Leaving Cortland Yacht Club, we continued our trip north on the Hudson River. Train tracks line both shores and we see long freight trains and commuter rails off and on all day.
As we head north we first pass Dunderberg Mountain 1100 feet elevation. Then Bear Mountain 1238 ft, where we hiked yesterday, and the Bear Mountain bridge which is part of the Appalachian Trail.
Around the bend is Anthony’s Nose at 900 feet and across the river is West Point. Very impressive fortification from the river. We are glad we got to see the Academy from both land and river. Constitution Island in the river still has some stone redoubt ruins from the Revolutionary War era. This is where the chaining of the Hudson occurred stopping the British from using the Hudson River and dividing the colonies.
After the S curve in the river you see Storm King Mountain at 1435 ft elevation and the river records it’s greatest depths of 175 feet. Around the next bend lies the town of Cornwall on Hudson and Pollepel Island. Popellel Island is a 6.5 acre island in the Hudson where Frank Bannerman in 1901 built a replica of a Scottish castle and a home. The castle was built to store surplus armory and scrap metal for his business. A fire damaged the building in 1957 and in 1962 the island was given to the foundation which maintains it today.
Next up was the town of Newburgh which has a good sized historic district and is home to George Washington headquarters toward the end the the Revolutionary War.
The Highlands become lower in elevation with hills up to 450 feet. These hills are wooded with occasional home and small towns and marinas nearer the river.
The next landmark is the city of Poughkeepsie, home of Vassar and Marist College and where the US Constitution was ratified. Poughkeepsie means reed lodge by little water in the Wappinger Indian language. The Dutch originally settled here in1683 and the city served as a temporary capital. Poughkeepsie has a converted railroad bridge over the Hudson to a pedestrian bridge. The people walking over it received much of the view we see as we travel this section of the river.
As we left Poughkeepsie, the river bends and we can see mountains rising to the north and west. The next small town was Hyde Park, known as a summer retreat and for the FD Roosevelt and Vanderbilt mansions. As we cruised past we could see the the roof line of the Vanderbilt mansion and I commandeered a picture from the internet . We also saw the back of the Roosevelt mansion, plus a few others along the way.
At the next bend we passed Esopus Island and it’s Lighthouse and the Catskills Mountains rise up in the west.
We met up with Pivot again and several other loopers at docktails. Several of the Loopers were new to us hailing from Wisconsin and Michigan. We enjoyed our dinner with Elliot and Jen at the Old Savannah restaurant and took Ollie for a walk around town.
June 21 stay in Kingston, NY
Woke up early to walk to the local donut shop where they make fresh donuts to order. (Half Moon Rondout Cafe ) Oh boy, were they delicious!! We helped Pivot cast off her lines and bid her safe voyage and settled in to get a few chores done before we head into town .
Kingston was settled by the Dutch in the early 1600’s as a trading post with the native Indians until 1664. The British then incorporated the Dutch holdings into the colony of New York and it became an important port halfway up the Hudson River from New York transporting the grain grown in Kingston. At the battle of Saratoga, the British were stopped from advancing further north, but Kingston was burned to the ground. The town was rebuilt and incorporated in 1805 and its port with sloops, then steam tugs pulling barges, and then steamships plied coal, stone, natural cement, wheat and passengers to New York. Today railroads move most the the cargo and passengers and Kingston turned to ship building and ship repair and quarrying to support the economy.
As we walked through town, we learned of its history, enjoyed the shops and older homes and many great restaurants. We took in the Hudson River Maritime Museum and Riverport Wooden Boat School, as well as the waterfront and many historic taverns and shops. We also bought a few groceries.
Returning to the boat we worked a bit and relaxed to ready us for another great dinner.