Waterford, NY to Haverstraw Bay, NY: 08/20/11 – 08/31/11

Rising water in Albany.

What a long, strange trip it’s been.  Oh wait, I think some obscure band already used that line.  Anyway, we’re in Half Moon Bay Marina on Haverstraw Bay for the second time on our cruise back to the Chesapeake.

We left Waterford after the rains eased and worked our way south through the last lock in Troy – yeah!!!  With good current behind us, we were soon in Catskill Marina where we put the mast and the bimini back up.

Before long, the boat was looking ship-shape again.  I, unfortunately, was not.  It seems that a 20 year long pre-hernia condition was no longer “pre”.  Apparently it decided that doing all those locks wasn’t a good idea and I suspected things had “let go”, so to speak.

We agreed that the best thing to do would be to see my Doctor in Annapolis to confirm the diagnosis and to discuss a treatment plan rather than do anything while in New York.  The first thing was to get the boat a little closer so we moved down the river to Half  Moon Bay Marina in Haverstraw Bay.  We have anchored here many times but we thought a marina would be a better choice given our plans.  It’s a nice marina that is fairly well protected except from the six-a-day ferry passings that get everyone rolling for a minute or so.

After a long day on the river, we walked into Croton for some New York style Pizza.  It was excellent and we went to bed sated.

The next morning, I caught a cab to the Croton train station and headed first to Penn Station and then to the station at Baltimore’s airport.  Finally it was a short shuttle ride to the storage facility where our car was parked.

After getting the parked-for-a-long-time lumps out of the tires, I headed for the Doctor’s office and a quick exam.  They said to head across the street to the imaging shop where in a matter of minutes I was drinking some disgusting barium stuff and then laying on the CT scan slab.  Fifteen minutes after that, it was confirmed that I had a small hernia.  It was not an emergency situation but my usual sedentary ways were destined to become even more so until the surgery could be scheduled.  Actually, I’m really looking forward to getting this repaired.  Staci has been doing the heavy lifting for years and in spite of all appearances, I do feel guilty.

After a few phone calls, we made arrangements to have a captain bring the boat back to Annapolis.  It’s one thing to avoid pulling dock lines but I didn’t want to take the chance on some unexpected bouncing in heavy seas off the Jersey Coast.  I drove our car back to Croton so we could transport the stuff we would need for the 3-4 days the boat was in transit.

One small problem intervened: Hurricane Irene.  As the storm track looked increasingly dangerous for New York, we decided that a partially exposed marina on the widest part of the Hudson River was not the place to be.  We figured the best thing to do would be to head back up the Hudson and seek cover.

We called Catskill and Kingston and nobody had any room. The Albany Yacht Club was booked too. It seems the megayachts from Nantucket and points east had the same idea and were racing for cover.  The dockmaster at the Albany Yacht Club suggested we call the Dutch Apple Cruise Co. and see if we could tie up there.  It’s just across the river from AYC and has a floating (if somewhat rickety) dock. They said “yes”.  We parked the car away from the trees and headed the 95 nautical miles back up the river.

One thing cruisers have really come to appreciate in the last few years is the development of the relatively inexpensive AIS technology (Automatic Identification System).  This system provides real-time tracking information for boats/ships equipped with AIS transmitters.  This is really helpful when you see a large tanker on the horizon headed your way.  The AIS will tell you the ship’s name, its course and speed, and how close it will come to you.  If a collision course is indicated, you can then make radio contact with the vessel to discuss collision avoidance plans.  We love our AIS receiver.

As we moved up river, I noticed a strange target that appeared on our AIS display panel.  It indicated a boat named Survey II was 2.7 miles away traveling the same general direction as us at 65 knots!!!  Brief panic ensued.  Where was it and where was it headed were the first questions.  I clicked on the boat name in the AIS list and the chart scrolled to its location.  All was revealed – Survey II was being towed up the NY State Thruway and somebody forgot to turn off the transmitter!

With favorable current for all but the last two hours we had the lines secured by 4PM Friday.  Saturday was spent stripping the boat and watching the cruise “ship” go out and back for lunch, dinner, and booze cruises.

Late on Saturday, the rain started and didn’t stop until Sunday evening. At times it was coming down at about 3″ per hour. Happily, the wind never really arrived on our dock. The maximim we recorded was only 22 knots during our stay on the dock. We were in the lee of a small building and next to a seawall that was fairly high (until the water came up).  Albany Airport was reporting sustained 40-45 knots during that same period.

Our big concern was flooding. All day Sunday, we watched the water level rise – slowly at first and then about 12″/hour (near slack!). At 5PM Sunday, we decided it would prudent to leave the dock before the water was over the sea wall.

We headed down river about 13 miles. Away from the dock, the winds from the backside of the storm were frequently gusting to 30+. We found a protected creek behind one of the islands and set our big 175 lb. Bruce anchor. Wine was open at 6:45 (huge current boost made the 13 miles go very quickly!)

As the sun was setting, a couple of megayachts appeared in the creek. They were fleeing problems in Troy and other marinas where the inadequate docks were giving way under the strain of the rising waters.

We heard (radio chatter, so who knows what’s true) that Troy was kicking people out as was the Catskill Marina. Bulldog Sally, a Krogen 48, was at the AYC and reported that they had concerns about the docks there. (AYC was destroyed in hurricane Floyd under similar conditions).  Four to five knot currents in Rondout Creek (Kingston) were also reported.   Record flood levels were re expected  in Troy, Albany, and Poughkeepsie.  There will also be tons of debris in the river.

The wind died completely at midnight. It got so quiet that I couldn’t sleep!

The next morning we headed back to Haverstraw Bay where we found that the Half Moon Bay Marina and the boats had fared pretty well under some very rough conditions.  On our cruise down the river we got a good look at the damage.

Sadly, the Catskill waterfront was totally destroyed. Catskill Marina lost all of their brand new docks (installed when the old ones were destroyed in the Spring Floods.) The docks were out in the river floating away with boats still attached to them. The runoff current was reported to exceed 18 knots on the creek. The waterfront condo docks are totally gone as well.

Kingston looked okay from the river but we heard there were lots of dragging boats and much debris carried down Rondout Creek (10+ knots of runoff current).  A fellow Krogen owner was at one of the marinas and while his boat was fine, he couldn’t leave because the current was pinning him to the dock.

Albany Yacht Club lost half their docks at last report. Others were in sad shape. Shady Harbor Marina near New Baltimore is on the verge of coming apart. The dockmaster was working really, really hard to save it. Time will tell.

The river, itself,  is littered with major debris – whole trees, docks, barrels, tires, etc., etc. Every day will wash it further downstream but I suspect it will be weeks before it’s resolved itself.   The tugs are back at work and the megayachts are headed home.

We were extremely lucky that the marinas we thought would be safe were completely booked. Tapestry came through without a scratch  In contrast to Saturday and Sunday, it was a beautiful day on the river today:  bright sun, blue sky and no wind. Sadly, it was also a day when many not so fortunate people had to come to grips with devastating losses.

Next up is a meeting with the surgeon and a hopefully minor operation in September.  After all, it will be time to go south before long.

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