Unless you are going to take the summer off it''s a long way to go for salt water. If you look at a map you can see that Lake Ontario is really big. Bigger even than Long Island Sound. You will have to take the mast out to get to Albany. Of course it will be quite an adventure.
Unless you are going to the Chesepeake from NYC everybody goes east. There are lots of really outstanding harbors on both the North and South shores of Long Island Sound.
Of course just like when you are driving you avoid cites like NYC, Bridgeport and New Haven. They are harbors but have more vandals there.
There are NO swells on Long Island Sound. Forget swells. High winds. That''s what will get you.
An
autopilot is really nice for crusing. So get one if you go. A lot of boats here have
radar. We don''t because standard practices are adequate and
radar does not make the boat faster. Use VC Offshore and wet sand it like you do now.
Long ago we left Point Judith RI in a little Cal 25 with only a
compass, chart and a watch. The fog was so thick we could hardly see anything and the swells were so big that when we passed a boat the mast of the boat would disappear in the troths of each swell.
When we got near Sakonnet, RI and an important mark I said "if we don''t find it we are turning back" well we found it and make it to Cuttyhunk, I. That Cal had only one
jib. It was a really nice 165% by Ulmer. That''s my kind of sail. Oh the "good" old days.