NEW YORK - HUNTINGTON, PORT WASHINGTON & THE BIG APPLE

He Said:  Greetings.  Hello New York.  We left Connecticut on Saturday morning to begin our journey to New York.  We arrived pretty much on target to Huntington, New York.  The ocean was just fine other than the fact that my port engine stopped running.  Simply put - it just shut down.  We motored about 5 miles with 1 engine and made it into the marina.  We then reached out for some much needed help, but remember it is a Saturday at about 1 in the afternoon.  You got that right - no help until Monday - so our 1 nite in Huntington turned into 3.  The good news is our engine issue was a fuel filter that we did not know existed.  We check the other ones on a regular schedule, and even our mechanic dude was surprised by this hidden filter.  Oh well, we got everything up and running including the little lever on the dingy engine.  So all is good after a few hours from the mechanic.  For a short while we had 1 out of 3 motors working.  I guess if our starboard engine would have taken a shit we would have been 3 for 3.  Sometimes you really have to reach way out there to find some sort of humor in these situations or Pat and I would have killed each other by now.

 

We did have a fun weekend and found a super high end joint on the water that we could row to.  I parked Mr. Dingy between a couple 45 footers just to make a statement.  We had just 1 drink and left the place to go across the street to a little Irish joint called The Shamrock.  As we left the $$$ joint we cruised thru the parking lot as we exited and looked around at the rides that were, of course, valeted.  Young and rich kids from Long Island cruising in maybe Dad’s ride (Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes and some less expensive Corvettes).  We also walked into town and found a cute little pizza joint on Sunday and enjoyed the downtown area.  Oh yea, plus we walked maybe 1.5 miles to do our laundry.  How’s that for fun?

 

Houses along the Huntington Shore, Long Island
 

 

We left on Tuesday morning and headed to Port Washington where the city runs the mooring balls.  We like this because they are free with a 48 hour only stay.  We stayed 5 nites - the city was really on top of their rules.  Thank god they were clueless as to how long you were there.  Not only was the price right, but it was a really cool and not crowded area.

 

As some of you know we got rolling early Wednesday morning into our little town and walked to the train station, heading to Manhattan, holy cow. We arrived about 8AM, just in time for the Today Show, the proof is in the pudding.  If any of you saw us on the tube, just contact my agent if you need to talk to us.  Overnite stars - or as close as we will ever be. We spent the rest of the day looking at the sites including Ground Zero - simply amazing.  We returned to MTB in the early eve and had a pretty quiet nite after a long day in the city.

 

World Trade Center - 1776 ft.  The tallest building in NYC.

 

Most of the weekend we stayed pretty close to the boat, did some shopping, found a cute little bar for dinner on Friday plus they had a happy hour.  Yes, there is a god.  Our plans are to head out early Sunday morning and do East River (thru Manhattan), Hell’s Gate (just the name has me sweating), and the Jersey Coast (always looking for the Boss).

 

That is about it for now, hope everybody is doing well.  Our next blog will be from either Jersey or Annapolis.  We’ll probably post our next blog this coming weekend.

 

Take Care, Jack

 

 

 

She Said:  It was a beautiful day and we headed toward Huntington, NY on the north shore of Long Island.  Cruising the Long Island Sound is really nice – the currents are non-existent and the water is very smooth.  Things were going great.  We were about 5 miles outside of Huntington when the port engine just stopped.  All of the gauges were in the normal ranges and there was nothing in the water that we could have run over.  After fiddling with everything we could think of to fiddle with, we limped in to Huntington on one engine.  We were told that with diesels, if there’s a problem it’s most likely the fuel.  We were keeping our fingers crossed that it was nothing more serious. 

 

Light House in the Long Island Sound approaching Huntington, Long Island
 

 

I guess it’s pretty tough driving with only one engine, but Jack did a great job.  We fueled up (just to be on the safe side), grabbed a mooring ball while we called around for a mechanic (not very successful on a Saturday), and moved to another marina/mooring ball where we could get help on Monday morning.  Again, Jack did it all on one engine (we have improved a lot since our early days).

 

While sitting on board, we heard a live band – the first one since leaving Phoenix.  We got in the dinghy and Jack rowed us to Prime – the hottest spot in Huntington.  It was a Saturday night and the place was hopping, but the dock was relatively open.  We parked the dinghy and the dockmaster/valet says it will be $75, but we can apply the $75 toward our dinner tab.  Since we were only going in for a drink and the dock wasn’t busy, he let us in without the $75 charge (he did, however, move our dinghy to a more obscure part of the dock).  We had a drink and walked to the Shamrock for dinner. 

 

On Sunday we walked around getting the lay of the land.  It was overcast, so we just had a leisurely day on board.  First thing Monday morning we called the marina to find out when we could expect the mechanic.  Within minutes, one of the owners was at our boat getting ready to tow us in (with one engine they didn’t want to drive the boat).  A few minutes later the mechanic showed up.  He and Jack hit it off.  Just as we expected, it was a fuel issue.  We have a third fuel filter (which our mechanic had never seen before) and it was the culprit.  The other two (which we changed in Boston and check regularly) were fine.  The mechanic thought that our engines are in really good shape.  He also took a look at our dinghy motor and fixed it.  We were thrilled!

 

We did laundry in the afternoon and when we came back to MTB she was moved into a slip.  We hadn’t been in a slip or connected to power in about 6 weeks so we decided to stay there for the night.  We took the bus into the town of Huntington for dinner.  It’s a great little town with lots of restaurants, bars, and shops.  But it was a Monday night and things were a little quiet, so we made an early evening of it.  Back on MTB we took advantage of instant electricity – bright lights, TV and the microwave/oven.  It’s amazing how the simple things are now big deal things for us.  This was also the first time in a long time that we had neighbors – and noise.

Our one planned one night in Huntington turned into three, and it was now time to leave for Port Washington, NY.  The trip was easy and uneventful.  We found the city mooring balls, hooked up, and went for a motorized dinghy ride.  Ah – the simple pleasure of a working dinghy motor!  And we really needed the motor here because there are lots of places to ride to and the various dinghy docks weren’t close.  We planned to take the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan the next morning, so we got that figured out first.  This is another nice town with a lot to offer.  It was early to bed because we had an early start the next morning.

 

 We left MTB at 5:45am and caught the train for the 45 minute ride to Penn Station.  Jack’s a big Today Show fan so we thought we’d start the day there.  We were standing around trying to get a good view of the filming when a producer came by and said that if we wanted to be on TV we should move around the corner.  The words were no sooner out of her mouth and Jack took off running.  I’m not kidding – he was gone in flash leaving me in his wake.  I didn’t know he could move that fast.  Long story short – we made our TV debut that morning.  No speaking part for either of us, but there we were.  We texted friends and family to watch the show – we are so shallow.  It was Fan Appreciation Week and we were treated to food samples.  We ate the ravioli and pesto for dinner tonight.

 

After all of the excitement of TV we stopped at Magnolia Bakery for the famous banana pudding.  It was really, really good!  Then we caught one of the many Hop On Hop Off tour buses for a tour of the city.  It was a gorgeous day and we sat on the upper deck for great views.  With so many NY lunch options it was hard to choose – we went with the NYC deli pastrami route and we weren’t disappointed.  Jack had never been to NYC before so everything was new for him.  The 9/11 Memorial was new since my last visit, so we checked it out.  The waterfalls outline the footprints of the two towers that were hit.  They were quite impressive – the pictures don’t do them justice.       

 

One of the 2 waterfalls at the 9/11 Memorial
 

 

Rain was forecasted for the next day so we decided to extend our stay in Port Washington.  The weathermen got it right – it poured, it was windy and foggy.  A good day to lay low, get some cleaning done onboard, and plan our long trip down the Jersey shore.  We don’t cruise too fast, so we’ll need 3 days to get from Long Island down the Jersey trip.  That means we’re looking for three good weather days in a row.  Our best chance for that will be Sunday through Tuesday.  That meant another couple of days here.  It’s a cute town and very accessible so we were more than happy to stay.  We found a great bar – Finn MacCool’s.  They had a great happy hour, friendly bartenders, and yummy food! 

 

The Barclay’s Golf Tournament is a short train ride away, and we tried to get tickets.  It didn’t work out, but we did get the itch to golf.  The plan for Saturday was to go to the local Farmer’s Market, find somewhere to hit some golf balls, and catch happy hour at MacCool’s.  BUT . . . when we turned the generator on to make coffee in the morning it wouldn’t start.  We need the generator to run the stove and other non-essential electrical stuff, but mostly we need the generator to keep our batteries charged.  Not only do the batteries provide power to the fridge, lights, and toilet, but it also provides power to start the engines – so it’s kind of a big deal.  As you know, we are not the most mechanical people, so this did present a dilemma.  Our best guess was that it was the generator’s battery.  We pulled it out, brought it to be tested, and that was the case.  We bought a new battery and we were able to replace it by ourselves. 

 

One the shacks on the shores of the Manhasset Bay, Port Washington, Long Island
 

 

It’s Sunday morning and we’re off early for a 60 mile cruise through the New York Harbor and a little of the New Jersey Shore.  The bay and the Long Island Sound were smooth as glass and it was a nice easy start.  Once inside the Harbor/East River, it was another story.  We have feared “Hell’s Gate” since we first heard the name, and today we experienced it.  MTB has enough power so we made it through the area without a problem, but let me tell you its name is appropriate.  Not only are the currents strong, but they swirl.  We didn’t hit it at the best time or the worse time, and it still slowed us down considerably.  Even after we were through Hell’s Gate, the Harbor/East River was still not pleasant.  There are numerous channels that lead into the Atlantic and it was really busy with both commercial and pleasure vessels. 

 

The Empire State Building far left and the Chrysler Building on the right.  View from the East River.

 

Statue of Liberty from MTB
 

 

The Financial District at the tip of Manhattan as we are leaving NYC.  Hudson River on the left - East River on the right.

 

 

We enjoyed our time in New York and now look forward to a short visit in New Jersey.