July 15
We were up pretty late last night, observing a Friday night on Ego Alley. Pusser's Landing is right across the channel from us, about sixty feet away. The slips are almost all filled, and a constant parade of boats went in the dead-end fairway, turned around at the end and came back. Almost all the boats were powerboats. We finally went to bed after 23:00 and surprisingly fell right to sleep, even though the activities were still going strong.
We were up about 07:00 and started making preparations to leave. We ditched garbage, made coffee, and were untying lines at 07:45. As we left Annapolis Harbor, we were the third of three sailboats heading north. A few miles north of the entrance to the Severn River, which Annapolis is just off of, is a twin-span bridge that connects Kent Island to the mainland. We caught the other two boats in this vicinity and passed them. They apparently are both going to Baltimore, because they went northwest after the bridge, while we went more northeast. We have a favorable current with us for a change, and are making over eight knots for a short time. We never saw under seven knots all day until the last hour. That's not our usual luck.
All day we were attacked by a constant stream of powerboats going south. There were a handful of sailboats thrown in, but most were large cabin-cruiser powerboats, going full throttle. That means we were getting bounced by their large wakes over and over again. We are out in relatively open water, not a small channel like the ICW, so I don't expect them to slow for us, but given the high number we passed during the day, it got old. It is Saturday, but I'm not sure why the ratio of southbound to northbound boats was easily ten to one.
The weather since we left Norfolk has been odd. It has been hot and humid, and there has been a heavy haze present all the time. Visibility has been two miles or so due to the haze. Today there is the same haze, maybe even heavier than earlier in the week, and there are also scattered showers around, so there are real clouds too. This is good because it kept it from ever getting very hot. We were actually chilly early in the afternoon. We managed to dodge the real rain showers, getting just a light sprinkle a couple of times before we got to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.
Our original plan for today was to go to Chesapeake City, at the western end of the C&D Canal, and anchor in a small bay there. This would have us doing fifty miles today, and a longer day tomorrow to reach Cape May, NJ. Since we had a favorable current all day, we were going to get to Chesapeake City about 14:30. The canal is about fifteen miles long, so we decided to carry on to the eastern end of the canal before stopping. This will make tomorrow a shorter day.
This canal is the best I have seen. It is man-made, forty five feet deep from side to side, several hundred feet wide, and all the bridges are 132 feet high. This is because it sometimes carries large ships between the two bays. It even has street lights along the shores, so navigating it at night would be a no-brainer if you wanted to.
At the eastern end of the C & D, we turned south in Delaware Bay for about three miles, then turned back west to tuck in behind Reedy Island. We anchored here last fall on our way south. It is one of the two places where we have dragged anchor in the past year. The anchorage is protected from the wakes of passing ships by the island, but there is a strong (two knot) current running through the anchorage that will reverse every six hours or so. There is almost no wind tonight, so we should just ride to the current, unlike last year when we had strong wind against the current which made us do several strange circles over the anchor.
As was the case last fall, we saw a cruise ship, this time the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship, Empress of the Seas head south from Philadelphia on a seven-day trip to Bermuda. Who would of thought of Philadelphia as a cruise ship port? But there's two ships that operate from there.
Across the main ship channel from the anchorage is the Salem Creek nuclear power plant. I mentioned last year that I hoped it didn't blow while we were here. Well it's still here, although today given the haze, you can just barely make out the huge cooling tower even though it's less than a mile away.
Today was proclaimed left-over day. For lunch we had the left-over Italian food we brought home from dinner last night. For dinner we had left-over homemade food from a couple of days ago. Both were good the second time around.
GPS N 39-30.809 W 075-33.966 Nautical miles traveled today 65. Total miles 5574.
July 16
Since we came farther than planned yesterday, we don't have to leave at the crack of dawn. We got up and had our coffee and were underway about 07:30. Hoisting the anchor today was a real treat. The bottom here is a thick slimy black ooze, and lots of it stuck to the chain as I hauled it in. Just grabbing the chain with the slime on it and my hands was a challenge. And then of course there was the mess it made on deck and on me. But, I got it in and then went below to wash my hands and arms while Barb drove us back towards the ship channel.
We headed south in Delaware Bay, roughly paralleling the ship channel, but staying on the east side of it out of the way of any big ship traffic. The first large ship we passed going north was a military supply ship, the Cape Knox, which had two Coast Guard boats escorting it, and special announcement being made on the VHF about a security zone around it. We were already well out of the main channel, so they never said anything to us. For about four hours of the trip we were benefiting from a very favorable current. We were making over nine knots for an hour or so, and over eight for three more. Since the boat only makes six and a half on it's own, this was a great boost. I was afraid we would really pay the price on the other end when the current would switch against us, but we still stayed at about six knots except for about one hour at five and a half. So overall, we made much better time than predicted.
The only downside to making such good time was that we got near Cape May at near high tide. This means we cannot use the Cape May canal due to two bridges over it. We know from last year that we will only fit under those bridges at very near low tide. Low tide isn't until about 17:30, so rather than wait, we went another eight miles or so around the tip of Cape May and came in the ocean inlet. Even though this added and hour and half to the trip, we were in Utsch's Marina by 15:30.
The one remarkable thing about the trip was dealing with the flies. We had a problem with flies last year when we were offshore of New Jersey. Out in the middle of Delaware Bay we are a couple miles from shore on either side, but the flies are thick as can be. These are regular little black house flies and they make the horse flies we dealt with back in the Carolinas look tame. The horse flies didn't bite. They flew and landed on the inside of the bimini and were easy pickings with the fly swatter. These little black flies go everywhere in the cockpit and they bite! I hate spraying bug repellant on me, but I had to coat my feet and legs. This at least stopped the biting, but they were still very annoying. We each had a fly swatter and we probably killed two or three hundred flies in the course of the day. We kept the screen over the open companionway so only a few got down below, but we had carcasses all over the deck and under the teak grating in the cockpit. For several hours of the trip, there were two trawlers near us that were going just a hair faster. We saw them catching us and eventually they slowly passed and then pulled ahead. We noted as they passed that everybody had a fly swatter in hand. We waved at each other with our weapons.
Once we got around to the ocean-side of the peninsula, we were greeted by all manor of watercraft. There were dozens of small fishing boats drifting around with lines in the water, several parasail boats pulling their customers aloft, a large whale watching boat headed out to sea, a go fast noisemaker similar to the Joe's Crab Shack Beast that we had back in Texas, and numerous other pleasure boats just out for a ride. We wove our way through this congestion and got to the inlet which connects Cape May Harbor to the Atlantic. The tide was running out the inlet, and the ocean swell comes in from east, so it made for a bumpy entrance, but not as bad as some others we have done, like Ft. Pierce last year. Once inside the heavy boat traffic continued. We were made quite aware that apparently NJ boaters cannot read, as boat after boat roared past us at full speed even when passing the buoy in the harbor that proclaims it to be a no wake zone. They even race right past the Coast Guard station, so obviously there is no enforcement done here. Last year there was some skinny water to be negotiated in this harbor, but there is a dredge actively working the harbor, and we didn't have any trouble at all this time.
We stayed at Utsch's Marina last year and really like the place. It is a fourth-generation family owned business, and they treat transients like visiting family. You can't go wrong with a welcome bag that includes a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, and biscotti. The two trawlers that passed us are here, and another sailboat that must have been not too far behind us came in via the canal just a little after us. We filled our fuel for $.20/gal less than we could have gotten it in Maryland, and then moved to our slip.
My first order of business was to attack the boat with the hose. I am not usually diligent about cleaning the boat everyday, especially if we are just moving on again in a day or two. But today, I took the hose and started running water in the anchor locker. I hoped the mud I dragged up this morning would still be moist and come off pretty easy. I didn't take the chain out, but just ran water over it for about fifteen minutes until the water coming out of the locker drain wasn't black anymore. I then cleaned the mud off the deck and rail where it had splattered about while hoisting. Then I rinsed dead flies of the deck and out of the cockpit. I took up the teak grating from the cockpit floor and rinsed flies and cat hair out of there.
We then went to take showers and wash the bug spray off. One of the nice things about this marina is the bathrooms. They are new, clean, and well laid out for transient shower users. They also have a great laundry facility although we have never used it.
For dinner we went to the Lobster House. We ate here last year and a few days after we left they had a major fire which damaged half the dining area. It was probably the best timing possible for this to happen, since it was already the end of September and the tourist season was pretty much over. We read on their website that they were completely repaired and fully functional again this past April, in time for this year's crowds. They had remained open with about half the normal seating capacity the rest of the time. Again, we enjoyed dinner, it was reasonably priced, and we had leftovers for another meal.
We decided to stay a second day here, since it's a great marina and we need to get some groceries. It's also predicted to be record setting hot this whole coming week, so we will treat ourselves to another day of air conditioning.
GPS N 38-57.060 W 074-54.328 Nautical miles traveled today 55. Total miles 5629.
July 17
We slept in today, not getting up until 08:30. When I turned on the computer and looked at the headlines, I saw that the space shuttle was scheduled to land about 09:15. We have cable TV here, so we turned from the Today Show to C-SPAN and watched the landing live. I remember as a kid that every time there was a space launch, the teacher would roll a TV into the classroom and we would watch it live. The space program was new and amazing to us then, but over the years, people going to space became "routine", and we stopped paying close attention. The network news didn't even cover launches live anymore. They were just a mention on the evening news. The shuttle Challenger explosion reminded us that space travel was not routine, but I think even after that, since the shuttle program continued, we took these events for granted. Well, since the Columbia disaster over TX, things have been different, at least for me. Perhaps because of having lived in TX so near the Columbia site, of maybe because of living right next door to the Johnson Space Center and knowing so many people that worked there, and even meeting an astronaut, I now pay attention again to the missions. I have watched the last two landings with breath held, just like back in elementary school. Today's was a picture perfect landing. On the final approach the shot on TV was from a camera inside the shuttle showing the pilots view, which included the heads-up display on the windshield which is what guides him on the approach. This reminded me of the simulator you can fly at Space Center Houston, the tourist place attached to JSC. I crashed the shuttle into the Everglades several times before giving up in frustration. My son, on the other hand, landed the damn thing perfectly the first time. Kids!
A little after 10:00, we walked into town to the grocery. It is about a mile and a half and we were drenched by the time we got there. The store is not huge, and the aisles are narrow. It was packed with shoppers. Cape May has lots of condos and rental houses which are used by week long summer vacationers. These people typically arrive on Sundays. They were all doing their shopping for the week today, and there is only this one grocery store in town. We squeezed our way through the store and got the things we needed. We didn't have that much, but it was too much for the express line, so we were stuck behind a couple of these shop-for-the-week folks. Once checked out, we called for a cab to take us back to the marina. Art, the cab driver showed up in a nice full sized Mercury that didn't have any appearance of being a cab. We put the groceries in the trunk, made a quick stop at a liquor store for beer (no beer in groceries stores in NJ) and went back to the marina.
We spent the rest of the hot afternoon in the cool boat with the a/c on. Later in the evening as it was getting cooler, we walked over to the nice new shower facility and took showers. On the way back we met the neighbors from the two trawlers that came down Delaware Bay with us the other day. After chatting, it turned out they were good friends with a couple we met in the Bahamas. It still amazes me when we make connections like that.
GPS N 38-57.060 W 074-54.328 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5629.
June 18
We are headed up the NJ coast today. There is a NJ ICW, but it is only good if you draw less than five feet of water and have a mast less than thirty-five feet. That pretty much rules out most sail boats. Along the NJ coast there are only three places suitable for a boat like ours to stop between Cape May on the southern end, and Sandy Hook to the north. They are, from south to north, Atlantic City, Barnegat Light, and Manasquan. We thought about going overnight, about eighteen hours, all the way from Cape May to Sandy Hook. But, there are thunderstorms forecast for tonight. We'll be glad to see the storms, since they signal the cold front which will break the heat wave the whole country has been suffering from, but we don't want to be offshore during a storm. So, we plan to go to Barnegat Light today, anchor, and then proceed to Sandy Hook tomorrow.
We headed out of the Cape May Inlet with no problem. There is a dredge working in Cape May Harbor who was blocking most of the channel, but the operator answered my radio call and was very polite and helpful in telling me where to go around him. Once out the inlet, we turned northeast and followed the coast. We made a straight line to Atlantic City, where the coast turns a little more north, and from there to Barnegat. We were never more than about four miles offshore, and could barely make the coast out through the haze all the way.
The Barnegat Inlet can be rough if the wind opposes the tide, as we have experienced before at some other inlets. It also is uncharted since the channel moves constantly and they are always relocating the markers based on natural changes or dredging. We got there, and it was bouncy but no where near as bad as some we have done. Once inside the jetties, we were initially confused by the markers. Between the jetties is about a thousand feet wide, yet there were markers that looked like we should go right along the northern jetty's edge. When in doubt all you can do is believe the markers, but fortunately several power boats came in right after us and passed us, and sure enough they followed these markers, removing my doubts. Once inside, there is a large bay that is very shallow. There are several channels leading to various parts of the bay and here even the markers get confusing. And, as I said, none of this is on the charts at all. The charts show some depths, but no markers since they move frequently. Well, I saw a couple of anchored boats in about the place where I expected the anchorage to be, but the how to get there was not clear at all. I went very slow, basically idle speed against the current, so we were just poking along. Where I misread the markers, we suddenly went aground. The depth gauge said thirty feet, then we hit, then it said five feet. We were obviously at the edge of a dredged channel. I backed off with no problem, moved over some and tried again with the same results. We then resorted to following the instructions in our Skipper Bob's Anchorages guide, and although they weren't exactly clear to me either, we found the way into the anchorage. We dropped the hook in about seven and a half feet of water expecting the tide to drop one more foot, leaving us a foot to spare. Another boat came in shortly after us and anchored just south of us. After an hour or so, while enjoying cocktails, a large powerboat went through the nearby channel making quite a wake. As the wake bounced us, we bounced off the bottom. I turned the instruments back on to check the depth, and it said six feet. We had already lost more tide than I thought there was left to go, and there was still another hour until low tide. I decided I did not want to bounce every time a wake came, so we hoisted the anchor to move. Just as we got the anchor up, we ran aground, not very far from the boat that came in after us. We were no more than twenty feet in front them in five feet. I was able to power off, and turn around to where we had been. As I tried to pass behind them, we touched again. I hollered to them to ask what they drew, and they said five and a half and that there depth gauge said eleven feet. They must be in a hole. I powered past their stern and suddenly we were in twelve feet. We must have been right on the edge of the deep water. We re-anchored in twelve feet, and felt much better about it. We are near a couple of private mooring balls that are unoccupied, but hopefully their owners won't show up in the middle of the night.
Once it got dark, we could see lots of lightening to the northwest. I turned on the computer to check the weather radar and saw that it looked like a heavy thunderstorm would pass north of us and another south of us. The wind picked up and blew about twenty knots for half an hour or so, and then it calmed down. We never did get any rain, and spent a nice quiet night.
GPS N 39-45.635 W 074-06.987 Nautical miles traveled today 66. Total miles 5695.
July 19
We got up at the crack of dawn today to get an early start. We want to time our passage out of the inlet with the slack tide so there is no rage. We exited the anchorage with no problem, partly because after watching other large boats pass through last night after we were anchored, the markers made a lot more sense to me. It's amazing how something can appear so confusing initially, but then seem perfectly obvious once you have been shown the answer. We got to the ocean end of the inlet and even though there was no rage per se, we were bashing into some pretty good rollers coming in from the east. At the end of the north jetty, we immediately turned northeast and out of the rough water at the inlet's end. Once away form the inlet, the rollers were still big, but not breaking. Big rollers are not as bad as big breaking waves.
Today we will stay even closer to shore than yesterday. I don't think we ever got more than a mile and a half off today. Since the front came through last night the haze is a little better. It's not crystal clear, but not as bad as it was. We can clearly see the shore as we go. Even at this early hour, there are lots of fishing boats out, and we can see people on the beaches already. We noticed an eclectic mix of crap floating in the water on this leg. More so than usual. Maybe because we are closer to shore, or maybe because the shore is all public beach, or maybe because a lot of stuff blew away from people last night. Anyway, we passed two beach balls, A blow-up chair, a child's blow-up swimming ring, a pair of bright red wax lips, and a latex glove with air in it. There was also more than the usual amount of regular trash floating. Things like plastic water bottles, candy wrappers, and small potato chip bags.
As was the case last year, we saw many floats like you would expect on crab or lobster traps. However, these are in sixty or seventy feet of water. This is much deeper than I am accustomed to seeing traps in. Maybe somebody out there knows and can fill me in. The good thing is, these floats are marked better than anywhere else that I have encountered traps. Usually crab traps just have a Styrofoam float on them. If the line is too short and a good current is running, sometimes the float is barely breaking the surface and can easily be missed. Well, the floats here in NJ all have three foot sticks on them, and most have plastic flags on top of the sticks. They are easy to spot in the daytime. Still would be a challenge at night.
As we approached Manasquan Inlet, we observed a Coast Guard boat coming out from the inlet, with a Coast Guard helicopter hovering about fifty feet above it. We watched through the binoculars and saw that they were practicing lowering a man to the boat and hoisting a rescue basket from it. They kept doing this over and over, not seeming to care that our course was going to intersect theirs. I'm sure they saw us, but I didn't want to get even close and get the spray from the prop blast of the helicopter, so we slowed down until they had crossed our path and then continued.
As we were getting near Sandy Hook, we saw several sailboats coming south. I took a look through the binoculars and saw that one of them was a Catalina Morgan 38! The first other one I have ever seen. It was hull number 67. (The number was on the sail.) The name of the boat was Dora. I tried hailing them on the radio and got no reply. There were two guys in the cockpit. We were about a half mile apart, so it was too far to yell. Barb took the binoculars and was waving at them She observed them looking back at us with binoculars but they never even waved nor hailed us on the radio. Guess they weren't as excited about it as I was. I guess I can't tell my "so many Mantas - never another Catalina Morgan 38" story any more.
As we were coming north, we could see the Atlantic Highlands, the large hills for which the town is named. We were only six miles as the seagull flies from our destination. But we were thirteen miles by water. Ten miles later, we rounded the north tip of Sandy Hook and turned back south into Sandy Hook Bay. Atlantic Highlands is at the south end of the bay. There the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club operates a mooring field with moorings available for transients. We hailed them on the radio to be sure they had one available, and they did. Once inside their breakwater, we were assigned a mooring and picked it up with no problem. The mooring field is protected on the south side by the large hills, and on the west and south by a large stone breakwater. It is only open to the east, but there is not much room there for the waves to build much even when the wind is out of the east as it is today. We will be well protected here in case tropical storm Beryl decides to follow us here.
Part of the deal here is that the price of a mooring also gets you use of the bathrooms and showers, and launch service to take you to and from your boat. Much easier to call them than launch the dinghy. We went ashore and took showers, then took a short walk along the waterfront. There is also a large marina here that is not part of the yacht club. At the other end of the marina is a bar and restaurant, and it was happy hour, so we stopped in for a drink. The happy hour deal was half price on all drinks. I ordered a Captain & Coke. They didn't have Captain Morgan rum. So, I ordered a Corona. They didn't have Corona (although it was on their price list). I settled for a Sol, another Mexican beer similar to Corona. Barb ordered a Tanquerray & tonic. They didn't have Tanquerray. So she settled on Malibu & pineapple. I guess a half price deal isn't such a good deal when they don't have anything you want. After the drinks, we snagged a bag of ice at the bait shop next door and went back to the boat.
GPS N 40-25.134 W 074-01.735 Nautical miles traveled today 53. Total miles 5748.
June 20
Today is a wait for weather day. We slept in, had coffee, and about 10:00 called the launch to take us to town. Might as well go for a walk and see what's here. We took our rain jackets and closed the boat up just in case. In town we found lots of nice old large homes, most of which have been kept in nice shape. Their is one main street, First Ave., that has a selection of restaurants and shops. We walked all the way to the end where it hits a real highway. Along the way we stopped at a marine store and picked up a tie down strap that I've wanted to change how we keep the dinghy from swinging on the davits. We also found a good old fashioned hardware store and got two new flyswatters. We picked up some Pepsi at the grocery store, and stopped at Burger King for lunch. It did rain a little while we were in one of the stores, but we never needed the jackets.
We found a movie theatre a few blocks from the water that has a 14:00 showing of Pirates of The Caribbean 2. Since there is rain forecast all day, that sounds like a better place to hide from it than a closed up boat. So, we took the launch back to the boat, ditched our purchases, and then went back to town to see the movie. The movie was pretty good. Probably should have rented the original first to refresh my memory, but it was still good. There were several places where the accents were so thick that it was hard to understand. We were expecting an empty theatre, being mid afternoon, but didn't count of the fact that school is out. So, there were quite a few kids there, but once the movie started they were quiet. After the movie, we went back to the boat for just an hour or so, because we have another date.
One of those small world amazing things happened today. This morning when I turned on the VHF to hail the launch to come pick us up, the first thing I heard on the radio was a boat named Sogno Mio. I not only recognized the name, but I recognized the voice of the owner. We met Guy on Sogno Mio while we were in Marsh Harbor last December. He was in the slip right across from us in the marina. We ran into him again in Georgetown in March. I hailed him and it turned out he had just gone past here and was headed just south of here on the Navesink River where he has a condo. I gave him our phone number, and after he got his boat secure, he called and arranged to pick us up for dinner.
Guy and his girlfriend Hannah met us at the dock and we walked a few blocks to a nice Italian restaurant named Gianna's. It was great to see Guy again and meet Hannah, and swap stories about last winter and discuss plans for the future. He plans to participate in an annual race from Norfolk to the BVI in November, so we will probably meet up again somewhere down in the Caribbean next winter. After dinner they were kind enough to run us by the liquor store to pick up some more beer, since it's too far to walk carrying a box of Corona. They then dropped us off at the docks for our launch ride back to the boat.
Tropical Storm Beryl is proceeding well east of here, so tomorrow we plan to leave. We will go past New York City, through Hell's Gate, and into Long Island Sound. Hell's Gate has strong currents and is best timed to use them to your advantage, and the timing should be perfect for us to leave here late in the morning. After dark while sitting in the cockpit, it was neat to see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge lit up about twelve mile north of us, and the top of the NYC skyline in the distance. We could clearly make out the top of the Empire State Building, even without binoculars.
GPS N 40-25.134 W 074-01.735 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5748.
June 21
We slept in today and took the first launch into shore at 10:00 to get showers. We didn't waste much time, and were back to the boat and underway at 10:45. This should give us a fair current up the East River and through Hell's Gate. Of course, it also means we have to fight the current through the Narrows under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. You can't have it both ways from where we are leaving.
It is about four miles from Atlantic Highlands to the northern tip of Sandy Hook. As we got near the tip, where there is a big ship channel for ships coming into Sandy Hook Bay, there were four large tug boats arriving and stopping near each other. There was also a small military looking patrol boat with them. We thought this was odd, until we got a little further north where we could see to the east past Sandy Hook and out to sea. Barely visible in the haze was the distinctive shape of an aircraft carrier. The tugs were apparently waiting to hook up with it and bring it in. We learned later on the radio that it was the USS Kennedy. I never did catch where they were taking it.
As we proceeded north towards the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, we were on the west side of the channel, and staying well out of the big ship channel. Water depth is not a problem around here, so there is no need for me to get anywhere near the big ships. Except, that once up in NY Harbor, I need to get on the other side of the channel to go up the East River. The haze made visibility less than two miles, and the big ships were even having trouble seeing each other. About the time we were getting to the bridge, six ships passed in the channel. Three inbound and three outbound. There were also numerous ships anchored around the harbor, and Barb had to keep looking through the binoculars to tell me who was stationary and who was moving. The channel is about three quarters of a mile wide at this point, so I didn't want to cross, given the limited visibility unless I was pretty sure nobody was coming either way. Once the pack of six ships passed, it looked clear, and I hadn't heard any other boats on the radio say they were coming, so I went for it. We made it to the east side of the channel with no problem and kept moving north.
We skirted up the east edge of the upper harbor, staying out of the way, and passed east of Governor's Island. Governor's Island used to be Coast Guard Headquarters. I visited there years ago. It was a beautiful setting of houses for the officers, other multi-unit housing for worker bees, support businesses, and of course the work buildings. It was it's own little town with lots of green space and trees. You could easily forget that it was a stone's throw (half a mile) from the tip of Manhattan. I say "was", because the Coast Guard moved out several years ago. But they have not done anything new with the island. It is just frozen in time. We did see a handful of people on it as we passed, probably doing minimum upkeep while they decide what to do with it.
Once past Governor's Island we were headed up the East River past Wall Street. We saw the Staten Island Ferry terminal, and the South Street Seaport as we approached the Brooklyn Bridge. We saw one of several heliports on the river's edge with helicopters coming and going every few minutes. We continued north under the Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge, to Roosevelt Island which is a long skinny island in the middle of the river. There is deep water on either side of the island, and after 9/11, traffic had to go on the east side of the island for a time. I called the Coast Guard last night to confirm that passage on the west side of the island is now allowed. They said yes, but stay at least seventy-five yards from the west shore while passing the UN Building. Kind of ironic to have that restriction since a major highway runs on the edge of the river between the UN Building and the water. As we passed the UN, I saw a tiny island, really just a big rock, just off the south tip of Roosevelt Island. It had a sign and a monument of sorts on it. The sign read U Thant Island. For those of you short on history, U Thant was secretary General of the UN from 1961 to 1971. The little arch monument had a cormorant on each rung.
North from the UN, it was under the Queensboro Bridge and on to Hell's Gate. At the beginning of Hell's Gate, the East River turns east through Hell's Gate, while the Harlem River continues north and joins the Hudson north of Manhattan. As I said before, Hell's Gate is the connection between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic, via the East River. This quite narrow stretch of it gets currents of up to five knots through it, so for a slow sailboat, go with the current is important. There are also swirls in the current since the channel turns and the bottom is very irregular, though deep, so even a large boat can get pushed around. We were picking up speed as we approached the turn to the east that marks the entrance to Hell's Gate, hitting nine knots. As we got to where I could see around the corner, what did I see but the bow of a large barge coming. As soon as I came into his view, he hailed me on the radio. I didn't even ask what he wanted me to do. I told him I would turn around and tuck in the end of the Harlem River and wait for him to pass. He thanked me very much. We just waited a couple of minutes and he was past. We rejoined the East River and took off. As we passed under the Triborough Bridge we hit 10.3 knots. The water wouldn't have been too rough except for two large cabin cruisers who blasted past us with huge wakes.
About a mile north of the Triborough Bridge the channel widens out and the current slows down some. We were still making eight knots, but it felt downright slow after that ride. We turned east again and passed Riker's Island which is occupied by the NYC Corrections Prison. Just past Riker's Island, what looked like a skinny pier sticking out into the river was actually the approach lights for one of the runways at LaGuardia Airport. We could clearly see the terminals and planes from the water. It was getting pretty threatening looking in the sky, and we could hear thunder getting closer. Just past the runway, the river turns north, and that's when it started to rain. The thunder got quite intense and the wind picked up to the high twenty knots. At each lightening strike, I tried to count the seconds to judge how close the strikes were. For at least a dozen, I didn't get to one. For about ten minutes, the wind topped thirty-five knots, and the rain was coming down so hard I couldn't see but a couple hundred feet. The wind shifted so that the rain was coming from behind and soaking me. Not enjoying this at all, I turned around into the wind and current and idled back so that we were basically sitting still, but facing the rain so the dodger kept it off me, although it was raining so hard that it was coming through the overhead canvas too. I eased over to the side of the channel so if any other boats came, I wouldn't be in the way. After another ten minutes of this, the storm finally subsided. I knew we were close to the end when I could start counting a few seconds between lightening and thunder again. I turned back around and resumed our course.
We were almost to our destination for the day when the storm had hit. City Island is at the western end of Long Island Sound and has a nice anchorage according to the cruising guide. We went up the eastern side of City Island, past a couple hundred boats on moorings and found plenty of room to anchor at the north end. I had a little trouble getting the anchor to bite, but once it did it held nicely. There were more dark skies and rumbles in the distance, so we expected more storms. I got the weather radar on the computer and saw a large lines of red thunderstorms coming. We could also get the NY TV stations, so we watched the local news talk about the damage already done by recent storms, and the fact that more were coming. As it turned out we were just far enough north to miss any more heavy storms. We got a light rain off and on for a couple hours and then had a nice quiet night.
The late afternoon in the anchorage didn't start quiet. We kept hearing what we though was a barrage of fireworks going off. There would be a minute noise as if a string of firecrackers were lit, then quiet for a few minutes then repeat. After a while I was convinced it couldn't be firecrackers because somebody would have called the police by now. It then occurred to us that it was probably a firing range. Everybody would shoot at once, then stop and change targets. By dusk the shooting finally ceased.
GPS N 40-51.185 W 073-46.856 Nautical miles traveled today 35. Total miles 5783.