Day 52: Martha’s Vineyard to New York – 03/09/12

Having had my usual three out of five hours of allotted sleep, I am glad that this journey only involves one overnight sail.  I go over to get Victoria out of her bed to join me on watch and she stumbles up the stairs a short while later.

The wind has come right along behind us during the night and our speed comes closer to 7 knots.  Although the sea roughens as the wind increases, it is a following sea which pushes us along ahead of it.  We pass Long Island and the Hamptons, all lit up and shiny even from 12 miles away and to my delight I find I can get onto the internet even from that distance, although it gives up at trying to publish yesterday’s blog as there are just too many pictures.

There are a couple of fishing boats around but nothing comes close.  She lasts out just long enough to see the sun rise then goes back to bed while I wait for Mike to wake up.

Photo:  The sun peeks at us over the horizon

The weather, after a bright start, deteriorates but we continue to make good speed.  We can see New York start to appear through the clouds from about 25 miles away but it’s not the skyline I recognise, but the high rise blocks of flats of Brooklyn.  Gradually though, we see glimpses of skyscrapers as we go further west until suddenly I realise that what I am looking at is the Empire State Building, the only building recognisable from that distance now we no longer have the twin towers to identify Manhattan.

But it’s not the wonderful entry into New York that I would have wished for.  It’s grey, the sea is really rough, there’s a load of huge tankers and freighters at anchor that we have to slalom our way through and, because we have made good time, we now have the current against us all the way in.  Oh and there’s things being towed and in the grey it’s next to impossible to see the tow lines unless you stare with the binoculars and they don’t focus because you are bouncing around too much.  Joy.

Photos:  Grey skyline and waves

Photo:  Victoria busies herself tidying the lines

As we approach the Verrazano-Narrows bridge the water calms down as the water is more protected and for the first time Victoria and I are able to go up onto the bow with our cameras.

With the tide against us, we slow down to a crawl speed of 3.5 knots and Mike is not happy that the marina berth he has reserved is still 11 miles away up the Hudson River.  Still, that gives us more time to take photos, although a bright blue sky as a backdrop would have been good.  At least the rain holds off.

Photo:  The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Photo:  The chart plotter shows land all around – the straight bit is the bridge

And then we are in.  The pictures say it all.

Photos:  Up the Hudson – New Jersey on one side, Manhattan on the other

It takes us another 2 hours to finally arrive at the 79th Street Basin and we tie up at the outside wall because we have to wait for the tide to come in so there is enough water for us to cross over the sand (or mud) bank at the entrance to the marina.  We sit and eat lobster for dinner, exhausted but happy, very happy, to be here.  We are told by the boat next to us to keep all our windows and doors shut because of the rats and the cats.  Mike isn’t sure which is worse!

Eventually there is enough water for us to move and we go inside, Mike manoeuvring around pilings that only leave us 2 feet on one side and nothing on the other.  It takes us and two marina guys a while to truss us up in our little space like a Christmas turkey, but eventually, lines going everywhere, we are finished.

I go to bed hoping for better weather tomorrow but the forecast isn’t good.  But at least we are here safe and sound, and so far, there’s not a rat in sight!

 

Position:  40 deg 47 min N, 73 deg 59 min W

Distance so far:  2335 miles