Hudson River Disaster
The Adventures of HJCotton are becoming more like Mis-Adventures of HJCotton. This Hudson river trip was to include a 2 day trip up and down the river in our 18 foot Celebrity. We were well prepared and I made sure that the boat was in tip-top shape before we departed; spending over $150 on ropes, zincs and tune-up parts and another $50 in gas. We launched at “North Anchorage” marina near Newburgh, NY on July 7th, 2004.
12:30PM: The launch fee and an overnight slip cost $50. We started up the river at full throttle to escape the sweltering heat… Cost so far: $250
2:00PM: Things were going well and I was teaching my father how to safely operate the boat; the throttle, the trim, where to stay between the channel-marker buoys. I decided that it would be safe to take a nap while we were heading upstream…
2:26PM: I felt a surge in the boat and I opened my eyes. The outdrive popped out of the water and the boat instantly turned black under a deluge of PCB contaminated river mud. We had beached…. a few hundred yards to the right of the red buoy that we should have stayed left of. I raised the outdrive and powered us off the sandbar and I looked for damage. Little blue globules of blue gear lube bubbled to the surface. A call to a helpful mechanic at work was placed and it was decided that I would not try to limp back 50 miles downstream at idle speed. BoatUS was the next call made…
4:00PM: SeaTow showed up in a fly towing rig and we got a ride 1.5 miles past the Saugerties lighthouse to the Saugerties marina where we were laughing stocks. We made arrangements to leave the boat docked there temporarily and I had to fork out $190 for a fair-weather tow. It cost us $20 to leave the boat at the dock for a few hours. Cost so far: $460
6:00PM: Now we found ourselves in a predicament; 50 miles from our tow vehicle at a run down marina with a broken-ass boat. An employee was kind enough to give us a ride back to North Anchorage Marina in Newburgh for $50. 2 hours later we were back to pick up the boat. Cost so far: $510
8:30PM: With the boat on the trailer and out of the water, the damage to the lower unit was evident – a hole directly in front of the drain screw. It was time to get back on the road and go the hell home.
11:00PM: After an uneventful dinner, I dropped the boat off at work. Upon leaving, I released the parking brake and the dashboard brake-warning lights stayed on… As if the day could get much worse. The truck made it home, and the installation of a new rear brake-cylinder the next day cost another $100.
In reflection:
I learned a lot of things on this trip. The most important is to never, ever navigate a body of water with an interstate road map. Things like this are bound to happen if you are cheap. Also, considering the damage my father had done to the boat, and the predicament we were put in… I found the situation at times to be nothing short of hilarious. It was just another adventure; what else can I say?