Aug 1, 2016 | Flotsam
Almost back to our home port, Francois decided to treat us to a little stop over in the Old Port of Montreal.
The entry to the yacht club against the Courant Sainte-Marie brought back memories of last year’s trip along the East River (story here). Apparently not too many sailboats frequent this part of the city because of the fierce strength of the current. Not the time for an engine fail. But our mighty little R.E.D. was soon parked safely amongst the big boats. Very nice club though. A step or two up from the others with welcome chocolates and fresh towels in the showers. It’s the little things.
Montreal Clock Tower
It’s not very often we get to play tourist in our own village so it was a treat to wonder through the Old Port.
Old Port Montreal
…and enjoy dinner at one of the many great restaurants this city has to offer.
Pints for the Thirsty Travellers
We spent the evening back onboard chatting with our boat neighbours who had passed us on the river. Beautiful American Tug flying their Looper flag. And what were the odds that two days later we would be docked next to them at the marina. Great sharing stories and wish you a pleasant and safe finish to your epic Great American Loop trip Lila and Allen.
Room with a View
Now all tucked in we can see the Clock Tower of the Old Port all beautifully lit with changing holographic images against the night sky.
Jul 12, 2015 | Flotsam
The area of the East River known as Hell Gate
was originally termed Hellegat
a Dutch term meaning
clear opening.
If you misjudge the tides it’s anything but
This time we, or in truth François made sure we got it right
We left a little after sunrise,
me at the helm
because of the getting back on the horse thing, Francois told me.
At least one of us was confident…
For you Law & Order fans,
here’s one of the buildings on Rykers Island
that we passed on our way to Hell Gate.
At 07:00 we reached Hell Gate Bridge
just before slack tide….
Barely a ripple.
I have to say I was kind of disappointed
that we didn’t run into some turbulence at least.
Not even a cruise ship or water taxi to dodge.
I was so ready for it.
But we cruised through without incident
thanks to François’ good planning
and scheduling.
Making really good progress,
we covered 48 nautical miles today.
Past Nyack and the Tappan Zee Bridge
we stopped for the night at Haverstraw.
You may be wondering why this next picture of a super crane,
brought all the way from California
to aid in the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge,
so they could tear down the original to eventually rebuild it?
And you may also be wondering how I know all this interesting trivia
about the Tappan Zee Bridge?
Because we were boarded AGAIN .
and during the boarding of 2 Customs & Boarder Protection agents
2 coast Guards and 2 Westchester County Officers,
fillled us in on all the local news while they checked our papers…
and warned us that we couldn’t anchor near the bridge.
…a fact of which we were very well aware.
Jul 6, 2015 | Flotsam
It was with sadness that we left our home for the past four days.
And it really felt like a home.
Such great people that treated us like family.
We have a deal with John,
Great Kills Yacht Club’s National Treasure,
that when we close the loop
on our Great Loop Adventure,
he will meet us in NYC
and take a picture of us aboard R.E.D.
in front of the Statue of Liberty
holding up our Gold Loop burgee.
A gentle breeze made sailing into New York harbour really pleasant.
We sat in the cockpit and discussed things in general,
places we wanted to visit,
working on a plan after we ran out of plans.
I even connected with my son through a video Skype call
and chatted away with my grandkids
and daughter-in-law,
showing them the beautiful Manhattan skyline.
(this all will be significant later in our day, so pay attention)
We even made a little detour briefly down the wrong channel
of the East River, by accident,
but thought this building was photo-worthy…
like a scene out of Mad Max…
The view of Manhattan
is as impressive from the East River side…
…so many different architectural styles…
Aside from the Freedom Tower,
there were things we hoped we could see from the water…
…the Empire State Building…
…the Chrysler Building…
…and my favourite,
the Brooklyn Bridge…
there were many other bridges we passed under
on our journey down the East River.
…many cruises boats
with tourists enjoying a leisurely Sunday on the water…
…and this one that really made François’ day…
At this point our leisurely trip took a turn.
Remember when I mentioned earlier about that leisurely sail?
It kind of threw off our well-planned tide calculations.
We had reached Hell Gate,
the confluence of three bodies of water.
We had passed the tide’s slack time
so hit the full force of the tide going to the sea at this juncture.
It was a good 45 minute battle with motor at 4000 RPM
and barely progressing 3 knots.
There was so much turbulence,
it looked like the water was boiling.
You’re just going to have to believe what I am describing
because honestly, that camera wasn’t coming out for any photo op.
It was life vests on and grabbing the lifelines.
Past La Guardia airport
we located a safe anchorage for the night at
Little Neck Bay,
lessons learned
and thankful for calm waters.
