We were early to rise for our run to the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River. We were met by “Yachts of Fun” to help each other with statue photo’s. We were also greeted by the smoke from the Canadien fires that has blanketed the east coast making it tough to take good pictures. It did however give us a reddish sunrise.
We passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge by 0700 passing Fort Hamilton on the eastern shore. Fort Hamilton is the only active duty military installation in the greater NYC metropolitan area. It supports the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. The base was built in 1825-1831. On the western shore we passed the Staten Island Ferry Terminal then the Bayonne, NJ Container Terminal where we got our first good look at the statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan surrounded by clouds and haze.
We stopped at the statue for the photo-op then headed north up the Hudson River to our proposed destination of Halfmoon Bay Marina located in Croton On The Hudson. There was a steady wind off the starboard bow so we hugged the eastern shore to get some relief. Passing under the Tappan Zee Bridge put us back in the wind for the rest of the run.
Entering Halfmoon Bay was extremely windy with up to 20 knot winds from the east. Luckily the wind was parallel to our slip, so we just backed with the assistance of other loopers and the dockhands. Halfmoon Bay has clean facilities with stores and restaurants within walking distance and a great walking path that follows the eastern shore. We stayed for several days giving us a chance to see old friends and family.
My sister Kim came by with her grandson Lucas followed by my brother Chris, his wife Kathy and my buddies Arty, Tommy Mc. , David, Janos and my old partner Joey and his girlfriend. There was a street festival in Croton, so we all went and enjoyed good food and cold drinks. Every afternoon in the marina we had dock-tail get together with our fellow loopers and were reunited with our new friends on “Bama Breeze, Beachside, Gemini, Puffin, Thistle, See The USA and a bunch of 1st time meetings.
It was again time to go to bed and get rest before our run to Kingston, NY.