@ 17:00 GMT
Position: 41º 27.827′ N x 71º 21.967′ W
Course: 19° true
Speed: 5.4kts
Though this trip was short in duration, it was action packed in so many ways. When I got to New York City, Richie Shane, who we originally connected to via social media, was there to meet me. I docked at his Chelsea Piers slip since his own boat, Freedom of the Seize, has not yet been launched. We had a short dinner together and it was so enlightening to chat in person, having only met digitally. I sailed through the previous night with only some short naps, so was quite tired and asleep by 8pm. I woke 11 hours later, refreshed and ready to go again. Sailing out of NYC was beautiful, with the World Trade Center and Statue of Liberty against a crisp blue sky. Few get to see these remarkable landmarks from the water.
The sail back was spectacular. On the way to New York the sailing was into the wind, which is tiring and the boat bounces a lot. On the way home it was downwind sailing. As some say, it was champagne sailing.
During night the stars were out in all of their glory and I gazed all around me at various constellations, following the the Plough and the Pointers to the North Star. The easiest method for finding the North Star is by finding the ‘Plough’, an easy to identify group of seven stars. It is known as the ‘Big Dipper’ to Americans and the ‘saucepan’ to many others. Next you find the ‘pointer’ stars, these are the two stars that a liquid would run off if you tipped up your ‘saucepan’. The North Star will always be five times the distance between these two pointers in the direction that they point (up away from the pan). True north lies directly under this star. This reminded me of the virtual sailing camp we had last year where we discussed these very stars. I remember the participants well and I hope that I can meet them in person this year.
At 0600 this morning, as I approached Block Island, the wind stopped. I managed to find a brief period of wind to sail a few more miles, but then had to put the engine on. So as I write this I am motoring back to Portsmouth, RI.
A highlight of this trip was the people that I met with, all connected by their desire to live fuller lives. First Richie, then this morning I video called Cassandra, a Virtual Shipmate who has signed up to take the One More Step Challenge. She is going to live daily by her personal motto: “While I can’t control what happens to me in life, I CAN control how I respond”. Cassandra also loves to sail and it was great to see her from the sea and to talk about sailing and epilepsy. Thanks, Cassandra, for letting me chat with you!
Our featured Virtual Shipmate for this voyage was Julia, from New Jersey, who wants to be a surgeon when she grows up. We look forward to sending her a Sail For Epilepsy flag, with the latitude and longitude from the day we sailed for her.
About 2 hours from the dock now and much needed sleep. Can’t wait for our next offshore voyage, the Bermuda 1-2.