9/28/18 In the Chesapeake



    We finally made it to the Chesapeake and are now on a mooring in the bustling harbor of Annapolis. Live music from the waterfront restaurants is in the background and we are surrounded by a variety of boats - big, little, old and new - with the water taxi and inflatables zipping back and forth.  Today we arrived at lunchtime and wandered around the Naval Academy before taking an Uber to stock up on marine and food supplies. Tomorrow Jack and Hannah will join us from DC for an overnight trip to the Eastern Shore.



     Entering the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, a 13 mile connection between Delaware Bay and the upper Chesapeake. It was first thought of in the 1600's but finally built in 1824.



     We tied up at the free town dock in Chesapeake City. Originally it was where the first locks were of the old canal. We went to a museum that still had the equipment that pumped water from the creek to refill the canal after losing water from the lock.



One of the two steam pumps that powered the huge wheel that moved the water into the canal.



All that remains of the old locks now.



It was a lovely town with small, well kept up, older homes.



The view from our dock.



     We left at sunrise and had a great sail down the Bay to Gibson Island. Water was muddy from the rains and there were lots of logs floating. Passed some lovely waterfront farms. We shared the channel with ships heading to and from Baltimore or points South.



Cruising along the channel.



Here we are in Annapolis Harbor!



Saw John Paul Jones's tomb in the chapel at the Naval Academy. Nico says this is what he wants when the time comes. He likes how the names of each of the ships under his command are etched around the base of the tomb.



     There is so much to look at in the harbor.

9/24/18 Waiting It Out
     The luxury of having no set time limit for our trip is that we don't have to stick to a schedule. We stayed an extra day in Block Island because we wanted to explore a bit. We anchored in Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island for two nights so we would have favorable winds to sail down the Jersey shore. It was worth the wait! We had a 23 hour broad reach, with the roller jib held out to windward on a spinnaker pole.  It was blowing gently 8 to 15 knots. We jibed several times as the wind shifted from northeast to east and as we followed the coast, which curves to the west as one sails south. Nico and I took turns steering through the night and the whole experience was pleasant as we glided past the lights on shore, three miles away. The most incredible sight was coming up on deck at 2 AM for my watch and seeing the lights of Atlantic City blazing. The buildings were like colorful, ever changing, neon signs. It was Vegas by the water.
     After pulling into Cape May inlet at 7:00 that morning we napped, read, played Backgammon and I even baked bread as the wind howled and it poured rain all day. Our plan was to go through the Cape May Canal and into Delaware Bay but at 5:30 AM today it was still pouring and the wind was blowing an average of 20 knots with gusts to 25. We made the decision to wait it out another day to avoid a 60 mile, wet and stressful (for me) trip. No other boats around us left either. Since quite a few boats had squeezed into the anchorage since we anchored, we decided to move up the river, out of the current, to a less crowded spot. Following the chart, we headed to a nice looking sheltered spot, only to find that since Hurricane Sandy it had silted in and we had a foot under the keel at high tide! Lesson learned. We quickly split and ended up behind an island at the edge of the channel in the broad marsh, famous as a migratory bird stopover.


Effects of Hurricane Sandy - Great Kills Harbor



We left Staten Island at sunrise.



 New York City grew steadily smaller. At one point we only saw half of the Empire State Building due to the curvature of the Earth.



We sailed all day along the coast passing Asbury Park and Bay Head, where Nico spent many of his early summers. Passed many big party boats bristling with bent poles on a Saturday afternoon.



By sunset we were halfway down the coast.



Our present anchorage in the marsh. Except for a narrow channel, most of the water you see is 1 - 4 feet deep.

9/20/18 Transiting the East River through New York City
     What an experience!



     We left at sunrise so we could hit notorious Hell's Gate at slack water on a flooding tide. It can run 5 knots there! We entered the East River at the Throg's Neck Bridge...



and there was the New York skyline! We traveled along the quiet river passing just a couple of tugs with their barges and then LaGuardia Airport (the runway goes right out into the river!), Forest Hills and Riker's Island.




     This is a prison barge. We could see the inmates exercising on the upper deck to the left. Show this to your children or students to convince them to make good choices in life.



     This was the spot we were concerned about - but it was no problem. Luckily there was no traffic coming the other way. Although we were there just as the tide turned, we whizzed through at 9 knots, three knots faster than we can go while motoring.



     Then we were in the narrow part, zipping down the East Side and FDR Drive...



 and the United Nations Building...



and the Chrysler Building.



When quickly got to midtown and saw The Empire State Building and a new one in the foreground that is just freaky!



Further along we passed City Hall and the new Liberty Tower in the background.



Cruising down with confidence but keeping a sharp lookout for the ferries,



we had a thrill sailing under the iconic Brooklyn Bridge...

.

and past South Street Seaport



Then, suddenly, we were at The Battery and gigantic ferries were crossing everywhere.



I enjoyed seeing the mix of the old and the new as we went through.





     I taught a unit on waves of immigration several years ago so I tried to imagine what the city was like a hundred and fifty years ago. You get more of a feel for it from the water, seeing ferries and wharves - and of course, Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.







     Finally, we headed out of the harbor, past gigantic cruise ships, Navy ships, Coast Guard Buoy tenders, barges, tankers, container ships, ferries and a few little sailboats like us, catching the fair current on their trip south.



     The whole day seems surreal we sit in a protected little anchorage on Staten Island.

9/19/18 Long Island Sound - Part 2
     Nico and I headed off from Mt. Sinai Harbor confident that the rain was over and the breeze was calming down. As we got past the hills of Port Jefferson I noticed some dark clouds so I went forward to take down the staysail. Just then a giant lightening bolt hit a few miles away. Then the rain came. Not a gentle rain, but a tremendous waterfall of heavy, pounding rain. No visibility but luckily no wind. Nico took the brunt of it while I stayed in the companionway handing him up hot coffee and a sausage sandwich. We headed into Noroton Yacht Club where our niece, Carola's, boyfriend Rob  arranged for us to stay at the dock overnight. After hot showers the sun came out. Rob and Carola arrived and drove us up to Lisa and Joe's for dinner and an overnight stay. Lovely evening. We also did laundry and got our dog and cat fix.














 The next morning Lisa drove us to get a fuel filter and we headed towards the skyscrapers of NYC. Spent the night in Manhasset Harbor. It was a very peaceful harbor and one would have no idea we were so close to the city.

9/18/18 Zig-Zagging Across Long Island Sound
     I always had a view of Long Island Sound from my house on top of the hill at Hopkins or from the shore of Pine Orchard and even from my dorm windows at Connecticut College but, surprisingly enough, had never been to Long Island, except to go to JFK or LaGuardia airports. I grew up hearing stories of my grandfather cruising over with my mom, and later, my brother and sister - but I came along too late. Finally, years later, it is my turn!
     Nico and I got up as the sun was rising and left Block Island, heading for Montauk and eventually Shelter Island. We passed a gigantic sailboat race as we entered Gardiner's Bay. Imagine an island as big as Gardiner's being owned by one family for so long. We got gas at Dering Harbor but it had no anchorage so we motored over on a mid-summerlike day to Coecle's Harbor, which was idyllic. The Nature Conservancy owns hundreds of acres of the southern shore. We ate the squid we caught the day before (a mess!) and caught scup and snapper blues.


   

   
     Next day we crossed the Sound, heading to Guilford where I went in close to shore to see the Sachem's Head Yacht Club where Alex Garfield and I had such fun as kids. I remember eating my first paella over a fire on the rocks there and many fun sleepovers at her grandmother's house next door. We then maneuvered through a very narrow and twisty channel through the Thimble Islands. The islands were the view from our house on Island View Avenue and I smile to think of how my mom said they were like the islands of Maine. We sailed past my neighborhood and the Pine Orchard Club where Nico and I had our wedding reception. My house was torn down twenty years ago but many seemed familiar despite major facelifts.
     Finally, we entered the Branford River which was like a highway on a warm Sunday late afternoon  and managed to tie up in a slip without embarrassment. Our neighbors were towering cabin cruisers but everyone at the club was so kind and welcoming. Truman met us and we went to a brewery on the river at the site of my friend Alex's family's iron manufacturing plant (MIF) and near where my grandfather kept his boat every winter. Truman came on board for a fresh fish & chip (sweet potato chips) dinner.


    

     Truman kindly drove us to the food store and West Marine in the morning and Nico was able to fix the head, which was acting up a bit. We got underway mid day in flat calm and motored across to Mt. Sinai Harbor so we would have a better angle for heading back to CT the next day when the wind was predicted to be strong and against us otherwise. This is the remains of Hurricane Florence. We anchored near tidal grass and saw abundant bird life. A man rowed over from his boat to say hi and ask if we needed anything since he noticed we were far from home.


One member of the welcoming committee.






The anchorage seemed more like Caleb's Pond on the Vineyard than Long Island.