Well, its been just about a week since I last posted a report. That is because we have been busy, but not with stuff that is all that exciting to write about. When I last wrote, (Tuesday) we were leaving Oyster Bay for the Worlds Fair Marina, where Jeannie could catch a 5 minute cab ride to La Guardia for her flight to Ottawa. So we set out from Oyster Bay, and as we approached the head of Long Island Sound, we began to re-consider. I would be left with nothing nearby except a 10 lane highway on one side and La Guardia's runway on the other. So we decided to head into Manhassett Bay, another beautiful stop, where we picked up a mooring at the very elegant Port Washington Yacht Club. The Launch driver, when we were signing in apologized and said that if we wanted showers, we would have to go up to the change rooms at the tennis courts as the pool and its change room, closer to the dock, was closed except on weekends. We said it was OK. Ashore, our prime need was something for dinner, as the refrigerator was just about bare. And we found a great Mediterranean market. The club's very elegant dining room was closed on Monday and Tuesday, so that was out. Then we arranged a taxi for Jeannie for the morning, headed back to the boat (with a ride in the club launch) and settled in for a dinner of Greek Lamb stew, spanokpeta (sp???) and tabouli. I don't remember dessert! Wednesday morning, Jeannie headed out and I settled into my project list, ignoring my least favorite job to the last... the dreaded Oil Change! Actually its not changing the oil, but the oil filter which requires totally emptying the starboard cockpit locker to get access to the oil filter, then leaning across the engine, stretched prone in the locker, and trying to catch the oil that runs out of the filter. But I managed to put that off until Thursday afternoon, and spent Wednesday installing a new VHF radio (very snazzy DSC model) and, my latest navigation gadget, an AIS receiver. AIS stands for "Automated Information System", and is a system that is now required on all commercial shipping. It broadcasts a signal giving the ship's name, location, speed, course, and a whole bunch of other information. With the receiver, I feed the info into the laptop, and our navigation system plots the ships on our electronic charts. It will be most useful when we are offshore and particularly at night, as the computer will calculate our point of closest approach, and if I want to contact the ship on VHF, I will not only have the ships name, but also its MMSI number, so can use the DSC feature on the new VHF... WOW, what technology... Then I replaced the cockpit speakers, making an excellent mess with fine dust as I had to grind out the existing openings. And finally, I traced out a problem with the anchor wash-down pump, locating the trouble in the pressure sensor that should shut the pump off when it is up to pressure. But it had failed open, so that the pump wouldn't come on at all. So I by-passed it, and will replace it when I can locate a replacement. On Thursday, I managed to avoid the oil change for the morning by going ashore for some groceries, and a trip to the local West Marine store. But then I couldn't avoid it, and all went well, and I managed it without spilling any... an unusual accomplishment for me!The only casulty was the usual bruises on my ribs where I lie across the engine. Not the best design feature on the boat! So the boat was back in order by 5:00 pm, and I sat down to await Jeannie's return. Then the trouble started. Jeannie was supposed to land at La Guardia at 6:30 pm, so I called her to check, and when she answered, I expected she would be in a cab, but she was still in Ottawa! Her flight finally left Ottawa at 8:30, landing at 10:30, and she spent another 90 minutes getting back to the boat with a cab driver who had no idea where he was going. I called every 10 minutes to give them new directions. So by the time she re-appeared on the dock, the Club's dining room was long in darkness, so our planned dinner was changed into a late night on-board snack, then to bed. Next day (Friday), I ran across to a marina to pick up some fuel filters I had ordered. Overnight delivery! I was down to one spare, and when I changed the oil, I changed the fuel filters, and noticed the primary was more dirty than usual, so I will have to watch it! We dropped the mooring about 10:00 am and filled the water tanks at the Club dock, then headed out into the East River. It separates Manhattan Island from Long Island, so isn't really a river at all, but has strong tidal currents that require timing. We were a bit late, and the tide had begun to run (with us, thankfully) so by the time we hit Hell Gate, we were going 10 knots, six with the motor and four from the current. Because the UN General Assembly was sitting, we were diverted (like last year) into the eastern channel at Roosevelt Island, where there is a lift bridge that we have to wait for. But with the current running, I decided to call ahead, and it was great, we didn't have to slow down (or test to see if we could!). There were 3 other boats with us, so we shot down the river into the harbor with its congested traffic of tugs pushing fuel barges, tankers, freighters, water taxis, ferries, and of course, the Coast Guard, speeding first up the river then back down again 10 minutes later. All the traffic left the harbor very choppy, and with the tide now running down the Hudson River at 2 knots against us, it was suddenly very slow going making our way up to the 79th Street Boat Basin, where we picked up a mooring. We counted 12 other Canadian boats in the marina. Then we called my cousin, Laurie, and arranged to meet for dinner. So for the evening we went to a restaurant (I forget the name) at 79th and Amsterdam Ave. I had the best monkfish I have ever tasted, and all three of us battled over one dessert which was also exceptional. It was great to see Laurie, and we made plans for her to come to PEI next summer! Saturday morning we took our bikes ashore and biked 6 miles down to the southern tip of Manhattan on a great bike and walking path, and toured the financial district, walked Wall Street, looked at the Twin Towers site that is full of construction equipment, and had lunch in Greenwich Village. Then we biked back to the boat and went grocery shopping at Zabars, a great store just 2 blocks from the boat basin. With the griceries put away, we went for another bike ride, north from the boat basin and then went back to change for dinner. We went to another great restaurant on Amsterdam Ave, and came back to the boat exhausted from our day. We were sorry to miss Jeannie's cousin, Beth Galvin, who lives just minutes from the boat basin, but she was out of town for a wedding. And in 3 weeks, she will be away for another wedding... her own! And after, she will be moving to Seattle, so won't be here to visit next year! Too bad, but we wish her all the best. Finally... today (Sunday) we dropped the mooring and ran down the harbor with the last of the outgoing tide, heading for Sandy Hook, N. J. eing Sunday, the harbor was less busy than normal, but there was still lots of traffic to watch. And the AIS was great, as it was on Friday when we came down the East River. Anchoring in Horseshoe Cove off the Sandy Hook park, we walked up to the now National Historic Site of Fort Adams and looked at some old missiles on display. There was never a missile launching site here, but it was a missile tracking station of some sort. And we also took a picture fo the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the US. Then back aboard for me to finally write all this up. Tomorrow we head down the coast. Not sure how far we will get. We'll see...