City Island was a nice little stop. We walked the dogs up and down the main boulevard, marveling at al the large number of restaurants for such a little place. Back on Drift Away, drinks on the back porch were made better by the nice sunset. Note that boat behind us. The owner is very meticulous, and spent several hours washing it while we were there.
We left City Island at 6 AM. That was a fiasco. I thought we had no current, but apparently some current had us pinned against the dock. As soon as I started to pull away, some unseen force would push us right back against it. We eventually got off, but only with some help from the guy on the boat behind us that we hit and then scraping the starboard side of our boat along another dock as we left.
It was dark, but the Simrad chart plotter and radar made it easy. The new Simrad NSS12 allows us to overlay the radar right on top of the chart, so it's simple to tell the difference from a buoy and a fishing boat.
Soon we were under the Throg's Neck Bridge and on the East River. The trip along the East River is always enjoyable. There's the Riker's Island prison boat and other oddities of interest. The critters didn't seem too interested, and were in their now chosen spots for the boat ride.
Riker's Island prison boat.
We needed to hit Hell Gate at slack high tide, which yesterday was 8:39 AM. We were the only boat on the river, which caused this lake sailor some concern. Did I read the Eldridge tide tables right? Soon though, I took comfort when I saw a tug pushing a large raft up of barges, three wide coming up behind us. Pam was driving and I was navigating, and I decided to take a wrong turn into a channel that leads to La Guardia Airport to let him pass. Pam thought I had made a mistake, but I assured her it was a brilliant strategic maneuver. She didn't buy it.
As we got near Hell Gate, I could tell we were arriving too soon. Current was pushing us faster than I figured. I was considering slowing down and waiting, but was I being a wuss? Then I noted that the tug pushing the barges (now ahead of us) had practically stopped. I suggested to Pam that we should too, and we did. I was watching my watch, and with only a short time until the ebb started at Hell Gate I saw the prop wash from the tug. He accelerated and we followed behind him, allowing his three-barge-wide load to clear a path for us. We arrived at Hell Gate only twelve minutes early and it was a piece of cake.
You can see the radar overlay on the chart in the pic above. The big red blobs are boats or buoys, and with the chart underlay it's easy to see which is which.
After Hell Gate, it was a piece of cake. Pam followed our barge buddy down the East River. He's on the right in this pic, with another barge passing him to our port.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, and I'll spare you the usual photos of South Street Seaport, the Battery, and the Statue of Liberty. Yes, of course we took the photos. It's obligatory.
We took a right at the battery and headed north up the Hudson. There was a fire boat there to greet us, shooting big plumes of water everywhere.
How did they know we were coming? It will be one of those mysteries that we'll never have an answer to.
The trip up the Hudson was also very nice, and I will again spare you the photos of the cruise ships, the Intrepid aircraft carrier which is now a museum, etc.
We had just passed under the George Washington Bridge. It was about noon, and Pam asked "Can we run the generator at the same time as the engines?" Of course, said I. "I'll make hot meatball sandwiches for lunch." said she. Sounded good. Down into the engine room I bounded and I fired up the small generator. As I was headed up the stairs, I heard Pam yell "DAVID! WE LOST THE STARBOARD ENGINE!".
Huh?
Yes, we did. It stopped dead. Crap. We continued on the port engine which would only push us along at 3 knots against the foul current. I spent the next three hours in the 110 degree engine room where I changed all the filters and bled the engine. I restarted the engine four or five times, and after running through the fuel in the filters, it would die again. Further investigation showed that the small generator's fuel line is tee'd off the starboard engine's fuel line. Somehow, starting that generator screwed up the starboard engine. I'd reached the end of my mechanical ability, and to make a long story short (I know, this is already too long) we're now sitting at Westerly Marine in Ossining awaiting yet another mechanic.
Pam was very tired and I was exhausted. We took the dogs for a quick walk and then went to the Boathouse Restaurant next to the marina for dinner. We met the Harrisons, a very nice couple who belong to the yacht club next door. We chatted for a time, as boaters often do. We enjoyed very fine food, fine conversation, and a beautiful sunset. The Harrisons left before us and after our meal, we were told that they bought us dessert. How nice is that? Pam had cheesecake and I had a hot fruit cup with a crumb covering. It was gooooood.
This morning's email contained a sunset photo that Pam Harrison sent to me, since I didn't bring my camera last night. One of those sunsets to remember.
Pam also took a pic of Drift Away. We had to navigate through a narrow entrance in the breakwater and make a tight 90 degree left hand turn onto the dock. Not a bad job considering I had only a port engine, eh?
Thank you for the pics and the hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison. After a rough day, it was a perfect ending.
You're most welcome! It was a pleasure meeting you and your soon to be wife. We wish you the best of journeys this week, next week and for the rest of your year at sea.
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