9 knots wouldn't upset me, but you can't rely today on a forecast for next Monday. I did this trip last May, first week of May. We took our
boat from Edgewater, MD to
Rhode Island via NYC and
Long Island Sound. It was chilly, but we had a blast. We did not go overnight; we went from Cape May to Atlantic City, next day AC to Sandy Hook, next day through NYC at 6 am, made it to Branford CT by 1 pm. The AC to Sandy Hook leg was very pleasant; the winds were very light, seas minimal, and we motored the entire way. The
weather deteriorated as we approached Branford and we ducked into a marina there, and sat there the next day (Mother's Day last year) waiting for better conditions. Even so, that Monday I saw the biggest waves I have ever witnessed on LI Sound, and I grew up sailing there.
Jim Cate, this is a
delivery trip, not a "sailing" trip; it's a straight north run to NYC. The
New Jersey coast is to the west, and if the wind is on the nose, you
motor. The currents through the East River run as high as 5 knots, so you must reach NY Harbor to time the currents properly. You absolutely fly past Manhattan. I waited until 34th Street to call my sister who lives on 78th Street to come wave to us. She just missed us and saw the other sailboat a bit behind us. I should have called her at the
Brooklyn Bridge!