May 29.  Not much to say about our motor up the Ambrose Channel Reach from Atlantic Highlands, except that there were masses of fishing boats in Sandy Bay, lots of barges and big ships going in and out of the Narrows and a lot of photographs being taken.  Just as well it is all on tiny memory devices that can be displayed on a computer and not on a role of film that needs printing! 

 

 

Approaching the Varrazano-Narrows bridge, with Anthony positioning himself for a good photograph and the New York skyline as we approach.

 

 

One of the many barges destined for New York being pushed by tug, Statue of Liberty in the background.  Note that Ship’s Boy is still working as we motor towards New York.

 

 

The Skipper at the helm with the Statue of Liberty backdrop...and Venetia.....                                                                       and the Skipper’s wife and.........

 

 

...Anthony.  Everyone wanted a photograph of themselves sailing the boat past the Statue but we had to compromise on the sail as the wind was on the nose and the water traffic too busy.

 

Apart from needing to miss all the water traffic, there was also some consternation going into the channel to the Marina, which is in a canal basin, as we had been told there was plenty of water apart from a hump.  The echo sounder recorded 3 meters as we entered the channel and then continued with 2.7, 2.6 and then 2.5, by which time we were probably making a channel of our own through the mud, so the lifting keel came into its own again and we continued to our berth with no worries, apart from one false start because of the beam wind, but no damage done.  It is so nice having the extra crew on board to help with the arrivals and departures!

 

 

Alcedo in Liberty Landing Marina with lower Manhattan in the background and the view from Alcedo at night.

 

After a late lunch, we set off for the Ground Zero memorial site and museum, an absolute must for any visit to New York and a very convenient ferry ride and short walk from Liberty Landing.  We all thought it was a fitting tribute to all who died there, with some very moving recordings of some survivors and some who didn’t survive.

 

 

Water feature on the site of the North Tower with the names of those who died there and.....

 

 

One of the most poignant memorials to one of the many firefighters who died saving others and the plaque explaining the memorial.

 

The next 2 days were spent visiting Centre Park, Times Square, Maceys, where we bought a saucepan suitable for boiling the lobsters we hoped to buy further north, the Empire State Building, very expensive but what a view, Chinatown, where we had a great lunch courtesy of Anthony and Venetia and the National Museum of the American Indian, a really great place to go on what became a very wet afternoon.

 

 

 

Centre Park on a Saturday afternoon and...                                                                                      ....street scene near Times Square

 

 

Two views of the bigger picture from the Empire State Building.

 

 

Street scene in China Town and enjoying a coffee on a balmy evening in lower Manhattan before returning to boat after visiting the Ground Zero memorial site, when the weather was still fine and warm.

 

Our only complaint about New York is the almost impossible to navigate metro, which even for the locals provides a challenge when a train can be diverted from its usual destination because of work on the line and without any indication on any of the notice boards.  It caused us much aggro and a lot of extra walking.  Our third day destinations were chosen because we did not need to use the metro to get to them!  However, we left the National museum, our last tourist stop, in a thunderstorm with torrential rain and had to run from shelter to shelter before catching the ferry back to Liberty Landings Marina and it looks as if the next 2 days will be cold and wet.

 

Alcedo