We left Manasquan, NJ, the morning of June 4 with the idea to finish our ocean crossing today and to then pass through NY Harbor and continue to Long Island. (While we hadn’t planned to go to Long Island, we need to take our time to ensure that the Erie Canal locks – some of which have been closed down for high water – will be open by the time we reach them; thus, we were happy to embrace the opportunity to explore Long Island with former residents, John and Pat on “Patti Anne.”)
Even early in the morning, the waters by Manasquan are very busy. Below is a picture of “Patti Anne” and “Til You Can’t” in front of us in the inlet as well as some photos of the jetty and development along the shoreline.
Sandy Hook was our last view of NJ, and we started seeing the Brooklyn skyline ahead though the Canadian wildfires were obscuring the view somewhat.
We were very glad and thanked God to have John on “Patti Anne” to assist in navigating through bustling NY Harbor, as John and Pat have traversed these waters numerous times.
When we saw Romer Shoal lighthouse, we knew that we were officially back in NYS.
While watching “Patti Anne” approach the Verrazzano Bridge, our next sight was an NYPD boat that came roaring up to their boat.
We weren’t concerned, however, because we knew that John and Pat’s son was captaining it. He was giving us a welcome to NY Harbor. They asked him to make sure to go back a ways to “Til You Can’t” (third of three in our little flotilla at that point) and pull up next to them, also. The boat travelling behind “Til You Can’t” immediately messaged them frantically asking what they’d done! As if the water wasn’t choppy enough, before John and Pat’s son left, he was sure to wake them. Pat said, “Brat!”
“Til You Can’t” took a picture of Exodus approaching the Verrazzano Bridge.
The bells on the buoys were ringing because of the rough water. It made it a little challenging to take pictures.
One of the reasons we planned to go to Long Island first before staying in NY Harbor was because we couldn’t get into marinas in NYC given the SailGP high-speed catamaran races taking place June 7-8. Boats such as the one pictured below that we saw practicing can reach speeds up to 60 mph.
This is a very crowded waterway, with various ferries dodging right and left as well as ships and tugs and barges, some at anchor in designated spots. Chatter on the radios is constant.
The Statue of Liberty soon came into view.
Below is Exodus in front of the Statue of Liberty.
Entering the East River with Manhattan in front of us (and then to the left) …
… we first passed bleachers for the sailboat race and Castle Williams on Governors Island on the right …
… then saw where the Staten Island Ferry docks in Manhattan on the left.
We went under the Brooklyn Bridge …
… and then the Manhattan Bridge.
The Mexican Tall Ship that tragically collided with the Brooklyn Bridge was being guarded by an NYPD boat while it waited to be moved to a dry dock.
Other sights along the way included: the Chrysler, Domino Sugar, and Empire State, buildings (pictured); Roosevelt Island; Riker’s Island; LaGuardia Airport; and, SUNY Maritime College (three last pictures) from which son/stepson Jon graduated!
We passed Stepping Stones Lighthouse …
… and continued toward our destination of Port Washington in Long Island, viewing many elaborate estates on shore.
Reaching Safe Harbor Capri in Port Washington, we joined Pat and John (“Patti Anne”), Kim and Chuck (“Til You Can’t”), and Christine and George (“Resonance”) for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.
June 5 proved to be a big day. We first said goodbye to Christine and George then headed out via Uber to the train station to catch the train into NYC. This was Dennis’s first ever ride on a train. When the conductor punched the tickets, he was reminded of the Tom Hanks character on The Polar Express.
Having gotten tickets for the train, the next adventure was to get tickets for and board the subway at Penn Station. Pictured below are two clueless tourists. It was a very good thing that John and Pat were leading the way!
Exiting the subway, we walked to North Cove Marina …
… where two NYPD boats met us.
John and Pat’s son, John, captain of one of the boats, took us for an amazing tour of NY Harbor. We rode on a boat that is equipped to take POTUS out of harm’s way if need be. It weighs 40,000 pounds more than the other police boats because of its special reinforcements (e.g., bulletproofing).
Here are some very happy passengers.
The ladies rode on the top deck most of the way.
We sped away, passing some of the sailboats preparing for the race.
First, we visited Ellis Island harbor.
Then, the tour went to the Statue of Liberty.
While there, a NYPD helicopter approached and hovered overhead, undoubtably arranged by our captain!
The guys did spend some time on the windy top deck.
The tour was most definitely one of the highlights of our whole trip, and we are extremely grateful to Pat and John as well as their son for the incredible experience.
From the marina, we walked to the Twin Towers Memorial and Museum.
The museum artifacts were difficult to view (eliciting both a deep sadness and anger), but all were presented in a highly respectful manner. Below are some pictures from the museum, including severed elevator cables, steel in the North Tower from the point of impact of Flight 11, and the last column.
The museum is underground. After surfacing when finishing walking through the museum, John got a tip from a policeman standing nearby (who was on a specially trained terrorism unit). Learning that John’s son was also NYPD, he immediately told us about a bar/restaurant within walking distance that was frequented by fire and police personnel. We had a delicious lunch in a great atmosphere.
After lunch, we reversed the process, taking the subway to train to Uber to get back to the marina. Long but action-packed day!
The following day, Fri., June 6, we were very fortunate to find a groomer within walking distance who could take both dogs that day! Because Ivy is having trouble walking any distance now, we’ve been using the wagon to bring her to the end of this very long dock so used the same system to take her to the groomers in today’s extreme heat. We were able to accomplish other chores (e.g., filling prescriptions) during the course of the day.
The captains of our little flotilla decided we’d leave the next day (Sat., June 7) for Northport, another spot on the northern shore of Long Island, where we’d be able to catch up with Doug and Barbara (“2nd Chance”) who live in the area. It was cooler but hazy (smoke from Canadian wildfires?) in the morning.
On the way, we saw numerous fishing boats as well as sand dunes.
Arriving at Northport, it was apparent that the deep-water harbor is a popular mooring spot judging from the number of anchored boats.
Unbeknownst to us, the town had a boat parade and a blessing of the fleet at the town docks today. We arrived at the close of the event, and, amazingly, all three of our boats were able to get spots at the town dock, likely because of the cooler, now misty and rainy day. We were docked right across from a King’s Point Merchant Marine tug boat there as part of the celebration.
The tide swing at this dock is nine feet! The pictures of our boat below were taken at high tide.
The reason there is a ladder on the dock next to our boat is because at low tide, boaters have to climb up the ladder from their boats which are nine feet lower than what is pictured! Boosting the dogs up the ladder proved to be an interesting challenge!
Though it rained on and off while we were in Northport, we enjoyed walking through the town which still has trolley car rails in the streets.
We were able to visit with Barbara and Doug on a couple different occasions on Saturday and Sunday, and Barbara kindly gave me a ride to the grocery store at one point. Sunday evening, Barbara and Doug invited us to their lovely home for appetizers and treated us to an impressive and very enjoyable impromptu concert with Barbara (former music teacher) on piano and Doug on drums.
We followed this up with a great meal at a local Italian restaurant.
While we’d all been kicking around venturing further east toward CT or Shelter Island, after a Captain’s meeting on Monday morning (June 9), John and Pat (“Patti Anne”) decided to continue to their home port on southern Long Island while we along with Chuck and Kim (“Til You Can’t”) decided to head back toward NYC and the Hudson River. The next post will cover our return to NY Harbor and trip up the Hudson River.