We planned to leave very early so as to catch the tides going up the river. Lines were untied, motor started, engine in reverse and we didn’t budge. At low tide, we were stuck in the mud in the slip. After about 15 minutes of back and forth maneuvering, Jim was able to back out into the fareway and we motored out into the Hudson River. Ferries were criss-crossing everywhere so I had to be the lookout. Just as we were congratulating ourselves over avoiding the ferries, the largest one of all, the famous Staten Island Ferry, blew her horn as we passed in front of her at the dock. She was leaving and were in front of her! After a few seconds we realized that we were OK and would soon be out of her way.
We rounded the battery and made our way North with a couple of barges passing and another sailboat keeping pace. The current pushed us and we made record time arriving at our destination, City Island, at 9:30 am. We checked in and promptly went back to the boat to sleep. The marina, North Minneford Yacht Club, was so peaceful that we decided to stay an extra day to rest up after the excitement and noise of NYC. The view was beautiful, looking out over Long Island Sound. A walk around town the next day was uneventful. Breakfast at a little diner was ok. There is only one main street that stretches across the Island. We heard that it is a busy place when New Yorkers visit on the weekend.
We met a slip neighbor named Vinny and were invited to accompany him on his ‘new’ boat to Louis’ Restaurant on Long Island Sound. On the way over we found that he had only driven the boat one other time (it showed by the way he left his slip). On the way back we found that his previous boat had sunk at the marina after he hit a rock. Dinner was fun. Our friend, Vinny, hung out at the bar with a couple of women and later we all met another couple, Sharon and John. It was an interesting evening, drinking too much wine and way too much conversation. Sharon told me her life story and then some. Very nice people though. They invited us to visit them on their vacation in Montauk.