June 20: Milford

We slept late- almost 6 am - to catch the outgoing tide at Hell Gate. This is an area where multiple tidal waters meet and fight over who is going to throw your boat on the rocks first. Debbie eased Cattitude away from our sailboat dock mate and we were off… much to Peanut’s dismay.  We made one turn and a flipping water taxi flies past us in a no wake zone and just about rolls us. I looked at the Statue of Liberty and decided the original statue was actually flipping off the water taxi drivers. 

We took the East River straight through the city and all of its marvelous architecture.  Two dark leaning buildings caught my eye. Looked like someone added a walkway as a tie back to keep them from falling over. 

We went by Riker’s Island that houses a giant prison that they always talk about on Law and Order.  It is uncomfortably near La Guardia airport.

We made remarkable progress riding the tide at 11-12 knots. But then we hit the Long Island Sound. There’s a stout wind coming from the exact direction we are heading. So we are pounding, shit is falling from every countertop and Peanut is back in the litter box. 

Naturally, this made me have to pee. It’s like a violent rocking horse motion on the boat so I feared I would experience a third world version of the Toto toilet. Happy to report that didn’t happen. 

Greens Ledge light north of Stamford

We crossed into Connecticut waters at 11 am. At our current speed of 6 knots, we will arrive around 5. They say seas are 1 feet at 0 seconds.  The 1 feet thing is about 2-3 feet short of correct.

We made it to Milford around 3:30 with a fine coat of sea salt on the entire boat. It’s a pretty little town that we plan to explore after chores.We were greeted by huge schools of menhaden. Now Debbie is trying to second guess the weather and see where we can get to that has openings if we can handle the seas. The prices up here are OUTRAGEOUS! 8.50 a  foot!

So we need a day or two off. We are tired and we need to screw some things  back together. The cats are looking into turning themselves in to local shelters so we are going to relax for a day or two. Plus, it is blowing like hell. 

We will report in tomorrow. But not early! 😘