Today was a really amazing day on the water. We left Brielle, NJ at 7:40 am and cleared the jetty about 10 minutes later. The weather prediction was very accurate. We had north winds of 5 to 8 mph, which resulted in "waves" of about 6 inches (well maybe a teensy bit more). There are always swells in the ocean, and once again, the predicted swells were about 3 feet with a long 8 second period (or wavelength). The swells just provided a gentle rocking/rolling motion to the boat. Our trip in the Atlantic Ocean was about 35 miles, but the general area of the harbor at NYC is huge so the great weather was most appreciated.
Once we cleared the highlands at Sandy Hook in New Jersey we were greeted by our first view of the new York City skyline and the view only got better over the next 15+ miles. As we got closer (photo at left) the Verrazono Narrows Bridge loomed large. The tanker is one of only three ships that we passed in the harbor. There were, of course, tugs, barges, many ferries, and several dozen sailboats racing. Still, it was nowhere near as busy in the harbor as I had expected/feared.
We took over 100 pictures today, but you can relax as I am going to spare you by not posting most of them. However, the Statue of Liberty is on the list that I will post. The first picture is not just one for the ego, but it also shows the aft end of the flybridge as visual proof that we were there (ha ha).
The second photo is one that really shows off Lady Liberty in all of her radiance! I have been there once before about 50 years ago with my mother on a vacation trip that included the 1964 World's Fair in NYC. I was impressed then, and it was if anything more impressive 50 years later.
Yes, those little "dots" around the base are people. If anything it is much larger than I ever would have expected.
Very close by on the New Jersey side of the harbor is Ellis Island. Actually our marina is only about a quarter of a mile to the right of the picture. There are quite a few other buildings in what is not surprisingly a large complex.
The skyline of NYC has always been impressive, and of course, now it is different with the recent completion of One World Trade Center. We plan to visit the memorial at ground zero tomorrow. The new museum officially opens on Wednesday, and although Wednesday is our last full day here, all of the tickets for opening day have long since been sold. At 1776 feet high to the top of the antenna, it certainly is an impressive addition to the skyline.
We are at Liberty Landing Marina on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. We took a ferry over to NYC to see the new movie "Million Dollar Arm", which by the way, I found quite good. The ferry left from our marina about a 5 minute walk away from Lucky Us. When we landed in NYC (see photo at right), it was only another 5 minute walk to the movie theater. It was a "cute" little ferry compared to the very large ones to places like Staten Island that transport thousands of commuters daily.
I will close with a picture of the skyline of NYC that was taken at dusk from the flybridge of Lucky Us at our dock.
Overall, today was one of the best days on our trip so far. Starting with great weather and including all of the many spectacular views, it was truly an awesome day!
No comments:
Post a Comment