July 26: NYC

Another early start to get through Hell Gate in NYC before the tide turns against us. So we hit the ground running, each of us doing our pre-departure routines. 

One of the last tasks is turning on the power to the flybridge so Debbie can drive from up  there because of the better visibility docking and departing. Today, the moment she energized the electronics from the inside lower helm, Diana Ross began belting out “I’m Coming Out” via the upper station and cockpit speakers at 5:15 am! While it was an appropriate tune for backing out of the slip, I’m not sure everyone else appreciated it. So now I have to add a step in the routine to make sure Bluetooth on my phone is off.

Although we take turns driving, Debbie is usually at the helm when she is not planning our next stop and arranging dockage and predicting the weather. I pet the cats, play solitaire and make meals.

Driving would be more comfortable if we could sit occasionally.

The wind was nonexistent and made for a fabulous ride as we plowed against the current the entire day. In fact, the dockmaster was wrong about the tide at Hell Gate and we advanced the throttles just to make 5.5 knots! It took FOREVER while we dodged barges and ferries.

Gaffer was helping Debbie look for debris in the water as we approached New York City.

This thing is a prison barge! It was built In Louisiana and brought here to alleviate overcrowding in Rikers Prison across the river.

We dodged the Staten Island Ferry and slipped into Liberty Landing around 1 pm. We took on fuel and by that I mean Debbie got another diesel bath so we headed to the showers immediately after tying up.

Tomorrow it is supposed to blow like hell so we are going to sit out a day in scenic Jersey City. We are going to relax and clean the boat inside and out, do the laundry, brush the cats and whatever else is on the “relax day” list.

Peanut is already so bored he has been re-enacting scenes from The Wizard of Oz! All that’s missing are the ruby slippers.