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| Deb and 4 young guys in NY harbor |
It was a wild day kayaking in NY Harbor as I left Manhattan and paddled to Staten Island.
Fortunately the high winds didn't deter the four young guys who joined me for the day. They had spent many hours the day before getting their kayaks to Manhattan and their vehicles to Staten Island. That's kayaking dedication!
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| Deb "touching" the new Freedom Tower |
We kayaked past landmarks in Lower Manhattan, and stayed out of the way of the ships and ferries by listening to the VHF Channel 13 which had the "bridge to bridge" communications between ships.
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| Staten Island ferries really move! |
Then past Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty. When I brought out my duckie, Patito Amistoso, to do a little on camera interview, Alex drolly commented that there was growing evidence of the relationship between sun, wind, waves, salt water and the descent into madness.
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| The Lady of Liberty says "Good-bye" |
The winds were generating some waves when we got closer to the Kill van Kull and the majority of the shipping traffic. My hat is calibrated to 18 knots, so the wind was more than that to flip it's brim. The current was with us and we were flying!
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| Deb and Alex in the froth! |
One thing you need to watch out for here is the high speed flotsam being driven by the currents.
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| Deadly Flotsam |
I was glad when we made it past the Narrows and the Verrazano Bridge, and stopped for a break. Once out of the wind I heard my phone. It was my husband Chris calling to find out what was wrong. He had my float plan which said I was paddling from Manhattan that morning, but had seen no tracks on the Delorme MapShare page and was worried. Oops! Another "operator error" day, as I hadn't managed to get it turned on!
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| Luis, Deb, Tony and Marc from the Sebago Canoe Club, under the Verrazano Bridge |
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| Tony, Alex, Deb and Marc |
Now that we were out of the great following current, and with Staten Island now sheltering us from the NW winds, it was a quiet slog to Great Kills.
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| Chris and Donna |
I was met by Brian who took me to my hosts, Chris and Donna, for a fun evening of getting my glasses adjusted and talking with members of the South Shore Rotary Club.
Paddle Day: 39 Date: Sept. 22, 2014
Start: Manhattan End: Great Kills
Distance: 18.2 miles Total distance: 476.43 miles
Max speed: 7.5 mph Moving ave.: 3.8 mph
Kayak storage: Great Kills Yacht Club Host: Chris and Donna Williams
Awesome action photos.
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