Day 4 - Cape May NJ - Beverly MA
Magic Friday
Phil, Di and Annelise
Sun 3 Jun 2018 17:41
High winds (as predicted) blew throughout the night, but the main anchor held, although the spare "Fortress" we had set yesterday was a pleasing back-up and gave us more peace of mind for a reasonable night's sleep on anchor, despite the persistent knocking of sheets on the deck!
Nevertheless, time to haul anchor and motor across the New York Bay to Staten Island and a welcome marina tie up. The strong easterly winds exceeding 25knots had whipped up the waves to over 5ft . in the Bay!! A rocky ride for Magic Friday, once again avoiding ships and a ferry trying to make head-way against the wind and waves. A misty view of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (the longest bridge in the world when opened in November 1962 - in fact, engineers had to take account of the earth's curvature when setting the support towers - which appear to lean out at the top) and a Manhattan skyline beyond.
White capped waves across the beam and a howling gale of 27knots made the narrow entrance channel more challenging than the Waterways Guide had suggested - a nail-biting ride (!) until we reached the shelter of the harbour and a safe tie up on the dockside.
A brief walk across a roadway to the totally deserted, windswept beach (except for a single life-guard)! No beach boules today! A last the sun broke through the heavy gray clouds to shine on a 2 mile walk around the harbour. Through the nature reserve - spotting a "woodchuk", a gaggle of geese with their goslings and a surprised deer before reaching the small, town of Great Kills and a pleasant bar with very friendly Italian New Yorkers to chat to.
Phil and Di
