Jay H
New member
Warren and I decided to go for a somewhat local paddle this weekend..
It's kind of becoming an annual 4th of July-ish event to go paddle somewhere and then watch fireworks and stuff. Last year it was in Stonington, ME but this year was certainly a more local affair and since both of us work tomorrow, no long trip for us.
Anyway, I had friday off so after some shopping at Campmor and EMS, I headed off for the town of Cortland, NY in Westchester County. I was to launch from a place called Oscawana Island (which is not really an island) and paddle about 3.5 miles downriver to Croton Point Park in the town of Croton-On-Hudson. (those that aren't familiar with the Hudson Valley can learn that every town in NY that is on the hudson is either called "Historic XXXX" or "XXXX-on-Hudson"
).
Warren, who worked on Friday, was going to launch further south in Ossining just due north of the famous Sing Sing prison (aka Correctional Facility ). Anyway, we communicated beforehand, we both have the Hudson River Water Trail guide and Warren sent me a google earth keymarker of the campsite landing so I had GPS coordinates as well as some Google Earth/Google Satellite recon of the park as I've never been there. If I hit the Tappan Zee bridge, I've paddled too far!
I get a call from warren while I was floating around in Croton Bay in the lee side of the Croton Point that he was ready to launch. Having a "folding" kayak, Warren needs about an hour to set things up. I wonder if he has prison guards looking over his shoulder or if he is planning a Great Escape.
Anyway, just as he prepares to leave, I get NOAA severe weather alerts on my weather radio about heavy showers and t-storms passing through Rockland County and possibly Northern Westchester. So I try to call Warren back on the cell but he must be busy putting things together. In any case, he makes it to Croton Pt before any action begins and we watch lightning strikes over in Nyack on the other side of the river, fortunately.
Saturday, we paddle about 11 miles downriver, following the current and the tides and we paddle past Rockland lake State park and also the big houses on the hudson in Nyack. I think Oprah Winfrey has a house there .. But anyway, we paddle under the Tappan Zee aware of a sherriff's boat zooming around the area, for fear of perhaps a kayak bomb or something like that. Anyway, we decide since we are hungry to stop in a marina to see if we can get something to eat so we reverse course and paddle back under the Tappan Zee to Tarrytown and the Tarrytown marina. We dock and eat at a restaurant called The Striped Bass. Catch a little of the England-Portugal WC match and have lunch. I manage to slip while taking my boat out and get wet from the waist down but the temps were hot and it felt nice. Plus, it is a boat club right? You'd think you'd get wet boaters at a boat club. Of course, this is after parking next to 30ft to 50ft humonguos yacht monstrosities....
Anyway, we paddle back north past the little cute lighthouse in Tarrytown back to Croton point and also manage to hit the current and tides now as the tides are going upstream towards Albany at this time. We make good time, probably averaging around 3.5mph with help of the current. Very interesting currents by the Tappan Zee, it is famous for being very windy as the hudson is about 2miles or so wide at that point. We pass many sailboats and the occasional motor boat. Perhaps gas prices is keeping the boats out but not terribly much boat traffic for a nice saturday/holiday weekend. Traffic on the bridge is moving but lots of volume!
Sunday was mostly get up and pack up and leave. Small Craft Advisories off the shore but it was very windy and some minor surfing as done on the way up to Oscawana, which was a mud flat when we got there! Had to portage our kayaks under the metro north line as it was somewhat after low tide but the water was still too low to paddle. Then the marsh was so low, it was mud at many points... But it was all in good fun...
http://community.webshots.com/album/551891754QHpmzq
Didn't get pictures of the lighthouse cause the waves were really too high with too much boat traffic for me to feel comfortable with my skirt off and sitting there.
Jay
It's kind of becoming an annual 4th of July-ish event to go paddle somewhere and then watch fireworks and stuff. Last year it was in Stonington, ME but this year was certainly a more local affair and since both of us work tomorrow, no long trip for us.
Anyway, I had friday off so after some shopping at Campmor and EMS, I headed off for the town of Cortland, NY in Westchester County. I was to launch from a place called Oscawana Island (which is not really an island) and paddle about 3.5 miles downriver to Croton Point Park in the town of Croton-On-Hudson. (those that aren't familiar with the Hudson Valley can learn that every town in NY that is on the hudson is either called "Historic XXXX" or "XXXX-on-Hudson"
).Warren, who worked on Friday, was going to launch further south in Ossining just due north of the famous Sing Sing prison (aka Correctional Facility
). Anyway, we communicated beforehand, we both have the Hudson River Water Trail guide and Warren sent me a google earth keymarker of the campsite landing so I had GPS coordinates as well as some Google Earth/Google Satellite recon of the park as I've never been there. If I hit the Tappan Zee bridge, I've paddled too far! I get a call from warren while I was floating around in Croton Bay in the lee side of the Croton Point that he was ready to launch. Having a "folding" kayak, Warren needs about an hour to set things up. I wonder if he has prison guards looking over his shoulder or if he is planning a Great Escape.
Anyway, just as he prepares to leave, I get NOAA severe weather alerts on my weather radio about heavy showers and t-storms passing through Rockland County and possibly Northern Westchester. So I try to call Warren back on the cell but he must be busy putting things together. In any case, he makes it to Croton Pt before any action begins and we watch lightning strikes over in Nyack on the other side of the river, fortunately.
Saturday, we paddle about 11 miles downriver, following the current and the tides and we paddle past Rockland lake State park and also the big houses on the hudson in Nyack. I think Oprah Winfrey has a house there .. But anyway, we paddle under the Tappan Zee aware of a sherriff's boat zooming around the area, for fear of perhaps a kayak bomb or something like that. Anyway, we decide since we are hungry to stop in a marina to see if we can get something to eat so we reverse course and paddle back under the Tappan Zee to Tarrytown and the Tarrytown marina. We dock and eat at a restaurant called The Striped Bass. Catch a little of the England-Portugal WC match and have lunch. I manage to slip while taking my boat out and get wet from the waist down but the temps were hot and it felt nice. Plus, it is a boat club right? You'd think you'd get wet boaters at a boat club. Of course, this is after parking next to 30ft to 50ft humonguos yacht monstrosities....
Anyway, we paddle back north past the little cute lighthouse in Tarrytown back to Croton point and also manage to hit the current and tides now as the tides are going upstream towards Albany at this time. We make good time, probably averaging around 3.5mph with help of the current. Very interesting currents by the Tappan Zee, it is famous for being very windy as the hudson is about 2miles or so wide at that point. We pass many sailboats and the occasional motor boat. Perhaps gas prices is keeping the boats out but not terribly much boat traffic for a nice saturday/holiday weekend. Traffic on the bridge is moving but lots of volume!
Sunday was mostly get up and pack up and leave. Small Craft Advisories off the shore but it was very windy and some minor surfing as done on the way up to Oscawana, which was a mud flat when we got there! Had to portage our kayaks under the metro north line as it was somewhat after low tide but the water was still too low to paddle. Then the marsh was so low, it was mud at many points... But it was all in good fun...
http://community.webshots.com/album/551891754QHpmzq
Didn't get pictures of the lighthouse cause the waves were really too high with too much boat traffic for me to feel comfortable with my skirt off and sitting there.
Jay
