New York 40:27.3N 73:59.88W

Lotus
Sat 9 Oct 2010 15:51
We timed our transit through Hells Gate, which has a strong tidal current that flows at over 6knots, to perfection, but our transit down the East river was made slightly more difficult as there was a security zone in effect on the western channel at the United Nations building.  This meant that we had to use the eastern channel and pass under a lift bridge, before rounding the Battery at the south end of Manhattan and making our way 5miles up the Hudson river before the tide turned against us.  We arrived once again at the 79th  street yacht basin only to find that so had everyone else and there were no free mooring balls.  Despite good holding the Hudson is a difficult place to anchor as the river flows first north then south at three to four knots.  This current is often accompanied by fresh winds and the ever attendant wash from commercial ships that ply their trade up and down this main arterial river.  Old hands at this as we are, it was not a problem, we set two bow anchors and the ever trusty fortress anchor 30m to the stern and this kept us secure for our three day stay.  We found out from a French couple anchored nearby that despite a mooring only costing $30 the boat basin charged $25 a day simply to dock your dingy.  Sneakily yet brazenly, we came and went as we pleased over the next three days and didn't pay a penny despite the fact that we had to pick up a spare part which had been forwarded to the office here. 
 
 We felt that whilst we'd been in the states for quite some time,  we had yet to fully appreciate the national cuisine only provided at the true American Diner so we set off on our bikes in search of Big Daddy's Diner (of the fat American variety and not the English wrestler) - it was okay!  We were used to blasting through the New York city scape on our trusty steeds, so fighting the yellow cabs  as we went, we set off in search of culture and ended up buying tickets for a night at the Ballet from the New York Ballet Box office.  A performance was full of athletic gay men and flat chested scrawny women but fantastic never the less.  Whilst shopping the next morning John dragged me into a shop, bought a tutu and announced that he was born for the boards and was going to become a ballet dancer, or was that a ballerina (maybe there's a sex change coming!). 
 
In the morning we donned our hoodies and to the local Amtrak train to hang out with the hoods in the Bronx.  I excelled at my usual tour guide role and found a fantastic little Italian eateries at a deli in a market in downtown The Bronx, the food was great and half the price of the nearby restaurants and was obviously good Italian food as it was full of local Italians and their mafia families.  Whilst in town we visited the Botanical gardens where we watched a Bird of Prey (probably some sort of Buzzard) munching on a squirrel, this gave us the appetite for savage animals so we went to the World famous (well famous in New York) zoo which is situated on a huge open site and has won plaudits for it's natural enclosures which meant walking our legs off and being disappointed as some of the animals could hide behind the natural landscape of rocks and bushes.  We did however get great views of a field mouse!
 
   
 
That evening, back at the marina, John was accosted by a British woman that worked for a rich American here in the city.  To cut a long story short, she invited us to go the next morning to look around her bosses 79th floor penthouse apartment.  When we arrived the doorman had been notified of our coming and we were ushered into a swanky marble lined elevator and whisked into the stratosphere where only the rich and famous dare to tread or rather, can afford to tread.  The apartment was absolutely amazing with 365 views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Central Park and Denzel Washington's apartment.  It was nice to get a taste or is that a small sniff of how the other half live.  Can you believe that the owner only uses this $65million apartment for a few weekends a year - seems criminal!
 
Once more we were lucky to have a forecast of Northerly component winds and so despite wishing to stay a couple more days in New York we pulled up the anchors and heading out beneath the Verazano Bridge as night fell.  The bright lights of the city lit up the skyline behind us and the statue of Liberty waved us goodbye.