Piermont Marshes...almost

View Piermont Marsh - non paddle in a larger map



Just before leaving for Oz, I had a couple of hours in which to squeeze what is probably my last paddle for this year. I decided to go up to the Piermont marshes, just north of the city. I have explored a small part of this area before, and I knew it was a protected, safe paddle (water temps are dropping).
I was slightly surprised to see that the launch area, just outside of the Piermont Village was pretty icy, but the channel was still open, so I unloaded and put in.

Put in 

This was my first ever experience with ice, and in my usual way I attacked it with great confidence.
Hmmm.-Lesson Number one - it is actually pretty tricky getting into the kayak when the only place to put your feet is all ice.
Lesson number two, even if the channel is open, (in this case, as it was at the put in) if it is very narrow, you cannot paddle. i.e. the ice stops you putting the paddle in…who knew?
This was not insurmountable; it just meant a lot of poking the paddle in very close to the side of the boat. I managed, in a clumsy manner to get out and face the right way and headed out towards the Hudson, from where I would enter the marshes.
I few minutes of happy paddling ensued, when I slowly realized that the channel which had widened for a short while, was now getting narrower, and narrower, and eventually ended- there was just solid ice.

Going 

Going

Gone

More practice with the skill of paddling in narrow icy confines and seeing whether the ice would actually break if I paddled into it under speed (it doesn't),and I had to admit that my paddling was over for the day . I did a little back and forth along an open area, just to loosen the muscles (it had only been about 10 minutes from put in to ice, and then turned around for home.

While not the most heroic day of paddling, it was at least a worthy experience.

Dec 4th -Delaware Raritan Canal Alexander Av.

View Turning Basin : Alexander St. Delaware-Raritan Canal in a larger map

It was a cold day, about 1 degree C (33 F) , with a wind chill of several degrees.  The wind blew on and off, but for the most part I was fairly well protected from the worst of it. The day was alternately sunny and cloudy, but a great day to be  on the water.

Multiple layers proved successful- thermal, skivvy (turtleneck) t shirt, hoodie , life jacket and spray jacket  were the go. Two pairs of socks and gloves almost did the trick, but after a couple of hours, the extremities were chilly,so I broke out my recent acquisition -hand and toe warmers.

Looking Back to Alexander Ave Bridge

Water Level Gauge

These were unbelievable. Open them to the air and they start an exothermic reaction which lasts for hours. Both my fingers and toes were thawed and warmed to a delightful level. Tooooo good!.

Saw a couple of others on the canal, a Dad and his son  training for the Olympics. They were in sliver thin boats with the most powerful looking paddles I have seen; carbon fibre like mine, but with a scoop angle that  was amazing.
I was out for just over 3 1/2 hours .  The canal is such a boon in windy weather- safe and protected- just a bit of drive out into Jersey, but its all good.

Overpeck Park NY Thanksgiving Day 2010

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Thanksgiving Day and a short paddle was in order. After a quick drive to Fort Lee, I put in at Overpeck Park and had a pleasant paddle .I went up and down river from the put in point, but spent most of my time musing and writing down my plans for one of my jobs at work. There is something about floating on the water that gets the brain ticking over.

Raritan River NJ Sayreville - to I95 November 21st 2010

View Raritan River Sayreville - I95 and back in a larger map


I went out last weekend to The Raritan River- Put in Sayreville ( A good boat ramp – all tides) and paddled upstream, returning at the turn of the tide. It was not the most scenic trip, but there were few areas of interest. Many marshes and good bird habitat although the river is very polluted, but improving . Great info about the river including very useful put in and hazard info see the Raritan Riverkeeper site
http://www.nynjbaykeeper.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=70

It was useful to have my Googlemaps and GPS on my phone as the river turns around quite sharply and with the connecting tributaries, it would have been easy to go awry.
I spotted a lost whitewater kayak beached along the way- A Dagger brand – Possibly someone went over one of the dam, as there is not a lot of white water upriver (I think). It was in pretty good condition. I would have taken it home if it was not for the fact that I live in an apartment and storing one kayak is hard enough.
Turned around at Lawrence Brook by I 95 .
I plan to explore this river over the winter, so this was a good start. It will only get more scenic I’m sure.
Photos to follow.

New York Harbour - Upper Bay Statue of Liberty

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Launched at Liberty State Park at 9:55.  A perfect day, very light breeze, tide rising, warm ( 14C / 57F) and sunny. The only thing to be watching out for was wakes and associated waves. 
Liberty State Park is  well worth a look and I would like to go back with my bike to check it out more thoroughly.

Ellis Island, backed by Battery Park - Southern Manhattan  

The boat ramp was a good launch, but I noted as I returned , that there was a beach of sorts much closer to the bay, from which I could have launched. Where I did put in was however no trouble , just a tiny bit further to paddle. 


There was a great deal of large vessel traffic out in the bay, but none of it was close. The swell and waves produced by them were constantly around me and at times there were waves around 2 feet. 
A sea kayak would have been ideal under these conditions. My Old Town kayak was not really designed for these conditions

Last of the leaves- just north of Port Liberte 

                                             Canada Geese in flight 

Port Liberte Community  

The city reflected in the windows of the ...Golf Club (?)

I poked around a small inlet behind the Port Liberte Community, where I saw large numbers of Canada Geese and a family of Buffleheads.
I returned to the boat ramp at 11:50. It was a short hit out, but most enjoyable.

Hackensack River Meadowlands Marshes - Nov 11th 2010

Veteran's Day  and I took off early thinking to start my exploration  out the Passaic, downriver, but the current around Keanery was strong and I didn't feel like too hard a paddle. Not only that but the boat ramp was completely clogged with reeds and garbage.
I headed to the Red Roof Inn Boat Ramp over on the Hackensack, knowing I still had plenty of time.High tide was 12:20 ish and I put in at 10:45.

 I didn't realize that there was a new boat ramp, with excellent facilities right at the entrance to Cromakrill Creek, where there is a never ending array of marsh and small islands. This area was  extensive and lots of fun. The sound of I95 on either side was distant enough to be perfectly bearable.  The wind was breezy early but dropped to a  gentle northerly for the paddle back. In the marshes of course, the wind was barely noticeable.

Boat Ramp - not on GoogleMaps yet but seems to be around the end of Millridge Rd. 

Great wind vane

I love that NJ pride!

Back at the put in around 2:00.

Delaware-Raritan Canal - Kingston Lock to Alexander Ave.

View Delaware-Raritan Canal Kingston Locks to Alexander aAvenue in a larger map

The canal just down river of Kingston Lock.

Milllstone Aqueduct  

There was a lot of bird action on  Lake Carnegie, which I peeked at from the canal. Will definitely go for paddle on the lake  There were a lot of people  around the area, so I will when it gets colder and its a bit quieter.

Mile post 

 A pivoting bridge. This type pf bridge was pretty common in the US from what I can tell. I had never seem one in Australia, but then again we hardly have any rivers, so a broad range of bridges is not that likely. 

Power lines  make this railway  bridge seem much bigger than it really is 

This opens into a small lagoon known as the "Turning Basin" , obviously it was a  turn around point for the barges 

 I took my time today, trying out my new camera, the new Sony A55. I probably should have read the manual before  I started. It seems such a long time ago that I used an SLR camera.  Working with the settings on manual stretched my memory, in relation to f-stops and apertures, and some practice is certainly in order. 
The viewfinder though, is such a delight. I can actually frame things much better; being able to see what one is  shooting at is a great improvement. I never want to use an LCD screen again if I can help  it 


I arrived back at the put in at 3:35.  It took me an hour and a quarter to get home. Yet another great day's kayaking.