And So It Begins ...

Stats Day: 1
Nautical Miles Traveled Today:  26.5
Nautical Miles Traveled Total: 26.5
# of Locks Navigated To Date: 0

So today we decided to throw off the dock lines and start on our way to explore the Great Loop!  We still had items on the "to do" list and a multitude of last minute activities to get ourselves out of the house.  When all was said and done, we pulled away from our home dock at 3:40 p.m. on our way to New York City for the night.   Here's a picture of "Red 2" buoy with the Highlands in the background as we wave goodbye to our home port!

As we approached the Verrazano-Narrows bridge, we passed the Carnival Splendor cruise ship just leaving New York.  I always find it exciting to see the tankers and cruise ships coming and going from the harbor.  We reached the VZ bridge at just about 6:00, and shortly after passing under the bridge, Clark had the pleasure of seeing a dolphin jump completely out of the water in the waters in front of our boat!  Unfortunately, I was day dreaming and missed the show. The dolphin decided not to make a reappearance for my benefit.   However, even though it was overcast when we arrived at NYC. I did enjoy this lovely site!

Having arrived in New York harbor, we decided we should find a place to spend the night.  Due to it being well after 5:00, it took perseverance and numerous no-answer calls to acquire a slip at Lincoln Harbor Marina for the night.  We stayed there July 4, 2012 and enjoyed our stay as we saw the Macy's fireworks from our fly bridge.  No fireworks tonight, but the marina offers a beautiful view of NY just the same.  Too bad that between my lack of photography skills and a rocky dock, I can't share the full beauty of the moment in this blog, but here's a little taste.

Tomorrow we plan to get an early start to catch the tide to help us along on our way up the Hudson River.   On today's travels, we averaged about 7.6 naughts and that was with a following tide for a good portion of the voyage.  It is a big adjustment going to trawler speeds after years of being in a hurry.  Weather is iffy for tomorrow, so we'll see how far we can get.