Trip Day:	99	Latitude:	42°16.34 ' N	Locks Today:	0
Miles Today:	10	Longitude:	073°47.78' W	Locks Total:	8
Total Miles:	1,907	Location:	Hudson,  NY

Today was momentous!  It was also extremely nerve racking and tiring!  Yesterday we travelled about five miles to Riverview Marina in Catskills.  This marina specializes in mast un-stepping and we have seen 6 sailboats have their mast taken down in the last 24 hours.  The preparation for this process was far more complicated than I understood, perhaps Captain Ron down-played it for good reason.  Ron built the wooden cradle to hold the mast, I disconnected the wiring that runs through the mast (sure hope my diagram allows for re-connection), we disconnected the lower shrouds, disconnected the boom, dropped the jib and screecher, folded and bagged  the sails and then we were ready for the crane. Everything went fine, but boy do we have a jumble of lines and wires. Now I see why people do this trip in a trawler!

We no longer haveVHF radio because our antenna is disconnected, the same goes for wind speed and direction indicator, so the purchase of a hand-held VHF radio is first on our list of items to purchase.  We still have to rig a light for when we are at  anchor— just a few details to figure out. 

We left the marina late this afternoon and went up river 5 miles and dropped the anchor.  It is gin and tonic time!  Tomorrow we will approach the Erie Canal.  We will truly miss the Hudson River and it’s lighthouses.

Bedtime will be early tonight   because slack tide is at 5:30 a.m. then we will have a favorable  current as we head toward Troy.