West Point to Poughkeepsie and back
After celebrating Hawser, Line and Wire's 50th birthday last Thursday I concluded "Coast Guard Week" on Tuesday with a tour aboard the Penobscot Bay, a 140-foot "Bay Class" Coast Guard ice breaker.
Lo and behold, in late February in the Hudson Valley little ice remains to be broken. Nevertheless my colleagues and I enjoyed meeting the able crew, hearing about their ice breaking and oil response operations and left totally impressed by their dedication and skill in keeping the Hudson River open to traffic, safe and clean.
Here is a file photo of the Penobscot Bay. Clearly the crew is happier when presented with a challenging floe of ice like this day, January 26th at the Hudson Athens Light:
Penobscot Bay |
Penobscot Bay from above |
Leaving West Point
On Tuesday, after our safety briefing by Chief Petty Office Eric Goldberg, we pushed off the dock at the US Military Academy at West Point in to a placid river and sailed north toward World's End, a narrow, doglegged choke point and at 216 feet the Hudson's deepest point.
CPO Goldberg on the forepeak |
CPO Goldberg |
Preparing to leave the dock |
US Military Academy at West Point |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Academy
Warner Sisters' home and dock at Constitution Island |
Lots of good information about Constitution Island here:
http://www.hhr.highlands.com/constit.htm
World's End. Gee's Point (left), Constitution Island (r) and Breakneck Ridge in distance. The Hudson bends to the left around the rocky shore |
Gee's Point looking west |
Around World's End and up the Hudson
But the river turns wet and then north, opening up as if a beautiful lake framed with fjord-like cliffs.
Now around World's End, looking north we see Magazine Point on Constitution island (l) and Target Point (r) and Storm King Mountain behind |
Target Point and Storm King |
Magazine Point, Bull Hill and Breakneck Ridge |
In the Pilothouse
In the warmth of the pilothouse, the commanding officer McCormack explained about the Penobscot Bay's ice breaking operations:
And northward under the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge:
Finally, some ice--and bald eagles everywhere!
Recently, after a 100-year absence, the bald eagle population has made a dramatic comeback on the Hudson River. We saw about 25 and as many as none at once on the ice floes between Newburgh Bay and Danskammer Point.
My 'hood
After our briefing on the Coast Guard's spill response operation, I looked out the window and saw my neighborhood whisking by. So I scurried out on deck and caught some photos:
Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park. Once a small oil terminal--now a nearly completed park. New bulkhead, boat launch, dock, and environmental center |
The foot of my road--Mile Hill Road. I live 1/2 mile up the hill |
Mariners-on-the Hudson. My favorite waterfront restaurant and marina where I keep my sailboat |
Back south past Walkway Over the Hudson
Walkway. My commute when I bike. |
The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, opened in 1888 and abandoned after a fire in 1974 was reopened as a linear park to great fanfare in 2009. Soaring 212 feet above the Hudson, the park attracts about 1/2 million annual visits. It s soon to be connected to a network of rail trails spanning Ulster and Dutchess Counties.
Poughkeepsie
The Mid-Hudson Children's Museum, Piano Key factory (now condos) and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which rises above Poughkeepsie's Little Italy |
The FDR Mid-Hudson Bridge, carrying Route 44/55 across the Hudson. My commute when I drive. |
Franny Reese State Park and Blue Point
Once the site of 850 proposed condos, Franny Reese State Park, was saved by Scenic Hudson
http://www.scenichudson.org/parks/frannyreese
Franny Reese State Park |
Blue Point. The Dutch called it Jeffrous Hook
Penobscot Bay detail
People
You know who you are.
Newburgh and the Hudson Highlands
Former Regal Bag Factory, Newburgh |
Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island |
Storm King |
Main Street, Cold Spring |
THANK YOU!
Thanks to the US Coast Guard and the captain and crew of the Penobscot Bay for their hospitality during our tour, their commitment to the Hudson River, and their service to our nation!