Now the Hudson

We departed Stamford for Croton on Hudson, a town 44 miles north of NCY in Westchester County on the east side of the Hudson as soon as the waxers completed their work. 

Our route took us west down Long Island Sound to the East River where we went under the Throgs Neck and Whitestone bridges, by LaGaurdia International and through Hell Gate where we took a hard right up the Harlem River, which brought us to the Hudson at around 215th street.  We ran at 1070 RPM, which yields around 9.6 MPH with a neutral current.

Approaching the GW Bridge on the Harlem River

Our timing was fortuitous as we were proceeding west on the tail end of a rising tide.  Speeds averaged 10 MPH along the Sound and built to 14.7 MPH as we approached Hell Gate on the East River.  Speeds dropped slightly on the Harlem as we were at slack tide and then to an average of 8.5 MPH on the Hudson as the tide ebbed.  Overall, including a 20 minute delay at the railroad bridge at the junction of the Harlem and Hudson, we averaged 9.0 MPH and burned 36.6 gallons while covering 60.3 miles.  Not bad.

Railroad bridge at junction of the Harlem & Hudson Rivers

We made an executive decision to take the Harlem River to knock off about 15 miles and the turbulence associated with NY Harbor. 

The Hudson is spectacular and very different from the Western Rivers.  The first thing you notice is the high bluffs especially on the west side between NY City and Croton on Hudson.  The Hudson in his area is wide, deep, relatively debrise free, heavily forrested along with interesting sights along the way.  Below are a few photos:

The Tappanzee Bridge at Tarrytown

High bluffs

Yonkers NY

Sing Sing Prison

We arrived at Halfmoon Bay Marina at 5:15 PM.  Halfmoon Bay is a dockominium marina with approximately 10 transient slips.  Nothing unusual here except for the fact that the condo association has a thing about dogs - they cannot walk on the condo grounds (which is required to get to the parking lot - all 200 feet).  The association requires them to be carried or transported in a cart.  Unbelievable.

View of the Condos at Halfmoon Bay Marina

Guided Discovery in the catbird slip - Great view

After securing the boat, the owner of the marina recommended a market called Yetzinia which was located about a 1/2 mile from the marina.  We walked there and discovered a unique supermarket with a range of prepared foods that Whole Foods would envy.  We had a feast and vowed to eat there for the next fours days.  Yetzinia is very special.  In 4,674 miles of cruising we have seen nothing that compares.  We have landed in a food paradise.

Written by Les.