0900 Hours

Current Position: Anchored in Raritan Bay.

We enjoy an extremely relaxed start to the day this morning. Our schedule is still bound to the tidal shifts in Hell Gate, leaving us with hours to reach a location just a few miles away.

1000 Hours

All of this spare time calls for more sail training. Now that they've been trained in the rig, our new crew members climb aloft to unfurl the sails.

1200 Hours

We're still sailing as lunch is served.

1230 Hours

We've spent the last half of the morning gliding past the eastern edge of New York City, and are now passing by the United Nations.

1245 Hours

Dark clouds have been rolling over the city. We hear a distant crack of thunder, and immediately scrabble to douse and furl the sails.

The storm never catches up with us, but the mere threat of lightning is enough to end our sailing for the day.

We're approaching the pass known as Hell Gate. The currents here are very strong and can be turbulent. We have followed the ideal plan for a vessel heading in our direction: Riding the flood current up the East River, then slipping through Hell Gate at slack tide. Had we attempted to sail against the current, we would have had to use all of our power just to make any headway at al. In our case, however, the ride is exceptionally smooth.

1330 Hours

After Hell Gate, we pass between the Brother Islands and leave New York City behind.

1800 Hours

As we enter Long Island Sound, the land retreats until it simply appears as just two dark ribbons to the north and south. Captain's mate Bob Hansen switches over from giving landmark-based cues to guiding the helmsman to steer by a compass heading.

Meanwhile, in the captain's luxurious and spacious cabin, Captain Reynolds charts a course to our next destination. The initial plan had been to switch to a 24-hour watch rotation and work through the night, which would put us in New London around sunrise. However, Captain Reynolds is now considering a new plan.

1830 Hours

After the crew has gathered for dinner, everyone is briefed on the new itinerary: We will now motor until midnight or so, when we will reach a protected cove called the Duck Island Roads. There we will set anchor, then sleep through the night, moving on on when we rise.

2100 Hours

Scattered cold fronts continue to move through the area, and the weather has turned blustery. The occasional rainfall leads us to rig up tarps and tempts the crew to remain below decks.

2345 Hours

We reach the Duck Island Roads in the dead of night, but appear to snag something as we make our approach. The waters here are scattered with lobster pots, which are nearly impossible to see once the sun sets. This is what we appear to have hit in the dark; the faster we rev our engine, the more the Half Moon vibrates, and our speed has been reduced to a crawl. We believe we have a lobster pot's line wrapped around our propellor shaft, but any investigations must wait till dawn.