Pier 66, New York City, May 17 2025 by Shenzhan Liao
Call me crazy for planning to sail in the Hudson River immediately after hosting "Chinese Bridge"- a Chinese language competition for students from 13 East Coast states. But by 4:30 pm, I had already shed my Qipao and high heels, swapped into my sailing gear, and was standing at Pier 66 waiting for Ning.
The week before, we had gone all the way up to the boathouse in Inwood, at the end of Dyckman Street in upper Manhattan, only to find out all sails were canceled due to high winds. Today we had the luck -- it was reasonably sunny and windy. Our J80 skipper, Nico, had gone out on an earlier sail.
The boathouse at Pier 66 appeared to be the same as I remember it: a metal roll-up gate shut tight in the front, with a small door cracked open just enough to allow people who know to open. However, I did notice something new – a gleaming public park had opened next to Little Island. It's amazing how many new structures could still be added to this island. SERIOUSLY!
It was my first sail of the season. I had tried hard to pass the skipper test at the end of the last season, but failed. A bummer, but I guess it is better not to push too hard for no reason. Ning joined me as a new crew, along with Andrea, a young Italian who just arrived NY for an internship at Nico's company 3 days ago. Steve, an older man with a soft voice and a white mustache, seemed to be experienced. He claimed to be out on the water every day since the season started.
While waiting for Nico to return from the previous sail - later we learnt a stuck halyard was reason for delay - I filled out the float plan:
Tide: Increasing ebb from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm, going from 1.7 to 2.5 knots
Wind: SW, 10 mph
Direction: north
We ran into trouble as we set out to raise the main sail in the middle of the river - it slipped out of the mast track. I managed to put it back on track, though with the sail already catching the wind, we couldn't get it all the way up. Nico had to ask me, the second experienced crew member who has been out of practice for 7 months, to take over the tiller and motor, so he could fix the main sail.
The wind was quite strong. At some point, the J80 tilted terribly, with the main sail only half up. While it is comforting to know that a keelboat like this J80 won’t capsize easily, I had no idea how Ning and Andrea stayed in the boat. I was fully focused on keeping the boat into the wind. Somehow it worked. Nico was able to get the sail up, and we were finally sailing!
I held the tiller for another 20 minutes as we were heading north. With the strong SW wind, we were running downwind. Both the main and the jibe were fully extended (and Nico was like, “ we probably should have reefed”). I had to jibe a couple of times, which was challenging under strong winds. The second jibe was a bit rough, but nobody got in the water or was hurt, so I'd call it a success.
For a Saturday afternoon on the Hudson River, one of the busiest rivers in North America, the traffic was not terribly bad. A barge was moored north of 75th Street. We sailed near it and turned around back to Chelsea.
The consistent SW wind eased a bit when we were heading south. Sailing upwind was fun. You felt more of the wind, and tacking was not as risky as jibing. I was glad to hold both the tiller and the mainsheet, feathering as I had to - all the techniques had to come back quickly. Last season ended in late October, and I haven’t set foot in the water since.
By 7:15 pm, we called it a day. Frying Pan, a bar and restaurant on a boat next to the boathouse, was already pumping loud music for partygoers. As we pulled the J80 up to its mooring, we discovered that we had lost the boom protector in the midst of the hectic start. Not a big loss. Nico was quite adamant about covering the expense, even though I offered to share.
All in all, a great first sail for the season.
My goal?
To sail beyond the Hudson River this season!
Astoria, New York
May 20, 2025