Part three in a series, the words of Cruise leader Alan Shearer reporting the final leg of the trip>
Most of the cruisers likely could have stayed at Basin Harbor longer, but there is a schedule to keep after all. From Basin Harbor, we went back through the canal more confidently this time. Given the timing challenges at the locks, we all split the canal into two days and made Ft. Edward the first night, on “the wall,” where Sue arranged an impromptu picnic. The food the cruisers came up with from their boats was amazing, and I was not allowed to grill, which was the right call.
Next, on we went to Albany Yacht Club. Again, it is not a traditional yacht club as we think of it, but it was a good marina for our visit to Albany/Rensselaer, NY. Some folks headed to a tour of the USS Slater, a Cannon class destroyer escort with a storied past. The tour was universally acclaimed by those who attended. We had another group dinner at a local watering hole, just a few blocks away, featuring a lot of comfort food and a server who doubled as a bartender and handled the crowd reasonably well.
The next stop is Donovan’s Shady Harbor on the Hudson River in the very small town of New Baltimore. This is another riverside marina, another slightly above-average restaurant on site with very helpful and funny dock hands. Apparently, this is a favorite stop for Great Loopers. Who knew? Unlike the infamous Newburgh marina, there was very little rocking or even rolling here.
We then ventured to Shadows on the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. It is an interesting riverside marina with a strong current and a real character: Keith, the dockmaster. Several cruisers took Ubers to the FDR Presidential Library and Roosevelt Home in Hyde Park. It is a tour very worth taking for every American. Guess what else we did? We had another dinner at Shadows Restaurant. It was a pretty good meal in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows, high above the Hudson, with a view of the beautifully lighted Mid-Hudson Bridge, an appropriate end to the official cruise stops.
From there, our cruisers headed in various directions to different stops, although some ended up in the same marina. The friendly gatherings continued all the way to Cape May on the route home to Annapolis.
This cruise was a lot of things. For all it was an adventure. To most, it was a first-time experience with locks, the Hudson River, and Lake Champlain. It was a challenge in some ways. Riverfront marinas without breakwaters presented difficulties with fenders, lines, and, in some cases, paint jobs. Approaching the locks was somewhat stressful, especially for the first mate, but after a couple of successful transits, it was old hat and even became somewhat boring. Above all, it was the scenery and the history that captivated the cruisers, regardless of their prior experience. It was 6 to 8-hour days piloting, interspersed with short runs and fun happy hours and dinners. It was visits to historic sites and simply taking in the breathtaking landscapes. And it was fun.