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by Kevin Lustyik, Tarrytown Harbormaster

Over the past few months the Hudson River came to resemble a moonscape, as sustained frigid temperatures and high winds caused more ice to build up than the river has seen in recent memory. To keep the river’s shipping channel open so that heating oil and gasoline barges could reach the north country, the US Coast Guard assigned five heavy duty icebreakers to work between New York harbor and the port of Albany. The fleet included 140-foot “Bay class” boats such as the Thunder Bay from Rockland, Maine, and larger “Tree class” boats such as the Sycamore, from Rhode Island. At night these vessels could be seen anchored near Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Saugerties, Rensselaer, and within NY Harbor. 

Icebreakers are specially designed with a strengthened hull, an ice-clearing shape, and the power to push through ice. They break very thick ice by sliding their bows over the surface and crushing the ice from above rather than pushing it sideways, as many people imagine (since the point of least resistance is downward).

Over one three-day frigid spell, sustained high-velocity wind from the north held the incoming tide from moving upriver, creating low water levels and preventing a 600 ft + freighter from navigating north of Newburgh. When conditions like this occur, the river refills, allowing boats to pass, when the wind subsides and favorable full or new moon tides raise water levels. 

Most harbors along the Hudson’s shorelines were frozen over, making this a banner year for bald eagle sightings, as they use the ice next to open waters as a perch for fishing. A few eagles could be seen every day in Tarrytown, while birdwatchers north of Croton could see more than 12 in a group.

As of early March there still is ice upriver, and a Bay class boat is still working to keep open the “choke points”—narrow sharp turns in the river, where the down-bound, tide driven slush or brash ice accumulates and refreezes. 
 
Ship Photo: Michael Lavin – Eagle photos: Jonathan Bernz, photographer “extraordinaire.”