Re: [Paddlewise] How dirty is it?

From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_home.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 21:35:24 -0500
ralph diaz wrote:

> Empirically, I look at myself and other paddlers who have been paddling
> here for 10 years or more.  None of us have health problems or skin
> sores or rashes other than those you can get from salt water.  BTW, I
> would never drink the water...it is largely salt water.  And I don't get
> panicky if I happen to get some in my mouth.

They must have really cleaned up the Hudson compared to when I sailed
up it in 1977 (Norfolk to Montreal returning a boat whose owner
wintered on it in the Bahamas).  Back then I kept my mouth clamped
shut against the spray and felt like I was sailing through a sewer.  The
smell was unbelievable.  When we tied up at the 79th St boat basin, there
was a dead pig floating by one of the docks.  Some folks we knew there
told their kids that if they touched the dock or piers, they had to wash their
hands.  The ultimate downside was that they were renovating the washrooms
of the boat basin and we couldn't shower.  I ended up taking a bath in a sink
in a restaurant on Broadway.  Conditions improved considerably once we
sailed about a half day further up the Hudson.

When I first read about you folks kayaking there, I cringed.  I'm glad for you
that things are better!

Mike

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Received on Tue Feb 29 2000 - 18:36:33 PST

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