I arrive at New york after 24 hours at sea singlehanded through fog and thunderstorms (40 knots) but 90% of the trip is unexciting, I prefer unexciting...
After leaving Baltimore I head up the Chesapeake bay 40 miles to the start of the short (10 mile) Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, I pass the Caravan site (more mobile home) were the less rich enjoy their water sports.
And get overtaken by a US Coastguard ship, the USCG is much more milatary than civil (the gun gives you a clue.) In fact it is considered one of the 5 branchs of the military, soon to be six since Trump announced he was forming a platoon of space cadets.
I was going to go thru the canal and try and find an achorage in the upper Delaware - which is difficult as suitable places are sparse - there are two possibilities but both poor. Two OCC members Tony and Connie txt me to say don't exit the canal as it's windy, and they are bouncing about on the anchorage. I decide to anchor on the Chesapeake side under some trees to the South at Town point. Trees gobble up the wind and I stay peacefully for two days for the wind to decline. I then have to motor in bright sunshine the 55 miles of the Delaware to anchor just inside the mouth on the West. Exposed to North winds but there aren't any. I do see a dolphin on the way back so I am definitely approaching the open sea!
And then into the open sea at 7am the next morning, I do 145 miles and arrive at 8 am the next morning. The autopilot earns its keep. I get to sail for a third of the time, I have a few hours of peasoup fog - the Radar earns its keep, though I only get one target. Late in the evening I get a thunderstorm that brings wind for half an hour - Hard to see this coming in the dark and I have the full main out and the number 2 genny poled out. I turn dead downwind and wind the genny 90% in - 8.4 knots in 40 knots of wind is exciting, in a bad way. But as usual the high pedigree of Shadowmere shows itself and the boat roars away in a straight line never giving any concern (apart from the rapidly approaching shipping lanes, but I lose the wind and turn left before reaching them.). Always good to have sea room.
And then into the bay that leads to New York, First you pass under Verrazano bridge linking Staten Island to Brooklyn.
Not much wind at this point! Once under it I am in New York harbour which is quite large - full of pleasure yachts, paddle boarders, kayaks and ferries, lots of ferries all doing 30 knots!
And then to Manhattan and downtown
Thar she blows
Liberty Island is just beside Ellis island - where immigration was handled. There is an anchorage behind Liberty, and another beside Ellis, I opt for the Ellis one. Massive wake problem during the day but it settles after 7pm. It would be handy for making scrambled eggs during the day but I contrive to be ashore until 7pm.
An impressive skyline, but it comes into its own at night.
Just around the corner from the anchorage is a nice marina - just facing Manhattan, they allow transient dinghies to stay free. The marina charges 5$ per foot per night, the anchorage is free!
And handily enough the ferries for Manhattan leave from here, You can take your dinghy the mile across to Manhattan, but the marinas there charge for dinghy docking. I get the ferry and rendezvous with Pearse, a colleague from my old work (Univerity of Ulster)
We come back and walk past the marina to a restaurant and to a different ferry dock where you can take a trip to Ellis and Liberty. You can't land your dinghy there or they kill you. The security for the statue ferry involves them taking my belt off and x-raying me - more rigorous than most airports. I suppose the symbolic nature of the Statue of Liberty deserves serious protection.
The restaurant has mosquito nets around its outdoor seats (though we had no problems in Late July/Early August)
This part of New Jersy is a large park - Liberty park. you can get married here (at the restaurant)
There is also a memorial to New Jersey residents who perished in 911. It points at the site of the twin towers across the water.
We get the ferry with a round ticket to visit Ellis and Liberty island (museum and statue) To get inside the statue you need to book a day or two in advance though.
Inside is really interesting, I will show just some photos here.
Sorry for the lack of light. New York was ten times more imprtant for immigration than anywhere else.
Poignent little shoes. The righthand boots are Polish.
Considering the ongoing Trumpiness of immigration I thought I would post some posters and things about immigration
Given President Trump's spelling problems with twitter I wonder if he would pass. Though I am one to tak.
An honest exhibition here
Yet immigrants do jobs that are needed
Causes of refugees
Of course Cuba had a special problem that needed Immigration. I continually wonder why the US does not trade with Cuba, they trade with China so it is not just communism, is it smarting pride or the Cubans in Florida's voice?
Mexico gets a mention too.
And of course illegals
There are also exhibits that are less politically charged
Immigrants brought the tools of their trade - this is not a singer.
This was probably accompanied by a singer.
And art also featured.
And then onto the Statue of Liberty - a pleasent walk around it along with a lot of other people.
And then we depart NY to go to Port Washington - a mere 15 miles away and an easy 40 minute train ride back into the city. Up the East river, under 7 bridges and within 10 miles you are in the countryside of Long Island - amazing. And Port Washington is just a nice wee town, with great moorings and lots of boats.
If the UN building is in session you get diverted away from this part of the river into the other side of an island - which has a lifting bridge, luckily we were able to pass up the main branch
All the bridges in the main branch exceed 65 feet.
The East river branches left into the Harlem, through a portion of the river called Hellgate, often misnamed Hell's gate, it has nothing to do with hot places - Hellgate is a Dutch word. I have the current having planned a 7 am start to optimise travel, only 3 or 4 knots with me mind you.
And both East river and Harlem river are arguably not rivers as they have two mouths... Into Long Island Sound and New York harbour in the case of East "River".
A few more bridges and then past La Guardia airport
And then into the countryside and open waters of Long Island sound - a hundred miles with many famous places, I visit Port Washington first - about 20 miles up Long Island (which is quite long)
Our first night on the mooring, Pearse remarks he is seeing a shadow in his left eye and has had flashes in it for the last couple of days. Flashes per se might not be too serious as a lot of people get a temporary vitrous detachment at the back of the eyeball - 98% of people have this pass within 6 weeks but anything funny with eyes need checked. Shortsight and being over 60 exacerbate the chances of having a problem. Pearse is two years early...
We decide to see what the morning brings but it is no better and gets worse as we journey by train into NY. We visit the Mount Sinai Eye Hospital
Which proves to be the right place to be. After Pearse phoning his travel insurance people and getting the OK (he is to pay up front and claim until the bill exceeds £500.) He gets a $100 consultation which is frankly very high quality - lots of tests and three doctors conferring with him. It looks like a tear in the retina. Detached Retinas need immediate attention. Involves frickin lasers, cyrogenic treatment and a bubble of gas as well. This means no flying for at least a month and subsequent treatments that might be needed might also cause restrictions. It is decided to get Pearse home as quick as possible, we leave the hospital at 6pm and by 10pm he is flying home. By 5am our time he is in the RVH Eye hospital, given a "major problem" classification and admitted and operated on. Pearse has been able to ask his nephew (who is working in NY) to help and he sits on the web and organises an airline ticket, hires a car and drives Pearse straight to the airport, I go back to the boat and pack his suitcase and deliver it to Cathal the next day, he will be home before me. Luckily Pearse had taken his passport and there was nothing mission critical in his luggage. He buys a coat in the airport in anticipation of Belfast being colder than New York! As I write this Pearse is recovering at home - he has to sleep upright for a fortnight. Phew He is greatly disappointed to be missing his holiday and I am greatly disappointed to not have his company.
After delivering Pearse's suitcase to Cathal I visit a Smithsonian Design museum, small and some specialist exhibitions but interesting in parts
Part of a disability (differently abled) exhibition, I am taken by the walking stick design. Shirley and I had followed a Philippe Starck "design Apprentice" TV show where a winning project was a walking stick with a cupped curve to lean your knee into as you stood up. These are less innovative...
A section on architecture covers old models of innovative staircases.
I built a staircase to get into my study (man den) above the garage, mine was a bit more "rustic"
Many designers was lyrical about Vases - how do you measure the goodness of a vase?
Here is a 1936 design, I'd like to test it to see if it has an incontinent pour
And of course there are chairs
!948 fibreglass rocker
1969 Heart Cone Chair
A ball, yuck
There is an exhibition on the senses - hard for me to photograph the smells and touch part of this. I was taken by this poster. My daughter is a wordsmith and I wonder what Xilinous means? I had many dealings with a Company called Xilinx but never wondered what it meant.
I used to often eat my lunch at my desk, I even have been known to sleep under my desk, but I never had a gadget like this
Much better than don't panic sunglasses, an ostrich approach to panic management?
Even handrail design should be done right, and often isn't
Strive for tactile perfection. You have to touch these to know how good they are (or aren't)
After this visit I leave Port Washington and head East to Port Jefferson, New London, Mystic Seaport, Block Island and Martha's Vineyard (which isn't) before transiting the Cape Cod Canal to get North to Boston. Single handed again.