We had met Harbor Host of the Year, John Calascibetta, at the Spring Rendezvous in Norfolk. He told us he could accommodate Stealaway at his yacht club on Staten Island and asked that we call him as we neared NYC. We arrived at Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island on Saturday afternoon. John was out of town for the weekend, but he arranged for a club member to greet us upon our arrival.
Club members met us at the dock, helped us tie up, gave us the lay of the land at their club and invited us to their bar for a cocktail! Everyone we met during our stay at the GKYC could not have been friendlier or more helpful. They gave us excellent dining recommendations as well as directions on using the public transportation system to get in and around the city. The club’s newly renovated bathrooms/showers were awesome! Once John returned, he gave us a lift to breakfast and to the laundromat. I’m not sure why New Yorkers get a bad rap (in the south), but these folks shattered any preconceived image I may have had😊
We stayed at Great Kills for 4 nights. During our stay, we rode the train to Queens and took in a Mets game (Yankees were out of town☹). We also visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum which is an incredible memorial to the day that changed our world forever. Very emotional but well worth the visit. Had dinner at an awesome Irish pub, O’Hara’s, across the street from the 9/11 Memorial. This pub was there before the bombing and is a favorite of first responders. Firemen and police officers from all over the world have visited here and left their patches stapled to the walls (over 6,000!)
We and our buddy boat, Deja vu, bid farewell to the great folks at GKYC and motored under the Verrazano Narrows bridge into the upper bay toward the Statue of Liberty. This is a highlight for all Loopers as they sail past the Lady, and I must admit I had goosebumps. We had arranged with our buddy boat to photograph each other as we passed. Well, the wind was blowing 20 knots that morning and the traffic around the statue was thick, so the Captain decided our photo op would have to be bare-pole. Bummer.
First, we photographed Déjà vu as she motored past the Statue, then it was our turn. The wind may have calmed (slightly), so the Captain decided we could put the sails up for our photo! I took the helm as Jim hoisted sails. First the mizzen, then the jib, next the staysail; so far so good. I was able to hold Stealaway into the wind and outside the security zone. However, when Jim hoisted our big mainsail, she caught the wind and heeled hard to starboard. It was all I could do to hold her on course. About that time, a tour boat on my stern blasted her horn at us and scared the bejeezus out of me! I yelled to the Captain to bring down the main as I struggled to maneuver between the commercial traffic and the Statue security zone. Jim got all the sails down and took over the helm. Amazingly, Charlie was able to get some good shots of Stealaway the 20 seconds that all the sails were up. Thank goodness because I’m not doing that again!