By Vladimir Brezina
Last weekend, the currents took us on another of our favorite paddles—from Pier 40 in Manhattan round the Battery, up the East River, through Hell Gate, and round Throgs Neck into Long Island Sound.
Rounding Throgs Neck is like entering another world. The towers of Manhattan are still visible—all this is still within the borders of New York City!—but they are tiny in the distance. The broad blue Sound opens up. Shoals of white sailboats cruise past. Rocks are crowded with cormorants. We paddle past lighthouses and round islands—City Island, Hart Island, Pea Island…
Here are a few photos (click on any photo to start slideshow).
We paddle down the Hudson, with the Statue across the harbor
North Cove
Jersey City across the river
Round the Battery
Downtown architecture
South Street Seaport
… has a certain 19th-century look
Under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges
Looking back at Downtown
Williamsburg Bridge
Midtown Manhattan
Two towers and a sail
We pass the UN
Into Hell Gate
Good current!
Off Rikers Island
Prison barge
The next two bridges: Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck
Just before rounding Throgs Neck, we look back at tiny Manhattan
Stepping Stones Light
Grim Hart Island
We land on Pea Island for lunch
Green vista
Red and green
Siesta
Fishermen offshore
Time to get back into the boats…
Cormorant (and gull) rock
Off City Island, we paddle between hundreds of moored sailboats
The wind is freshening, and the sailboats are going out
Back into the East River
Hell Gate again
Under the Hell Gate bridges
… toward Manhattan
The Domino sugar factory and the Williamsburg Bridge in the late afternoon light
Under the Willliamsburg Bridge
Moody skies
Downtown vista
Brooklyn Bridge
South Street Seaport once more
Into the sun
Round the Battery
Dramatic skies over Jersey City
Sailing at sunset
The glass towers above North Cove reflect the light
Silhouettes
Evening light
Can’t get enough of the sunset!
Sunset cruise
We head home
Last look
More photos are here.
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
Pingback: Travel Theme: Architecture | Wind Against Current
Fantastic, Vladimir!!!
Pedro.
LikeLike
Thank you, Pedro!!
LikeLike
Thanks
LikeLike
Wonderful tour, Vladimir!
LikeLike
Thank you—so glad you liked it, Carissa!!
LikeLike
Great photos!! Thanks for sharing! http://holley4734.wordpress.com/
LikeLike
You are most welcome—glad you liked them! :-)
LikeLike
Ohh, these photos are stunning! I really like the last one “the last look”. We went to New York City a few years ago, and we had a great time! One of my favorite memories of being there was going on the Circle Line tour (is that what it’s called?) Whatever it was called, it was a lot of fun, and we thoroughly enjoyed it! What a great city!
LikeLike
Yes, the Circle Line. We meet it often on our own tours around Manhattan :-)
Thanks, Becky!!
LikeLike
Ya know, we’ve never paddled close to Stepping Stones light! Thanks for showing it to us :) Recently heard that Pea (aka, Pee) Island is for sale.
LikeLike
Really? I hope that it won’t be developed! Maybe some paddler will buy it ;-)
LikeLike
Großartige Fotos!!!
LikeLike
Vielen Dank!!
LikeLike
Thanks for taking us long! Wow!
LikeLike
Glad to have you along!! :-)
LikeLike
Love the red and green, siesta, sun shots…
Too many to name. Excellent fun!
LikeLike
It is, every time without fail! Thanks!!
LikeLike
I can’t remember ever going on such a wonderful ride on the river. Your photos have transported me to a very wonderful place with stunning. Thanks for sharing. Going back to NYC with all grandchildren soon.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Francine!! Have fun in NYC when you come! :-)
LikeLike
thank you for the tour vlad.. i really enjoyed it :)
LikeLike
You are most welcome—glad to have had you along! :-)
LikeLike
Excellent photography and all from the cockpit of a kayak , quite a skill . I particularly like the photo while heading back of the Brooklyn bridge with the reflection of the sun bouncing off the water and then off the underside of the bridge .
LikeLike
Thanks, Stephen!
A lot of the skill has to do with the need to race around my kayak model to get the best angle for the shot as she cruises, obliviously, at five knots or whatever it is these days ;-)
LikeLike
Can’t tell you how much I love going along with you two on your paddling adventures! It makes me happy to see what you see – and at the level you get to see things.
LikeLike
We are so happy to have you along! More trips coming up!! :-)
LikeLike
The location of NYC Potter’s Field was unknown — thanks for filling in my back pages! Hart Island a grim place indeed.
Also nice to see a close-up of Stepping Stones Light, a shame in such bad condition. Its near twin, Hudson–Athens Lighthouse, very spruce these days. Saturday looked like an open house, people all over, even on the veranda-like ledge that surrounds the light.
Google’s aerial shows a small island just west of Pea that has a large concrete structure, basically a stack of boxes, looks abandoned. Not finding it among the photos — possibly anonymous, not named even on the NOAA chart. Did you see it?
LikeLike
This book provides a lot of detailed history on all the islands of New York City, including Hart Island and its Potter’s Field…
Stepping Stones Light is a bit worn on the outside, but still operates as a lighthouse. Apparently it’s under consideration for sale, following many others.
The strange island you found on Google Maps (or Earth—aren’t those satellite views wonderful for that kind of thing?) is Columbia Island. It’s hard to miss when paddling in those waters! The concrete slab on the island was built by CBS as the foundation for the transmitter tower of their WABC radio station. The transmitter operated until 1963 when it was transferred to High Island, adjacent to City Island, where the transmitter tower still is (and where it’s had an interesting history too! ;-)).
Columbia Island was unoccupied for some years, but now some very interesting things are going on there. A recent article is here.
LikeLike
Vlad,
Jeanie and I are headed down on the 24th to circ Manhattan the 25th. Thanks to you, Johna and your posts it won’t be our only canoe visit to the area. This post is another wonderful “invitation”. Does the NYC tourist bureau pay you for your spectacular promotions? Ha!
George
LikeLike
We’ll cite you as a reference when we apply to them for funding! Thanks, George!
LikeLike
A big thumbs up from me! I am amazed at the amount of paddle sport in and around the city. I lost sight of the NYC area when I moved to Maine, almost 40 years ago. Your documentation of it is remarkable. Thanks so much.
G
LikeLike
There’s much more paddle sport around NYC now than there was 40 years ago—even 20 years ago! Not everyone covers the whole city like we do, but everywhere you look in the summer, there are kayaks, SUPs, rowboats, dragon boats, and even a few canoes ;-)
LikeLike
this is awesome! thanks for the ride!!! keep paddling!
LikeLike
We sure will! Much more to come on Wind Against Current! :-)
LikeLike
WOW!!!
LikeLike
:-)
LikeLike