Haverstraw (Half Moon) Bay to Liberty Park Anchorage

Haverstraw (Half Moon) Bay to Liberty Park Anchorage

Croton Point Park, Half Moon Bay

Leisurely start to the day: 8:30am, wind & water calm as I got underway. It is hot and humid. By 9:15am, Puffin now out in the main body of the Hudson, the wind had picked up, kicking up the waves a bit. At 10 O'clock we were approaching the Tappan Zee  Bridge, which was concurrently under construction, between Nyack and Tarrytown, New York, so it was time to figure out where I could tuck in overnight and get some fuel before the Harlem River which I hoped to traverse to shorten the run through New York City.

Tappan Zee Bridge

I turned the boat up into the current to hold steady in position, but after about 30 minutes of going through all information available to me, I couldn't find an anchorage or marina above Spuyten Duyvil (Spitting Devil) Creek, the northern entrance to the Harlem, that had space available for a vessel of Puffin's draft. However, I did find a place to fuel up- Englewood Boat Basin, just before the George Washington Bridge. So, plan B, now I was under way again but down Hudson to Liberty Park Anchorage. It wasn't until I got down to the Riverside Park area just above Manhattan that boat traffic really began to pick up. 

The Palisades along Jersey shore



Riverside Heights Church, upper Manhattan

                                                        








 As I passed Ellis Island and approached the Statue of Liberty, a high speed tour boat called the Beast began to approach Puffin head on, then started doing donuts right in front of me! I'm in neutral, then reverse wondering when the display will end and the Beast finally peals off in another direction, allowing me to continue on to the anchorage.


The Beast

Ellis Island

Erie Lackawana, New Jersey

As on the way up, it was a beautiful sight to see - the Palisades, Erie Lackawanna on the jersey shoreline, all the buildings of Manhattan's skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty! Finally I dropped anchor for the night, just behind the Statue of Liberty, to rest and make ready for an early start up the East River, through Hellgate and on to my next stop.



Statue of Liberty and Manhattan