15.4 nm
Wind: NW 10-16 knots, gusting to 20 knots
Seas: two feet
Maximum speed: 7.9 knots, with current
Average speed: 3.7 knots
Today was the second day we didn’t even raise sail, but I really don’t feel bad about it. We came through Hell Gate today, and I am very pleased with my timing of it, because we came through at exactly the right tide. The thing that sucked was that no one had warned us about after Hell Gate. We came through it perfect, under the Brooklyn Bridge, past Manhattan, and then came out into this crazy stuff, right near the Statue of Liberty, at the end of Manhattan, where all of the East River and Hudson River traffic converged. It was insane. The standing waves were five feet. I’m not sure if it’s because of the wakes of all the tourist ferries passing or just the divergent tides meeting each other, but in any case, we went through them.
We were supposed to get all the way to Sandy Hook, NJ, tonight, the gateway to the whole offshore New Jersey experience, but Karl was so stressed out after navigating the mouth of the East River that we decided to just head to Liberty State Park, right behind the Statue of Liberty. We’re at this crazy anchorage tonight—we can just see the head of the Statue of Liberty. I can’t believe that they don’t screen for terrorists here or something. We’re in the anchorage with some crazy Canadians who motored down the Hudson River. The best part of the evening was being invited over to their steel boat that they built themselves to drink a box of wine. They’ve never sailed before, never even lifted the sails on their boat! And they’re sailing the same course we are. Makes me feel a little ridiculous for all the agonizing I’ve done about sailing versus motoring.
Still, it makes me feel pretty good to have met our first real cruisers. They had a huge anchor, one hundred feet of chain, a windmill, a radar deflector, all sorts of crazy gear, but they still don’t know how to sail. We have to go offshore in New Jersey just like them, and we probably know our way around our sails a little more than they do. It’s good just to feel like we have companions in this journey, even though I don’t want to be sucked into the group mentality that we were on the trail.
We got back from their boat, and now I have baked potatoes and butternut squash in the oven, which I think I’m going to supplement with fried canned ham. I made fancy bacon sandwiches with salsa mayonnaise today. Maybe I’ll give my recipe.
Melissa’s Fancy BLCSs (Bacon Lettuce Cheese and Sprout Sandwiches)
1/2 pound of cooked, chilled baconPublish
6 leaves of red leaf lettuce
6 thin slices of yellow extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 T of Salsa Mayonnaise (see recipe below)
2 T of alfalfa sprouts
4 slices of wheat bread
Spread bread generously with salsa mayonnaise. Add cooked bacon, lettuce, cheese, and sprouts. Serve while traversing New York Harbor, preferably while going under the Brooklyn Bridge. Serves two.
Salsa Mayonnaise
2 T Old El Paso Hot Salsa
2 T light mayonnaise
Mix salsa and mayonnaise in equal proportions.
Delicious, eh?
1 comment:
That was a delicious sandwich. Thanks for the recipe! I'm glad you have started on your latest adventure, and I am reading avidly every entry.
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