 |
 |
0600 hours
Starting Position: Anchored at the northern end of the Palisades.
Latitude: 41˚ 07.5' N
Longitude: 073˚ 53.9' W
Port Watch Leader: Gymm.
Day Three of the Half Moon's voyage from East Hartford, CT to Hudson, NY.
Dawn breaks on the eastern shore, bringing an end to an eventful anchor watch. A valve in the generator's water intake turned unreliable shortly before midnight, with the result that on a regular yet predictable basis, the ship's generator would shut down. This would in turn cut out the anchor light, leaving us nearly invisible to any passing vessels! Restoring power each time simply required flipping a switch, but a permanent fix would have required us to take the generator offline until the repairs were done. Thus, Anchor Watch was tasked with restoring power as needed until dawn. Now that the sun is up, we no longer need the anchor light, so Chief Engineer Van Aken can make repairs.
Unlike the vast majority of nights at anchor, which are quite unremarkable, Anchor Watch truly earned their snacks and coffee!
|
0630 hours
As the daylight brightens around us, we get a clear look at the Palisades to the west.
|
Many crew members chose to sleep on deck last night, looking up at the stars.
|
As the final shift of Anchor Watch winds down, the weather deck sleepers are gently woken by the morning's light.
|
1200 hours
Starboard Watch Leader: Dawn.
After a gradual start to the morning, including a deck wash, Nora and Evi's plans finally come to fruition: Swim call!
|
As the flood tide lessens, we toss out safety lines and invite the crew to cool off.
|
1245 hours
To add to the fun, Sanne climbs out onto the main yard to rig up a rope swing.
|
Mouse over to swing away!
 |
Nora is the first crew member to give the swing a test.
|
Mouse over to send Nick overboard!
 |
The rope swing is an instant hit...
|
Mouse over to swing away!
 |
...among salty crew and special guests alike.
|
Mouse over on the count of three!
 |
If the crew still mutinies after all this fun, Captain Reynolds will be sorely disappointed.
|
The morning hasn't been all horseplay, however; we've also been taking the opportunity to perform some maintenance on the ship. Our main project on this voyage is to apply a new coat of wood preservative to the masts. Here, Howland is has worked himself about halfway down the mizzen mast.
|
1315 hours
We serve lunch to lure the swimmers back on board. Today it's sandwiches and macaroni salad.
|
1345 hours
While we wait for the flood tide, we call for a second deck wash, as much to cool down the ship as to clean it.
|
1430 hours
The tide has turned, so Captain Reynolds orders all hands to their anchorage positions. This will be the first time some of our crew have ever weighed anchor!
|
Mouse over to walk the capstan.
 |
On the weather deck, the capstan team walks the massive winch that pulls in the anchor rode. A backup team stands by to step in and add their strength as needed.
|
Down on the orlop deck, Ewout checks in as Bram and Alex monitor the rode's path around the lower capstan...
|
...while in the bow, Steve stands ready to put a turn on the bits -- a final safety precaution -- while Nora and Swantje fake (neatly fold) the rode.
|
1445 hours
With the teams working in unison, the anchor soon rises to the surface, where Rachel is waiting to hook it.
|
Once the fore deck team hauls up the anchor on a tackle, Rachel and her assistant Brian wrestle it into position on the channel and secure it, ready to be used again.
|
1600 hours
We are now motoring north through Haverstraw Bay. Watch Leader Dawn comes up from the galley with a round of popsicles for the sweaty crew.
|
1630 hours
Down in the hold, Patrick and his galley assistants stay cool as they start work on dinner.
|
1700 hours
With Swantje's help, Nora's braids have now evolved into an even more elaborate configuration.
|
1715 hours
Our relaxed schedule on this voyage grants us the benefit of picking and choosing where we stop for the night. Now, as we leave the northern end of Haverstraw Bay, we've chosen to stop at a familiar dock.
|
1730 hours
King Marine in Verplanck, NY, is as close as the Half Moon has to a home port; the marina and its owner, Randy King, are crucial to our operations on the Hudson River. With the sole exception of this past winter, which the ship spent undergoing upgrades in Albany, the Half Moon has wintered here every year for over a decade, shielded from the winter ice flows inside King Marine's protective docks.
After well over a year, the ship has finally come home.
|
As soon as the ship is secure, we'll even let Sanne out to see!
|
1745 hours
Ending Position: Docked at King Marine in Verplanck, NY.
Latitude: 41˚ 15.2'
Longitude: 073˚ 58.0'
With our dock lines in place, we can step ashore and catch up with some of our favorite King Marine neighbors: Bimini the parrot and his pals Anchor Dan and Dan's wife Debbie.
|
1800 hours
We dispatch the crew to apply chafing gear to the mooring lines and deadeyes -- we don't want the dock lines and standing rig to slowly gnaw at each other!
|
1830 hours
As the sun sinks to the west, we complete ship operations for the day.
|
1845 hours
King Marine is a known and secure site, so the entire crew can step off for shore leave if they so wish. Captain Reynolds calls a briefing to discuss just that possibility.
|
1900 hours
But first, dinner! Tonight Patrick serves London broil and grilled potatoes.
|
As the evening begins, we note that today is Glen Bianchi's birthday. Unbeknownst to him, we've called ahead to prepare a special birthday treat...
|
2015 hours
...including rides, food, music, and games.
|
Mouse over to give the ride a whirl!
 |
Well, perhaps not. Coincidentally, it just so happens that we've arrived at Verplanck on the same night as their annual Italian-American street festival, with the festivities taking place just around the corner from King Marine. Most of the crew walks over to enjoy themselves and indulge in various varieties of fried dough.
|
2300 hours
The festival concludes with a massive fireworks display put on by the local fire department.
|
By now, most of the crew has returned to the ship, so we sit back and watch the show from the upper decks.
|
There's no flash photography in use here; we're so close to the fireworks that they really do illuminate the entire marina.
|
Mouse over for the big show!
 |
2315 hours
It's an extraordinary fireworks display, even outdoing the show we witnessed on Day One of the Fresh River Voyage of Discovery.
|
After the fireworks, the remaining stragglers in the crew return from shore leave and we call it a night, thoroughly entertained.
|
Mouse over to watch
the grand finale!
 |
The logs for the next few days will be relatively quiet, so to make it up to you we'll close this report with one last stop-motion extravaganza: a moment from the fireworks grand finale.
Next Time: On Through the Highlands!
|
|
|
|
|