September 3: We left Waterford at 7:00 a.m. on a dreary, overcast day and headed to the Troy Lock which is our last lock on this trip. YAY!
The sun eventually came out as we traveled down stream on the Hudson River. Except for encountering a few large barges, our journey to Kingston, NY was uneventful. We docked at the Kingston Town Marina which was our home for 10 days when the Erie Canal was closed. Thankfully, we will only be here for one night.
September 4: Down the Hudson today to Croton-on-the-Hudson. Previously, we have stopped at Halfmoon Bay Marina but chose this time to anchor out in the bay. After a choppy ride in to shore, we walked the short distance to one of our favorite restaurants-Ocean House-and had another great meal there. We were the first customers in the door-talk about an early bird special-but did not want to dinghy back to the boat in the dark.
September 5: We timed our departure today to arrive at the junction of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers at slack tide to avoid fighting the current at Hell Gate on the East River. The railway bridge at the entrance to the Harlem River only has a 4 ft clearance and usually opens on demand. However, when we called the bridge tender to request an opening, we were informed that the bridge was undergoing repairs and would only open at noon. That meant that we had to hold on station for 1.5 hours! Yikes! That also meant that our planned schedule to arrive at Hell Gate went to hell in a hand basket!!!
After the bridge finally opened, we battled the current on the Harlem River and reached Hell Gate and the East River at exactly the worst time. We were bucking a 5 knot current and making less that 3 knots of speed. Fortunately, it was for a relatively short period of time but we were thankful to arrive at Port Washington and spend a quiet night on their free moorings.
September 6: Today our last stop in Long Island Sound was Port Jefferson. We anchored here when we left on the Great Loop in June 2011.
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