Beaten by the river

Hi everyone,

Last night was a miserable one for sleeping. I was anchored in the lee of Mt. Hook on the edge of the Tappan Zee, a wide section of the Hudson, and the wind just exploded in gusts down the mountain flanks all night long. For a good chunk of the night the tide was opposing the wind, causing the boat to yaw back and forth while rolling to an alarming extent. The dinghy, being blown around wildly by the wind would smash violently into the stern of White Seal. Normally, I would hoist the dinghy out of the water and put it on the deck but the motion was so violent I decided not to do it and just accepted the collisions. I do have an excellent rubrail on the dinghy so there was no concern about damage. So, after a lousy sleep, I crawled out of my bunk this morning and decided to give it a shot at getting underway. I made it about a mile. A short ways past that I was going to have to motor directly into the wind which was blowing 30 with higher gusts. Large amounts of spray were coming aboard as I got further out and I said the heck with it. I reanchored much closer to shore and spent the day reading. Very happy to report the wind is dying down and should be reasonable tomorrow.

Also, an invitation is extended to any reader in the general area who might like to join me for perhaps 3 days, as I go thru the canal. It is very scenic, and it is very helpful for me to have an extra hand as we pass thru the locks. You could join the boat in Castleton on the Hudson, where we take down the mast, then enter the canal at Troy. A couple of days of travel thru bucolic countryside and you could depart at Whitehall, Orwell, or continue on to journey's end at Kingsland Bay in Ferrisburgh. Email me at charlielangworthy@gmail.com if you are interested.

Best to all, Charlie