Well....we've made our way down the hudson river from Castleton-on-hudson to Manhattan New York, NY. I have to say the cruise down the hudson was a pleasant surprise. Both Mike and I were thinking the hudson was a dirty, boring river with lots of debris we would have to dodge, but to our pleasant surprise the hudson river was stunning, with quaint little towns, beautiful homes and a mountainous views. We had a glorious sunny venture for the most part, and managed to find a great protected anchorage in a small town in Kinston, NY where we enjoyed a quiet night filled with a kazillion stars and great music and enjoyed a great meal which is why I love anchoring. There is nothing like finding a great anchorage that has good protection and great view and you can finally sleep soundly without having to worry about the anchor dragging.

The next day we left Kingston only to find ourselves back at the town dock as we couldn't see a thing once we got into the channel due to an old friend called fog. So we waited it out and managed to head out against the high tide and work our way down. We are new to tides and tidal currents, so for those of you who know Meggie, you know she isn't the fastest boat built and doesn't like to motor so when you put a tidal current of sometimes 4 knots into the mixture, it's sometimes a very slow go. So needless to say, we try and catch the ebb (which is low tide heading out to sea), and when we catch the low tide at the right time we can really cruise and really cruise fast. However, the tidal current is very strong right now so timing is everything.

We made it to Manhattan with the help of some crew we picked up in a fantastic little town called Nyack. Our nephew Harry was aboard Meggie as we (unfortunately motored...not sailed) under the George Washington bridge and into the mooring field on 79 th street. We've had a couple of very soggy days in NYC, but managed to do a bit of sightseeing and went to the museum of modern art and have had a fantastic time with our hosts Martin, Gigi and Harry. We've been eating like crazy, because how can you not when you're in Manhattan. We woke up this morning to beautiful glorious sunshine.
We had forgotten what sun was I think. So currently Mike is attempting to surf on Long Beach and I get to go shopping with Gigi...but not too crazy, everything we purchase needs to be justified as to why it is taking up space.
We continue to meet great people and are fortunate to be in the 79th street boat basin as there are a few boats there heading the same direction as us and we can therefore travel together which is always nice, especially when you're entering the ocean for the first time.
Well...I have to go...the big city is calling and there is lots to do and see. As always, we love the comments and love to hear the news about whats happening with everyone's lives, so keep them coming.
Until next time (which by that time we'll be in the ocean)....
Adios
Kylie and Mike
ps...Sept. 22, 2006. We're in Cape May now and will head up Delaware Bay tomorrwow...I have a whole other page of stories to tell, but will have to wait until next time.