East Hampton Sunset
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I was a bit apprehensive as I left East Hampton with what looked like an
overstuffed storage unit. Sailing to the Florida Keys single-handed might be
more than I am capable of, I thought. I've sailed as far as two days away from
Long Island before, but this time I would not turn towards home.
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Michael Caldwell
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Since I am by myself, I chose to go through the Long Island Sound instead of
rounding Montauk. The sail to Port Jefferson was a long one against the
current. There is a 7-foot difference between low and high tides. I knew that
going into the harbor but was amazed when I actually saw it.
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Third Avenue Bridge
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The next stop was Port Washington. With the current, from now on, it was just
6 hours away. It was raining when I jumped off of the boat at Capri Marina. My
feet went right out from under and I ended up on my stomach holding a line
connected to the bow. The wind was taking both the boat and me away from the
dock. I really didn't want to go swimming with so many clothes on. I was able
to sit up and pull her back in, only loosing a leg to the drink. No one was
around to help or to laugh at what seemed to be a pratfall.
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Manhattan Bridge
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I took on a great deal of water and had not noticed it because of all the
things that were not stowed. After getting to the bilge and pumping out almost
40 gallons of water, I figured out that the water was coming in through the
bilge pump that I had just installed. I hooked up a hose for discharging to an
already existing through-hull that was too close to the waterline. A siphon was
created, drawing water in. Wanting to resist
putting another hole in a perfectly good boat, I took out my hand drill and
successfully installed a proper through-hull for the discharge and parked the
switch in the automatic position.
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 Manhattan
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Hell Gate, the East River, under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Sandy Hook was
the next leg of the journey. I timed the tides just right and flew by
Manhattan faster than any cab could. The city was right on top of me. Much too
crammed from that point of view. The city only started to look majestic after
the South Street Seaport. I was traveling 11 knots, sailing wing on wing
between the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano-Narrows for almost one full
minute. The water was littered with huge tankers, oversized pleasure yachts
and the Staten Island Ferry. I looked back at this metropolis and realized
what I was doing. It sunk in; I'm on a great adventure, for me anyway. After
the Verrazano it seemed like I was in the country again. I liked that, even if
it was unfamiliar.
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 Wing on wing
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I dropped my anchor in Sandy Hook. The boat tossed all night. In the morning
I removed my cell phone from the remaining stew that I didn't finish. Cell
phone stew, yummy. Using the VHF radio I accessed a phone line with Maritell
(for $30). I contacted Omnipoint and they had a new Ericsson
phone waiting for me at my next port of entry. They were the only company able to supply me with a
modem connecting my laptop with my cell phone boasting continuous service all
the way down the Atlantic Coast.
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 Atlantic City Coast Guard
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It took 15 hours to get from Sandy Hook to Atlantic City. Sitting on the bow,
keeping watch, I saw what appeared to be debris floating in front of me. I got
up to steer around the hazard and noticed that the floating objects were
moving. In my bright foul weather gear I saw a dorsal fin. Then, there were two
fish 15 feet in front of my boat. I leaned over to get a better look and one
of them raced towards me. In an instant this 5-foot shark rammed the boat
right under my feet and was gone. I lost ten dollars in Atlantic City, met a
retired couple making a similar
trek down and was on my way. My electric start was giving me trouble by
working sporadically.
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 Salem Nuclear Power Plant
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Cape May was the next place I dropped the hook. That was a great day. Good
weather, nice sunset and a good bottle of wine that was given to me by a
friend before I left. I was finally used to the boat. I could read and
casually go below without feeling queasy.
Through the Cape May Canal and up the Delaware Bay filled the next day. Good
sailing without the GPS just to keep me sharp at navigating with the old
compass. I ended up outside the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. I slept even
though I was much too close to a nuclear power plant for my tastes.
The tide was going my way at 9:30 am and I was right there with it. The
foliage was spectacular reminding me why fall is my favorite season. By
nightfall I was in Maryland.
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 St. George's Bridge
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I made it down to the Chester River. I read that Bald Eagles make their home
there. In the morning the electric start wasn't working and the pull start
didn't retract after pulling it. I looked for a third choice, unfortunately
there wasn't one. Eventually I got the electric start to work; there must be a
short in the switch. I left without seeing any eagles and made my way to
Annapolis.
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State Circle
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There was an abundant amount of sailboats around Annapolis. The town is quaint
and touristy with guides dressed in period costumes and crews cleaning up
after what seemed to be an overcrowded boat show.
I'm visiting with relatives, going to museums in Washington as I wait for my
engine and computer to be fixed.
I'm strongly considering changing my boat's name from Knot Working to
something else. I hope to be on my way soon.
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