Long Island and beyond
On October 13th we sailed through Port Washington for a fuel stop and sailed onto Port Jefferson located on Long Island. Here we would wait out some oncoming weather. The Port had mooring balls and after a night of very high winds we were thankful to be tied to a ball. We woke up to several sailboats that had washed ashore!
This port had a water taxi included in the morning ball price which saved us from having to move our dinghy into the water. The dinghy is always a PROCESS. It involves at least three rope changes, lots of pulleys, draining of dinghy plug, lowering of engine which means moving the seat and there is usually some swearing or yelling involved. Plus Queso knows the dinghy means going to land and he starts barking his head off. We met Zach the water taxi driver who is a local but spends weeks at a time working on container ships in the Great Lakes. On his off time he returns to Long Island and picks up hours driving the taxi. His docking skills were to be envied.
The waterfront was still busy with large ferries departing every hour. Josephine utilized the Starbucks for schoolwork and we all took lots of walks. One day Nate and I ran a few miles to rent a car so we could go to West Marine and the grocery store. The leaves were showing off and Halloween was in the air.
On days that don’t allow us to get to shore due to weather or not having time I use the Peloton app to do a boat workout. My classes of choice are yoga, barre, pilates and strength.
On October 15th we sailed onto East Lyme, CT where everyone but me dinghied to shore to buy a pizza for dinner. On the way back the dinghy throttle broke and Nate had to paddle everyone back. Luckily the conditions allowed for this and the pizza was enjoyed. The dinghy engine is old - we are not calling it a lemon (yet!)
On October 16th, Nate dropped Josephine, Queso and I off at fuel dock in Rhode Island for us to pick up our car from the Providence airport where we had stored it after it had been in Edgewater, MD. Nate would be sailing on to Hingham, MA solo through the Buzzards Bay and the cape cod canal and in the ever colder conditions. He sent us proof of life photos along the way and had a foggy passage through the canal.
