West Point

With a forecast for afternoon rain from the remains of tropical storm Gordon in the offing we opted for a short day motoring down to Tarrytown for fuel, groceries and a pump out and an overnight dock. Chris put in a few hours with the computers while I shopped. This ten mile stretch of the Hudson between Newburg and Haverstraw Bay is the most scenic anywhere from Albany seaward. Here the dark hills and steep highlands crowd the river into a steep sided narrow valley almost fjord like in character. A few miles from our anchorage we passed West Point with its big brooding grey stone buildings looking a bit like an ancient fortress on the water. Before it became home to a military college West Point was the site of a battery that defended this narrow stretch of the river. During the Revolutionary War the defenders stretched a cable acorss the river here to keep the British ships from penetrating inland after they slipped through once and burned Kingston, then New York's capital.

A grey, rainy day at the marina with a distant view of the Tappan Zee Bridge

The river widens out again at Haverstraw Bay and we now noticed it taking on a greenish tinge and less silty look. We wet our fingers in it and tasted it and declared there was now a tinge of salt. We tied up at the Tarrytown Marina within earshot of the Tappan Zee bridge and rush hour and by late afternoon the predicted rains had arrived so we felt pretty smug about our schedule this time around.