Tag Archives: Kayaking

Weekly Photo Challenge: Community

Posted on December 13, 2013 by | 41 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Community.

After many hours of lonely paddling, it’s a treat to meet up with paddling friends for an impromptu lunch…

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(We’ve almost written up that trip—stay tuned!)

41 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Photography

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A Winter Manhattan Circumnavigation

Posted on December 8, 2013 by | 55 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

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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.

55 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

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Travel Theme: Symbol

Posted on December 6, 2013 by | 45 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Symbol.

Our travel on the water, no less than on land, is governed by symbols…

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45 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Photography

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Seen from a Kayak

Posted on November 18, 2013 by | 36 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Some works of art were surely put there for the sole appreciation of passing kayakers…

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More marine art, specifically of New York Harbor, is here.

36 Comments

Posted in Art, Kayaking

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Paddling Through the Fall

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | 66 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

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Stay tuned for story and many more photos!

66 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Nature

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Ceres

Posted on October 21, 2013 by | 44 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

A week ago, over the Columbus Day weekend, we were kayak-camping at Stockport Middle Ground, one of my favorite places along the Hudson River, to paddle among the Fall colors (story and photos forthcoming!).

So on Monday a week ago, I paddled out onto the still river, shrouded in fog, as the first colors of dawn softened the sky. Honking geese flew overhead.

But what was that strange buzzing sound, and that strange object emerging from the fog upriver, gradually growing bigger?

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It was Ceres!

Continue reading →

44 Comments

Posted in Science and Technology

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A Moonlight Manhattan Circumnavigation at the End of Summer

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | 43 comments

By Johna Till Johnson

(Sorry, no photos this time! For one thing, I didn’t have a camera. And for another, it was, ahem, dark. So I’ve used a few of Vlad’s photos from previous circumnavigations.)

She rose up ahead of us, brilliantly lit in all her resplendent orange glory: the Staten Island Ferry, blazing against the dark night sky.

It was around 3:30 AM, and she was docked at Whitehall, at the southern tip of Manhattan.

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m deeply wary of the Staten Island Ferry. (“Deeply wary” sounds way better than “scared silly”, which is closer to the truth—of all the ferries, this one is the largest and seems to move the fastest, and I worry irrationally that one day I’ll be caught in its churning engines.)

Staten Island Ferry

A daylight view of the Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall

This night was no exception: There were ten of us, and the brisk ebb current was pushing us relentlessly into the ferry’s path.

The question was (with apologies to the Clash): “Should I stay or should I go?” Should we bank on the ferry’s remaining docked for the five minutes it would take us to glide past, or should we hold up and wait, back-paddling against the current, while she departed?

Continue reading →

43 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

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Weekly Photo Challenge: An Unusual POV

Posted on September 6, 2013 by | 63 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is An Unusual POV.

IMGP6934 cropped smallEach morning of a multi-day kayak camping trip, this unusual point of view becomes more and more usual. We laze in our sleeping bags for just a few more precious moments, idly studying the airy patterns of the tent above that begin to glow as the sun climbs higher in the sky—

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IMGP6967 cropped smallSigh… now it really is time to get up, or we won’t get far today…

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(This was actually only Day 2 of our 2012 Long Island kayak circumnavigation :-))

63 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Photography

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Ederle Swim 2013

Posted on August 27, 2013 by | 49 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Under the Verrazano Narrows BridgeOn Sunday a week ago, August 18th, I found myself once more in my kayak accompanying a long-distance swimmer through New York Harbor.

It was the day of this year’s Ederle Swim, a 17.5 -mile open-water swim from Manhattan to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, organized by NYC Swim. This year’s swim was in fact the centennial swim, since the first successful swim over that course, after a number of failed attempts, occurred a hundred years ago almost to the day, on August 28th, 1913.

My swimmer this year was Barbara Held, from San Diego, California. Having completed her Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming—the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, the Catalina Channel, and the English Channel—Barbara was looking for new challenges!

Continue reading →

49 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Sports

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The Cardboard Kayak Race

Posted on August 24, 2013 by | 22 comments

By Johna Till Johnson 

Every now and then something comes along that’s just a sheer delight from start to finish.

Yesterday, it was this video of the 2013 City of Water Day’s First Annual Cardboard Kayak Race.  It features practically all of my favorite things: kayaking, engineering, competition (the thrill of victory and the cold splash of defeat), creativity, ingenuity, and whimsy. All on a beautiful summer’s day in New York!

The event was hosted by the Metropolitan Water Alliance, a not-for-profit that, in its own words, “works to transform the New York and New Jersey Harbor and Waterways to make them cleaner and more accessible, a vibrant place to play, learn and work with great parks, great jobs and great transportation for all.”

The Cardboard Kayak Race is exactly what it sounds like: Teams of competitors are each given identical materials from which they construct, and then race, cardboard kayaks. Starting materials include:

  • 10 5×5 squares of cardboard
  • 10 rolls of packing tape
  • 3 rolls of gaffer tape, and
  • a box knife

The video is long (though well worth watching—it will leave you laughing with joy!). But  if you’re pressed for time, here are some highlights:

  • The first 12 minutes feature various shots of boat construction
  • At 12:00, judging commences. You’ll meet the teams, which include the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, the NYC Watertrail Village Community Boathouse, the High School of Math, Science, and Engineering Alumni, El Centro (from Staten Island), the North Brooklyn Boathouse, the Stevens Institute of Technology, the Stuyvesant High School Village Community Boathouse, and the US Coast Guard Marine Inspectors.
  • There’s a great comment at 17:30 where the judge asks the Coast Guard team, “Which do you think is the front part of the boat?”, then adds, “I don’t want to confuse you with technical questions!”
  • The race begins at 18:18
  • There’s a nail-biter of a finish at 19:15
  • Disastrous and heartbreaking collision at 19:50
  • Dramatic capsize at 20:46

It’s all wonderful fun, and well worth the watch!

22 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Science and Technology

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