By Vladimir Brezina
It’s our routine. Weekends, we paddle. And when the tidal currents say go south, we go south. And, unless we can think of something more ambitious, that means Sandy Hook.
But each trip is different. The sea and the sky have a different look and feel each time. We see different ships in the harbor. I can’t resist taking photos to capture it all. Here are a few from yesterday’s trip.
(click on any photo to start slideshow)
We inspect a new, a very useful, green buoy that the Coast Guard has placed in the harbor
We pass over the Bay Ridge Flats, among the anchored barges
A yellow buoy, for a change
Looking back at Manhattan
Who will win this one?
It wasn’t at all clear which ship was closer to us… now we have the answer
We follow the Maersk container ship out to sea
We pass under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
We wait for traffic to pass in the Ambrose Channel
Even bigger traffic!
Time to start across
Lonely Romer Shoal Light
On Sandy Hook…
… we climb up to our favorite ruins for lunch
Ruins with a view
Prickly pear cactus now grows in the gun emplacements
View in the other direction, toward Atlantic Highlands
In the salt marsh below the ruins, crab holes
… and fiddler (?) crabs
With terns wheeling above, we paddle back
Cormorant apartment building
… with plenty of tenants
Sun on the sea
Water texture
Romer Shoal Light again
… all alone in the sea
Red buoy
It’s hard to capture the feel of the waves, but sometimes it’s something like this
Late afternoon seascape
We pass Coney Island
… and back under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The city is in sight
Sunset light on the water
Just at sunset, the red sun appears from behind the cloud on the horizon, next to the Statue of Liberty…
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 