Just a few words here, as I am about to pull anchor to head through the East River, down New York Harbor, and hopefully onward to either Delaware Bay or the mouth of the Chesapeake.
We had an easy run from Martha’s Vineyard most of the way up Long Island Sound before an approaching front brought fog, rain, and 50-mile per hour gusts. We staggered into Oyster Bay (from where I am writing now) quite overpowered though we were only flying a double-reefed mainsail and the staysail. There were a few scary moments shortly before we found the harbor when an overtaking tug and barge disappeared into a particularly thick pocket of rain. They had looked to be passing us to starboard, so I tacked away to head far from the course I anticipated they would continue. The scary part was that I had no confirmation until the rain let up 10 minutes later. By then, we were probably 1.5 miles from their track. Whew.
Now, with a new, strong northwest wind blowing over the island behind which Idle Queen is currently anchored, I see that it is time to go. This will be a good wind direction for us once we are headed down the New Jersey coast, and it is forecast to remain favorable for the next 48 hours. Our progress over that time will dictate whether we make for the Delaware or Chesapeake Bay. I will update when I next find an Internet connection…