Posted by Robert Prol (robert.prol@…>)
Last Saturday was rainy and windy on the Hudson River. My wife and I
decided to sail Wayzgoose #258 from Nyack, NY to Stony Point, NY for
eventual haul out and winter storage.
We arrived at Nyack Boat Club around 1300 hours, and had a brief
discussion on whether to postpone to another day. The wind was around
17-20 kts, with gusts pushing to around 25 kts. The wind was out of
the south, and the waves were steep with a short period. A few people
on the club property asked why we’d go out in on purpose in those
conditions.
We suited up in our foulies, and donned real PFDs (not the self
inflaters). The launch driver took us to our boat, and as we
approached, he likened connecting the two vessels to landing on an
aircraft carrier. He made a successful grab of our boat, and we both
threw our bags into the cockpit of Wayzgoose and jumped aboard.
My first task was to make sure the outboard worked, and it did… but
the waves were so steep that the prop left the water on each wave. We
rigged the boat quickly, put our throwable in the cockpit with a long
line on it, and had a safety discussion. We knew once we left the
mooring, there was only one option for a safe arrival – sail north
about 15nm and get in the lee of Stony Point Bay to restart the motor
and drop the sails for the trip into the marina. Returning to the
mooring was not going to be easy due to the waves and wind.
Once the engine was warm, and companionway closed back up, we hoisted
the mainsail with one reef, cinched the outhaul and cunningham, and
cast off the mooring. A lesser man would have driven the boat, but I
opted to allow my wife to drive the boat. She has more dingy racing
experience, and the boat was feeling like a dingy…
We fell off to a starboard tack, and made our way across the mooring
field, and the safety of the middle of the Hudson River. As we cleared
the mooring field, we fell off and headed north. The boat quickly
gained speed, and we were soon surfing along. Our knot meter was
stuck, so we had to rely on the GPS data after the trip, since the GPS
was below.
Chicken jibes were the order of the day, with the turns timed to take
advantage of the waves. Once we cleared The Hook, we expected the
fetch to decrease… no such luck. The waves and wind increased at
times, and an occasional downpour made sure our hoods stayed up.
As we approached Haverstraw Marina, I kept an eye on a NY Waterways
Taxi making its way north behind us. We crossed the channel, and were
well out of the way. The next time I looked back, the taxi was also
outside of the channel, and approaching us fast. I grabbed one of our
handheld VHFs, and attempted to hail the vessel on the radio. No
response. I changed channels several times, and eventually began
yelling at the skipper over the radio on 16. The vessel was a power
catamaran, in full plane, and closing fast on our stern. We fell off
to a beam reach, and ran for shallow ground. The vessel turned with
us… at about 4 lengths out, the vessel turned back toward the channel
continued on its way. Did it see us? Did it hear us? Was the skipper
toying with us? The thought is scary… plowed into on the river, with
no traffic out to assist. We’ll be filing a report this week with the
USCG and the ferry operator.
About 20 minutes later at around 1530 hours, we entered the protection
of Stony Point Bay, and found the protection we expected. With sails
down, and motor on, we put the boat in a slip and headed to the bar.
As we sipped our drinks, we looked at the weather on the river, and
were thankful we made it in. The wind had increased dramatically, and
the rain was torrential.
We hope to keep her on the slip until December and get a few more
sails in, then haul her for the season.
Bob
Wayzgoose, F21 #258
Marshmallow, Lightning #15356
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