Sailing New York

In August we sailed down the Delaware River to Cape May, New Jersey.  It is a charming town with a welcoming harbor.  We stayed there for two days and hosted a party for 6 aboard the Fantasea to include our new-found friends Jim and Laurie (fellow sailors) and Doug and Merilee (power boaters).  The rain did not dampen our spirits and, as yachtsmen are prone to do, regaled each other with stories of our odyssies. 

We left Cape May bound for New York but first we must cruise up the Jersey coast.  Unlike so much of the coast of the states that we had sailed, New Jersey did not offer good opportunities to tuck in when weather turned unfavorable.  We did sail north to Atlantic City and then to Barnegat Bay where the highlight of that anchorage was the reunion with my boyhood friend, Artie, and his wife Debbie.  The next day was another 50 miler as we rounded Sandy Hook and anchored in the Atlantic Highlands.  Though it was hazy, the outline of Manhattan loomed in the distance.  Here we stayed several days, toured the town, went to a church where we sang the same beloved songs of worship, and visited the local yacht club.

Early the next morning to time the current right through the East River, we approached the Verrazzano Narrows bridge, the 8^th longest suspension bridge in the world.  There we were in New York Harbor marveling at the skyscrapers right before us.  We sailed right past the Statue of Liberty and the Freedom Tower and then under the Brooklyn Bridge.  I had imagined what it would be like to sail past these uniquely American treasures but was still awed by their sheer majesty.  What millions of immigrants must have felt as they first caught sight of Lady Liberty and hoped for the opportunity to make a better life for their families. 

We did not tarry in Manhattan but motored up the East River past the United Nations and on into Hell Gate, that notoriously difficult water way with its swift moving currents.  Fortunately, we had consulted Eldridge’s Tides and Currents book and we knew that our yacht was moving with rather than against that 5 knot current as we clocked speeds of nearly 12 knots!  And then we were in Long Island Sound heading for our first anchorage at Port Washington in Manhasset Bay.  What a joy to sail in these waters with a good breeze and a warm day.