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| Rick, Ken and Heinz near City Island |
Wonderful long day of kayaking through NYC and into Manhattan. Over 450 miles down and the end of the third leg of the expedition!
My greatest fear about the day was the back muscle I pulled from paddling too hard into NYC two days earlier. It was painful for two days, but not a problem on this 30 mile paddle. Maybe that's because I didn't have to paddle very hard since we timed the route to have favorable currents for all but a few minutes of paddling!
Four days ago the person who was to guide me through the biggest challenge of the expedition - Hell Gate - had to drop out. But the local NYC paddlers flooded me with support! Rick paddled an hour before dawn to join me launching at City Island. Ken and Heinz of the Touring Kayak Club joined us for the first hour and a half.
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| Rick near Ricker's Island |
Near Ricker's Island in the East River, Rick and I were joined by Julie. She was the brain who suggested taking the Bronx Kill - a little ditch that avoids Hell Gate. Julie had paddled for a couple of hours before dawn to meet us!
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| Julie and Rick lead the way into the Bronx Kill |
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| Spuyten Duyvil "Spitting Devil" and the Palisades |
When we'd paddled up the Harlem River and reached the Hudson, the "Spitting Devil" was not spitting very much.
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| George Washington Bridge. Can you find the Little Red Lighthouse |
At the Inwood Canoe Club, we left Rick, and picked up Alex and Laurie. (I'm so happy Alex will paddle with me on Monday for my last kayaking day in NYC - from Manhattan to Staten Island!)
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| Julie (master navigator and tour guide), Deb and Alex |
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| Laurie and Alex |
We were going so fast with the current that we would have arrived at our destination before the press arrived, so we stopped and played in the Hudson River.
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| Julie leaning |
Julie played with her boat control and leans.
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| Laurie doing Hand Rolls |
Laurie entertained us with 15 continuous hand rolls in a row. For you non-kayakers, that is a major feat!!
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| Press at the New York Kayak Company when we landed |
After 29.5 miles, with a lot of fun with new friends, I landed at the New York Kayak Company to a few media interviews. Then I changed into by "city clothes" and gave a talk at REI. Next come talks at EMS, Sebago Canoe Club and another press interview. It should be fun in the city. I'm ready for a rest from paddling with a few days for my muscles to recover and my skin irritations to heal.
As usual, I had spent many hours worrying about today's route, but in the end it was long but easy.
Paddle Day: 38 Date: Sept. 18, 2014
Start: City Island End: Manhattan
Distance: 29.5 miles Total distance: 458.23 miles
Max speed: 7.6 mph Moving ave.: 4.5 mph
Kayak storage: New York Kayak Company Host: Delorme and Janet West
Congratulations! If you can paddle there, you can paddle anywhere.
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