So Long New York

Wednesday, September 11th, we motored out of Tarrytown Marina at 6:40 a.m. to catch the current for as long as possible.  It was hot and hazy, but that didn't slow down the ferry traffic.

We passed a replica of Henry Hudson's "Half Moon Bay"

Since this was 9-11, we thought that this sail plan was particularly apt.

In the haze one could still enjoy our historic treasures like Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

We had a great ride, carrying the current at speeds over 8 knots until we were two miles from the Verrazano Narrows bridge.  Since we were now moving slowly, we were able to study the remains of Fort Wadsworth.

 

An hour later we arrived at Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island, where we planned to sit out some bad weather with the friendly folks at Great Kills Yacht Club.

 

 

Although the club had all its docks washed ashore with the boats during Super Storm Sandy, they did a magnificent job of rescuing their boats and rebuilding their docks.  Not all boats in the harbor were so fortunate.

 

 

Friday the 13th was our lucky day as the wind turned to the northwest for our sail down the New Jersey Coast.  We sailed most of the way on the spirited offshore wind, which gusted as high as 21 knots. Passage loved the conditions, hitting a high of 8.9 knots in one of the stronger gusts.  We passed Seaside Park, whose boardwalk was destroyed by fire the day before after surviving Sandy.

 

 

 

 We had a great anchor set, which was good since the winds were howling all night long.  We shared the anchorage with five other boats and the Barnegat Light.

 

 

I thought I would show a picture of our bridle from the two hulls, which we tie onto our 80 feet of chain.

We rose early on Saturday the 14th and were the first boat to raise anchor and motor out of Barnegat Inlet.  We hoisted sails and turned south, driven by northwest winds once again.  We enjoyed some very spirited sailing until the winds reached 26 knots apparent about five miles from Cape May.  Too lazy to reef for only five miles, we rolled in the jib and motor sailed.  We arrived at Utches Marina in 9 hours and 45 minutes.

The 15th Sue did laundry and I scrubbed all the salt off the boat.  Sue also walked to the grocery store, and soon we were prepared for the trip up the Delaware Bay.  We were pleasantly surprised when Chuck and Betty McKee pulled in on Happy Hours II.  They left Geneva, Ohio, well after we left Grand River, but they caught us!

After visiting with our friends from home, we finished our preparations, then enjoyed a nice dinner at the Lobster House.  We went to bed early to get a few hours sleep before tackling Delaware Bay.