A better title for this post would be “Don’t Go Back to Newburgh!” Our initial favorable impression of Newburgh and its waterfront began to fade around 9:00 p.m. when we realized the incredibly loud music from the waterfront bar wasn’t going to end anytime soon. In fact, it didn’t end until around 12:45 a.m. when we were then able to hear the guitar-playing singer at the restaurant next door. He kept going until a bit after one.
Other than that, though, it was a nice enough place. The moon was nearly full, and the water was calm.
My father told me this morning that I was in Newburgh by boat a mere 42 years ago. It must have been quieter then.
This morning there was barely any traffic on the river, and the water was as smooth as glimmer glass, as my grandfather used to say. (It was his boat I was on that first time in Newburgh.)
We had the tide with us most of the day and cruised along at nearly 8 knots. We chased down, and eventually passed, the John Reinauer, which was pushing two fuel barges. They passed Newburgh shortly before we slipped our lines, and we didn’t catch them until we had almost arrived in Catskill.
Catskill Marina (where we are now) is another place I visited 42 years ago. That’s me in the sailor hat:
It is the complete opposite of Newburgh, a quiet marina up the Catskill Creek. The facilities and showers are spotless, there’s barely a ripple in the creek, and birds are singing.
Catskill Marina is also where we acquired our national ensign. Our neighbor at the dock, Al of Dream Catcher from Schuylerville, NY, was incredibly friendly and generous. We were talking boats with him, and we mentioned that we couldn’t figure out where to put a flag on Puffin. He said he had an extra one and went below to find it. Here we are with our brand-new flag proudly flying from Puffin‘s mast:
We took a walk into town and visited Main Street. As part of the Hudson Quadricentennial, Catskill has decorated itself with painted cats.
Here’s “Half Moon Kitten”:
And here’s “Cat’n Henry Hudson”:
We’re a bit surprised that we haven’t seen more goings-on around the quadricentennial during our journey. Other than the cats in Catskill, all we’ve seen are lots of Explore NY 400 flags. And this banner at Catskill’s Cone-E Island ice cream shop:
See the bridge behind the banner? According to an 1867 map displayed in a shop window, it’s a movable bridge. We think the current “Uncle Sam Bridge” has replaced that one. This bridge was named for the guy who inspired the Uncle Sam character. He lived near Catskill from 1817 to 1822, which I guess is significant enough to warrant having a bridge named for him.
A Movable Bridge 