Jersey City, NJ (NYC)
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Fri 28 Sep 2007 14:18
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40:42.641N 74:02.595W
Last Saturday (9/22) we made the scary trip down
the East River, past LaGuardia Airport and Riker Island, through Hell Gate, down
the east side of Manhattan, around The Battery and across the Hudson River to
Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City.
Why scary? Well, maybe not so
much scary as just plain intimidating. We didn't even attempt to sail
- too many other boats, barges, ferries, freighters, Coast Guard boats and
twists and turns in the river. Just as we entered Hell Gate (where the
East River meets the Harlem River in a particularly nasty S-curve, known for its
ugly currents), fog and rain arrived. We were traveling down one of the
busiest rivers around, and couldn't see a thing. Hmmm. So,
as a supportive wife and first mate, I left Don to navigate, steer the boat
and watch for other vessels using radar, while I did more important things like
take pictures and look for Don's brother Bill and wife Vicky where I
thought East 81st street should be so that I could wave to them as we
passed by. I did occasionally look ahead through the rain and fog to let
Don know if anything was headed for us. In the end, aside from one
tugboat pushing a barge, many Coast Guard boats (6ish) guarding the
area around the UN building and about a dozen ferries and water taxies
going here and there, it wasn't that bad. Once we rounded The Battery, the
fog started to clear and we were able to easily cross the Hudson and slip
into the marina.
We found out later that part of the East River was
going to be closed this week due to the big UN meetings going on - so it was a
good thing we made the trip on Saturday. Just dumb luck, I guess.
Also, it turns out that Bill and Vicky were watching for us in the rain, but not
at 81st street. They missed us by just a little bit, but they did get a
picture of a boat they thought was ours. They said they waved like crazy
to that boat but didn't get a reciprocal wave. The boaters were
probably thinking that New Yorkers were a whole lot more friendly than
expected.
To give you a feel for what we couldn't see,
attached are a couple of pictures taken as we went down the East
River. The first is what we could see of Manhattan. The second was
taken just after we passed under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Still pretty cool, despite the fog.
More about our time in Manhattan
later.
Anne
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