OCTOBER 2007
Not worthy of jury duty, Moe woke up at 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning October 2nd, deciding to get the boat further south. That was a week or two earlier then planned, but due to a slow moving high pressure system crossing the country, it looked like a perfect opportunity to move the boat down the Jersey coastline. With numerous calls to friends, comrades and family members, a victim was found. My father in law, Bernie was an able crew, with many years experience on sailboats.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2007
We departed Manchester at 0730 on Friday, October 5th. Unlike all the other times, traffic was not a problem and we arrived at City Island Yacht Club at 1230. That was even after several stops, the grocery store for provisions and West Marine for charts on the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay. We convinced a sailing coach from Cornell to bring us to the boat because the launch was out having lunch. We tried to tip him, but he would have none of that, his “good deed for the day”, he said.
So we quickly prepared the boat for departure. The boat was much more of a pleasant sight to see compared to last time. Although the flying rats visited a few times, the boat’s new seagull deterrents worked pretty well. We left CIYC at 1330 with hot and humid conditions. Although we were going to be fighting the currents through Hell’s Gate, I wanted to get fuel and get closer to the Jersey coastline for an early departure on Saturday. Plans don’t always work out.
We made it down the East river to the tip of Manhattan and arrived at the doorsteps of Liberty Harbor Marina. I tried to reach them on the phone all day but with no answer. Needless to say, at 1615, they finally picked up the phone to say the fuel docks just closed. Of course I had a backup plan, the Atlantic Boat Basin was further south, but was open until 1830 and had accommodations for us for the evening. We headed south and visited the Statue of Liberty one more time. She was shrouded with a lot more haze compare to my visit with her in August.
Having backup plans on a journey like this is always a good thing. As soon as we left the green lady, the fog just rolled right in with little warning. The last place you want to be is in NYC harbor in the fog. There is a lot of commercial and commuter traffic zipping around the harbor. We slowed the boat right down and navigated with radar and the GPS. Slowly maneuvered the boat to the shoreline and out of the shipping channel. Once we went under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge that goes to Staten Island (also not ever seeing the bridge itself other than the radar screen, we took a hard right and made way to Great Kill Harbor. Richmond County Yacht Club is located in Great Kill Harbor. Although RCYC was not quite in the direction we wanted, it was going to be a safer journey. There was not much in the commercial boat traffic and no need to cross any shipping channels. We arrived just as the fog began to lift but the sun was setting.
We arrived at the mooring at 1930 having traveled 33 nm.
RCYC had a great facility with full launch service. We went ashore and had a nice relaxing dinner in a local café. Watched a little of the NY Yankee game getting mauled by another team. We had to keep our comments to a dull roar in order not to get the Yankee fans up in riled up.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2007
Fog was slow to lift in the morning, delaying our start to the big run down the Jersey Coast. We got started before the fog fully lifted at 0845. We poked our way through the fog to the Atlantic Highland Municipal Boat basin to get fuel. We arrived at docks at 0930 and fueled –(210 gals – Yikes!). Getting fuel in NJ is on average of 30 to 40 cents per gallon cheaper than on the NY side of the river.
We left the fuel docks at 1000 and then headed around Sandy Hook. There were lots of sports fishing boats out. Although the seas were a little bouncy, it was all man made. After we rounded Sandy Hook, the boat traffic was not an issue. The journey down the NJ coastline is relatively easy. We traveled close to shore 2 to 3 miles all the way down. The issue with the NJ coastline is that there are very few places or inlets to duck into in case of bad weather. The drive along the shoreline was not very interesting. The shoreline is just a row of houses with little or no green space. We used water tanks and high-rise condo projects as references points – Yuck! However, the water was flat as a pancake; just what the doctor ordered.
On the way down the shoreline, Bernie and I took shifts driving. During my off time, I researched for a nightspot for us to stay. Since we had the late start due to the fog, getting to Cape May was way out of reach. There was not many options and we were seriously considering dropping the hook inside Little Egg Harbor Inlet. However, when we arrived at the inlet, waves were breaking off shore, the chart and GPS and depth sounder had all conflicting information. There were no marks due to the continuous shifting of the sand. I made the corporate decision to head to Atlantic City. Although we would be arriving at night, the Absecon Inlet is better marked and lighted to get into and I besides that, I wanted to hit the blackjack tables.
I found at spot at the Kammerman’s Marina, which worked out perfectly. They were located only 10 minutes in the harbor. We arrived in Atlantic City and docked at 1930, one hour after sunset. We had traveled 90 miles today. Unable to find any restaurants open, we were forced to drink beer all night long. Well to be honest, we were both so wiped out from our long day; we enjoyed a toasted banana sandwich and went right to bed. Bernie is not fessing up, but I think he snuck out and hit the casinos while I was sound asleep.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2007
We were tied up right at the fuel dock, so at 0700 we fueled up, bought some provisions and were on our way by 0730. We had another three hours before hitting Cape May. Bernie drove while I calculated our options. Between Cape May and Cape Charles there were few options of inlets and transportation back north. We would have had to drive two long days and get in late at our final destination. Not ever seeing the place I picked out for the month layover concerned me as well. So we changed our destination to Baltimore. This route will take through the Cape May canal, up Delaware Bay, through the C&D canal and then down the Chesapeake to Baltimore. The goal was to put a long day in on Sunday, and arrive mid-afternoon on Monday, giving us plenty of time to close up the boat.
Delaware Bay is huge. We had a little haze and had difficulties seeing from one shore to the other. The seas were very calm due to the stalled high pressure system over us. We motored out way up the bay up to the C&D Canal. We arrived at the canal at dusk with another hour or so to go. The guidebook spoke of free slips in the basin at Chesapeake City. However, when we arrived, there were numerous boats anchored in the basin. So we called the Chesapeake Inn and secured a slip for the evening, all according to plan or was it luck. Today, we had traveled 101 miles with only 60 miles left to our destination.
Our provisions were low and we were starved. So we headed to town for a nice dinner. We arrived just in time prior to closing and had a great meal. The basin was very calm overnight. In the morning, as Bernie showered, I went to town to pick up breakfast and lunch; Awesome apple pie for breakfast with coffee, and grinders for lunch. When I got back, we took off and ate on the fly.
Since we traveled pretty much all the way through the C&D canal, when we departed Chesapeake City, we were vitually in the Chesapeake Bay. There was a little haze but very flat again. The bay has many crab pots but nothing compared to the New England lobster pots. We stayed a little out of the shipping canal to avoid some of the large cargo ships they were going up and down the bay. Bernie was always interested in racing them, a true sailor at heart.
We made our way up the Patapsco River up to Baltimore. The early impressions were not very good. Very industrialized to say the least. A lot more pleasure crafts than we had seen along the way. As we headed northwest up the bay, the traffic got more and more congested. We made our way into the bay to Middle Branch Mooring. After going underneath a gorgeous South Hanover Street bridge, our eyes gazed upon the new home of Cricket.
Yikes! Half the docks were wiped out in some prior storm; the remaining pillions and docks were in very tough shape. The dock master road around in a skiff and was shirtless. All the boats at the marina were, let’s say vintage ----junk. I was very disappointed. I really did not feel comfortable leaving the boat here for a month. Either it would be stripped cleaned or washed away in the next tide change. We got the boat into the tight quarters with a little effort. After the boat was secured, Bernie went on a stroll of the marina. I, on the other hand, got my guidebooks out and starting making calls. I quickly found a marina nearby which was only $40 more per month but sounded great. I told the dock master at the Inner Harbor East Marina that we would be right over. I then searched for my able crew and found him talking to the shirtless dock master. I gave him $10 for helping us and then gave him the bad news. He understood my concerns, and made our way to Cricket’s new home.
WOW! What a great decision. The Inner harbor has new docks, security and is located right in downtown. We found out that is was so cheap is because we got the winter rate. Nice! While Bernie enjoyed his book, I washed the boat from top down. The seagull mess from CIYC is slowly being cleaned off, but it is going to be a long process.
Afterward, we walked to Little Italy had had a great dinner. This part of Baltimore is very similar to the north end of Boston. It has lots of restaurants of choose from. The people were very friendly. After our meal, we slowly walked back to the boat to pack. Lin on the home crew secured us tickets on Amtrak from Baltimore to NYC for Tuesday morning at 0800.
Early on Tuesday we finished packing and took a cab to the train station. The train ride was very relaxing and quick. We arrived in New Rochelle station at 1130 and got taxi rid back to CIYC. The drive back home was with little traffic again. After stopping for fuel for the car and ourselves, we still arrived in Manchester by 1730.
Thanks Bernie! It was a great adventure.
