After Christmas, The Bourque's dropped us off in Key Largo @ MM 100 with our bikes and backpacks so we could bike back to Key West and the GS. I'm not sure where along the way we lost our minds and decided to do this, but we did. It was a really weird feeling when they drove away and left us standing in the parking lot of our hotel that we couldn't check into for another 4 hours. So, as any resourceful person would do in Key Largo, we found the nearest sports bar with the Patriots game.
We had a great ride over 3 days, and were blessed with fantastic weather (albeit hot) and some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. We surprised ourselves with how well we ended up managing the ride - but there is no doubt about it -
IT WAS HARD!
WE ARE GLAD WE DID IT!
WON'T DO IT AGAIN - but might do something similar somewhere else.
The Weather is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful....
What fabulous weather we have had for Christmas! Big blue skies with temps in the upper 80's....
We had a great time with the Bourque's, who joined us for the long weekend, which we kicked off with the annual Santa run on Christmas Eve, a Christmas Day filled with "A Christmas Story" and much wandering through the streets of Key West. Although it was kind of weird being away from the kids for Christmas this year.
The weather on this leg of the trip was a little tricky. Picking up a mooring ball in Titusville in 30+ MPH winds was not for the timid, but once tied up it wasn't too bad. The field is pretty wide open so we were at the mercy of the winds all night and that leads to a noisy nights sleep. From Titusville, we stopped @ Vero Municipal and then West Palm, where we had an fantastic dinner with Marty and Andy. From West Palm we made way for Bahia Mar Marina in Ft. Lauderdale and another weather window that needed to be dealt with. Seems like the good travel days come in 2-day increments, so we decided to stay in Lauderdale an extra day.
Our plans to make it to Key Largo were again cut short by the almighty wind creating some rough water conditions and an unexpected stop in Miami at Miamarina. Which actually ended up being a pretty good stop. Located at the base of the American Airlines Arena (Miami Heat) and a very active promenade with shops, restaurants and night clubs.
Leaving Miami, the wind was still blowing pretty hard with 3-5 footers in Hawks Channel, we opted to stay inside Biscayne Bay and take our chances through Angelfish Creek to Hawks Channel tomorrow which is forecasted to be much nicer. We have heard lots of stories about making the transition from the Bay to the Channel @ Angelfish Creek, some ok and some pretty nerve racking. As it turned out, the anchorage just outside the cut was awesome; clear green protected water, another gorgeous sunset, and a billion stars.
A couple hours after low tide the next day, a very easy pass through the cut. We were worried for nothing, and we have said that if we get to do this again, we would use Angelfish Creek by choice and not because of conditions.
Ride down Hawks Channel, dodging the lobster pots, watching the water get greener and greener as the day went on, was real nice and we made Key West in 2 days with a stop-over in Marathon.
Hard to believe that it's been over a month since our last update and looking back on it, we have certainly covered some ground and had ourselves some fun!
As we left the Chesapeake headed back to the ICW, we needed to make Charleston as quickly as possible to celebrate Jess turning the BIG 30! and it had been over 3 months since we last spent any time with them. So, we hauled ass!
Going through the Great Lock is always interesting - this time it was a full house with about a dozen other boats and a huge barge with us. Headed to Coinjock for the night and to celebrate Dennis' birthday, where he spent time with Slash and the perfect woman.
Myrtle Beach we were guests of Bruno and Michelle for the evening (who are now part of the North Pacific family) and enjoyed a terrific evening catching up.
Bob and Diane our dock mates from Halifax, heard us on the radio and gave us a shout out which provided a surprise visit with them and celebrate Bob's birthday, and Georgetown is always a good stop
Finally Chucktown and a week with the kids! Yea!!!
Hooking back up with Meander's in Chucktown, we made our way to St. Augustine for our annual Thanksgiving celebration. This year it was bigger and better than ever, with our cast of characters growing to 11 strong for dinner and a visit from the Morgan's and Waguespack's on Saturday for the Gator game. All in all 17 people in and out over the holiday weekend. It was really a great time and Dennis & I are thankful for each and every one of you in our lives.
From St. Augustine a quick day trip back to Halifax and a week in Ocala. It was really nice to be home for a few days.
The visit culminated with a blow-out christmas party.
Today we pulled out of Halifax and are making our way to Key West and looking forward to exploring some virgin waters for the Gypsy Soul
Since we didn't spend much time in the Chesapeake on our way north, we wanted to be sure that we took the time on our way home to get to know this amazing place a bit better. Tomorrow we leave Washington DC taking a couple of days to reach the mouth of the Potomac and make way for Charleston. By the time we reach the ICW again, we will have spent 40+ days and traveled over 500 miles in the bay - home to some of the prettiest places we have stopped on this trip.
Upper Chesapeake stops included Havre de Grace, Georgetown, Rock Hall, St. Michaels and a few gorgeous anchorages.
Annapolis which is always a favorite stop - brought some excitement with the potential landfall of Juaquin, a Navy Football game, reconnecting with Meanders for the boat shows and perhaps, best of all, a visit from the Adams & Barcomb's as they gathered and prepared for Colette & Will's wedding.
Washington DC: Not our first visit to DC, but a very different one, in that we really got into the city streets and spent a lot of time visiting the monuments and museums. Seeing the cities by foot has been one of the greatest unexpected experiences of this trip for us. You really get a feel for where you are when you get rid of your car!
Leaving Oyster Bay, the weather report called for a great boating day on the Sound and a not so great boating day the following day. So we decided to head to NYC a day early. Checking the tide at Hell Gate sealed the deal when our ETA showed all was favorable- it was meant to be.
When we neared the East River, the current certainly was with us. Our knots quickly went from 8 to 10....it felt like Long Island Sound pulled the chain and maxing out at 14.2 knots "flushed" us into the East River. The GS was flying!!!
Staying in the city never gets old and we never tire of gazing on Manhattan especially at night-breathtaking.
Left Manhattan at 4:45 am thinking we would take advantage of the ambient light of the city and do the Jersey Shore in one day. Other than the Verrazano bridge lights, the city lights actually made it hard to tell what lights were other boats and which ones were land as we made way. However our struggles and initial slow going was rewarded handsomely with one I'd the prettiest sunrises I've ever seen.
The ride down the coast was picture perfect blue skies, lots of visibility and almost flat water with a slightly favorable tide. 14 1/2 hours later, just as the sun was getting ready to set, we pulled into our slip at Canyon Club.
So, this leg of the trip, really has been about breaking GS records; new speed record 14.2 kits; longest day underway 14.5 hrs. Maybe we should play the lotto. 14 seems to be a popular number.
Well we made a last minute decision to hit Nantucket before heading south. We are so glad we did. What a great place (I know I say that a lot). We met up with "Meanders" and had such a good time strolling through town, touring Cisco Brewery and ending the day with a home cooked meal courtesy of Marty and Andy -which was over the top delicious btw.
Martha's Vineyard
Early morning departure on Thursday (6 am lines dropped) heading to Martha's Vineyard for a couple of days. We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise and smooth seas. There is such great boating in New England! We will miss it for sure but are pretty excited to start our trip south, back to old friend
Pt. Judith, RI
Trip from M/V to PT Judith took about 7 hours PT Judith is a commercial fishing village that is still very active today. Riding in through the breakwater and up into the harbor was pretty cool. It was like being in the "way back" machine, fishing boats tied up on one side of the inlet and on the other side kids and people on the pier fishing, swimming and enjoying their Labor Day weekend. It was so special to see young kids enjoying the "simple pleasures of life near the water" as they swam in the harbor and jumped off the docks & pylons.
About a mile up the harbor we dropped anchor in a very quiet and picturesque Point Judith Pond, and rafted with Meanders for the night. Poured ourselves a nice cool beverage and began to plan our trek to Block Island. Sitting there, feet up we kept getting whiff of something that smelled really bad. Turns out we all mentioned it individually, but then let it pass. After a bit, Mr. B figured we better see what was what and as we opened up our lazerette, we immediately found where the stink was coming from. It was us. We'd had had a battery explode, which had been the source of a bang we heard the night before that we couldn't figure out and had chocked it off to a rogue "boat noise" and ignored it.
Essex:
This cut our stay in PT Judith short as we headed to Essex boat yard for battery replacement. The good news is that it's a picture perfect day on the water and not too crazy busy even for the holiday weekend. As it turns out this was a good decision, as the batteries were being replaced, we discovered that a battery #2 of 3 was getting ready to go; it would not have been good to have had an issue on an island and been down to 1 out of 3 house batteries. So, as we wait a few days for parts to come in, we now have a chance to visit "Mother Therese" and spend a few more nights in Hamburg Cove before leaving New England waters. If you look closely in some of the pictures, you can see the leaves starting to change.
It's hard to believe that we are sitting here on the last night of our week in Hyannis. As I mentioned, GS was pretty salty and crusty and desperately needed some TLC. So we gave her a couple of spa days. Washed and scrubbed and polished and she is looking good again; ready to hit the seas! Cape Cod is such a beautiful place, and we spent so much time here both as kids separately and together as adults, that we decided to rent a car and "be-bop" around and take in the sights.
Enjoy your cruise on the Cape:
Originally we were to start heading back south tomorrow, but we have decided to make one more stop in New England and are headed to Nantucket Island. Link to all the Pix here
Well, we have passed the halfway mark; they aren't kidding when they say time flies when you're having fun.
Making our way to Martha's Vineyard from Cuttyhunk was a beautiful ride.
Blue skies and flat water - what more could you want or ask for? As we neared the Vineyard, it was amazing to watch the traffic on the water swell. Ferries passing left and right; the ferries headed to the island were filled with people, while the ferries leaving MV carried only a a few passengers.
Stayed on a mooring in Edgartown harbor for the entire week and it was wonderful! Getting into town was a nice dingy or launch ride away. Once in town, everything was very accessible by bike or bus. You buy an all day bus pass for $8 and can get on and off as many times as you like. Our excursions took us to;
Chappaquiddick, where we biked to Cape Poge, which is home to South Beach, Mytoi Japanese Gardens, Dike Bridge (where Kennedy in 1969, killing Mary Jo Kopechne) and the very popular South Beach
Oaks Bluff, which is about 7 miles from Edgartown via a bike path that meanders along the ocean, with a local brewery (Bad Martha's) an easy stop along the way. Oaks Bluff is home to a collection of gingerbread houses in the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, which grew out of the "campmeeting" movement of the early 19th century.
On the way home from dinner one night we saw an advertisement for Livingston Taylor performance at the old Whaling church. Livingston is one of James Taylor's younger brothers, who is also a very gifted musician. He teaches at Berkley College of Music in Boston and he frequently mentoring young promising talent that he crosses paths with. This night, along with Livingston, Chelsea Berry performed - and man is she wildly talented. Check her out on YouTube if you have some time. Isaac Taylor, brother Hugh Taylors son also performed a couple of songs and it's clear that the musical DNA was passed along.
Aquinnah, formerly known as Gay's Head, is located on the western most point of the island. It is famous for it's colorful clay cliffs and lighthouse. The cliffs have been eroding over the years from trapped groundwater within the cliffs, necessitating the need to move the lighthouse back from the cliff's edge. This move of 129 feet started April 2015 and finished only a few weeks before our visit (August 2015).
The Weaver's spent a few days with us. What a great time we had biking the island, and just chilaxin. It was great they were able to spend the nigh on the GS. I think this was the most people we've had sleep on her to date - 7 in total. It was just a really nice time; catching up, hanging with the kids, swimming off the back of the boat and the best was waking up and getting to have morning coffee together. Auntie Becky especially enjoyed rousting the youngsters out of bed the next morning. The Vineyard, Cuttyhunk and Newport put the GS 2 weeks being away from a marina and she is definitely showing it. She's a little crusty and is in need of some TLC in Hyannis.
Located about 6 miles off the southern coast of Massachusetts and about 25 miles from Newport RI, this is a place that time seems to have forgotten. There are few cars, no bars and 4 restaurants (only 1 accommodates eating in vs take out). Full time residents top out at 32 in the winter and summer population swells to about 400. 2 of the residents are children who attend the one room school house. The island is 1.5 miles long and only 3/4 miles wide, making it the 4th largest of the Elizabeth Islands.
Most of all it's just quiet. Sitting here all I hear are the occasional dingy motor and the sailboat rigging slapping against their masts. From our spot, we can see Massachusetts and Gayhead cliffs on Martha's Vineyard.
The days here were spent exploring the island, from the highest point to the west end, watching the comings and goings on the mooring field and swimming or should I say floating off the back of the boat.
The highest point on the island is Lookout Hill, @ 150 feet. There are six bunkers that were built by the Coast Guard in 1941 to watch the surrounding waters for German U-boats. Stripped of their observation equipment and weaponry at the end of World War II, the bunkers are a great place to picnic or take in the spectacular view of the island and its surrounding waters.
On our trek to the west end you follow one of the two to three roads on the island until it turns into a dirt path. Then follow or for another 1/2 mile or so and you will come across west end pond,the Gosnold monument and another one of the prettiest beaches you've ever seen. On one of our afternoon dingy rides around the harbor, we ventured out to the moorings and anchorages outside the breakwater. Here we ran into Passages, whom we had the pleasure of rafting up to in Wickford for a week. This jaunt also took us fairly close to Nashawena Island where we saw cows on the beach and in the water. Yup - COWS!!! Well, as Dennis says, this brought out the "JC" in me and I had to figure out what the deal was with these cows. Here are some fun facts discovered along the way about Nashawena Island;
Nashawena is the 2nd largest of the Elizabeth Islands, coming in at 3 miles long and just over 1800 acres, but least populated with the full time population being 2.
All of the Elizabeth Islands except for Cuttyhunk and Penikese are privately owned by the Forbes family of Boston, MA.
John Murray Forbes was part of the first generation Forbes who accumulated their wealth from trading between North America and China in the 19th century Opium wars; exporting opium, furs and other manufactured goods for the import of tea to be sold in the US & Britain. Notable Forbes family members include John Forbes Kerry.
In past years Nashawena was used for sheep farming, but many were killed when coyotes began invading the island (swimming from Woods Hole, MA, similar to the situation in Cuttyhunk, where small dogs and other animals are at risk).
Nashawena land use has been deemed agricultural by the MA state of representatives, therefore they pay little or no property taxes. Hmmmmm
The branch of the family who owns Nashawena now raises cattle (Scottish Highland cattle) to manage the vegetation - and apparently they love the beach.
We spent the evenings on the fly bridge admiring the stars. There is no ambient light here so this was the perfect place to watch the perseid meteor shower which was at it's peak the days we were here. We saw several shoot stars each night.
Day 152 - 187 / 1,895 Miles - Newport, Twin Lakes, Block Island, Boston & Tampa
Well these last 30 days have really been a whirlwind for us. After arriving in Newport, Dennis & John headed off to Twin Lakes - California for his annual "guys only" fishing trip. Becky was joined by Paula for a girls week in Newport. Then the 4 of us headed to Block Island for a few days of "Island adventure". And if this weren't enough fun to be had, we headed off to Boston the following weekend for a visit with Jess, Andrew and Devin. And... if this weren't enough fun, after our return from Boston, we headed back to Florida to celebrate Kevin, Laurie and Barbara's induction into the fabulous 50 club. Whew
Newport
Upon arrival in Newport, we spent a few days on a mooring ball in Newport Harbor. For such a busy harbor, the ball was pretty comfortable. We had a great view of all the boats coming and going from Newport and were treated to the L’Hermione, a French frigate, that was docked at Fort Adams for a few days, who upon arrival began exchanging fire with Fort Adams. (I'm so sad... I had a video of this exchange that seems to have gotten deleted)
Staying at Bannister's Wharf was perfect, centrally located in downtown Newport the GS was nestled amongst some very large vessels. They were "over the top" with amenities and some of them provided some very interesting people watching. Our first night at the marina proved very interesting. The boat in the video below is out of South Florida and is the weekend home to several young studs from Russia and their Untza Untza music.
By the end of the evening, our Russian friends had found themselves "dates" who, after being encouraged by dock security not to run the docks naked found themselves in the boat's hot tub discussing who was and was not going to "f#$k a russian"... You can't make this stuff up.
This New England town is far from "sleepy". If you can't find something to do here, you just aren't trying. "The Ladies" had a pretty amazing week in this little sailing town. Our days were full and adventurous; from touring the mansions, hiking, biking and swimming off the cliffs along Narragansett Bay. Each day ending with a sampling of the local cuisine and pubs including the now infamous Aerosmith Tribute Concert.
Narragansett Bay was our old boating waters when we lived in New England over 10 years ago, so we had visited Newport several times in our past. One of things that I enjoyed most about this visit to Newport is that we included some non touristy things in our days like finding swimming holes rather than traditional beaches as well as hiking and biking to our destinations rather than car or taxis. It allowed us to see and experience things that the normal visitor doesn't usually see or experience.
Block Island
July 20 - 24
We headed out to Block Island after "the boys" returned from their Twin Lakes trip. It was fairly foggy when we left Newport limiting our visibility a bit for our crossing of block Island Sound. Moorings are on a first come basis and we were pretty lucky to have one available upon our arrival. Our departure was pretty as several boats were circling waiting for us to drop our lines so they could pounce on the open ball we would leave. While on The Block, we spent a day wandering the town, checking things out, another floating off the back of the boat mixed in with a little work to free a fishing line from the shaft of the boat and the final day hiking to Mohegan Bluffs and the Southeast Lighthouse. Mohegan Bluffs are pretty spectacular cliffs with over 150 steps down to the ocean. Easy walk down, and you earned it on the way back to the top.
As usual a good time goes by completely too fast and before you knew it, it was time to leave. We spent the next week bopping around Narragansett, stopping in Warwick, Wickford and an unplanned weather delay stop in Newport.
Boston
July 31 to Aug 3
Hard to believe that we haven't seen the kids since they got married at the end of April. Much too long for this momma!!! So we took the train into Bean town and spent the weekend being uber tourists; Freedom Trail, Taking in a Red Sox game (yep they beat the Rays), going to the top of the Prudential Building and a Duck Boat Tour (Quack Quack). Throw in a bonus visit with Devin and you couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Again too short!
Florida
Aug 5 - 9
Happy Birthday shout out to Barbara, Laurie & Kevin who have all joined the nifty 50 club. So glad we were able to celebrate with y'all. Kevicakes - you were definitely missed and we will make it up to ya next time we see you.
Essex is a very short ride from Hamburg Cove (~ 30 minutes) and is just as "New Englandy" as we remembered it, beautiful waters and a terrific Main St and strangely not too many changes from the last time we visited over 10 years ago, with the exception of a few more empty store fronts. The area was much less "active" for late June/early July than I ever would have imagined. Maybe summer comes later in New England these days. During our stay in Essex, we were able to take a couple of days to visit with Mother Therese.
Norwich/Thames River
We left essex mid morning June 30th. Gorgeous morning with blue skies and big sun and enjoyed a short ride in the sound then up the Thames River. Passing through New London with Electric Boat, Groton Naval Submarine base & the US Coast Guard Academy. Its clear that this used to be a very busy and vibrant river with the shores littered in mills and factories. It's pretty interesting to imagine what this might have been like in it's hayday. Upper Thames is fairly rural until the Mohegan Sun Casino rises out of the trees like a phoenix.
Norwich is at the very top of the Thames River and a great place to stop and visit for a few days. The town overlooks the river on both sides with some significant elevation. Our daily walks/exploring here definitely gave us a different kind of workout as we climbed up and down these huge hills. Here we celebrated Becky's birthday with a trip to the Casino. We managed to hang on to most of our money and enjoy a few hours at the blackjack table, ending the evening with a fabulous dinner at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. The following day we enjoyed fireworks right at our marina.
Mystic
Mystic holds a special place in our hearts. While we didn't spend a lot of time here when we had our "feet in the north", Mystic and the CT shoreline held a pretty special place in our hearts and is part of how GS got her name. We felt it only appropriate to pay homage as we entered the Mystic River.
Our stay in Mystic was a short 4 days, and one of the best so far. On the third Jim and Diane Falkowski, Gary and Kathy Siedlik, Jay and Allison Rocca and the newest member of our family 6 week old Amelia spent the day! It was great to catch up with everyone. We ended the day going into town for dinner. Amelia had another idea however as she had Jay out in front of the restaurant walking her up and down the sidewalk. Ending any chance of Jay having a warm meal. Hang in there Jay we have all been there!!!
We spent the 4th with Carl, Denise, and Devin along with Isabella. It was great to spend time with Becky's brother and his family. Giving Isabella a dinghy ride into town proved to be fun for all involved.
Mystic also gave us new acquaintances. For the price of beer "Glenn the Dock Hand" gave Becky a master class in the art of knots and lassoing with the boat lines. Glenn would also be a great addition to sitting around the fire and telling a bunch of lies "MY KINDA GUY!" We met Randy and Carolyn from California who were taking a year off as well to cruise the east coast. They are early into their year and it was fun to see Randy come to understand every boat has ONE captain and he wasn't it :)
The weather has been so weird! We arrived in Port Washington to blue skies and hot, so much so that even these Florida people took a dip in the pool. The next day was rainy, foggy and cold, so cold that we put on long sleeves and jeans. This seems to be the pattern we have been in for a while. We left Port Washington to Branford in a medium fog (couple mile viability) and didn't start to see blue skies until we reached New Haven. From New Haven on to Branford, big blue skies and eventually got hot. Leaving Branford to Hamburg Cove on the CT River we had a beautiful day, big blue skies and nice and warm. The pattern looks like its going to continue as we have just about every other day of inclement weather followed by a forecast that uses the words delightful and pleasant in the description.
Connecticut River
As we make way up the Long Island Sound much has looked familiar but nothing more so than boating past the Old Saybrook Lighthouse and entering the Connecticut River something we have done a million times in our life. It all looks the same but so much has changed. The last time we entered the Connecticut River, except for Becky's dad all of our parents were still alive, Jessica had not started college and the Florida chapter of our life had not started. Boating past this lighthouse is where the whole conversation/dream about taking a trip like this began.
"When I see a flying boat I get a lump in my throat and say someday I will."
Jimmy Buffett
This was always the theme song to that conversation-dream and here we are, in the middle of our trip, coming into the Connecticut River and that song is ringing in my brain. Following the channel stay to the right now move to the left turn to Starboard and here we are Hamburg Cove. With a 20kt wind and choppy water Hamburg Cove offers a quiet oasis. This quiet piece of New England that time has forgotten maybe the best of all the reasons to make the trip up the Connecticut River. Today there will be a dinghy ride, multiple cigars, thoughts of our parents and a "remember when" conversation. But that is just for today. Tomorrow the Gypsy Soul moves forward. We move Forward.
Started our stay in the Big Apple @ Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club, directly on the Hudson, at the advice of a fellow boater we met along the way. They were correct, in that the view was beautiful, but neglected to tell us how rough our stay would be, being directly on the river due to the constant water traffic. Barges, Tugs, and Water Ferry's/Taxi's. To compound things this marina took some bad hits this winter from snow and Ice. They lost 40 slips, including their fuel dock and pump-out and their sea wall. So there was nothing stopping the roll of the river and we started rocking and rolling (HARD) at ~ 5:30 am each day and didn't stop until almost midnight. After 2 1/2 days - we were looking for another place to stay. Your body got used to it after awhile, but the wakes just seemed so violent and just felt like too much unnecessary wear-n-tear on the GS. So we moved to Liberty Landing a few miles south on the Hudson, tucked back in a Canal and finished out our weeks stay there. A great facility!
Bike Ride in Central Park
We've been to Central Park before and have always enjoyed spending time there. Mr. B came up with the brilliant idea of taking our bikes into the city and ride around the park. BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!
We saw so much of the park, places we've never been able to take the time to see. Getting there was even more interesting. Taking the bikes on the water taxi from NJ to mid town. I never knew that NYC had so many bike paths. From mid town, you take a nice ride along the West Side Hwy then cut across city streets to CP. We felt like "real" New Yorkers LOL It actually was easier than we both thought it would be, once you got into the "rhythm" of things.
Did I say that this was a BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!
9/11 Memorial Museum:
The last time we were in the city, the grounds weren't completed and the museum not opened. So we were both looking forward to taking the tour. It honored and payed tribute to the victims and the first responders while giving little publicity to the terrorists. It was good to remember the raw emotions you felt in the days right after 9/11.
After the museum, we decided to go italian in Tribeca. With the help of the internet, we stumbled upon Acappella. Not only was the food outstanding, we got the whole "italian show" from our server and BFF (Big Fat Frankie). OMG It was like having dinner being served by Tony Soprano.
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island:
It only took us 54 years, but we finally made it to see Lady Liberty & Ellis Island. The statue was so formidable. We heard a lot of people commenting she was much smaller than they thought she would be, and we felt just the opposite. She was right there, in your face, and the detail was amazing. Here are some facts I learned that I never knew before. The copper was shapped by hand in pieces that are about as thick as a penny and put over a steel cage. Wednesday, June 17 was the 130 anniversary of her arrival in NYC and I didn't know that there are broken shackel and chains on her feet symbolizing freedom from oppression.
Ellis Island was a bit disappointing. It seemed very sterile and everything inside felt new, not old. In 2012, hurricane Sandy did a lot of damage to buildings on Ellis Island and it was closed for just about 1 year. The buildings are still not climate controlled so most of the artifacts have been removed to prevent them from damage. I'm hopeful that this is why it felt so strange to me, but a sight to see none the less. It's a pretty important piece of most of our ancestors.
East River to Long Island Sound
The sights of the Manhattan skyline were good, but not nearly as impressive from the East River. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out when to pass through Hell Gate, since we heard so many horror stories. We timed it perfectly just a few minutes into a flood tide, early morning so not much commercial traffic, excepr for the tug pulling a barge that we encountered right as we entered "The Gate". No issues and a pretty terrific ride into The Sound. We passed by Roosevelt Island, Rikers Island and Laguardia before entering Long Island Sound and stopping in Port Washington for the evening.
We left Cape May on 6/11/15 and had the best ride to Atlantic City. We were 1 1/2 to 2 miles off shore big sun and a light breeze. It was just perfect. After a short while you could see the skyline of Atlantic City in the distance. So different from the miles of beach houses and beaches that we had for the first few hours. The only problem was that the city looked like it was right there, just around the next corner for 2 more hours... AC was a one night stop and we didn't leave any of our greenbacks at the casinos.
Atlantic City to Manasquan
From AC to Manasquan Inlet was a 6 hour ride. Again, we had pretty good water and weather conditions. Not quit as flat as cape may to AC but still a fantastic day in the water. Manasquan is a huge recreational boating area with sport fish as far as the eye can see. The Marina is located on a part of the inlet where there is a train bridge that has to be closed every time one of the commuter or Amtrak trains passes through. In our short 12 hour stay we saw no less than a couple dozen. Do you know how strange it is to see a train pass by the bow of the boat about 10 feet away???
On to the big apple
Waited until slack tide to leave our tight quarters and not have to fight the 10 knot current. Yep, I said and meant 10 knots!!! The entire exit took about 15 minutes and in that time we dealt with a train bridge lift several jet skis, a 5 kt current in the inlet and a boat who decided to drop anchor and fish in the channel that was about 3 boats wide to begin with lined with rocks on each side. Whew!!!!! Glad we're finally on open water with no worries in site.
That's when it seemed like it was a little foggy out, strange for 11am. The 3 mile visibility turned into 2 and then into less than a half mile for the rest of the 5 hour trip to Manhattan. We were fortunate to catch up with Conch Quest, who we had met the night before and go into NYC harbor together. You know when you loose one of your senses the others are heightened. We could hear everything around us. Commercial vessels announcing their arrival or departure in the Ambrose Channel, we could hear them sounding their horn in the fog, we could see large blobs on the radar and then a few minutes later we could feel the wake they left behind. A couple of times as the fog lifted some we could see large container ships as close as 1/4 mile away at best. Made us stop and go WHOA. We ran the outside edges of the commercial channel and they were in it so never any danger but ominous none the less.
As we neared the city and land the fog lifted quickly and there it was!! First the Verrazano Bridge, Brooklyn next on the left, Manhattan skyline starts to grow bigger and clearer and for the grand finale.... Lady Liberty. WOW. I'm on overload.
Our stay in Bear, DE ended up lasting a few more days than we had anticipated with small craft advisories for the delaware river/bay over and over again. The overnight stop turned into 5 days It really is a very pretty area with one stop shopping if you need to go to the grocery, deli, post office or buy fire wood. Yep, they are all the same place. Fortunately for us it was about 2 miles down the road which gave us both something to do and some exercise.
The Marina, Summit North, is a hurricane hole off of the C&D about 2/3 of they way through the canal. All along the canal are some very nice walking/biking trails. The place is actually kind of weird - it's like there was a plan for a resort type facility that only got half implemented. A very nice miami/south Florida style restaurant on the hill overlooking the river. Roads and infrastructure as if a hotel or houses were going to be put in, but stopped in time. All in the middle of NO WHERE - just weird.
With the arrival of Friday, and the weather/marine forecasts clear, we were VERY excited to head south (wait, isn't this the wrong direction???) down the Delaware. The Delaware is a very busy river for commercial vessels, in our 6 hour trip, we saw at least a half dozen tanker, cargo ships & barges. The first 4 hours of our trip were great - the last 2 hours kicked the crap out of us. Nothing dangerous, but again we had very confused 2-4 foot seas hitting us randomly from all sides. Things were rolling around everywhere. At one point, we heard something bang and the dingy engine that we stowe behind the ladder in the cockpit had rolled 1/2 way across and was blocking the door. You should have seen the gymnastics required to put it back and tie it up while pitching side to side. You can be sure that we have everything now stowed away and secured before leaving the dock, even if we are expecting a nice day!
Scheduled for a 2 day stop, ended up being 5. At least this time we were in a pretty cool place with lots to do and see. I never really gave Cape May much consideration before, but it is an old fishing town, with some great beaches and lovely neighborhoods. The entire city of Cape May is designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian buildings. (The most outside of San Francisco). We stayed at the Canyon Club Marina, it was great, infinity pool, a short bike/walk from restaurants, shops and the beach. The weather continued to be sketchy - cold and windy. We were in Sweaters and jeans (again - I had already packed them away for the summer, or so I thought). Overall a pretty great place, that we would like to visit again, but right now, we are itching to get moving again, and Wednesday looks like it's going to be the day.
So happy we left the docks today! What a great ride we had as well. Sunny skies, a nice slow roll on the ocean and a 4 hour trip from Cape May to A.C. We rode about 2 miles off shore, which gave us a great view of the "Jersey Shore". It was really enjoyable all around. Here we sit under clear skies and a view of the casinos across the inlet. We have Bally's, Harrrah's and the world famous Golen Nugget. We had opted not to leave our $$ at the tables this time.
The strange water patterns continue, the winds have picked up and the marine forecast for tomorrow is borderline for making more northern progress. We are learning patience over the past few weeks for sure.
The Chesapeake Bay is a much bigger body of water than we anticipated and we only skimmed the surface with our visits to Deltaville, Solomons Island & Annapolis. Because of the vastness, we found ourselves so far offshore most of the day, you really couldn't see and appreciate the beautiful coastline. If you want to "explore" the bay, you really need to get yourself "into the rivers" that are along the shoreline. With that said, it might just alter our plans for our trip back south so that we can do some additional exploring in this area. What we did see was simply beautiful, and each place different from the place before it. We also enjoyed (through the binoculars) the numerous lighthouses that dot the bay. These are a few of the ones we passed.
Deltaville:
Deltaville is located in a fairly rural portion of Virginia. There are a couple of stores, restaurants and most every kind of support service for sailing within a 5 mile stretch along a main road. The bay is really a haven for sailboaters. The marina was a working yard catering to sailboats. This is the first place we realized they have WINTER here. It's a week after Memorial Day and there were still a lot of boats on the hard. Some still in shrinkwrap. Deltaville has a maritime museum focused on the deadrise boats that are still used in these waters today for crabbing and fishing. We spent the day on the bikes checking out the local scenery and the afternoon in the marina pool.
Solomons Island
Gorgeous little island located on the Patuxent River in Maryland. Much less rural than Deltaville and had a lot more going on as far as restaurants and shops. Very picturesque. We had the pleasure of a mooring in the prettiest lagoon for the evening. This makes the "Do again" list for sure.
The south bank of the Patuxent River, is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, the Atlantic Test Range, and serves as a center for test and evaluation and systems acquisition relating to naval aviation. This also meant that we were treated to our own private airshow for a few hours, which was VERY COOL!. This short video doesn't do justice to the experience - they were so loud and some so low, you could feel them in your chest.
Annapolis
Spent 2 nights in Annapolis which, for anyone who know us, is one of our favorite places to visit. Our first time arriving by water (which was a real treat for us). Visiting some of our favorite "haunts" Rams Head, Prussers and just wandering the streets was just the best. We stayed in the mooring field located in the harbor just off the Naval Academy giving us the best views of the capital building and Naval Academy Dome that were lit up each night. Water taxi's were available on demand to take you almost anywhere along the waterfront for $3. Even with our own tender, it was pretty handy for venturing out at night, when the harbor seemed to get churned up.
Saturday was a sunny warm day to explore with the dingy. We discovered Spa Creek which runs between Annapolis and Eastport. There are a few marinas and mooring fields in very protected waters and still very accessible to town. I think we've made this our stayover of choice for Annapolis when we return in the fall. Eastport is the city next door to Annapolis across Spa Creek. We spent a little time here on Saturday afternoon and wish we could spend more. Same feel as Annapolis, but much more residential and home to several restaurants on the water. We had the best dinner at a place called O'Leary's Seafood. Highly recommend it!
Annapolis provided some of the roughest waters for overnighting so far. There is a huge amount of boat traffic (harbor boat tours, folks cruising the waterfront and extremely windy on top of all that. To say we got ROCKED to sleep each night is an understatement. Our last night here felt like we were sleeping in a washing machine.
To C&D Canal
North of Annapolis, you could see both sides of the Chesapeake, which was very different than the previous days travels. A significant portion of the western shore, north of Baltimore, is occupied by the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. We were racking our brains trying to remember what was "special" about this area - so our friend Google enlightened us. Wow, there is/was some "badass" stuff taking place at this Army facility. Once again, glad to have US on our side.
Located at the northern tip of the Chesapeake is the C&D Canal. It is the waterway that connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The Chesapeake Bay has spoiled us with its consistent water depths of 15 to over 100 feet everywhere! Expecting the canal to look more like what we are used to boating the ICW in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, we were quite surprised to find it meandering, wide and lots of communities and activity on both banks. Making our way approximately 1/2 way through on Sunday, there was little commercial traffic, but lots of pleasure boaters buzzin around. We are spending the night at the North Summit Marina before making our way down the Delaware River to Cape May, NJ. Looking ahead at the weather and water conditions, it is likely that this stop will end up being a 2 night stay. The marine forecast is calling for a low front to pass through today with a S winds and 2-3 foot seas. No SCA, but with our next leg being southerly, higher wave action and opposing winds, we have learned, end up resulting in a very long uncomfortable day. Tuesday is calling for north winds and 1-2 foot seas and sounds like a much nicer day for a boat ride.
