Delaware City to Annapolis

Original posted at www.svsweetescape.com

So on Thursday morning we fueled up and pumped out in Delaware City before heading back out to Delaware Bay and making a sharp right turn into the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal for the 17 mile transit of the canal.

The canal, while a vital link for commercial vessels and shipping bound for the major ports along the Chesapeake such as Baltimore Harbor, there is little else remarkable about it.  I guess what I’m trying to do is find a polite way to say that its actually pretty boring.  But thats okay, because on the other end lays the spectacular Chesapeake Bay.

Chesapeake Bay is a cruiser’s paradise.  The are literally thousands of anchorages and gunk-holes on the bay to explore.  It is said that you could cruise here for twenty years and still not see all of them.  

The 200 mile long Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States - fed by over 150 rivers, the largest being the freshwater Susquehanna which flows into the very top of the bay from the north.  Because of this, the northern bay is actually freshwater and the water becomes more salty as you move south.

The Chesapeake is also the worlds largest producer of blue crabs - a fact which is not lost on boaters who find themselves dodging crab pots everywhere they go along the bay.

Our first stop on the Chesapeake was in the Sassafras River.  We spent a peaceful night at an idyllic anchorage about a mile east of the bay.  In order to get into this anchorage we had to slowly pick our way through a large field of the afore mentioned crab pots.

On Friday morning we weighed anchor and headed south for Annapolis where we would take delivery of our new dinghy and engine as well as get some other things that we needed.

Southbound along the bay we saw numerous “watermen”.  These are the crabbers, the guys in distinctive boats who check their crab pots several times a day and harvest the crabs so that Judy can eat as many as possible.  Brian - not so much.  One such boat had a golden retriever on board that reminded us of our dog “Jester” who we left behind with daughter Erin.

At one point we passed a large Schooner rigged sailing ship.  The vessel came up on our AIS as the Pride of Baltimore II.  The ship passed us under full sail and was a beautiful sight.

Once under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge we approached Annapolis known as the sailing capital of the United States and home of the United States Navel Academy.  The largest sailboat show in the country is held in Annapolis every year and this year the show begins on October 4th.  It was obvious that people were already arriving.  There are sailboats everywhere.

We tied up at Eastport Yachts and then headed over to Maritime Solutions from whom we had purchased our dinghy.  Arrangements were made to take delivery Saturday morning.  We then walked to West Marine where we purchased a number of items we have been meaning to buy including folding bikes which we will now be able to use since we will now be able to get to shore much easier.  

We literally rode the bikes right out of the store.  Which brings us to something we have both noticed.  It has been almost two months since either one of us has driven a car or had to deal with traffic.  Riding back to the boat on Friday afternoon - admittedly at rush hour, was a little intimidating (read: scary).  There is something about this lifestyle that slows you down.  You don’t really notice it until you go back out into the real world with all of it’s rush and hurry.

Saturday morning Maritime Solutions arrived to pick up our old dinghy and engine which we traded in.  We then drove back to their office where we took delivery of the new boat.  We drove it back to the marina.  Wow, what a difference.  This is a 10 foot inflatable with a fiberglass bottom.  It is noticeably more stable and just feels safer, plus this boat will plane easily with the 15 hp Honda engine - in fact, it feels like we could tow a water skier if we wanted to.  The additional speed allows us to get up on top of the waves instead of plowing into them - making for a much drier and more comfortable ride.

After arriving back at the boat, we put the dinghy up on our davits and moved over to the Annapolis City Mooring Field where we picked up a mooring for the next five days.  The mooring field is located immediately in front of the Naval Academy.  We watched some of the cadets running and chanting during PT.

In the afternoon we put the dinghy back in the water and headed into Annapolis.   We motored up ego alley - so named for the many yachts lining the walls along the quay there - before landing at the downtown waterfront area.  Beautiful but crowded as you would expect on a sunny Saturday afternoon and it will only become more so as the boat show approaches.  

We had lunch and walked around downtown - something we have not been able to do much of before now.  We’re so happy that we have the freedom to be able to get to shore whenever we want to! 

 

Manasquan Inlet to Delaware City, DE

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

After spending last Thursday night at Hoffman’s Marina just inside Manasquan Inlet we were back out Friday morning headed for Atlantic City.  We left the inlet on an outgoing tide and had no trouble getting through.  Once out on the ocean we found bright sunshine, three to five foot waves, winds from the southeast with gusts to 25 knots.  

It is interesting.  When people first learned of our cruising plans one of the most common concerns that we heard was related to our being out on the ocean.  Certainly the ocean has our respect.  But we have found that compared to similar conditions on Lake Michigan the ocean is actually easier to deal with.  The waves while bigger, are spaced farther apart than they are on Lake Michigan where the waves are sharper and closer together.  The waves on Lake Michigan hit you one after the other and at the end of the day you feel like you have been in a washing machine.

We sailed for several hours on Friday and arrived at the wide inlet at Atlantic City at about 4:00 PM.  We anchored in a protected bay north of the inlet.  That night the winds kicked up and we had gusts to 40 knots according to our wind gauge.  The winds continued for the next two days and we stayed put.  Finally on Sunday things calmed down a bit and we moved back out and anchored at the side of the channel next to the Golden Nugget Casino.  

We put the dinghy in the water intending to go into shore but we were unable to keep our little Tohatsu 5 hp outboard running.  It would start and then run for a while but would die a short time later.  After several attempts to keep the motor running we gave up and went back aboard Sweet Escape and put the dinghy up on the davits.  We were not willing to chance rowing to shore because of the strong current in the channel.  That night we had steak on the grill.

We have written about our dinghy problem in the past and the problem has not gotten any better.  We have wanted to replace both the dinghy and the engine for some time but have been unable to locate  suitable replacements along the way.  When you anchor out as frequently as we do, unless you have a reliable dinghy and motor you end up boat bound and you miss out on a lot.  We were finally able to locate a hard bottom inflatable and a 15 horsepower Honda outboard in Annapolis, Maryland and are currently en route there to take delivery hopefully later this week.

Monday morning we left Atlantic City and headed for Cape May where we anchored among several other boats in the bay next to the Coast Guard station.

On Tuesday we weighed anchor and left the bay, rounded Cape May and  began our 70 mile run up Delaware Bay.  Our destination was Delaware City Marina located on a creek just north of the C&D Canal where we would spend a couple nights.  We needed to reprovision, take on fuel, pump out and accomplish some minor maintenance including changing the oil in our Yanmar diesel.

We arrived outside the creek at the Delaware City Marina and called the marina on the VHF for docking instructions.  The harbor master provided step by step instructions for getting through the very shallow creek entrance.  We arrived at mid tide and based on the depths we saw we’re not sure we could get in at low tide.  The marina has four very large floating face docks along the side of the creek, enough space for 80 boats.  The floating docks are necessary because they have six foot tides here.

This is crab country.  Delaware City has a population of 1500 people and virtually every restaurant in town is a crab house.  After getting the boat secured and us cleaned up, we were off to Crabby Dick’s for dinner where Judy had her first culinary encounter with soft crabs.  Soft crabs are harvested just as the crab sheds it’s shell and before the new one has had a chance to harden.  You eat the entire crab, shell and all.  She pronounced her dinner delicious.  Brian on the other hand, (who doesn't eat any seafood) had a cheeseburger.

This morning, we tackled some of our boat maintenance and afterwards the marina was kind enough to provide transportation for us and some other cruisers to the grocery store.  This was a large Pathmark store located in a shopping center along with a Home Depot and a West Marine.  All of which we visited.

Once back at the boat and after Judy put the shopping away and Brian finished up some other minor maintenance it was off to another crab house, this one was called Kathy’s where Judy had a crab cake sandwich and Brian had a cheeseburger.

Tomorrow we leave and head for the C&D Canal.  Following our 17 mile transit of the canal we will head south along the east shore of Chesapeake Bay where we will anchor in the Sassafras River overnight before heading out to Annapolis to take delivery of our new dinghy on Friday.  After that we really have no plans for the next month.  We will stay in the Chesapeake and environs for at least that long before we begin heading south along the ICW.  Our insurance carrier will not permit us to be south of the Georgia - Florida border until November 15th so we have plenty of time to explore the the many interesting rivers and historic towns along the Chesapeake.

Current Events

Originally posted www.svsweetescape.com

We are learning a lot about currents and tides, something that we never had to be concerned about on Lake Michigan.  More on this later.

We weighed anchor and said farewell to Lady Liberty on Thursday morning.  We had spent the night in a very tight anchorage located west of Liberty Island behind the statue and were happy to get out of there.  We pointed the boat southeast and motored under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, through Sandy Hook Bay and out into the North Atlantic Ocean headed for Manasquan Inlet about 40 miles to the south.

The weather wasn’t bad at first - just cloudy and cool.  We had three to four foot waves with 10 to 15 knot winds out of the east.  

We deployed the jib and after about an hour we raised the main but had a problem getting the outhaul extended all the way to the end of the boom.  The main had come out but the outhaul had bound up about a foot short.  Sailing is all about sail shape.  Having the mainsail all the way out but not hauled to the end of the boom just wasn’t working as we were spilling too much wind out of the belly of our loose footed mailsail.

About this time we noticed storms building along the New Jersey coast.  We decided to reef in the mainsail in anticipation of the approaching weather and to improve the trim of the main.  Brian wrapped the furling line around one of our cabin top winches while Judy held the boat into the wind.  The furler wouldn’t budge.  It was like it was jammed.  Another wrap around the winch drum and “bang” the furling line comes out of the furler altogether.  

One of our greatest fears with the in mast furling system is the possibility of it becoming jammed making it impossible to lower the mainsail.  Aside from the obvious inconvenience this can also be dangerous especially in situations like storms.

Brian grabbed a winch handle and made his way to the mast to attempt to crank in the main from there while Judy continued to hold the boat into the wind.  Thankfully the sail furled with no trouble although this a tedious and time consuming process where because of obstructions you can only get half a turn on the furler before having to remove the handle and reinsert it again for another half turn.

This problem was created by us when we re-rigged the boat back in Catskill, we apparently didn’t rig the furling line properly.  As for the problem with the outhaul, it’s possible that this was related because everything worked okay later at the dock after the furling line was properly installed.  We’ll see how it goes.

As we continued south the winds picked up and we were rained on just a bit but nothing major.

We had been reading about some of the inlets along the Jersey coast and about how tricky they can be to enter especially on an outgoing tide.  As we approached the Manasquan Inlet we had an outgoing tide and there wasn’t much we could do about it so in we went.

Wow.  On approach it appeared that waves were breaking from north to south across the inlet and onto the rocks on the south side so we’ll just cheat to starboard and there will be no problem right?  Wrong.  Once inside the inlet we got hit by a wave that rolled the boat to the extent that stuff went flying below.  In fact we found our laptop computer on the floor.  When this happened Brian was wrestling with the helm, trying to keep the boat off the rocks on the south side of the inlet despite the ocean’s best efforts to put us there.  Note to self, try to avoid going into inlets on a strong outgoing current.

Once inside the inlet we were stopped by the Coast Guard who wanted to do a safety inspection of the boat.  A great way to cap off an already wonderful day.  We told them that we were heading to a marina up the channel and they instructed us to proceed there and that they would follow us and then perform the inspection after we were docked.

Back to the title of this post - Current Events.  The river there has a very strong current and this along with the winds and the fact that the CG vessel was right on our stern made an adventure out of what should have been a routine docking scenario at the end of a T dock.  Eventually, we were able to get the boat restrained with no damage and only slight damage to ego.  We had no problem passing the safety inspection by the way.

Needless to say we were happy to say good night to this day.  Next up:  Atlantic City.

New York, NY

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

New York is our kind of town.

When you look at the island of Manhattan it is hard not to be amazed at what human hands have created. A huge metropolis with incredible architecture that has anything and everything you could ever want or need.  And people.  There are people from all walks of life and they are wall to wall. 

Liberty Landing Marina is located on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River almost directly opposite the the World Financial Center and Ground Zero.  

When we last left you we were bouncing up and down the river in 25 knot winds with traffic everywhere and four foot waves trying to figure out how we were going to get the boat docked in those conditions.  We wish we could say that it was our above average boat handling skills that allowed us to glide cleanly into our slip but the credit goes to the wind that surprisingly subsided once we made the turn into the entrance channel where the marina is located.  No problem, we were able to cruise right into our dock space.  No damage to boat or ego. 

So we’re in New Jersey across from one of the best cities in the world, docked in a beautiful marina and what do we do?  We make supper on the boat and collapse into bed. Yup, after the wild ride down the Hudson and through New York harbor we were exhausted.

Wednesday morning we were recharged but the weather seemed like it would not cooperate with our sightseeing plans. It was cloudy, rainy and very windy, but that did not stop us from going into the city.  We took the Liberty Landing Ferry across and we landed by the World Financial Center which was only a short walk to the 911 Memorial.  We were able to get tickets for the outdoor memorial and fountains.  The museum is still under construction.  Our tickets were for 12:30 pm and we had about 1 1/2 hours to kill so we had lunch at the Stage Door Deli and from there walked across the street to St. Paul’s Chapel, the closest church to Ground Zero and God’s comfort station to the thousands of workers who toiled in the ruins for years.  Seeing the chapel was a moving experience and notwithstanding the rich history of the chapel itself prior to 9/11, it’s identity will forever be linked to that tragedy.  

At the 9/11 Memorial and since it had only been a few days from the anniversary,  notes were left at some of the names on the memorial. The story of the survival tree is inspirational.  After having been at the 9/11 site in 2002, we could not help but feel a sense of pride looking up at the Freedom Tower still under construction and the hard working men and women who are building it. 

We took the subway to Time Square for no reason other than to visit the West Marine store located near there.  Brian’s inflatable life vest had malfunctioned and we needed a part to repair it.  Our plan was to go to the West Marine and from there to the Enterprise Air Museum but the weather continued to deteriorate and we felt it would be best just to return to the marina.  

So after a wild ride in a taxi cab past the heliport where the President was due any second for his appearance that night on Letterman, (the presidential limousine also known as “The Beast” was sitting there waiting for him) we were returned to the ferry landing and then back to the boat.

Liberty Landing Marina is the swankiest marina that we have ever stayed at and unfortunately it is also the most expensive.   We met some great people with Wisconsin connections and common acquaintances.   If not for the cost we could have stayed there weeks, months, or just a lot longer.

The reason that we were at the marina in the first place was the weather.  They were predicting winds to 50 MPH and lots of rain and storms.  We got some wind, probably nothing like 50 MPH although there were damage reports from around the area and we had some rain but again luckily not the deluge that had been predicted.

The next morning we caught a cab to the Shop Rite.  The winds were still blowing but the sky was clear.  After restocking the boat with food and filling our tanks with water we refueled and pumped out.  This was an ordeal in itself.  The wind was still blowing, the marina was quite compact and there was ferry traffic coming and going along with many pleasure craft.  

We pulled up to the fuel dock only to be told to stand off and wait for another boat which was using the diesel pump.  Okay, no problem so we sat out in the channel for 15 minutes waiting for this big sport fishing boat to finish refueling.  This is a fun exercise that involves battling the wind and current, both of which were in abundance.  Once we pulled up to the fuel dock we were told that the pump out there was not working and that we would have to change docks.  Then a very large Coast Guard cutter pulls up behind us, also looking for diesel and blocking the pump out we needed to use.  Okay, pull away from the fuel dock and go to another smaller T dock where there was yet another pump out station.  There are some things we won’t miss about New York.  

So after finally getting our fuel and waste tank needs satisfied we headed out around the corner past the Statue of Liberty to an anchorage that yes, was again very crowded.  We were able to squeeze in and anchor  probably a little closer than we would have liked but we were able to get through the night with no problem.

Up next: the Atlantic Ocean along the New Jersey coast.

The Hudson River

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

Sweet Escape had her first taste of salt water on Monday.

Monday morning we left the free dock at Mariners on the Hudson at Highlands, New York.  Mariners is a “dock and dine”.  We had stopped there on the way south and had a nice dinner with the crew of Vindand preceded by drinks aboard the catamaran.  The dock at Mariners left a little to be desired in the cleanliness department as lots of geese and seagulls apparently call it home when no boats are there - and of course do what they do.

Heading south along the Hudson River was something of an eye opening experience for both of us.  We had not realized just how beautiful the scenery was here.  The Hudson meanders through some very rugged and mountainous terrain.  Some of which could best be described as fjord like.  

Upon leaving the dock at about 8:30 AM we found ourselves riding the outgoing tide.  We normally motor at 6.5 knots but that morning we were exceeding 9 knots, taking advantage of the 2.5 - 3 knot current.  The downside to this is that by 11:00 AM the tide had changed and we then were being opposed by that same current.  Oh well, guess we should have gotten up earlier.

Late morning we motored south past the hallowed halls of West Point and could not help but to think of the graduates of this esteemed institution founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1802 that went on to figure prominently in the history of our nation.  On the north roof of the field house is painted the words “Beat Air Force” and on the south roof it says “Sink Navy”.

The weather has been very cool in the morning here providing ongoing incentive to keep moving south.  Both of us have been bundled in layers with jackets, hats and gloves.  The winds have been out of the south and on Monday morning they were especially brisk, blowing directly upriver and directly in our faces.

We were headed for New York Harbor.  Initially we had intended to anchor in Haverstraw Bay near Tarrytown but changed our minds when it appeared that the weather was going to be bad with thunderstorms and high winds on Tuesday.  Instead, we booked a slip at the beautiful Liberty Landing Marina for what would turn out to be two nights.

Just north of the Tappen Zee Bridge we began seeing a lot of floating debris, pilings and what appeared to be pieces of a pier that had given way.  We spent the remainder of the trip watching for and dodging these hazards that could do a lot of damage to the boat if we hit one.

This became more difficult as we approached New York City.  Well north of the George Washington Bridge the winds kicked up with gusts near 30 knots creating three to four foot waves right on our bow.  This made the floaters tough to see as they would hide in the troughs of these large waves.  We did hit a small piece of debris that bounced off the side of the boat and didn’t do any damage.

As we approached the GW Bridge we noticed a newer Hunter 41 with a blue hull under full sail tacking back and forth across the river.  As we passed this boat, the operator hailed us on the VHF.  After we responded he informed us that his engine had quit, that he had an overtemp alarm and that he was single handing the boat.  He inquired whether or not we had someone who could “hop on” his boat to go below and clean out his engine sea strainer.  Really?  Raft two 40 foot plus sailboats up in three to four foot waves and 25 knot winds and then effect a personnel transfer?  I think not.  We respectfully declined as there were many other ways that he could deal with the problem without putting his own our our boat in jeopardy.

The skyline of New York is a thrilling sight no matter how you see it but it is really special to see it from the deck of your own boat, a boat that had carried us over 1200 miles of lakes, rivers and canals and that we had piloted here ourselves.  But hey, snap out of it - back to reality.  We’re headed south into one of the busiest harbors in the world with commercial traffic all around in poor conditions.  Just to give you an idea of how busy it was, our AIS alarm went off to tell us it had maxed out at 40 targets.

Further increasing the anxiety level is the knowledge that we would have to dock in these wind conditions in a large and very tight marina where we had never been before.  Whoever said we would be bored after retirement had apparently never been in this situation.

So what happened?  Did we get in?  Did we do any damage in the process?  For the answer to these and many other questions, loyal readers will have to tune in to the next installment of the Journey of the good ship Sweet Escape.

We're a Sailboat Again

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

We are pleased to report that Sweet Escape is once again a sailboat.

After 11 days motoring through the Erie Canal with our mast being carried on deck we went through the final series of locks on Tuesday afternoon before being spit out onto the Hudson River at Waterford.  The New York Canal Corporation operates a large visitors center at the entrance to the canal.  The visitors center provides free dockage for up to 48 hours with all the facilities and so we took them up on that deal and hung around for two days.  We took this opportunity to clean the boat up a little as the locks with their green slimy walls and ropes had taken their toll.

After moving every day since we left Tonawanda and transiting 34 locks, we were both pretty tired and looking forward to a little rest and relaxation.  It is interesting.  While at Waterford we began to run into other cruisers heading south.  We have met some really nice people and we expect to see them again as we all travel generally in the same direction.

Waterford provided a great opportunity to reprovision the boat as there was a large supermarket just a couple blocks from the dock and they allowed us to use one of their carts to transport the goods so we took outrageous advantage of that and spent $130.

We left Waterford at 6:00 AM on Thursday and headed south along the mighty Hudson River.  We left that early to try to take advantage of an ebb tide that would last until 10:00 AM at which point the tide would reverse and we would be fighting the 1.5 knot current.  Our destination was Catskill New York where we would have Sweet Escape’s mast stepped at Riverview Marine Services.

We arrived at Riverview at about 1:00 PM and docked directly under their crane.  We were scheduled to have our mast done on Friday.  Riverview Marine was destroyed at this time last year by hurricane Irene.  They spent the winter months rebuilding their docks and seawall.  We found the staff here to be great.  They know what their doing and could not be more helpful.  Truly nice people. 

After getting the boat secured and organized, we walked the 2.5 miles to Walmart to do some shopping and then ate dinner at a really good Italian restaurant near Walmart before returning to the boat - yes, another 2.5 miles but after the Italian restaurant we should have walked five.  Oink.

Later that night, we listened to the Green Bay Packer’s glorious win over the sad and confused Chicago Bears.  We have a season subscription to NFL Game Day Audio which allows you to access the radio play by play of all games streamed over the Internet.  

Friday was work day.  We changed the oil in our generator while we waited for the yard to get our mast standing again.  Once that happened we spent the rest of the day putting the boat back together.  Standing and running rigging has to be reinstalled and all the wiring for the mast lighting and other systems such as the radar and TV antenna must be reconnected.  We were up late last night (Friday) and finally finished earlier today.

This afternoon we walked to downtown Catskill and stopped at the Texas Wiener.  The Texas Wiener is a little family run diner that specializes in sandwiches, most notably large “texas size” hot dogs.  Passing on the wiener, both of us ordered cheeseburgers with lettuce and tomato.  The proprietor, a congenial greek named Vic served us cheeseburgers with thick slices of deep red beefsteak tomato from his own garden.  Delicious.

We will leave Catskill tomorrow morning and head south on the Hudson to Highland New York where we will meet up with Jon and Cherel from the sailing catamaran Vindand.  There is a restaurant there called Mariners on the Hudson that allows you to stay overnight on their dock for free if you patronize the restaurant - otherwise known as a “dock & dine”.  We’re going to give it a try.

We will add photos to our gallery from this period.