Wednesday May 5th we finally left Cape May. We had decided to wait a day because of weather and it turned out to be a wise decision. We had relatively warm weather and an uneventful, calm, beautiful overnight trip. The sunset over Atlantic City from the water was a beautiful way to view this city. We had clear weather and there was almost no other boat traffic all night.
Thursday dawned bright and calm, and then we were engulfed in a thick fog bank as we were approaching Atlantic Highlands. Although we are used to fog in Maine the thought of New York City with 200 feet of visibility was nerve-wracking. We decided to cross the Ambrose Channel and then stay outside of the channel where there would be less of a chance of encountering large ships. The security calls from the 1000 foot container ship were reassuring in that we knew where they were, but not being able to see them except on radar was less reassuring. We are very happy that we have radar!
Luckily as we were approaching the Verrazano bridge the fog lifted and we had great views as we went through the city. The ride through Hell Gate was fun. We were doing 11.1 knots with the current when we met a large Coast Guard boat coming in the opposite direction. They were having to use a lot of power to fight the current so we ended up having wakes and whirlpools at the same time.
We picked up a mooring in Port Washington after being underway for 25 1/2 hours and enjoyed a peaceful night of rest.
Friday we stopped for fuel then had an easy run to the Five Mile River where our friends Scott and Kitty from TAMURE had arranged a mooring for us. The Five Mile River is very narrow and the home of many boats. In order to maximize the space the moorings are bow and stern moorings. We have never picked one of these up before. Kitty gave us very thorough instructions. When we approached the moorings there were boats in front and in back of where we were supposed to be, so we took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, and picked up the mooring smoothly as though we knew what we were doing.
We had a fantastic visit with Scott and Kitty. We went out for coffee, then they drove us the grocery store before going to their house. We spent an enjoyable afternoon at the small park near their home, then had dinner with them.
Saturday we were worried about the process of leaving the mooring without hitting the boat 3 feet in front of us or the one 3 feet behind us, but it turned out to be an easy non-event. We had a mostly enjoyable downwind sail to the Thimbles. We had one rain squall come through in the early afternoon with 28 knot winds, but other than that it was a nice day.
Sunday was warm and sunny in the morning. We had coffee on deck enjoying the view of the rocky islands with many houses, and the rocks that wanted to be islands with single houses on them. The morning was so lovely and comfortable and we were so happy that we decided to stay for the day. Later in the day it was rainy and cold, but it was a nice treat to have made the decision to stay because we were happy where we were, instead of being trapped by weather.
