The East River to The Chesapeake

    Far and Away is in a marina off the Rappahannock River as we work on the boat for a couple of days and wait out thunderstorms. I'm taking advantage of the Wi-Fi to send off a couple of posts. Be sure to check if you have missed any previous posts. Meanwhile, Nico is taking care of some messy jobs - the unglamorous, but necessary, side of cruising...

The East River
     In order to transit down the East River along the island of Manhattan, you have to pay close attention to tides. The waterway is narrow and all of Long Island Sound is funneling through. You need a fair tide so we headed off at dawn to make the most of it. There is one spot where the Harlem River joins at a curve where the current runs 5 knots. It is called Hell's Gate (a corruption of the Dutch word "Hellegat" which meant "hell channel"). Books advise not going through at the peak of the tide. Years ago they blasted out a ledge but it is still pretty bad. I can't imagine going through in the old days. As it was, we met a tug and barge at the curve going upstream. I radioed him and said we would hug the side and keep out of his way and he radioed back thanking me because his barge was weaving all over the place in the current. 

Leaving City Island at dawn. The island next to us is Hart Island where there is a mass grave for over a million unclaimed, stillborn or indigent bodies. There was talk of having it ready if COVID overwhelmed the NYC morgues. Inmates at nearby Rikers Island were used to dig the graves. Creepy.

Approaching the Throg's Neck

                                        Our boat speed through Hell's Gate. 5 knots of current!

                                                        The tug with the weaving barge.

                                                                    The East River

And out through the Verrazano Narrows

We kept on going after we left the Narrows and busy New York Harbor with its shipping and ferries. We sailed past Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and along the Jersey shore. We continued into the night, a long, quiet passage, broken up by the lights of Atlantic City. By breakfast, we were by Cape May at the southern tip. We were just about to head into the harbor for a well-deserved rest when Nico decided the wind was just right to travel up Delaware Bay - so we kept going. Finally, 36 hours after leaving City Island, we put the hook down in a salt marsh halfway up the bay.

The view on night watch

Dawn off of Cape May

The last time we sailed through Delaware Bay I felt it was devoid of character and the predominant color was gray. It is shallow, without many places to anchor, and it can get quite choppy. There are a lot of ships heading to Wilmington and Philadelphia. It had an industrial feel. This time we had a lovely sail and found a nice anchorage up a small river. We were amazed by the amount of fish. Listen to the sound they make on the video below!

Our anchorage in the marshes

It still is a busy, commercial bay

and quite industrial

and gray - but it was an uneventful, good trip.

Soon we entered The Delaware/Chesapeake Canal and stopped in Chesapeake City, which we remembered fondly from our last trip. We enjoy the quaint little houses from the 1840's and the museum about the old canal and former locks.

We take full advantage of lending libraries we find along the way!

In the 1850's they had to pump water to fill the lock.

I can't imagine digging the first canal by hand and using buckets.

Over a million gallons of water each hour!

I find some of the old machinery has a sculptural beauty.

We enjoy the free dock.

The canal is still a busy place, connecting the two big bays and major cities such as Baltimore and Philadelphia but the ships don't have to go through locks anymore.

The First Leg

      I have some catching up to do! Our itinerary for the first part of the trip was a 15 hour run from South Freeport to Gloucester, MA. From Gloucester we had another early morning departure and made it through the canal to Hadley Harbor in The Elizabeth Islands off Wood's Hole. Then it was a short hop to Menemsha Harbor on the Vineyard. This portion was marked by some unusual wildlife experiences. First, we saw great masses of bait with gannets diving repeatedly and porpoise circling. Then, off the New Hampshire coast, we had an infestation of biting flies. As a result, we had a visit by two bats who must have been taking advantage of the fly buffet. They circled the sail and one wedged itself between the mainsail and mast, hiking up with its arms like a furry mountain climber. Then, much to our concern, one decided to join us under the dodger, crawling into a pocket for a possible snooze. Not to be. Nico donned gloves and released it to the winds.  

 

 Then we had a run of delightful visits. First, we stayed with Alec and Sally who once again offered us their lovely guest room, laundry, and showers. We joined them for a visit to Chappaquiddick where we saw Raas and Brendan, Philip and Susan, and their families. Then we headed off to Block Island for two nights where we had the delightful surprise of being there at the same time as Steve and Allison Holtman. 

 

     The next stop was Stonington, Connecticut where we visited with Connecticut College friend, Linda Thacher, and stayed overnight at the pier of her club. Then it was a quick hop to Fisher's Island. There we visited with Nick and Anne Noyes. Nick gave us an extensive tour of the island and then we had a delightful dinner with them in their home. Lastly, we pulled into the Pine Orchard Yacht Club where Nico and I had our wedding reception nearly 40 years ago! My brother Truman met us there and we walked the old neighborhood which, like the club, has changed. Tons of rebuilding and evidence of lots of money. Our house was a tear down many years ago. We stopped in to see Cousin Christy and her husband Richard who still live there. It was a very rolly night in an exposed anchorage so we were glad to get out of there. We headed over to the leeward side of Long Island and tucked into Mount Sinai Harbor. Next adventure: heading down the East River. 

We are off

We are off! At the moment we are on a mooring in Menemsha Harbor enjoying family time with Alec and Sally, Alex and Brendan, and Philip and Susan.

 Our first leg was South Freeport to Gloucester. We left at dawn and pulled in 15 hours later. On the way, we encountered two bats who circled around the sail and one decided to take up residence in the dodger. Nico put on gloves and gently removed it. We think they were there eating the gigantic swarm of biting flies that decided to join us. We spent the rest of the day swatting flies and still haven't gotten rid of them all. We saw one minke whale approaching Cape Ann and a large number of porpoise and gannets diving on baitfish. 

Another Adventure

 Far and Away is about to head off on another adventure! Stay tuned for new posts as we head down the east coast. The first leg will be Freeport to the Chesapeake.

The Trip North

The Trip North 

     After arriving in Vero Beach we had a delightful few days with Willie and Melanie. We even got to celebrate Willie's 28th birthday by looking for fossils on the Peace River. We found lots of shark teeth and fossil shells.


   





   
    Although Nico and I flew home for a bit we still needed to get Far and Away home to Maine. Luckily, some friends stepped in and helped Nico out. After Nico finished with business home he flew back to Vero and a couple of days later his friend Steve Holtman joined him. Steve had never sailed but he was enthusiastic, competent and up for anything. The two of them sailed down to Fort Pierce, anchored in the dark and headed out the inlet at dawn. They had fair winds and once they hit the Gulf Stream they rocketed north at 11 knots.




    The Gulf Stream

     The only issue was that Nico thought was sending me his location with his GPS SPOT but I wasn't receiving his "All well" messages. I followed the plan, which was to alert the Coast Guard. They called and called on the radio and finally picked up a faint response 90 miles south of Charleston. All was well but it was not transmitting. They made it to Charleston a few days early.


   
      At that point, Malcolm Poole flew down and joined Nico while Steve enjoyed his remaining week in Charleston with his wife. Malcolm is a real sailing pro. The two of them headed out and didn't touch land until Cape May, New Jersey when they made a trip in for fuel. Next stop was Newport two days later. They skirted a fierce front but the trip was uneventful.


During the night watch


During the day watch
  
 I drove down to Newport and Malcolm headed home in my car. Back together again!




Some of the boats in Newport Harbor.

   
The exhaust system developed a leak, spewing soot and exhaust in the cabin area. Nico fixed one and then another and we headed off with low RPMs to Hadley Harbor in the Elizabeth Islands.

The early fog burned off and we reached the canal at 2:30 to catch the fair tide.


Crossing Cape Cod Bay, heading to Provincetown


We anchored in Provincetown Harbor but had 60 miles the next day in thick fog, cold and damp. Back in New England!






The fog by Isles of Shoals was even thicker.
 
    Luckily the last leg was on a Sunday so there weren't lobster boats zipping around. We took half hour watches peering into the thick fog and rain. It lifted around Cape Elizabeth and we made South Freeport Harbor mid-afternoon, nine months and over 3,500 miles after leaving last fall. I have great fondness for our sturdy boat and admiration for all that Nico did to get us through our adventure safely. We had fun.


Nearing the harbor


Furling the sail one last time on the voyage.


Back at the dock


We are now official members of the Harraseeket Yacht Club.


The team!