Open House

Redoing The Hudson
Schodack Creek, N42 27 W73 46
(6/18/05) Last night we went back to the house to sleep. First time in a while that I slept on shore. It felt weird. I kept wanting to check the anchor lines.

Jennifer joined us this morning and we went back to the boat. We were about to get underway when a thunderstorm passed over. Cleverly, we decided to wait it out rather than sail in the rain. Cleverly after 30 minutes the rain stopped and we steamed away from downtown Albany. We weren't as clever as we thought. Within a half hour we got hit with a much bigger thunderstorm while in the middle of the river. We had lots of lightning and sheets of rain. Visibility went down to 200 feet. The winds were moderate. None of us are afraid of lightning on the boat so we weren't scared.

I never really saw rain fall in sheets before. It is visually very distinctive. It makes me wonder about the physics of it. Why sheets? Do wind gusts concentrate the drops on the leading boundary?

We heard on the radio that they were declaring flood emergencies in nearby communities because they got so much rain.

Eventually the storm passed and we sailed on to Schodack Creek. The creek is wide and deep for about 4 miles before it meets the Hudson. It's a beautiful and isolated spot. We encountered a family of 4 bald eagles about a mile up the creek and we've been trying desperately to snap a good picture of them.

The only intrusions on the tranquility of the place are the Amtrak trains. They pass every half hour or so only 30 meters away from us. Fortunately Libby and Jenny and I are all very attuned to railroad noises so we hardly notice them. Our residences in Potsdam, Scotia, Schenectady, Västerås, and Essex Junction all had nearby train tracks.

Open House
Catskill NY
(6/19/05) We put in to Catskill for lunch and to find the Internet at the library. We're posting now from the library.

Here's an invitation to our open house. I sent email invitations to everyone in the Albany area I had email addresses for. However, all blog readers are welcome, email invitation or not.


You are invited Open House on Tarwathie with the Mills
The Mills are passing by the Albany area en route to places unknown. Alas there are not enough days to invite all of our friends for a day's sail and dinner. Neither can we fit everyone onboard at the same time. Our solution is to hold an open house. We sincerely hope that you'll be able to come and check us out.

Time: Saturday, July 23, 2005 12 noon until 7 PM.

Place: Albany Yacht Club. (See below for directions)
Please R.S.V.P to Jennifer Mills at jamvt70@verizon.net

Casual Dress

Pot luck: Please bring a cold dish to share. Use disposable containers or a container that you plan to bring home. We'll provide beer, wine, soft drinks and ice.

Please no gifts. We have very little space onboard for stuff. The pleasure of your company is all the gift we need.

Directions:
Albany Yacht club is in the city of Rensselaer, on the east bank of the Hudson just south of the Dunn Memorial Bridge and . Approaching from the North or West off the bridge you will be on Broadway or on Route 9. There is a sign in the driveway that says Albany Yacht Club. Park in the large parking lot in the southwest corner. In no case should you park in the places marked "Commodore" or "Vice Commodore" The consequences could be drastic.

If on Broadway, Head south on Broadway to the intersection of Columbia Street (RT9 RT20) Continue past Columbia and turn right into a driveway only 50 feet past the intersection. There is a sign in the driveway that says Albany Yacht Club. Park in the large parking lot in the southwest corner. In no case should you park in the places marked "Commodore" or "Vice Commodore" The consequences could be drastic.

If on Route 9. Turn right (south) on Broadway, then turn right into a driveway only 50 feet from the intersection. There is a sign in the driveway that says Albany Yacht Club.

Parking: Park in the large parking lot in the southwest corner. In no case should you park in the places marked "Commodore" or "Vice Commodore" The consequences could be drastic.

Tarwathie is likely to be the only sailboat on the docks so it should be easy to spot. If challenged by yacht club members, you should say that you're a guest of the transient vessel Tarwathie.