September 27-28

From Chesapeake City at the western end of the C&D canal, we headed out into Chesapeake Bay towards Worton Creek.

Chesapeake Bay is beautiful, but fairly shallow at the northern end, so you want to stay in the shipping channel. We soon discovered that there is another reason to keep to the channel – crab pots. These are marked with what looks like an oversized fishing net float and are on a grid with approximately 20 to 30 yards between floats. The crazy thing is the floats are often black or dark blue and so they can be difficult to pick out. If you do catch one in your prop, you have to get into the water to cut it away, all the while hoping that it has not caused any damage to the engine, drive, etc. You better believe this keeps the Admiral alert! Another very common sight are the crab boats, especially early in the morning.

We had a relaxing afternoon in Worton Creek, refueling and getting water, washing off the boat, and then planning to do a little shopping. When we asked at the marina where we might pick up some supplies, the response was, ‘There’s nothing around here.’ This was a little more serious, because there weren’t any tourist shops either. What we did discover, though, was that there is a place about ¾ mile up the road that prepares crabs, and the marina phoned ahead and placed an order on our behalf. We returned to the boat with a shopping bag full of the most delicious crabs and settled into a feast.

On Friday we set out early for Annapolis, a sailing mecca and home to the largest sailboat show in North America. Sailors from far and wide converge on Annapolis for the boat show Oct 4-8. We have planned to arrive early because places to anchor are at a premium.

We get settled into Mill Creek, a couple of miles from Annapolis, early in the afternoon. After getting settled we dinghied to the landing on shore to check out the shopping. The landing was at a very popular restaurant that specializes in, you guessed it, crabs. They also told us that there was no easy access to shopping, and we have had our fill of crabs. After burgers we returned to the boat to review our options for getting closer to Annapolis.

September 25-26

Cape Henlopen is a beautiful anchorage, certainly one of our favorites. There are miles of sandy beach surrounding a very secure harbor. It would be fun to spend some time there. This lighthouse marks the entrance to the harbour.

The next morning we were headed up Delaware Bay. The tide is strong in the bay and Skipper Bob has clear directions about timing your departure. We followed his directions closely, but did not have a favourble tide during much of our trip. I still can’t figure out how it can be against you for so long. The guide books also warn about the ‘temper’ of the bay if you are sailing when the wind is blowing one way and the tide is going the other. While it was almost a perfect day for the trip, the wind did pick up for the last twenty miles and it got a little bumpy.

We passed this barge during the latter part of the trip and were impressed by the waves smashing off the hull and spraying around. As is always the case with my stories of big waves, I fear the picture does not do them justice.

It was a full day’s trip up Delaware Bay and we were very happy to get into the anchorage at Reedy Island just as the sun was setting.

Wednesday morning we were headed through the C&D Canal which links Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay. We were also hoping to do a little restocking as we passed through either Delaware City or Chesapeake City. We had not done the grocery shopping we had originally intended in New York, and the pantry was getting bare.

Once anchored, we walked through Chesapeake City, another great spot, but found not a single grocery or convenience store. There were some great restaurants and bars, and a number of tourist shops, but …

Back in the harbour that afternoon we reconnected with a couple we had met along the Erie Canal and made plans for dinner. There was a well-known restaurant in town called The Tap Room and their specialty was crabs. Neither Corinne nor I had ever eaten crabs, but Bonnie assured us she would show us the tricks. Our waitress took this picture of us thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

September 23-24

The next leg took us out for our first trip on the ocean, and we had been giving this quite a bit of thought. Our route took us from New York City along the New Jersey shore, past Atlantic City where we could stop for awhile if weather dictated, and then around to Delaware Bay and Cape May or Cape Henlopen.

Originally we had planned to stay in New York City a while longer, but the weather forecast was very good for the next couple of days, before a stronger cold front was forecast to approach, so we decided to leave early Sunday morning. This decision made our trip a little longer than we might have liked since we left directly from 79th Street instead of staging at Sandy Hook or Great Kills Harbor.

Looking out on the receding skyline of lower Manhatten, gazing over at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty were remarkable sights.

Of Ellis Island, one of the websites says, 'Ellis Island is a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. From 1892 to 1954, this immigrant depot processed the greatest tide of incoming humanity in the nation’s history. Nearly twelve million landed here in their search of freedom of speech and religion, and for economic opportunity.

'

We had hoped to anchor near the statue for a night, but as our itinerary changed we were happy to settle for this view.

The coastline of New Jersey is beautiful as mile after mile of sandy beach rolls by. Late in the afternoon we were joined by a stowaway, a pretty little bird who flitted around the boat and sails for quite some time – in fact much, much too long if you were to ask Corinne.

All too soon the day had faded and a bright ¾ moon came into view. It was dark, we had a long way to go, we were out in the ocean, and it was remarkably serene and peaceful.

As blackness settled in, we could see the neon glow of Atlantic City in the distance. What amazed me is that it took most of the night to come up to this landmark, pass it and see it recede in the distance. If we looked at the ruffle of our wake it seemed that we are flying along, but to watch our movement past this landmark we were moving unbelievably slowly.

We had some fun sailing, especially through the night, lots of motoring, and were very relieved, and tired, as we dropped anchor in a harbor of refuge at Cape Henlopen. We had been traveling for 28 hours, covered 176 miles and were ready for a nap.

September 21-22

The guide books talk about how rolly it can be for boats anchored in the 79th Street Boat Basin. Certainly passing boats do create waves, but it was no where near as uncomfortable as we had been led to believe.

We still had to pinch ourselves in the morning to realize we were sitting in the middle of downtown Manhattan. After coffee, we dinghied to the marina where we could tie up and walk a couple of blocks up to Broadway Avenue. We stopped for a breakfast bagel at Zabar’s, a huge and well-known delicatessen. It was very busy as Yom Kippur was only a couple of days away. As we were eating, the manager at the fish counter boomed over the intercom, ‘We’re now serving number 138. If you are not within 25 of this number, go and have something to eat in the deli or visit our mezzanine. Please, move away from the fish counter.’ Of course, we quickly finished our coffee and headed towards the fish counter to see what was going on.

That evening, Darlene, John, and Jorie joined us for appetizers on the boat before heading back into the city for supper. Jorie returned with us to the boat for a sleep-over. We are hoping that we have a fellow sailor in the making.

It was interesting to compare stories the next day. Our mooring ball to anchor for the night in downtown New York was thirty dollars, while Darlene’s parking fee for the evening was forty-six dollars. In the end, though, we thought of it as dinner with family in New York – priceless.

On Saturday, we had company to the boat – lots of company and lots of fun. John, Darlene, and Cody, along with Cassie and four of her friends from school joined us for a cruise along midtown Manhattan. The captain must have been looking pretty good that afternoon, as the dinghy with its crew received much more attention from other boats than it ever has in the past.

September 20

Today we arrived in New York City - the Big Apple. It is hard to believe that we are here, and even harder to believe how much fun it has been.

The George Washington Bridge is visible from some distance, and it is exciting to watch the New York skyline take shape beneath it.

Even more exciting is tying up to a mooring ball at the 79th Street Boat Basin in the heart of downtown Manhattan. We are now looking forward to exploring New York City in the next few days .





Our travels so far have covered, in statute miles

Bay City to Tonawanda 558.1
Tonawanda to Waterford (Erie Canal) 339.7
Waterford to New York City (Hudson River) 153.6

The total is 1 051.4 miles.

PS Hope you're enjoying the blogs. We are having fun with it, but also really enjoy hearing from you!

September 19

Today was a great trip from Newburgh to Haverstraw Bay.

Pollepel Island is one of the highlights along the way. Between 1900 and 1918, Bannerman, a munitions dealer, built a replica of a medieval castle as a summer resort and storehouse on Pollepel Island. The castle burned in 1967, but the remaining structure is still quite striking.

Further along the river is West Point, the famed United States Military Academy, which opened in 1802.

We anchored in Haverstraw Bay early in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the sun and doing odd jobs. Rather unbelievably, this makes only the second night we have anchored out.

Late in the afternoon, six or seven more boats slip into the bay and the Wednesday evening sailboat races are underway.

September 17-18

Paul and Delight dropped us off at the boat early Monday morning and it was back to work. I had wanted to check a few more wires and stumbled across a very loose ground wire. I tightened it up and checked the electrical panel and everything was working. With a big smile I told Corinne I had fixed the problem and she said, ‘Are you sure?’

I replied, ‘If you don’t trust me, let’s go ask Mike.’ Remember the electrical guru? I’m not sure he believed me either because he said, ‘I’ll drop by in a few minutes and you can show me what you did.’

Well, it passed the test and things are going great.

The mornings are getting a little cooler and with that comes the mist over the water. This is a picture looking out onto the Hudson River from the boat this morning. We have to wait for a while for it to burn off and then we are on our way to Newburgh.