A really cool thing

One of the really cool things we've done lately, is sail through New York City. Not just to the city but through it. The East River runs 14 miles from the Throgs Neck bridge on the west end of Long Island Sound to the Battery on the southern tip of Manhattan. Steve did LOTS of planning for this passage. Currents on the river can reach 5 knots and we certainly didn't want to be going against them. At the midway point of the trip, where the East and Harlem rivers meet, the current can be so strong, the area is called Hell Gate. It didn't give these newbies warm and fuzzy feelings. The key was to time the currents so we could go through the city and continue on our way down the New Jersey coast.
Steve timed it perfectly and it was an amazing day.

We entered the East river, going under the Throgs Neck bridge, it was our first view of Manhattan.

                                              Sailing school, just past the bridge.

 

 

There were beautiful, expensive homes all along the river. Yes, that is a float plane in the garage.

We went under the bridge and past La Guardia airport and Rikers Island prison. Just across the river from Rikers was a maximum security barge. It had curling razor tape everywhere and a tunnel of the stuff leading to the barge. The upper left corner was a basketball court/outdoor area, also heavily razor wired.  I nicknamed it the 'party barge'. It made me claustrophobic just going by.

 

 

 



 

                  Another barge, this one looks like a residence with indoor and outdoor space.

 

 



 

   As we came around Rikers Island, we got our first good view of Manhattan. Hell Gate bridge is to the left.

 

There were so many beautiful old buildings and apartments. The rooftop gardens were everywhere.

Going through Hell Gate.

                                            The UN and the Chrysler building.

More beautiful apartments.

               River traffic, my captains course didn't cover right of way issues with planes.

                                                  Old and abandoned looking Domino Sugar mill.

                      Around another corner and our first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

The detail on the undersides of the bridges was ornate and beautiful. They don't build 'em like that anymore.

                            Brooklyn Bridge at the bottom of Manhattan.

 

 

One final corner and we were in busy New York harbor. The Statue of Liberty straight ahead. Tugs, ferries, planes, helicopters, sailboats, barges, and any and every other kind of conveyance in between.

It was a 2 hour trip through the city and one I'd really like to do again.

 

 

Tidbit: Throgs don't really have necks. The area around the bridge was name after the Rev. John Throggmorton who settled there in 1642 and it eventually was shortened to Throg.

 

Tidbit #2: The East river and the Harlem rivers are said to be the only rivers in the world with two mouths and no source.