13 Jul 14

The alarm went off at 03:15 so we could get up in time to catch the 04:00 taxi to La Guardia for our 06:00 flight to Charleston, SC, where we will join the biannual Wells family reunion. We will return to the boat on 5 Aug to continue our adventures to the north. I will not update the blog until then.

5 Aug 14

We had a great stay in Houston - after the Wells family reunion in Charleston, SC - but now it is time to head back to the boat. Our flight, which left IAH at 10:15, arrived at La Guardia at 15:00 and we took the bus and Metro to NYC, where we met our friends from Houston, Jim and Robin, at the Cornell Club, where they are staying for a short visit to their daughter, who works in NYC. We walked around town for a bit and eventually ended up at Lafayette, a very nice restaurant just off Broadway. After dinner, we all walked over to Lisa’s flat for a quick visit, then back to the Cornell Club, where we picked up our luggage and headed to Port Washington. Between the late running Metro and LIRR, we finally got to the boat just before 02:00 a.m. (that was a long day!!), whereupon we just crashed.

6 Aug 14

After yesterday’s exertions, we slept in until after 09:00. We spent the day provisioning and getting the boat ready to go. It is essentially ready, but I would like to get a diver to check the prop and shaft zincs and scrub the bottom of marine growth, so I think we will linger one more day. I also plan to get a board (1x 6) to use for lashing the bikes and fuel jerry cans on the port side. Earlier today, I moved the whisker pole to the starboard side (where it will be unencumbered by the bikes and jerry cans and the spinnaker); so, perhaps we will use it a bit more than we have been so far. The weather today was warm and dry. We had dinner aboard; pork chops and mixed veggies.

7 Aug 14

We were up at the crack of 09:05 and straight into it. The weather was fine and dry again. The diver finally showed up and scraped a couple of months of barnacles and marine growth off the hull, and also replaced the prop zinc - the shaft zinc is still in good shape, apparently. After that, we made another run to town to get the board for the port side, along with some marine varnish. Spent the rest of the day trimming the board, drilling holes for the U-bolts and putting on the first coat of varnish. Dinner aboard; salmon and veggies. 

8 Aug 14

Time to get moving again, so we were up before 09:00. Terri did a quick laundry run, while I finished getting the boat ready to go. We settled the bill and pulled out of the marina on schedule at 11:00 and headed out of Manhasset Bay. The weather was pleasant and clear, but not much wind, so we motored all the way to Port Jefferson, arriving at 16:00. We picked up a mooring ball operated by Port Jefferson and had an excellent meal al fresco on board. After dinner, we caught the launch into town for a walk around. This is a bullet proof harbor and the town is neat, but the power plant is just across the narrow bay and it runs all night long. Still, good for a night or two. 40-56.997’ N, 73-04.236’W.