Port Jefferson to Port Washington

The hop from Port Jefferson to Port Washington was the last stretch of the Long Island coast we had not covered other than the Atlantic shoreline. The weather was good until we were about 30 minutes of our arrival in Port Washington. The Coast Guard made a special weather alert broadcast advising of a fast moving, severe storm heading down the Sound. Winds up to 60 miles per hour and heavy rain were possible. 

We looked to our rear and could see the storm approaching. Carla began to close all the portals and clear the cockpit of anything which we didn't want to get wet. Dwayne put the throttle down and took the most direct route to the mooring field. We decided to grab the first free mooring we saw. 

Carla took the wheel so Dwayne could grab the mooring ball. She made a very sharp turn at high speed toward the mooring and this sudden change in direction nearly threw Dwayne overboard. Fortunately, his hand was on a grabrail which he was able to tightly grip when he lost his balance. He quickly moved forward once he regained his footing and arrived on the bow just in time to grab the mooring line. Dwayne quickly cleated the lines and raced to the cockpit just as the skies opened and the downpour began. We had over 2 inches of rain in about an hour before the thick, dark clouds passed over. Amazingly, the sun came out after this violent storm and a rainbow appeared.

The rest of the night was peaceful. We slept well on the mooring.