lions and tigers and FOG, oh my...

After a pleasant evening in Manasquan River, back out to the Atlantic we go. And here comes the fog. Not sure why fog scares me so much. Maybe it was those "B"  scary movies in the 60's or that summer in Vinalhaven with fog so thick you couldn't see 1 foot, but I have never liked fog. Visibility is probably 1/4 mile. Not terrible but disconcerting for sure. Our destination is Atlantic City where we hope to pick up Juddo for the last days.
The day improves as the sun intensifies. The fog receeds and we have a pleasant motor down the coast.

Welcome to New Jersey

South under the Veranzano Bridge and into Lower NY Harbour. Less boat traffic but wind still in our teeth. So we motor right past Sandy Hook and out into the Atlantic. We see the effects of Super Storm Sandy. Many dredge barges replenishing beach sand. Also blue tarps and boarded up houses. Due south is our heading. Hoping to reach Manasquan inlet to rest - we be tired.

Video of NY Harbour

Pics of NY Harbour

Mammy meets The Lady

So we are literally flush out of the East River and into Upper NY Harbour. Even though it is Sunday of Labor Day, there is lots of commercial traffic - ferries,  barges, tugs, steamships, and patrol boats. Add to all that pleasure boaters, too. The VHF radio was full of New York accents, all unintelligible and demanding.  And there to starboard is The Lady, a gift from the french that greeted so many hopeful immigrants. Truly a spectacle.

Pics from the East River

NY never looked so good

Got an early start and glided under the Throgs Neck Bridge at 8 am. Met the outgoing tide as the guide books suggest. Down to Rikers Island in the shadow of the scariest prison I've ever seen. Meet Hells Gate which we learned is an Anglo adaptation of the Dutch word for "bright passage." Not too bright for us, as low clouds hung over the approaching sky line. The tide really picked up as we moved @ 10 mph past Big & Little Brother Islands and finally along side Manhattan. As it was Sunday of Labor Day, there was little activity and few people saw Mammy slide along Roosevelt Island. Only police boats and one ferry witnessed our passage. As we approached the Battery, traffic increased but so did the clouds. Under the Queensboro Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge and finally the Brooklyn Bridge. Quite a sight from Mammy's wee cockpit.

A GOON sack in NY

Passed Execution Rocks which marks the end of L I Sound and the beginning of the East River. Cocktails in the shadow of Manhattan just east of the Throgs Neck Bridge.  Officially in the Bronx.  Enjoying a glass of white wine of the boxed variety.  Some thing son, Will, called a GOON Sack from his semester Down Under. Were ready for Hells Gate tomorrow.

Big Apple here we come

Fixed the motor and headed down Long Island Sound. Wind in our teeth, but nice sunshine. Happily moving toward City Island,  NY.

A Crisis

WTF....cruising happily and the motor just stopped. We threw up some sail to keep headway and my personal mechanic got to work right away. 2 hours later, it was dark and we were off Port Jefferson our planned destination. So with no motor we decided to sail into port. My knees were shaking as we glided slowly between what we thought were the breakwater buoys. And into the harbour we cruised like we did this all the time - no big deal. Made a rum and began to celebrate when a tug came along side and asked that we move because we were right in front of some barges...Yikes we hadn't seen those! We pleaded innocence and port ignorance and explained that without power we couldn't possibly move.
As it turned out he worked around us, no problem.
A crisis averted.

A Downhill Run

The first day was spectacular! Wind off our stern all day. Blowing 10 -15, we made 55 miles and reached Block Island by 5pm. Cocktails on board where especially tasty. Off to dinner at The Oar via launch. Specialty drink was a Mud Slide and it was so tasty Richard had two!
Fun conversation at the bar and fish burrito ended the eve. Back to Mammy by the NY taxi equivent of a launch driver. He approached each boat at top speed and with a quick reverse and lighting wheel he would stop on a dime right at the the gangway. Very entertaining.
So it was definitely a high point. The low was the transmission not going into gear at 5:30 am as we left Vineyard Haven town dock. But my personal mechanic saw the problem aand we fixed it within the hour. Also we discovered that the centerboard cable is broken so the centerboard is perminately down. No shallow water for us! Hope to fix this or rig something before we reach the Delaware.
We're having a great adventure.

Wind against us and a recalcitrant motor

Left Block Island early in spite of the Mud Slides. Motored to Fishers and headed down the Long Island Sound. Slow going but feeling of freedom prevails. Pic of Race Rocks off Fishers attached. Also a shot of the the whaler out of Mystic that crossed our path.