Our sail along the north shore of Long Island showed us all the colors of fall. We also experienced all the weather extremes of the season, starting the day in shorts and finishing in all our warmest foul weather gear.  As we pulled into the picturesque harbor the rain started to fall ever so lightly.  It was the perfect complement to the start of our evening sipping warm tea and cocoa, learning mind bending drinking games from Bertram. Sadly, none of us could beat the master, even without drinking. Ahh, to be young!

This morning as we stepped up onto the deck, we were all captivated by our first view of the day, the glassy finish of the water reflecting the mast of not only Oceans of Hope, but the dozens of yachts moored in Huntington Harbor.  A good morning message is waiting from my husband Tim.  It includes a Van Morrison lyric and it is the perfect complement to the visual moment, “hark, now hear the sailors cry, smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly, into the mystic...” There is definitely anticipation of the day ahead of us.  The plan is to make our way to the city, down the East River to Liberty Marina. As part of our provisions run yesterday we hit the Halloween décor isle of Walmart. Stay tuned - we plan to show our full Halloween spirit!

Report from Bosun Bertram:

Today we have a longer stretch ahead of us - we plan to make our way into Liberty Marina in the city of New York to create the perfect setting for the Halloween celebrations before we move on to our actual destination of Atlantic City. We are currently located in the Huntington Village on Long Island, a beautiful little sheltered port in the bottom of a long, long bay. Coming in here was a sight of beauty, and the whole crew is looking forward to make our way back out to the sound again - prepared with numerous cameras and proper sailing gear. Right now we are waiting for the tide to rise so that we can leave the bay and make our way toward the entrance of East River, where we are scheduled to arrive just as the tide turns. The currents of the river are notorious and as we pass through the area called "Hell's Gate," we wish to have the current running the right way! 

Local time on board is 12:21 and our current location is 40°53'327N 73°25'022W