Ahoy from Manhasset Bay on Long Island Sound!
We've been here for the past 2 days waiting for the rain to end and I'm happy to report that it's a beautiful, sunny day! We moved here from Oyster Bay so that we could be positioned to move through Hell Gate at slack tide. Hell Gate is the section of the East River where the currents can reach 5 kts at maximum current. The currents, eddies and whirl pools are reported to be dangerous, and while I think that it's probably over rated, I don't want to find out otherwise. As a result we'll head through there at slack tide and we should have a beautiful ride along NY City.
While we've been in Manhasset bay we've done a lot of maintenance, clearing up small issues and completing some tasks that didn't get completed before we left. In reality it was nice to have a bit of down time to get caught up and just relax. It feels like we've been pushing and pushing for weeks/months on end. We've also used the time to figure out our itinerary, as we typically play a lot of this by ear. We've decided to spend 2+ nights in the NY City area and play tourist. Then we'll start our way up the Hudson River where we'll visit West Point and the Culinary Institute of America. That later stop sounds yummy!
I do have some news for you that will probably shatter some long held beliefs...I hate to tell you this, but Long Island isn't an island because the East River isn't a river! What?!? Yes, it's true. The East River isn't a river...it's a tidal straight because all that it does is move salt water from between NY Harbor and the Long Island Sound and doesn't have a head. As a result Long Island is technically connected to the main land and is technically a peninsula, and not an island. Yeah, tell that to the people who live here...Also, that means that Long Island Sound isn't a sound, it's a bay....Really, I'm not making this up. The Supreme Court actually ruled on this in 1985 in a squabble over mineral rights. Who knew?
So today we'll motor along Long Peninsula Bay and then take the East Tidal Straight to NY Harbor and end up in Jersey City...
-- Geoff & Sue somewhere in NY
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