Category Archives: New York City

A Jaunt Up the Hudson

By Vladimir Brezina

Midtown ManhattanThe Binghamton

A routine paddle from Lower Manhattan up the Hudson—up the West Side of Manhattan, under the George Washington Bridge and along the Palisades—and back, about 30 miles. Nothing special.

But I do have a few photos…

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Angles

By Vladimir Brezina

Acute angles, right angles, obtuse angles—angles as far as the eye can see:

Angles 1Angles 2Angles 3Angles 4Angles 5Photos taken on a Hidden Harbor Tour, September 2013.

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Angles.

Monochromatic

By Vladimir Brezina

Monochromatic

… where the towers of the old World Trade Center used to be.

A contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Monochromatic.

Gentrifying Gowanus?

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina

Gowanus Canal colors

The lively school of fish flashing by probably should have been a clue.

On our kayak trip several weeks ago, we decided to pay a visit to the Gowanus Canal. I know it seems crazy to paddle on a heavily-polluted Superfund site, but we both have a secret fondness for blasted industrial landscapes. And the canal also features charming, idiosyncratic quirks: festive murals, and a houseboat or two.

Or at least it did, upon our last visit. We hadn’t seen it since just before Superstorm Sandy. Then, the mood had been somber, filled with foreboding and a sense of upcoming loss. We feared what the storm would do to the places we’d come to love, Gowanus among them.

True to our fears, Sandy kept us off the water for months, and in the nearly three years since then, we didn’t make it back to Gowanus to see how it survived. So this trip was very much an exploration: How much had Sandy destroyed? And what was left?

Things had definitely changed, as it turned out—but not exactly in the way we expected.

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A Civilized Way to See New York Harbor

By Vladimir Brezina

Aboard Bateaux New York‘s boat Celestial for a sunset dinner cruise

Sunset

We’ve seen the Celestial cruising around the harbor many times from our kayaks, but this is quite a different experience ;-)

Cruising up the Hudson

Plenty of opportunities for selfies with the Manhattan skyline

Selfies

There go our kayaking buddies!

Kayaking buddies

The Manhattan skyline in the dusk

Manhattan skyline in the dusk

… and round the Battery for more photo-ops in the East River

In the East River

Grey

By Vladimir Brezina

Grey apparition in the mist—

Grey

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Grey.

Midday at the Morris Canal

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina

Midday at the Morris Canal 13

As paddling trips go, this one wasn’t much: We left shortly before noon, and returned just after 2 PM—nothing like our typical day-long expeditions.

The weather was perfect: clear, sunny and dry with a light breeze. No wind, waves, or other “conditions” that make for an exciting kayak adventure.

But since it was our first trip together in quite a while, we were happy just to be on the water.

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Cardboard Kayak Race 2015: The Thrill of Victory… And the Delight of Defeat

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina

Cardboard Kayak Race 50

“We’re going to the cardboard kayak races this weekend, right?” Vlad said, looking at me expectantly. I glanced back dubiously.

We’d missed the 2013 race, the first year that the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance had organized the race as part of its City of Water Day, but we’d thoroughly enjoyed the video. Last year, I’d provided kayak safety support for the race, while Vlad took photos. And we wrote it up on Wind Against Current.

As much fun as the race had been, did we really need to experience it again?

Yes, we did! So last Saturday we headed out to Governors Island, on a sultry summer day that started out reasonably comfortable, but promised heat and stickiness by the afternoon.

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Independence Day

By Vladimir Brezina

Impressions of this year’s fireworks over NYC’s East River—

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Independence.

Door

By Vladimir Brezina

The doors of NYC’s Upper East Side in the springtime—

Springtime door 1Springtime door 2Springtime door 3

A contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Door.