Excalibur Libre

17 August 2012 | Manhattan NY
17 August 2012 | New York - Hell Gate Circle, New York, NY
16 August 2012 | City Island - New York
15 August 2012 | Huntington - Long island NY
14 August 2012 | Huntington - Long Island NY
13 August 2012 | Montreal to New York
13 August 2012 | Montreal

Upper East Side

17 August 2012 | Manhattan NY
Maria - Lore Sunny
bu

And we hit Hell Gate!

17 August 2012 | New York - Hell Gate Circle, New York, NY
Maria - Claudy in the morning - very sunny afternoon
bu

And Excalibur start to navigate with her family

16 August 2012 | City Island - New York
Maria-Sunny
bu

Studies, cleanup and Manu

15 August 2012 | Huntington - Long island NY
Maria - dark and rainy
We still in Huntington, at coneys marine. We started the day very early, doing some cleaning and maintenance. It is a very rainy and a dark day, so we decide to stay here another night : In any way, we have to study and to understand the ebb current and tides to be able to find the best moment to go across hell gate New York.

Let me explain, current and tides are the periodic variation in the surface level of the oceans and of bays, gulfs, inlets, and estuaries, caused by gravitational attraction of the moon and sun. It is the function of geography and wind direction how the NY Upper Bay and Long Island Sound respond to the effects of wind. It is the way water piles up from the influence of an onshore breeze.

North America is as big as its waters are varied. For many of us, however, tidal currents can make or break a trip, and it needn't be the monstrous 5 knots that New York's East River can shove our way.

At around 17:00 PM, we met a very nice Italian men call Manu, he was a New york waters sailor, who has his boat at City Island, just besides Manhattan. He was going to expend the night at Coneys marine and he decides to share his knowledge about Long Island, Hudson river and Manhattan tides and currents. It was fantastic to met him ! He clarify our doubts and helps us to feel safe and ready to depart the next day. Cheers Manu!

We came upon her !

14 August 2012 | Huntington - Long Island NY
Maria - Cloudy
There she was at Coneys Marina, waiting for us and already in the water. We would have liked to leave right away and start our trip! But she was not ready. First of all, Excalibur only have had one owner who did not really travel very much with her. So she needed some improvements and amends to be ready to go. (Things like gas tubes, engine, water tubes for kitchen, bathroom, most be verified)

Second, we need it to know each other before leaving! boats are like archaic stuff or places: at first you see a regular subject-matter, but when you start to look deep and to analyze it, you discover hidden places or even passageways that you never imagine!

and finally, we realized that for our trip we will need to deal with tides and currents! so we really need to study.

Departure from Montreal

13 August 2012 | Montreal to New York
Maria
We decided to travel from Montreal to Long island (NY city) by bus and train on our mission to rescue Excalibur! Of course, the bus ticket was one way only . So, after we arrived at in Manhattan, we took the train to Long Island, Huntington were Excalibur was waiting for us.

Finding Excalibur

13 August 2012 | Montreal
Maria
We were looking for a sailing boat able to give us the satisfaction of traveling safely and comfortably in North America. The dilemma: Excalibur was on sale in New York and in order to have her we had to travel to New York, pick her up and travel north around 300 miles. It was going to be a long trip: cruise along Long Island, the East River, Manhattan, the Hudson River, Champlain Canal and finally hit in Lake Champlain and Rouses Point, our final destination for this year. Luckily we discovered that this was also an amazing route, full of historical sites to discover, wildlife and natire.
Vessel Name: Excalibur
Vessel Make/Model: Beneteau First 310
Hailing Port: Gaines Marina (Rouses Point, NY)
Crew: Lorenzo, Maria del Mar, Leonardo
About: I'm Maria del Mar, I'm a Colombian-Canadian and my love is Lorenzo. He is my Italian captain. We live in Montreal and Leo, Lorenzo's father, is an amazing experienced sailor and came directly from Florence (Italy) to help us and teach us how to pamper and indulge Excalibur.
Extra:
We are bringing Excalibur home. She was in New York, at Huntington harbor, Long Island, were Lorenzo found her. Since we Lore and myself both live in Montreal, we wanted to be closer to her. So, first step, was to bring Excalibur to Lake Champlain as it is just about an hour from Montreal and it is [...]

Excalibur Libre

Who: Lorenzo, Maria del Mar, Leonardo
Port: Gaines Marina (Rouses Point, NY)