Great Kills Yacht Club

We get up at 6:00am and are out by 7:30 to Head down the Hudson for Staten Island to Great Kills Yacht Club. We stayed there in the Spring, returning on our last trip to the Bahamas. The locks on the Erie and Champlain canal were delayed, opening, because of high water. A lot of boats ahead of us were waiting 1 to 2 weeks for the locks to open, so we decided to chill in the New York area. We had 3 days of rain and thunderstorms, before we could leave to head north, then.

 

The New Tapenzee Bridge

We are back to another cold and dreary day. It gets a little rough as we get to lower Manhattan, but water traffic is not two bad. Lots of tourist boats heading to the Statue of Liberty, but a very dismal looking day, not worth taking to many pictures. When we get past Governors Island we cut through the anchorage area off the channel adjacent to Brooklyn. Not a lot of oil barrages anchored. There is one ship of interest, a British ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, an aircraft carrier, anchored out for a visit. 

 

HMS Queen Elizabeth

We pop out the head sail and sail out of the harbor under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Great Kills on Staten Island. We call for dockage directions and club member John Calascibetta, Great Kills Yacht club host guides us in and takes our dock lines. “Blown Away Too” follows us in ½ hour later. Diane was not at all happy about transiting the “Busy” New York Harbor, the first time for them. Since we have done this many times we did not think much about it. But for a first time passage I can understand. It can be hard to distinguish anchored vs moving ships with the current.

We all head up to the Great Kills Yacht club bar. Beer on tap, $2.50, hard to beat. The club is busy with an event going on this evening, but we find ourselves very welcomed by the members and the bartender. We head back to the boat for dinner.