We finally got a weather gap on Friday, 5 December and set sail from Bristol Marine at around noon on a clear, calm but cold day. It was an incredible feeling to be on our maiden voyage with Strider at last! It took us a good few hours to sail out of Narraganset Bay, with Pell Bridge (connecting Aquidneck Island to Jamestown) receding further and further into the distance every hour.

We (Ferdi, Wimpie and I) were heading for Sandy Hook in New Jersey (part of the greater New York metropolitan area), since we had decided the weather was just too unpredictable to try and make it to Fort Lauderdale in one go.

We motored the whole way since we were heading directly into the wind. Towards evening on Friday, Strider gave us a challenge - the batteries were discharging far too rapidly for the captain's comfort. The alternator appeared not to be doing its job. So, to save battery power we had to disconnect the power-gobbling autopilot and steer manually the rest of the way - about 18 hours! (In retrospect, this was a very valuable lesson, since both Wimpie and I have now learnt how to steer a compass course, which we would not have done had we had the use of the autopilot.)

So it was quite a long night through a choppy sea with south-westerly winds of 10 to 15 knots. The three of us took it in turns to stand watch and steer, with Ferdi taking the brunt of it. We started with two-hour watches but this later turned to one-hour sessions due to the cold weather (well below freezing, with the wind-chill factor making it much worse!). For those trying to nod off below deck, it was not much warmer and we slept in our foul-weather gear. We cruised down the length of Long Island all night at an average of 6 knots. Fortunately there was not too much traffic to confuse the two novices on board, but the captain was called upon on occasion to interpret the light signals from other vessels.

About two hours before dawn the ocean calmed down considerably and gliding across an oily sea, we were able to witness the most incredible sunrise - the kind of experience that makes it all worthwhile! For a long while Ferdi and I stood in silence in the cockpit and just enjoyed the moment. It was still freezing, but the sun was peeking out behind the clouds from behind us. We could see the New York skyline in the distance to starboard, with the unmistakable Empire State building towering over the city.

After a while, Wimpie came out to steer and Ferdi and I went below and made us a fabulous sausage and egg breakfast. I should mention here that NONE of us had been even slightly seasick for the whole journey! Perhaps it was the Stugeron we took (or the pressure-point wristbands I was wearing), but we all found our sealegs very quickly.

Around 4pm on Saturday and about 28 hours after we set off from Bristol, Ferdi navigated us through a narrow channel into Sandy Hook, a town just to the south-west of New York, where we berthed at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. Needless to say, we didn't mess about much, after a quick supper we collapsed in our cabins and slept like logs.

On Sunday, our first morning in Sandy Hook, we woke up to find it had snowed during the night. We immediately went off in search of a hot shower in the marina. What one takes for granted at home every morning has become a HUGE luxury over here! I think I must have spent at least half an hour under glorious hot water!! We spent the rest of the day doing odd jobs on the boat, catching an afternoon nap later on.

Towards evening, the wind picked up considerably and Strider was straining at her mooring lines. Later it was gusting 57 knots and Ferdi got up several times during the night to adjust the lines. According to a local radio weather report it was -6°C but with the wind chill factor this easily became around -18°C!

Monday I went off to the local laundromat while Ferdi saw to our alternator situation. The latter turned out to be a corroded connection. Thanks to Tom, a most helpful and friendly local marine electrician, the problem was quickly sorted out.

(See pics in gallery).