Port Washington

The day dawned hot, humid, and windless so we knew another day of motoring was in store for us. The goal was to make it from Port Jefferson to Port Washington so we could stage up for the East River and New Jersey shore portion of the trip south. We also wanted to get as far west as possible in case Hurricane Lee decided it wanted to visit Long Island Sound. We left PJ early in the morning and had a pretty uneventful trip unless you consider that our fly killing abilities were vastly improved…I think the fly death toll is somewhere around 500 confirmed kills now!!

As we entered Port Washington, a nice breeze picked up but I decided it wasn’t worth pulling out the sails so we motored into the harbor, found a transient morning ball, and settled in for the rest of the day.

The transient mooring balls are rented from the “Port Washington Water Taxi” people and they are close to shore and in great shape. The people that run the PWWT company are also very nice and go beyond most places in taking care of you (I’ll explain later in the post….).

The next morning we needed to do some shopping, stretch our legs, and go have a slice of pizza at Carlo’s Pizza Shop. The day was again very hot and humid but the trek up the hill to Carlo’s was well worth it. Carlo’ s Pizza was started in 1980 and they make some of the best NY-style pizza I’ve ever had (It’s so good that just before we left to keep moving south, we ordered two pizzas for dinner and to have onboard for quick meals and snacks)!!

After our pizza lunch, we headed back down the hill to the waterfront where they have every store you can imagine. I needed a new pair of sunglasses as my other new pair had gone overboard the day before (I guess Poseidon needed a new pair too), so we went to West Marine, then to Target for a bunch of fly swatters (the old ones were falling apart), and Stop&Shop for more food and beverages.

As the weekend rolled on, there was much discussion about when would be a good time to make the trip down the East River and if it would be good enough to continue down the Jersey shore. At first, the upcoming Monday looked promising but a few hours later it looked like Thursday would be better. We kept both options open for review on Sunday.

With some free time available, Jeff and I decided to go do some metal detecting the following day to see if we could find any lost pirate treasure. The next day was still hot, humid, and now stormy but we decided to be brave and go get rich!! The first beach apparently had been passed over by the pirates cos there was nothing there so we moved on to a more promising public park, even though the skies were getting more threatening by the minute!! We motored over to the beach and tied off the dinghy at a new dock that was installed a few years back. We walked up the ramp, thru an open gate, and out onto the beach to start searching again!! The beach was pretty much deserted except for a group celebrating a kids birthday nearby. The search for pirate treasure began again but Momma Nature must have thought that any treasure there was hers so she opened up the heavens in a huge wind and rain storm like nothing seen in centuries!! As we headed for cover, we watched the birthday family start picking up their party and a park employee walk over and lock the gate to the dock. Not good!!

So now we’re totally stuck on shore cos we can’t get to the dinghy (not that we would have been able to go back to the boat just yet as you couldn’t see anything due to the heavy rain and wind). We discussed our options as the storm passed and first we decided to see if we could get around the gate to the dock…nope. Next, we tried seeing if the employee was still around and that failed too. As our options were starting to get very slim, we decided to see if the Port Washington Water Taxi company had any thoughts on how to get to the dinghy. After a few minutes on the phone, a solution was found and put into action.

Our next obstacle was getting out of the park so we could walk to another dock just down the road to be picked up. As we walked along the fencing that surrounded the park, we started to think that we weren’t going to be able to get out but we eventually found a gate that was open….FREEDOM!!

We got to the dock just as the water taxi got there. The guy driving was very pleasant considering he had to come out and pick us up in such lovely weather and he told us stories about PW as we headed back to get the dinghy. When we got to the dinghy, the guy suggested that he could tie the dinghy to his boat and tow it back to Infinity while we stayed dry on his boat. Well, that was an offer we couldn’t refuse!!

After a half hour ride back to Infinity, we tied the dinghy back on Infinity, transferred all our gear over, gave the guy a really nice tip, and thanked him for going above and beyond his normal service!! It’s service like that that will keep you coming back to places like Port Washington in the future and I plan to stop there on the return trip in the Spring.

With the day ending, the weather discussion came up again and it was decided that we would have a good enough window on Monday to head down the East River and then continue down the Jersey shore. My first overnight passage was going to happen and I was quite excited to go!!

Next up….the East River, Jersey shore, and beyond!!

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