Last Dance: Hudson River Maritime Museum, Kingston, NY

Cruising on Last Dance

This blog archives the adventures of Glen and Jill Moore and provides a means of communication for friends and family. Exploration and adventure have been synonymous with boats and water for centuries. The joy of adventures shared while exploring new places and meeting new people has built a strong bond for Glen and Jill. Last Dance is the platform for the exploration.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine, 354 - 430

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910

"There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats." The Wind in the Willows, 1908, Kenneth Grahame, 1859 - 1932

"I've never believed speed and ease are conductive to living fully, becoming aware, or deepening memory, a tripod of urges to stabilize and lend meaning to life." River Horse: a log book of a boat across America, 1999, William Least Heat-Moon,1939 -

The Great Loop -- The current adventure is a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States, cruising north up the east coast through New York into Canada, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, navigating multiple river systems south to Mobile, along the Gulf coast to the Florida Keys and back to St. Augustine. This trip by boat is commonly referred to as the Great Loop. Progress and current location are indicated by the red line on the map to the right. It was titled the Traceless Path in recognition of a German sailor we met in St. Augustine who published booklets of his travels with hand-drawn, detailed maps describing his travels across the water as the Traceless Path.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hudson River Maritime Museum, Kingston, NY

On her 35^th birthday, Last Dance was on display at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. It was her first time in the Hudson River, but that is now history . . . and, she is a bit old. If she were an automobile, the State of Florida would issue antique license plates.

At the display dock behind the museum, Last Dance shared a birth with Half Moon, Henry Hudson’s boat. It was appropriate that the first boat to explore the Hudson River in 1609 was sharing the dock with a more recent boat to explore the river. Well, Half Moon is a replica, a copy of Captain Hudson’s boat. Last Dance is actually the older boat.

Also on display next to the dock was a hundred-year-old steel tugboat. The main walkway along the Rondout Creek, built as a park-like attraction for tourists and a place to be outside on the water for locals, runs between the two old boats on the dock and the big tug. Many people walked past the boats on display admiring the history and beauty.

The Hudson River Museum was small in comparison to the Chesapeake museums, but was filled with history. The experience was well worth a stop at Kingston.

There was other history in Kingston in addition to the museum. A number of tugboats which had been restored or converted to cruising boats were tied along Rondout Creek. However, the most impressive boat (other than Last Dance, of course) tied up along the creek was PT 728.

Seems there is a guy in town who collects PT boats. He has acquired an old, 4-story, brick building that once housed a steamship company to provide space for restoration of the boats. Three PT boats sit next to the huge shop under cover. The one below may have been built in Jacksonville, FL, by Huckins Boats. It is built of plywood while the other boats were carvel planked. Huckins used plywood to speed the building process.

Kingston does have some different collectors. Across the street from the PT boats is a field of streetcars. A local man has collected a variety of streetcars and is putting together a streetcar museum. On weekends, he runs one of the streetcars along tracks out to the lighthouse marking the entrance to Kingston, where steamboats docked and passengers were transported to town by streetcars. Individuals preserving history.

1 comment:

Rick said...: I appreciate you post about the Hudson River Maritime Museum. I am their graphic designer. Looks like you had an exciting trip. Or are you not yet finished?

Rick@dittodoesit.com; August 26, 2011 at 6:12 PM