New York, New York!

We spend two weeks anchored in the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge near Englewood. We leave our dinghy at the dock at Dyckman Marina and from there we dive into the ‘Inwood’ district: to the playground, eat burritos or bump into a concert by a well-known Puerto Rican DJ on the street. We enjoy the Latin American atmosphere, the fine food and after a few days Chloé asks: “Mommy, can we move here?”

The children also enjoy exploring a big city after many months in the Caribbean. We keep taking the subway to downtown Manhattan, where we go around the playgrounds and parks. The children roll through the streets on their scooters and marvel at the tall buildings. Of course, a bit of sightseeing is a must and so we marvel at the Flat Iron Building, the Empire State Building and also make a detour to the Lego shop.

The smoke from the large forest fires in Canada is blown south by the wind and carries as far as New York. On the second day at 10 a.m. the sky is deeply yellow and the sun is blood red. The media recommends staying indoors and playgrounds and museums are closed during the day. The next day the sky is blue again and the sun is back to normal.

We walk along the Highline and go for a stroll in Chelsea. At the playgrounds we mainly meet nannies and daycare centers; of course most parents have to work. We meet Elisa and Andreas, whom we met in the BVIs, for dinner by the water at the ‘North Cove Marina’ in PJ Clarke’s. They learned to sail in this area, where the Hudson River and the East River meet and there is endless ferry traffic. From the restaurant we watch beautiful sailing ships head for the sunset cruise around the statue of liberty. We pass the 9/11 Memorial Pool and go to the subway near the World Trade Center.

On Sunday Andrea together with the kids visits the ‘Grand Bazaar’ flea market, where there are lots of little things and trinkets to see and discover. The next day we visit the ‘Bronx Children’s Museum’ where the kids can run around, plant carrots and play with an amazing water fountain. They like it so much that Silvio returns with them a few days later while Andrea is allowed to spend a few hours alone exploring the city’s museums.

We treat ourselves to two (expensive!) nights in the Brooklyn Marina. The harbor has an amazing location: the marina is integrated into the Brooklyn Bridge Park, from where you can walk through Brooklyn Heights and to countless playgrounds.

On Saturday we stroll to the 1922 Jane’s Carousel and the Brooklyn Flea Market under the Brooklyn Bridge near Dumbo. We get take-out pizza from Table 87 and eat at the playground.

The area around the marina is great, but unfortunately the swell from the ferries and the traffic off Manhattan is enormous. Mirabella is jolted back and forth so violently that one of our springs breaks. Both bow lines on the neighboring boat and a hawse hole break on another ship. We get out of here as quickly as we can!

We wait for the right time to go through the East River into Long Island Sound with a good current. If you set off at the wrong time, the current in the East River is so strong that you almost can’t get anywhere. But we planned well and so we motor our way to City Island, which is part of the Bronx, at speeds of up to 10 knots over ground. There we spent a relaxing week at anchor at the ‘Morris Yacht Club’. We met Leah, Ronin and Victor. They live in Arizona, but spend the summer on City Island because Victor runs the marina in the very north of the island. We meet again and again and visit the library, the playground and even a children’s festival together, or the local fathers/mothers meeting place.

We visit the great toy shop “Dan’s Parents’ House / 239 Play” with toys from the 50s–80s, where we all discover something new every time. Every time.

After our first stop in the USA, we are now ready to move further northeast. So let’s set off to the Long Island Sound!