The entire time I was researching this trip, I would always read something about the horrors of the East River and the Jersey Shore. Everything I read or heard made it sound like it was the very home of the Kraken, 100′ Great White Sharks, and New York taxi drivers that moonlight as ferryboat drivers in their off hours…YIKES (again)!! Was I nervous? Why yes, I was…😳.
We left Port Washington early in the morning so we’d catch the ebb tide down the East River. For those who don’t know, the currents that run between Long Island Sound and New York harbor are very strong and if you don’t catch them going the right way, you’ll be pretty much sitting still even at full throttle (at least in a sailboat).
We approached the Throgs Neck Bridge right on time. There was little to no traffic on the water so things were going great!! You could hear the noises of the city start to get louder the closer we got. Soon we had gone under the bridge and were in the East River. The currents were just starting to turn to ebb so our speed over ground started slowly increasing. For a sailboater, any time your speed over ground is more than your boat speed thru the water is a time for much rejoicing…😁.
As we made our way down the river, past Rikers Island and the water treatment plant, we knew the infamous HELL GATE was fast approaching and tensions were running high!! Would we make it thru this section of the river with all souls still aboard or would we have to make a sacrifice to the Kraken…😬…(I figured the Kraken lives in NYC, maybe with a few of the sharks as it’s gang members but I’m not sure cos they’re a very secret society…😳).
YAY!! We made it thru HELL GATE without losing Infinity or any souls aboard!! All kidding aside, it was a great ride thru the gate. Our SOG increased to almost 9 knots and the steering got a bit wonky cos of the swirling water, but overall it’s no worse than going thru the Race or Plum Gut back home. As we continued down the East River towards Lower Manhattan, the city closed in around us and the traffic on the water (and land) increased. We also realized that we were passing thru the city on 9/11 so the police were making a huge appearance!!
As we passed Lower Manhattan, over the VHF radio onboard Infinity, came a countdown to the time when the first tower came down. It still gives me goosebumps thinking about it. We talked about how you remember exactly what you were doing on that day…😔.
As the day progressed, we headed out of NY Harbor, under the Verrazano Bridge (home of the “Yellow Sweater Incident”…don’t ask), and into the Atlantic Ocean for the overnight passage down the Jersey shore!!
To be continued….
❤️❤️❤️
Sailing Infinity 