Long Island Sound To Atlantic Highlands

After a few days in Oyster Bay, we weighed anchor and headed west to Manhasset Bay. The city of Port Washington is on Manhasset Bay, and let me tell you... OK, now I'll tell you--while we were there, the Canadian Geese voted to designate Port Washington a human preserve. Anyway, we had a string of nice calm pretty days, so we were able to get some boat projects done.



One of the projects was to finally varnish our cockpit table. Even though it is small, it has multiple sides which needed at least five coats each. We tried to outsmart the table and hang it from the bimini and dodger supports so that I could varnish all the sides at one time. Even though it was calm, we did get a lot of small wakes. You get the idea. Right when you are putting on the finishing touches, the boat rocks, the brush splats on your beautiful work introducing air into the varnish, and then varnish gets on your nose.


So after 2 coats I gave up and used this normal set up. In the mornings I was able to sand and put one coat of varnish on one side and the edges, then flip it 4 hours later varnish the other side. That means our cockpit was trashed out for 5 days.


The wind and rain finally subsided.

Very bad weather was on the way, so we headed back to Oyster Bay for better protection from northerly winds, and to fill up the water tanks . This time the forecast held and the rain and wind arrived as advertised. It was a bit chilly too. We had the worst winds we have seen at anchor in the Long Island area. We have seen stronger winds under way on Long Island Sound a few times, but those winds and rain always died down by the time we made it to the anchorage. This time it blew and rained for about 3 days. On our way out of town, we filled our water tanks at the fuel dock--right in front of a huge sailboat +/- 100 feet which belongs to the guy that owns the New York Knicks. We have seen it tied up there a couple of times. I wanted a picture, but it was raining.

It was time to start our trek through NYC on our way south back to the Chesapeake. We really wanted to get through the East River and NYC before Tuesday, because Tuesday the UN goes into session for a couple of weeks. The Coast Guard shuts down part of the East River while the UN is in session. There is an alternative route, but it is easier when the entire river is open. I would rather we spend money protecting the big flies that bite my leg, than those who seek to destroy us in the UN, but once again, I have been overruled.

We needed to be at Throgs Neck Bridge by 6:30am for the wild ride through the East River (hey, if you are used to sailboat speeds, it's wild). So we returned to Manhasset Bay for the evening and had the anchor up at 5:30 the following morning. We passed Throgs Neck Bridge on cue and rode the strong current all the way through NYC and then south to Atlantic Highlands on the north end of New Jersey. The anchor was down by mid morning. We made it through the Buttermilk Channel and past Governors Island before they shut more sections down for a parade of boats. Lots of stuff going on this weekend because of 911. This afternoon they will shut down part of the Hudson River for a high speed boat race as well. Stinkpotters on steroids. There were a lot of ships to dodge, but people around here deal with that every day.


Our return through NYC.


One of the ships we passed after going under the Verrazano Bridge.

There are large anchorages for large ships north of the Verrazano bridge. You have to be on your toes, because it's not always easy to tell if a ship is anchored or not. Then after you identify one as being anchored, he decides it's his turn to move. They move a lot faster than we do.

Lisa has finished her box of Tagamet, so she can go to bed now.

We plan on staying here for a few days, but have to check the latest on the weather. Until next time...