11/7/13 Big Apple

We spent the night in Port Washington , LI where Tim's paternal grandfather lived in a Unitarian Universalist retirement home in his later years. We picked up a mooring and took the dingy into the darling downtown to explore. Shopping was a few blocks away including the one of the hundreds of West Marines we will probably encounter in our travels. Kelsey joined us on our adventure by taking the train from Brooklyn arriving early in the evening. I made a delicious Portuguese Kale soup, thank you Lou for sharing your family recipe.  We were all anticipating an exciting day traveling to the Big Apple so we retired early.

 Kelsey was at the helm for much of the trip down the East River entertaining us with her fascinating colorful stories. 

We could see the skyline of NY for many miles as we traveled and each bridge we passed under got us closer as the excitement mounte, it really was something I could never have imagined. Tim had had much experience sailing in these waters but it was a first for Kelsey and me. Kelsey has lived in NY for 9 years and was familiar with many of the landmarks and sites but had never experienced them from the water. We caught the outgoing high tide and clipped along at 9 knots passing the long avenues as far as the eye could see.

I would have to say this was the most awesome day of the adventure thus far. Having Kelsey with us for this amazing experience was such a gift, we only wished we could have convinced Bryan to play hookie.

We sailed down New Town Creek to see the pirate dock, the sort of semi-legal dock where it looks like liveaboards access their boats by climbing fences and scaling makeshift ladders.

Tim says, compared to the Piscataqua River, Hell Gate and the waters of NYC are a cakewalk.

We fought the tides up the Hudson River, which took longer than we anticipated, and arrived at the 79th Street Boat Basin as the sun was setting and the moon and Venus became visible.

Below is a picture of our laundry beening held hostage, locked down in a broken machine at Kelsey and Bryan's. Tim gave the machine a good wack which released the lock and set our warm layers free.

I was able to help Kelsey with her feather project along with a couple of friends while Tim took the train to check on Kuivato and get a haircut.