Our first sail up the Hudson past West Point...

Our maiden voyage behind us, we set forth on our first sail North on the Hudson... North to World’s End!
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, when we set sail with our first victims, I mean passengers… my mom and step-dad. As we motored north, we quickly realized the true beauty of a sailing vessel... even under power, the pace allows, no, forces you to take in all that the area has to offer. The only thing missing was a breeze...
We continued our trek north past the nuclear power plant (beautiful in its own right).

We sailed past riverside homes sitting on green hillsides each one nicer than the next.
The voyage was going well, the folks were having a grand ol’ time, as were my wife and I, simply sliding up the Hudson past the various bays and inlets enjoying the scenes that unfolded before us.

Slowly but surely, the next bridge to join my photo collection came into view... Bear Mountain Bridge! I had spent many great days exploring Bear Mountain state park as a kid, teenager and young adult, but never had I seen it from this vantage point... a whole new world to explore!



Onward we went further and further North up the Hudson the tip of our mast just barely clearing the underside of the bridge. Well, at least that’s the way it looked as we approached... perspective, what a concept!

As we approached the great citadel, you couldn’t help but be awe struck! We continued North to our final destination World’s End... the deepest point in the Hudson River... 100... 107... 115... we got closer and closer, I was determined to find “the” spot... the magic number on my depth sounder finally showed up 170 ft! As with most things in life, the journey was certainly much more memorable than having achieved our objective.




We turned our ship south and prepared to head home... A few more shots of West Point, this time South bound with the sun in the perfect spot.


Now, just so you don’t walk away thinking this was as idyllic as I’ve made it out to be, let me continue the saga, oh yea... saga! As we headed South, the breeze finally showed up, we shut down the engine and hoisted the sails for a lively trip down the River...



not so fast, here is where Murphy steps in. The breezes drops to nothing again and I’m sure you can guess what wouldn’t start up... that’s right, drifting down the river on a 10,000 lb vessel with no engine and no breeze! Well fortunately, no breeze is an exaggeration, so 90 minutes, I managed to ever so sloooowly tack my way to the Garrison yacht club and tie up... yep, my first time docking under sail alone! BTW, it was only about 200ft off our port bow when we started! I managed to find someone to take a look at the engine for me the minute he stuck his hands down in the engine compartment it kicked right over... loose @#$%& wire!

We thanked him and went on our way... yet another adventure aboard the Sailing Vessel Rocinante.