By Vladimir Brezina
A contribution to a recent Photo Challenge, Cherry on Top.
Copyright
Wind Against Current by Vladimir Brezina and Johna Till Johnson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.Authors
Vladimir Brezina (RIP)
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.Johna Till Johnson
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.Recent Comments
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Been missing you guys!
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Great photo….. All I can think of is the scene from Finding Nemo…. “Mine, mine, mine….” Cherry on top, indeed.
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Nice to see you back – I hope all is well with you both, and you’re having a great summer!
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Vlad,
I read your post on navigating Hell gate from 1/20/12. I wish I had that post copied in my head when we hit the ebb current at 42nd street three years ago. That crossing was a bit traumatic, and I don’t want to repeat it again when we launch in the Hudson under the GW bridge come August 21 – a week from today.
I am reaching out to the most hands on expert I know – you – to confirm my plan to use the tides wisely. I appreciate any feedback your willing to give.
Our plan is to let in at 6:10 @ the GW bridge.
We’ll hit the battery and turn up East river at 9:19.
We’ll hit Hell Gate at 11:43 cross, and hit the Harlem River about 12:30 – 1:00.
We plan on returning to our launch point across the Hudson around 2:00.
would you be kind enough to weigh in?
my email is scottlucas@live.com.
I’m in Charlotte, NC.
Thank you.
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Hi, Scott,
From the Battery onward up the East and Harlem Rivers your timing looks good, and you will even have time for a lunch break after Hell Gate if you wish.
(If you don’t take a break, you will probably take longer through the Harlem River than you plan, and so return to your starting point only some time after 2 PM, because at 1 PM the favorable current up the Harlem River will only just be beginning. See here:
From Current Hell Gate.)
But for the first part of the trip your timing is a little tight (assuming that the idea is to paddle with the current as much as possible). This is probably because you haven’t allowed for the fact that events happen earlier as you go down the Hudson River.
Here are the currents at the GWB:
(from Current GWB)
and here are the currents at the Narrows:
(from Current Narrows).
The timing of the slack before flood differs by about two hours in the two places, and the Battery is about half-way between them. You would therefore expect the flood in the Hudson River at the Battery to start around 8 AM (the flood in the East River at the Battery will already have been going for some time).
So as you paddle down the Hudson and approach the Battery, you might already feel some opposing flood current. Normally this shouldn’t be a problem, and allowing 3 hours for the Hudson section of the trip should take care of it. Be aware, however, that if there is significant southerly wind, or if you start late, it might become an issue. The remedy, of course, is to start earlier (but then you’ll have time on your hands later in the trip).
Hope this helps. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need more.
And have fun!
Vlad
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Did you migrate with them there birds? Good to know you’re back. Missed you.
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Love this photo for the theme.
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