Paddle boat provides fall views

By Rebecca Rothbaum
Poughkeepsie Journal

It was the Hudson, late afternoon. But, as I cruised downriver on a paddle boat, on an unusually chilly September Sunday, I was reminded of Huck's solemn Mississippi. Under the slate sky, the river and the Hudson Highlands were austere and beautiful.

I was among the several dozen people who had bundled up for a two-hour Fall Foliage Tour aboard The River Rose, a new addition to Newburgh's recently revitalized waterfront. The stretch also boasts several restaurants, boutiques and other shops -- all of which popped up within the last decade, breathing new life into a once-desolate neighborhood.

Departs from Newburgh

The River Rose, which departs from Newburgh Landing, travels north to Milton or south to Bannerman's Island, depending on the weather and water conditions. (The boat only travels at about seven knots -- or six miles -- per hour.)

Spencer Ainsley/Poughkeepsie Journal Paddleboats provide a peaceful, scenic ride on the Hudson River.

Ee headed south, to where the river winds rather dramatically between Storm King mountain on the west and Breakneck Ridge on the east. It was early for fall foliage, but there was plenty of scenery, including Bannerman's Island, where the ruins of munitions dealer Francis Bannerman's castle still intrigue.

Bannerman bought the island at the turn of the 20th century, living and working there until his death in 1918. The ruins are the remains of an arsenal and a superintendent's house, just two of what was a complex of storehouses, workers' apartments and other buildings.

John ''Duke'' Panzella, who owns the River Rose, remembers sneaking onto the island as a kid. As we cruised around the island, he pointed out where he would steer his first boat, an eight-foot row boat his father outfitted with a 3.5 horsepower engine.

''I know this river like the back of my hand,'' said Panzella, a Marlboro native. ''I've been playing with boats since I was a kid.''

He bought the River Rose, a 17-year-old ship built in the old-time paddle boat style, a year ago. The 58-year-old said owning it is a dream.

When Panzella is not working, which he seems to be doing most of the time, he chats with his passengers, who are watching the paddle wheels churn, dancing to tunes on the juke box and chatting at the bar.

''John and his crew are so nice and accommodating,'' said Dorothy Franklin, a board member at Family Impoundment Council, a family services organization in Middletown, who had come for the boat ride with the staff there. It was Franklin's second time on the boat -- not long ago she took a night cruise.

''This is very peaceful and calm,'' she said.

Several other passengers described the tour in similar terms.

''It's just nice to get away,'' said Dayna Stiteler, a medical office manager from the Town of Newburgh, who was also making her second River Rose trip. ''It's like a mini-vacation.''