NORTHPORT, LONG ISLAND

Nice day for cruising

A nice day! Woke up to little wind, no rain and a little sunshine. We decided to head back down Long Island Sound to New York City so that we could go to Mariko’s (our daughter) concert this weekend. Just before we got ready to leave, Elaine suggested we make sure our fuel transfer pump was working. The last time I transferred fuel, the forward tank emptied completely (very unreliable gauge) so we weren’t sure if the pump had lost it’s prime. Rather than find out while we were underway, we decided to test it before we left. Sure enough, I had to re-prime it. Not an easy nor pleasant task. Anyway, I got the pump working, we got everything else squared away and we took off from Block Island around 8:30 AM.

The conditions were very nice - minimal wind, waves of one foot or less and intermittent sunshine. It was still cold - 52 degrees when we started out - we piloted from the cabin rather than the flybridge.

A view from the cabin while underway

There was great visibility and not much boat traffic, so it was a comfortable day and we decided to make the most of it. We were underway for about 8 hours and pulled into the bay at Northport, Long Island, anchoring in a protected area just off of the beach.

We were able to ride the flood tide most of the way down the Sound and, at times, were making 15 knots. As the day wore on, the wind subsided, so the last few hours were on a smooth sea and we comfortably piloted from the flybridge.

Race Rock Lighthouse,Long Island Sound

Love all the windows in our cabin - after we anchored it was like a greenhouse and made it warm, even though the outside temperature was only in the 60s.

We have not stopped at a full-service marina since Cape May twelve days ago. We are starting to get a bit low on provisions, need to do some laundry, need to clean up the boat, need to empty some tanks and fill others, so we plan on stopping at a marina in Port Washington tomorrow for a few days. We will also be able to get into New York City from there to see the kids.

Rummaging through the stores in our bilge, Elaine came up with a great extemporaneous dinner tonight. Any idea what kind of wine goes best with Spam?

Some more notes from Elaine...


A very pleasant benefit from doing all this cruising up the Atlantic seaboard is gawking at the local architecture. The houses vary so much from region to region.

The antebellum plantations in Georgia and South Carolina had wrap around porches and weeping willows. Charleston had the "single house" - and entry with a front door that opened to a porch and the real front door was down the walkway - I think they did this so people could sit on their front porch in private. The style becomes more colonial as you progress into the mid-Atlantic states (as in high porticos with columns, not unlike the monuments in Washington DC). Also more brick here - winters apparently were getting colder. There were mansions on the banks of the Potomac that were so grandiose, they made Mt Vernon look small. The zillion square feet mansions in Rhode Island (such as the Vanderbilts) were second (!?!) homes - go figure. Then there are the cape cod style houses in New England - clapboard siding, some with ornate wood cutouts or bungalow-like with bead board. Heavy sea themes too - pastels, coral, shells. I realize I am only seeing a few representations of the architectural styles of the area, but I am completely fascinated by all the styles. Kind of like traveling from movie set to movie set.