Port Washington, NY

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Kathy likes the sun and a book

Deidre and I were up at 7:00 AM having a bit of breakfast and getting the boat ready to move. The weather was unseasonably cold and wet. It had rained a lot during the night. As soon as we started the engines the rest of the crew started to emerge. We pulled out into the gloom and headed around Battery Park and up the   East River. I was hopeful that the weather would clear later in the day.

We arrived in PW at about 11AM and took a mooring ball. What a great service. Deidre and I launched the dinghy and we loaded everyone on board and headed to shore. Kathy needed to be a life jacket for Indy, and I wanted to buy some goggles for my diving set up. We also bought a suction handle to help when we clean the hull. It was a successful trip.

The clouds started to break up and the sun came out. Back at the boat we pumped up "the tube" and I set up the dinghy to tow. We were in the anchorage and there is a 5 MPH limit, but the two nips were a bit bored with it. So silly old grandpa could not resist and sped up. Within minutes the police boat was after us. Grandpa got ban earful from the nice policeman, but other than that no damage. Phew!

Grandpa under the water

I have been accumulating a complete dive set up, but wanted Adam to be there to get me in the water. This was achieved in short order and I had my first tentative dive. All went well, except visibility was virtually zero. Tomorrow we plan to go further out into the sound to swim, so I will dive again tomorrow.in clearer water.

By now the whole family was in the water behind the boat. The weather turned out to be perfect. The day started to meet our expectations. That evening we all loaded into the dinghy and went into town for dinner. The food was average, the service was terrible, but Adam "shouted" so I was as happy as a clam.

Sunday August 19

Indy taking a break

Today we decided to move further out of the bay so that we could get the kids tubing out of the 5 MPH limit. It was not much of a day - intermittent sun with a breeze, but this was Adams last day and I wanted to have some fun  in the water.. We went a couple of miles to a bay with a beach.

We took the kids to the beach in the dinghy, but it was a pretty rough beach, so after a quick walk we were back at Tide Hiker. I set up the dinghy and tube, and off we went. It was a bit rough, and the first circuit we attempted the kids did a face plant and ended up in the water. The kids made no fuss, but obviously the weather was not right so we reverted to playing in the water.

We were back at our ball in time for Adam to take a shower and pack his bag and take a ride to the shore in the dink. He called an hour or so later, safe at the airport. In the mean time we had fired up the bar-b-que and enjoyed chicken and brats for dinner.

After dinner Deidre received a call from home with the sad news that that her Dad had passed away the night before.

Monday August 20, 2012

Happy Photo

Contrary to the forecast, it was a perfect day. Lots of sun, maybe 75 degrees, no humidity. We went into town to check out the train schedule at the LIRR railway station  because Deidre and I will be heading for JFK on Tuesday. Deidre is booked to fly back to Australia starting in New York on Tuesday, arriving Thursday morning Australia time. I have arranged for a great friend of ours - "Nick" Nicholas to join me on Tide Hiker on Wednesday. Nick and I will take a week or 10 days to take Tide Hiker back to the Chesapeake. We had a bite of lunch in town and then made it back to the boat for a swim.

Kathy managed to bring her flight home forward one day, so she and the kids will leave early Tuesday morning. That will give me most of Wednesday to sort out the boat and be ready for 10 days of cruising with Nick. (I sure hope he learns as fast as Deidre!)

We have arranged thru a friend to dock Tide Hiker at "The Tides" in Chesapeake for a month, starting about September 1st. Deidre will be back September 4th, so I will need to rent or borrow a car to drive up to NYC to pick her up.

Tuesday August 21, 2012

Sad day - we took Kathy and the two nips to the Town Dock where a cab picked them up. We are now getting ready for Deidre's departure about 2 PM. The washer and dryer are busy.

The water taxi picked up Deidre and I at about 2PM. We had a cab waiting at the Town Dock and were at JFK 45 minutes later. The check in was easy and we killed half an hour with a cup of coffee, but then it was time for her to go.

The cab and tip cost about $75 so I was determined to take the train home. It was a bit convoluted but it only cost a total of $11 - and took about 2 hours. I was back on the boat by 7PM. And her I am still.