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After a boating incident like the one I had last year, most people would give up trying to navigate the Hudson River; but not me! This year we were much better prepared – with a fully rebuilt out-drive and newly acquired river-navigation-information. It took Chris and I about 2 hours to get to Newburgh. We found the public launch information online and drove through the slums of Newburgh with boat in tow. We launched there and headed south towards the Statue of Liberty. All was going well until Haverstraw bay, where the wind picked up and waves started crashing over the bow and into the boat. The beating also knocked out the fish/depth finder, a very important piece of gear on this year’s trip. We took shelter in a cove for 15 minutes or so to straighten out the wiring job under the dash and get the depth finder working again.

The wind died down so I picked up the pace a little…. and within a few minutes we collided with a submerged log and destroyed the propeller. We idled down the river with the steering wheel a-shimmying until we found “Westerly Marina” where I was able to buy a new prop ($177) and talk to the store owner about my adventures navigating the Hudson with a road map (which I made sure to bring along this year!). Here, I also forked out $20 for a real marine map of the Hudson, complete with depth soundings. The rest of the trip downriver was rough but uneventful. Huge tugboats, barges, yachts and ferry’s were everywhere as we got closer to the Statue of Liberty. At this point I felt really out of place – being the smallest vessel around… hell; we were the only fiberglass vessel around – everything else was made of iron!

I have never seen waves so big (at least from the helm of an 18′ bow-rider). A few times I thought we were sinking because the waves coming at us from all directions seemed higher than the boat: It was at this point that I decided we should don the flotation gear in the event of a capsizing. There was all kinds of trash to navigate around and we were doing well until we hit an aerosol can, which knocked the transducer out of alignment enough as to render it useless for the trip back. We circled around the harbor for awhile and started back; but not before we hit a monster wave and knocked the rub-rail off of the starboard side of the boat. The gas gauge then came under demonic possession and it’s rapidly moving needle failed to indicate the current fuel level. Halfway back up the river we stopped to fuel-up and paid just $2.55/gallon!

All in all, it was an excellent trip. Everything (but the damaged prop) went according to plan but now that I look back on it, I wish we had ventured further out and gone under the Verrazanno Bridge. Perhaps then I might have had a more interesting story to tell about this adventure… There’s always next year I suppose.

Adventures – Centralia, PA (July 2005)

In an issue of Smithsonian magazine, I discovered the wonderfully exciting world of underground coal-mine fires. Centralia (near Frackville off of I-81) is only an hour and a half away from me and the article in the magazine made it seem so intriguing that I just had to pay it a visit. Somehow I managed to con Sherri into going with me… something about “If I fall into a crack in the abandoned portion of Route 61 and die, you’re not getting my half of the rent for next month!” So we loaded up the bikes and followed Mapquest directions to Centralia.

The first thing I noticed about Centralia is that it’s very easy to miss. I saw a warning sign about an underground mine fire and the next thing I know we’re headed to Mount Carmel on a 4 lane divided highway. We turned around and discovered the closed portion of Highway 61 hidden behind a man-made embankment. What we discovered when we biked down there was not as scary as I had hoped it would be. There are bigger cracks in Jefferson Avenue. Granted, they don’t belch smoke and steam, but I also didn’t see any knife-toting crack heads either. From that standpoint: I’d have to say that I felt safer in a burning, abandoned ghost town than I do in my own. Anyway; on to the photos! The first 9 photos are of the closed portion of Route 61. The picture taken from my car is the mayor’s house, I believe. On the other side of the non-closed portion of Route 61 we found some old vent pipes (and lots and lots of trash). Back on the other side you can see the damage the fire has done. You can also see some more trash (the place has become a dumping ground).

All in all it was an interesting trip. I have to hand it to the photographer from Smithsonian Magazine; he/she probably had quite the time trying to take those photos without getting any of the numerous tires and piles of trash into the pictures. It’s a shame that the government bought up all the land and tore down most all of the buildings. I think Centralia is a delightful place to live. I saw no more than a few wisps of smoke from various crevasses – as far as I’m concerned, the fire is out and everyone can move back!