Season's Greetings!

Location: 18 30.13 N 64 21.88 W

What a splendid Christmas we had here in Gorda Sound.  The Virgin Islands don't quite conjure up images of snow covered fir trees, but it was festive nonetheless. 

One of the Christmas parade boats passing Saba Rock at happy hour

More about it all in the next episode, but thanks to Richard and Alison for the splendid Christmas dinner onboard Vulcan Spirit.

Alison serving the turkey complete with all trimmings

Season's greetings to all!

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Back in the tropics

Location: 18 30.13 N 64 21.88 W

Our unplanned stop in Bermuda was a welcome respite from the windy north Atlantic weather.  We spent time ashore and with friends, throwing in only a few boat jobs to salve the conscience.   In the event, poor weather lengthened our stay to almost 3 weeks – time enough for 3 visits to the Swizzle Inn and for Stellie to make a new cockpit sun shade to protect us from the Caribbean sun.  At over 4 metres long it's quite a substantial structure!

St Georges town hall, welcoming door open to all and lit for the walkabout festivities.

Despite its economic problems, Bermuda remains a lovely island to visit.  Cruise ship visits are down, and we were sorry to hear that some ships will only stay for less than one day.  This may be because local Bermudian law prohibits the use of the onboard gaming machines – a valuable source of profit for the ship operators.

But economic hard times are nothing new for Bermuda.  Centuries ago, Britain understood that this colony could never produce much in the way of goods or food for the empire.  Its value was purely as a naval base to protect our valuable trade routes in the Caribbean.  After losing all our possessions in the American War of Independence (1775 -83), Britain was left with just a toehold in the North Atlantic – Bermuda – with Halifax to the north and Jamaica to the south. So it was developed into an impregnable fortress to protect our trade.  In 1812, tensions with America erupted into war, and attacks on Washington and Fort McHenry at Baltimore were launched from Bermuda.

This 9 inch rifled muzzle loader from the 1870's would probably discourage most intruders from sailing down Bermuda's north channel.  Firing 400 pound shells from an enclosed 'Haxo' casement must have given the gunners a bit of an earache, though.

Richard and Alison arrived on Vulcan Spirit.  They had some autopilot problems so we helped them diagnose the problem - a faulty drive unit clutch – then eventually managed to fix it. 

Inside the welcoming door to St Georges town hall

But the best part of our extended stay was the magical St Georges Town Walkabout.  Organised by the Bermuda National Trust, the walkabout is an annual event to celebrate the town's history and culture.  This quaint town dates back to the early 1600's and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

For one evening, generous townspeople open up their beautifully decorated homes to the public, some of them very old indeed, and even offer visitors mulled wine and egg nog.

Entertainment was laid on in the town square.  Whilst enjoying a chicken dinner with desert served by sea cadet volunteers, the town crier called us to attention as various dance groups, a Salvation Army band and a youth orchestra performed.  In St Peter's, all the candelabra's were lit and the church was filled with the haunting sound of a hand bell choir.

The following evening there was yet another street event, but this time with more modern dancing and with Father Christmas in attendance.

Banyan tree near crystal caves, Bermuda

At last it seems there is a possible weather opportunity for us to continue on our journey south.  Although it's still rather windy, Vulcan Spirit sets off.  Feeling rather tired and worn  (the effects of a head 'cold', not alcohol!) we decide to wait till morning, even though there's a risk of being becalmed when the Bermuda 'high' - an area of high pressure - re-establishes itself.

Is there something there?

At 7am the next morning, we weigh anchor and set off into 25 knot winds and a 4 metre swell.  There's nearly 1000 miles to go as we race to the south to try and beat the high pressure system.  Thankfully the strong winds persist, and for the next 48 hours we make fast progress on a beam reach, though with poor radio propagation we are unable to check the weather forecast with Herb.   But an unpleasant surprise awaits us.

At 0400hrs one morning, Stellie hears a curious tinkling sound on deck.  Too early for Santa with his sleigh.  But what can it be?    She wakes me and we investigate together.  Looking out into the darkness we think we can make out something large on the foredeck.  The penny suddenly drops.  Keith rushes inside to trip the main switch to the anchor windlass and the noise subsides.

The problem?  A deck switch had malfunctioned, causing the anchor windlass to operate on its own and feeding out chain from the chain locker onto the foredeck.  Now there's 60 metres of heavy chain piled up on the foredeck.  Thankfully none of it had gone over the side.  A minute longer and all 112 metres would have paid out to the bitter end – the inboard end of the chain which is made fast to the yacht.  This would certainly have damaged the winch motor and risked the whole caboodle going overboard.

The next job is to retrieve the chain and put it all back into its locker.  We reef both sails heavily, don full wet weather gear and safety harnesses and then head forwards on the slippery deck.  By chance there's a momentary lull in the wind, allowing us to avoid a soaking as we manually feed the chain back into its locker below deck.

Wot lighthouse?

The next day the wind howls with steep seas but we speed on, heavily reefed, and 24 hours later the wind abates sufficiently to set more sail, easing our ride considerably.  Our plan is to make landfall at night near the low-lying island of Anegeda, which boasts a lighthouse on its NW tip.  We approach the island and its coral reef carefully in the blackness of an unlit sky, arriving before the moon has arisen.  We want to check our GPS position visually, but as we get closer, it becomes apparent that this lighthouse – the first to be encountered after 1000 miles of ocean, isn't working!  So we check our position using a combination of radar and depth soundings and safely slip around the tip of the island into the shelter of its coral reef.

By midnight, we are safely anchored off Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda and drinking chocolate in the cockpit.  The warm breeze carries new scents of land, reggae music plays loudly from ashore and the boat rolls gently in the swell.  No matter – after nearly 6 days at sea we're so tired we'll sleep through anything!

Ananda anchored of Virgin Gorda, Spanish Town, sporting her original white sun awning.  Quite a handful to set up but loads of shade.  Behind us is the slightly larger Club Mediterranee 2 offering 'ballroom dancing, bridge and music'.  Alors, pas de difference...

Club Med 2 sails into the sunset

After a few days rest and quite a lot of rolling in this rather exposed anchorage, we sail around to the north of the island past Necker Island – Richard Branson's privately owned Virgin isle – and into Gorda Sound.  The sound is sheltered, almost landlocked, and is a beautiful setting amidst unspoiled islands.  We anchor off the mangroves on uninhabited Prickly Pear Island, and land our dinghy nearby on the deserted pristine beach.  Land crabs scurry everywhere as we tread carefully towards the salt water lagoon 50 metres inland.  Incredibly, there is a small colony of flamingos resident there!  Sadly these shy birds are now uncommon in the Caribbean, much of their natural habitat now lost with increasing land development.  This colony must be an offshoot of the larger colony on Anegada.

Close to Ananda, flamingos forage on Prickly Pear Island

A seaplane lands near David Geffin's yacht Rising Sun

No wonder the place is popular with the super-rich.  This weekend is Holly Branson's wedding on Necker Island and the place is buzzing, many of the guests staying at nearby resorts.  We have impressive company in this lovely anchorage.  

A helicopter lands on Larry Page's expedition yacht Senses.

Just behind us is 'Senses', a 194 foot expedition motor yacht owned by Larry Page, the 39 year old co-founder and now chief executive of Google.  Was he at the wedding?  His own wedding took place at Necker only a couple of years ago.

Next to him is Rising Sun, a massive 450 feet and privately owned by the legendary (notorious?) showbiz mogul David Geffin.  Not only founder of Asylum Records (Joni Mitchell/Crosby Stills and Nash/Bob Dylan/Tom Waites/Eagles), as co-founder of Dreamworks, he is big in Hollywood.

Hard to think of a better place to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.  On the great day we hire a car with Richard and Alison and tour the island, swimming off lovely beaches.

Hats galore.  Lunch overlooking the Baths at Virgin Gorda - 30 years of marriage today!

Gorda Sound anchorage.  Ananda is the white yacht with 3 spreaders, anchored just below and to the right of the tiny resort of Saba Rock.  The lagoon with the flamingos is visible on Prickly Pear Island to the left of the picture.

When it comes to eating out, there's no shortage of choice.  Built on an isolated rock behind a reef lies what must be one of the tiniest complete resorts, Saba Rock, complete with hotel, vintage boats and outboard engines and tame toucans.  During 'happy hour', their rum-laced 'painkillers' certainly achieve their aim.  And there's the Bitter End resort, sophisticated with music, small cinema and every kind of water sport activity available.  Across the lagoon is Leverick Bay, another resort where Branson keeps Necker Belle, his giant catamaran.  Except in settled weather, it's too rough to moor the yacht off his own island.

Branson's Necker Island, with Necker Belle anchored off for the wedding.  Sadly, his home (centre of the photograph) was completely destroyed by fire in August 2011 and has now been partially rebuilt.

Stellie in beach mode

Anniversary on the beach - quite a contrast to the deep snow of our wedding day.

There's plenty to explore on foot too.  A long walk along a hilly trail led us to Oil Nut Bay where a new development is nearing completion.

Development marches on relentlessly.  The almost completed Oil Nut Bay resort boasts amazing facilities.  You can build your own exclusive home here.

So, all in all, not a bad place to be holed up, despite the rather windy weather.  Stellie has baked mince pies, the freezer is well stocked so we probably won't be moving far for a while.

A beautifully situated telegraph pole somewhere in the Virgin Isles.  Composition is all...

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Winter, North Atlantic - a slight detour

Location: 32 22.72 N 64 40.32 W

Still in Chesapeake.  But it has been many weeks since the flocks of migrating geese passed us noisily on their journey southwards.

So onwards we sail, in company with friends Richard and Alison on Vulcan Spirit, to Solomon Island at the mouth of the Patuxent river where we anchor in sheltered Back Creek, almost completely landlocked and as calm as a mill pond.   The next day, after an early morning dive to check the propeller and anodes, we continue on to Deltaville, a pretty anchorage.  Here we cycle along peaceful roads.  So quiet here – no-one about.  Richard and Alison attempt to improve our proficiency at cribbage with only partial success.

A typical Chesapeake lighthouse.  Note the elegant simplicity of the drainage system for the outside toilet.  I do hope it's attached securely.

By the following day, a gale is blowing.  But it's time to move on, to Norfolk, the world's largest naval base.  Fortunately, the gale helps to push us in the right direction and we complete the long trip in record time, arriving in daylight to pass row upon row of warships – cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers and a battleship - all in various states of repair and renovation.

Not much further to the open sea now…

A precipitous exit

We had planned to spend some time in this interesting town.  But having only just washed the salt off the decks from our last trip, we were advised by weather guru Herb on SSB radio that the weather 'window' to head out into the Atlantic was fast closing.  If we wanted to leave, it was now - or wait for the next window, whenever that might be.

Dating from 1875, the Thomas Point Shoal Light is one of the most recognised symbols of Maryland

So despite not having had a chance to top up with milk and fresh food, we tidy up, stow and secure any loose items, don our full thermals and wet weather gear and, at 11pm the same evening, haul up the anchor and set off again.

Destination?

When it comes to describing their destinations, sailors are usually pretty coy.  You just never quite know.  So they use words like towards to describe their objectives.  We would head east for 250 miles or so and then on towards the Virgin Isles, over 1000 miles to the south.  But the most important thing was to avoid northerly winds.  These would produce huge seas when blowing against the north setting gulf stream - hence our detour to the east to clear the stream quickly.

We sail over the tunnel part of the bridge/ tunnel that crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake and soon we are out in the ocean flying along in the strong southwesterlies, spray everywhere.  We sail through what appears to be dry land in the middle of nowhere – huge carpets of Sargasso seaweed – and soon the boat is festooned with greenery.  Stellie, who has been rather missing her gardening since leaving England, really appreciates this.  In a trice she is up on deck to get on with some weeding.

The seaweed is actually an important eco-system.  Turtle hatchlings and eel larvae live in it for the first few years of their lives, floating about in the Sargasso Sea to the west of Bermuda.

The winds remain strong, the gulf stream with its many eddies buffets us about, but we are making excellent progress.  After only 36 hours we are able to shed our thermals and enjoy milder weather, tempered by the warm stream that at times pushes us to the north at 3 knots. We re-commission the watermaker, last used on our trip to Maine, and it works perfectly.  With 25 gallons of fresh water produced per hour we can now shower as often as we like, and we continue to head to the east to maintain the favourable winds.

It's a tough call

Decisions can be like this sometimes.

Never ones to make any decision where thoughtful prevarication will serve perfectly well instead, we are faced with a difficult choice.  We get to about 180 miles to the NE of Bermuda, keep our radio 'sched' with Herb, and a dilemma arises.  Apparently there's a depression bringing bad weather and gale force winds to the south of Bermuda.  And it's due to arrive at the weekend.

This means we must choose from the following 2 options:
a)  Reef all sails, prepare storm staysail, lash everything down, batten down the hatches (not sure what this means but it sounds good), start medication - stugeron, prepare towing warps, etc, or
b)  Book a table at the Swizzle Inn steak house, Bermuda, for Friday night.

What would you do?  Anyway, it just goes to illustrate why sailors use the term towards when giving their destinations.  By the following evening, we are safely tucked up in St Georges harbour, back in the familiar surroundings of lovely Bermuda after a record trip from Norfolk in under 4 days.  Unplanned, maybe, but it's certainly a welcome break.

Sunset over a windswept Bermuda

And the steak at the Swizzle Inn?  Delicious, particularly when washed down with a rum swizzle (or two)…

Achilles Bay, Bermuda

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A cruise down Chesapeake Bay

Location: 38 58.61 N 76 28.49 W

As the sun sets, we slip past Sandy Hook light at the entrance to New York harbour and head out into the Atlantic.  There is little choice – with a draught of over 8 feet and a mast height over 80 feet we are just too big for the Inland Waterway, an inshore route that meanders for over 1000 miles down to Florida.   Our plan is to take a short cut to Chesapeake Bay by sailing 50 miles or so up Delaware Bay and then traverse the C & D ship canal that joins the tops of the two estuaries together.

The night is clear and bright with an offshore breeze that gives us calm seas, and we make good progress south, keeping only a mile or so off the New Jersey coastline.  On we sail, past Little Egg inlet and past Atlantic City and Ocean City. The town casino's enormous billboards shine brightly out to sea, though now giant LED screens take the place of the neon signs of old.

The sun sets on Shark River inlet, New Jersey

By dawn we have reached Cape May at the entrance to Delaware and in the settled conditions we lay a route close inshore through the shallows to shave 15 miles off the normal shipping route.  But it is a long slog against foul tide to the upper reaches of Delaware and evening by the time we drop anchor south of Delaware Fort on Pea Patch Island.  Centuries ago, Confederate prisoners-of-war were housed here – 32,000 in total.

As we reverse to dig in our anchor, a loud knocking noise ensues.  A host of possible faults springs to mind:  a fault with the feathering propeller?  Or with the transmission?  The cause of the disturbance soon becomes visible as a lobster buoy with its mooring line floats free from under the boat, and the noise disappears!  The buoy has been released by the action of the yacht's prop shaft's rope cutter, severing its mooring line - a total cure for this particular ailment.

The Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal is a 12 mile cut that was originally built in 1829.  Nowadays there are now no locks in the canal and it is navigable by some pretty big ships, up to 886 feet long.

Tug pushing a barge in the C&D canal.  To clear shipping, the railway bridge (behind the barge) lifts up, balanced by a clever system of counterweights, cables and pulleys.

The canal is a haven for wildlife and as we watch a bald eagle circles over our mast.  The wildlife seems to flourish here despite the local penchant for tearing up and down the canal at reckless speeds in noisy overpowered race boats.  Amazingly there is no speed limit in this canal!

"Howdie bud - here's your 'wake-up' call..."

The route up the Susquehanna River to Havre de Grace is a curious mixture of nature reserve and naval military weapons testing area – the Aberdeen Proving Ground.   Every so often the peace is disturbed by an enormous explosion.  Now we are beginning to understand why the authorities are so tolerant of noisy speedboats!

Paddle steamer at Havre de Grace - entirely suitable for the shallow waters of the Chesapeake.

Our friends Tim and Barbara join us for some cruising and we are driven to the Annapolis Boat Show, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of American friends Jo and Jim.  They also show us the local countryside and take us to an Amish Market in the Hunt Valley, near the border of Pennsylvania and its large Amish community.  They are gentle, serene people living a simple life as in times gone by.  Although plain, their clothes remain distinctive; the men wear braces and sport 'bowl cut' hair and beards without moustaches, the women wear their hair parted in the middle and swept back under a lace cap.

The mouth watering array of fruit and veg at Wegmans store.

Havre de Grace is famous for its 'decoys' - painted wooden ducks used to lure birds to their doom.  Here they were about to be deployed until heavy rain postponed the shoot.  Hence, I suppose, the _expression_ 'lovely weather for ducks'.

The Sassafras River is pretty and we spend a few days in deserted anchorages with turkey buzzards and blue herons for company.  We explore the wooded banks and hidden creeks by dinghy.  It's all very quiet and end-of-season, and all the more charming for it.

Evidently short of business, the marinas in Sassafrass River are now taking terns...

Covered slips on the river at Georgetown.  Not quite sure what the covers achieve, though.

Impromptu entertainment from a stunt pilot over the Sassafras river.

After their enjoyable company, eventually it's time for Tim and Barbara to return home, and so on a rather blustery grey day, we head further south towards Annapolis and sail beneath the remarkable Chesapeake Bay bridge (actually 2 bridges side by side).  It's certainly high enough, with its clearance of 182 feet.  Soon we're anchored safely off the town next to the US Naval Academy.

Bowling down the Chesapeake - and cold enough to bring out the wet weather gear

Annapolis is a great place to visit (and a hard place to leave too).  It has many facets to it.  There's the US Naval Academy, a prestigious College dating back to 1845, with about 4,500 midshipmen (students) who are awarded a BSC on graduation.  Famous alumni include a US President, 2 Nobel prize winners, 46 Rhodes Scholars and 52 NASA astronauts.  Before lunch each day there is a full scale military parade for all midshipmen, complete with military bands and drums.  This entails a lot of marching about and shouting – all great fun to watch.

There's an interesting naval museum here too, with an interesting collection of ships models.  Many were made by the shipyards that built the great ships of the 18th and 19th centuries, others made by prisoners-of-war.

Midshipmen hurry to make the noon parade at the US Naval Academy

Sailing is a pretty popular pastime here, and there are plenty of yards and facilities to make life easier for crews and boats.  We take full advantage of the local suppliers to replenish our spares kits and we service both generator and engine.

When exploring ashore, yachtsmen can leave their tenders in 'Ego Alley', right alongside the historic centre of the town, for no charge.  Otherwise, one can use the reasonably priced 'water taxi'.

American football is probably not Indian Warrior Tecumseh's favourite game.  For every time there is an important game, his statue suffers the indignity of being 'decorated' with warpaint.

There are many fine old buildings here, including the 18th Century State House with the largest wooden dome in N America.  It was here that George Washington came before Congress in 1783 to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army, transferring the power of the military to the civilian authority. This made Annapolis America's first peacetime capital at the end of the Revolutionary War.

Anchored off the Naval Academy, Ananda and Vulcan Spirit enjoy a grandstand view of Annapolis Yacht Club's races.

It's a particular treat to meet up with Barbara, an old friend of Stella's, together with her husband Mike and son Scott.  They have lived in Maryland for 15 years and we are delighted to visit their lovely new home built in a forest north of Baltimore.  Keen cyclists and now owners of 3 tandems, they take us for a 16 mile ride along the Northern Central Railroad trail, a disused railroad heading from the Hunt Valley north through lovely countryside almost to the Pennsylvanian border.

A short break on the Northern Central railroad trail with Mike and Barbara.  Our fold-up Brompton cycles were well up to the task though they attracted a lot of attention.

Eastport is a trendy suburb of Annapolis, separated from the city by Spa Creek, an inlet lined with marine facilities of every kind.  Eastport marches to the beat of its own drummer, and when Spa Creek Bridge was closed for repairs some years ago, some local wags decreed that Eastport should secede from the City.  So they declared themselves as the 'Maritime Republic of Eastport'.   Passports were issued, and amid much merriment, Brussels sprouts shot from muskets.

The rivalry with Annapolis still persists, and we enjoy the annual tug o' war – Eastport versus Annapolis – held across Spa Creek using a half-mile long rope.  Both sides of the creek compete to provide the best street party to accompany the event, with live bands, food stalls and a really good atmosphere.  Fortunately we're able to attend both parties using our yacht tender – a great day for all.

An Eastport team psyches up to do battle against Annapolis in the annual tug o' war event

Amidst all of this mayhem, a bride and groom pose for photos on the Annapolis waterfront!

Anchored alongside us one evening is the fine clipper Pride of Baltimore II, a 1988 reproduction of an 1812 era topsail schooner and an excellent goodwill ambassador for Maryland. Sadly her predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore, was sunk by a freak squall off Puerto Rico in 1986, taking her captain and 3 crew members down with her.

Pride of Baltimore II, a Baltimore clipper.  At 157ft overall, she's a pretty impressive sight

But no trip to Chesapeake would be complete without spending time, possibly a great deal of time, in Washington.   Annapolis is not too far away, although public transport is not always great in this land of the automobile.  But we learn that there is a good commuter bus service to Washington early in the mornings.

So before dawn we're at the bus stop, complete with packed lunch and flask of tea.  If Americans go into battle complete with Coca Cola factories, so we have provisions too.  After all, survival is the key word on the new frontier (according to Steely Dan, anyway).

The US Treasury Building, Washington

US Capitol Building, Washington DC

No prizes for guessing this one.  Sadly Michelle didn't invite us in for tea...

So much to see here.  But our favourites must be the Smithsonian National Aerospace and Aeronautical Museum and the National Gallery of Art.  Although we return to them both on another visit, there is still so much left to be seen.

The original Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian National Aerospace Museum.  The Apollo 11 lunar command module is here too - the one that carried Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to the moon.

The 'Hope' diamond, sold to Louis XIV in 1668 and later 'stolen' during the French revolution and acquired by King George IV.  Here exhibited in a modern setting at the Smithsonian Natural History museum.

Everything has to come to an end, but we are sorry to leave Annapolis and its quirky blend of establishment and fringe.  The weather doesn't help us stay, though.  It is getting cooler - in fact decidedly cold.  We even have snow, in October.  It doesn't stick around for long, although New York has several inches; only the 4th time NY has had snow in October since the Civil War.

Ananda takes Manhatten

Location: 40 32.67 N 74 07.99 W

Wonderful as our time was in the UK, it was rather marred by anxiety over a certain lady called Irene.

At one stage, this tempestuous lady was almost directly on course for New England where Ananda lay, shored-up on dry land on Rhode Island.  We had presumed her to be safe and sound, but later learned that previous hurricanes in Melville have produced a storm surge that rose over the quayside, sweeping boats away.

Over in the UK, there was little we could do about it.   But our friends at the boatyard were terrific and secured Ananda, taking down her sprayhood and lashing anything moveable to the deck.  Thank you Barry, Richard, Alison, Jean and Kevin for all your kind help and reassurance, and for taking the trouble to keep in touch with us as events unfolded.

Dangerous as Irene was, her behaviour gradually improved and the damage was less severe than many had expected, though the boatyard was without power for some days.

On our return we were much relieved to find an unscathed Ananda, and immersed ourselves with last minute jobs before our scheduled launch the next day.

A gleaming Ananda is wheeled to the water's edge and moments later our world returns to a normal perspective back at sea level.  But there are problems with overheating of the stuffing box, the seal between the prop shaft and the hull.  Wells and Carlos work hard to sort out the problem and by the next day and 3 test sails later, all is in good order.

There's a schedule to keep and we're soon on our way, on past Newport in foggy, wet weather.  Mirabella, the tallest sloop in the world, is moored there, her mast top invisible in the low cloud.  Out to sea, and it's not too far till we reach the eastern entrance of Long Island Sound.  Here we anchor at the pretty town of Stonington, Connecticut.

Stonington lighthouse, a first for the federal government in 1823.  Note the 16 star, 16 stripe flag - the same one that encouraged the yanks to man the cannons and beat back an attempted British invasion in 1812!

But today there's another more welcome British invasion in the form of extra crew – our son Peter arrives from London to cruise with us through Long Island Sound to New York.  We watch a great egret catch dozens of fish – every dip of his long beak a winner – then enjoy gentle sailing to the beautiful Thimble Islands, where Captain Kidd used to hide his ships.  We anchor as the sun sets behind tiny High Island, a privately owned rock of pink granite with 4 or 5 beautiful homes.  A dory floats past us with Mike and Chris, whose family own one of the houses.  After a few drinks Peter and Keith go ashore, stumbling along overgrown paths in the dark to visit Chris's amazing house and its observation platform high above the trees.  Some say Kidd's treasure is buried here somewhere.  Just magic.

The cruise continues to Contentment Island, Sheffield Island and across the sound to Oyster Bay and Port Washington.  But the highlight is yet to come – a trip along the East River through Hell Gate to Manhattan, New York.

We plan our departure carefully as the currents in the river can reach 5 knots.  The weather is kind to us with a broad reach towards the entrance of East River at Throgs Neck Bridge.

Throgs Neck Bridge and a fascinating passage ahead

On we continue, past Rikers Island and its notorious prison, the world's largest penal colony with 15000 inmates.  Obviously not enough though.  Because we also pass a hulk, a forbidding-looking prison-ship festooned with razor wire.  Hanging off the gratings, the inmates stare morosely at us as we sail by – for them, a glimpse of freedom, an Eden without access.

No holiday cruise ship - the hulk near Rikers Island

Next is Roosevelt Island and on past the famous Manhatten skyline with the Empire State United Nations and Chrysler Buildings and under the Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhatten and Brooklyn bridges.   And all done with minimal hassle and interference from the armed coastguard cutters.

A relaxed Peter outstares the manned machine gun on the coastguard cutter

Heading southwards, we come across some moored square-riggers, a pretty sight against the waterfront.

But I am taken aback by the name of one of the ships – the district of Liverpool where I spent my childhood years!

As we sail past the tip of Manhatten, rising upwards from Ground Zero is one of the new towers that will replace the World Trade Centre.

Battery, Manhattan.  The building under construction on the right is 1 World Trade Centre, one of a number of towers planned to replace the twin towers.

We pass a busy heliport, with helicopters buzzing everywhere.  Sadly, only a few days later, one of these crashed on take-off with loss of life.  Then into view comes the sight we have been waiting for, the statue of Liberty, arm outstretched in welcome.   Nearby is Ellis Island, the gateway where generations of immigrants landed in the hope of being allowed to enter this prosperous land.  By the time it closed in 1954, it had processed 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892.  One third of Americans can trace their ancestors to this island!

The lovely lady waves back

After these sights, it's a bit of a haul down to Verrazano Narrows and the enormous suspension bridge that links Staten Island to Brooklyn – a mile wide gap that marks the entrance to New York.  Ananda appears almost insignificant as we pass beneath and on towards Great Kills Harbour.  But the entrance to the harbour is shallow and so we drop anchor off Staten Island to await the tide.

It's a rather curious fact that Staten Island, now home to 500,000 residents, only became part of New York State as the result of a yacht race!  It previously belonged to New Jersey, but both states claimed it.  New York's Captain Charles Billip and his sloop Bently won the race – and the island too.

It's dusk now, and the tide is just about high enough.  But our hearts are in our mouths as we feel our way in over the shifting sands into the calm safe haven that is Great Kills Harbour and with much relief we finally drop the anchor at the end of an amazing day.  It's pretty here with tree-lined shores, yet an easy commute to the sights of New York City – a perfect blend of comfort and convenience.  Pete's girlfriend Vic flies out to join us and we enjoy a week as tourists in the great metropolis.

The Wall Street Bull...

... and the police lying in wait for the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters.

The new memorial at Ground Zero - a fitting tribute to those who died in 9/11

When it comes to enjoying wildlife in its natural habitat, New York would not be the first place that springs to mind.  Yet, outside the Holocaust Museum at Battery in downtown Manhattan, we watched humming birds and butterflies collect pollen from flowers in a pretty public garden.

Another treat for us is a visit from American cousins Jeannie and Joel, who drive down from New Jersey to visit us on Ananda.  Great to catch up with family news!

All too soon it's time to say goodbye to Pete and Vic as they return to New York for a couple of days before their flight home.

Time to head south again, and as the sun sets we edge past Sandy Hook Light, the start point for Charlie Barr's transatlantic race and the many other attempts that followed him. 

Soon we are alone on the open sea…

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

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