Hurricane Prep

As I write this, Category 4 Hurricane Dorian continues to increase in strength and decrease in speed, heading right towards Abaco. The islands are as set as they can be, but this is a very scary storm as it is predicted to sit over Abaco for over 24 hours. Thanks go out to Lighthouse Marina's Manager Linda Knowles, who posted the photos below of the boatyard jam packed with boats that have been hauled out.  Note our apartment with its new roof in the first photo. I hope it stays on!

Go North Dorian, PLEASE go north!

River Run

While our skiff Foxie was home, we decided to take a trip down the Hudson River and explore the creeks between Catskill, Saugerties, and Kingston. What a perfect day for a cruise on the river!

Of course what do we come across while traveling? More ships...or at least a tug and barge.

The Catskill Creek and the Esopus Creek (Saugerties) are lined with homes, condos and marinas, plus the Esopus has a small U.S. Coast Guard Station and this classic lighthouse at the mouth of the creek.

The Roundout Creek also has a lighthouse that is circa 1913.

As we entered the Roundout Creek, there were lots of old abandoned tugs, barges, and boats. 

We went up a very narrow back creek with a marina packed full with boats.

This is Gumbo, a Louisiana built trawler which you can actually charter. It was made the same year as New Horizon...1984. Being wood, it looked older than that.

Sea plane anyone? Must be interesting taking off and landing with all the marinas and boat traffic.

The tugboat Matilda at the museum. It must have been amazing to see it being placed on land.

This looks to be a canal boat from France and we wondered what it was doing in Kingston. Perhaps it too does charters.

High overhead this train bridge was a bit scary from below. I wouldn't want to be on a train going over it.

Our favorite part of the trip is seeing what is in the floating ship dry docks getting fixed or painted.

A beautiful new paint job for this barge...

Twin tugboats getting painted...

Next to the shipyard is a metal recycling plant. 

Look closely and you can see two motorcycle wheels hanging out, which was quite funny.

Across from the creek is another shipyard where they appear to be building barges. We wondered how they were going to get the barge down this launch ramp.

What another great adventure! It also temporarily took our minds off the impending major hurricane aiming for Abaco and Florida. The situation is not looking good and we are now glued to the internet and weather sources. I will keep you posted as it all unfolds.

Ships and Swans

By the title of this post, I bet you can tell where we have been. We wanted to take a last hurrah trip of the season to the Thousand Islands, but it ended up being an abbreviated stay due to stormy weather moving in. However, while we were there we had a fantastic time in both the kayaks and the skiff. Even though we had planned on camping in Gulliver at Keewaydin State Park, at the last minute we opted to go to Grass Point for a day of kayaking, since it was too chilly to go in Keewaydin's pool anyway. Plus the water level is down now and the launch ramp usable. Of course we can't leave out being able to see the ships passing by...

While in our kayaks we were at the Rock Island Lighthouse when this huge houseboat went by...

Then coming the other way was this ship which we were really close to. The channel is very narrow here.

Further up the St. Lawrence, another ship was coming on a reciprocal course and we got to see them pass quite closely.

The one ship ended up being a barge being pushed by a very modern looking tugboat.

Back near the campground, the swan family came out to say hello and show me how much the cygnets had grown. The one is still quite dark though.

To top off our trip, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flew in formation overhead. They were coming up the river from Newburgh to Nova Scotia and we just happened to see the fly-by. I did not get a chance to get out my camera in time (photo below is from the internet) but a lady who was standing nearby told us that they were flying in the missing man formation. She had been told that one of the pilots had been coming to his grandfather's home in the Thousand Islands since he was a child and (I believe) his grandfather was also a pilot, but had passed away. This flight up the river was to honor him. How cool is that?

The last morning we brought our entourage down to Alexandria Bay and launched the kayaks at the public launch ramp, which is finally open after much of the high water has receded. We kayaked past downtown and over to Bonnie Castle Resort and Marina. To get there, we have to go in a culvert to the marina (much easier and quicker than the outside where the current flies). I ended up hitting my head on a metal bar that supports the cable tv lines. Ouch, but I survived...next time I will duck more. 

 "Light at the end of the tunnel."😉 

Then we couldn't resist going under this platform that used to house a big motel. we even remember the building being there before it was demolished several years ago. Adventures are us!

This may have been just a couple of days of fun (we saw something like 6-8 ships in 2 1/2 days), but we are sure glad we went. I would call it "short but sweet!"

Not Just About Wood

We recently attended the ACBS boat show in lake George Village. The docks were loaded with gorgeous boats and what a picturesque setting for this annual event.

The street was lined with classics also, and most weren't even wood, but still quite amazing.

This jet boat's name was Loud...which looks to fit it perfectly. 

What a classic duo...

We spent a bit of time talking to the owner of this Herter's Flying Fish. He and his young son brought this boat back to its former glory. It was nice to see a 15 year old enthusiastic about a project like this. The fins and taillights are phenomenal!

We never know what boats will participate in the show each year, and this event certainly did not disappoint us!

 

Placid Paddle

What a perfect day yesterday was with a clear blue sky and 80+ degree temps! We have to choose our warm days to go boating at Lake Placid, because it is always about 10 degrees colder up there, and the conditions could not have been better. It is hard to tell in this photo, but we could actually see the buildings at the summit of Whiteface Mountain.

We only brought our kayaks, but this allowed us to get up close to all the gorgeous boathouses and 'camps'. First the boathouse...

Then the 'camp' or 'cottage' that goes with it. So many are huge and beautiful like this...

Below are more examples of what we saw, with most of the boathouses having spectacular wooden boats hiding in them. The concentration of wooden boats is even more than Lake George or the Thousand Islands. 

Finally, this caught our eye, not only with the mannequin, but also the name of the boat which was changed from the Good Wife to the Good Life (or perhaps the other way around?). Is the mannequin a substitute?  😉