The day finally arrived when I returned to Essex to
“take possession” of the boat I’d turned
my life upside-down over, outfit her, and set off cruising
New England. I arrived in Hartford and through some
machinations got my rental and spent the afternoon getting
groceries and making a trip to the local Goodwill, where I
got sheets, dishes, and other stuff to make Aurora
habitable. I finally showed up at the boat yard after
closing and discovered that work that was supposed to have
been done over the previous two and a half months had not
been attended to. Well, that’s not quite true....the
big projects were mostly done, but a whole raft of smaller
things were not. I was glad I had allotted extra time for
catch-up, but hadn’t planned on the yard taking two
and a half weeks of my break to do it. Every morning I was
up before seven and hard at it from slightly thereafter
until sometimes midnight doing whatever I could do to get
stuff done to facilitate the yard getting the rest of the
list out of the way. It was like herding cats, and at times
it was absolutely the most frustrating experience of my
life. And then on a Thursday afternoon, I realized the
chores were done, and that I was faced with what I’d
been waiting for: putting my study and training to the test
and singlehanding my 40 footer wherever I wanted to go.
I didn’t get out of Essex until early the next
afternoon, and I knew that getting down the Connecticut
River to the Sound, and then across to Port Jefferson, Long
Island was going to be a push to do by dark. I was right.
By dusk I wasn’t yet quite there. As I started down
the channel into Port Jeff, I glanced over my left shoulder
and saw the bloody ferry screaming by silently without
warning, practically on top of me. Then, to my right was
the breakwater. Just what I needed was an obstacle course
on my first day out. I headed to the GPS coordinates a
buddy had given me for an overnighting spot, and shortly
after dark the anchor was set. Day One, and I’d put
everything to the test, and come out on top on all counts.
The short story is that I headed down to New York. My
trip was abbreviated by the boatyard’s screwing
around, and the thing I had wanted to do most of all was
sail through New York Harbor. I knew I had to time the
currents right, or I’d be in trouble bucking them at
the trecherous Hell Gate. As it turned out, I consulted my
tables, left Manhasset Bay at the crack of dawn, and nailed
the currents within five minutes of perfection. Not bad.
The trip was peaceful, watching the joggers and people
walking to work along the East River walks. Around the
Battery, watching out for the commuter ferries was
essential, especially as I was crossing over to get a view
of the Statue of Liberty. Seeing her as a speck in the
distance as I rounded southern Manhattan was quite amazing,
and up close from the edge of the restricted zone was
amazing. Then, up to my $30/night mooring at the 79th
Street Boat Basin. Such a deal! I ended up staying there
for five or six days while visiting friends, family, and
generally hanging out at art museums.
The return trip was a quickie, essentially retracing
my steps and heading up to Three Mile Harbor near
Easthampton, an ideal spot from which to visit the Jackson
Pollock/Lee Krasner House. It was indescribable to walk
across the studio floor, essentially a Pollock painting
itself. Then, an evening in Greenport, and a race early the
next morning against the weather back through the dicey
Plum Gut (by the infamous Plum Island) up to Essex for
stripping the boat in prep for shipping to Seattle.
We won, the race, no problem.
Was it all worth it?
You bet.
More Pictures:
Long Island Sound & New York
Shipping Aurora To Her New Home
Arrival in Seattle
Boat Blog