In a message dated 10/6/00 4:01:21 AM, Jim Baumgart writes: << We didn't consider the trip down to Hudson to be a whole lot of fun, but it was interesting. We had a lot of sailboat friends from the canal and it continued to be great to see them in the evenings. ...... The river was often rough, with lots of barge traffic, and it was difficult for the kids to do school work while underway, as we were used to on the canal. ....... I didn't want to anchor in the unprotected river as I was warned against it by a couple of New Yorkers we met up river. >> Jim, The Hudson River is our home base and the lower Hudson Valley from Storm King, opposite Cold Spring, to New York City is often regarded as the most pictuesque navigable river in the USA. It is America's Rhine. It is really an estuary and is salt up to Poughkeepsie, 60 miles upstream, and tidal all the way to Albany. As you found out, there is a lot of commercial traffic on the river, but contrary to your experience, there are plenty of good anchorages, very hospitable marinas, and fine restaurants all along the shore. I don't know the New Yorkers you talked to but they obviously were misinformed. The Kingston area has a dozen sheltered marinas on Rondout Creek. The 10 mile long, 4 mile wide Haverstraw Bay/Tappan Zee area 30 miles north of New York City has scores of anchorages and a couple of the largest marinas on the East Coast. Croton Point is the favorite anchoring spot in the whole river. Croton Point divides Haverstraw Bay from Tappan Zee and offers sheltered anchoring with a good holding sandy bottom on both north and south shores. If you anchor on the north shore it is an easy dinghy ride to the town dock and a short walk to several excellent supermarkets. Croton is a major commuter train stop and it is only a 45 minute ride to Grand Central Station in the middle of New York City. Trains run twice an hour during the day and much more often during peak commuting hours. When cruising, we often anchor here, spend the day in the city, and return at sunset. It sure beats paying high transient dock fees in the city. It also makes a good hurricane hole if you are unfortunate enough to be cruising the area when one comes blasting up the East coast. So, if you are planning to return this way, drop me an e-mail and I can give you the benefit of 35 years of local knowledge. Good luck and happy cruising on the rest of your trip. LarryZ PUFFIN Cortlandt Manor, NY

LRZeitlin@aol.com writes: >I can give >you the benefit of 35 years of local knowledge Larry, two questions: 1 : This local knowledge of the lower Hudson sounds wonderful. Is it available in book/brochure format for purchase? Sometime in the next few years I will want to go that way and like to collect info ahaead of time. 2 : Your boat "Puffin". Last year we observed - on another list - the trials of a New Yorker lady trying to make a home on a boat called "Puffin". Eventually she gave up and sold "Puffin". Her name was Nina and I'm just wondering if there is a connection. Her writing about Puffin was very professional and quite humorous and I have a few pieces in my archives I could share. George of Scaramouche on Lake Ontario, Canada