Tuesday, September 15^th was our day to go through New York City. Based on the currents through Hell Gate, we did not have to leave until noon so we had a leisurely breakfast and prepared everything for the big day in the Big Apple.

We noticed something new in Manhasset Harbor on this visit – smallish fish, about 8 inches long, fish were swirling EVERYWHERE. Everywhere throughout the harbor. They swim very close to the surface so we could hear splashes as they broke the water, which they did constantly. We were quite intrigued and wondered what type of fish they could be. Fishing guru to the rescue – call Dean! He told us they are “bunker fish”, also known as menhaden, and often used as bait fish for blues and stripers.

I told myself I would not repeat photos that I had already taken and posted on the blog on the previous two trips through the East River, but…….. it is so hard to resist New York. It is no less exciting to see it all again from the water. There is simply something about New York City. I may never want to live there again, but I still get a thrill as we pass the skyscrapers, the noise, the traffic, the boats, planes and helicopters, and especially the famous landmarks.

 Rikers Island is New York City’s main jail complex, and sits in the East River, in the Bronx, with a Queens zip code. Almost everyone knows the name well after many years of the Law and Order series and all of the other New York tv police dramas.
Opposite Rikers, on the other side of the river, there is this enormous white and blue ship. We remembered passing by it before and wondering about its story. Looked like a ship made of big lego blocks. Surprise! According to Wikipedia, the Vernon C. Bain Center is an 800-bed “jail barge” used to hold inmates inmates in a medium- to maximum-security setting. “The Boat” (the staff’s and inmates’ nickname for the barge) was brought to New York in 1992 to reduce overcrowding in the island’s land-bound buildings for a lower price.

How’s that for new trivia for this trip? On to more cheerful sites and sights —

Hell Gate, where timing is everything. We were early for the big push of the current, but definitely had some help from it. Al commented that the trawler behaves differently than the sailboat, and surmised that the smaller rudder might make the trawler harder to control and steer.

I lived in New York City for a couple of years back in the late 1970’s so I always seek out this one building.

Helicopters are certainly more common now than they were back in 1979.

I feel a bit guilty that we rarely notice the east side of the East River.The Manhattan side is so fascinating that Long Island gets ignored. 🙁 I apologize! Here are my token east side of the East River photos —

There’s no lack of variety on the New York waterway —

We noticed that the Staten Island ferries had  police escorts ,and also saw a NYFD boat spraying water in a big arc. We later learned that these were practice maneuvers for the Pope’s upcoming visit.

Looking back at lower Manhattan as we continued on our way south towards the Verranzo Narrows Bridge – New York is a one-of-a-kind city.

We settled down for the night behind the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands, the northern tip of New Jersey, inside of Sandy Hook. Cutting Class also made the trip through New York so we had a catching up dinner together.