Saturday, December 7, 2013

Kill Van Kull ( What a name hey?)


It was a pretty windy day, but I had a meeting down in Staten Island, so I took the chance to get out on the water.
As it turned out it was a very short paddle. I knew there was shipping potential (check the map out in sat view and you'll see why) , and I was right. A tug went shooting by just before I launched, which  gave me the heads up that I should not dilly dally across the river. My plan was to go from Carteret NJ , across the river to Fresh Kills Park in Staten Island,  and paddle up the creek there.

As it tuned out, I turned around before reaching the creek. The wind was picking up and the current was very fast . I was just about to head across the river from behind the Isle of Meadows, when  tugs came  from both directions. The stirred up a huge wake, so I  beat a retreat back towards Staten Island. I tried a second time and the river being clear of traffic, I dashed across. The waves were about a foot (not too bad) , but with the wind direction, the paddle across was pretty wet, with spray  coming over the bow and into the kayak (again, not a problem)- but in this cold weather somewhat less than ideal.
The scenery was super industrial, and I have discovered where the recycling garbage goes for at least part of it's journey . There were barges full of recycling , but it was amazingly clean and hardly a seagull was to be seen (the testament to cleanliness) .
I forgot to take my camera, but got a few shots on my phone.







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