Sailing Mystic Hearts

Whew! To say I’ve been an inconsistent blogger would be an understatement. I love sharing our adventures, including places we’ve explored, what we’ve eaten, and helpful tips along the way, but sometimes, the other job gets in the way. You know, the one that helps fund this cruising lifestyle.

While cruising south Florida over the winter, I took on an additional client for my small business. We had an amazing cruise through the Florida Keys and to the Dry Tortugas (which I hope to still blog about one day!) and as soon as we arrived back in our home port, I took on a second client. Between my clients and Paul’s day job, along with cruising, we’ve been very busy. I wouldn’t have it any other way because I love what I do, but unfortunately blogging was put on the backburner.

One of our cousins just got married in Brooklyn, so we knew we wanted to bring the boat up to New England for part of the summer. The last time we made it this far north was two years ago, so we were definitely itching to return.

We left Norfolk on June 7 with a goal of arriving in Port Washington about 48 hours later. Much of the U.S. East Coast was still covered in smoke from the Canadian wildfires, which affected visibility on the first day and a half of the trip. We left when we did because the weather conditions were right to be offshore. The seas were about as calm as they’ve ever been for us, which made for a pleasant experience, especially when you really start to get tired on day two and have to adjust to night watches and less sleep.

Whatever tiredness we may have felt went away completely when the sight of the New York City skyline came into view. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been to New York (we’ve been about a half dozen times before boat life), it’s still an exciting experience. The skyscrapers slowly come into focus, and as you enter the harbor, you notice familiar sights like the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island. Turning into the East River, we love going under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, spotting the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the United Nations Headquarters, Roosevelt Island, Rikers Island, and more. We’re always asked how “Hell Gate” is – a stretch of the East River that’s narrow and known for rough currents. We always time our entrance to the East River with the current and although we’ve felt the current pull us in that stretch of water, it’s never been an issue for us.

Like clockwork, it took us exactly 48.5 hours to complete the 293 nautical mile hop to Port Washington, NY and drop the hook and we even had a view of the Bronx in the distance. We’re so glad to be back and can’t wait to share more about our adventures in Port Washington, New York City, and our upcoming time in Long Island and beyond.