Sailing To New York City

Sailing To Sandy Hook (continued)

We passed this catamaran named Didgeridoo; I didn't notice their hailing port. Didgeridoo is also the name of a long tubular wind instrument made by the aboriginal people of Australia. Click on the left-hand picture to see a bigger version; use your browser's "back" command to return here.

The whole time we were heading to New York, Jerome was expecting to keep Pilgrim at a marina in Jersey City. He has a friend who owned a sailboat and kept it at the marina, and the friend recently sold the boat and expected the slip to be empty. The friend graciously offered the empty slip to Jerome, since the slip rent had already been paid for the year. Today, Jerome was awaiting a call to confirm that the boat had been moved from the slip and that the slip was available.

Unfortunately, in late afternoon, Jerome found out that the slip in Jersey City wouldn't be available. Although the other boat had been moved from the slip, the friend who had rented the slip found out that he could no longer use the slip, and that he couldn't let anyone else use the slip, either. Once a slipholder sells his boat and moves it from the marina, the slip contract is terminated and the marina takes possession of the slip.

This created an immediate problem for Jerome, since now he didn't have anywhere to stay. There were a few other possibilities that he began considering, such as staying on a mooring at the 79th Street Boat Basin in the Hudson River, or perhaps a mooring at a yacht club on City Island in the Bronx. Since he hadn't expected this hiccup, he didn't have any other details worked out. But the good thing is that Jerome is a New Yorker of many years standing, and is quite familiar with the local boating scene.

The ocean waters at dusk, looking towards the Jersey shore. In the full-size picture, I can see a few water towers that are barely visible in the photograph. Click on the picture to see a bigger version; use your browser's "back" command to return here.