Trip Leaders Conquer NYC

Venture Outdoors trip leaders Larry Gioia, Don Erdeljac, and Mike Cornell have reported in from their New York City trip, having circumnavigated Manhattan on Saturday July 25. Paddling 31 miles around the island in one day with a group of 60 kayakers was every bit the adventure that they hoped for! Click here for a slideshow of Mike’s & Don’s photos. Larry also posted his video on YouTube. Here’s their story:

We came across this trip on the Internet a few weeks ago, and it sounded too good to pass up! With the trip already full with 60 kayakers, we pleaded our case to Jerry, the organizer. As trip leaders ourselves, we appreciated the difficulties of managing such a large group, and we understood that he was vetting us, not wanting to be burdened with unprepared participants. A tense wait culminated in an email from Jerry – we were in!

Larry found a great place for us to stay – the Hudson Motor Lodge, right at the New Jersey end of the Holland Tunnel. Friday night, we took the subway under the river to Greenwich Village to scout the Pier 40 launching point and visit the NY Kayak Company shop. After chowing down on gourmet burgers and brews at Rare Bar & Grill on Bleeker Street, it was off to an early bedtime.

Back at Pier 40 at 7:00 AM Saturday, the early morning joggers on the Waterfront Greenway Trail wove through an ever-growing field of kayaks. Many paddlers had carts for their boats; the rest of us had a long 250 yard carry out on the pier. After checking in with trip leaders Jerry and Steve and organizing our gear, we put in. By 9:00, the sun was shining and all 60 eager paddlers were heading down the Hudson, enjoying the view across to Jersey City and the Statue of Liberty.

We paused at South Cove to wait for the next outbound Staten Island Ferry to leave Manhattan, and then started around The Battery. But the inbound ferry was coming on fast, making Steve nervous. His requests over our marine radios to quickly clear the ferry terminal became more urgent as our group became more spread out – at first he asked that we keep up a good pace, but ten minutes later he was barking “STOP TALKING AND PADDLE!!” Complicating the situation, the Governor’s Island ferry decided to pull out too. Everyone dug deep and beat the ferry traffic.

We started up the East River, passing the South Street Seaport and leaving the Financial District skyline behind. As we paddled across the river, heading towards Brooklyn, the tidal current gave us a boost. Still, we weren’t content to just float on the current, so we paddled at a good pace. The great suspension bridges loomed ahead, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, all built high above the river to allow the passage of large ships. There is no vantage point in the city where these spans look so large as from the seat of a kayak. From high above, we could hear the clatter of the auto and subway traffic. Our large group certainly gave the subway riders an unexpected view before their trains plunged back underground.

The river widened and the current slowed as we approached Midtown, with its skyscrapers popping up like weeds. We paused at Newtown Creek, on the border between Brooklyn & Queens, to let our huge group of paddlers regroup, get a quick rest, and take some pictures. Looking back, one got an appreciation of how large our group really was – 60 kayakers is quite a sight!

Past Gantry State Park, the river narrows where it is split by Roosevelt Island. Now the current was rushing, and we paddled harder to rush even faster. A GPS unit pegged our speed at 11 mph – yahoo! As we flew under the Roosevelt Island Bridge, construction workers leaned over the railing, yelling “HEY!” and waving to us. This happened everywhere – on bridges, promenades, parks and ferries, people were smiling, pointing, waving, yelling. We were part of the day’s scenery, entertaining people all around the big city. We were just as entertained by their reactions, as we enjoyed being part of the spectacle.

We were moving so fast, Steve came on the radio and warned us not to miss the next stop, Hallet’s Cove. “Get over to the right! Turn right past Costco! Don’t miss the cove!” Believe us, no one wanted to miss the cove and have to turn around to battle that fierce current. We found the nice sandy beach under a seawall in Astoria, Queens, and tied the boats up to keep them from the rising tide. The Socrates Sculpture Park next door was a funky and enjoyable spot for a break, as we had a two hour wait before the Harlem River’s tidal current would reverse direction and help us along. Mike went exploring the neighborhood to find a sandwich, Don laid down in the shade for a rest, and Larry took a guided tour of the park. As we regrouped at the beach, the tide had pulled two untethered kayaks into the water, but they were quickly rounded up.

Back in the saddle, we paddled across to the Roosevelt Island lighthouse, waiting for the signal from Steve to proceed. The Big G was checking to see if the coast was clear. Big G was our safety boat, our eyes and ears, communicating with the commercial traffic. The Big G was built in 1969 for the NYPD; the stout green harbor boat is now operated by the Metropolitan Water Alliance. We loved having her help, as we were paddling through the busiest seaport on the East Coast – ships, barges & tugs, ferries, water taxies, speedboats, sail boats, cabin cruisers, jet skis, even a few other kayaks, lots of traffic to keep us on our toes! There’s no glory in being run over & drowned by a NYC sludge barge.

On to the narrow Harlem River, we passed under a number of lift and turning bridges, and then past the old and new Yankee Stadiums, subway yards, and tugboats. We passed under three beautiful arched bridges, High Bridge, the Alexander Hamilton Bridge (Cross-Bronx Expressway/I-95) and the Washington Bridge. The Cross-Bronx Expressway, with its traffic jams, dirt and noise, was 100 feet above our heads, but we were in a totally different world! Harlem River Drive was scenic, its stone wall running along the river’s edge, the stones cut to fit around natural granite outcroppings. We stopped at Swindlers Cove Park, some paddlers taking out on a sandy beach, others at the New York Rowing Association’s Peter Sharpe Boathouse.

After our stop, the river was flowing fast and a 15-mph wind had come up behind us, so we quickly moved along to Spuytin Duyvil Creek, through a beautiful wooded gorge and past the huge “C” painted on the cliff near Columbia University. But as we turned the corner into the Hudson River, the 15-mph tailwind became a headwind, the sun went behind the clouds, and we started paddling into 2 to 3 foot swells. Waves spilling over the bow, spray blowing in our faces, time to have some paddling fun! A ship heading upriver let Big G know that we were encroaching on her channel, so Steve, as he would all day, guided us to safety on the radio. Amtrak’s inbound Empire Service train sneaked past us, its noise lost in the wind and splashing water. Traveling hundreds of yards offshore, it was hard to gage our speed, and we didn’t feel like we were making much headway. But we slowly reached the majestic George Washington Bridge and the Little Red Lighthouse underneath. Some of us started to doubt – “do we have the strength and stamina to paddle 12 miles, 220 city blocks, in this wind and waves?”

We took a rest at Harlem Piers, in the calmer air and water near the shore. Floating along at a decent pace, rafted together, we realized that the current was again with us, and that we were still making good time. We got our energy back and were ready for Hudson River, Round 2. Shortly after we started to paddle, we were right back in the wind and the lively water. We stopped and listened to our radios as one paddler behind us capsized and was quickly helped back into his boat. We were on our way again in a few minutes.

Our last rest stop was at the Downtown Boathouse at Pier 96. Anyone can kayak there for free, and the last of those recreational paddlers were coming in. Good thing, because we swarmed the beautiful sloping dock en masse! It felt good to walk around and stretch after paddling hard on the Hudson for a couple of hours. Some paddlers decided to call it a day there, but most were looking forward to the final push past Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea, back to Greenwich Village and our Pier 40 finish.

The last 3-1/2 miles did go quickly, as we passed the Intrepid aircraft carrier & museum, with aircraft on the flight deck and a Concorde supersonic jet on the pier. Still watching out for the ferries and water taxies, still working the wind and waves, we made our way back to Pier 40. After rounding the corner of the pier, Mike only had 100 yards to go, but the harder he paddled, the slower he went. He wondered if he was out of gas or if he had hit a strong current, but then another paddler called out that he was caught on a fishing line. Cut loose of his invisible tether, he made it to the dock, and we all finished our crazy day of paddling at 7:00. We made it! We paddled all the way around Manhattan in ten hours. Carrying our kayaks up the ramp, we left our parallel universe behind, returning to the street-level bustle of Manhattan.

We’d like to thank Jerry, Steve, Big G, and all of the other leaders and support crew that helped put this trip together. The kayakers were fun and friendly, the weather was beautiful, and the scenery was incredible. It’ll be hard to find a more interesting 31 miles to paddle. What a great trip!

…and one week later, all three went to the races – Larry, Don & Mike competed in the 4-mile kayak race at the Regatta at Lake Arthur. Don came in a close second, only one boat length behind the leader! Larry wasn’t far behind Don, coming in third. A few minutes later, Mike took 7th place. Congratulations, guys!