Probably a bit overdue in this post; but we’ve come from a whirlwind visit to the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and as I type- to Rhode Island.
New Jersey was short and sweet. We spent a long weekend at Cape May; a highly popular summer beach destination. We enjoyed the C-View Inn for happy hour drinks and curly French fries, and walking around downtown for ice cream cones and kitschy
shopping.
The weather was a bit of a bummer, it rained most days we were there, and
we were bounced around at anchor most nights. One note; we did a wine tasting tour,
and I must say, I am not a fan of New Jersey wine. When I write this sentence, it seems
so obvious, but for the most part it was not to our taste, and we realized how spoiled
wine country in California has made us.
New York was a wonderful and difficult visit. Staten Island proved infinitely doable for
transient boaters, but Manhattan-much less so. Once we sailed by Lady Liberty and
anchored for a rocky afternoon with her derriere in view; we spent 4 days at anchor right next to Ellis Island.
While the view was incredible, the anchorage was rocky, loud, and
bright. There was almost nowhere we could put the dinghy, so we were mostly trapped
on the boat (although I dropped Paul off one day, and he took the ferry to Manhattan to
meet his cousin for some fun). One morning, a body floated by, and Paul and I decided
it was probably time to move on after the police and USCG came and fished it out of the
Hudson.
Our next step in New York City was sailing up the East River and getting the iconic
views that accompany. Unfortunately, the weather was against us again, and
although we were completely blown away by this experience, we were also soaked and
freezing. Paul’s cousin met us by Long Island City and took some great photos as we
cruised by the United Nations building, which was awesome, and then after a quick
jaunt through Hell’s Gate, we anchored at Port Washington to weather out the tail end of
Tropical Storm Debby.
This ended up being no joke, and after a day of rain and 40 knot wind that dragged our
anchor (and others) we jumped onto a mooring ball, and spent the weekend with family,
enjoying the high rise view, home cooked meals, and hot water showers that we
fantasize about after a week of cold water shivers and rain lashed sails. Port
Washington is a great place for boat people. It provided free pump out boats, water,
shore boats, a grocery store within walking distance, a laundromat, and friendly people
on the radio. This was a drastic change from our down river experience in
Manhattan and Jersey City. All in all, we spent three nights and loved it
As per Paul’s usual schedule, we had no sooner said goodbye to one set of beloved cousins, then we were sailing on the way to meet another- and we made it to Port Jefferson to pick up an Uncle and Aunt for a day sail, dinner with more cousins, and then the following night, another evening in a beautiful family home with delicious handmade pasta, wine, and a few hours of coloring with a toddler.
Port Jefferson was manageable for transients like us (people who live on our boat but
have no home port in practice). We paid for a mooring ball and that included use of a
shore boat back and forth, but did not include water or pump out. It was also a very
busy ferry stop shuttling people back and forth from Bridgeport, Ct every 30
minutes or so (which as you can imagine includes lots of honking to signal intent, and
then the wake of a massive boat that is on a tight schedule).
After Port Jeff, we skedaddled across the Long Island Sound (LIS) into Mystic, CT to
spend an evening with cousins (who meet us by land) and to try the famous Julia
Robert’s pizza. We stayed for a total of five days. I loved Mystic. It was cute, small,
and historically interesting. Downtown Mystic was a bit upscale, but included fun dining options, amazing ice cream (Drawbridge Ice Cream), Young Buns donuts, Mystic Pizza, etc.
The Seaport Museum was fascinating, and I imagine the top field trip visit for kids in Ct throughout most of their grade school years. Paul and I used the beautiful gym and
swimming pool at the YMCA, parked the dinghy at the dock next to the Bascule bridge,
and walked everywhere. Getting to Mystic was a bit of a feat-timing two bridges (one
swing and one bascule) and motoring up the Mystic River to spend a long weekend
next to an old graveyard, and the flattest calmest waters. The full moon on our last
night there reflected at us like a true mirror image, so glassy and calm.
The timing was important. Hurricane Ernesto was frothing the sea state, and we
wanted to avoid the swell, but we also received another passing storm that caused
severe flooding in several parts of the state (although as Paul noted, flooding is the one
natural disaster for which our boat is better equipped).
And now- we have officially departed Connecticut, and pointed our bow towards Block Island, Rhode Island (metaphorically of course, we are currently jibing back and forth to get there because the wind is directly behind the rhum line).
We love New England. We can feel the weather start to change, as summer slips away
and fall begins to show. The air is chilled in the mornings, and we cuddle under a
feather comforter at night. We look forward to wearing sweaters, and continuing our
journey north for the time being,
Love
Lindsay and Paul.
TIBURON MARINO 