Catskill, NY

July 15, 2013
42 12.653 N
73 51.399 W

Monday turned into a long day - about 69 NM. We took it easy in the AM because we would be pushing against the tide and current until after lunch, and did not get underway till after 9:00 AM. As expected the current reduced our cruising speed over the ground to about 5.5 kts. Our target for the day was Kingston, reported to be a quaint town dating back to colonial days and the revolution when the British had burned it to the ground.

West Point

The country we passed thru was universally hilly and sometimes even "mountainous" which made for scenic views and deep water. Railway tracks followed the river both sides and I was treated to regular fast passenger trains on the east side and giant freight trains on the other. There was very little private boating on the river but a reasonable amount of commercial traffic, including one substantial freighter that took us quite by surprise. We passed West Point. Before 9/11 there was a dock for visitors but that has been closed "for security reasons".

The weather was hot - in the mid 90s - and humid.

A ship on the river

Deidre wilted mid afternoon and headed inside. By 2 PM we had the current in our favor and were making over 8 knots. We called the marina several times before they responded. Then they told us the rate was 33% higher than advertised. and that no one would be there to take lines. Since we were now making good time I decided to give them a miss and head further upstream. There was a reasonably priced marina another 19 miles upstream that advertised that they would help with lowering masts etc. We need to take down our mast and a couple of aerials, and at 8.5 knots we could make it by 7 PM.

Simple place

In fact we made it by 6:45 PM and had the A/C going soon after. We like to visit little towns so we cleaned up and headed into Catskill for dinner. What a sad little place. We need a new revolution so this place can be burned down and rebuilt. There were several restaurants that we just would not go in but we eventually found a decent place and dinner was OK.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Lots of passenger trains

Lots of freight trains

Good supply of barges

More barges