Surviving Hellgate

We left Point Lookout, L.I. on Tuesday morning with Maryann & Peg on "Windancer", friends that we met last September. They were going to spend the holiday weekend in Red Bank NJ, so we thought we'd sail with them to Atlantic Highlands, NJ, before heading up the East River to L.I.Sound. After clearing Jones Inlet, the sails all went up, and we had a fantastic sail, 30 miles, to the Highlands. After we anchored, we heard on the VHF that a 34' Tartan sailboat had dragged anchor and was banging on the rock jetty very near us. Captain Rescue, a.k.a Jim, dinghied over to save the boat but was intercepted by Tow Boat US, who took the boat for salvage! Needless to say, the owner was distressed when he returned and the boat was gone. After that excitement, we had cocktails on "Windancer" and then we all went ashore for dinner at the Memphis Pig Out and enjoyed the Firemans carnival. Jim and I left at 0630 on Wednesday morning to travel up New York Harbor, through the East River, HELLGATE, and out Long Island Sound. There is a great deal of hype regarding travel through HELLGATE. All the cruising guides warn boaters about planning this trip carefully with attention to the currents & tides. Jim did much planning (unusual for Jim)the night before so that we would arrive at HELLGATE at slack tide; and we wouldn't get swallowed up by a whirlpool there. Well, we arrived perfectly at slack tide - and we looked at each other and smiled at the perfectly flat water. We survived HELLGATE! By 1400, we were picking up a mooring ball at Steppingstone Park at Kings Point, Long Island. My Aunt Estelle & Uncle Mel live there, so this was a great opportunity to visit. We spent a very enjoyable evening with them. What a beautiful spot - free mooring balls for the resident's guests with launch service. So nice that we decided to spend an extra day here. Today we walked to the US Merchant Marine Academy (a 5 minute walk). Jim's Uncle Elliot, who was his sailing mentor, graduated from there, and we recently donated a memorial plague in his memory that had just been laid. We found the plague, and toured the beautiful grounds & buildings. A great afternoon!