After 6 years of living by tides, currents, and wind it is difficult to not sail when the weather permits. About a week and a half in New York a decent weather window south came along. There are places where it is easy to find good weather windows and the North Atlantic has not been one of them this season. I was being hosted by One15 Marina Brooklyn, still had friends I wanted to see, places in New York I wanted to go, and had just met a girl. It is rare that I let a good weather window pass but after some thought I decided that even though the conditions were good to go, they were also great to stay.

Being from the west coast I’ve always had a bit of a sibling rivalry with the east. That being said, I found New Yorkers to be some of the most generous and genuine of all my travels. I never thought I would love it soo much!! Entering New York via long island sound and the east river is a special thing. Passing Rikers island, Hell’s gate, Roosevelt island, the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, then seeing the statue of liberty for the first time brought goosebumps. I spent my first night in New York with a bottle of Shramsberg blanc te blancs a friend gave me, anchored off of Ellis island, with view of lady liberty, and chatted with an Instagram follower by the name of Joanna Christie. It was amazing.

I checked into One15 Marina Brooklyn the next day. Joanna asked if I wanted to get a drink and talk about sailing the world. I had looked her up as we chatted the previous evening and of course said yes and we immediately hit it off. I was then shown New York by a list of legends. I saw MOMA with Bonnie Pfeifer Evens and Mary Pfeifer. I was shown most of the New York sights I really wanted to see by Emily, Bonnie and Jo. Did several laps around the statue of liberty and caught up with friends from Hawaii that I had not seen since leaving over 6 years ago.

Fast forward a week and a half and there was a weather window to head south. Because of covid I had very little discourse with One15 Marina but originally asked to stay 2 weeks. I sent a quick email that I’m loving New York wanted stay longer. They replied with we are happy to have you, it is not too busy, stay as long as you like.

The next 2 weeks are a blur of amazing food, museums, sight seeing, and lots of time on the subway. I was loving my time but the weather was getting colder and rougher for my trip south. I wanted to go straight to the Bahamas and got a covid test as is required before traveling there. Sadly with the covid rules it was impossible considering the sea time. A 3 day window to North Carolina came along and it was time to say goodbye to New York and Jo.

The trip to North Carolina was rough and cold. My bilge pump stopped working and I took on some water. The water got to a wiring bus that knocked out my AIS, radar, and auto-pilot. While trying to get these working again I unknowingly sailed through a busy shipping channel in dense fog. I was able to get the AIS up again and saw all the ships that missed me and sailed the rest of the way to Cape Lookout. Thankfully I was able to order the parts I needed and they arrived in Beaufort the next day. I’m really going to miss this convenience when I leave USA. A good weather window to head to Bahamas came up and scheduled another covid test. This time the results took 4 days instead of 2 and missed the window I wanted but I will still go sea with a less than ideal window.

It has been an amazing 6 month detour to NE USA. Tiama got a lot of work done thanks to Bristol Marine, Bristol yacht rigging, Newport Marine electronics, and my crowd funding donors. When I get to the Bahamas it will be the 1st time since leaving St Thomas that I will be closer to finishing my solo lap in Hawaii. There is still an unknown of where I’ll be able to stop after the Bahamas but for now I have a place to go and even a date with Jo shortly after I get there.

Liked it? Take a second to support The Single Handed Sailor on Patreon!