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| Hey der Wocky.... |
Never make plans to leave on a day that you decide to re-provision, check your internet (at Starbucks 3 miles down the road), re-fuel and re-water. We finally had our chores all done by quarter to five…pm. So, what then? Richmond County Yacht Club had kindly let us fill our very empty water tanks, so we took one of their (nearby) moorings for the night, hailed the launch service to the club and had the best shower we’d had for a long time!! We also had a beer at the RCYC bar (the evening was really beginning to really look up!) and then decided to cross the road to meet Judy at her Marina Grand restaurant. This neighbourhood has a distinctly Italian feel (imagine talking to “Rocky**”). So, our choice of chicken parmigiana and calamari & conch linguine was just perfect. And it tasted “buono” too!
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| Now what could that be up ahead. Yahooooooo! |
After our truancy, WJ3 got us up nice and early to take on the East River and the notorious Hell Gate. We checked our timings and slid up under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge jostling speeding ferries (yes more) and a few massive container ships to hug the east coast (Brooklyn) and sneak into the East River behind Governors Island. We needed to be near The Battery (Manhattan Island) an hour after low tide. Such precise timings…oh, yes indeedie! We needed to catch Hell Gate at slack water… Hell Gate, a tiny junction of East and Harlem Rivers, can carry currents up to 5kts creating whirlpools and crosscurrents; short standing waves can add to the drama. A British frigate, the Hussar was trapped and sank in Hell Gate many years ago (1780). She was carrying gold, pay for the British Army. That thar gold is rumoured to still be in those murky 100 foot depths…. (Fancy a day in Atlantic City anyone?)
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| Time for a quick cuppa with Al? |
The day was nice, the weather was nice, but all hearts & minds were glued to Manhattan. The Cap’n steered us past Madam Liberty, brought us close to towering Empire State & Chrysler Buildings and cleared WJ3’s mast under Brooklyn Bridge (1883); all the while dodging ferries, tugs towing huge barges and all manner of recreational craft.
Further down, we admired the UN Building and tried to call Al for a cuppa as we floated past his NY “shack” and on to Hell Gate. Nearby Riker’s Island is a prison – talk about location, location, location! Finally, we had Throg’s Neck Bridge in our sights - our gateway to Long Island Sound. The water still had a murky tobacco glow to it but we’d made it in, out, and back into open waters (more or less) again.
** You haven’t forgotten Sylvester Stallone have you??
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| Who's a happy GS then? |
From: Great Kills, NY Lat/Long:
40 32N 74 07W Date/Time: 20/8/10: 1000
To: Oyster Bay, LI Lat/Long:
40 52N 73 30W Date/Time:
20/8/10: 1800
Time Taken: 50nm (8hrs) Distance
(this year): 434nm (85hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 4074nm (784hrs)
Fastest Speed: 6kts**
Weather: Winds kts; Seas ft;
Swell; The official weather report said a “nice” day and so it was..
(** Motoring & sailing avg 5kts; 6 kts through East
River’s Hell Gate)
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