Brooklyn, NY

On Tuesday, August 24 Jonny took Archie for a last walk in City Island and decided he wanted to have a hearty diner breakfast before setting out on our cruise. After returning from the walk we left Archie onboard and walked to the City Island Diner for breakfast.  This is a quintessential small town diner and we had a very satisfying breakfast.

It was noon when we left the marina which would allow us to catch a favorable current through New York City as we headed to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn.

It was a hot day and the skies were clear but it’s always somewhat challenging cruising on the East River.  It’s a narrow river with lots of boat traffic zooming by.  The boats kick up waves that bounce back and forth across the river churning up even more rough water. Between that and the swift current one has to be hyper vigilant all while ogling the iconic landmarks.

We chose to stay in Sheepshead Bay on the recommendation of a fellow boater who recommended the Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club there.  Jonny tried to contact them through various means to no avail.  He saw that there was another marina nearby with mooring balls and called them.  The fellow he spoke with at the Miramar Yacht Club was very welcoming and even offered to buy us beers when we arrived.  So we obviously made plans to go there instead.

We arrived at the bay by 3:45 and called in for guidance as to where to tie up to the mooring ball.  The launch came out to meet us and it turned out that it serves both yacht clubs that just happen to be next door to each other!  There were too many lines on the mooring ball and they were very tangled so the launch driver went back to get help and she brought David out, the fellow Jonny had talked to on the phone. He straightened everything out and urged us to come join him for a beer once we got settled.  And so we did, of course taking Archie with us so he could walk onshore. 

David introduced us to several old salts who were fellow yacht club members.  This was a very casual, low key yacht club that primarily caters to sailors.  The Sheepshead Yacht Club next door had more going for it with a restaurant and pool but apparently their phones weren’t working which is why they never called us back.  No matter.  We had a fun time sitting outside exchanging stories with the Miramar members about our respective sailing mishaps!

Afterwards we took Archie for a walk along the main drag which was very busy and not at all attractive.  We learned that Sheepshead Bay is the name of the bay we were moored in as well as the name of this Brooklyn neighborhood.  It gets its name from the sheepshead, an edible fish found in the bay’s waters.  It was originally a summer fishing destination and over the years it became a popular tourist destination along with Manhattan Beach across the bay. But it was eventually surpassed by the growth of Coney Island.  The community has had its ups and downs over the years.  It is quite diverse with a an especially large Jewish and Russian population similar to nearby Brighton Beach.  We didn’t see enough of the area to get a really good feel for it.  Next time we pass through we will be more likely try staying at our original choice, the Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club. The photos below are the most attractive shots we got from our approximately one mile walk.

That night we had antipasto salad which we had purchased in City Island and and leftover pasta from our dinner out.  It was just as good the second time around!   

As the sky darkened we laid out on the foredeck looking at the few stars that permeated the city lights and watched a big beautiful full moon rise.  Pretty special!

City Island, NY return trip

We were very concerned about the path that Tropical Storm Henri was expected to take towards eastern New York and eastern Connecticut so we wanted to get as far away as possible on Saturday, August 21.

We got up early to take Archie in to shore and were able to pull up our anchor by 7 a.m.  The day was overcast and it was quite foggy when we left the Thimble Islands.  Thankfully, the seas were pretty calm and there was very little boat traffic as we cruised along the Connecticut shore heading towards City Island.

Examining all the weather apps convinced us that staying on the southeast side of City Island would provide the best protection from the winds.  We called the South Minneford Yacht Club that had been recommended by the NYPD police officer we met on our last visit.  The yacht club was very responsive to our calls but they urged us not to come because of the approaching storm. However, when we told them of our plight they assured us that they would have room for us in a safe berth.

We approached the yacht club after a seven hour cruise and a Tow Boat US kindly escorted us to the entrance of the marina.  Several dock hands were present to help us tie up.  South Minneford Yacht Club is located at the far southeast end of City Island, the exact opposite location of the Harlem Yacht Club where we usually stay. Where the Harlem Yacht Club has only mooring balls but a beautiful club house with a restaurant and bar, South Minneford has completely rebuilt floating docks but just a temporary portable building for their clubhouse.  They were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy and apparently put all their investments in building excellent wide floating docks with full finger piers between each berth.  We chose this club due to its safer positioning with the oncoming storm and the convenience of being at a dock with easy access to land.

Once we tied up, the work began.  We spent 3.5 hours taking down everything.  Jonny kept insisting that because it was a named storm we had the obligation to take down all our canvas.   We kept “discussing” whether we had to take down the bimini since we had already removed all the Stratoglass.  Back and forth we went, Jonny leaning towards doing so, me leaning against it because the winds were not predicted to exceed 40 mph. When Jonny called out to the dockmaster asking for his opinion, he said to take it down and so we did. If we hadn’t done so Jonny would have fretted all night!  By now the V berth was filled with all that had been removed.  We were pretty exhausted by then so fortunately we had leftovers for dinner.

That night it rained some and the boat was a little rolly but not bad at all.  We expected the worst of the storm the next day but even though it rained quite a bit we never got any of the expected winds.  The storm was heading towards eastern Long Island and expected to hit Rhode Island. It turned out that our friends in East Hampton called it a bust but Jonny’s cousin David in Rhode Island was one of thousands there who lost power.  We definitely dodged a bullet! Jonny then spent the day lamenting that we hadn’t needed to take everything down as we did!

It was expected to rain all day on Monday so we thought we would have a totally down day. As it turned out, the sun came out and we were able to put the flybridge back together, bimini and all, stopping intermittently for the occasional short shower.  

That night we rewarded all our hard work with a date night dinner at Arte’s a local restaurant with good traditional Italian fare.  The best dish we ordered was a scungilli salad which was especially delicious.  Lynn was eager to try their clams casino so we shared three appetizers and split a dish of very good pasta. It was a fun night.

We are now officially starting the return portion of our journey as we plot out our travels over the next few weeks. We plan to resume our cruise on Tuesday afternoon.

Stony Creek, CT - 3rd Visit

With Tropical Storm Henri approaching in 2-3 days we decided to cross Long Island Sound and begin heading west away from its expected path on Friday, August 20. After taking Archie in for one last lovely walk on Shelter Island, we pulled up anchor at 10:30.

Somewhat surprisingly, a children’s sailing class was out taking advantage of the brisk winds on the water. 

It was a beautiful clear day with perfect temperatures in the low 80’s.  Unfortunately, the tide was against us the whole way slowing our average speed from 7 knots to 5 and it took us an extra hour to arrive in the Thimble Islands at 4:30.  At times it became a little bumpy, enough that Archie lost his breakfast halfway through the cruise.

We had been discussing where we wanted to go to wait out the storm. Henri was due to hit eastern Long Island and New London (the exact two  locations we just came from) and the whole southeastern coast of Connecticut was under a watch.  So we decided to spend the day getting to the Thimble Islands and then proceed to City Island the following day which would take us away from the storm’s primary impact area.  Originally we thought we might stay in Stamford, CT for a night but we didn’t want to take a chance traveling to City Island on the following day since the weather would be deteriorating by then and we needed time to ready the boat for the storm.

After a long day on the water we arrived safely in the Thimble Islands and dropped anchor close to the mooring ball that we usually use.  It’s a little more complicated to tie up to it so we decided to skip that step as we would be leaving early the next day.  We quickly took the dinghy into little Stony Creek where people were busily pulling their boats out of the water in anticipation of the storm.

Upon our return to Zendo Jonny made arrangements for us to stay at two different yacht clubs in City Island so we could have a choice as to which would be the best location to ride out the storm.  He also spent a considerable amount of time trying to fix our freezer door which keeps falling off its hinge! He finally managed to fix it but it wasn’t easy.

I made pork tenderloin for dinner so that we would have enough for leftovers the following day.  We expected that we’d be too busy getting the boat ready for the storm that is due to hit on Sunday to cook dinner.  The rest of the evening was spent communicating our plans to worried friends and family.

Shelter Island, NY

We had a very short cruise on Wednesday, August 18 heading over to Dering Harbor on the north side of Shelter Island.  Ernie joined us for the 1.5 hour cruise and Sophie was going to drive over and take the ferry to pick him up.  This would be our last night on eastern Long Island and we wanted to position ourselves for an easy crossing of the Sound when the weather window is right.

Once we arrived, we decided to stay two nights to wait for an optimal time to cross Long Island Sound.  This is a beautiful anchorage surrounded by gorgeous sailboats of all sizes.

Our anchorage also provided a view of many stately waterfront homes,

All we did in Shelter Island was take Archie into the little village and walk the hilly streets.  The homes were lovely, many of them with fanciful bric-a-brac trim decorating the porches and eaves.

We have taken to bringing Archie to church yards to exercise him by throwing the frisbee and practicing his skills. The churches in many of these villages are small and quaint with lovely shaded lawns that are perfect, safe places to let him off the leash.

We also found a rocky beach nearby where he thoroughly enjoyed searching for crabs and other aromatic goodies!

Shelter Island has a tiny village center with just a few stores. There is a great, but expensive, little grocery store where we bought some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and a few other overpriced basics including yoghurt, cottage cheese and blueberries at $10 each!  Oh well! We’ll be at anchor for the next few nights and not eating out so I guess it’s OK.

Tropical Storm Henri is making its way up the east coast bound for eastern Long Island.  We are carefully planning our next few days because of the approaching storm.  Obviously we want to be in as safe a place as possible.  The current plan is to cross the Sound and stay in the Thimble Islands then head west to Stamford and eventually City Island which we think will be much better than being on the Connecticut shore.  But we’ll keep revisiting that decision based on the latest forecasts.

We stayed one more day in Shelter Island to do some intense trip planning since wherever we go is somewhat in the path of the storm.  We were also waiting a day to make sure we would have a calm crossing over Long Island Sound to the Connecticut shore.

East Hampton, NY

Like almost everyday, we started by taking Archie in on the dinghy for a walk through Stonington. This time we walked down by the little beach and enjoyed our stroll through the village’s lovely streets.

We didn’t leave our anchorage on Monday, August 16 until 11:25 for the short cruise across Long Island Sound to East Hampton on the eastern end of Long Island.  It was a beautiful day and the seas were calm - just what we like.  We passed the beautiful Southold Lighthouse on the way.  

We arrived at our anchorage in Gardiner Bay, just a couple of blocks from our friends Ernie and Sophie.  We had visited them two years ago and anchored in Three Mile Harbor, on the other side from where they live.  This time Ernie recommended Gardiner’s Bay because there would be light winds out of the south making the bay very calm and we would be just 100 feet off of the beach at the end of their street.  It was a lovely anchorage - we were the only boat and we could bring the dinghy right up to the beach and leave it there safely.

Ernie was there to greet us when we arrived and we walked up to their home.  Sophie arrived a couple of hours later.  They made us a delicious dinner which we ate outside on the comfortable deck and planned our time together for the next two days.

We dinghied back to Zendo and had a very peaceful and calm night on board with this amazing sunset!

The next day was our 35th wedding anniversary which we had celebrated over dinner in Stonington the night before.  After walking Archie on the beach which he quite enjoys, we put him in his crate on Zendo because Ernie had planned an outing on his fishing boat for us.  He picked us up after lunch and whisked us away for the afternoon to give us a tour of the waters and shoreline where he fishes.  He has a charter business and takes people out on fishing expeditions.  It was a very different experience being on his boat which travels at 30 mph compared to Zendo which travels at 8 mph!  The eastern Long Island coastline is stunning and there is everything from multi-million dollar mansions of the rich and famous to deserted beaches to striated cliffs.

 

It’s really quite dramatic.  We cruised into Montauk Harbor which used to be a sleepy fishing village and is now home to faboulous yachts.

We also periodically stopped at different locations where Ernie would take his rod and reel and throw out a line. He eventually snagged a decent sized bluefish but his policy is to catch and release.



That evening Jonny and I decided to make dinner for them.  We made ravioli from our trip to Little Italy and homemade marinara sauce. Sophie made a wonderful tomato and mozzarella salad and Ernie made garlic bread on the grill.  We sat on their deck and feasted to our heart’s content.

Our last day in East Hampton was filled with more exploration.  After a lunch of fresh tomato sandwiches and delicious leftovers, we set out to visit Long House Reserve.  This 16 acre garden was planned and owned by Jack Lenor Larson, an internationally known textile designer.  It has a fascinating array off sculptures, art works, water vistas, ornamental plantings and a fabulous exhibit of his gorgeous and unique textiles.  We stayed for a couple of hours and could easily have lingered longer.

Our plan was to move Zendo that night to a Shelter Island anchorage that had been recommended to us.  Ernie and Sophie wanted to show us Shelter Island by car so Ernie, who hadn’t been aboard Zendo yet, joined us for the short one and a half hour cruise while Sophie drove to meet us there in her car.  She had to take a ferry to get from Sag Harbor to Shelter Island.  

By 5:30 we had a arrived at Shelter Island, another beautiful  anchorage with a plethora of stunning sailboats.  There was a very sweet fleet of little wooden sailboats (Herreshoff dinghies) flitting all around us as we arrived.  It must have been a women’s sailing group because they were all about my age and having a great time.

Sophie met us at the dock where we dinghied in with little Archie. She then proceeded to drive us around the island which is more rustic than East Hampton with a mix of more traditional waterfront homes along with others on the winding wooded streets and lanes.  It’s a beautiful place but a bit more remote since one has to take a ferry to get there!

By this time, it was getting late, so we stopped at a local pizza place and ate dinner outside at a picnic table on the lawn.  Sophie drove us back to the dinghy dock and we said our good-byes.  Ernie and Sophie certainly showed us a great time at their lovely home and the stunning area in which they live. We are most grateful!