Our plan for New York was to first spend the weekend in Manhattan, then go to Orient Point on Long Island and finish off with some time on the Hudson river upstream from New York City. We spent the night in Philadelphia on our way up from North Carolina and made it in to New York City basically sans traffic. We were extra pleased when we got our kayaks off the roof of the “pimped out” P&H rig we’re driving and parked without either getting lost or bending one of the fenders! I’m sure you can imagine New York is a pretty hectic city to drive in when you live in BC, where all you need to do is put on your blinker or step into the street with the intention to cross and traffic comes to a stop for you! Not quite the same in NYC. The horns from every direction were enough to flash Bryan back to Peru.

To be honest, the thing that made our arrival in Manhattan so smooth is that as soon as we got there, we hooked up with Tim Gamble, our NYC host. He rode his bike to an intersection of the super busy extra large boulevard/highway along the Hudson at Pier 66 and helped us quickly unload our boats. The vehicle was illegally stopped and Bryan drove away and parked immediately while Tim and I carried the boats into the Boathouse there. First lesson: expect no slack from NYC parking folks. They WILL tow you and/or ticket you even if you are with the vehicle.

Coincidentally, one of my best friends Becky Bristow was in town because her last film Dog Gone Addiction was showing at the Explorer’s Club so we hooked up with her and spent the day cruising around the city, seeing the sights. We just came from North Carolina where it was really hot and there were many birds in the estuary. NYC was surprisingly similar that first day: super hot and lots of odd birds!!

Our first interest in NY was to spend some time with Tim Gamble and see what it’s like to paddle out of such a big city. He peeked our interest because he doesn’t only paddle out of downtown NYC, he also rides a bike everywhere! He planned a circumnavigation of Manhattan for the Saturday evening and got a few of his city paddler friends to join us. We were to paddle downstream and with the Ebb from the Boathouse at Pier 66 to the Statue of Liberty, take a break on Governer’s Island off the southern tip of Manhattan during slack, then paddle up the East River under all the famous NYC bridges and ride the Flood up the East side of the Island, in to the quiet Harlem River and around the Northern tip of the Island, then south down the Hudson home to the pier for about 10 pm. So off we go to beautiful statue!

NYC Lesson # two: there is lots of boat in NY harbor and to them, you and your fancy kayak are mere speed bumps. We made it safely to Governor’s Island but all eyes on deck, I tell ya, those ferries and tugs book it!

NYC Lesson # three: If they forecast a thunder storm, it’ll probably come! We were in the shelter of the Governor’s Island concession –yes, they serve lattes!- for but a minute and the rain started, followed by the loudest thunder and the longest lightning strikes I had heard in years.

Our host Tim…enjoying a cupcake at the latte stand as we waited out the storm on Govenor’s Island

NYC lesson #four: It’s not because there are hundred of piers and docks that you can take out your kayak anywhere. We pushed off Governor’s Island –interestingly the original NY settlement- after a lull in the storm and when we could again see the city skyscrapers which had disappeared in the clouds for a while. It didn’t take long for the thunder and lightning to return. We pulled up to a set of docks belonging to a float plane and booze cruise company and the attendant was worried about us so she let us weather the storm there. Two hours, two inches of rain and many lightning and thunder strikes later, we sent the drivers in cabs to get the cars and take our soggy a…s home.

NYC lesson #five: don’t ever go without dry clothes, the taxis won’t take you if you’re stranded!

Now some people might think this outing was a flop since we never achieved the goal set, but we thought it was great. We saw all the planning that went into it with tides and current charts and heard the weather forecasts predicting “changing weather”. And then we got to paddle with about a thousand boats in the harbor! Ferries, tugs, Donzies, jet skis, pleasure yachts… and with all those piers, not that many are low to the water and welcoming to kayaks so landing isn’t that obvious… Honestly, the kayaking in New York harbor was just about as hectic –and exciting- as driving the car was and there are as few "landing zones" as the remote west coast of Vancouver Island!

New York city being the riverside port that it is has taken a beating throughout the years. We were surprised to hear how much progress has been made in the cleaning process and, aside from the surface stuff that the 2 inches of rain brought down on the Saturday night we got stranded, the water felt/smelt/looked fine. As a result, there is more and more interest in the downtown shoreline and the city is building a new water park and increasing the recreation opportunities along the Hudson River. The “water trail” is busy with walkers, bikers, roller-bladers and all other meanderers, especially on weekends. That is when the Downtown Boathouse offers free half-hours of kayaking out of 3 of the Manhattan Piers.

Yes, free. No cost. Zip. Just put on a life jacket and get ready to have a wet behind and off you go! Close to 25,000 waivers were signed last year, and many of those came more than once. The deal is: stay inside the piers and don’t go out into the Hudson’s current and be back in half and hour. Some of the volunteer’s favorite regulars include the kids from the Bronx that don’t know Manhattan is an island, the nun in full habit and the 80 year old. The sit-on-top boats were all donated, volunteers –many volunteers- run the program and the city helps out with the buildings so it’s all about sharing the love and introducing folks from the city to kayaking and getting them more closely connected to their waterway. Love it. And if they like it they can get involved in the Boathouse and volunteer time and learn all the skills they need to move out of the pier bays and even get the opportunity to store their boat there. Cuz needless to say storing a 16 foot kayak in a Manhattan apartment isn’t exactly … doable!

The main thing that kept coming back when we asked people if the kayaking was any good in NY was the diversity. Agreed. After NYC, we drove out to the very tip of the Northern fork of Long Island and met up with the good folks of Atlantic Kayak Tours.

Bill and Janice Lozano and the rest of their staff showed us a great time at Orient Point. The weather can change really quickly here we heard and the wind can howl, making for challenging conditions but we hit it pretty mellow, really. There is some tidal activity in an area known as "Plum Gut" and we had a good time paddling and filming.

This is the less traveled part of Long Island and it showed. Peaceful, remote, rural… yet only a couple of hours from Manhattan, this is one of the areas many paddlers keep high on their hit list. We enjoyed the scenery and the obvious history as much as the paddling.

Bill and Janice were so nice to hang out with and so generous that we just had to go to their zone up the Hudson a little ways. A tidal estuary 170 miles long, the Hudson in West Saugerties is fresh water but still tidal. It took me a little bit to get my head wrapped up around that one. Again, close to New York the city but totally not downtown and hectic, more rural and quaint and totally picturesque.

We had a fairly short visit but really enjoyed the area and got enough of a teaser to want to see more. Personally I was excited to see the zone not just to kayak there but also because I had heard of it for some time through some of my favorite people in the whole world – my aunt Gisele, uncle Michel and cousin Mitch- who travel there in their motor boat most summers –in fact, we just missed them. So I soaked the short time we had and took all the scenery in.

The Hudson up-river form Manhattan is a totally different waterway but it remains a busy one with lots of commercial traffic and pleasure craft. It amazed us how quickly it changes from the downtown port to the rural, peaceful, meandering river. There is a plan to have the “water trail” go from NYC all the way to Albany with campsites at appropriate intervals. The current is totally interesting to figure out, with a constant downstream mixed with a tidal exchange. Toss in a little wind and some changing weather and you’ve got New York paddling!

Altogether we were impressed with the diversity of paddling and the number of people excited about kayaking. We found conditions to please the rank one-timer beginner and the most experienced and thrill thirsty, with everything in between. Oh, and the people weren’t anywhere near as scary as we thought they’d be! In fact, they were very friendly and welcoming. Traveling with a perfect Golden dog might have something to do with it, or maybe it’s the kayaking…

We are off to Maine!