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HAVERSTRAW
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NYC AT THE CHELSEA PIERS
ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER The moment we tied up was the end of sitting calmly and the beginning of a never ending roll. We rolled so much that our body and minds were still rolling as we walked around the streets of NYC. It was the rolliest place we’ve ever been! It was like being on the rough seas except you’re at dock. I had to stow things so they wouldn’t fly off the counter. We kept watching the side of the boat wondering if some how the fenders were going to pop out and up on the dock and make the boat vulnerable for some damage from the dock. It was so stressful that I thought that I couldn’t stand it for a week, let alone a day, but for some stupid reason we just put up with it. It was pretty awful. We were in a great location though, very close to the meat packing district which was a happening place. There were galleries, restaurants, designer fashion shops, all within walking distance. We found a favorite café that we quickly liked and became regulars. Ziggy of course was welcome and could sit there too at the outside tables. In fact, many of the other customers had little dogs. For once we were in fashion. You began to feel like you were out of it if you didn’t have a cute little dog to walk around the city. We soon found out this restaurant and the area was a favorite for various models and celebrities. One day we sat next to Lauren Bacall! It was a great area, good food and fun people watching.
Soon it was time to head out again, this time we were heading to Long Island. We’d never been there before and were excited to see what it was all about. EAST RIVER It was a cold morning the day we left the docks at Chelsea Pier. Larry pulled in the lines and fenders and I took her straight out. It was early enough that the swells weren’t that bad yet and it was easy to take her off the dock and head out into the River. We decided to take Jane and Richard for a ride back up the Hudson River so Richard could see his old stomping grounds from the water. It was a trip back in memory lane for Richard as he grew up in NYC. He pointed out where he used to live and play. It was fun to see where he grew up.
Once we saw Richard’s neighborhood, we turned
south, heading down the river again. We wanted to reach Hell’s Gate by
slack tide so we were on a time schedule. We took our last glimpse of the city,
the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Manhattan,
the Financial District, The Battery, and Ellis Island and
the Statue of Liberty. You never get over the excitement of seeing this
city like this from the water. It is breath taking.
Jane and Richard were taking it all in. It was fun to have them aboard and see them enjoy everything so much. We listened to the shipping channel as one of the large navy ships was preparing to leave one of the piers that we were going to pass. We passed the ship as it came out and the USCG whizzed by the Knotty Dog to check us out and tell us to keep to the other side of the river. They’re not taking any chances these days. It was exciting as we came around the tip of Manhattan and headed up the East River for the first time. To me it was momentous moment. It was first daunting looking at the Manhattan skyline without the presence of the Twin Towers and then amazing to imagine back in time when our nation was fighting for our independence. SNEAK ESCAPE THROUGH HELL’S GATE These very waters that we were traveling over at this moment were filled with such history. To imagine 500 British Ships anchored nearby, cruising both shores of Manhattan, ready to attack the inexperienced, ragged, and minimally armed American rebels. The Americans were camped on the Brooklyn side and the British landed just over the hills behind them ready to make their attack the next morning. Washington realizing it was a lost cause against the numbers and experience of the British, he quickly organized the gathering of as many boats as they could muster and during the black of the night, New England fishermen silently moved the troops over these treacherous current ridden waters without the British hearing or noticing. By dawn, they weren’t done and would surely have been vulnerable to British attack but by the act of God, or whatever you may want to call it, the fog mysteriously came in and gave them the best cover they could have ever wished for so the rest of our troops could escape without loss of even one life. This is just an amazing feat considering that boaters even today are cautious of timing their transit up the East River and the notorious currents that can run up to 5 knots at Hell’s Gate.
Once past Hell’s Gate the scenery is pretty unremarkable except for the low flying commercial airplanes that fly right above you heading into the landing strip of La Guardia International Airport. It’s quite thrilling and Ziggy was having a ball barking at them and chasing them across the boat. Did he really think he chased them away? We had an easy cruise to our first stop to Port Washingtom on Long Island.
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We made a long day of it to Haverstraw, our last
stop on the Hudson River. It was the biggest marina that we’ve seen in a long
time. In fact we had to keep our wits about us just to find our way back to the
boat as there were soooo maaany docks, that were sooo looong, and
it didn’t help that the boats and the docks all looked alike. On my way back
from taking Ziggy to shore, I did take a wrong turn and had to
back track on the docks to try and figure out where I made my wrong turn.
Knotty Dog was the farthest most remote location on the docks so it was an
especially long walk. I quickly learned to make note of land marks on the
docks. These land marks were the only way I knew where to turn to get back to
the boat. For instance, I knew when I came to the boat with the yapping dog
that would go on attack mode when he saw Ziggy, that it was time to turn left.
And when I reached the blue astro turf nailed to the dock it was time to make my
second turn, and so on. I wasn’t the only one lost, as I was back tracking one
time, people on one boat were laughing about it as I passed by a second time,
and then one time I met another lost couple wandering the docks looking for
their dock. We joked with each other about our predicaments as we passed each
other, still searching for a way back.
The
place (Haverstraw Marina) wasn’t exciting by any means and we didn’t venture off
the marina to see what was nearby because I don’t think there was much. We
just stayed on the boat, had dinner and went to bed. The most notable
thing to us was the friendly group of people here. This was their
permanent docks, so they were residents. They were so friendly and
inquisitive about us and our boat. They couldn’t believe we had brought
the boat all the way around from California. They would bring friends from
other docks to show them the boat and talk about it.
They
would ask a million questions that we had fun answering. We could see them
while we were eating dinner or watching TV, standing outside pointing to things
on the fly bridge and so on discussing every little detail. Larry enjoyed
going out on the dock and talking with them as they were such a nice bunch of
people. When we left early the next morning, there was a crowd gathered on
the dock to give us a send off. It was amazing.
It was a simple ride back to NYC. We were going
to stay on the NY side of the river this time. We knew it would be rolly but we
wanted the convenience of just being able to walk into NYC without having to
take the water taxi. As we approached the marina the swells that build up over
the day by the water ferries, taxis and pleasure boaters that race up and down
by the marinas were enormous. We had to enter down towards the outside of the
marina alongside a bunch of old broken down piers. They were ominous looking as
Larry slowly and carefully brought Knotty Dog in trying to maneuver the boat
with the swells, rolling dock and currents. Larry maneuvered her in close to
the dock office and then actually turned it around and slid her up to the moving
dock. I still don’t know how he managed it! The dock hands were excellent and
knew exactly what to do to get her tied quickly. I jumped on the dock and
almost lost my balance as the dock was rolling up and down so badly. It was
kind of a flexible dock and rolled with every wake and movement of the water.
It was like watching the effects of a tsunami. 
We had a wonderful time in NYC and saw a couple
plays, Wicked and Spelling Bee. It was a great time. The docks
were hideously expensive for the torture we had to put up with but I guess
that’s New York. In my opinion, they should have paid us to put up with the
wakes. At the end of the week our friends Jane and Richard arrived. Jane
immediately popped some Dramamine and borrowed my sea sick wrist bands to be on
the safe side just in case the swells at the dock got to her. They were good
sports though and never once complained. They took care of Ziggy one night so
we could really have a night out on the town without worrying about Ziggy being
left alone on the rolly boat in the cage. Thanks guys!
The cruising guides say left the Battery for
your transit two hours after low water to reach Hell’s Gate almost at slack
tide. These rebels had no choice but to go it anyway. Today everything was
going in our favor and we transited Hell’s Gate with no drama. We followed a
couple boats ahead of us and a tug pulling a load. The depths in this area are
erratic jumping from 30 to 100 and back to 50. It’s a little unnerving. The
currents of Hell’s Gate caught on British frigate during the war, Hussar, and
sunk it on a ledge. It was carrying pay chests for the British Army and you
wonder how much gold is still there. The ledge has long since been blown to
bits and is no longer a threat to present day cruisers.