When I last posted on this blog, we were sitting in Annapolis with an engine that wouldn't start. As it turned out, the new starter that Randy put on was defective. After checking and double checking everything, he figured it had to be that. So the marina got in another starter and Randy installed it, and "bingo" it started right up! Since we had been there for almost 3 days, we decided to head on out instead of doing any sightseeing. Maybe next time around. J That day of motoring was our last day on the Chesapeake. We anchored in a little bay just into the Elk River. 

This is about all I saw of Randy for 2 days. He's in the cockpit locker working on wiring.

   The next day, we timed our trip down the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal so that we were running with the current (which, we're learning, is dependent on the tide stage -- which is elementary if you ever considered it). We made good time; even hitting 8.4 knots at times. That's good for a sailboat without any sail out (the canal is too narrow). We saw a bald eagle early that afternoon. Once we got to the Delaware River, we anchored behind Reedy Island so that we could catch the down-river current the next morning. 

   We had been told that there were very few decent anchorages or marinas the entire length of the Delaware and it was best to just run it in one 10 hour stretch. So we tried to time it to get the least current against us at the beginning and end of the trip, and use the down-river current to our advantage. Luckily there was good wind, so we put out the sails and left the engine running. We were making 8.5-9.5 knots a lot of the way and made the trip in 8 hours. We did have one "blood pressure raising" incident that taught us a good lesson. We had both sails out and I was at the helm. Our jib sail (the front sail) is very large when it is completely unfurled and, from the wheel, you can't see under it. It was flying on our starboard (right) side. I was watching the channel markers and had seen the green marker ahead of us that I wanted to keep on our starboard side, and I was well away from it. Randy and I were looking at the chart plotter discussing something about our route, when he suddenly looked up and shouted. Because of the look on his face, I jerked the wheel to turn us left and we skated by the large concrete based green marker! It looked really big from 10 ft away! Two lessons learned: 1. Even though the bow of the boat is pointed in one direction, sideways drift can put you in another position (and we had been warned about that!) and 2. When the jib is limiting the helmsman's view, the other person has to be in a position to watch that area. Whew! God is good!

Just barely caught this dolphin in the Delaware River near Cape May, NJ. There were several behind our boat.

Another Delaware River lighthouse

Lighthouse along the Delaware River

  






   
    


 We headed into Cape May, NJ down the canal that cuts across the southern tip of the state. We passed under a couple of bridges with 53 ft of clearance. With a mast listed with a 47.5 ft bridge clearance, that surely looks close! J We anchored near a coast guard base and could hear reveille and taps. The next morning we took the dinghy to shore and got a few groceries at a convenience store. A man told us the post office was just 6 blocks away so we set off to mail some things. Those were 6 long blocks. Quite a hike. The middle of that afternoon we set sail into the Atlantic Ocean.

Coast Guard ships. We thought the names were interesting.

Cute little cabins in Cape May, NJ close to the marina where we refueled.

   The Intracoastal Waterway does run inside the NJ coast line, but it has gotten very shallow in some areas over the last few years. With our boat having a 4.5 ft draft, we were advised not to try it. The only other way to NY is to sail north in the ocean. Because of the difficulty and time of sailing into harbors along the way, most people just make it a nonstop sail. We tried to time our departure so that we’d get into Sandy Hook in the morning. We sailed along the “3 mile line” on our chart plotter so it was easy to keep track of where we were. We could see lights and the shape of buildings the whole time. The most disconcerting thing is not really seeing where you’re going. A sailboat doesn’t have head lights. There is a small light on each side of the bow (front), red on one side and green on the other, a white light at the stern (back) and a white light part way up the mast. These are not to see by, but for other boats to see you and tell which way you are moving. You navigate by your chart plotter and watch for lighted buoys, and just hope all the other boats on the water have their navigation lights on. Your eyes adjust to the dark and you watch for shapes around you, just in case. We alternated at the helm every 3 hours. While one of us kept watch and piloted, the other slept in the cockpit.  Atlantic City NJ was very conspicuous.  It was visible for over 20 nautical miles in both directions.  We passed it near sundown.  One building was very notable, both large faces of it were lit with lights that slowly changed from red to yellow to orange to green to blue to violet and then cycled through again - continuosly.  I assumed it was one of the casinos.
   We have an AIS transceiver (transmitter and receiver) on our boat which transmits our location and boat information to other boats that have AIS receivers. We also receive their signal if they have a transmitter. While I was at the helm from 3-6 am, I received a call on our radio. “Sailboat Aleta Jewel, Aleta Jewel, traveling north. This is fishing boat …(I don’t remember his name). I just wanted to be sure you saw my lights.” He apparently didn’t have a transmitter because I didn’t see his signal, but he had a receiver and saw mine. I told him I had seen his lights for quite some time and he said if I was staying on track and speed we wouldn’t be in each other’s path. Good to know! J Kind of a nice feeling to communicate with someone else out on the ocean in the middle of the night.

New Jersey coastline from 3 miles off shore.

   We were anchored in the bay at Sandy Hook before noon the next day and spent 2 ½ days there. First because we were tired and then the weather turned bad and we didn't want to try NY harbor with wind and waves. 

Coast Guard inspection.

I'm glad we stopped for them. Note the 40 cal. gun on front. 

On Thursday morning we finally headed into NY harbor. Just about the time we were enjoying seeing the Statue of Liberty greeting us, we were hailed by a coast guard boat that was requesting a boarding. We throttled back to an idle and they came alongside of us and two people hopped to our boat. They were doing a routine inspection and were really polite. The young lady in the picture was a new recruit and this was apparently a training exercise for her. 















Coming into New York Harbor by boat is impressive. First there are a lot of big ships coming and going through the Verrazono Narrows Bridge. Then you see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on your left and the New York City skyline on your right. And all the while you're dodging the ferrys and water taxis.

Verrazono Narrows Bridge

Lady Liberty. To visualize how large this is, there are people behind the wall on the first level.

Ellis Island

New York City skyline

That afternoon we took care of housekeeping duties (groceries, laundry, cleaning) and then the next day took the passenger ferry from Liberty Landing Marina, NJ across the Hudson River to New York City. We just spent that day in the city. We went to the 911 Memorial, Times Square, Grand Central Station, The Empire State Building, and Bryant Park. We had lunch in an Irish Pub just off Times Square. Very cool. J

911 Memorial. It is very impressive and touching.

The Survivor Tree. A Callery pear tree that survived the attacks and was nursed back to health.

Times Square. I believe there's always construction going on here.

O'Lunney's Irish Pub. 

Chrysler Building in background.

Grand Central Station.

Inside Grand Central Station.

Empire State Building tour.

Empire State Building 86th floor observation deck.Just to prove we really were there. :)

From 86th Floor of Empire State Building

For being such a huge, busy city, we were surprised by how many nice parks we saw; some small and tucked away and some really large. We rode the subway and, of course, walked for miles. Most people we dealt with were very nice, but afternoon rush hour was just that – rushed. The sidewalks were packed and people just kind of shoved through. I just stayed behind Randy. He’s a pretty good battering ram. J All in all, it was a good day and we got to see some of the “Big Apple”. Of course, it did reinforce our conviction that we are really not city people. Give me a beautiful sunset any day. 

New York City at sunset. Taken from across the Hudson River.

Sunset from our boat in Liberty Landing Marina.