The repair of the radar turned into the install of a radome a wind transducer and a second MFD (Multi-Function Display ie. Chartplotter). This required several electric kick-scooter trips to West Marine for miscellaneous switches, cables, etc. We had to pull the inside roof of the pilothouse down in order to snake cables between the two helms (Pilothouse & Flyberidge). This took several days.
PH Wiring
Flybrridge Break Out Panel
We met our neighbors Capt. John and Charlie who were bringing a 55′ Sunseeker Manhattan to Florida. If you are interested it’s for sale on YW (YachtWorld.com). $2.25M
2021 Sunseeker Manhattan 55 For Sale
Capt John was very knowledgable about boating technology and we discussed everything from LiPO4 batteries & BMS (Battery Management Systems) to Chinese diesel fired heaters. Capt. John had many projects going on with his own one-off sailing yacht called Myth.
SV Myth
We got a late start but it felt good to be moving again. We slipped past a lonely lighthouse before entering the East River. Soon we were passing the massive prison ship in the Bronx. Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (VCBC)
Prison Ship
The clouds looked like cotton balls as we cruised West down the East River.
Lady Liberty always reminds me freedom is what everyone wants in this world.
Our Lady Liberty
Freedom
As we scooted beneath the Verrazzano Bridge we passed a large container ship entering NYC harbor.
Cargo Ship
As the day came to an end we decided to drop the hook behind Sandy Hook, NJ for the night. As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon we tucked in for the night.
We left Morris Cove Anchorage at 5:30AM. It was dark, very dark. We had woken up around 4 AM. I had pulled up the anchor, spun the boat around and MV Simple Life started going bow up, bow down. I thought… the winds were not supposed to increase until Thursday afternoon (per the NWS – National Weather Service Gale Warning). In the words of Gordon Lightfoot, “The winds of November came early”. We used our searchlight to spot the buoys on our way out of New Haven Harbor’s channel.
Jay Marques, you asked for video in addition to photos so these links are for you.
Sorry, that video is the lightest of the three I recorded. With the winds out of the south it meant that the 16 mile fetch of water from the NY side to the CT side was making the CT side of the sound lumpy. I heard the VHF radio crackle alive with a tugboat captain complaining that the winds had been honking all night long. Here is a video after the sun came up and we were slogging our way South across Long Island Sound from New Haven, CT to Long Island’s Huntington Bay area.
When Kelly & I first met I had a 1998 35′ Beneteau 352 Oceanis ,S/V Saltyhacker, (I’ll upload a pic of SV Saltyhacker later) that had only a dodger (the see-thru plastic and canvas that covers the companionway opening into the boat. We sold her to a great couple from Canada and bought a 2001 45′ Hunter 450 Center Cockpit. (I’ll upload a pick of SV Skull & Swords later, promise). The Hunter was owned by friends of ours who were living aboard her in Exuma Key, Bahamas and ever since we’ve said someday we’ll spend a few months on anchor there. We loved the Hunter for it’s liveaboardness; for it’s fully enclosed cockpit and interior space but Kelly would often quip that unless we are sitting in the outside cockpit you don’t get to enjoy the scenery. So we decided to buy a new boat that met our mutual demands. Kelly wanted a boat that was easier to move around in (Kelly has a habit of twisting / breaking ankles when underway or simply aboard). After spending 10 hour days at the helm outside and often cold, I was fancy on an enclosed pilot house. In the video above you will just have to imagine as the cold sea spray is hitting the pilothouse windows that I’m sipping my coffee in my PJs at the helm (smile).
Todays trip looked something like this..
As you approach the East-end of LIS you enter into the East River that takes you from the Bronx to the Statue of Liberty. As many times as we have made this trip we still find ourselves taking pictures of the scenery as we go down the river. Below are some of the photos we snapped along the way…
After going by Riker’s Island Jail you pass the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center. This is a 47,000-ton, five-story barge with 800 beds spread over 16 “dormitories” and 100 proper jail cells. At 625 feet in length and 125 feet wide, it also holds a gym, a basketball court, a library, three chapels, a rooftop exercise area
Brooklyn Bridge – built in 1870
Whirly Birds buzz the East River and land just North of Battery March
Water Taxis are everywhere and as a captain you must be alert and ready to dodge them
We timed our trip down the East River to make sure we caught favorable currents that saved us easily an hour during our transit. After arriving in NYC harbor we hailed Liberty Landing Marina and requested our slip assignment. The wind was gusting but an attendant met us at the slip and caught the lines that 1st Mate Kelly threw to him.
MV Simple Life tied off at Liberty Landing Marina
Tomorrow we’ll take the water taxi and find somewhere to grab a IPA & Capt-Pepsi -NFL (No-Flipping-Lime) & a bite. Tonight we’ll just relax 😉
MV Simple Life 
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