I wasn’t sure if “notched” was the right word…but I wanted something that started with an “n”. Synonyms for notched include chisel, cut, dent, gash, incise, so notched will do just fine.

I’ll tell you about what we’ve been up to since stepping the mast before I get into the incident that notched us.

Castleton on Hudson to Saugerties, NY (10-Sep-2012)

Here’s a picture that someone took of our boat last night…he was actually trying to get a picture of the sunset.

Something I might not have mentioned yet is that we don’t have a dinghy (a tender to ferry us from ship to shore), so we’re marooned on our own boat when we’re anchored or pick up a mooring ball (i.e. not tied up at a dock where we can just walk off the boat). So the first thing we did the morning after getting the mast up was look around for a used dinghy on Craigslist (we’re told that Craigslist is how everyone sells stuff around here). We found a few and skyped or emailed the sellers. When Martin & Bridget from Shin Dera (the nice English couple who helped us) were ready to put their masts up we gave them a hand. Their boat is significantly larger than Water Music, and they have two heavy masts, so this felt like more of an operation. The masting crane at Castleton is 100% self-serve, so there is no expert help standing by. There was a lot of “Think it would it work if we do this?” as well as potential for major disaster, so I found it more stressful than stepping our own weeny little mast. Everything went well, though. We were almost ready to raise the second mast when we had to leave (we had already over-stayed our dockage by almost 2 hours), but John & Andy from Between the Sheets came along and helped Martin & Bridget with the rest of the job.

We said our goodbyes and got moving. Some of what we saw on the way to Saugerties:

It was another beautiful day. We decided to anchor in Esopus Creek, at Saugerties, N.Y. This is the lighthouse that marks the entrance to the creek.

This was our first experience anchoring the boat on this trip, so it was a big deal for us. The anchor set on the first try, which was good for the confidence. Here’s a bit of a 360 degree tour.

Now that I’m looking at it, I probably didn’t need to post so many pictures of the anchorage (it was a big milestone for us!), but it’s done so they’re stayin’.We had another nice dinner. While BBQ-ing, I heard an unmistakable “plunk”. Phill dropped a fork into “The Giant Toolbox” (something goes overboard, it’s in the Giant Toolbox). Then went to sleep – no Deadwood, too tired.

Esopus Creek to Newburgh N.Y. (11-Sep-2012)

It was a very beautiful misty morning in Esopus Creek…

According to our log, we got moving at 08:38 (we spent some time reviewing our dinghy shopping notes before we left). We passed the 9/11 ceremony around 10, then as we passed Kingston, N.Y. an hour or two later, we got a hold of a guy with a dinghy for sale. He said he didn’t live in Kingston (he just kept his boat there) – he lived in Newburgh, N.Y. We said we really need a dinghy, can we meet you in Newburgh to take a look at yours? He said sure, it’s in mint condition, we won’t be disappointed.

Some pics on the way to Newburgh, N.Y.

We arrive in Newburgh around 3 pm, and get docked at the Riverfront Marina ($2.50/foot = $85.00; not good for the boat budget). We figured we’d be acquiring a dinghy, though, so it was worth it to make the moderately expensive stop. Too bad the dock was awful – but I’ll get to that later.

We get registered with the marina (they’re not normally open on Tuesdays, so people had to be called, time had to pass before we got the keys and access to the WiFi – all okay, though, because we were enjoying the views).

We decide to get some groceries rather than eat out, so we ask around about a grocery store in walking distance. We’re told by the guy at the marina “There is nothing here in walking distance. Don’t go over that hill!” as he points westward. We now had WiFi, and looked for ourselves, and saw that there was a Price Chopper within biking distance, so I got ready to go for a bike ride, and Phill got ready to meet the dinghy guy. (Phill was a bit reluctant to let me go to the grocery store by myself because we didn’t know why we shouldn’t go over that hill to the west. What if this town had a major drug problem or something?). I went anyways – it was a nice bright day, and Newburgh looked like a nice place from the water. As it turns out, Newburgh is a nice place. It was a heck of an uphill ride to the grocery store, but very scenic with all the nice old houses. I saw no scary people, only nice people eager to help me find the Price Chopper. One man with a thick Spanish accent said “I spy! I’ve never seen a bike like that before!”. I showed him how it folds up and he gave me excellent directions.

When I’m getting back with the groceries, I pass on the dock a man and Phill carrying what looks to be a nice white dinghy and an outboard. The guy doesn’t look happy, and Phill is giving me the “I’ll tell you later” look. Turns out, the dinghy was not in mint condition as advertised. There were some transom problems, and the motor stalled a lot. Phill could have been swept up the Hudson while he was testing it! As Phill said “It’s not a deal if it’s a headache!”, so we took a pass on the dinghy.

So back to getting notched in Newburgh. The docks, though scenic, aren’t very stable, and when some wake-making vessel passes (which was often), the boat would not only move a lot, but so would the dock. Well, as bad luck would have it, the boat rocked while the dock rolled, one of our fenders popped out, and the boat made contact with the dock and scratched a few notches in our gelcoat. RATS. We adjusted, added a few more fenders, and there was no further incident. Crappy night though. Lots of movement, not very comfortable. And there was a train track nearby (again). And we were very near Billy Joe’s Ribworks on line-dancing Tuesday! And forward-touch, back-touch, forward-touch, slide, turn – stamp!! Amplified, with music. Ugh…we just wanted to turn the page on this day so we went to bed.

We’re on the way to the Big City today, hoping to get a spot at the 79th Street Boat Basin. We’re hoping to catch up with friends while we’re there, so we may stay a few days. I’ll let you know how getting there goes. I may be able to post something tonight – I bet there’s lots of free WiFi in the Big Apple.

Until then…