Final shot of the Hornblower Hybrid at dock at the end of our cruise. Taken from the Yonkers Pier.
Hudson river cruise – Returning
Hudson river cruise – Under the Tappan Zee Bridge
According to Wikipedia:
The Governor Malcolm Wilson–Tappan Zee Bridge, usually referred to as the Tappan Zee Bridge, is a cantilever bridge in the U.S. state of New York, crossing the Hudson River at one of its widest points; the Tappan Zee is named for an American Indian tribe from the area called “Tappan”; and zee being the Dutch word for “sea”. As an integral conduit within the New York Metropolitan Area, it connects South Nyack in Rockland County with Tarrytown in Westchester County in the Lower Hudson Valley. Federal and state authorities are currently constructing a replacement bridge, the New Tappan Zee Bridge that will cost at least $4 billion.
The bridge is part of the New York State Thruway mainline and carries the highway concurrency of Interstate 87 and Interstate 287. The span carries seven lanes of motor traffic. The center lane can be switched between eastbound and westbound traffic depending on the prevalent commuter direction; on weekdays the center lane is eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening. The switch is accomplished via a movable center barrier which is moved by a pair of barrier transfer machines. Even with the switchable lane, traffic is frequently very slow. The bridge is one of the primary crossings of the Hudson River north of New York City; it carries much of the traffic between southern New England and points west of the Hudson. It is the longest bridge in the State of New York. The total length of the bridge and approaches is 16,013 feet (4,881 m). The cantilever span is 1,212 feet (369 m) providing a maximum clearance of 138 feet (42 m) over the water. The bridge is about 25 miles (40 km) north of Midtown Manhattan, the skyline of which can be seen from the bridge on a clear day.
Unfortunately it’s now falling apart. According to the same Wikipedia article:
The deteriorating current structure bears an average of 138,000 vehicles per day, substantially more traffic than its designed capacity. Unlike other major bridges in metropolitan New York, the Tappan Zee was designed to last only 50 years due to material shortages during the Korean War at the time of its construction. The new bridge is intended to last at least 100 years.
The collapse of Minnesota’s I-35W Mississippi River bridge in 2007 raised worries about the Tappan Zee’s structural integrity. These concerns, together with traffic overcapacity and increased maintenance costs, escalated the serious discussions already ongoing about replacing the Tappan Zee with a tunnel or a new bridge. Six options were identified and submitted for project study and environmental review.
In 2009, the Tappan Zee Bridge was featured on The History Channel “The Crumbling of America” showing the infrastructure crisis in the United States. Many factors contribute to the precarious infrastructure of the bridge, which has been called “one of the most decrepit and potentially dangerous bridges” in the U.S. Engineering assessments have determined that “everything from steel corrosion to earthquakes to maritime accidents could cause major, perhaps catastrophic, damage to the span,” prompting one of the top aides in the New York state governor’s office to refer to the Tappan Zee as the “hold-your-breath bridge.” A 2009 state report noted that the bridge was not built with a plan that was “conducive to long-term durability” and that the Tappan Zee’s engineers designed it to be “nonredundant,” meaning that one “critical fracture could make the bridge fail completely because its supports couldn’t transfer the structure’s load to other supports.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) studied the feasibility of either including a rail line across the new bridge or building the new bridge so a new rail line can be installed at a future date. Commuter rail service west of the bridge in Rockland County is limited, and the MTA studied expansion possibilities in Rockland County that would use the new bridge to connect with Metro-North’s Hudson Line on the east side of the bridge along the Hudson River for direct service into Manhattan. On September 26, 2008, New York state officials announced their plan to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge with a new bridge that included commuter-train tracks and lanes for high-speed buses. The bridge was estimated to cost $6.4 billion, while adding bus lanes from Suffern to Port Chester was estimated to cost an additional $2.9 billion. Adding a rail line from the Suffern Metro-North station and across the bridge, connecting with Metro-North’s Hudson Line south of Tarrytown, would have added another $6.7 billion. The plan was reviewed for its environmental impacts.
Meetings by the New York State Department of Transportation with local communities were held in December 2009. They revised the replacement cost including road, rail, and bus up to $16 billion. In 2013, the New York State Thruway Authority began building the New Tappan Zee Bridge, which will be a double-span bridge (four lanes per span in opposite directions) with designated bus lanes. The new bridge is scheduled for completion in 2018.
This picture was taken as our boat passed under the two bridges: the new one in the foreground, and the old one in the background.
Hudson river cruise – Dancers
As mentioned in an earlier post – I don’t dance. My wife loves to so I’m a severe disappointment to her. I really don’t like leaving her without a partner and I wish I could be a confident dancer, but I can’t. We even took some dance lessons at one point. I could just about get it during the lesson, but when we went back for the next one (usually a week later) I’d forgotten all the steps. On the odd occasion (usually when I’ve had copious amounts of alcohol) when I do try to dance I become very self-conscious, thinking that everyone is watching my ridiculous movements.
I’m in awe of the couple in the above picture. They were almost constantly on the dance floor and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely! They were also really good dancers.
Hudson river cruise – The Band
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. I didn’t really pay much attention to the band at the time. People were dancing (I don’t dance) and seemed to be having a good time and the band seemed to me to be doing a more than adequate job. It wasn’t until I ‘looked them up’ while preparing this post that I realized that they are actually quite well known
Vince Giordano’s website provides the following information:
Grammy-winner, New York native and multi-instrumentalist Vince Giordano has played in New York nightclubs, appeared in films such as The Cotton Club, The Aviator, Finding Forrester, Revolutionary Road, HBOs Boardwalk Empire and for concerts at the Town Hall, Jazz At Lincoln Center, the Newport Jazz Festival and the 92nd St Y for the past four decades. Recording projects include soundtracks for the award-winning Boardwalk Empire with vocalist like Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, St. Vincent, Regina Spektor, Neko Case, Leon Redbone, Liza Minnelli, Catherine Russell, Rufus Wainwright and David Johansen. Vince and his band have also recorded for Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World, Tamara Jenkins’ The Savages, Robert DeNiro’s The Good Shepherd, Sam Mendes’ Away We Go, Michael Mann’s film Public Enemies, and John Krokidas’ debut feature, Kill Your Darlings, along with HBO’s Grey Gardens and the miniseries Mildred Pierce. The Nighthawks are also seen and heard in the USA Network series Royal Pains and in the PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook. The band’s recent projects are Todd Haynes’ Academy Award nominated film Carol; and last year’s Emmy-winning Bessie bio-pic on HBO, and Cinemax’s The Knick starring Clive Owen; a Maggie Greenwald film called Sophie and the Rising Sun that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
Current projects include Woody Allen’s Café Society (2016) starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart that opened nation-wide on July 15th. Upcoming projects include a Barry Levinson film for HBO called Wizard of Lies, starring Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer; and an upcoming historical drama called The Promise, directed by Terry George, starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac and the first season of a new Amazon series tentatively called, Z: The Beginning of Everything about Zelda Fitzgerald – that will air in February of 2017.
Cornet Player. This has particular resonance for me as, in my youth, I was for a while a semi- professional (defined by me as getting paid to play, but not very much) cornet player. When I talk to people about this I usually refer to myself as a ‘trumpet’ player rather than a ‘cornet’ player, largely because most people don’t know what a cornet is and it’s too much trouble to explain. Of course I can play a trumpet (or could at that time), and indeed owned one in addition to the cornet, but I preferred the cornet because of the more mellow tone that results from its conical bore rather than more abrasive sound resulting from the trumpet’s cylindrical bore.
You come across trumpets much more often than cornets so it was a nice surprise to see this guy playing one.
Saxophone player.
Singer. I loved her expression and the way the light fell across her eyes. It didn’t hurt that she was a terrific singer.
A documentary entitled Vince Giordano – There’s a Future in the Past is also available.
Hudson river cruise – Skydeck on the Hornblower Hybrid
This is as far up as you can get on our boat: The Hornblower Hybrid:
The Hornblower Hybrid is New York’s premier eco-friendly luxury yacht. Offering 360-degree views from its Atrium Deck as well as first-class amenities, the Hybrid is truly a one-of-a-kind yacht. Versatility sets the Hybrid apart. Capable of accommodating large special events and intimate affairs simultaneously, the Hybrid caters to planners and individuals looking for the perfect venue to gather, celebrate and be awed.
Hornblower Hybrid Yacht Features
Unobstructed views from climate-controlled indoor decks
Outdoor observation decks
Customizable LED lighting to match any decor or theme
State-of-the-art sound system & HDTVs
Exterior sun decks & Sky Deck
Full bars on each deckLength: 148 ft.
Buffet Capacity: 350 guests
Dining Capacity: 500 guests
Cocktail Capacity: 600 guests
The Hornblower Cruises and Events website refers to this top deck as the Skydeck and describes it as follows:
The Sky Deck offers full panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline and all the must-see New York icons viewable from the water. The Sky Deck features film projectors, a DJ area, a state-of-the-art sound system, LED lighting, lounge furniture, and cocktail tables to fill the air with the sights, sounds and spirits worthy of a New York adventure.
I’m sure that on a balmy summer evening this is lovely, but we went in November when it was quite chilly. A few of us braved the exterior only to find that we couldn’t get back inside. We had to gesticulate to the, by then dancing, multitude to try to attract the attention of someone who could open the door. Eventually one of the dancers noticed us.
Note that the Hornblower Hybrid is only on of six boats operated by the company. For the entire fleet see here.