By Vladimir Brezina
The calendar says that winter hasn’t started yet.
But what does the calendar know? Paddling-wise, it’s already deep winter here in the US Northeast. The days are short, and once the sun sets, the temperature plummets dramatically. It’s not the season for loitering on the water after dark, and even more so, for landing after dark, unavoidable as that often is. Putting away the boats in the dark, with wet fingers frozen by the cold wind, can be a distinctly unpleasant experience.
So, it’s the season for shorter trips suited to the shorter days—such as the old standby, the Manhattan circumnavigation.
Here are some photos from Saturday’s circumnavigation (click on any photo to start slideshow).
We leave the Pier 40 embayment
… and paddle south down the Hudson
Wind against current waves
… fun!
We turn the corner of the Battery into the East River
The heliport is busy today
Helicopters take off over our heads
We are in full winter gear
Past the South Street Seaport
… toward the East River bridges
This section of the East River is placid compared to the Hudson
Under the Brooklyn Bridge
… and the Manhattan Bridge
Looking back at Downtown Manhattan
… and across the river
Under the Williamsburg Bridge
We continue up the East River
Midtown Manhattan is in sight
East River traffic
One of the classic views
Looking back into the sun
We pass Midtown
A Long Island City icon
“Halie & Matthew” from Eastport, Maine
Under the Queensboro Bridge
We paddle up the Queens-side channel past Roosevelt Island, close to shore, because the current has already turned against us
We skirt the barges that are always docked at the power plant
Industrial scene
A couple more barges…
… and the Roosevelt Island Bridge
Socrates Sculpture Park
After crossing Hell Gate, we approach the Wards Island Bridge
We arrive at our favorite barge
… our shelter from the wind…
… where we raft up for some tea
Afterward, we paddle on… under the Triborough (RFK) Bridge
Under the Third Avenue Bridge
Looking back at the Third Avenue Bridge
The Park Avenue Bridge
More of the Harlem River bridges come into view
Toward the Madison Avenue Bridge
The Padded Wagon
Under the Madison Avenue Bridge
The Macombs Dam Bridge
High Bridge and tower
Alexander Hamilton Bridge and Washington Bridge
Looking back at the trio of mid-Harlem bridges silhouetted against the declining sun
The University Heights Bridge
… still lit by the sun
Almost at the top of the Harlem River
… and almost sunset
Looking back at the University Heights Bridge
The Broadway Bridge
The Henry Hudson Bridge
And finally the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge
… just in time for the last of the sun
We pass under the bridge out into the Hudson
The view north
But we paddle south
… toward the George Washington Bridge
Sunset colors across the river
Under the George Washington Bridge, the Manhattan skyline comes once more into view
The George Washington Bridge and the Little Red Lighthouse
Above the bridge, a crescent quarter moon
It’s getting dark
Last sunset color
A look back
… and forward toward home
The individual photos are here.
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
amazing!!!! you live on the edge… :) of the kayak.
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Yes, edging is an essential skill… ;-)
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Uhhh… Are we still talking about the same thing? These equivocal words are just too tricky on online conversations. :)
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No, we are almost certainly not talking about the same thing—it was a joke on my part :-)
This is edging:
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Oh sigh… thanks for the clarification, Doctor Edg-er. Hahahahaa. Great shot of edgy!! Someone should use that word for the word challenge.
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It would be a good subject for the challenge, wouldn’t it? Broad enough and abstract enough that everyone could interpret in their own different ways…
And when it comes up, we’ll be ready! :-)
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What a great journey to have “joined” you on. I’m trying to figure out how you took pictures while paddling? Do you take off those flipper-type gloves for each picture? Seems like it must be tricky, and with freezing fingers once done! I can’t imagine paddling that choppy water – looks tough. Loved the scenery, it’s a view I’ve never seen before. Spectacular photos! ~SueBee
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I don’t wear those pogies, as they are called, but rather ordinary (neoprene, waterproof) gloves, partly so as to be able to take photos. It would indeed be a pain with pogies. Unfortunately even the gloves are a compromise—if they are thin enough to operate all the buttons on the camera, they are also not really warm enough…
Thanks!! :-)
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Thanks for the explanation and adding new word to my vocabulary, pogies! ~SueBee
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You are welcome! I am sure that word will come in useful sometime… :-)
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I just love your life! I have always wanted my own kayak…but will have to live vicariously through photos. (We do have a rowboat…and that will need to suffice!) Thanks for sharing!
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You are most welcome! I hope you get a feel for what it’s like from the photos… :-)
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Some of the photos look like the water was quite choppy. Was it more so than usual?
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More choppy than usual? Yes and no. Although it can be as smooth as glass, there is usually some chop, in particular portions of the waterway depending on the local circumstances. Paradoxically there is often more chop in the summer than in the winter, because of all the boat wakes.
On this day, there were some waves at the beginning of the trip in the Hudson (photos 3 and 4), where we were paddling with the wind, but against the current, and so experiencing wind-against-current conditions :-) The water became much smoother once we turned the corner of the Battery into the East River (photo 5), which was protected from the wind.
In photos 3 and 4, the waves look bigger also because of the longer focal length—I must remember that in the future when I need a dramatic effect :-)
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Vlad thanks for the explanation. I did notice that some of the photos looked quite calm but yes 3 and 4 looked dramatic to be sure. I hadn’t thought about the boats in the summer which of course would create some challenging effects for those in kayaks!
On another note your winter kayaking mitts look like those used for winter cycling that can be attached to bike handlebars.
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But at least in the summer the water is warm! That changes the psychology quite a bit ;-)
I don’t wear the pogies, as they are called, but gloves instead. But Johna wears them and many other kayakers do. Interesting that you have something similar for riding a bike in winter. Did one descend from the other or is that a case of parallel evolution? :-)
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Vlad I will admit to not being hard core enough to ride my bike in the dead of Canadian winter at least not yet. I follow a blog called All Seasons Cyclist and he has talked about the mitts and shown photos. They look remarkably similar and I wonder too if created for one sport they were adopted for another.
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You don’t need to apologize for not going out in winter—the Canadian winter is a lot colder than ours! Of course, we would have an excuse not to go: we need the water to be liquid ;-)
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Haha! Well I am good to run in the worst of it but cycling brings on that wind chill. I don’t run fast enough to cause a breeze :)
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What a great hobby you have!
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We think so! :-)
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what an array of photos…GREAT!…as others have said…water looked a little rough…and with the cold…a little much for me…So I’m glad to sit here and view your day!
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That’s why we bring it to you! :-)
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Looks cold and beautiful.
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Beautiful usually means cold in winter around here, after a weather system has passed through. Then it’s sunny, with blue sky and water, but cold, with a chilly northwest wind blowing…
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lovely winter light in your photos. sure looks chilly on the water though.
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Actually, it was warmer than on our last trip. Generally speaking, provided you are properly dressed, it’s not cold sitting in the boat, especially when you are actually paddling, because warm air builds up in the boat. The pain comes when getting out—sometimes you can even see all that lovely steam escaping from the cockpit once you have vacated it. So, in winter especially, we never get out—until the end of the trip, when it has to be faced…
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Fun and thanks again! No SIF this time?
George
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Thanks, George! Yes, there was a SIF, but it was pretty routine… it always is—until it isn’t! :-)
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It looked windy out though you looked dressed for the cold. I never new there were so many bridges, but, dah, Manhattan is an island! Great photo essay and slide show. I always love your posts around about New York City – it really gives me a sense of place – thanks Vladimir.
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For all the bridges encountered during a Manhattan circumnavigation see here :-)
Thanks, Bruce!!
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And you have the wonderful photos to prove it, Vlad. Gorgeous!!
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Thanks!! :-)
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you are just too brave for words!
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Not really—it becomes routine once you’ve done it a couple of hundred times… :-)
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lol. good one. i’d be terrified of falling into those brutal, cold, new york frigid waters. take care.
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You’ve done it a couple of hundreds times, Wow!!!
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Well, actually, I’ve lost count. But my best estimate would be at least a hundred, and closer to two hundred, Manhattan circumnavigations over the years…
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Very nice. I like all the touches of red in the photos.
How do you dress — in layers, so that you don’t feel bulky but are still warm?
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Well, the drysuit is the outer layer (it’s possible to add more layers on top of that, if necessary, but it’s best to plan ahead not to have to do that). It’s waterproof, but it’s fairly thin, and by itself it provides little insulation. The insulation comes from whatever you wear underneath. So you need to put on whatever it takes to keep warm that day, depending on the predicted temperature, etc. Layers are good because they trap insulating air in between. The downside is that it’s hard to change during the day whatever you have put on under the drysuit, so a common experience is to be either too cold or too warm, or, often, both. :-)
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great photo blog and pictures! i can almost feel the ride :) thanks for sharing!!
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You are most welcome! :-)
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Beautiful shots what would we do without a camera :) I know write more descriptively :) I love when words and photos come together. wonderful post but I say you are NUTS time to walk on LAND! I must take a drive down into NYC I do miss the cities and that one is AWEESOME as is BOSTON :)
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On land, there are all kinds of dangers: people walking around obliviously talking into cell phones, bicycles going the wrong way, cars and trucks, snow and ice on which you might slip and fall… ;-)
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Yes you are right Maybe I will write a book with photos of faces that are attached to cell phones :)
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Wow, well the latest in the year I have gone kayaking was indian summer in October. And the earliest in April. Thanks for sharing your chilly ride!
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It gets interesting between October and April… ;-)
Thanks!!
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Love this.. I have been to New York but your photos give a different view.. thanks for sharing this ;)
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You are most welcome… it’s always good to have another view! :-)
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At last I have enough internet bandwidth to view your gorgeous kayaking photos from the trip. Maybe the cold air gives a particular clarity to the air. Thank you so much for this post, I admire you and Johna getting out in the chill of winter, and reading all the comments added a whole ‘nother “layer” to your trip.
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Yes, on a clear day in winter the visibility is tremendous! In the summer it’s usually much more hazy…
Glad you enjoyed it, Janet. Thanks so much!!
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The above comment is actually from rainbowspinnaker, now I’ll click the WP icon……
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:-)
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wow what a cool paddle. Great images.
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Thanks—and thanks for following our blog!!
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