9/20/18 Transiting the East River through New York City
     What an experience!



     We left at sunrise so we could hit notorious Hell's Gate at slack water on a flooding tide. It can run 5 knots there! We entered the East River at the Throg's Neck Bridge...



and there was the New York skyline! We traveled along the quiet river passing just a couple of tugs with their barges and then LaGuardia Airport (the runway goes right out into the river!), Forest Hills and Riker's Island.




     This is a prison barge. We could see the inmates exercising on the upper deck to the left. Show this to your children or students to convince them to make good choices in life.



     This was the spot we were concerned about - but it was no problem. Luckily there was no traffic coming the other way. Although we were there just as the tide turned, we whizzed through at 9 knots, three knots faster than we can go while motoring.



     Then we were in the narrow part, zipping down the East Side and FDR Drive...



 and the United Nations Building...



and the Chrysler Building.



When quickly got to midtown and saw The Empire State Building and a new one in the foreground that is just freaky!



Further along we passed City Hall and the new Liberty Tower in the background.



Cruising down with confidence but keeping a sharp lookout for the ferries,



we had a thrill sailing under the iconic Brooklyn Bridge...

.

and past South Street Seaport



Then, suddenly, we were at The Battery and gigantic ferries were crossing everywhere.



I enjoyed seeing the mix of the old and the new as we went through.





     I taught a unit on waves of immigration several years ago so I tried to imagine what the city was like a hundred and fifty years ago. You get more of a feel for it from the water, seeing ferries and wharves - and of course, Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.







     Finally, we headed out of the harbor, past gigantic cruise ships, Navy ships, Coast Guard Buoy tenders, barges, tankers, container ships, ferries and a few little sailboats like us, catching the fair current on their trip south.



     The whole day seems surreal we sit in a protected little anchorage on Staten Island.

9/19/18 Long Island Sound - Part 2
     Nico and I headed off from Mt. Sinai Harbor confident that the rain was over and the breeze was calming down. As we got past the hills of Port Jefferson I noticed some dark clouds so I went forward to take down the staysail. Just then a giant lightening bolt hit a few miles away. Then the rain came. Not a gentle rain, but a tremendous waterfall of heavy, pounding rain. No visibility but luckily no wind. Nico took the brunt of it while I stayed in the companionway handing him up hot coffee and a sausage sandwich. We headed into Noroton Yacht Club where our niece, Carola's, boyfriend Rob  arranged for us to stay at the dock overnight. After hot showers the sun came out. Rob and Carola arrived and drove us up to Lisa and Joe's for dinner and an overnight stay. Lovely evening. We also did laundry and got our dog and cat fix.














 The next morning Lisa drove us to get a fuel filter and we headed towards the skyscrapers of NYC. Spent the night in Manhasset Harbor. It was a very peaceful harbor and one would have no idea we were so close to the city.

9/18/18 Zig-Zagging Across Long Island Sound
     I always had a view of Long Island Sound from my house on top of the hill at Hopkins or from the shore of Pine Orchard and even from my dorm windows at Connecticut College but, surprisingly enough, had never been to Long Island, except to go to JFK or LaGuardia airports. I grew up hearing stories of my grandfather cruising over with my mom, and later, my brother and sister - but I came along too late. Finally, years later, it is my turn!
     Nico and I got up as the sun was rising and left Block Island, heading for Montauk and eventually Shelter Island. We passed a gigantic sailboat race as we entered Gardiner's Bay. Imagine an island as big as Gardiner's being owned by one family for so long. We got gas at Dering Harbor but it had no anchorage so we motored over on a mid-summerlike day to Coecle's Harbor, which was idyllic. The Nature Conservancy owns hundreds of acres of the southern shore. We ate the squid we caught the day before (a mess!) and caught scup and snapper blues.


   

   
     Next day we crossed the Sound, heading to Guilford where I went in close to shore to see the Sachem's Head Yacht Club where Alex Garfield and I had such fun as kids. I remember eating my first paella over a fire on the rocks there and many fun sleepovers at her grandmother's house next door. We then maneuvered through a very narrow and twisty channel through the Thimble Islands. The islands were the view from our house on Island View Avenue and I smile to think of how my mom said they were like the islands of Maine. We sailed past my neighborhood and the Pine Orchard Club where Nico and I had our wedding reception. My house was torn down twenty years ago but many seemed familiar despite major facelifts.
     Finally, we entered the Branford River which was like a highway on a warm Sunday late afternoon  and managed to tie up in a slip without embarrassment. Our neighbors were towering cabin cruisers but everyone at the club was so kind and welcoming. Truman met us and we went to a brewery on the river at the site of my friend Alex's family's iron manufacturing plant (MIF) and near where my grandfather kept his boat every winter. Truman came on board for a fresh fish & chip (sweet potato chips) dinner.


    

     Truman kindly drove us to the food store and West Marine in the morning and Nico was able to fix the head, which was acting up a bit. We got underway mid day in flat calm and motored across to Mt. Sinai Harbor so we would have a better angle for heading back to CT the next day when the wind was predicted to be strong and against us otherwise. This is the remains of Hurricane Florence. We anchored near tidal grass and saw abundant bird life. A man rowed over from his boat to say hi and ask if we needed anything since he noticed we were far from home.


One member of the welcoming committee.






The anchorage seemed more like Caleb's Pond on the Vineyard than Long Island.

9/14/18
     Some people have asked me what we do all day on the boat. The pace slows down and you become much more aware of the world around you - birds, clouds, wind and the sea. Simple things such as good music, books and food become more important. I love getting up and having coffee, observing early morning in whatever harbor we are in, such as fishermen heading out in Gloucester or    morning light in New Harbor on Block Island. We go ashore and explore such as we did today, walking to Southeast Lighthouse on Block Island. Nico fixes things and we both like to fish. We had Scup for breakfast and we bought a squid jig to try tonight.


Fishing in Great Salt Pond, Block Island


Scup


Fresh fish for breakfast.


Trolling for stripers in the Cape Cod Canal


We read a lot...


and fix things.


We look at clouds...


and watch wildlife, such as these gray seals in Provincetown Harbor.


We enjoy looking at a great variety of other boats such as the lovely schooner, Rebecca, out of Vineyard Haven...


or larger boats in Buzzard's Bay.

Some are old, such as the fishing schooner in the background or are replicas, such as the viking ship in Gloucester. Here, Nico and I went ashore to wander around the town.


We also went ashore for the day in Block Island and took a nice long walk. This was originally the home of the US Weather Bureau when it was part of the Department of Agriculture.


Southeast Lighthouse


with its matching keepers' quarters.


The bluffs on the side facing Montauk.


The wind turbines just off shore.


A great tackle shop filled with old lures.

     9/12/18 Cuttyhunk Harbor
 

  Some of you may wonder how two foodies survive on a boat. We eat well. I probably loaded more food aboard than clothes and gear. One just has to be creative with a two burner stove and a small icebox. We have refrigeration but it draws a lot of energy so we start off with two 5 lb blocks of ice and run the fridge whenever the engine is running. So far the blocks of ice are about half melted and it has been four days. Food is stuffed everywhere - the guest stateroom, in cabinets and piled on top of each other in the icebox. To cook, I turn on a switch at the electrical panel, turn on the gas, and then light it with a lighter. We make coffee in a small percolator in the morning and reheat it on the stove as needed. Most meals are one skillet dishes. I have learned what lasts well and am careful to use up the more perishable items first. This sometimes means we have interesting combinations. Today's meals were coffee and coffee cake first thing in the morning, a breakfast of eggs and kim chee while under sail at 9:30, a snack of fruit, cheese and nuts while going through the Cape Cod Canal, lunch of reheated dinner leftovers (curried beef with cauliflower) at 2:30 when we were in Buzzard's Bay and then dinner of a Cuban dish called Picadillo at 7:00 while anchored in Cuttyhunk Harbor. We have hot water after we run the engine so we can easily hand wash in our little sink.

   
Usually the item I want in the icebox is at the bottom. There is actually a method to my packing everything.

A typical one skillet breakfast. The boat lists slightly to port so the eggs slide to one side and I have to keep rotating the pan to cook everything evenly.

The squash are hanging out in the extra berth along with the beer since we don't have any guests at the moment.

The "drying rack" - Nico is usually in charge of drying operations.

     As I write this Nico and I are anchored in Gloucester Harbor, snug in our cabin with the heat on. Yesterday we left South Freeport Harbor at dawn and rode a lovely SE breeze for 14 hours with speeds of up to 7.5 knots, reaching the entrance to the Annisquam Canal in the dark. It was very tricky entering the narrow channel at low tide with over 2 knots of current but we did it and even managed to snag a mooring on the first try. We had a late start day 2, waiting for slack tide to transit the canal. Everything went well, although we were a bit nervous going through the train bridge which was a bascule bridge (a drawbridge with only one portion that tips up). We had to hug the far side to get our mast through the really narrow opening. Gloucester Harbor is very well protected on this rainy, breezy day. Provincetown tomorrow.

 Loading the boat at South Freeport Harbor 9/7/18

 The castle, emblem of the Harraseeket Yacht Club.

Just one of the many loads to the boat.

A treat after a long passage from Gloucester to Provincetown, mostly in fog.

The skies cleared once we arrived. I took a bracing dip and a hot shower in the cockpit.