East River Sights and Sounds await!
Bye Bye Nutty Irishmen!
I’m looking forward to our last sailing day! There is a lot to see along the East River – there’s Execution Rocks, Rikers Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge for starters. All the talk last evening, though, revolved around Hell Gate. Hell Gate is the point where several tide-driven currents converge. This can be a dangerous place to sail through if you don’t time it right. You have to be able to go faster than the current in order to steer your boat. I am not nervous; I have faith Casper loves his boat and wants to keep it in one piece.
As we leave Huntington Harbor, I am a little sad to go. I get a genuinely good vibe here. It could just be because of the pool, or the lobster dinner. But I bet it had more to do with watching the lightning roll in with Casper and the nutty Irishmen. While being in the company of nutty Irishmen sounds like great fun, my nutty Irishman is a beverage. It can be a coffee, but in this case it’s pure alcohol: 2/3 Baileys and 1/3 Frangelico. I enjoyed several last night at the Huntington Yacht Club bar. Accordingly, I have a warm, fuzzy feeling about the place.
Execution Rocks
Execution Rocks
The first landmark I find interesting is Execution Rocks. Today a lighthouse with a distinctive brown band stands on these rocks, making it instantly recognizable. But before it was built, British made good use of the rocks. The story is that British soldiers avoided public executions in Colonial times so as not to incite the revolutionary spirit of the people. Instead, they chained prisoners to these rocks, which are exposed during low tide. Then they left them there, waiting; and high tide carried out their death sentences. Not fun.
The East River and Galloping Gertie
The freighter Empire State docked by the Throgs Neck Bridge.
The Throgs Neck Bridge is the first of eight bridges we will pass under before we reach the mouth of the Hudson, and it marks the division between Long Island Sound and the East River. This bridge is the youngest – built in 1961 to alleviate traffic on the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, which is the next bridge in line.
Coincidentally, they built the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge to alleviate congestion, as well – this time from the Triborough Bridge. When traffic began building, they removed the original pedestrian walkway, adding two more vehicular lanes. (But traffic persisted, prompting the later construction of the Throgs Neck.) This bridge used the same general design as the ill-fated Tacoma Narrows Bridge, affectionately “Galloping Gertie,” in Washington. The collapse of Galloping Gertie in 1940 precipitated the installation of eight stay cables – two for each tower on each side – to increase stability in high winds. Current plans to upgrade the bridge include adding a third supporting pier, removing the median barrier, and replacing the old roadway, among other things, to prevent any such future catastrophe.
Gated community, all-inclusive, with water views – free!
LaGuardia flight path
I now see the flight path for LaGuardia Airport. Planes take-off and land periodically, and we make our way further down the East River past Rikers Island. From my vantage point, Rikers Island doesn’t look so bad – lots of green grass and some inconspicuous looking buildings. Only when I was able to zoom in on my photos later did I discover the barbed-wire fences and prison buses. I did a little sleuthing, and the prison facility actually has Yelp reviews! Most of them are sarcastically funny (my kind of humor), but some of them do present some very useful information. If you end up taking an unplanned vacation there…or if you go to visit someone there, it’s worth looking at them.
Off-campus housing available, too!
Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility
There is a huge blue and white ship docked on the opposite bank of the East River from Rikers Island. It’s a floating prison – a jail barge – with a fancy name: The Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility. The New York prison system uses it as a cheaper way to reduce over-crowding in their land-based buildings. It looks like a prison, too. I wonder why it isn’t docked at Rikers Island…?
Hell Gate Pinball
Approaching Hell Gate Bridge
Hell Gate Railroad Bridge looms ahead, its red paint badly faded, it’s arch unmistakable; a visible warning of what lies beyond. As I mentioned earlier, the water in Hell Gate is volatile. During high tide, the East River murmurs along, but at low tide it sounds like a roar, I’m told. It changes flow direction frequently, has strong current fluctuations, and its narrowness amplifies these effects. Lucky for us many years ago the government used explosives to widen the waterway, removing the rocks that caused many a wreck. As we get closer you can hear the rush of the water. We pass under the red Hell Gate and then the Triborough Bridge after it. The river starts to narrow and we pick up speed. The water churns. You can see the turbulence. It’s like a huge washing machine on medium spin cycle that reverses direction at the drop of a hat.
We enter Hell Gate when it’s about 3/4 high tide, but still our mighty sailboat struggles to overcome the forces against it. We move forward under the power of the engine, but the current pushes us sideways faster than our forward momentum. The sound of the rushing water bounces off the surrounding walls and buildings…making the East River sound angry – it’s so loud! At one point the bow veered to the other side as the current changed abruptly. I wasn’t scared, but the lines in my forehead definitely registered concern…and then we were through. Looking at Hell Gate on the nautical chart, it looks like the government purposely left Mill Rock there, to act like a bumper in a pinball game. I can see how it might be really dangerous, especially for a less powerful boat.
The NYC sky ride
We continue along the East River on the Manhattan side of Roosevelt Island (named after Franklin D. Roosevelt), and Casper tells me it was once called Welfare Island because it housed several hospitals. It was also home to a penitentiary before they built Rikers Island. Nowadays Roosevelt Island is primarily full of rental housing. It’s long – about two miles, and the Queensboro Bridge (59th Street Bridge) crosses it about 2/3 of the way down. There’s no direct access to the bridge though, and vehicle travel on the island is limited. So most people get there by subway or on the Roosevelt Tramway (an overhead cable car). A long time ago I rode the tram to Roosevelt Island. It was night, and the city looked beautiful with all the lights. The view alone is worth the trip. There is bus service on the Island, and the red buses will take you around it for free.
A West Side Story unfolds
Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge has “crowns” at the top of each support pier, giving it a regal air and making it easy to pick out of a bridge line-up. It is also one of 4 toll-free crossings spanning the East River. (The others are the Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges – which we will also see on this trip.) A familiar face in popular culture, the Queensboro Bridge has references in literature and music, many cameos in films and TV shows, and even appearances in video games. The movie scene that always comes to my mind is from Anger Mangement, when Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler park in the middle of its span and sing “I feel pretty.”
I’m still replaying that scene in my head as we pass the Williamsburg Bridge. When this bridge was built, it was the longest suspension bridge on earth, a title it held from 1903-1924. Lack of maintenance allowed significant deterioration, though. Over 200 of the suspension cables snapped, pieces of concrete kept falling from the bridge, and the structural integrity ranked at a low 1.7 on a 7 point scale in the late 1980s. The bridge closed for 3 months in 1988 to replace a corroded floor beam, and over the next two decades they rebuilt it. Renovations included handicapped access on both sides and a new bike path. They built a pedestrian bridge alongside it in 1999, completing the project.
Manhattan Bridge
The next bridge on our journey down the East River is very aesthetically pleasing to me. It’s the Manhattan bridge. It’s light blue, with white trusses. Next to the hustle and bustle of the city, it has a calming effect, and I never tire from looking at it…. And so, since I was busy admiring it – I took just this one photo! Good thing Casper took one of me looking at it!
Kat Admiring the Manhattan Bridge
P.T. Barnum proves the English muffin bridge is solid…
And then there’s the iconic Brooklyn Bridge right next to it. Built in 1883, it is the first East River crossing that was built. Nowadays people don’t question its strength. The towers look like castle walls, thick and sturdy. But that was not always the case. A mere six days after the bridge opened, twelve people died during a stampede after a rumor spread that it was about to collapse. Circus magnate P.T. Barnum squashed the public’s doubt a year later when he led a procession of seven camels, ten one-humped Arabian camels, and 21 elephants, including the world famous Jumbo – across the bridge on May 17, 1884 to prove that it was stable.
The Iconic Brooklyn Bridge
The bridge has a series of passages and compartments in its anchorages. Under the Manhattan approach there is a vault that stored wine. It was perfect for that since it holds a steady 60 degree temperature. They called it the Blue Grotto because a Virgin Mary shrine marked the entrance. There is a sister vault under the Brooklyn approach. The rents from these vaults helped off-set the construction costs of the bridge.
But it seems not all of the hidden nooks and crannies have been discovered. As recently as ten years ago, they found a Cold War-era fall-out shelter during a structural inspection. It still had all the emergency supplies to survive a nuclear attack! I wonder what other secrets the Brooklyn Bridge keeps.
The Freedom Tower, the Manhattan Pyramid, and Mach 2
Busy Heliport
As we round the tip of Manhattan, the water turns choppy, and we see signs of life. The heliport is busy, the Staten Island Ferries with bright orange paint jobs stick out like sore thumbs, small sailboats tack back and forth across the Hudson, a few motor boats are out for an afternoon cruise, and there are even some people out in kayaks. We decided to pay a visit to the Intrepid – an aircraft carrier made into a museum – so we turn right and travel up the Hudson.
Freedom Tower
Via 57 West building, Manhattan’s Pyramid
Familiar sights dot the landscape along with a few new ones. The Freedom Tower is prominent in lower Manhattan, while across the way in Jersey City’s Liberty State Park the “Empty Sky” memorial is visible. As we continue North toward the Intrepid, one building stands out among the rest. It looks like a giant silver pyramid! The sun bounces off its mirrored sides, really grabbing your attention. This is the Via 57 West building – a primarily residential building that champions sustainable living.
I guess I must have been blinded by the glare from Via 57 West – because somehow I missed the Intrepid! Actually, it is easy to miss these days. A structure built over the Space Shuttle makes it look like just another building from the water. It wasn’t until I noticed the Concorde and then zeroed in on the ship’s tower that I realized what I was looking at. I wish the Concorde were still operational. Imagine flying at twice the speed of sound! The flight time from NY to London would be cut in half. I remember the first time I saw the Intrepid from the water. It impressed me. But today I’m disappointed since I can’t even see the space shuttle on its deck. Good thing the Statue of Liberty is nearby…she’s one of my favorite landmarks. My mood is lifted once again!
Got wind?
The shirt says it all…Got Wind?
As we make our way back down the Hudson, Casper presents me with a Kodak moment…
Under full sail by Lady Liberty
Cool! A double masted-sailboat is under full sail by the Statue of Liberty. We follow suit and let the sails loose. A full nine knots. Wa-hoo! We tack a few times, but hunger overtakes us and we don’t want to spend the extra time under sail. We motor the rest of the way in and sit down to a nice meal at the yacht club. It’s a fitting end to a great trip. Thanks, Casper!