40 32.50 'N:74 08.20'W
We set out from Annapolis on May 6 for the forty eight nautical mile trip to Chesapeake City in rather poor visibility.
There was a sailing regatta going on in the harbour so we were perched at our watch points to make sure we didn't run into one of them or pick up a crab pot. After about an hour the visibility improved and we had some pretty spirited sailing for the remainder of the day.
We were surprised to find several boats in the Chesapeake City anchorage. We hadn't expected so many boats to be on the move in such chilly conditions. It was a tight squeeze but we got a spot.
We made our way through the C&D Canal and down Delaware Bay the next day in 20 to 25 knot winds. The winds were gusting over 30 knots as we got further down the bay. I managed to cause a jam in our headsail furler which put us in a bad situation where Paul had to go up to the bow in less than desirable conditions to fix the jam. We did 99 nautical miles that day and made it to Cape May, NJ in one piece so I guess we'll call it a good day but it was one I could have done without.
After a good night's rest we set out of Cape May, NJ for the 20 hour run offshore up to Sandy Hook. The first eight hours of the trip was fantastic where we had some good sailing and a great push from the tidal current. By sunset though the wind was switching around to our nose and we had to motor. The seas had only a gentle roll and the full moon made the night time passage more enjoyable. It was cold though. Really cold!
By 03:40 we had a full view of the New York City skyline and enjoyed watching it for the next three hours as we approached Sandy Hook. The sun came up just before we entered the channel and rounded the hook. Good thing too because the waters between Sandy Hook and the anchorage at Atlantic Highlands are full of crab pots. We arrived at the Atlantic Highlands anchorage and dropped the hook just inside the breakwall at 06:30. After 20 freezing hours on the move and 118 nautical miles we were ready for a couple of hours of rest.
After three hours sleep we were up and at it. We launched the dinghy and picked up Allan and Bev from Dagny and headed for shore to stretch our legs. We had hoped to watch the Sens vs Rangers game 6 that evening but we couldn't find it on TV. By 20:00 we were struggling to keep awake anyway so not sure we would have made it through the game even if we had found it.
We re-located the boats over to Great Kills Harbour at Staten Island on May 10/17. From here, with Allan and Bev, we took the city bus into downtown NYC. We had a very helpful bus driver who was kind enough to let us on the bus even though we didn't have a metro card. He stopped the bus at a gas station to let us run in and purchase the card we needed to ride the bus. This move bothered one bus rider who made quite the scene but many of the other riders voiced their support to the driver for taking care of the tourists.
We walked through Central Park, Broadway & Times Square. Not sure how many miles we walked that day but it was a lot. The sights, sounds and masses of people in Times Square were almost overwhelming for these four pirates who have spent the past several months in remote places.
May 11/17 we took the bus into NYC again. This time we toured the St. Pauls and ground zero memorials as well as Wall Street. We walked to Battery Park and took the ferry to Ellis Island. We were really impressed with the Ellis Island museum audio tour.
We returned to Battery Park then walked up to the famous O'Hara's Pub for dinner before catching the bus back to Staten Island.
We departed Great Kills Harbour at 07:00 on May 12/17 and motored across New York City Harbour in calm conditions. The harbour was busy with ships, tugs, barges, ferries, water taxis, and fishing boats zooming about. We entered the Hudson River and things calmed down considerably with only the occasional ship or tug passing by. We sat back and enjoyed the morning and the beautiful scenery of the Hudson River. We had a fantastic tidal push all morning giving us great speed as we were putting the miles under the keel.
Around noon, I was just getting the binoculars up to my eyes to find an object on shore that I had been looking at but couldn't figure out what it was. As I looked through the binoculars all I could see was grey hull and flashing blue lights. Uh-Oh. We were getting pulled over by the police again. Now what did we do? This time it was Special Ops. We were told to take in our mainsail and put the boat in neutral as they came along side. The officers informed us that Special Ops have been tasked by U.S. Home-land Security to check the paperwork of foreign vessels in and around the NYC area. The officers checked our passports and cruising license and confirmed we had in fact reported our arrival in NYC to customs and border protection. They told us that our boat had been scanned for radiation no less than 5 times as we passed through the harbour. Once they were satisfied all our documentation was in order they let us continue on our way. Well, they are going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks because we know there are a lot of Canadian boats behind us heading north.
We continued to enjoy the spectacular scenery as we rode the tide up the Hudson River. We anchored at Pollepel Island in the wacky current. The ruins of Bannerman Castle, the only castle on the Hudson, are found on Pollepel Island and form the backdrop of this anchorage. Some very busy train tracks run down both shorelines of the Hudson but the eastern shore where we are anchored has the commuter train track which although busy is less noisy than the cargo tracks on the western shore.