Don't Jump!

PM's Perspective

From Pequonnock Yacht Club in West Haven we ventured to Brewer's Yacht Haven in Stamford.  We used our time here to reprovision, do a few projects on the boat (Bob varnished the starboard door), and rent a car to return to Maine for a quick visit with the Greenleafs and other friends and for me to check on some work projects.  We were amazed when we realized that it took us five hours to drive the distance it has taken us five weeks to travel by boat!  We are living life in the slow lane for sure!  We took full advantage of having a car and went to Trader Joe's in Darien to restock on basic essentials such as dark chocolate!

We headed out to Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sunday, August 24th.  Sunday is a great day to travel this route as there is minimal commuter traffic.  This leg of our journey involves passing through Hell Gate once again.  The name itself is not very inviting and if we try to transverse this portion of the East River when the tide is at full tilt against us, we could find ourselves going backwards.  The tide runs as much 7 knots and we tend to average a speed of 6 knots.  The tricky part about Long Island Sound and the East River is that they have direct opposite tides: that is, when the East River experiences a draining tide, Long Island Sound experiences a flooding tide.  It took me a while to fully understand that one!

Roiling waters of Hell Gate from the bow of Velomer

 Our passage through Hell Gate went delightfully smoothly.  Captain Bob negotiated the currents expertly from the helm while I stood on the bow watching the water roil and enjoying the hubbub of New York City.  Once through Hell Gate we marveled at the New York skyline trying to identify the various landmarks.  The Empire State Building, the United Nations, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty way in the distance.  Just as we were coming up to the Brooklyn Bridge we noticed a great deal of activity including flashing red lights on police cars on the bridge, ambulances racing to the bridge, several helicopters swooping overhead, police boats in the river.  Something was happening.  I thought that maybe there was a road race or some such thing.  As we got closer, the situation became more frenetic with more flashing red lights, another helicopter, more police boats racing to the scene.

NYPD surround the climber.

Velomer was the last boat to pass under the bridge before all river traffic including ferries was stopped.  As we looked back toward the bridge, the scene clarified -- someone had climbed high onto the suspended support cables.  I assumed it was a jumper.  What desperate situation would lead a person to climb so high?  As someone not overly fond of heights, it gave me the willies just to think about it.  The next day I found out that the person who climbed onto the bridge was a Russian tourist, 24-year old Yaroslav Kolchin.  He did so to take pictures of New York landmarks.  The extent that some tourists will go to in order to get a good picture!  He was arrested and charged with trespassing and endangerment.  His bail was set at $5,000.  He probably cost the NY taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.  But, he didn't jump!

We docked at Liberty Landing without a hitch.  Bob is really getting the hang of maneuvering Velomer into tight places!  That evening we took the ferry to Manhattan and met Bob and Essie Schlegel, Bettina's parents, for a wonderful dinner and great conversation.  The main topic of conversation of course was Phil and Bettina's upcoming nuptials in October!  We spent another day at the marina exploring Liberty State Park and getting ready for our off shore journey down the New Jersey coast.  We estimate that it will take us three travel days.