Welcome Matt Half Out

Rhinecliff, NY
41° 55.17 N 073° 57.07 W

A few week ago a fellow cruiser remarked that when cruising in New England that he had the feeling that everyone was out to loot his wallet or worried that he would loot theirs. We had that feeling too in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, but not in Maine. We also have that feeling a little bit on the Hudson; especially compared to the Erie and Champlain Canals.

For example, there's a restaurant in Newburg that allows free docking while dining. Then they have the gall to charge $3/foot to stay overnight at the dock. ($1/foot is cheap, $2 is very expensive, and $3 is out of sight.) Many other places with public docks have "No Overnight" signs. In fact, we're tied right now to the dock at the Rhinecliff train station. There's no sign saying we can't stay but I worry that we may be rousted out by police in the middle of the night.

There are lots of places that could do more to welcome visitors who arrive by boat. Yonkers, Tarrytown, Nyack, Haverstraw, Newberg, Beacon, Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Kingston, Catskill, Hudson, and more places all seem to have no interest in visitors. We'd like to visit the Rockerfeller estate, Hyde Park and we'd like to eat at the Culinary Institute of America. All are on the shores of the Hudson but none are accesible by boat and walking.

It's not just a matter of money. It is hospitality. Along the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal we feet that those communities truly welcome visitors and do their beat to attract them. Here on the Hudson, we get the feeling that the local communities don't carea about being hospitable to boaters, or even downright hostile. Too bad for them. We've see very many places that make the waterfront, especially the part with visiting vessels the centerpiece of downtown attractions for citizens and automobile tourists.

Of course money does play a big role. New York State provided money to make the NYS canals hospitable, but not for the Hudson. Also, because the Hudson's shores are so steep and currents so swift, it is more difficult. Finally, there's the culture of the travelers. If many or most of the boating public sees no problem paying $3/foot for a dock place after dinner, then it's not the proprietor's fault to charge what the market bears.