The Big AppleOct 3, 2005
|
|
In the distance New York City
This was by far the most gruelling day and yet the most exciting so far.
We pulled away from the dock in Catskill to a nice, clear morning around 7 a.m. but as soon as we pulled out into the Hudson River the fog descended upon us like a thick blanket.
We could see just a few feet beyond the bow so I went up on deck as the Captain navigated using nothing but the radar. We were thankful for the channel markers which ding and dong, letting us know their location by sound alone. It was a very stressful couple of hours but by 9 a.m. the fog had lifted as did our spirits.
It was a long day. We covered 130 miles, a record for us. We had planned to stop for the night at a little marina just before NY City but we could not find it and the sun was beginning to set so we scrambled for an alternative, calling several marinas in our book. Several had not enough water for us to get in, since it was low tide. Finally we found one on Coney Island, beyond New York harbour so the Captain picked up speed and we flew through the harbour as the sun set, with me on the bow taking pics and video. By the time we reached Coney Island it was pitch black and after driving for 12 hours we were tired and stressed. We finally found the entrance to the marina after several radio and cell phone conversations with the dockmaster.
Coney Island sounds so romantic but I assure you it was anything but. It was the skankiest, dirtiest and yet most expensive marina we had ever stopped at. We were literally locked in and when we asked where we could walk to for some dinner we were advised against it. So we cooked our own dinner, had a shower and turned in for the night. When the sun came up the marina was even more frightening and we were thankful for nice, calm weather which we needed to make our first ever ocean cruise, the first of our lives.
