After some time at home in Burlington, finally getting our apartment almost finished and doing some land-based things, I (Jack) headed back down to New London in the middle of October, while Lucie stayed in Burlington to take care of more tasks!  I was able to get some needed boat work and maintenance done, getting ready for our planned trip to the Bahamas. While in New London, our good friends, RJ & Jen, were really helpful and fun to hang around with.

The plan was for Lucie to go to New York City via the train to visit friends, and for Jack to go over on WildHorse and pick her up there. Our friend Todd flew out from San Francisco to Newark, then took the train to New London to help crew for the trip up Long Island Sound to NYC. There was one task remaining that Todd was able to help with: the wind speed sensor on the top of the mast had worn bearings, so Todd hauled me up to the top of the mast to first remove the sensor, then after we replaced the bearings, back up the mast to reinstall it.

Up the mast for the first time on WildHorse.

View from the top of WildHorse & Sumna, our friends RJ & Jen’s boat.

Once Todd was moved in and all tasks completed, we left New London for a short sail to Old Saybrook, CT, a short trip up the Connecticut River.  While New London was definitely more of a blue-collar town, home of the Coast Guard Academy, Old Saybrook is much more upscale and seemed like a wealthy CT coastal town. Catherine Hepburn lived there, and they have a museum about her and her movies.

We got up at dawn the next day and headed west up the sound. Long Island Sound has some really strong currents, so you have to time it so that you aren’t fighting them. If you are sailing long enough, you will have currents both with you and against you, and we certainly did.  We sailed the whole day upwind and eventually made it to Port Jefferson harbor after dark. Luckily, it was an easy and straightforward harbor to enter after dark.  We dropped the anchor, made dinner, and had a quiet night’s sleep.

The next morning we got underway early again for the last leg into the head of the East River and NYC.  We sailed for the first couple of hours, then had to drop sails and motor since the wind was on the nose and we didn’t want to be tacking back and forth as we got closer to the city, with lots of commercial barges, ships, tugs, and pleasure boats everywhere. It was fun listening to the VHF radio traffic. You could definitely tell that you were arriving in New York, with someone at one point yelling “Hey, what’s the matta wit’ you, ya stupid??” at someone else. 

We successfully navigated the entrance without getting yelled at, and took a mooring at City Island Yacht Club. New York, as I’m sure you will be shocked to learn, is expensive, and marinas are no exception. The new marina in Manhattan wants $14/foot/night to stay there, for example.  This place was recommended by our friend Wijnanda and Jim, as a relatively inexpensive place to have your boat in NYC and it was great.  It’s on City Island, which is part of the Bronx, and about as far east as you can be and still be in New York City proper.  It seems like a world away from the hustle and crowds of Manhattan, with one main street with little shops and diners, lots of kids, dogs, baby strollers and great Halloween decorations. You could have been in Mayberry, RFD except for the people’s accents. Everyone there was very friendly. 

The view of Midtown from our mooring in City Island

It was also about an hour and a half bus and subway ride to midtown, but we did it multiple times. Todd and I had a great couple of days in New York, then he had to leave back to SF. He was excellent crew! His sailing enthusiams was really contagious, especially through all the pictures and videos he shared. After he left I had a day by myself there to cach up on laundry, groceries, and boat tasks, which never end.  The evening that Todd left was a record warm day in NYC, so I had a wonderful quiet dinner in the cockpit.

Lucie and our friend Ben are coming the next few days!