Days 317 through 320:

We cannot leave until 10ish this AM as we are waiting for the tide to turn in our favor in the East River and then at Hell Gate at the river's east end. We pull out of my very favorite Marine Basin Marina and power up and under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. It is hot and humid with no wind, and we are taking our time through this ship-laden harbor waiting for the tide. The Statue of Liberty comes into view and slowly the city itself comes out of the haze. Always a rush to see, and S wonders aloud how much of the world's big business is being conducted in this jungle as we float peacefully by. Staggering. We go up the east side of Governor's Island rather than all the way down to the Battery and come into the East River just before the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge with a fair current.

The East River is one of the few rivers in the world that has two mouths. Up the river we go with a parade of others past midtown and on by Roosevelt Island to Hell Gate with perfect timing as it goes slack. After passing through Hell Gate the wind starts to pick up and is blowing up as we go by LaGuardia with planes landing literally right over our heads. We pull out the jib and motorsail past City Island (where we have a mooring reservation) heading for Larchmont further east but quite close by and nicer. Get a mooring at the Larchmont YC, do our refueling and other boat chores, and then take the launch in to the club for showers and a light dinner at the Pool Bar and Grill. Back to Katannah for a movie.

We are off out on our familiar Long Island Sound on another hot, humid and hazy day. The visibility is not great--haze so thick that we power right by Noroton Bay without seeing it. We power past Bridgeport and our intended stop, Milford, pushing further to Branford and the Thimble Islands. We get a slip at Brewer Bruce and Johnston's up the Branford River exhausted from the heat and make a bee-line for the marina pool until the skies darken and the thunder starts. The forecast is for violent t-storms late this PM into the night and possibly the same for tomorrow. We see and hear them but they bypass us. The next day the forecast turns out to be the same as we wait for a front to come through. We stay put nd use the day to get on the boatyard (a good one here) roster. They are going to put a man up the mast with the crane to determine if the main halyard had jumped the sheave. Steve was taking the main down doing into Barnegat Bay and the last ten feet came down hard. Then we did not use the main the next day. Turns out that the topping left block got wedged against the halyard. Steve freed it up but wanted the yard to go up and check things out just in case there was a further problem. Luckily everything was fine. Other than this tiny thing and the not-so-tiny bolts loosening on the coupling months back in FL (that could have been the end of things right there), this boat's system, knock-on-wood, have all run like a charm.

On Fri we are up early as is our custom and out into the Sound for the trip to Stonington. The bad air has cleared out and it is COLD. We are in long pants, three top layers, socks and gloves and have not been this cold since November! And it's the end of June!

Up past this pretty part of the Connecticut coast, Guilford, Madison, etc., and on to New London, past Groton Long Point, Mystic, Fishers Island and on into Stonington, powering all the way. As we pull into Dodson's Boat Yard the sun finally peaks through and we start to warm up. Walk this pretty town and do our showers at the marina and enjoy a now-pretty night in a beautiful harbor filled with a lot of lovely boats.

We are done with another state. On to Rhode Island tomorrow!