Sunday, September 9, 2007

New York --Part I


Sailing into New York City is pretty damn cool. Now technically, like most sail boats entering NYC, we motored rather than sailed in order to maximize the ability to steer the boat as we headed down the East River and then up the Hudson amidst high speed ferries and four knots of current. I think Kevin and I were both a little nervous for the trip as it requires traversing "Hell Gate", which is a narrow portion of the east river the separates Astoria from Randall's Island. Hell Gate just sounds ominous, and indeed it can be, as the current runs up to 5 knots in either direction, which means if you catch it at the wrong time, you'd have to run the engine full out to make any head way at all. However, as instructed by our guide books, we timed our passage through Hell Gate to slack high water, and had no problems at all.

For the four days we're staying in the city, we decided to stay at the 79th Street Boat Basin on the west side of the city for two main reasons--first, the location is ideal--we are right in the city close to the subway, parks, restaurants and our friends--second, when we called to inquire about a mooring (anchoring, which is free, is not recommended in the East or Hudson Rivers), we were told the cost was $30 per night--a very, very cheap price for a mooring in NYC. Upon arriving at the Boat Basin, we learned that one of the reasons why the prices are so low is that the marina is run by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation as a service to city residents and guests. Of course, the other reason for the bargain basement price tag may be that the moorings are completely unprotected from the swells of the many ferries and powerboats that whiz by all day and all night...imagine if you will being dropped into a running washing machine after drinking several cocktails....it's really, really, really unpleasant. We've decided to stick it out for a few days--but then will likely head over to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey on Wednesday morning where we'll be able to drop anchor in a protected harbor and can take care of some last minute projects before undertaking our first overnight ocean passage down to Cape May, NJ.

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1 Comments:

Blogger kyle said...

Glad to have you in the upper west side!

September 10, 2007 at 5:05 PM  

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