165: JULY 4TH FIREWORKS ON THE HUDSON & EPIC JOURNEY UP THE EAST RIVER

It was an epic week in NYC experiencing life anchored at Ellis Island, the July 4th Hudson River fireworks show, and the journey up the East River to the Long Island Sound. It's hard to express how much we literally enjoyed every minute of being in the Big Apple. We were really fortunate to have two beautiful evenings watching the yacht club races on the Hudson River and all around us in the anchorage. Most of the teams were highly strategic, using our boat to fend off their competitors. It was fun to watch and the blast of color with the steel gray backdrop of Manhattan was a sight I will never forget. July 4th was another day we will never forget. We arrived in NY Harbor almost a week before the fireworks HOPING that we would be allowed to stay, but never knowing if/when the Coast Guard would kick us out. Thankfully, it never happened. I couldn't believe it, but we got to spend part of the day with my childhood friend, Ruth Elise, her husband Kevin, and Ruthie's parents, Joe and Ruth, "Mr and Mrs. Torres to me", on the boat. Mr & Mrs. T are 80 years old and they are such troopers to come out to the boat in our dinghy. We love them. Plus, they are a hoot. We LOVED seeing them on Blown Away, but sadly, the swell in the river was too much for them to overcome. They all, but Kevin, suffered from motion sickness. That left a LOT of food in the fridge for me and Brown! HA! We ate for days. I was relieved to get them back to the dock on the Jersey side without injury and they were off! We returned to the boat and went to the top deck to enjoy the fireworks. It was CHILLY!!! There is nothing like seeing the NYC fireworks from Ellis Island. Magnificent! During the fireworks, we watched the Coast Guard save a boat that was taking on water just in front of us. It was crazy. They towed it to stop the inflow of water. The next day we picked up my friend Vicky and her daughter, Rocky to join us on the epic journey up the East River to the Long Island Sound. If you time it correctly, it's like a slide, if you time it incorrectly, you are in trouble. We went with the current and enjoyed 9+ knots speed over ground. To pass under 8 bridges, go past where I used to work and live, the bridges I used to walk across, was mind-blowing. I guess we never really thought we would achieve this. But, we did. After 3.5 hours, we arrived in Port Washington and had dinner with Eric and Lizzy who drove out from the city. They all visited the boat before heading back home. It surely was a day to remember! #sailing #sailboat #sailingprojects #NYHARBOR #nyc #ELLISISLAND #JULY4THFIREWORKS #HUDSONRIVER #EASTRIVER NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia. So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too! As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures! HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? If you wish to support our video efforts, all we ask is that you SUBSCRIBE, give a THUMBS UP, SHARE our videos with your friends, AND COMMENT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET TO KNOW US MORE DEEPLY? It would be an honor and pleasure to deepen our relationship with you as a Patron. Please click on the following link to see how: https://www.patreon.com/sailingblownaway WOULD YOU LIKE TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY? https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/6040796987916288 WHERE CAN YOU FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Instagram - @sailingblownaway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SailingBlownAway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eileen.dietrich/ YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sailingblownaway