Sometimes FREE can be too costly
As we mentioned yesterday, our plans had us heading towards Poughkeepsie. Specifically we had intended on staying at a free dock provided by the Mariners on the Hudson restaurant and then meeting up with a couple more of our blog readers, Ray, Julie and their daughter Kendra.
It was a great day for sailing and the traditional wind on the nose didn’t slow us down too much. We arrived at the restaurant just after 11:00 AM and after scaring away the numerous seagulls who had laid claim to the dock, tied up ZTC without issue. As this is the first time we would have to tie up in tidal waters, we had been thinking through our strategy with dock lines. The first clue that something was amiss was when I went to wrap a line around one of the cleats and it moved. A lot. In fact, it was only secured by one bolt. A number of the other posts were missing pieces too. No worries, we figured it out and got the boat “secure.”
Some of these light houses are very cool.
Hard at work. Yesterday’s blog post was completed while underway.
Just to pretend we were sailing, we unfurled the jib.
I’m sure we’ll see more and more of these as we head further south.
Before we called Ray to tell him that we had arrived we wanted to ensure that we could stay there the night. The young staff we initially met were less than friendly (who can blame them I guess) but they did direct us to the manager. She informed us that as long as we patronized the restaurant, we could stay the evening. I also asked if we were free to move our boat to the inside of the dock where it would we less exposed and she agreed.
With that good news we called Ray on the phone and made plans to meet up a bit later in the day. Rebecca and I untied the boat and then backed it into a slip where we felt it would be safer. Almost immediately some power boat went by and created such a wake that our fenders almost ended up on the dock. I jumped off the boat and was literally hanging off of it, trying to stop it from getting smashed. At that very instant we pulled the plug on the free dock. The restaurant looked great but free wouldn’t be so good if we ended up with $20,000 in damage from some inconsiderate power boater.
Sadly, leaving there would mean that we couldn’t meet up with our new friends. Even worse, just as we were untying the boat, Kenny, the bartender from yesterday’s post pulled up in his car. He actually drove down to see us. He was such a cool guy that we hated to take off just then. By the way, if we ever need an agent, Kenny will be our man!
OK, plan B then.
Plan B had us traveling a few more hours and anchoring behind Pollepel Island. The good weather continued and the trip took less time than we expected. Pollepel Island is probably best known for having the ruins of Bannerman’s Castle on it. Although Skipper Bob’s guide says that we aren’t permitted to go exploring on the island, being anchored just behind a castle is pretty cool. Our friend Tom told us he had some misgivings about this anchorage but to tell the truth, it’s pretty good. Although from time to time there is a bit of a wake, the holding seems good, the scenery is nice and I’ve even been able to pick up Wi-Fi (with our long-range antenna). This is also the first place we have anchored since the Troy Lock where we have had the foresight to give conscious thought to the tides when determining our anchor rode scope. See, we are learning! 🙂
Pollepel Island, looking at it from the west.
Skipper Bob got this one right: Loud, frequent train noise!
You can see the current by the flow of the weeds we have attracted.
Picturesque.
I wonder what adventure awaits today?
