Great Kills, East River, Hell Gate, Manhasset Bay

We left our mooring at Great Kills at 12:30 pm on Monday. Transiting the East River, and especially Hell Gate requires attention to the tides. The current is very swift on the East River, and can exceed 5 knots at Hell Gate, so it is very important to play the tides correctly. From Great Kills we went under the Verrazano Bridge (which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn), up the Narrows, past Lady Liberty and on to Manhattan. At Manhattan we took a right and entered the East River, went under the Brooklyn Bridge among others, through Hell Gate, and eventually entered Long Island Sound.

The East River floods east, but Long Island Sound floods west. So the trick is to get through the East River and Hell Gate on the last half of the flood so that you hit Long Island Sound when the tide starts to ebb. Then you have a fast ride the whole way. To accomplish this we fought a 2 1/2 knot current up the Narrows to Manhattan.

Approaching the Verrazano Bridge and the Narrows.

When we left Great Kills we could see some fog in New York Harbor, but fortunately it was all gone by the time we got there.

Manhattan.

The Battery is just to the left of the tip of Manhattan. The British placed 92 cannons there in the late 1600s just so they could name it the Battery.

Lady Liberty. I have always wanted to sail by her in our own boat. It was a special moment. I'm not sure Lisa was quite as enthusiastic, as at one point we had 5 different ferries, and 2 tugs coming at us from different directions. It is unbelievable how many ferries race around New York Harbor.

The East River.

I read that the East River is one of only 2 rivers in the world that has 2 mouths but no source. The other one is the Harlem River, which goes between the Hudson River and the East River. Maybe if there is no source they are not technically rivers.

We're giving up sugar. Not sure how it comes out white from a building like this.

 

Empire State building from the East River.

Our timing worked out well, and we had a very fast ride up the East River. We were doing 10 to 11 knots over ground most of the way, and did a bit over 12 knots going through Hell Gate. For those of you that drive cars or stink pots, that might sound slow, but consider that a sailboat generally goes between 5 and 7 knots. We actually saw rapids. Made us think of our canoeing days.

When we entered Long Island Sound, we noticed a boat that looked like a Caliber (our boat brand), and it turned out to be Loon. We met Loon on Mill Creek off the Chesapeake a couple of months ago, and without knowing it we went through Hell Gate on the same day. We got close enough to say hi and then continued on to Manhasset Bay.

We made it to Manhasset Bay with no problems. The tide here is about 9 feet. They have huge mooring fields here, so we have to anchor quite a long way from the dinghy dock, but it has not been a problem. We are happy we can anchor, and don't have to pay for a mooring.

New York City II

While we were in Manhattan, we walked the financial district, saw Ground Zero (in the financial district), went to Grand Central Station, Times Square, 79th Street Boat Basin, Central Park, Canal Street, Macy's, Soho, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa. We walked and walked and ate great pizza.

When you look at the miles and miles of tall buildings, it's hard to believe there are ONLY 8.4 million people here--give or take 100. It reminds me of Frisco, Texas. We enjoyed our time in New York City, but are ready to move on.

 

A pretty church.

 

Central Park.

 

I found this beautiful woman on top of a castle in Central Park.

I think Obama has been stalking us. When we were in Annapolis, the Coast Guard shut down the river we were on because he came to town. Then, while we are riding the ferry from Manhattan, the Coast Guard shut down the East River because he was stalking us again.

 

So I decided to go look for him. He must have left just before I got there. Hint--you have to blow up (no pun intended) the picture.

This is in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower. I am not picking my nose. I'm thinking really hard. Concentrating really hard. It took 4 days of experiencing NYC, but now I've got culture. I am sophisticated. I couldn't bring myself to watch men in tights dance around, but would you look at this work of genius that's in front of me. I'm not there with the French yet, but look out.

Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to Great Kills, New York

He gave us a head start, but he beat us anyway. The Seastreak ferries (is that hate speech?) go from Atlantic Highlands to NYC and they are very fast. They are on a schedule and don't alter course unless it's for a ship bigger than they are. So you best not get in front of them.

We decided to stage our New York City visit from Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. The Kills in the name does not refer to it's penchant for crime, but is Dutch for river or creek. It is a totally protected harbor which is hard to find in New York. We were led to believe that there was plenty of room in the harbor to anchor, but it was full of mooring balls. We were able to rent a mooring ball from a yacht club which included a launch service, so we didn't have to set up our dinghy.

From Great Kills, we were able to reach Manhattan via train and ferry, then used the subway and our feet. We did a lot of walking.


This is the Staten Island Ferry which moves an incredible number of people between Manhattan and Staten Island.


Ground Zero.


The New York Stock Exchange.


Empire State Building.


Grand Central Station is actually quite beautiful.

Solomons to Sandy Hook Bay

We were treated to an impressive fireworks show on the evening of July 4th. Every year they push a barge loaded with fireworks out onto the Patuxent River and let it rip. The river fills up with boats loaded with spectators who are brave enough to anchor close to dynamite, but we walked to town and viewed it from the small boardwalk. They do this type of firework show at several locations on the Chesapeake.

We left Solomons on the 5th, went past Annapolis, under the Bay Bridge, and made it to the Magothy River late afternoon. We ran against the tide the whole way, but could tell a big improvement in the boat's performance since the haulout.

The next morning we headed to the C and D Canal which connects the Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay. We left at 5 in the morning, and made it to Chesapeake City at about noon.

A congested mobile home type park on the canal.

We were a bit apprehensive about this anchorage, because it is small, has current, has shallow spots, and most pleasure boats make this their midway stopping point on their way to Cape May (ie too crowded). The anchorage was tight, but it worked out fine.

In the early days, C and D Canal had a lock system. The museum in the picture on the left, housed 2 large pumps, which pumped water via a large paddle wheel to fill up the lock. The canal was originally 10 feet deep. To accommodate modern ships, it has been expanded to 35 feet deep and 450 feet wide. They say 15,000 vessels pass through each year. Chesapeake City is a small, but charming town with a lot of homes from the 1800s.

We left just after noon the following day to anchor behind Reedy Island which lies just a couple of miles south of the C and D Canal on the Delaware Bay. It was only 17 nautical miles from Chesapeake City, but it helped set us up to ride the tide for the next leg south to Cape May. Reedy Island doesn't give much south or north protection, but it has good east and west protection--and protection from ships. There are no good anchorages on the Delaware Bay between the canal and Cape May. The currents on the bay are wicked, and we were a bit nervous going through the small gap between the jetties to get behind the island. The fear was not enough water, going aground, then being swept into the jetty by the strong current. I was told there was a minimum of 10 to 15 feet of water through the entrance. We saw 8.2 feet at one spot, but made it through fine.

 

Not the best protection, but by far our most scenic anchorage yet. The house with the big chimney was originally built by Jane Fonda. A couple of years ago Al Gore bought it from her with carbon credits. Recently, there was talk of making it the temporary White House, but that plan was nixed when they found out the rooms with the domes on them were not mosques.


Ever see a nuclear plant so hot it glows?

We woke up when the tide changed at 2 the next morning and briefly thought about leaving, but went back to bed until 5. We had a fast ride down the bay with the tide on our side. On the way down we decided to skip Cape May and sail straight through to Sandy Hook Bay. There is a canal that connects the Delaware Bay to the harbor in Cape May, but our mast is too high to get under the bridges. So we have to go outside around the cape and around the extensive shoals that protrude several miles past the cape. This adds several miles going in and coming out, plus the weather forecast was OK, so we just kept going. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful sail. The winds were fluky--alternating between 15 knots and 6 knots, but it was nice to sail. Late in the afternoon, after the wind died, the rest of the trip was either motoring, or motor sailing with the staysail up. Once we got around the shoals off of Cape May our course took us just inside the 3 mile line for most of the trip. We had land or lights in sight the whole way--saw the roller coaster and ferris wheel at Wildwood. Childhood memories. My family spent some time at the Wildwood and Atlantic City beaches when I was a mere lad. The lights of Atlantic City were pretty from the water. At one point we were low level buzzed by one of those military planes with the big disc antenna on it. In the wee hours of the morning the seas turned a bit sloppy as the NE wind picked up. And it turned much colder. We did some pounding into the wind for a few hours, and it was a welcome sight when the New York skyline appeared. When we entered Sandy Hook Bay we couldn't believe how many people were out fishing. I was worried about being fined for encroaching a security boundary I was unaware of, but the bay was littered with fishing boats. A lot of them were large boats with 30 or 40 people on them.

At 9:30 am we dropped the anchor at Atlantic Highlands on the south side of Sandy Hook Bay. 

The marina charges $50 a night for a mooring (not a slip), so we are anchored. It's $13 each for a shower. We'll shower on the boat. We will rest up and then decide where and when to go from here.

Saint Marys Back to Solomons

We had planned on going to DC around the time that Sarah had her baby. It would have been a good place to leave the boat and grab public transportation. So we putzed around a few days then sailed up to Breton Bay off the Potomac River. It takes 2 days to get up the Potomac to DC, and the only midway place to anchor is not very well protected. So we needed 2 days with good weather. When Karen and Lisa decided it was time to rendezvous, we decided to give it a try, but it didn't take us long to turn around. We had strong winds on the nose, and the timing of the tide was not conducive to day long trips against the wind. You beat your boat up, get bruises, and chip your teeth. So we sailed back to our anchorage in Breton Bay. Leonardtown is a short dinghy ride from our anchorage, so Karen picked Lisa up and took her to the White house--that would be Moses, Sarah and Will White. I stayed behind to tend to the boat.

BEFORE.   Moses, Sarah, Holden, Lola (aka Karen), Will

DURING.  There is absolutely no room for you here! I need a bigger chair so I don't get a kink in my neck, and my tail becomes crooked.

AFTER.  Sarah and Holden--the miracle of life.

Lisa had a great visit. We're very thankful Sarah and Holden are healthy and doing well and that Will knows how to change diapers. Holden is a beautiful baby, and a redhead to boot.

I picked Lisa up after Karen dumped her off at the Wharf in Leonardtown, and we sailed back to St Marys.

Our boat speed has been getting slower and slower, indicating a need for a clean bottom. Our plan was to take it to Haven Harbor Marina in Rock Hall, Maryland and do a quick haul. With a quick haul they don't set the boat on stands, they just hang it in the sling of the travel lift, pressure wash the bottom, and scrape the barnacles off. Then I have about an hour to change the zincs and anything else I may need to do. Then they drop it back in the water. Rockhall was about 90 miles away and we were just going way too slow. So we hauled it out at Zanhisers at Solomons. We also needed to acid clean the topsides to get rid of the stain from the tanic water, which requires a wax job. The way the pricing is done, it made more sense to have them clean and wax the topsides, and do a bottom job, which is basically a coat of new bottom paint. We use Trinidad SR for our bottom paint which has copper in it to help repel underwater growth. With this kind of bottom paint the boat needs to be splashed within 72 hours of being painted or it loses its effectiveness to fight off growth. Our boat didn't get splashed for about 10 months after it was painted at the factory. When it sits out longer than the specified time, it needs to be lightly sanded before being splashed. This did not happen at commissioning.

This is the keel cooler for our Frigoboat refrigerator--kind of like a radiator cooled by water instead of air. The shiny round things are the new sacrificial zincs. When 2 different kinds of metals (ie copper and bronze) are in contact with each other, they are like the Shiites and Sunnis. They try to destroy each other. The strongest metal wins and the weakest metal loses (sort of). So we introduce a third metal--zinc. Zinc is spineless and apologetic and doesn't understand what made him shiny and pretty--it just isn't fair. The Shiites and Sunnis see an opportunity. They pounce on the spineless and confused zinc and destroy it. Literally eat it. Survival of the most determined. Although they are vaunted enemies since forever, the Shiites and the Sunnis become like-minded with a mutual enemy. While they are destroying the zinc, they are not destroying each other. So you need to replace the zincs before they are all eaten up or the Shiites and the Sunnis will turn on each other. Then you would have to replace your keel cooler.

Also, new zincs on the shaft. Bronze prop and stainless steel shaft... The zincs on the shaft look like grenades. When I took them out of the packaging at the Post Office (we try not to take trash to the boat), I thought I might get arrested, but no one noticed.

We coated the prop to try to slow down the barnacles, but it won't work.

The new bottom. We raised the waterline (the red paint) about 3/4 of an inch.

 

About to be splashed. We will stay on a mooring at Zanhisers through part of or all of the July 4th holiday, and hope we don't get hit by drunks. Then we will make our way to the C and D Canal, Delaware Bay, Cape May, then up to Long Island Sound. At least that's the plan.