New York, New York... and more of New Jersey.

The last 3 days were spent heading towards NYC.  My Mom and I left Cape May, and headed to an anchorage in this large bay, north of Atlantic City.  From our anchorage, we had the best view of Atlantic City at night.  I wish my camera could have taken those night time pictures.  Despite the anchorage being exposed in a large open body of water, we had a very peaceful, quiet night, and it turned out to be a great spot.

Heading up the New Jersey intracoastal waterway (NJ ICW), was described by Mark, from Average Looper, as "tedious".  People who live along the NJ ICW suggest avoiding weekends, when everyone who has a boat, is out fishing.  In working with the weather, I left on a Sunday.  It was a beautiful day.  The NJ ICW is narrow, shallow, and winding.  I think if I had a bigger, stouter boat, I would have preferred going outside of NJ and up the Atlantic the whole way.  There were "no-wake" zones throughout, and once past the "no-wake" zones, there were fisherman in the channels in small boats, enjoying the day.  On Monday, it was much better, and we headed to Manasquan, where the NJ ICW ends... or starts, depending on the perspective.

Towards the end of the run to Manasquan, a delivery captain in a sports-fisher radioed back to me, asking where I was heading.  He explained the upcoming waters were tricky, very shallow, and difficult to navigate.  I followed along behind him, and was impressed at his kindness and consideration.  We both made it through the tricky waters, with our depth finders showing 3.7 feet, neither of us hitting the bottom.  I am sure he was much closer than I was.  As I stopped in Manasquan, he went on to Sandy Hook.

In Manasquan, I stayed at Hoffman's marina.  The best part about Hoffman's was the other loopers I met there, Richard and Diane on Halcyon.  The marina had a strong current, and the fixed docks were tricky to get into and tied up in.  They have a 5 foot change in tide, so the lines have to be fairly loose.  I couldn't wait to leave this marina.  I had to get up through the night to check the lines.  When the lines were slack and the tide was high, I was hitting the finger pier.  However, they needed to be slack for the falling tide.  I was up at 4:45 and out of the slip by 5:30 am, just as the sun was coming up.

Here are a couple pictures from our run up the NJ coast to Manasquan:

This town seemed to be built up on pilings.

There were two low bridges in Ventnor, NJ

 After Manasquan, there is only one way to get up the coast.  When I had initially checked the weather for the Atlantic, it did not look good for a few days.  However, when I talked with Richard and Diane, they were going to head up to NYC.  So, after re-checking the weather, it was a done deal.  As I mentioned, we left really early, heading out the inlet and a couple miles off shore.  The weather was great, the swells were 3 to 4 feet, with an 11 second period.  PERFECT!!!   As we headed into the New York Harbor, we followed along behind a sailboat, named Qingdao.  Little did we know, that we were all headed to the same marina.  Qingdao stayed in the Hudson for a few minutes before heading in, so we actually arrived just before they did.  When they arrived, they were met with a celebration as the last of the 12 sailboats doing the Clipper Round the World race arriving at Liberty Landing, in Jersey City, across from Manhattan.

Qingdao arriving at Liberty Landing

Coming up into the NYC area was great.   My Mom, was born in Staten Island, and grew up in Brooklyn.  It was great to have her aboard during this exciting moment and seeing NYC from my boat.  She was hoping to take a picture of me with the Statue of Liberty in the background, but I had to drive the boat!  The highlight for me was seeing the Statue of Liberty from my boat.

As we came in, it was hazy, so my pictures of Manhattan didn't turn out as crisp as I would have liked.  However, you can see the Freedom Tower in this picture.  Later, as we were having dinner, we saw a full rainbow over Manhattan.  It was spectacular, but with my Iphone, I could only get part of the rainbow in.

Manhattan from the water.

After arriving at Liberty Landing Marina, we ran into people, we had previously met, including Richard and Diane, from Halcyon, and Joan and John from Destiny.  Hilde, my sister, came with her two sons to pick up my Mom.  I spent the evening enjoying dinner with my family, and then came back to my boat.

I have one last picture to share, which I took yesterday afternoon as a storm was rolling in, of the sailboats from the Clippers Round the World.

This morning, Joan and John arranged for a tour of Derry-LondonDerry-Doire. and I joined them.  The crewmember was explaining how, this boat was known as the "Happy" boat of the race and how they had made a video with the Pharrell Williams song. 

After leaving the tour, I headed north, and am now at Croton on Hudson, in Half Moon Bay Marina, with a lot of other Looper boats.

Here are a few pictures from todays trip:

Marina and town on the western shore of the Hudson

Passing under the George Washington Bridge

Not sure what these ruins are from.  I bet they have a story!

Yonkers!  Who hasn't heard of Yonkers?

After passing the George Washington Bridge, the landscape changed. Beautiful!!!!

Going under Tappen Zee Bridge with Halcyon (Diane and Richard)

Lighthouse north of Tappan Zee bridge

This is Croton Point, just before heading into Half Moon Bay Marina

A week in Cape May, NJ

I arrived in Cape May on Memorial Day.  I was a day ahead of several of my "looper" friends and decided to stay at South Jersey Marina.  While checking out the options, I read that South Jersey Marina had great bathrooms.  (Seriously, nice bathrooms are important to me!)  I really enjoyed my week at South Jersey Marina.  Every morning, I ate breakfast at Saltwater Cafe, which is on-site.  The staff was always helpful.  They have a shuttle service, which made getting groceries and going to town very easy.

Annabelle at South Jersey Marina

South Jersey Marina - Great Marina!!!!

View at sunset across from docks at South Jersey Marina

I can tell a lot about the weather by watching the sailors.

Most of my "looper" friends stayed at Utsch's Marina, about a block away.  Between these two marinas is a famous restaurant, "the Lobster House".  The Lobster House has several restaurants in one location including a fish market, take-out menu with outdoor seating, a raw bar, an outdoor bar/restaurant area on a floating boat, and a regular restaurant.  I enjoyed dinner there one evening with a few other "loopers", who I have run into several times over the last couple months.  I also enjoyed steamed clams with a ceaser salad on the outdoor "Schooner" with my Mom, when she arrived at the end of the week.  I bought lobster salad for our trip up the Jersey shore.

the Lobster House, taken from South Jersey marina.

One of the interesting aspects of South Jersey Marina, was that my son had sent me a text a year ago, of a picture of the Coast Guard Auxiliary office.  I remembered the picture he sent me, and I took my own.  It is hard to believe this Auxiliary has it's own waterside place in this great little town.  However, Cape May is the East Coast training center for the Coast Guard...so I guess it makes sense.

The first day I spent in Cape May, I went for a walk down to the Coast Guard training center, and I passed a couple interesting places on the way, including the Fisherman's Memorial.

One of the most interesting boats, which docked at South Jersey Marina, was a 1926 Mathis Yacht, Freedom.  This boat was a sister ship to the boat President Roosevelt had.  This 110 foot boat docked for the night, and then left the following morning.  As they headed out, they chose to turn around, using their thrusters, and almost took out the Garmin antenna on one of the sailboats, Destiny.  They came within a couple inches.

Freedom - 1926 Mathis Yacht Works

Freedom, as she leaves the marina.

Freedom making a tight turn, nearly clipping Destiny's antenna

On my final day in Cape May, my Mom came to visit and head up the Jersey shore with me for a couple days.  Here is a picture of us:

 

My Mom and I went to downtown Cape May.  It was surprising to see what types of things were charged for in Cape May, including parking at the grocery store if it takes more than a half hour and going out on the beach.  Cape May is known for its Victorian homes.  In the downtown area, there are many old hotels and B&B's.

We left Cape May on Sunday morning, and headed North... but that is another blog, for another day.  Tomorrow, we head to the NYC area!  Wish me luck!

Three Days, Three States -Memorial Day Weekend

I have been in three states in three days by boat!  CRAZY!  I left Maryland, spending Saturday night at Poole's Island.  This is a picture of the little island as I was heading further up the Chesapeake:

I was there by myself in a shallow anchorage, in the middle of the Chesapeake. I thought it would be a calm night, but there were thunderstorms just after I went to bed, and the boat rocked and rolled a lot during the night.  I am glad I went there, just because I could.  The charted depths are 3 feet at the anchorage.

Sunday, I headed up the remainder of the Chesapeake and went to Delaware City Marina.  I arrived early afternoon, just after a fellow-looper, John from Endeavor, who I had run into a week earlier at an anchorage.  My docking skills were put to the test, as Tim, the harbormaster led me in.  He very clearly explained what was expected in the small canal, and I followed his directions.  I passed the challenge with flying colors, putting my stern cleat at the cleat he was standing at, winning the "Docker of the Month" award.  I think he may have made up the award, on the spot.  However, I did have witnesses, and was given a quarter off, per foot, for dockage and a free hat!  The looper discount is already down to $1.00 per foot from $2.00, but I only had to pay 75 cents per foot.  There were several of us "loopers" at the marina, and it was a great little town.  I was able to walk into town and have an strawberry sundae... a perfect way to celebrate making it up the Chesapeake and through the C&D Canal into Delaware.

Turkey Point Lighthouse

I got out of their way in the C&D canal.  Don't mess with the BIG ships!

Delaware City from the channel heading to the marina.  Great town!!!

Strawberry ice cream, hot fudge, wet walnuts, whip cream and a cherry!  YUM!

I don't think I could say enough good things about this little town of Delaware City and the marina.  Tim was there to assist me in docking as well as un-docking this morning at 7:00.  My "looper" friends, including Mark and Jane, decided to stay longer.  Since I am in my small boat, I feel like I need to travel when I can. If the weather is good, I need to go.  I headed down the Delaware River, into the Delaware Bay, and finally to Cape May, NJ.  I guess I have hit the Jersey Shore.

Along my way to NJ, I was out there in the big waters by myself... or almost.  I came across a pod or school of dolphin.  My camera was close, as is everything in my boat... like within ten feet or so...and I managed to get a couple pictures.

It is hard to get dolphin pictures!  Meanwhile,it was a calm day on the Delaware Bay.  As I was arriving at the entrance to the New Jersey ICW at Cape May, a ferry was heading in.  The ferry goes to Lewes, Delaware, across the bay.  I might head over there in the next couple of days, while I wait on another good weather window.

Here it is, the end of another great Memorial Day weekend.  I am at Cape May, at South Jersey Marina, and life is good.