Penultimate Post: It's been a lovely cruise!
Today we left Liberty Landing Marina and New York City to move up the coast to Long Island Sound and Norwalk, CT. Lee's cousin, Steve, and his wife Carol are coming from New Milford CT to meet us in Norwalk. As with the cousins that we met in NYC, Steve and Lee haven't seen each other in over 10 years.
The trip north was a good one. It was a Sunday and before 9 a.m. when the weekend ferry schedule starts so there was not much traffic on the Hudson or the East River around Manhattan. There were no barges either. We made good time. On Long Island Sound, more boats were around - pleasure craft out fishing or enjoying a beautiful day on the water. Most were motor boats because the current was running against us in the East River so sailboats heading north would have had a slow trip motoring against the strong current.
Lee was dreading Hell Gate. All of the books and websites, even the nautical charts, say the current is very strong in Hell Gate, up to 5 knots, and the waters are swirling.
Hell Gate is a narrowing of the East River where the Harlem River joins it. The Harlem River runs on the north and west side of Wards Island and the East River branches to the southeast of the island. It's like the Wakulla meeting the St. Marks, with current. (Just north of Hell Gate is Rikers Island.) We did see the swirling current running against us. But, it was no match for our two 300 HP engines. We were through it before she knew were in it! The boat runs really nice at 22 knots through all this. It's no wonder that this model of Tiara has a big following. (And, we just lucked into it.)
Steve and Carol arrived in Norwalk about a half-hour before we did. We covered 42 miles in about 2 1/2 hours. It was good to see them when they met us at the dock. After saying Hi and giving them a "tour" of AQUAVIT, we went to lunch at the restaurant right at the marina, the Sunset Grill. The food was good and the company was fun!
From lunch we went to the Norwalk Aquarium. They were experiencing a power outage. (We learned later that it was due to construction on a nearby mall.) But, we were still able to wander through the Aquarium and see most of what they offered. Right at the end the power came on. We backtracked a little to see some things that were too dark earlier. I think the aquarium focuses on jellies. They had many exhibits on jellies, primarily moon jellies and Pacific nettles. Most aquariums now have eye-candy exhibits of jellies floating up and down in semi-darkness, usually to soft music. But, the Norwalk Aquarium showed the life cycle of the jellies and said that their curators were one of the first to be able to keep the jellies alive on display. They even supply jellies to other aquariums that want to have an exhibit.
From the aquarium we walked down a few blocks to a new vibrant downtown area. There are new businesses (yoga, art galleries, restaurants) in the old buildings. Stopping in a bead store, Lee bought some interesting beads that Steve described as looking like a sea shell on one side and the ocean on the other. We searched out a cold drink and sat on a bench in the shade to watch the comings and goings along the street. There are some pretty fancy cars driving the streets of Norwalk. Steve explained that this is the "gold coast" of Connecticut. Many wealthy people own homes here and work (or play) in New York City, an hours commute away by train.
Back at the boat, we concluded our day and visit with a toast of Aquavit. Skoal to cousins and cousins-in-law! Steve and Carol left to drive back home.
We put in reservations for dinner at the Sunset Grill. There was a 4-piece band performing old cover songs from Carol King, the Eagles, the Beatles, etc. The parking lot was full of high-end expensive cars, including a new Bentley. After dinner, we walked to the Calf Pasture Beach to collect sand and watch the sun go down. Another wonderful day concluded.
We were planning to head up to Block Island the following day. But, as the day began to take shape our plans did too.
The Norwalk Cove Marina has a free shuttle service into town. We took advantage of it to go to the grocery store. We asked the young dock hand and driver, Parker, where to go and he mentioned Whole Foods, but he raved about Stew Leonard's. He was right. It is a unique store of fresh foods - diary, meat, produce, bakery, hot food and salad bars - with few dry goods. For example, you had a choice of about 6 or 8 dry cereals and a few brands of chips. There was Bounty paper towels in the 6-pack only and only Cottonelle toilet tissue in one size. There were no health and beauty aids. I don't remember seeing peanut butter or jelly either. It was a farmer's market arranged in a maze. Above the aisles are performing animated characters singing corner songs.
While shopping and waiting for the ride back to the marina, we received a phone call about Marvin's brother that changed the plans from heading north to eventually reach Boston. Instead, we decided to turn around, head back to Liberty Landing Marina and ship the boat home earlier than planned. While not life or death, helping sort out his long-term health care crisis can be dealt with better from home with a convenient "international" airport at hand.
On Sunday we left NYC. On Monday we returned. And along the way we discovered that we still have that damn leak! We have some investigating to do!
We'll be here a few days prepping the boat for the journey to Snead Island Boat Works in Palmetto, FL. When AQUAVIT leaves for Florida, we'll be on our way too.
Back at Liberty Landing we take a final lap around the State Park and historic train station and stopped to collect a sand sample from the not-too-scenic shore.
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| Passing by the United Nations - Empire State Bldg to L, Chrysler Bldg. on R |
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| Heading North on the East River |
Hell Gate is a narrowing of the East River where the Harlem River joins it. The Harlem River runs on the north and west side of Wards Island and the East River branches to the southeast of the island. It's like the Wakulla meeting the St. Marks, with current. (Just north of Hell Gate is Rikers Island.) We did see the swirling current running against us. But, it was no match for our two 300 HP engines. We were through it before she knew were in it! The boat runs really nice at 22 knots through all this. It's no wonder that this model of Tiara has a big following. (And, we just lucked into it.)
 |
| Marvin, Lee, Carol, and Steve selfie |
Steve and Carol arrived in Norwalk about a half-hour before we did. We covered 42 miles in about 2 1/2 hours. It was good to see them when they met us at the dock. After saying Hi and giving them a "tour" of AQUAVIT, we went to lunch at the restaurant right at the marina, the Sunset Grill. The food was good and the company was fun!
From lunch we went to the Norwalk Aquarium. They were experiencing a power outage. (We learned later that it was due to construction on a nearby mall.) But, we were still able to wander through the Aquarium and see most of what they offered. Right at the end the power came on. We backtracked a little to see some things that were too dark earlier. I think the aquarium focuses on jellies. They had many exhibits on jellies, primarily moon jellies and Pacific nettles. Most aquariums now have eye-candy exhibits of jellies floating up and down in semi-darkness, usually to soft music. But, the Norwalk Aquarium showed the life cycle of the jellies and said that their curators were one of the first to be able to keep the jellies alive on display. They even supply jellies to other aquariums that want to have an exhibit.
From the aquarium we walked down a few blocks to a new vibrant downtown area. There are new businesses (yoga, art galleries, restaurants) in the old buildings. Stopping in a bead store, Lee bought some interesting beads that Steve described as looking like a sea shell on one side and the ocean on the other. We searched out a cold drink and sat on a bench in the shade to watch the comings and goings along the street. There are some pretty fancy cars driving the streets of Norwalk. Steve explained that this is the "gold coast" of Connecticut. Many wealthy people own homes here and work (or play) in New York City, an hours commute away by train.Back at the boat, we concluded our day and visit with a toast of Aquavit. Skoal to cousins and cousins-in-law! Steve and Carol left to drive back home.
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| Sistership to our first beloved sailboat - a Pearson Triton in the Norwalk Cove Marina boatyard. Fond memories! |
We were planning to head up to Block Island the following day. But, as the day began to take shape our plans did too.
The Norwalk Cove Marina has a free shuttle service into town. We took advantage of it to go to the grocery store. We asked the young dock hand and driver, Parker, where to go and he mentioned Whole Foods, but he raved about Stew Leonard's. He was right. It is a unique store of fresh foods - diary, meat, produce, bakery, hot food and salad bars - with few dry goods. For example, you had a choice of about 6 or 8 dry cereals and a few brands of chips. There was Bounty paper towels in the 6-pack only and only Cottonelle toilet tissue in one size. There were no health and beauty aids. I don't remember seeing peanut butter or jelly either. It was a farmer's market arranged in a maze. Above the aisles are performing animated characters singing corner songs.
 |
| At Publix, shopping is a pleasure, but Stew Leonard's Farm Fresh Market is a trip! |
While shopping and waiting for the ride back to the marina, we received a phone call about Marvin's brother that changed the plans from heading north to eventually reach Boston. Instead, we decided to turn around, head back to Liberty Landing Marina and ship the boat home earlier than planned. While not life or death, helping sort out his long-term health care crisis can be dealt with better from home with a convenient "international" airport at hand.
On Sunday we left NYC. On Monday we returned. And along the way we discovered that we still have that damn leak! We have some investigating to do!
We'll be here a few days prepping the boat for the journey to Snead Island Boat Works in Palmetto, FL. When AQUAVIT leaves for Florida, we'll be on our way too.
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| Manhattan skyline from the Jersey City side of the Hudson River. |
Back at Liberty Landing we take a final lap around the State Park and historic train station and stopped to collect a sand sample from the not-too-scenic shore.
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| Liberty Landing Ferry - $7 to NYC |
While we didn't make Boston, all in all, it's been a lovely cruise!
We need Stew Leonard in Talllahassee!!!! Safe travels home!
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