By Vladimir Brezina
Posted on December 20, 2011
From no direction is it as obvious that Manhattan is an island as from the south
Clear across the Upper Bay
the ramparts of Manhattan draw the eye
………
with a prehistoric massiveness.
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Sometimes Manhattan is a fantastical mirage
that we paddle toward again and again
day
and night
in all kinds of weather
Sometimes it’s a solid presence in front of us
that honest effort will by degrees brings close
Sometimes it shimmers in the sunset
and is gone as the last light fades
(More photos from some of these trips are here, here, here, and here.)
That was beautiful…
Thanks—glad you enjoyed it!
I love the Stonehenge juxtaposition…. Makes you think about New York’s ultimate place in history!
And you’ve captured how Manhattan always looks so deceptively close from the boat…. even when it’s still a couple hours away.
Speaking of New York’s ultimate place in history, alongside Stonehenge I was also tempted to put in this, another kind of image that comes to mind when viewing the towers of Manhattan:
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I simply love this, gosh to be paddling the deep sea, u guys are so adventurous and these pics are awesome :-)
:-) :-) Thanks for following our blog!
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Like being there… exciting. Brave.
Even after you’ve done it so many times that you no longer have to be brave, it’s still exciting… :-)
I’m assuming you definitely have to watch out for other traffic on the waters around Manhattan. Where do you launch from? What is the safest way to do a first time paddle in these waters?
Yes, you most definitely have to watch for traffic!
We launch from Pier 40 on the west side of Manhattan—or rather we did, until Sandy… And many other kayakers do. The Hudson along the west side of Manhattan is full of kayakers in the summer.
However, it’s not the safest place to paddle, especially alone for the first time in these waters. There are plenty of safe-enough spots everywhere in the harbor—it’s a big harbor—but you need experience to know where they are, and how to get from one to the next through the marine traffic. So the best thing is to go with someone who knows the harbor, the traffic, and the tidal currents, well.
Other than that, there are some quieter parts of the harbor, at some distance from Manhattan however, that are more suitable for a first-time paddle: Jamaica Bay, many parts of Raritan Bay, the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge, the bays off the upper East River… (Some of these still haven’t recovered from Sandy, though.)