Yesterday we crossed into New York State, and in the best way. We sailed into New York Harbor and up the East River. This was as monuments as sailing under the Golden Gate bridge for me. I sat in the cockpit with my camera ready to click away at all the icons - Coney Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, the UN, The Chrysler building and on and on. I also tried to document my own history - my grandparent's apartment, my grandfather's hospital, my mother's apartment and the hospital where I volunteered. I can feel the tendrils on my roots rejuvenating as I return home.

The day was not perfect. Our plan was to leave at 9:00 am and motor to the Verazzano narrows, but Dave wanted to make an earlier start and sail. Good thing, for our windlass chose this moment to die. The windlass hauls the anchor up, so poor Dave took on the job. This East Coast mud in pernicious, so he needed to hose the chain as it came up. He worked the dual job. A half hour later we were on our way. It seems that the boat is falling apart beneath us. If we weren't so close to the end, we would be finding a place to spend three to six months repairing all the things that are breaking down on the boat.

Underway at last we popped the chute and tried to rebuild our enthusiasm. It was short lived as the wind died and the current built against us. We crossed the shipping lanes to the East side of the entrance, while another sailboat (Indigo) crossed to the West side. They proceeded to clean our clock. They found back eddies to escape the two plus knot ebbing current. Our plan was to reach the bridge as the tide turned, but when we were going 3 knots, motoring at 1800 RPMs. Indigo was long gone. It turned out not to matter, for our three knots turned to 5 as we went under the bridge. The current shifted so quickly that by the time we were in the middle of the harbor we were enjoying the flood and an extra two knots.

Many people try to transit Hellsgate (a tight passage connecting the East River and Long Island Sound) at slack tide, but not us. We wanted the push up river, so reached Hellsgate with 3 knots with us. I just love it when we go over 10.

With our windlass out of commission, we are staying on mooring balls until we reach Sag Harbor, and our own mooring ball. This brought us to Port Washington. When I was in High School I spent a summer at Cornell and my roommate, Makiko, who lived in Port Washington. This is a very easy place for cruisers, with a supermarket across the street from the dinghy dock. We walked to a movie theater and Dave and I had Indian food. A great day.