28 May 15

We awoke early to the dulcet tones of the Hudson Valley RR engine #65 southbound past Cornwall. After breakfast, we were anchor aweigh by 8:30 and motored the 20 N-miles to Hyde Park. We picked up a mooring ball at Hyde Park Landing at 11:30, had lunch on the boat, then walked up to the Vanderbilt Hyde Park Mansion, now run by the National Park Service. Very nice tour of a beautiful, if somewhat garish, house and grounds. A few thunderstorms in the area, but none threatened us. Dinner aboard.  

41-47.327’N, 073-56.876’W

29 May 15

The mooring ball and float got tangled up with the hull late yesterday evening, but as it was getting dark, I decided to leave it and see if it would sort itself out. I did set the anchor alarm, which of course went off at 00:45, when the tidal flow reversed. The mooring line (from the boat to the mooring chain) was still running aft (instead of forward) and under the boat and the ball was nowhere to be seen, but after half and hour, it seemed we were not dragging, so we went back to bed and slept fitfully. I finally got up just after dawn, started the engine and let go the mooring rope. Sure enough the chain between the mooring float and the ball had got all the way under the keel (i.e., ball on one side - or under the hull - with the float on the other and the chain between them aft of the keel and forward of the prop. About 2 minutes after letting go of the mooring line, the current finally pushed the boat over the float and the ball and float popped out on the port side. We then drove around and hooked up again. After breakfast and a calming coffee, we rowed ashore and walked 2.7 miles to the FDR home and Presidential Library. We toured both, then (after lunch at the cafe) took the shuttle up to Val-Kill, which was Eleanor’s home after FDR died, and toured this as well. At the end, we walked back to the dock and rowed back out to the boat. Cocktails and dinner aboard. Sore feet and knees, handful of Advil and early to bed.