Canada to Key West Paddle - Day 33

August 3rd 2016
Yorktown Height, NY

My last night in my old neighborhood.
It was a rather busy day. We scored some of that food I’d been looking for in the last place we looked (wink wink). The Daily Voice interviewed me today or rather tonight, just as I sat down to eat dinner. Then it was back to packing up my gear in the new dry bags.

I got the footprint / ground cover done and bty the time we finished re-packing and got everything loaded up into Arlene’s car it was 11:50pm. We’re ready for the re-launch now.

Tomorrow will be an early (for me) start as we need to drive two hours south to Brooklyn, NY. I’ll either launch from Red Hook or the Gowanus Canal. Both will put me about 2 miles behind where I stopped, but both are proper kayak launches and I need to repack the kayak with the new bags so I wasn’t going to push doing a re-launch at an unauthorized site right across from the NYC Harbor Police.

If all goes well fighting rush hour traffic from Westchester to Brooklyn tomorrow, I should be on the water by 11am at the latest. Then it’s an easy 7 mile paddle to South Beach Staten Island. That is if crossing the Ambrosia Canal and getting under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge while avoiding the giant ships and riding the fast current through this sections is easy.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to camp on South Beach or not, but that’s the plan so if there are any Staten Island people near South Beach that are following along and can offer me a place to camp or stay… you’re my new best friend! Same goes for Sandy Hook, NJ as I’ll be arriving there the following day. I am going to try to stay on Gunnison Beach for a day or two if I can get away with it. I will need – enjoy a beach day after that 7 mile Atlantic crossing coming up.

Well, that’s all for tonight. I need some sleep.

Day 33 Done.
Time to relaunch!