Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The wind woke us up a few times in the night. We were up at 5:30am and heading upriver by 6:15 am. The temperature was around 60°F, winds were out of the north at 15 knots, and the skies were clear. Gale was somewhat concerned about fighting a tidal current, a north wind and traveling upstream; however, as it turned out, we averaged over 6 knots on the trip by using both a small headsail and our motor which allowed us to make very good time. The further up the Hudson we traveled, the less tidal it became. Interesting sights along the river included Palisades State Park, West Point Academy and the ruins of an old full size castle, Bannerman Castle, on Pollepel Island.
For the first day, we made it halfway to the Erie Canal and stopped at what appeared to be a really small town, Hyde Park Landing. The signs along the riverbank announced that there were two buoys offered for transient boaters, such as ourselves. We hooked on to one of these and spent a very comfortable evening on the boat.