Some of the homes around Manhasset Bay at Port Washington.
For several days I had been studying the charts to calculate when we should leave Port Washington. Over the past 2 or 3 days I watched the current arrows on our chart plotter to ee how the current corresponded to the tide predictions. Then yesterday in the launch at Port Washington I asked the driver for any ideas and he said most people leave about an hour before high tide there (in Port Washington) and I decided that it made sense and fit with the strategy I had determined and so we decided that's when it would be.
Since high tide on PW was not until 1248 that meant we didn't need to leave until 1148 but I wanted to be there early so we planned to start the engine at 11 for warming up and then leave. We ha dour leisurely Sunday morning breakfast and got a pump out from the town dock and then at 11 we began the sequence.
Fort Totten, a now closed Army post built in the mid 19th century to protect New York with Fort Schuyler across the River.
Going out of Manhasset Bay we were fighting the incoming current but once we turned into the Sound we gained the speed and moved out quickly. There were 3 other trawlers heading toward the East River so I thought there would be a fleet going down the river but one by one they peeled off and disappeared.
I chose to go on Sunday for several reasons. It seemed like the weather would be cooperative. The heavy winds were not forecasted until late in the day and visibility was expected to be good. Both of these conditions held. High tide was around midday so we did not have to start early or finish late. As it was we started late morning and ended mid afternoon. On Sunday we did not expect much commercial traffic and with the weather forecast we didn't expect many recreational boats either. That was also true although we did see 3 barges coming into the sound who no doubt had come up the river on the rising tide. Finally, the UN begins their General Assembly this week and security closures will be enforced meaning we could miss an opportunity for a day or more any time after Tuesday so today was best with least risk.
Conditions were excellent when we tossed off our mooring lines this morning. Port Washington is an excellent stopover with free transient moorings for 48 hours. We were tempted to stay another day but the other conditions mitigated against it.
Once in the sound the traffic was busy but we soon lost them behind us as we got toward the river. NY's East River begins and Long Island Sound ends at the Throgs Neck Bridge. By that point the pleasure craft on the Sound were behind us. Three trawlers appeared to be heading down the river but one by one they turned around or pulled off. We very quickly passed 3 barges that had apparently used the current to get into the Sound to begin their journey North. So after the bridge it was just us. During the trip an occasional power boat passed us but for the bulk of the trip we were the only ones on the river.
The FDR Drive across from Roosevelt Island.
Our speed started in the mid to upper 7 kt range but soon moved to the mid to upper 8 kt and then 9 kts and then 10 kts. Before we knew it we were passing Laguardia Airport. I took the cut between the Brother Islands just after Rikers Island and we were in Hell Gate. Our speed hit the mid 11 kt range and then went to the 12 kt range. The highest I saw was 12.2 kts but I was busy driving the boat. I felt like Humphrey Bogart driving the African Queen through the rapids and turns of the Ulana river. I also never realized how narrow the East River becomes through those turns before the Harlem River merges in. There were actually current waves from the wind blowing against the current and the swirling eddies of current as we flew through the turns.
Coming out into the straight away along Roosevelt Island the current continued at its fast pace. In no time we were down to where the backside flow merges and the river slowed a bit as it widened. But the pace quickened again around the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges tour boats emerged. Then past Wall Street and we took the short cut behind Governor's Island to avoid all the ferries running just off the Battery and came out into the anchorage past about a dozen anchored ships.
In all our ~36 mile trip took almost exactly 4 hours giving us an average speed of 9 kts. We made the right decisions and improved our chances of success given the conditions. We took a mooring at Atlantic Highlands because the anchorage spots were exposed to the heavy winds and chop predicted for tonight and tomorrow.
We had planned to leave tomorrow for Cape May but we will ride out the rough weather and sail albeit slower on Tuesday when it's warmer.
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