Thursday, May 28, 2015

We are on the Hudson River, north of NYC. How did we get here, well . . .

May 15, 2015

We left Old Point Comfort in Mill Creek, Hampton (Norfolk, Virginia) just before 0800, heading to the marina for fuel. Upon arrival we were met with a sign "Pumps Closed". Plan B, we headed across Hampton Roads to Willoughby Harbour only to be greeted by a fellow boater on the dock who informed us there was no fuel here, go back across Hampton Roads south of where we were for a marina. Plan C, we headed to Little Creek Inlet as it was, at least, on our way out of the Chesapeake. We were successful in getting fuel and water. We left the marina at 1050 and headed to the Atlantic, crossing Highway 13 (where it becomes a tunnel) at the small boat channel area. We had decided to take the Delmarva coast off shore and avoid all the crab pots in the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay! We had good weather and motor sailed the entire way, making good time, instead of our predicted 30 - 31 hours we made it in 26 hours. The winds were with us for a change.

Check out the sailboat at the stern of the ship.

More weird looking military machines.

May 16, 2015

We arrived in Cape May at 1100, fueled up and then slept for a few hours. We had caught up to Shawn and Leanne as they had travelled the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Our plan was to travel from Cape May to Atlantic Highlands (Sandy Hook) together as they had never done an overnighter on the ocean and they had no radar but we did. We had happy hour with them, discussed the passage and planned to leave Cape May the following morning.

May 17, 2015

As scheduled, our two boats left Cape May at 1000. There was a bit of fog, visibility being about 2 miles for a couple of hours but otherwise the passage was uneventful. The seas were unbelievably calm and we had no wind, a total motor trip, taking 20-1/2 hours.

Sunrise along the Jersey coast.
 
May 18, 2015

We set anchor at 0630 behind the breakwall at Atlantic Highlands. By 0700 we were asleep only to be awoken by the sound of strong winds and waves. Upon investigating (popping his head out of the companionway and checking the instruments) Jorge discovered the winds were blowing 25+ kts and it was so foggy we couldn't see the boats anchored next to us. Boy, we made into the anchorage just in the nick of time!

We all went out for dinner to celebrate Shawn, Leanne and Daeyten's first overnighter.

Shawn and Leanne aboard Suenos, celebrating their first ocean overnighter.

Jorge and I decided to stay in Atlantic Highlands for a few days and rest up, doing some laundry, groceries and I got a haircut, the first in almost a year.

May 21, 2015

We left Atlantic Highlands at 0940. Luckily there was no fog this morning, the last two mornings we had been fogged in until noon hour! We made it to NYC, 79th St. Boat Basin and took a mooring ball for a week. We again caught up with Shawn and Leanne as they only spent one night in Atlantic Highlands.

Arriving in New York City from Atlantic Highlands.

We had been in contact with Lynn and Sally (who we had meet in Atlantic Highlands on our way south in Sept 2013) who live in Long Island. We agreed to meet them for lunch tomorrow.

May 22, 2015

We meet Lynn and Sally at the marina and enjoyed lunch with them in Manhattan. As their sailboat (Freedom 40) winters in Rhode Island and was ready to sail to its summer home in Long Island, they asked us if we wanted to join them. Of course! We drove from Manhattan to the ferry in Orient at the end of Long Island to Conneticut then drove to Barrington, Rhode Island that day/night.

May 23, 2015

We were underway from Barrington at 0800. We had a wonderful sail for the first few hours after which time Mother Nature took a nasty turn and brought on high winds and rough seas, both on the nose! Flashes of the south side of Puerto Rico appeared before my eyes, however with much colder temperatures - we were all in long johns and winter coats! Lynn wisely chose to cut the passage short. We were originally supposed to sail to Block Island but we turned into the bay at Point Judith and took a slip at the marina.  Block Sound was just too rough and the Block Island anchorage was not good for these conditions. So instead we had an early happy hour!

Lynn and Sally.


Jorge and Lynn.



May 24, 2015

Lynn had us up just before 0600. He was keen to go until he read the "small craft advisory" on the weather forecast.  Okay, so we wait for better weather. We had breakfast at the grocery store/cafeteria and then spent the rest of the day chatting, reading and snoozing. Basically relaxing. Good thing we waited for weather, a local boater who had come into the marina in the afternoon described "out there" as being "sporty"! Supper was fresh lobster bought at the local fish store.

Jorge, Lynn and Sally at grocery store/cafeteria for breakfast.

Jorge and Lynn with supper.

May 25, 2015

Again Lynn was eager to get going. We were up at 0500 today! How could you tell this was his first time out on the boat this season? Today the weather was good, no small craft advisory, winds 10 to 14 kts. Well, there was no wind, go figure, blowing a gale yesterday and nothing today! We motored the whole day under sunny skies and much warmer temperatures.

We arrived at their summer slip on Long Island by 1300. After closing up the boat, Lynn and Sally drove us back to Manhattan. We had a short happy hour aboard CS'ta Time. Everything was okay leaving her on a mooring ball for four days. We then walked and found an Italian restaurant and ordered pizza, after failing to get one delivered to the marina.

We said farewell to Lynn and Sally after making arrangements to get together again, soon, somewhere.

Southern Belle at her summer slip.

May 26, 2015

We were tired from the four days spent with Lynn and Sally so we had a very lazy morning, not even getting off the boat until 1400. We wandered around really aimlessly, in and out of Central Park, along the streets, sightseeing and not doing anything too strenuous.

Trump Hotel.

New Yorker's take their cycling seriously. They even have traffic lights for bikes!

May 27, 2015

This morning was almost a repeat of yesterday. However in the afternoon we walked along the waterfront to 48th Street. Jorge wanted to tour the aircraft carrier, submarine and shuttle. That didn't tickle my fancy so I took a book and read in the park and people watched while Jorge got his fill of machine stuff.

May 28, 2015

Our week was up on the mooring ball. Time to move on. We left NYC and headed up the Hudson, setting anchor in Green Cove, Haverstraw Bay.

The temperatures have continued to warm up, with today's high almost reaching 30C, a far cry from last Saturday when we were in winter coats with Lynn and Sally.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

April 30 - May 8, 2015

We spent a total of 8 days in Oriental waiting for Annie and Tom to catch up to us. They never did. Tropical Storm Anna had everybody hunkering down for a few days. Too bad, it would have been nice to see them again. During our time in Oriental we borrowed the free cruisers' bikes just about every day and toured the area.

Local Oriental diver!

Fish market in Oriental.

That's me on the beach in Oriental.
 
We had dinner at a sports bar with fellow boaters and also watched an important soccer match there one afternoon.

Nel's Sport Bar and Grill.

Dinner at Nel's.

We stopped here for a visit while on the bikes.
 
May 8, 2015
 
We left Oriental at 0600. Just an hour after our departure, Jorge noticed the batteries were still not accepting a charge from the engine. We turned around and went back to Oriental to check out the problem once again. We thought we had it solved as the Xantrex battery indicator showed 21 amps coming in. Yahoo!! Not the case for long. At least the solar panels were doing their job and charging the batteries for us, albeit only a little bit due to the clouds. We travelled as far as the entrance to the Alligator-Pungo Canal, setting anchor at 1825. After leaving Oriental, the Neuse River was a bit rough with wind and waves on the nose but soon we were able to change course and were able to motor sail for almost the rest of the day.
 
May 9, 2015
 
We pushed hard to make some tracks, trying to keep ahead of Tropical Storm Anna, leaving at first light - 0525. We motored through the canal but once in the Alligator River we were able to motor sail and did the same through the Albemarle Sound. However one of us had to be on "pottie alert" as we were back in crab pot territory. We anchored in the ICW just off the yacht club north of Elizabeth City as it was too rough with the wind and waves to dock at the free town docks.  
 
Pulling up anchor in Elizabeth City, roots as well as a water snake (middle of picture).
 
May 10, 2015
 
We were successful in keeping ahead of Tropical Storm Anna. She only caught up to us as we passed through the first lock, South Mill Lock, of the Dismal Swamp with heavy rain which only last a few minutes. We tied up at the free dock at the Welcome Centre.

Turtle at the first dock in the Dismal Swamp.

South Mill Lock, Dismal Swamp.

Our track through the Dismal Swamp.
 
May 11, 2015
 
Today the swamp really was dismal looking. It was very overcast and we had some light rain but all in all things were good.
 
While waiting for the second lock at Deep Creek to open, Jorge took the alternator out of the boat and had it tested at an auto shop next to the lock. It was pooched! He took it apart to see if he could fix it but that wasn't the case. He put it back together, installed it again and we limped to Hampton (Norfolk).
 
Jorge working on the alternator. (Not sure why this picture is sideways?)
 
First though, we spent the night at the lock and had breakfast with other boaters and with the lock master, Robert. He was very knowledgeable and gave us a history lesson about the swamp along with breakfast of coffee, OJ, fresh fruit and pastries. Yummy!!

Lock master's office.

Breakfast with the lock master (next to Jorge).

Hank and Jorge at second lock, Deep Creek Lock.
We had struck up a friendship with Hank in Oriental and had been traveling with him.
 
May 12, 2015
 
Once anchored in Mill Creek, Hampton, we couldn't find a dinghy dock close to town so a military couple offered us the use of their dock for as long as we needed it. Perfect! People have just been wonderful. First things first, we found a sports bar that was showing the first game of the semi finals in the European Championship League. Yes, we cruise around the soccer matches. Next Jorge made some inquiries into alternator repair shops. We found one in Virginia Beach which required renting a car to get to it.
 
May 13, 2015
 
Today we rented the car, drove to the shop, had the alternator fixed while we watched the second semi final soccer match, picked the alternator up and returned to the boat. Jorge installed the rebuilt alternator and it worked! We also visited the yacht club as a couple of the boaters we had dinner with at Nel's in Oriental are members here. We were able to meet up with one of the guys and had a nice visit with him. We also drove around Fort Monroe and did some sightseeing.
 
May 14, 2015
 
We did some shopping and had lunch out before returning the car. Once back at the boat, we checked the weather. At first we decided to leave on Sunday but tomorrow's weather was looking better and better. After supper, the decision was made to leave tomorrow after fuelling up, making a 30 hour run to Cape May, on the outside. Only a year ago at this time, we were making a 30 hour run from Martinique to Grenada!
 
Jorge and our rental car in Hampton (Norfolk).

Monday, May 4, 2015

April 24, 2015

We left Calabash Creek at 0830 as planned. Our destination was Southport. There was a tricky area along the ICW called Lockwood's Folley where we ran aground pretty hard on our travels south. We were prepared this time. We hit the area at high tide and thankfully there had been some dredging going on so the lowest water we saw was some 9 feet. We sailed through without any problems! (ok we motored through). Unfortunately there was no room at the anchorage we wanted in Southport, it was only a small basin, and there were already three boats anchored there so we kept going for another mile or so and anchored in the Cape Fear River. It was a Class A Inlet so a few large cargo ships passed and it was quite busy with smaller boats. Did I say how calm most of our anchorages had been? Well this certainly wasn't the case but we have been in worse!

April 25, 2015

It was a relatively short day today, distance-wise, so we left our anchorage in Cape Fear River at 0945. We had to do another tricky area known as Snow's Cut, but again we had no problems. We arrived in Wrightsville Beach and after the third try we set anchor. In the shallower water the bottom was known to be hard so we eventually opted for deeper water where the anchor grabbed and held us nicely.

We walked around and enjoyed Wrightsville for a few days. Jorge pulled the dinghy out of the water and gave it a good cleaning. I took the cart and tank and went in search of propane. We also filled up with diesel and water. Boat jobs done, we were prepared to leave the next day. Shawn and Leanne had caught up with us and the plan was to sail on the outside to Beaufort. After discussing the weather with them over happy hour, it was decided the ICW was the route to take.

Local paddle boarders' race.

We had front row seats to the race.



April 28, 2015

We weighed anchor at 0820 and made it through the first bridge at 0900. We were 7 minutes late for the next bridge we came to at 1300 so we had to wait an hour for the next opening (this bridge only opened on the hour). Well just before 1400 emergency vehicles crossed the bridge meaning the bridge had to get clearance from them before opening. Another half hour passed before the bridge was able to open so we lost 1-1/2 hours! What was supposed to be an average travelling day turned out longer than expected. However we made it to Mile Hammock Bay and set anchor by 1720, still with lots of daylight. This is a bay surrounded by military property so lots of maneuvers going on.

The military has some weird looking flying machines!
 
We have had some cool weather in the last few days but hey we are still able to wear bathing suits - just have the layered look. Who says you can't wear bathing suits in N.C. in April?

Jorge's new fashion statement.

April 29, 2015

We left Mile Hammock Bay at 0800. We had to pass through Camp LeJeune, another military area, where they conduct "live firing" exercises and shut the ICW down to traffic at times. Luckily this was not one of those times and we travelled uninterrupted the whole day. We set anchor in Spooner's Creek just south of Morehead City. We went ashore with Shawn, Leanne and Daeyten, did some shopping and ordered a pizza for supper. Gotta love pizza shops!

Sign indicating the entrance to Spooner's Creek.

April 30, 2015

We decided rather than stay another day in Spooner's Creek (it was not very transient boat friendly) we would press on to Oriental. We encountered a minor hiccup going through Morehead City as a tug and barge were travelling through one of the bridges and needed the clearance. He was mostly out of our way by the time we got to the bridge but care was still taken as he was still in the harbour. We encountered some rain and rough water as we crossed the Neuse River from Adam's Creek to Oriental but the distance was less than 3 miles. We arrived at the free town dock of Oriental and tied up. We hung out with Shawn, Leanne and Daeyten for the next couple of days.

 
Jorge bought a new pair of sunglasses (which he gladly shares). Courtesy bikes for cruisers supplied by of one of the local stores.

Jorge and Daeyten.

Jorge and Kim.

Approaching storm.
 
CS'ta Time at anchor in Oriental, N.C.

Oriental in spring bloom.

May 3, 2015

We had a bit of an electrical problem. Ok whenever there is an electrical problem, it is never "a bit". The batteries were not taking a charge from the engine during overcast days, the solar panels were still doing their thing when there was sunshine. After spending more than half a day on the problem, Jorge discovered a corroded fuse prong. After cleaning it, viola . . . batteries accepted the charge from the engine and problem was solved.

We overstayed our time on the free dock, 48 hours maximum but as the docks weren't busy we stayed an extra night before heading to the harbour to anchor. Shawn and Leanne left today as they would like to be in Canada much earlier than us.

We are waiting for friends (Annie and Tom) we met in the Bahamas on the way south and again on the way north, to arrive in Oriental. They live and keep their boat here. They are about a week behind us, so hopefully they can catch up before we have to move on. This is a great little town to wait in. They are so boater friendly. We're loving it here!