October 1st We set off at 06:00 and motored all day against the wind to Port Jefferson Harbor, NY. Port Jefferson has a large power plant which pumps out warm water into the bay. The boys jumped into the 70 degree water for a swim. The town is a lot like Freeport Maine. Interestingly enough we all found the smells of civilization to be overwhelming. Everyone commented on how strong the fragrances and cigars smelt as we walked along the street. Even the smell of the pavement was strong after smelling only the ocean for so long.
October 2nd No wind again, went to Oyster Bay. I was amazed at the pollution we have discovered in so many harbors. Maine really is a resource that needs to be protected. James OOhhed and AHHHed over a boat only to discover it belonged to Billy Joel and cost $25,000,000. On the way into town we walked through a park where the local Power Squadron was having it's monthly meeting. The four of us ended up being the surprise presentors as we discussed our sail trip thus far. One of the squadron members was nice enough to drive us to a grocery store and back to our boat.
October 3rd No wind, motored to City Island outside the Bronxs, NY,NY. I heard lots of gun fire and shouting coming from the projects.. a little unnerving.. Later I discovered that the NewYork Police department do outside training nearby and it wasn't urban warfare after all..
October 4th Took the bus and a train into New York City. The boys really enjoyed seeing the Empire State Building. We saw the other great site of course such as Toys-R-us at Times Square and China Town (kept thinking of Katie and Ally and wondering what their adventure was like in China).
October 5th Was an amazing day!! We sailed down the East River through Hells Gate which made the boat travel at 10.3 kts!!-that's fast for those who don't know. The water of the East River smelt of sewage. You could even taste sewage in the air. Yuck. Then we sailed past the Statue of Liberty and on to Sand Hook..
October 6th through the 17th Sailing down the New Jersey coast was not enjoyable. We were stuck in some terrible weather. When anchored we placed two anchors out and still dragged. 50 plus winds from the passing hurricane and noreasters. It rained for seven days and I was going crazy cooped up with three boys in a floating coffin. Surfing a fourty foot boat on eleven foot seas was something I am not going to forget too quickly. The Coast Guard stopped a neighboring boat from leaving the harbor because they did not want to rescue them. We sat tight for ten days. Definately not margaritas in parridise.
October 18th Woke up to the yelling of some kind of boot camp at the Coast Guard station of Cape May.Could not sail or motor against the current of the Delaware Bay. Once the tide changed we were stuck half way up and no where to go to shore due to the shallow depth. So we anchored in the bay about a mile from land alongside another boat. I kept wondering how George Washington felt crossing the Delaware. The river is only about 12 feet deep outside of the channel. I am exhausted.
October 19th Sailed the rest of the way up the Delaware with the current and through the C&D canal. We found a beautiful anchorage about a mile in on the Sassafrass river. We watched military manuvers firing tracers into the night sky. Still have not been to land in 5 days! Everyone is stinky, we are running out of water - must get to civilization.
October 20th We sailed down wind to Annapolis. The harbor master in Annapolis is from Kennebunk, Maine and very nice. He came by everyday to chat with us. It was comforting to know someone was keeping an eye on our boat. Many cruisers here are waiting to see what the next hurricane is going to do before leaving the Chesapeake area. I rowed to land and brought the kids to a convenience store, "So this is what land is like," said Evan. |
