Newburgh to Kingston- Dodging More Logs

Tuesday was not the best of days.  We intended to leave early but thick pea soup fog and a heavy debris field kept us on the dock.  All  the fancy electronics we have on board are useless in detecting logs and other hull and prop damaging debris and we needed at least 500 feet of visibility to negotiate our way.  Finally, around 10:30 the fog lifted enough that we could leave.

The problem now was the tide.   It was rising fast and we had a two knot current pinning us against the dock.   We were broadside to it.  Pam really wanted to go and I decided to give it a shot, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get us off.   We finally left a little after noon when the current slowed enough for us to back off and then turn into the current.  

Once underway, it was more of the same... dodging logs and the worst of the debris, running through the small stuff.   Once the sun came out and it got warm, it was very nice to be sitting on the flybridge and watching the world go by at seven knots (about 8 MPH for my non-boating friends).  We soon passed the old railroad bridge at Poughkeepsie, no longer used as such and now a pedestrian walkway.

If you look closely, you can see four people on the bridge watching us pass.  Or maybe trying to see if they could time it perfectly to spit on us.

There are train tracks on each side of the Hudson.  The east side is for passenger trains, which are many.   The west side is for freight trains.   There was a problem up above Poughkeepsie.   A freight train was stopped, and we saw many odd vehicles on the tracks headed north to fix whatever was wrong.

The Esopus Lighthouse is one of my favorites, and it looks like it is being restored and well maintained.

It was a beautiful day and Pam and I were loving being on the water and appreciating the tranquility of it all.   Just before entering Rondout Creek we passed this...

It was a sobering reminder that it can end as quickly as it began.  Many boats were lost due to Hurricane Irene and then Tropical Storm Lee.  An entire club's boats were destroyed when they were washed over the Troy Dam.

The Rondout Lighthouse marks the entrance to Rondout Creek and Kingston.

We met Pam's dad, Ted, in Kingston.   We stayed at the Kingston Municipal Marina, had a fine dinner in one of the many restaurants on the waterfront, and turned in early.   Tomorrow, Pam drives the truck north for a couple of appointments and Ted and I will make the final run to the Castleton Boat Club.

I'll probably jinx it, but I have to say that running this boat is very enjoyable, when it stays running.  The problems we had were brought on by myself.   I should have inspected the tanks had had them cleaned before we left.  I would have saved the price of 200 gallons of diesel, but more importantly we would have saved a whole bunch of time and wouldn't have felt so pressed to get here.