Cape Canaveral to New York

We leave the Cape as planned. After taking on diesel, we motor out through the canal, passing a Falcon 9 standing on a barge before heading toward the Gulfstream. The forecast looks favorable for about two days, after which a brief intermezzo of contrary winds is expected.

When wind opposes the Gulfstream, the stream becomes a treacherous place. Ocean swell entering the current gets compressed into steep, breaking seas that have already broken the backs of many boats. Looking at the charts around Cape Hatteras, one immediately notices how littered the area is with shipwrecks. The cape is notorious because the Gulfstream passes unusually close to shore, while the coastline itself offers no shelter.

Just south of Cape Hatteras we pull into an anchorage to weather the period. It takes us about 8 hours of motoring upwind to leave the Gulfstream and find shelter. We find good sleep and a calm morning and the next afternoon, we leave again to jump back on the stream to continue to New York. And this time, we hammer: the wind is just right, we are well position and fly north. A new midnight-to-midnight record is set: 267 NM!

Soon we pull out of the Gulfstream once more and sail to New York. Timing is perfect. Early afternoon we pass the Statute of Liberty and the tide is right to continue up the East River to the Long Island Sound. Early evening we tie to a mooring ball in Port Washington, a place that we have enjoyed the previous year already.

From Port Washington we make a day trip to Manhattan using the train. For the first time I visit the 9/11 memorial and I have to say the architecture really works. The lively water that flows into the black, bottomless abyss.Read more