Hi Friends!
Nyack, NJ was our next stop. We were moored in the Nyack Boat Club boat basin with about 150 other sailboats. Wednesday night was race night and it was a ton-o-fun to watch from the cockpit. Again, Mr. Popular Puppy face made many friends at the club. I love it when people inquire what special breed Hatch is. You should see their faces when we say, "Mutt." The caretakers of the boat club spent twenty minutes chatting it up with the dog. I think there is potential for making a bunch of dough if anyone is interested...breeding Hatches!
Well, kids, today is the day that I use an entire memory stick just photographing one special lady. If you think I was taken aback when I looked up and saw West Point, I couldn't breathe from the excitement of spotting The Statue of Liberty in the mist (smog) in Manhattan's bay. Cheese on crackers! The motor through New York City was better than anything you might ride at Cedar Point. Jeff said he felt like his head should have been on a 360 degree swivel because of the constant spinning he had to do to watch out for traffic and debris floating on and in the water. There's a unending chop from Staten Island Ferries coming and going to and from the city the island, Blue Circle passenger ferries doing the same from Ellis Island and Jersey City, speeding yellow Rockets, a really strange looking boat whose bow was painted like a raging shark's mouth charging through the bay at full tilt, sailboats, motor boats, commercial and personal fishing boats, mega yachts, cruise ships, tugboats and barges, freighters both anchored and moving, police boats, fire boats, Homeland Security boats, and a constant stream of helicopters taking off from the waterfront like wasps leaving their nests and circling loudly overhead! It felt like we were in a blender with everything spinning as we watched out for the chunks! To add to the confusion, there is the constant chatter of New York accents being blasted over the marine radio combined with the foreign accents of the freighter captains. I loved it when one humongous freighter passed Manatee and Presto and a familiar voice hailed us to say, "That's a big ass boat!"
The density of the buildings is amazing. It's one thing to walk the crowded streets of the city, but from the water it doesn't look like there is any space to walk between the buildings. Seeing the Empire State Building and the obvious absence of the Twin Towers made my heart leap and ache at the same time. We passed Chelsea Pier where there were huge multi-million dollar yachts docked, as well as, cruise ships. And, just when you think you have a handle on the whirlwind of activity and emotions, SHE comes into view. Holly Hannah. Again, I have seen her up close and from the railing of a ferry, but sailing up to her in your own boat is just about one of the coolest things I have ever done. At that point, I did forget to breathe. What a sight south Manhattan and the Statue must be for people coming to our great country for the very first time. It just makes you want to shout, "God Bless America!" Of course, as many of you found out, my initial reaction was to call you on my cell phone and shout in your ear!
We anchored that night in a small area next to Liberty Park which is right behind the Statue of Liberty. I could see her from the waist up and her torch shone over the tops of the trees like a welcoming beacon, just like Motel 6. The feeling I had was just like when I go to visit our daughter Beth at work when I in Washington D.C. Our Capitol building is just, well, right there! It's a pinching-myself-to-see-if-it's-real kind of moment. Jeff had his five o'clock in the morning bathroom call, and poked his head out of the companionway only to come wake me up and tell me to "Come look!" It was the Queen Mary II sailing into Manhattan under the Verazono (sp) Bridge totally lit up like a Christmas tree! It was as big as a city block inching its way across the bay...just when I my heart rate was beginning to slow down a little, too! There was no falling asleep again, so I finally got up and watched the sunrise from the cockpit and I shared a cup of tea with The Lady.
Off to Sandy Hook and Atlantic Highlands, NJ for the Labor Day weekend. What a great place! It reminded us instantly of Put-In-Bay because they had ferry boats identical to the Jet Express and launches just like the taxis. The mooring field is o n l y sailboats, which is a sight to see. Visiting bay yacht clubs were even rafted off of each other on the balls. When one of the guys came up to collect our money, I swear from a distance it looked like Forest. Hatch thought so, too, and when he pulled alongside the boat, Hatch jumped right into the taxi wagging his tail and going through his WalMart greeter routine. Unfortunately for Hatch, we weren't ready to go in yet, so he had to come back onboard with boring old us.
There are a ton of commercial fishing charters at the docks. They stand on the sterns of their boats in the early morning and sound like barkers hailing you to come on a three hour tour. "Hey Lady, we've still got room, come fishing with us!" How is it that I am almost fifty-seven years old and that still makes me blush? Jeff would get up every morning to take Hatch into shore to do his thing, walk, swim, check out some good sniffs. I was with them one day about midday and Bac told me to walk closer to the fishing charters. I was a little apprehensive because of all the attention that was drawn to me the last time I was shouted to, but I did it. Hatch goes traipsing by and then shoots down the steps on the dock to the third captain we pass! He almost pulled me over! Hatch starts speeding through his trick repertoire without even stopping for a break in between. Has this dog lost his mind? The guy then says, "Hey, Hatch, long time no see. How's my pretty new friend? Here ya' go, buddy! ...and he gets treats out of his pocket. Jeff and I cracked up.
We walk a few more feet and Hatch ignores three or four more boats and their captains that are paying him no nevermind, and then he shoots down to the next guy in a burgundy shirt. "Hey, Hatch!" he calls. "Sorry, I'm out of treats, pal, will you settle for a pet?" Hatch rolls over on his back and spreads his legs! Oh, this dog!
More to come...there's always the DELETE button!
Sandy
More stories of the trip.
Drifting Toward Niagra Falls From the eyes of Blossom Read the other side of the story End of Week 4 The Mast is Up Again The Erie Canal from Blossom Week Six New York City Sandy's Report from New Jersey
