Virginia Poundstone and Nathan Carter

Gowanus Canal to Sonny's Bar

September 1, 2005

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Virginia and Nathan met me at the end of 3rd Street in Red Hook.

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We waved goodbye to Miko McGinty.

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It was a pretty and quiet night on the canal.

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Miko took some pictures as we left.

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Then she walked over near Sonny’s Bar to wait for us and watch the sunset. She told us later that while she watched, she was surprised to see two huge waves break close to the rocks where she was sitting. When we compared stories later that night, we thought that these might have been the same waves that almost swamped us as we paddled out into the bay.

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We were just pulling around the point when the waves hit us. It was so dark that we could hear them before we saw them. We might have made it back out after the waves flattened, but we were all a little shaken.

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We tied up the boat at a private dock and slipped out of the gate without being detected. This was a mistake – because when we came back a few minutes later to take the boat away, a security guard who had seen us leaving wouldn’t let us back to the boat. It would be held captive there untill the dock opened to the public the next morning. This came as a big disapointment to me, because it meant that I would miss the incoming tide and a few important rides.

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A glass of rum back at Nathan and Miko’s house put us all in better spirits.

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For some reason Fish and Chips sounded good to everyone.

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Here is a map that Nathan Carter made of the trip.

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