The cruise from the Thimble Islands to the west end of Long Island sound was uneventful, although we had fairly stiff north winds in the 20-25 kt range, and plenty of white caps, we were on the lee shore, so our ride was fairly smooth. We arrived in Manhasset Bay just after 3PM, and were greeted by the local water taxi captain, Dan, who took care of our fee, and gave us the skinny on Port Washington. He also said that the water taxi would be no charge since we paid for the mooring. The town operates several 48 hr. free transient moorings which were all taken. Dan also said the dogs were welcome to ride the water taxi, a pleasant change from attitudes we encountered elsewhere. So we got situated and called Dan to run us to the nearest dropoff that would but us near the local Stop & Shop, a great grocery store. We needed to re-provision a bit, so the opportunity was timely! (No beer).
Port Washington is a terrific cruising stopover, with a large harbor, stores close by, lots of other services, and very cruiser-friendly folks. We met three different taxi operators, and all said that they’re seeing an increase in transient traffic, and it’s been good for the area. We had a very quiet night, a successful trip to the grocery store, and even a morning walk for the pups before we dropped the mooring the following morning. A 5-star rating for this spot!
