Lyn's Log, 25th June 2007
River Hudson

Albany, New York.
N42º38', W73º44'
15,028 miles.

On the 18th June we took a train ride to the little town of Mystic, Connecticut, to visit the seaport museum with its historic sailing ships and traditional buildings (pic).

The following morning we departed New York, sailing up the Hudson River. The scenery was lovely with much woodland and rocky mountains and palisades, sheer rock faces. We did not spend "a night on Bear Mountain", but did follow the nature trail up the hill. For all the way along the Hudson there were railway tracks on both sides. The fast passenger trains used the east side, and the lumbering goods trains with on average a hundred trucks, used the west shore. They were noisy, blowing their horns when nearing the towns. We made a stop at New Hamburg Yacht Club who were very welcoming and claimed to be the only free yacht club in New York State. At Catskill we stayed a few nights at the Creekside, or Hop-O-Nose, marina and had our mast unstepped and rested on some lumber holding it about six feet above our deck. The creek was rather a pleasant place and had a handy Wal-Mart with cheap taxis. There was also a very fast free wifi connection we could make from the marina on the opposite side of the creek, always a bonus.

We made Albany in one day from Catskill, even with the engine losing all its water again from the same place as before, requiring the heat exchanger and bracket over the thermostat to be removed and replaced twice before we managed to stop it leaking. Hurrah for gaskit goo! One of the studs broke as well, but by reversing the broken end we managed to get it to hold. I hope we don’t keep getting this leaking problem.

Albany is the capital of New York State and has another Rockefeller Plaza to explore. This huge area extends between the State Capitol building and a Cultural Education building, with an expanse of water and fountains running the length between. Around this are fifteen memorials, various structures of art by artists recently deceased, lawns and trees, four matching skyscrapers and an even taller tower with an observation deck. Underneath, apart from vast car parks, is a concourse housing many places to eat and touristy shops. The above ground area is peaceful with interesting views and worth a visit. The Education building houses a museum with some wonderful, lifelike exhibits. It covers the history of the people who have made New York what it is, what happened at the World Trade Centre, life in the Adirondack area which is largely ancient woodland and waterways, and some other interesting exhibits.

We walked through about half of the city centre and saw many architecturally interesting buildings. The State University of New York looked rather like a very clean version of the houses of parliament at Westminster. There was a strong Dutch influence in many buildings and some English churches, both countries having had ownership of the city in the past.

After visiting the launderette and getting in some more food, we left Albany in the morning and continued up the Hudson River past Troy to Waterford, where we turned off to the Erie Canal and our first lock.