We were up early this morning, but not early enough.  We left an anchorage in Haverstraw Bay after a 60NM trip yesterday. It turns out that the Hudson is closed today at Tappan Zee Bridge.  They are putting up a new bridge and they need to close the bridge to boat traffic, today being the first time, the closures will continue through 2016 and 2017.  From their website “Approximately 70 closures are anticipated through the end of 2017”  Anyone heading south this fall or heading north in the spring should check the New NY Bridge website for closures.

This information was filed in all the legally required locations, however, this was on page 31 of a 49 page Notice to Mariners  As with most bureaucracies, NY State and the USCG dropped the ball on telling boaters.  This is not unusual, Douglas Adams put it best:

““But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.””

We found out about the closure when we approached the bridge this morning at 08:10 following the closure at 08:00.  The email notification of the closure arrived about 11:00 as we walked back from a nice patisserie  in Nyack.

Thankfully, Nyack is a nice town and we enjoyed the walk around town.  Nyack Boat Club have been generous hosts to a few boats today.

We have spent the last two nights at Hop-o-nose Marina, putting up the mast and getting the boat back together ready to head out on to the Atlantic coast in a few days.

The Hudson is still a commercial water way, we saw ships and barges in the short section we came down on Monday, this one is big enough to have helicopter pad on its cargo hatch.

Part of the cruising life is traveling in the company of others and making new friends.  We left Loyalist Cove in the company of Brad and Julie on Estrella Del Sur and we have seen them at a couple of stops, including here in Hop-o-nose.  We met a couple of other crews including RC Wings who are also joining the Caribbean 1500.  With the natural common ground of boat issues there is always lots to talk about.  I think we are going to make lots of friends on this trip.

Yesterday morning our mast went up with the help of the old crane.  As ever the process was painless and perhaps a little safer than the last time we were here.

We had a busy couple of days, but the boat is ready to go in the morning.  We will be in Sandy Hook, south of NYC by Saturday afternoon.

Appologies, we have been too busy to blog, so the next few posts are catching you up on the last month or so.

We discovered Sodus Bay and the town of Sodus point when we made a late season trip last Canadian Thanksgiving.  We loved the yacht club and the town out of season and made plans to visit this summer.

With Angela, Doug and Denise as crew we left Kingston in perfect conditions early on the Saturday of the August long weekend.  A down wind sail all the way to Sodus had us in for tea time.

Wing on wing as we head to Sodus with 5 bikes on board, 3 on the deck.

After a great dinner at the Sodus Bay Yacht Club we had an early night.

Next day we explored the town on our bikes, had a dip in Lake Ontario at the nice beach and we  went to a free Jazz concert at the old light house.  Dinner was at Captain Jacks, with a great live band and dancing.  Our friend Suz joined us in the afternoon, she was passing through on her way to Louisiana for vacation.

We had planned to sail back on Monday, but being retired has its benefits and the retirees out voted the working stiffs and we decided to stay an extra day.  Denise found a local state park – Chimney Bluffs State Park  About a 20K cycle away, this was an ideal distance for us to head out for the morning.

We had a great ride through the farms around Sodus Bay, they seem to have escaped the drought we have had in Kingston, the apple harvest was just starting and the whole area was green and looking great.

Chimney Bluffs are very well named.  Formed from the erosion of the soft sandy coast line, towers are left, albeit temporarily, the erosion is several meters per year.

Our return to Kingston was uneventful, not enough wind to sail but fun with company.

We said this the last time, but the Sodus Bay area is a great place to visit, by boat or by car or by bicycle.  Sodus Point was busy and lively but not packed. We were able to find places to eat without a reservation.  This might be due to us going on a long weekend in Ontario that is a regular weekend in New York.