Troy and onto the Champlain Canal

We left Catskill on a foggy morning and headed up to Troy.  We overnighted on the west bank across from the city at the "Forever Young Health Club Dock".

Next morning we continued up river to where one has to decide whether to head west on the Erie portion of the NY State Canal system or continue north onto the Champlain Canal.

The first lock we had to go through was the "Federal Lock".  This is separate from New York's system.  It was the first lock we have encountered in our boating lives and helped us with how to handle Carol Anne.  Since there is a lot of physical effort to keep the boat against the canal's wall, we decided to switch roles and have Loretta helm (steer) the boat, while Bob put a line around the pole, cable or hold onto a rope.

We continued northward to the canal pool in Mechanicville, NY

Total miles traveled to date: 179

Catskill

We decided to go to a cute marina called Hop-o-Nose in Catskill, NY to sit out the approaching storm,   There is a cute, very good restaurant there that had entertainment on Saturday night.
There was also work to be done on our dinghy.  The engine needed a lot of TLC and Casey of Saugerties Marine did a great job getting it fixed.  (While ethanol does help reduce the cost of gasoline, it plays havoc with carburetors, hoses, etc.)

 

Sunday we'll slip the ropes again and head up to Troy NY.

Total miles (nautical) traveled: 132

Poughkeepsie

Passing West Point on the way to Poughkeepsie

The winds finally died down and we left Half Moon Bay Wednesday morning.
 Our next stop was Shadows Marina in Poughkeepsie.  This place only opened about 3-4 years ago and is very neat.

While it did offer a place to tie up for the night, the marina itself does not have many amenities.  However there is a very nice restaurant nearby that overlooks the marina and Hudson.
Miles travelled: 32.5  Next stop Catskill

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Northern Bound

We are finally north bound on the Loop!

After fueling up at the Liberty Landing fuel dock, we set up the Hudson towards Croton on Hudson. We stayed at Half Moon Bay Marina. With an approaching front, the winds kick up to 13-15 knots which made pulling into the slip a challenge. 

This is a favorite spot for people doing the Great Loop.  It is very close to Metro North so one can get into the city very easily, while docking their boat for a very nice price. The second night we were there we hosted 'docktails' with 4 other couples who were also on the Loop. 

We spent the time there doing various fix up and organizing things.

Miles traveled 32. Next stop: Poughkeepsie.

Day 1

June 1st was a glorious day to start our trip.  The weather was perfect. Blue skies and a comfortable temperature.

With the help of our friend Vin, we slipped Carol Anne's lines and slowly drifted out of our slip at the New Rochelle Municipal Marina at 9am.  We made our way down Western Long Island Sound

at 6-7 knots into the East River.  We timed our departure to be at Hells Gate at slack tide.  While this meant having no trouble with the currents, it did mean we had to deal with the tugs and barges who were also going through at the same time. There were  a couple of times we had to deal with tugs going up and down at the same time were going around a curve.  Everyone played nicely and all had a good passage. 

Going around the tip of Manhattan is spectacular. So is playing "dodgem" with the various water taxis and ferries leaving the Battery. 

We pulled into Liberty Landing Marina and were tied up by 12:45pm. This is a gorgeous place for both boaters and visitors.  There are a couple of nice restaurants and a huge lawn for our dog to do her 'business'. 

Miles traveled: 24. Next stop: Croton on Hudson.

Ready..set...go!

We finally finished with all of the preparation work and are setting sail.  We sold our house and disposed of two cars and packed all of our furniture away.
There are so many people to acknowledge and thank for making this happen.  Loretta did a great job of putting everything away we need for a year on the water.  All into a 37' long boat. Mark Williamson and Calvin of Precision Marine provided invaluable boat help.  Joanne and Jay Fichtel provided great land support during the final days before leaving.
There are all of the good wishes from friends and family.

Launched!

We got Carol Anne launched yesterday at the New Rochelle Municipal.  (High tide was around 10:30)  The weather cooperated by stop raining and blowing (10+kts from the ENE).
After doing engine and generator check and power up, we gently moved her from the haul out pit down to A dock.  Hopefully we can keep her there till we leave for the Great Loop.
Loretta did a great job looking around and giving guidance as we squeaked around and down the channel.
There is still more cleaning up to do as well getting her provisioned.