New York City

[Maryanne]Leaving Newport and our good friends aboard Sotito was a struggle for us, we just don't know when we might next see them. While this lifestyle obviously has some amazing moments, there is definately a cost, and we hope to find the balance (impossible really). Our departure from Newport, though, was under a flyover by the Italian Air Force - so quite impressive. Thanks Newport!

The Italian Air Force's Frecce Tricolori were (we imagine) sent to bid us "arrivederci" as we departed Newport Habour

We spent a night at anchor just around the corner to prepare for an early departure. Our last stop in Rhode Island (Mackeral Cove, on Conanicut Island) was nicely protected while a major lightning storm to passed over us late in the afternoon (the red dots are lightning strikes within the previous two minutes).

[Kyle]We like New York City. The last couple of times we had a chance to pop in and have a look, we skipped it and sailed right by, mostly because we were trying to take the best advantage we could of a weather window at the time. In 2013, for example, after living in the Hudson River for the previous winter, we didn't feel so much of a pull to get right back to where we had just departed and thus skip an AMAZING weather window that would get us all of the way from Block Island to Delaware Bay in one day. That still stands as our fastest through-the-water run in twenty-four hours (226nm).

This time, I was determined to ignore a very similar forecast so that we could take the Long Island Sound route that would take us right through the city, giving us no excuse not to stop.

New York City, on the other hand, was not doing us any favors. Lincoln Harbor Yacht Center, where we rode out Hurricane Sandy, was effectively destroyed by the storm. The owners continued on for a bit, but the damage proved too costly to repair, so now what's left of it sits abandoned and empty. Economics being what it is, when supply falls, demand goes up, along with prices. The going rate for transient dockage near Manhattan is now around eight dollars per foot per day. Add in taxes and that means a three-night stay for Begonia would run us over a thousand bucks, and that's before we even leave the marina grounds. There has to be a better way.

Well, there sort of is, but not really. The city has two facilities run by the park service that have set rates that are way more reasonable. We have visited both in the past. For this visit however 79th Street Basin is undergoing a major renovation AND they no longer let catamarans use their moorings anyway. World's Fair Marina is a bit further out, but it turns out they too have no availability due to extensive renovations as well.

Our friends Ivar and Floris, from Lucipara 2, had just been to New York City earlier this year and they reported having a great time. They're not loaded either. What had they done?

They stayed in Port Washington, on Long Island, and had many nice things to say about it. Port Washington is a whole day away from Manhattan at sailboat speeds, but you can get there in under an hour on the train, other visiting sailors also recommended it. Port Washington, it is!

To get there from Newport, we had a light tailwind day, a light headwind day, and a two-day window of the aforementioned amazing tailwinds. We used the first day to get to Fishers Island, slept in and had a lazy day aboard during the headwinds. Then we planned to do two days in a row - one long one to Port Jefferson and a medium one to Port Washington.

It didn't really work out that way. Anticipating our pre-dawn departure from Fishers Island for our long leg to Port Jefferson and dreading the coming alarm, I had a terrible time sleeping. Eventually, I decided that since I was up, we might as well just go now. While Maryanne was still in bed, and probably unaware of the hour, I started the engines and weighed anchor at 0136. Oof!

That actually turned out for the best. Instead of lazily sleeping through the first four hours of good tailwinds, we used it to get so far away that we couldn't even see Fishers Island anymore by the time the sun came up. Also good was that the new timing had us taking the best advantage of the strong tidal currents on the Eastern end of the Sound. For the first time in a long time, we had whole long stretches with through-the-water speeds in the low teens, plus another three knots of current helping further. We decided to skip Port Jefferson altogether and head straight to Port Washington.

We started early for the sail along the Connecticut Coast and into Long Island Sound

Port Washington is capacious, with more than enough room for any boat that wants to come. The city has several sturdy visitor moorings for thirty-five dollars each per day, with the first day thrown in for free. Included on the paid days is unlimited use of their launch service, which is great if you are doing a lot of back-and-forth errands.

We had taken care of all of the likely chores in Newport, but it was nice to not have to worry about deploying the dinghy or how far the row to shore would be.

After a short walk, we boarded the Long Island Railroad for the trip into the city.

Now, I realize that even people who live in New York City will never have time to see everything there is to do there. That being said, Maryanne and I have been lucky enough to spend a good deal of time in this vibrant city, so neither of us felt like we just had to try to do everything we could while we were there. In fact, our list was surprisingly unambitious by our normal standard. Maryanne wanted to do just a couple of things we had never managed to get around to while we were living there. My requirements were even less specific. I just wanted to be in the city, walking in it's frenetic bustle, and letting our whims fill the day.

Maryanne's first thing was a visit to Roosevelt Island. It's right there, but we had never been. We didn't need to do everything on the island, so we contented ourselves with a walking semi-lap and a visit to Four Freedoms Park. Then we took the tramway to Manhattan because, scenery! That is definitely the way to go if you are a commuter - Gliiiiide into Manhattan...

Roosevelt Island (in the East River) is a surprisingly peaceful part of NY City, and some beautiful riverfront paths

We took the Tramway across the river and on to Manhattan Island itself

Then it was time for my thing. Like I said, I didn't want much, just a chance to walk around for a while and take it in. High Line Park fit the bill perfectly for that. Since we were last here, it's been extended further and now goes all of the way from 11th Street to 34th Street, allowing us to walk halfway between downtown and Central Park without having to cross any streets. Along the way, we exited and re-entered for a nice meal, drinks at a rooftop bar, or for anything else that took our fancy.

We also went to Central Park and Rockefeller Center, which felt kind of like going back to the old neighborhood, because we have spent so much time in both areas. We also popped into Times Square and Bryant Park, stopping in between for a slice.

We walked through Central Park

... and Bryant Park (which, when the weather allowed, was a favourte Lunch spot of Maryanne when she worked in Manhattan)

... and the High Line Park (once an elevated rail track) now provides an oasis of art and flowers (and a chance to peer into some of the homes along the way)

We broke off the High Line briefly to explore the Hudson River's "Little Island" park (opened in 2021), at Pier 55

We ate at multiple different places, but stopped for a cocktail at this quirky place: The Magic Hour (Surf Club) roof top bar and lounge

And generally walking the streets along the way - NY always keeps us wide-eyed with wonder

As we were taking the launch back to Begonia at the end of the day, we noted (despite taking several subway rides) that our phones were saying we had each walked about twelve miles during the day. That really feels like nothing in New York City. There is so much to do and see, even without an itinerary. We really do love it. I think we could happily live there if we were bo-zillionaires who had one of those big penthouses with a rooftop garden. I guess you could say that about anywhere, really, but New York City is especially special.

One of the other things we had just never managed to get around to while we were based there was to anchor out for the night by the Statue of Liberty. To be honest, the heavy traffic and constant wakes put us off. The anchorage is not really convenient to anything, but it is free and thus a good stop after the day's sail/motor from Port Washington.

Sailing the last of Long Island sound and past Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty

I must say, the spot we chose to the south of Lady Liberty was actually pretty good. There was lots of tour boat traffic, but by the time they got to where we were, they were already well slowed down to land at Liberty Island's docks. Even the boy racers who wanted to blast through on their fast boats had to slow down to go around the big ferries in their way. For the rest of the day we were there, we only saw maybe one or two big wakes that made it to us.

There is a lot of low-flying helicopter traffic. Most of that seemed to come in waves, so we would have five minutes of having to pause our conversation and wait, followed by ten minutes of surprisingly peaceful quiet. Then it would be another five and ten, or maybe ten and twenty. Considering the general bustle, it didn't seem annoying. They did finally stop about an hour after sunset. I guess not that many people want to book 2:00 a.m. tours.

2:00 a.m. was the best! With the skies clear and the harbor empty of everyone but a slow-moving, distant tug, the mirror-flat water reflected the floodlit statue, which towered above us, and the sparkling city beyond. What a view! We should have done this a long time ago!

Hanging out by Lady Liberty herself... and then bidding farwell the following day

Next on Maryanne's list of New York stuff that we never to around to is a visit to Coney Island. It was Winter when we were here and Coney Island is more of a Summer place.

Now I can already hear people familiar with Coney Island chuckling under their breaths. It's iconic, though. She really wanted to see it. I was a little bit curious myself.

It did not start off too well. Arriving at Gravesend Bay from Liberty Island, we couldn't help but notice that the scenery wasn't up to the same standard. To put it more directly, if a filmmaker wanted to make a movie about a bunch of sailors trying to eke out a brutal existence in a post-apocalyptic world, they could set it in Gravesend Bay without having to make any modifications whatsoever. I would say that “Waterworld”, which was at the time the most expensive movie ever made, could have been brought in waaay under budget here, but that would presuppose that the crew wasn't constantly having all of their equipment nicked and having to replace it over and over.

Well, we're here already. Let's make the best of it.

Rumor had it that the nearby gas station, which has a long hose down to a rickety dock, would let you tie up for a few hours if you buy some fuel. I asked the very grumpy man in the dimly-lit, bulletproof box if this was indeed true, while waving my empty jerrycan in the direction of the pumps and the dock beyond. He agreed, but was very clear that he didn't like my request one tiny bit and that every minute our unattended dinghy was tied up would only stoke his ire further.

I filled the can and returned to Begonia to drop it off in exchange for Maryanne. Then we returned, tied to the dock in the worst space possible, which was the only space allowed, and then slunk away to the boardwalk.

The Coney Island boardwalk pretty much looks like we had expected it to look. It's long and wide, with a beach on one side and an assortment of carnival rides and greasy eateries on the other. What was strange was that, even though it was a beautiful Memorial Day weekend, it was very sparsely populated. The carnival rides, which are operated by several different companies who each control a small section, were almost completely deserted.

After Maryanne and I bellied up to one of the counters to buy tickets for a roller coaster, we saw why. The price structure here pretty much guarantees that for anybody buying a ticket, it's going to be a one-time thing. Families can forget it. That's why we saw so many parents trying to convince their kids that a fast stroller ride was just as much fun. Our roller coaster was fun, but a stroller ride would have lasted longer. The staff acted like operating the big machine for us was the absolute low point of their already miserable day.

Coney Island: we braved the Thunderbolt ride at Luna Park, and walked the boadwalk to soak up the general atmosphere

{Maryanne:I had really wanted to see the famed Coney Island sideshows, the strong men, and more "the unusual, the hideous, and the bizarre", but Coney Island didn't seem to offer this any longer. I later discovered there is a small museum and a show (The Coney Island Sideshow) off the boardwalk that in season and on weekends offers this still. I'm kicking myself that we missed it - but maybe that allows for a future visit?}

Our walk home took us past a Caribbean Festival. That sounded like great fun! At the parking lot outside the arena, we encountered a lot of participants eagerly getting ready to go in. We noticed there was a definite theme going on with the outfits. They were all different, but the idea seemed to be to use as little spandex as possible and then stretch it as far as one could over as large an area of skin as possible. Well, I would never have their confidence in wearing such a thing. I've got to hand it to them. We decided the Caribbean Festival probably wasn't meant for us and moved on.

Well, now we've seen Coney Island. We were pleased to find our dinghy still floating where we left it and beat a hasty retreat to the familiar comfort of our floating home, Kevin Costner-style. We decided that it seems unlikely we will ever get nostalgic and revisit this anchorage again.

And home to Begonia in Coney Island Creek

[Maryanne]Kyle started this blog with "We like New York", well we really LOVE it. If I had the $bucks to retire and settle there, maybe with a nice appartment overlooking central park, I'd be there in a jiffy (a girl can dream!). We felt like New York was "home" when we spent that winter in Weehawken, and I worked at the NY Times (just off Times Square) with an easy 10 minute (max) bus ride into work every day (winter of 2012/2013). We arrived shortly before Hurricane Sandy hit and devistated so much, and aside from that drama just loved our time here. That winter wasn't easy; the water was mostly turned off at the docks, and with the busy river traffic we experienced regular heavy wakes requiring extra strong (metal) springs to (help) keep the jolting down . But I was able to work, Kyle had a reliable commute to his work, we made great friends, and we were able to experience so much of what NY had to offer (shows, parks, sights, restaurants, and more). Returning was an absolute joy. I'd go back in a New York minute. This return to the city truely filled our hearts, and we hope to repeat that someday.

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Conanicut Island (RI) anchorage location >> On google maps
West Harbor/Fishers Island, Long Island Sound (NY) anchorage location >> On google maps
Port Washington Town Moorings (NY) location >> On google maps (note anchoring is also an option). Not ideal, but given the budget, just perfect. It is a 30 minute walk, then an hour train ride into Central Manhattan. Trains aren't THAT regular, but regular enough - so if you are prepared for a 3 hour out and back commute, it works. For us our total costs for the mooring, transport, AND eating out and sightseeing in NY were less than a single night in a marina in NJ, let alone a marina in NY city.
Liberty Island anchorage location >> On google maps
Coney Island Creek anchorage location >> On google maps