New Jersey and New York

On the morning of Wednesday, May 31st, we found ourselves anchored in Sandy Hook Bay by Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.  It was a foggy, cool morning.  We left the boat at around 9:30 am to take Uncle Mike to shore to catch an uber to the Newark Airport.  It turned out that the uber driver, Jack, was the commodore at Atlantic Highlands Yaught Club.  He invited Justin and I to go racing with his crew in the evening.
 

Coming into the marina in Atlantic Highlands on the dingy

Justin and Uncle Mike tying up the dingy at the marina

Justin and I had breakfast on the pier at Sissy's Restaurant.  By the time we finished, the fog had lifted and sun had come out.

Justin and I spent the rest of the morning walking along First St. in Atlantic Highlands and stopping in at the little shops.  We checked out the local hardware stores, and we picked up a few groceries.

Justin carrying back groceries

We had returned to the boat by 2:00 pm.  Justin tried to run the water maker, but it would not work.  Justin cleaned and lubricated the seal, and then the water maker worked.

We went back to shore at 3:30 pm.  We stopped in at First Cup Cafe for coffee and WiFi.  Justin left by 4:30 to go do the race and I stayed behind.  The cafe held an open mike for the local high school students.  So I enjoyed listening to these talented, young singers while I posted photos on facebook, updated the blog,  and called family.

Open mike at First Cup Cafe

Justin met up with Jack and met the crew of Great American Nude.  There was about 30 boats participating in the Wednesday night social race.  During the beginning of the race, the jib furler broke when they were trying to furl the jib after they had put up the spinnaker.  In addition, the race was restarted due to a missing course marker.  Due to the broken jib furler, Great American Nude decided not to do the second try at the race.  Instead, they decided it was beer o'clock.

Justin on Great American Nude

Wednesday night social race in Atlantic Highlands

I met Justin at the yaught club and was introduced to the other members of the boat crew.  Justin and I headed back to the boat around 9:30 pm.

We woke up at 5:00 am on June 1st, readied the boat, and left Sandy Hook Bay by 6:00 am so that we would reach Hell's Gate at slack tide.  It was another foggy and cool morning (about 16 degrees Celsius before the windchill).  Justin and I  wore jackets, scarfs, and hats.  I made tea to warm us up.

Myself leaving Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

Relying on GPS, radar, and navigational markers, we motored accross Lower Bay towards New York City in heavy fog.  I took a 2 hour nap while Justin manned the helm.  We passed by Coney Island (not that we could see it through the fog) and passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge by 9:30 am, entering New York City Harbour.  We couldn't see the bridge until we were basically directly underneath it.  We hugged the shore to stay out of the Ambrose Channel and to avoid the massive barges, fast ferries, and large ships transiting the harbour.  We could hear the fog horns from the shipping traffic going off one after the other, but we couldn't see any other boats due to the thick fog.  Both Justin and I stayed up on deck with our eyes pealed looking for navigational hazards in our path.

Justin while passing under Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and entering into New York Harbour

Our chart for New York City

Thankfully, the fog started to cleared at 10:00 am, revealing all the ships surrounding us.  The sun had come out, and we started pealing off the layers of clothing.  To our delight, we got to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Justin who might be a little happy that the fog is clearing

Some of the traffic in New York Harbour

Myself in front of the Statue of Liberty

The fog lifting to reveal the New York City skyline

Myself in front of the Statue of Liberty after the sun had come out

Justin in front of the Statue of Liberty

While transiting the harbour, the US Coast Guard pulled up along side of us, asked us a few questions, and indicated that they wanted to board us.  They inquired if we were traveling with the other sail boat in front of us.  When they determined that we weren't associated with the other sail boat, they lost interest in us.  I asked if they still intended to board us.  The coastguard said that they were tasked with boarding the other sail boat, that they didn't necessarily want to board us, and that it might be best if we just  hurried along out of there while they were busy with the other sail boat.  So we did just that.

The US Coast Guard when they pulled up along side us

The US Coast Guard moving on to the next boat

We passed under Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge at around10:30 am.  We traveled up the East River with Manhattan on our port side and Brooklyn and Long Island City on our starboard side.  We passed Roosevelt Island on our starboard side.

Justin in New York Harbour

New York City skyline from the entrance of the East River

Myself in front of the New York City skyline 

The Brooklyn Bridge

Myself in front of the Brooklyn Bridge

Jus Dreamin, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridge

Myself before going under the Brooklyn Bridge 

Justin just after we passed under the Brooklyn Bridge

Empire State Building

Our view of Manhattan from the East River

Justin and I while sailing away from Manhattan

We entered Hell's Gate at 12:00 pm, turning right so that Wards Island was on our port side and Queens was on our starboard side.  The current was quite strong (3 knots) even though we only passed through Hell's Gate about 30 minutes after slack tide.  Right when we were passing a large barge coming from the opposite direction in Hell's Gate, a large motor yaught decided to rudely overtake us on our other side so that we were three abreast in a restricted area known for strong currents and back eddies.

Chart of Hell's Gate

Hell's Gate and the yaught that had overtaken us

Justin who might be a bit more relaxed after passing through Hell's Gate without incident 

We continued up East River, passing between North Brother Island and South Brother Island.  We motored by Rikers Island and LaGuardia Airport on our starboard side and the Bronx on our port side. We continued on through Long Island Sound with the sun shining and with the temperature at 36 degrees Celsius.

Cruising up the East River with the Bronx on our port and Long Island to our starboard

Cape Canaveral, Florida to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

In just over five days, we traveled 900 nautical miles, doing an average of 180 nautical miles a day, from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.  We typically saw 12 to 20 knots of wind.  The boat speed averaged 6 to 7 knots and we had up to 5 knots of current.  Although we ran directly downwind or sailed into weather at some points,  we were mostly reaching.  We traveled from 28 degrees of latitude to 40 degrees of latitude, and dropped 10 to 15 degrees Celsius in temperature.

Four knots of current due to the gulf stream

On Thursday, May 25th, we left Ocean Club Marina in Cape Canaveral, Florida by 1:30 pm.  I tidied the saloon and cabin while Justin and Uncle Mike took the boat out of the marina.  We motored out to sea.  We tried to sail,  but the wind died.  So, we motored until 5:00 pm.  During the afternoon, we all sampled three different chocolate cheesecakes.  I made spaghetti for dinner.  Uncle Mike made strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Justin and Uncle Mike played crib.  I read and went to bed early.  We maintained our shift schedule: I did from 12 am/pm to 4 am/pm; Justin, 4 am/pm to 8 am/pm; and Uncle Mike, 8 am/pm to 12 pm/am.  The wind was blowing at 15 to 20 knots, and the boat was cruising at 7 to 8 knots.  In addition, we had 4 to 5 knots of current.  We did over 200 nautical miles in the first 24 hours of sailing.

Rocket launch pads in the distance as we leave Cape Canaveral

Uncle Mike and Justin enjoying the homemade strawberry shortcake

The next morning, I woke up to find Uncle Mike reading the boat manuals (on the feathering propeller and the water maker) for some light reading material.  The boat was moving at 4 to 6 knots on a square reach, and we had an additional 2 knots of current.  During the day, I wrote my MC speech for my cousin's wedding, and I got in a Pure Barre workout.  Uncle Mike started reading a Robert Ludlum book.  Justin played strategy games from his childhood on an emulator and took a nap.  We had tacos for dinner, and Uncle Mike made strawberry shortcake again upon unanimous requests.  We again did more than  200 nautical miles over 24 hours.

Good morning!

Uncle Mike ready on a lazy afternoon

Justin catching up on sleep

On May 27th, Justin and Uncle Mike sewed the main sail where the stitching had come undone because it had been rubbing on the spreaders.  I sorted pictures for the blog.  Justin updated his boat log.  Uncle Mike finished reading his book.  We were on a broad reach with 8 knots (at beginning of the day) to 20 knots (towards the end of the day) of wind.  The boat was doing 4 to 7 knots, with up to 1 knot of current going with the boat.  We were making very good progress.  At 6:00 pm, the wind had shifted such that the boat was on a square run.  So, Justin took the main sail down and put the jib on the spiniker pole.  The batteries ran low early in the night, and Uncle Mike had to hand steer for the majority of his shift.  To charge the batteries, we ran the motor for the entirety of my shift.  I got in a Ballet Physique workout on my night shift.

Uncle Mike and Justin mending the main sail

Justin sewing the main sail where the stitching had come undone

Atlantic sunset

The following morning, we were going to shut down the motor at the beginning of Justin's shift,  but the throttle controller ceased.  So from 4:30 am until 12:00 pm, Justin and Uncle Mike were fixing the throttle controller.  I made everyone french toast for lunch.  We played card games  (Iota and Game of Thrones) during the afternoon.  We had 12 to 20 knots of wind. The boat was traveling at 5 to 6 knots.  Also, there was an additional 2 to 4 knots of current.  We started having lightning and thunder around 5:00 pm, and it carried on until 3:00 am.  We ran the motor from 8:00 pm until 11:00 pm, when the wind temporarily died.  Afterwards, the winds came right back up to 12 knots, and we did 4 to 6 knots on a square reach.  I did pilates and watch episodes of Bones on my night shift.  Justin and I wore sweaters on night shift, and we all slept in either blankets or sleeping bags (the first time since our rough open water passage to Jamaica).

Justin and Uncle Mike fixing the throttle controller

Justin and Uncle Mike fixing the throttle controller

We had fog all morning on May 29th, and we discovered that the radar wasn't working (probably because of a loose connection).  We wore sweaters or jackets during the day.  I pulled out my whool socks.  We played Rummy, chatted, and listened to Uncle Mike's music.  During the day, the wind was blowing at 10 to 20 knots.  We cruised along at 4 to 7 knots.  The wind swung 270 degrees over the day and we started going into the weather at 1:00 pm.  Justin took a nap.  I made hamburgers for dinner;  we had chocolate cheesecake for dessert.  The wind died and we motored at 5 knots between 12:00 am and 5:00 am.

Low visibility due to morning fog

All of us enjoying a game of Rummy

The following morning, Uncle Mike made us scrambled eggs for breakfast.  We cruised all day on a broad reach at 6 to 7 knots with up to an additional knot of current.  We played crib and cards (crazy eights).  Although the temperature only dropped down to 18 degrees Celsius, we minded the cold, partially due to the dampness and windchill from the water and partially due to lack of acclimatization.  Justin and I had to wear jackets and hats throughout the day.  Justin made basil pesto and chicken pasta for dinner.  Uncle Mike booked his flight home to Nova Scotia for the next day.  We turned on the motor at 7:00 pm for traversing the Sandy Hook Channel.  Justin made hot chocolate to warm us up.  Justin got the radar working by jiggling the wires.  We anchored at 9:30 pm in Sandy Hook Bay by Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, just outside of the the southern channel to New York.

Justin adjusting the sails

Justin taking down the main sail

Uncle Mike and I trying to stay warm with the cooler temperatures

Uncle Mike as we come into Sandy Hook Bay in New jersey

Cape Canaveral, Florida

We docked at Ocean Club Marina in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:00 am on Wednesday, May 24th.  I made fried egg and pastrami grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast.  Justin got everything sorted with the marina,  and then we caught an uber to customs and immigration.  Afterwards, we went to Kennedy Space Centre.  We spent the entire afternoon and early evening at the Space Centre.  We checked out some of the old rockets in the Rocket Garden.  We did a bus tour which showed us the Vehicle Assembly Building, a couple of crawler transporters, the 39A and B Launch Pads, and rocket support structure.  We were dropped off at the Apollo / Saturn V Centre, where we checked out the Apollo 18 rocket ship.  Afterwards, we checked out the Atlantis space shuttle.  We returned back to the boat for a few beers.  I took advantage of the internet, and caught up on the blog.

Myself and Justin at Kennedy Space Centre

Justin and Uncle Mike at Kennedy Space Centre

Uncle Mike, Justin, and I in a mock-up of a Command Module

Rocket Garden

Uncle Mike practicing his docking

A rocket support structure on a crawler transporter

39B Launch Pad

Justin and I at Apollo / Saturn V Centre

Cheers!

Justin and Uncle Mike in front of a mock-up Control Centre

Apollo 14 Command Module

Apollo Lunar Module

Uncle Mike and Justin in mock-up of bridge to rocket

Myself with Saturn V

Saturn V

Atlantis Space Shuttle

Uncle Mike and I with the Atlantis Space Shuttle

Justin and I with the Atlantis Space Shuttle

Myself making friends with the locals

And a rainbow appears

On May 25th, we took an uber to Walmart to get supplies.  I called family when we got back to the boat.  I tidied the boat while Mike and Justin readied the boat for departure. We left Ocean Club Marina at 1:30 pm.

Myself enjoying the wide selection while stocking up on supplies