June 20-July 2       North Kingstown, Rhode Island/New York City

After a lengthy delay due to a Covid scare which proved to be nothing more, our good friends, Jill and Jerry came to the boat.  Always good company, we had a long visit on the aft deck before driving to Matunuck Oyster Bar.  This popular restaurant is located on an obscure road near Point Judith and advance reservations are mandatory.  Great food and delightful ambiance.  We plan a repeat visit soon.

John and Maria Carpenter invited us to dinner at Trio, a Narraganset restaurant known for great seafood and Italian dishes.  The Italian population in Rhode Island is significant and reportedly they are demanding in the quality of food served.  Trio did not disappoint us.  Another great find!

Charles Martin, a Houston friend, arrived on June 29.  As a homebuilder (now retired), he was eager to visit several mansions in Newport.  I took the opportunity to visit the studio of Oone van der Wal, a noted yacht photographer, on Bannister’s Wharf.  His wife, Tenley is the daughter of my good friend and fellow Kimbell docent, Barbara Sims.  I had a delightful visit with Tenley and we plan to have them to the boat for dinner after returning from the Netherlands.

Torrential rain caused us to cancel dinner reservations at the Coast Guard House.  Instead, we had salmon steaks and blueberry pie on the aft deck.  As often happens after a rain, the sunset was spectacular.

Tuesday morning, we left early and headed for Danford’s marina in Port Jefferson, a charming Long Island village surrounded by an enclave of magnificent homes and estates.  The wind was less than 10 kts and the water was smooth.  Of course, there is always something!  Our stern thruster quit working (only two years old) and David had to dock in a narrow slip with little space for turning.  Years of practice paid off and he docked perfectly.  We enjoyed a great dinner at the Danford Hotel restaurant.

Our journey into New York was uneventful as the weather remained favorable.  Charles became very excited as we neared the city and constantly was on his phone and taking pictures.  Cruising down the East River, we saw our friends, John and Maryanne McCormack waving to us from the walkway near 34^th.  Their new condo is located only two blocks away.  

After the Brooklyn Bridge and a salute to Lady Liberty, we turned port off the Hudson River into Liberty Landing Marina, one of our favorite places.  Unfortunately, the two restaurants were closed until the weekend and we had to improvise dinner on the boat.  Prime steaks came from the freezer, small new potatoes in a butter sauce and a pear-Gorgonzola salad made everyone happy as we watched the lighted skyline from the aft deck.

On Thursday, we took the ferry from the marina to Tribeca and then parted ways.  The guys went across town to meet the McCormacks and I taxied to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a day of indulgence in art.  Having earlier learned, the former Trustee’s Dining Room on the fourth floor had a new chef and significant menu changes, I went there for lunch.  The room was serene as always, the service was excellent and my light lunch of yellow tomato gazpacho was delicious.  I was seated where I had a great view of Cleopatra’s Needle, the giant obelisk from Egypt and marveled again at the engineering feat that brought it to Central Park.  I perused the Modern Art galleries (which I had never visited) and then moved in and out among the crowd to find my favorites.

At three o’clock, I taxied to the McCormack's condo on the 34^th floor of a black glass high rise on First Avenue.  As expected, it was magnificent with floor-to-ceiling views of the East River and Downtown Manhattan.  Maryanne had excelled in decorating with tones of gray, white and silver.  Everything was gorgeous and we were awed by the décor and the views.. Carolyn Martin flew in and joined us just in time to leave for dinner.

Dinner was at The River Café, underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn.  We went there by ferry. It is partially located on a barge and the exterior is no impressive but the interior and entrance courtyard are beautiful. Famous for years for its food and views across the river to Manhattan, it was definitely one of the best restaurants we had ever been to in New York.  Entrees were preceded by several exquisite amuses from the chef and the coffee souffle for dessert was a wonderful finale to an exceptional dinner.  David and I said goodbye and took a different ferry to Wall Street, found a taxi and returned to the boat.

Weather predictions for Saturday were not favorable so we planned to leave on |Friday and make our return trip to Wickford in one day.  We left the marina at 5:20 AM and had little traffic on the East River.  Long Island Sound was busy with freighters, fishing vessels and ferries.  Fortunately, there is plenty of depth so we could negotiate the route and stay in the clear.

About 2:00 PM, we realized our auto pilot had failed and then all the steering was gone.  David was reading manuals, checking systems, adding fluid, etc.  After about 30 minutes, we recovered steering but the auto pilot remained a problem.  We were relieved we did not have to call for a tow.

As we neared Block Island Sound, the wind changed and we experienced 3-foot swells which caused some discomfort as we rolled back and forth.  After passing Point Judith and turning into Narragansett Bay, the wind subsided and the waves were light.  Wickford Shipyard’s sign was as welcome sight.  We were home—well, almost!  The fellow we had engaged to meet us and catch our lines was nowhere in sight although he had promised earlier he was on the way.  Fortunately, several fellow boaters dropped everything, ran to us, caught our lines and secured us to the dock.  The guy who was supposed to have helped us never showed.  No matter, we were home after a 13-hour cruise from New York City.