Wednesday 29th Manhasset Bay Long Island Sound

Having got up and listened to the forecast and stuck my nose out into the wind (NE 4-5) I decided to go for it (I had hoped to leave on Tuesday, but with bad visibility and thunderstorms decided against it) The trip through the East River to the Long Island Sound is dependent on tidal current, as it flows up to 5knots in either direction, if I didn’t go today I would have to wait at least a week to pass in daylight. I raised the anchor at 7.45am and the sails to help the run up to The Narrows which would of necessity be against the current, where I doused the sails as they would be of no use and possibly dangerous in the close quarter manoeuvring here on in, to continue under engine, pushing it at times to get to The Battery at one hour after low water, and the outgoing current to the Long Island Sound, under eight high level fixed bridges, we only impeded one ferry very briefly and got swirled around a bit at the Hells Gate, otherwise was easy enough, though a blessed relief to kill the engine at the end of the day. 

entering the Narrows

The Verrazano Bridge at the Narrows

The Battery

Liberty

Brooklin and Manhattan Bridges

Manhattan Bridge

Brooklin Shore

Tug

Williamsburg Bridge

Queensborough Bridge

Triborough and railway Bridges at Hells Gate

Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges

We emerged through the Throgs Neck into Long Island Sound at about 5pm and anchored in Manhasset Bay at 6.30pm, with sunset at 7.30pm

sunset in Manhasset Bay

My impressions of the city? The East side of the East River seemed to be industrialised, neglected and rough. On the West side, the tightly packed high rise buildings around the Battery seemed to be oppressive, improving towards Manhattan and Queens where they are not so high and allot more open, other than that my aversion to big cities still stands!

Here at Manhasset Bay the West shore (the bay runs NW-SE) is all seaside mansions, while the East and South have marinas then mooring fields, leaving anchoring to the furthest margins. On Thursday I learned that they are holding four day international match-play racing and I have a grandstand seat, they are coming within feet of my rig!

Thursday 23rd Aug Atlantic Highlands New Jersey

Having got tired of being in Cape May and with forecast of a couple of days with possible wind, I lifted the anchor on Monday 20^th at about midday, to take advantage of the outgoing tide, however it did make it a bit lumpy at the entrance; I raised the sails, but the wind rarely reached the forecast levels, so had to motor sail for all but about five of the forty four hours of the voyage. During the leg we passed through two areas of dead fish and a fishing competition, allot of boats of all sizes spread over a large area and moving every so often.

We passed around Sandy Hook at just about dawn, after doing about 2 ½ knots for the previous 10 hours to arrive after high tide (tidal currents run at up to 3 ½ knots here) with the New York skyline visible to the North, and anchored off Atlantic Highlands at 8am on Wednesday 22^nd in about 3m in mud.

Sunrise at Sandy Hook

Atlantic Highlands Harbour

16th Aug Cape May New Jersey

On Friday 10^th after a storm passed I went overboard for a swim to check the anchor, visibility was terrible and below about 3ft I could not see the chain I was holding on to, and found it disappearing into thick mud so surfaced and cleaned the barnacles off the propeller  which was barely visible! The next morning I reassembled the bike, dinghied it ashore and rode into Lewis to the farmers market, which was well attended and had a tomato festival, then took a tour around the town, very pretty and well preserved.

Passing storm

Lewis farmers market

Lewis

Blacksmith

Tall ship in Cape Henlopen

Anchorage Cape Henlopen

The morning of Monday 13^th looked settled so I went ashore again with the bike, and took a run around the Cape Henlopen State Park, which turned out to be mostly (if not all) Fort Miles, now defunct, but active during WW2 as a shore battery protecting Delaware Bay, only got lost once on the cycle route (about 4miles) then into Lewis for a coffee and bun, then back to the boat, dismantled bike, stowed dinghy on deck and filled the fuel tanks.

I was up at sunrise but with no wind hesitated and had breakfast, then lifted the anchor and left, a healthy easterly wind helped us across the Delaware Bay which has three Traffic Separation Zones converging, luckily nothing moving this morning! Stopped engine having crossed over and sailed for about three hours, I had to furl the jib for the last hour as I wanted to enter Cape May on a rising tide, about an hour and a half after Cape May appeared out of the haze we anchored off the Coast Guard Station in 2m of water, at about 2.30pm on Tuesday 14^th. 

On Wednesday morning I went ashore and walked into Cape May and along the boardwalk (now concrete) and back (about 6miles) the town is clean and pretty, definitely a holiday resort and mostly wealthy. The anchorage is beside a busy route with fishing boats of all sizes and pleasure craft going up and down all day, a bit different from the peace and tranquillity, if not solitude, of Cape Henlopen.

10th Aug Cape Henlopen Delaware

Having decided I had seen enough of this area and a weather window opened, I lifted the anchor at about 11.30am Tuesday 7^th Aug (had to wait for at least half tide to get over the bar at the entrance to Sarah Creek easily)

Yorktown from Sarah Creek, bridge on right

  The anchor came up in a ball of mud with 30 odd feet of rope and the chain wrapped around it, I could not clear this until we were safely into York River because of current and the meandering channel into Sarah Creek. I raised the sails as soon as I could but ended up motor sailing the whole way because of little or no wind. As we were approaching the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel a thunder storm passed close increasing the wind, seeing it coming I double reefed the main, but shook them out again within an hour as storm passed. Got into Ocean City Maryland, about 8am on Thursday 9^th, only to find the bay too shallow to anchor, so left again, coming in we were doing about 2 ½ knots at high revs leaving we did about 5 knots at low revs. 

Storm passing

 Another thunder storm passed around us in the early afternoon, we made it into Cape Henlopen and anchored off at 7pm on Thursday 9^th with more storms due for the weekend.

Cape Henlopen

3rd Aug Sarah Creek

On Wednesday 1^st I decided to ‘get a little culture’ so reassembled the cycle dingied it to shore and cycled over the bridge to Yorktown Battlefield where the British were defeated to end the war of independence, and also where the final stages of the civil war were fought out, the battlefields have been preserved and excavated, all very interesting with good displays.

Yorktown Battlefield

Victory Memorial, first Lady of liberty hit by lightening

Yorktown village

Yorktown village

On Thursday 2^nd I cycled again in to Yorktown and caught the free busses ( I had to change in Williamsburg) to Jamestown, the site of the first successful British settlement in the USA and also site of fighting in the civil war, the site is still being excavated again with excellent displays guided tours, also with a recreated Indian village, fort and replica boats with people in period dress to explain what is there and what they are doing, not as cheesy as it sounds, only downside apart from the heat (we are still in a heatwave here) was the change of bus meant that I only had about three hours before having to return to Williamsburg for the Yorktown connection. 

Pocahontas ans chapel Jamestown

Indian village

Inside wigwam

Canoe making and arrow making

 

Fort

Blacksmith

With all the cycling and walking my legs started complaining so I took Friday as an easy day and scrubbed the green beard at water level all around the boat, and refilled water and fuel tanks, my gas tank has finally run out, put on in Newry just before leaving! No hardship as I have spares on board.