were to take the Hudson River up to the Erie Canal. Banu’s daughter Deniz flew to Istanbul on the 6th and we left New York on June 7th 2015.
As we went under the George Washington Bridge, the concrete blocks of New York City started giving way to green trees.Due to the recent downpour the Hudson River was flowing quite rapidly so our speed was relatively low and it turned out to be a very long day of sailing and motorsailing. Later in the afternoon we left the left the West Point Academy on port and tied up at the dock of a restaurant called Mariners on the Hudson for a well deserved dinner.
The next day also turned out to be a long day. We left early from the dock to arrive at Castleton where we were to unstep the mast. We had heard that the Castleton Yacht Club had a self operated crane which we could use for a small fee. The rain got heavier and heavier as we approached Castleton. We contacted the Castleton Yacht Club and learned that an overnight stay on their dock would cost us $ 20 and we would have to pay an additional fee of $ 50 for the crane while we did all the work for unstepping the mast and placing it on the boat. The alternative was to pay $ 400-500 at a boat yard.
We were quite disappointed by the “yacht club” we encountered when we tied up to their docs. It was a run down building, simple bar, and just a few customers. During our walk through the town were were to see a lot of boarded-up, dilapidated buildings.
Luckily the next day was sunny and bright. We started by taking all the sails down and stowing them in the cabin. Peter placed the bridle on the mast, loosened the shrouds and and Banu pushed the button for the crane! We slowly took mast down and laid it on the cradle that Peter had built on deck. We were to continue the rest of our journey with the mast on the deck and sticking out a few feet on each end!
We went by Albany and Troy before we reached Waterford, a true canal town. between the Hudson River and the, it marks the official beginning of both the Erie Canal and Champlain Canal. Here the docks were free and the town offers lots of restaurants and stores for supplies.
We visited the Peeples Island State Park which is across the canal and spend some time walking through town. We also paid the Erie Canal fee which at the time was $ 50. Since docking along the canal was free, this was to be our spending for the next month or so! We were now ready for the bridge-opening in the morning.