40:44N 74:00W

 

We never, in our wildest dreams, imagined we’d sail Bandit into New York Harbour.  But one beautifully fine July day we did exactly that.  What an amazing feeling to go right past the Statue of Liberty, the new World Trade Tower and all those other landmark Manhatten buildings.  We spent two nights at anchor in the Hudson River off 79th street – taking our bikes ashore to explore Central Park and the immediate environs.  Exciting just doesn’t sum it up – what everyone says about New York is true...it’s a helluva city.

 

The Hudson River wasn’t the safest place to leave Bandit so we motored up the East River, past the United Nations complex (making sure they weren’t sitting first as when they are the river is closed) and notorious Rikers Island prison.  Port Washington has free moorings for cruisers so we based ourselves there and took the train into Penn Station to explore more.  We spent days soaking up the sights visiting Wall St, the World Trade site, Times Square, Greenwich Villages, Chelsea, the High Line, the Metropolitan Museum and Frick House.  As for the shops – we just spent hours exploring them.  We took our bikes on the train and terrorised traffic cycling along Fifth Ave.  Luckily there are good cycle lanes on some streets.

 

We loved New York so much we returned in August for Brenda’s birthday treating ourselves to a hotel so we could enjoy the night sights which were every bit as fantastic as we expected.