By Vladimir Brezina and Johna Till Johnson
Four months is a long time.
And it’s been just over four months since we’ve been out on NYC waterways—since our trip to the Gowanus Canal right before Hurricane Sandy, in fact.
A variety of factors kept us off the water: Sandy cleanup, boat issues, and a couple of Florida trips that provided the option of paddling in balmier waves.
But we’re back—and delighted to make our first NYC area trip of 2013, a short but satisfying jaunt up the Hudson to the George Washington Bridge.
(Click on any photo to start a slideshow.)
After a tasty lunch rafted up in the lee of a rocky embankment, we leave the George Washington Bridge behind…
… and head back down the Hudson
What’s this on the right? The wreck of the Binghamton
The Binghamton was so dilapidated before Sandy that Sandy doesn’t seem to have done all that much more damage
The Hudson River vista stretches out before us…
… and the blue sky, dotted with soft white clouds, above
Vlad takes photos (photo by Johna)
The West Side of Manhattan is lit up by the low afternoon sun
Vlad is happy to be out on the water again (photo by Johna)
Sunset approaches
We cross the river to the Manhattan side
The rays of the setting sun reflect off the glass and steel of Manhattan
We paddle past Midtown Manhattan
Our destination is in sight
The colors take on that soft intensity of dusk…
Last light over New Jersey
Almost home!
We turn into the Pier 40 embayment
The lights of the new World Trade Center tower shine out brightly in the twilight
The individual photos are here.
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
Johna looks cold in that top picture! I love the colors and crisp clarity in the photos. Really nice selection and the gallery sets them off nicely. As much as you photograph New York City, it’s always a bit weird to me to see all that water with the skyline behind it.
Nancy
LikeLike
I WAS cold–it was right after lunch, and you cool down quite quickly when you stop paddling, even when you’re out of the wind. Thanks for reading!
LikeLike
Wonderful photos!
LikeLike
Thanks, Scott!
LikeLike
Great slide show! That last shot is a postcard. Must feel nice to get back out on home waters.
LikeLike
It does! And thanks for the kind words about the last photo… Vlad thought it might be too blurry to post, but I loved it, too!
LikeLike
Looks like you had a beautiful day on the river. Love your shots. The water looks a little choppy. Was it? Have a great week.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
LikeLike
A little choppy, but nothing out of the ordinary. In the summer it can be much choppier because of rebounding boat wakes. The chop was due to a significant northwesterly wind, which also made it feel much colder…
LikeLike
it surely felt great to get out on the water, even if it was cold! great post! z
LikeLike
It was cold—it usually is when it’s sunny this time of year… March has certainly come in like a lion! Thanks, Z!!
LikeLike
Vlad, you must have to add air to your kayak on the water , no ?
LikeLike
Can you explain how you mean your question a bit more, Steve?
LikeLike
Great shots. Thanks for taking me along :-)
LikeLike
Happy to have you along!
LikeLike
Awesome as usual.
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Beautiful NYC photos. I love this city.
LikeLike
Thanks, Gayle! So do we!
LikeLike
Looks like lots of fun!
LikeLike
Oh, it was! :-)
LikeLike
Beautiful photos, as always! Glad you guys were able to get out in NYC. See you on the water :)
LikeLike
We are very much looking forward to it!! :-)
LikeLike
Glorious! I don’t kayak, but these photos make me quite envious!
LikeLike
And that’s why we post all these photos, so you can experience the good side, but not the not-so-good side, of winter paddling! ;-)
LikeLike
Great photos as usual. I’m curious what you guys make of the Binghamton. She’s definitely worse for wear. I keep hearing that she’ll be demolished but that doesn’t seem to happen.
LikeLike
I heard that it was finally going to happen, but that was some time ago…. Still, on this trip we paddled over to inspect the Binghamton because we were thinking that it might be the last time we would see her. She was pretty much wrecked before Sandy and Sandy doesn’t seem to have done all that much more damage—it would take side-by-side comparison of before and after photos to discern the additional damage. So the Binghamton is still very much there. On the other hand, photos taken during Sandy show that the lower decks were flooded. So the Binghamton is not floating, but sitting on the bottom (I didn’t realize this before). She’s not going anywhere, except by being dismantled. Sad.
LikeLike
Nice :). Looks like the weather is almost spring-like in NYC…
LikeLike
Today (Tuesday) is a spring-like day—blue skies, sunshine, the air almost balmy… But the day of the paddle (Sunday) was definitely not like that. With a cold wind, it felt like we were still in deep winter. I guess that’s March for you…
LikeLike
In here, it’s hard to think Spring is around the corner… Patches of snow remain here and there :)
LikeLike
Yeah! I’m so happy you guys were able to get out on the water again! I love, love, love the pictures of the city! :) I’m kind of curious, about how long did it take you to make this trip? Thanks again for sharing these amazing pictures! It looks like you had a great time! :)
LikeLike
We did have a great time—great to be out on our local waters again after so long!
We usually allow two hours to paddle up the Hudson along the entire length of Manhattan (with current); sometimes it takes less time or more time, depending especially on the wind. And then another two hours to get back down, often faster with a good ebb current… So, with lunch, altogether five hours, or more, on the water…
LikeLike
Thanks – sounds like a fun, full day! :)
LikeLike
Well, half a day, unfortunately. We were going to do a longer trip but were late getting out on the water…
LikeLike
next time! :)
LikeLike
These are fantastic! Glad you got back to paddling the Big Apple. :-)
LikeLike
We are too!! :-)
LikeLike
Vladimir, how did you create the collage without the individual pictures showing in the bottom of your post? thanks.
LikeLike
Vladimir, ignore my question. I finally got it by editing in visual mode and deleting the individual pictures and captions appearing in the bottom.
LikeLike
From your question, it sounds like you uploaded all the photos for your post in the ordinary way, so that each became individually inserted into the post—and thereby associated with it, which is the important thing—then created a gallery, and finally deleted all the individual photos from the post. That works, but if you select “Create Gallery” when uploading the photos, they will go straight into the gallery and you never have to go through the extra steps of inserting the individual photos and then deleting them again.
LikeLike
thank you. i’ll check it out.
LikeLike
A very nice selection of photos – my favorite is the crossing to the manhattan side :-)
LikeLike
Thanks for checking them out! :-)
LikeLike
beautiful, beautiful shots! how are you not afraid to bring your camera with you? just very careful? i’ve seen groups of kayakers on the waters from chelsea piers, i think.
LikeLike
It’s a waterproof camera, so no worries on that score. The only worry is that I might drop it overboard.
Yes, there are often kayakers around the Chelsea Piers—we ourselves pass by there fairly often.
Thanks!
LikeLike
ooo – and what kind of camera, outside of waterproof?
LikeLike
Over the years, I’ve had a whole series of the Pentax Optio W__ cameras. Most of these photos were taken with the WG-2, except for a couple that were taken by Johna with an older model, the W90. The WG-2 is considerably better all round than the W90. But it’s not the top of the line any more—there is now the WG-3…
LikeLike
awesome photos, so glad you are back in NYC waters … thanks Vlad!
LikeLike
Thank you! :-)
LikeLike
Oh wow…I have been drooling over the spring flowers that have been popping up all over the blog world…but you have elevated my spring envy to new heights! Not only are the flowers under 4 feet of snow, but there is no chance of finding a place to paddle as the ice is so deep! I guess there are the rapids, but given I don’t paddle them in summer, the chilly conditions would not be a good idea! Thanks for sharing your photos…I am so ready for a paddle! Love the last shot with NYC all lit up!
LikeLike
Never fear, the ice will melt very soon now and it will truly be Spring! :-)
LikeLike
Wonderful series! Beautiful!
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Carissa! :-)
LikeLike
I suppose being on the water the effects seem minimal. Storms hit and who know where they go. They leave their mark and we continue with life.
My friends lived two blocks from the beach on Staten ISland. They mostly had basment water damage but the drana that happens when its occurring is the angst.
Glad to see – life goes on. ~~~~ : – 0
LikeLike
—except for the people who died, of course…
LikeLike