We spent Sunday night with Rachel in Garrison, then caught the train north to Poughkeepsie, filled our water tanks and got underway on the Hudson River. We’re retracing our steps north, heading towards Lake Champlain, and plan to stop at a couple of new places that we missed on the way down. We didn’t get underway until 10:00 AM and caught the last of the flood tide (favorable), but when it turned midday, the ebb was flowing at 1.5 mph in the wrong direction, plus the 10 mph southerly breeze was against the current and stacking up the water into a boisterous two-foot chop. We were slowed by the opposing current, but also surfing down the waves to partly make up for it—interesting and exciting and we did just fine. After six hours and 38 miles, we turned west onto the calm Catskill Creek and docked at Hop-O-Nose Marina in Catskill, NY. The origin of both names are debated—Hop-O-Nose was probably the native village that was “purchased” by the Dutch in 1682, while Catskill is from the Dutch words for “wildcat creek.” There is a cat theme in the public art here (see below).
Catskill and the nearby mountains were the setting for Washington Irving’s 1819 short story of Rip Van Winkle, who wanders into the hills to escape his nagging wife and falls asleep for 20 years, missing the American Revolution and awakening to a world he doesn’t recognize. Catskill was also the adult home of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School, a 19th century art movement specializing in landscape paintings of the Hudson River Valley and surrounding mountains. Cole moved to Catskill in 1825 from Philadelphia, and remained here until his premature death in 1848. Samuel Wilson, a Troy meatpacker, also lived here in the early 1800s. Wilson is widely believed to be the model for the national symbol of “Uncle Sam.” Map Link: Catskill, NY
We tied up around 4:00 PM, with temps in the upper 80s, took care of some personal business, then had dinner at Creekside, the marina’s restaurant, before exploring the town, picking up some supplies at a convenience store and waiting for the cabin to cool off to fall asleep.
Photo Journal:
 |
| Poughkeepsie Train Station |
 |
Poughkeepsie Bridge—the dot just right of
top center are two workers |
 |
| Thomas Cole’s “View on the Catskill” |
 |
| A MacGregor 26X on Catskill Creek |
 |
| Mural on the local gym |
 |
| Home of “Uncle Sam” Wilson |
 |
| “Cat”skill Post Office |
 |
| Kats in Catskill |
 |
| Marina crane for stepping sailboat masts |
 |
| Sailboat customers waiting to step their masts |
No comments:
Post a Comment