Our position is: 40:45.572N 74:01.256W

We left the anchorage soon after breakfast to go up to Lincoln Harbour and settle in and have enough time to start the tourist bit. Some internet research of the 10 best things to do in New York had given us some ideas but making the most of our time there required careful planning. We had some concerns as we entered the berth in the marina as there wasn’t much water under the keel and it wasn’t low water. We knew we would be leaving around low water and feared we might not get out, but it was OK for the time being. There was also an irritating amount of wash caused by the ferry traffic on the river, in spite of the promises made by Lincoln Harbour’s advert in the pilot book that their new wave screen had “tamed the mighty Hudson” and that we would have a calm and restful stay. The pontoon hinges creaked and shuddered alarmingly and the stress on the warps gave concern, but it was at least relatively still at night when the ferries stopped running.

As soon as we had checked in and been issued with our wrist bands to give us access on 4 July we purchased ferry tickets at the marina office and hastened down the road to the pier to cross the river and start being tourists. The ferry company run free buses into town on the Manhatton side  but  we didn’t really know which one to get on as they only indicated things like 50^th and 57^th or 42^nd and 34^th so we just got on the nearest one and took advice from other passengers as to a reasonably central place to get off. As getting an adequate map was a priority we walked down to Times Square and headed for a tourist information desk. This provided maps and some literature but was a bit short on advice. Scrutiny of what was available indicated that purchasing an Explorer Pass would be a good idea (c$100 and gives access to 5 things covered on a list) but we were directed to the main information office back where we had come from for this. On arrival there we were greeted by Nickolay, who had been brought to New York when he was 1yr old from Russia but still had  an accent! He was amazingly knowledgeable about New York, possible activities and attractions and also Russian history and world politics so it was quite hard to drag ourselves away from the interesting discussions this generated but time was passing and we had purchased our passes and were keen to get to the first planned activity, cycling in Central Park.

There were many people on street corners selling bike rental but the pass required a particular one, which proved harder to locate than we anticipated, particularly as 2 separate people sent us in the wrong direction, but eventually we found the right place and signed up for the 5.30pm guided tour. We had originally hoped to do something self guided but this wasn’t possible and subsequently we were glad as Chris, our guide, provided a lot of useful information about things we would have missed.  Before we set off there was time for a delicious iced tea and cake at the little cafe overlooking the Sheep Meadow.

Two hours isn’t enough time to explore this large area fully and I’m sure we didn’t see everything of interest. We were accompanied on our tour by a family of 9 on an extended motoring tour from their home in San Diego. I’ve no idea how any woman can look so young and have 7 children ranging in age from late teens to baby seat size! Needless to say they were all fitter than me and able to sail up the hills while I panted in the rear being passed by joggers and skate-boarders! All too soon we were back at the bike sheds and it was time to try and locate somewhere to get on the free bus back to the ferry port. In the event we stopped the wrong sort of bus but the driver let us ride for free and back at the pier I was able to pick up a bus timetable and route plan for use the next day.

Going up the river to Lincoln Harbour marina                                                                                                           Moorglade and the noisy pontoons

A Statue of Liberty for every occasion!                                                                                                                               No shortage of fast food

And no shortage of yellow taxis

Trump tower on the corner of Central Park                                                                                                              The sheep meadow

Chris explaining the history of the statues in the park                                         we had to walk on this path

Classical duet playing in the park                                                                                                                                                                                 Model boat pond – Stuart Little was filmed sailing here

John Lennon memorial – he lived just opposite this part of the park.