Hudson Celebration

Admiral Mary here.

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's epic sail up the Hudson River aboard the Half Moon in search of the Northwest Passage. Unfortunately for Hudson, his voyage of discovery ended near Albany, NY in late September, 1609 when the river became too shallow for passage. Fortunately for us, Hudson and his Dutch sponsors left their mark on Albany and we had an opportunity to be a part of the quadricentennial celebration in their honor.

On June 13th, we rounded up our crew and headed south from the Albany Yacht Club where we joined the flotilla of heritage ships at Castleton. With the stately Half Moon in the lead and an escort of two Coast Guard cutters, the boat parade departed Castleton about noon for the run north to Albany.

Onlookers lined the shores cheering the parade of heritage ships and boats sailing north. The flotilla reached Albany about 1pm. Here are some photos of the flotilla--ships and people--compliments of AYCs photographer Will O'Leary and "the Marys" Donovan.

Serena's Security & Safety Officer Speaks Out

Bella here.

So, did you read Cap'n Mike's June 11th post about the Memorial Day Coast Guard debacle? Cruising the river without all the necessary safety equipment?? If you're thinking what I'm thinking, there's only one word for this hapless Cap'n and crew: LAME! If it were up to me, I'd toss 'em all in the brig!

I take my role as Serena's Security and Safety Officer seriously. Check out my personal flotation device (PFD). Not only does it make a powerful fashion statement, it's totally functional. As you can see, I wear it all the time, even when I'm patrolling the docks. If Cap’n Bly Mike messes up at the helm and we get swept overboard, I’ll be floatin’ like a cork.

See that bright yellow plastic detergent bottle I fetched? Probably something Cap'n Mike tossed overboard in violation of the Refuse Act of 1899 and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (MARPOL ANNEX V). Good grief - am I the only one on this vessel who pays attention to this stuff?

Safety at Sea

Memorial Day - a time to remember those who fought for our freedom and a time to remember the myriad safety rules, regulations and equipment attendant to boating. We did well with the former, but not so well with the latter.

We departed our slip mid-afternoon with a full crew for a short run north to the railroad bridge along the Albany waterfront. It would be a brief shake-down cruise. After all, we had just launched the boat and were still slepping gear and equipment from our condo to the boat. She was not yet fully equipped. Not to fear, we had the essentials aboard - life jackets and fire extinguishers. Besides, what could possibly happen on a one-mile run to the railroad bridge and back?

The Coast Guard happened! Just as we made the turn at the bridge and eased Serena along the west shore so our guests could view the Albany waterfront, we saw the Coast Guard charging toward us with lights flashing. I did a quick scan thinking I would spot the object of their pursuit or another vessel in distress. We had the whole River to ourselves, so the only plausible conclusion was that they were bearing down on us.

The Coast Guard vessel pulled along side in a jiffy and we were instructed to "prepare for boarding".

The Coast Guard overtaking our vessel

We welcomed the Coast Guard officers aboard and Admiral Mary went below to assist them with their safety inspection while I manned the helm as our vessel drifted down river in the current. In response to many of their questions, I heard Admiral Mary respond, "I don't know" or "we don't have that aboard 'cause it's back at the condo", or "oh, we were supposed to keep those? I tossed 'em out"!

After what seemed like an hour, the officers returned topsides to confer with the Captain. The good news is we scored high marks for life jackets, fire extinguishers, alerting devices (bell, whistle, horn) and the such. The bad news is none of the vessel's documentation was aboard (back at the condo) along with the Type IV throwable life ring. The flares we purchased in Cape May in 2002 were a bit long in the tooth and had expired. And, our waste and oil disposal placards had mysteriously gone missing and were presumed to have fallen victim to Admiral Mary's fall cleaning last season.

Cap'n Mike and Kevin discuss vessel safety with the Coast Guard

In all, the Coast Guard folks were very professional and courteous. We truly appreciated their attention to detail and concern for our safety. Needless to say, we fetched the required equipment from our condo the next day and refreshed our supply of flares. Here are some more shots of our Memorial Day and "Safety Awareness Day" outing compliments of our good friend and talented photographer, Jeannie.