Atlantic Highlands to Port Washington, NY

Awakened by a brief thunderstorm this morning, and had our coffee a bit earlier than planned. After checking the weather and radar decided to go ahead and get ready to sail through NYC to Manhasset Bay on Long Island. The timing with the tides was of utmost importance, especially going through what is referred to as Hell Gate……a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City.

It separates the borough of Queens from Wards Island. Some history on the name originated from a Dutch phrase “Hellegat”, which could mean either “hell’s hole” or “bright gate/passage” which was originally applied to the entirety of the East River. This strait was described in a 1614 journal of the Dutch explorer, Adriaen Block, who was the first European known to have navigated the strait. Because the early explorers found it hazardous to navigate this place of rocks and converging tide-driven currents (from the Long Island Sound, Harlem River strait, and the Upper Bay of NY Harbor) the earlier name stuck.

By the late 1800’s hundreds of ships had sunk in the strait. In 1851, and continuing over the next 70 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began to clear the dangerous rocks with explosives.  And so we had this to look forward to…………

It was an easy passage, thanks to the diligent studying of the ELDRIDGE Tide and Pilot Book by my husband. This has become a trusted guide, listing all the current (pun?) East Coast waters.  Either it’s found on the chart table, or in the cockpit, along with our charts for the local area.

         Leaving the upper New Jersey seacoast shortly after 9, we headed directly towards the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. (Last evening you could see the bridge lit up with a garland of lights........would have been a great picture except for the fog that had set in on our anchorage.)The bridge is named for a 1524 explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano, (notice the difference in spelling of last name).  His ship anchored in what is now called The Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Long Island that connects the Upper and Lower New York Bay).  Unbelievable history in this area…….making for interesting travels for me.

                           
                                                                     
Will we make this?

                                          The V-N Bridge on the Staten Island side of the NY Bay


            The Lower New York Bay is where Sandy Hook, NJ across from Rockaway Point, NY meets the Atlantic Ocean, and extends up to the V-N Bridge. The Upper New York Bay continues north of here to the mouth of the Hudson River, near Manhattan. This is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. As you can imagine a very busy port as well, with numerous cargo ships and tugs just anchored off the lower Manhattan Island and the Liberty State Park.

Barge in the NY Bay Harbor.....busy harbor with barges moving and at anchor

           Tim got me up close and personal for some great shots of the Statue of Liberty

       Lower Manhattan......we headed up the East River, which is on the right side of this picture, to go through Hell Gate as mentioned earlier.

Empire State Building, from the East River

We arrived at our destination, Manhasset Bay, after a long day of motoring up the East River. What a lovely spot, tucked in the Long Island Sound, in the township of Port Washington. Surprisingly empty for a Friday of a holiday week about to unfold.

Later in the evening I was treated to not one, but two fireworks displays, one after the other (35 minutes worth!!) from neighboring townships……..breathtaking when viewed from the water. Lots of horns were blowing at the end from neighboring boaters.



 

           

Leaving Barnegat Bay Inlet for Atlantic Highlands, NJ

First thing, I want to wish my big brother a very happy, Happy Birthday!!

 Yesterday was a very pleasant day, with bright blue skies and calmer weather, allowing us to do odd chores on the boat and prepare for tomorrow’s sail. The lighthouse was “beckoning”  to me, so into the dinghy we went for some sightseeing and ice cream of course!!

As the evening approached, the winds starting kicking up again, deterring our plans to light the barbie……the old reliable pasta pot came out to the rescue for our evening meal.

Further preparations for today’s departure, Tim took the sail cover off the main sail, hoisted the outboard motor up onto the stern’s railing and checked the tide charts. I, on the other hand, attended to things in the galley……..nothing really changes!!?? But this venture is all about team effort and working together!

Early this morning, awakened by an alarm, we made coffee, then I proceeded to take one photo after another of the gorgeous sunrise right over the BB  Lighthouse…..breathtaking!

         I'm in total awe of this beauty I have before me everyday while sipping coffee.....nature is     unbelievable to me.

The morning started with a lovely sail, once out of the Inlet. We have the company of two other sail boats that were anchored with us last evening, one ahead of us, and the other has chosen to sail closer to the shoreline. We, on the other hand, tend to sail a mile and a half out where there’s less “traffic” from the power boats……less rocking and rolling from their wake.  In the Chesapeake Bay it’s almost impossible to avoid their wake, since they come upon you so quickly and at such a speed.

Have been on the look-out for dolphins, and saw a few swimming out beyond the boat around 9:30, but too far away to video their feeding for any recognition. Besides, I’m so in awe of them that it’s impossible to stop and pick up the camera….positively selfish aren’t I? Oh, well!!

The day progressed with alternating hours of sailing and motor sailing…….and swatting at the pesky, hungry flies biting our legs. The fly swatter has become my best friend in harassing these little pests…….was it the warm winter that has brought them out in droves? 

We have anchored in Atlantic Highlands, NJ, the last bit of New Jersey shoreline for us til our return trip in September. From this anchorage you can see Staten Island with the Verrazano Narrows Bridge that leads to Brooklyn. Tomorrow will be THE exciting day for me going into NYC harbor, and seeing everything up close! Back in my old stomping grounds, having been born and raised along the Hudson River. Many a trip we took into the city on the Amtrak train to Grand Central Station.
This evening we will outfit the forward hatch and the main companion way with mosquito netting for a comfortable sleep, pesk-free!!

This is for the main companion way:

 And this netting covers the forward hatch, under which is the forward berth where we sleep

     And by the way this is where we make our coffee and meals. It's a 3 burner CNG (compressed natural gas) stove and oven. Haven't used the oven yet, maybe sometime I'll make some banana bread to go with our coffee. Who knows what will inspire me?

Howling, gusty winds continue after 24 hours of thunderstorms

Exhaustion has overcome me, and I don’t know how Tim does it.  An experienced, and “been there”, “seen this before” sailor, he truly is!  I appreciate his knowledge and composure more each day.

This weather pattern we’re in is relentlessly keeping us here in this Inlet. It doesn’t appear that we’ll be leaving any time soon either. We had planned to spend today doing odd jobs on the boat, and still may, and then go ashore to walk around the Barnegat Bay Lighthouse and State Park, but the morning started very early for us. We were both fitfully sleeping, and checking every hour or so to be sure we hadn’t dragged the anchor again. You cannot get a good night’s sleep on that kind of “watch”.  And the howling, screaming winds, rocking the boat from side to side, were daunting. 

Our anchorage in Atlantic City came back to haunt us as well. When pulling the anchor and chain at that time we noticed hundreds of these shelled “sea creatures” clinging to the line. Within an hour or so, we had gotten into a slip, and pulled the anchor line onto the bow of the boat to clean it more thoroughly. Even leaving the chain out on the deck to dry I thought was a brilliant idea, but for some reason a few remained in the chain “locker”, which is located in the forward berth area. After 3 days of “decaying” in there, the stench became overwhelming. So, in the midst of all the storms yesterday, and not much of a break to clean it out, we had that to deal with first thing this morning. Thank goodness for Tim, because he did all the hard work, I just stripped the linens and aired out everything, including the mattresses in the cockpit.

Tim has just measured the wind gusts: constantly at  25 KTS  and accelerating to 35KTS Where’s a kite when I need one, or Viva’s Magic Bubble Wand?

The walk around the State Park will have to wait til tomorrow, since it’s mid-afternoon and there’s no end to this wind…….would be impossible to take the dinghy to shore.  So the other options are to take a nap, and read a little in the sunshine........hmmmmm.

                          Here are storm clouds that hovered over us most of the day yesterday

  

                                                    And then a rainbow just for Nana's Viva:)


                   Isn't this sunset gorgeous?  Honestly, nature is so spectacular on the water.

          And here's the love of my life, at the moment......how precious and endearing Viva is to me! Thank you Steph and Joey :)

                This photo is of a plaque that hangs above the main cabin hanging locker, and it reads:
                                                           "IN APPRECIATION
                                                   B.B.Y.R.A. COMMITTEE BOAT
                                                                      1982"

   The original owner of this 1979, 37 ft  TARTAN sailing vessel, was evidently very interested in racing, and the ironical thing is, this boat lived in these waters! The B.B.Y.R.A. stands for:
                                            Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association

How cool is that? So this sailboat has "come back home" to it's original port, so to speak!   Life is interesting is it not?

I'm beginning to think that I haven't spoken at all about "An Cobh".......more to come about her, with a picture or two, from our dinghy........she is a beauty.

Barnegat Bay Inlet and Lighthouse

Awakened to a pleasant morning, somewhat overcast, but then the sun shone brightly on this small fishing community.  We are anchored in about 9’ of water, in view of the lighthouse, with 2 other sailboats on private moorings.

Our day starts with coffee, first and foremost, usually in the cockpit, unless the weather has a say in that….even after a night’s storm, we dry off the cockpit seats and relax listening to the sounds of the day’s beginnings. Then some easy breakfast foods.

Around 10 am, without much warning, a tremendous thunderstorm approached with winds blowing through hard enough to cause some concern once again. This is beginning to become a pattern, with these summer thunderstorms. Tim, attired in raingear, in anticipation, sees that An Cobh has begun to drag anchor……..not a good thing at all!  (In the midst of the height of this storm, everything became a “white-out”, (absolutely NO visibility)and very difficult to get bearings with the other boats, and the shoreline, and the wind is screaming more than you can imagine.)  Finally realizing the severity of the situation, he pulls the anchor and re-establishes our anchorage, having not encountered any damage to the boat, or becoming grounded. 

One lesson I learned, is to never let your guard down, be thinking the worse and act quickly before more trouble is encountered. I have learned to don my raincoat in a hurry and be helpful in anyway I can.  Became very familiar with putting on my inflatable life jacket yesterday as a matter of fact so I was ready this morning if need be. 

The rest of the afternoon, we took advantage of the dry times in between the occasional sun showers, and  hauled the dinghy on the bow of the boat and scrubbed the bottom off….not too many barnacles had attached themselves! I even felt like my grandmother, and washed an area rug in the green bucket we have for multiple tasks. I even rinsed it in the salt water here in the inlet (don’t want to use fresh, valuable water from the storage tanks for that). Tim is now sewing a small tear in the dodger before it gets any worse with the wind kicking up.

Thinking of all of these “terms” that come second nature to me, and that I’m throwing about, I’ve decided to take some pictures to share with you:

         This is my Tim sewing up the "dodger", which keeps us protected from the wind

  And this is the "biminie" (that's right, the biminie) It's purpose is to keep the hot, baking sun off your bald head (oops, I mean to protect you from the hot, scorching sunshine!!)

  And this is a 75 watt solar panel that helps to keep the "house" (my house now)charged up

And this is our brand new Forespar Nova motor hoist/lift, that we bought b/c we bought a bigger outboard 4 HP motor for our bigger dinghy.....you know how that goes right? Buying one thing after another after another just because!!

                                                  And this is the thing that started all of that:)

Will reunite with you tomorrow....another day in paradise!

Atlantic City to Barnegat Bay Inlet

Preparing to leave this morning, so we took a cab to get some provisioning done. Left the marina slip after filling up our fresh water tanks (there are two, 38 gallon tanks), and emptying all the rain water out of our dinghy from the night before last. Guess who’s been assigned to be captain of the dinghy….you guessed it! We’ve named her Miss Daisy, since we drive her everywhere, not having our car along with us.

A quick swing by the fuel dock for diesel ($$$$) and a gallon of gas for the outboard. Now we’re off for the northern parts of NJ, however we’re taking it in 2 stages with the forecast of  thunderstorms later this evening.

The ocean carried us along on it’s gentle swells, and then the winds picked up, allowing us 6 hours of gorgeous sailing J (sailed along at a leisurely pace of 5-6 Knots.)

Having done the research regarding  the tides, currents and weather related factors, Tim timed it so the tide was as close to slack as possible for entering the narrow inlet of Barnegat Bay. He has in the past bypassed this area and continued north to Sandy Hook, NJ, which would have been a very long day for me. Extremely happy we are taking the trip in shorter segments. Why rush it? Slow going and enjoying the scenery of the local areas is much preferred by me. This is a time to get out of the rat race for a few months!

Gentle rain did occur after we had fallen asleep, which meant closing up the boat. It can get a little hot and close, but the temperatures are pleasantly in the 60’s, making sleeping comfortable.

                           Here's a picture of the Atlantic City coastline as we sailed away north

                                   This picture shows the Inlet entrance, from the ocean, to Barnegat Bay

And here's the sand dunes along the jetty wall with a white Heron watching us go by........

                          a little better look..........they are so graceful when they fly just above the water

Atlantic City, NJ

Pulled anchor after a horrific thunderstorm last evening, and took 1 of 600 slips at the Farley State Marina at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino,  Atlantic City. Believe me, this marina was filled to capacity, with transient boaters like ourselves…..unfortunately this is the powerboat capital of the mid-Atlantic! Not too many sailing cruisers like ourselves.

After settling-in, I went to take a dip in their outdoor pool, located on the hotel’s 6^th floor balcony. What a view of the Atlantic City Inlet, marina, and casinos out on the infamous boardwalk. Was able to navigate myself away from the Lobby Casino area on my retreat back to the quietness of the boat. Later, with Tim for that excursion! The outdoor patio was a mecca of live bands, that entertained all, whether you wanted to be or not, til the wee hours of Sunday morning. No one sleeps in this part of town.

This is the kind of day you need to get off the boat and attend to laundry and nice hot, running water, showers J All refreshed, we headed into the Chart House for some fresh seafood….worth every bite. Casinos tease you in with all their sounds and lights. Wasn’t too long before we donated our funds to them.

Back to the slip and a somewhat decent sleep, if you can call waking up to party-goers and the sounds of music, and I don’t mean Julie Andrews’ version either. Tomorrow we head further north, and new places.

Here in Atlantic City

       Left Cape May early this morning and headed out to the Atlantic Ocean, under calm conditions. The weather forecast was for thunderstorms later in the day, so our intent was to get in and anchored before the storms brewed. The sea was relatively calm, and we were once again motor/sailing along all by ourselves about a mile and a half off the coast.
       We saw 2-3 dolphins feeding off the bow of our boat, first thing......lovely to watch their graceful movements. Hoping to take a video at some point in time, but today I needed to just "watch" for myself. Ironically, as we entered the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean, we saw dolphins swimming out from this stretch of the Jersey shoreline, with Atlantic City beckoning to us. Tim says the lights from the numerous casinos is quite the show, and can be seen for miles!
     The thunderstorms arrived as scheduled, within an hour of our anchoring. I was able to take another dip, as I did yesterday, to cool off and refresh my spirit.......being outdoors all day in the sun and heat can really take a toll on your body. And believe me we've been drinking a lot of water as well. The rains remain steady at the present, and the dryness of the cabin is inviting, so we will eat aboard and venture into the city tomorrow.
    Before retiring, the lights of the casinos shown brightly in the sky! This city doesn't sleep!
   

        Good night to all!
       

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Our adventure began on Wednesday, June 20th, with motoring from Chesapeake City, MD through the C&D Canal, and continuing down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ. We had a beautiful sunrise, as we were up at 5am doing the last minute preparations for the long day ahead.
Having never been along the Canal, I was very interested in it's history. The 14 mile, hand dug canal was opened to traffic in 1829, with only a cluster of 3 buildings. Over time, a commercial community developed providing services to passengers and shippers. In 1839 a name was given to this area, and in 1927, the canal was dredged to a sea-level waterway, eliminating the need for ships to stop for the locks at Chesapeake City. However this had a dramatic effect on the town flourishing, as did a ship destroying the bridge in 1942, further crippling the area. Later, in 1949, a new high-level bridge only swept travelers high above the struggling town. Then came the 60's when 39 homes were destroyed to make way for a widening of the canal, which by then was the 3rd busiest in the world!
Today CC is the only town in Maryland that is situated on a working commercial canal, and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Interesting places to see are the Canal Museum, where the massive waterwheel and steam engines that filled the locks stand in mute testimony, as are replicas of lighthouses that lined the canal in days gone by.
Our delights in traveling the canal, were viewing several herons flying low over the water, coming from the edges of the water too quickly to aim my camera (actually sat in awe at their beautiful flight), the serene shoreline with just a handful of homes doting the edges, and a first for Tim, no one else, coming or traveling along with us! We had the tranquility of the canal all to ourselves:)
Once we came to the Delaware River, things changed as huge cargo ships were busily traversing the waters, heading to Philly, or points further south/north thru the Delaware Bay heading towards the Atlantic.  The breezes were with us all the way down the Bay and was so refreshing. Realizing we had just left Baltimore a few days earlier and knowing of their forecast for upper 90's for today made me feel lucky! Never felt uncomfortable til we went thru the short Cape May Canal, which was a close feeling, humidity....yikes!
We saw an abundance of cownose rays swimming in schools, and alone, right next to the boat! Unbelievable the size of these creatures, and so mysterious in the way they look and flutter about just skimming under the surface of the water. Didn't have a great desire to take a swim, believe me! Will wait for the day's end for that delight.
Record time was made for this first part of the journey: traveled up to 8 knots going through the canal, and the total trip was made in less than 11 hours, which is great time for a 63.3 nautical mile voyage.
Upon arriving in Cape May, the ocean smells and cool breezes made the trip so worthwhile. A quick dip off the back ladder, to refresh after the day's travel, was more than perfect for me.

Thursday mid-morning:
It's warmer today, so we're hoping to rent some bikes and head off to see the sights and ice cream shops of Cape May:) What flavor would you like?

Catch this breeze,
Susan