Sandy Hook Bay to NYC!

We have arrived at THE CiTY.   I make no bones about the fact that I have a love hate relationship with this place.  It is truly a city of extremes.  Great beauty.  Great problems. 

We left Sandy Hook Bay this morning.  Boy did the weather change overnight.  Gone are the 70s.  Today was lucky to be 60.  But today the weather cleared up a bit and the fog lifted.   

We could see the city from where we were anchored last night.... It was blowing and windy (not new for this trip) but we could see!

Of course we had 20 miles of ocean to cross to get where we could see ..

First we got fuel.  (It's necessary to throw $1000 in the ocean every time I put this boat up on plane for a day.... So we don't do it unless it's necessary.).  Fueled up.  Pumped out.   Fresh water filled.  Garbage unloaded.   

Time to set out for New York!

It bounced us around.  But we made the crossing without too much side to side heaving (which Katie hates).  We did take one big one from the side.  That wasn't comfortable at all....but eventually we got to the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge (which is the gateway bridge and the bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn).  

The city is getting closer ..

But still six or so miles away.  

Eventually we got up to where the East River meets the Hudson River at the south end of Manhattan.  

And just to our left ....  The statue of Liberty!

You will notice the absence of a dinghy on the boat.    It didn't fall off or get destroyed this time... I dropped it and Katie drove the boat into position so I could take photos from the dinghy of our boat with The Statue. 

You will notice the wake in front of the boat in this picture.   SeaDoos decided that the best time to zoom around our boat was when our boat and dinghy were right lined up with the statue.   Thrills.   

Needless to say the ferries here make fierce wakes and really don't care if you are in the way.   It's best to avoid their path.  I think there are 1000 ferries in this city....

We also cruised by Ellis Island on the way through.... 

After the photo op, we did a bit of exploring around Governor's Island and found a place to meet up with family tomorrow (we will pick them up in dinghy while someone stays in the boat to hold it in place...).    We found a kayak and canoe club that has a beach right on the point in Brooklyn that should work nicely.  We shall see ..  no bringing the boat in there but the dinghy should work ...

They just aren't private vessel friendly in a city of 20+ million people.   Public transit is everywhere.   Private boats?  Not so much.  

Then we took a trip up the East River a bit to see what it looks like.  God willing, we will be back this way in a couple of days on the way to Long Island Sound.  

Lots of cool sights from the river.   And way more peaceful than expected.  

Most people anchor by the Statue of Liberty or on the back side of Ellis Island.   Today  was the annual ferry convention (not really but there are seriously hundreds of them a day going in all directions) so anchoring where they make a wake isn't comfortable especially when my wife still isn't feeling great after yesterday's sea-sick trip....
 
We will get there again (probably multiple times) but right now we are anchored in a little inlet just north of Brooklyn and east of Roosevelt Island by the upper east side.  This is glorious.  I can't take a drone shot of anything in NYC without a visit from officials (and it will try to drive my drone down into the river)... They apparently frown on things flying unmanned in the city with so much transit moving around...   

Anyway it's very peaceful anchored in this little nook, the sun is shining and other than the occasional ferry flying through it's very quiet.   It's funny because just 50-60ft away from us the current is just ripping through here due to tides.   We are just out of the channel and water doesn't really get in or out of this nook so it's very nice sitting here .. 

Marinas in NYC are pretty much out of the question for us.   We see rates from $6 a foot to $15 a foot per night.  We are 47ft long.... So $300 to $700 a night for a parking space PLUS electric.  (How could they possibly cover the cost of electricity for that bargain price?  Lol)

I think we will stay here at anchor for the night unless something changes.  The generator gives us power and the anchor holds us nicely (when it sets well)...

If anything changes  I'll update.  Then tomorrow we will make the run down the east side again to meet up with Katie's sister, her husband and their kids (and one friend, I'm told).  They are going out for the day with us on the boat to see New York in a way they probably have not before....  We probably won't blog tomorrow...

Sunday looks like it might be the rainiest day of the week.  We might move but it's unlikely.  It all depends on the weather.   

Now for the best news of the day ...  Our other boat SOLD.   We haven't seen money yet but we've signed the paperwork and so has the buyer.   Not as much as we hoped (boat prices tanked over the winter), but it's gone.  This will make budgeting the rest of the loop way easier on us ...  It doesn't solve the budget but it gives us a way to pay off credit lines we have run up (and didn't expect) because of the insane cost of the trip.   We are averaging double to triple what we thought the trip would cost.... But we only get to do it once and we are having fun (most of the time).   I'm sure we will have fond memories of the trip once we are home.

Speaking of that ... We can't wait to get home.  We miss family and we get to see everyone in a couple of weeks... Then return for a 4-6 week final journey through New York State, Ontario, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  We will probably spend more time on the Erie Canal and the Trent Severn Waterway (a bucket list item for me) than in Lake Huron or Lake Michigan (since we've seen these before and can do them again from home any summer...)

Til the next blog....  Goodnight from Brooklyn ..

32.5 miles today ...  A good day to be off the ocean and in protected waters.   The ocean wanted to roll us today...
Not a sunset .... But this city is really cool at night....  









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