Lankford Bay to New York
We pulled out of the Lankford Bay Marina a little before 9:00 a.m. on Sunday and had an easy, if hot, cruise to Sunset Lake, near Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. Yet again our weather luck held; both the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays were calm and our ride was smooth and comfortable. Just before entering the Cape May canal we saw a big fleet of 40 or more pleasure boats all clustered at anchor over what must have been good fishing, although we saw no fish caught as we passed by. When the jet skis finally left, Sunset Lake was a delightful anchorage, and we were, appropriately, treated to a lovely sunset. The weather was beautiful again on Monday, and we arrived at the 79th. Street Yacht Basin in New York City to find our son Severin and granddaughter Jules waving to us from the dock. At 6:30 p.m. the evening ferry rush hour is still going strong, and New York harbor was really rough. As I was on the foredeck reaching for the final line to hold the Cosmic C’s bow away from the dock, a big wake wave swept in, the C lurched, and I found myself hanging over the side holding on with my left hand and leg, with the right half of me in the water. Severin soon had me back up on the dock, but the goose egg and swelling on the back of my left leg is still painful several weeks later. The silver lining was the fact that my iPhone was on my left side and so remained dry.
A change of clothes later I joined Mary, Severin, our daughter-in-law Ellen, and Jules at the restaurant overlooking the Yacht Basin for well-earned margaritas and dinner. Since it was still so hot and humid, Mary and I elected to accept Severin’s invitation to sleep at their apartment that night. Feeling quite happy from the margaritas, we all piled into a taxi and headed for air conditioned comfort and cool showers.