Underway from 8:30 to 4:15. It should have been a straight shot from the New Haven breakwater to G "13", off Eatons Neck, the entrance to Huntington Bay, off which Northport is a busy cove. We had sails up all the way, but the motor on as well most of the way as well while we tacked first across the Sound to Near Port Jeff and then back across again to near Norwalk, before heading to Huntington. The tide was foul from 10 a.m. Northport is our only stop on Long Island on this cruise though earlier this season we did visit Cold Spring Harbor and Sheepshead Bay, both on the Island.
We did have a half hour of blissful close hauled sailing when the wind came up but there were no waves yet. ILENE seemed so happy to be slicing through the water so cleanly. But then as suddenly as it started it was over and we furled sails and motored through Huntington Bay to our mooring, provided by Seymours. This may have been the first time I entered Northport, after perhaps ten trips, which was not a weekend day and there was no wind. Normally both the wind and the other boats provide a challenge.
The only challenge was the black flies which have congregated on ILENE, the last few low-wind days. They like to bite our ankles, which a spray diminishes but does not eliminate. There were at least fifty of them today, standing on the stern of the boat except when they came forward to bite us. And as on the other days, once we come to port they seem to vanish, thank goodness. Is there any insect expert who can explain this phenomenon? And speaking of insects, we saw no Mosquitos this whole trip. Is is extra precaution taken by public health officials in an attempt to ward off the Zima virus?
We went out for dinner, this our last night "on the road". Tomorrow we expect to arrive back at the Harlem.
I did an analysis of our food bills during the first two complete monthly billing cycles of the credit card we use. These cycles were since we moved aboard in June. About 29% of our total food budget is spent in restaurants, as compared to groceries. This statistic has to be taken with a grain of salt because a small amount of credit card charges in grocery stores is for non-food items and some food eaten "out" is in coffee shops where cash is paid. But we eat well and inexpensively by cooking our own food.
A calm cool night.
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