Annapolis by sailboat.... 

is the best way to arrive at this nautical mecca. From Solent Breeze's slip at Magothy Marina we motor sailed to Annapolis.  Weeks after the Boat show Annapolis was still busy with end of season shows and celebrations... The Power Boat Fest and Wooden craft shows had yet to happen.  A small gem for missing the Boat Show was that we moored at the Annappolis Harbour mooring basin 38°58'33.12"N 76°29'1.14"W, and with Ron's connections in the yacht club world, we got a reciprocal guest access to Annapolis Yacht Club, thus we enjoyed happy hour, dined in their dinning room and witnessed their ceremony of evening colours.  But I'm getting ahead of the day.

Hooked on to the mooring ball just about 13:30 October 17th, we quickly changed vessels (dinghy) to get to town. Finding a spot at the small vessel landing, we walked to Pusser's Carribean Grill for a harbour view lunch. Admiring the many vessels in the harbour (oops harbor) lunch was served.  As enjoyable as it was Dave was soon off, as the good skipper he is, in search of a water pump impeller and a few other parts so that we can be worry free from air lock woes.  Meanwhile.... 

Mary and Ron walked through the old town full of 17th and 18th century buildings (the most preserved in a single metropolis in the USA). This small walking tour took them to the State House circle and Church circle -- two of the first roundabouts in The Americas.  This area is touristy with more t-shirt shops than Yoga spas in Toronto, but alas Mary and Ron found a few places to spend and help keep the economy going. Reunion at the dinghy was not too soon,

we returned to the vessel to smarten ourselves for the AYC dining experience. 



A lovely dining and bar overlooking the harbour.  The Annapolis Yacht Club displayed over 50 sailing hulls with various type keels -- not one was duplicated.  The variation of hull and keel designs is enormous.  Stained glass cabinet windows at the bar illustrating the local lighthouses of the Maryland coast.  The bartender, Todd was most helpful with explaining the variations of whiskeys, rye's and bourbons (made only in the state of Tennessee) didn't know that.  Much to her delight Mary found some single malts  and was invited behind the bar to get a closer look:  ah, dessert! We had an enjoyable feast of vittles in celebration of our arrival in Annapolis.

The next morning all three of us toured The Maritime Republic of Eastport, a tongue-in-cheek name for the historic community on the east side of the harbor , by wandering into a few boat yards and looking at boats for sale.  Our walk through the business and residential area overlapped many sites on a historical walking tour.  We saw an old glass house, the set of row houses that was originally built for the glass works employees, the oldest home in the area and a few warehouses converted to high end dinning and yachting centres.  Eastport is also home to Weems and Plath, makers and suppliers of navigation and time pieces. Across the street was the J School and further down the street was a marina that is a leading enterprise in the Chesapeake Bay clean waters campaign.



Parched from our search, we stopped in a local cafe for snacks and coffee.  A small but busy place, full of local flavour (paintings, news board, old LP's on the ceiling and organic drinks).  Rested we embarked on the second half of the walking tour, sort of power shop of the old market area of Annapolis.  Skipper Dave wanted to arrive back at Magothy Marina in daylight, and we were going to sail not motor! Having carefully scouted the best of Annapolis' haute couture we boarded Solent Breeze, unhooked and soon out of the main Annapolis harbour in the midst of sailboats and military vessels and many other incoming traffic for the Naval Academy's homecoming, we raised sails and tacked up wind to get to a broad reach to sail under the William Preston Lane Jr Memorial Bridge. We gybed up the Chesapeake to Magothy River where we dropped sails once the crab pots became too close, knowing it was easier (read safer)  to doge under power than sail.  Back in the slip an hour before sunset, Mary prepared dinner, accented with wine bought in Annapolis. 

The Mystery of the Air Lock

Much to the chagrin of Skipper and Crew, Solent Breeze continues to be troubled by air locks, just as we drop sails or moor, or are about to anchor.  So far this problem's solution has a popular assessment of "it's the water impeller - too small." Having the impeller's specs confirmed by the Vetus engine manufacturer, despite popular sentiment to the contrary, the true solution to the mystery of the source of the air lock seems to evade us.  It is late October, Halloween decorations cover many houses and the days are getting shorter.  Not comfortable with sailing/motoring/motor-sailing the Chesapeake, through the Intercoastal Marine Way to our destination in Ft. Pierce, the good captain halted the voyage.  The Magothy Marina is an excellent location, near Annapolis, airports and convenient from Toronto.  The best plan now is to winterize the boat here and return in the spring.  During the winter this mystery will be studied, ruminated upon, and mulled over until **solution surfaces .... maybe a Vetus impeller not a Johnson part?



Returning in the spring of 2013, the story will continue.

Meet Kevin

Kevin is a white domestic goose who resides in Magothy Marina and makes a habit of begging of anybody who'll throw him a scarp or two. I wish the photos had the sound he makes doing it - he is really loud. Handsome too don't you think!

Magothy Marina is where along with Jeff (owner of Renrod) and Wayne our journey started last year on the way to Old Port Cove. It is very comfortable here so we will stay a while and check out the sights of Maryland.



So far we have visited the Point Crab House & Grill in the next bay at Ferry Point Marina. One of the owners was good enough to hail us over to dock closer to partake of the excellent fare, Crab Soup and Wahoo no doubt about it we will be returning for more.

Have you missed us?

Can't believe its been 8 days without WiFi and the ability to blog. I don't really understand the technicalities of the electronics I'm using. I do what the instructions tell me to do and sometimes it works but I'm sad to say mostly it doesn't. I get lots of coloured squares that indicate a strong signal but when I try to connect - nothing!?

Oh well such is life, we'll make the best of it.

So what have we been up to?

On  the 8th October we were up as usual at 7:00am and prepared for our trip down the New Jersey Coast. We are going to do it in one leg, Great Kills Harbour to Cape May approximately 22 hours. It went well, we actually arrived earlier than we thought, it was dark, windy and cold so we waited until day break before entering the somewhat narrow entrance to Cape May. It was 08:12am when we dropped the hook opposite the Coast Guard Station, a popular place and lots of Canadian flags flying.

We slept most of Tuesday recharging our batteries. We developed a few problems on the way down and need to fix them before continuing. The Clevis Pin in the Gooseneck being the more serious. We found Clevis Pins but imperial sizes not metric - oh well it will work for now. Think we know what is causing our airlock problem, having talked with some of the other Canadian visitors to Cape May. I mentioned how easy it was to replace the impeller in the water pump. The general opinion was that it must be the wrong impeller and too small. I phoned Vetus and they agree so when we get to Magothy River in the Chesapeake we'll be close enough to Annapolis to get the right one.

We have been so busy enjoying ourselves we keep forgetting to take pictures. We treated ourselves to a late lunch early supper - lupper - on the 10th at The Lobster House. Cape May is reportedly the first seaside resort in the USA!



We moved from the Coast Guard Station so we would be closer to town - ain't this pretty. I had to change the bulb in the anchor light and that involved taking the light off its mount and then re-wiring it up again but hey it works we can be seen. I need to change the oil but couldn't get the right filter so it will have to wait.

Did I tell you I had a Lobster Salad Sandwich at the Lobster House - yummmmmmm! They have a gift shop a sea food shop a take out and regular restaurant. Neat place you should try it!

October 11th - a night to remember. Wind was blowing like a mad thing and Ron was nervous that we might be dragging the anchor. The GPS disagreed but that didn't stop us sitting up most of the night and checking every so often. We were where we were the night before when light crept up this morning. Whewwww!

12th October, the only marina here that has pump out is back on the other side of the first bridge over the canal to the Delaware Bay so we had to up anchor and go back. Simple task usually, but Spicer Creek Canal borders on a large marsh with 6 to 11 feet charted along the canal edge, and the Swamp had other intentions. As the tide fell, a silty grip of ooze and muck held us fast in place. A few hours later, the rising tide released us from the muddy tentacles to allow a dash to the bridge and under with only a couple of feet clearance above the mast! We anchored back at the Coast Guard Station to await the Tuesday weather window..

13th October, The origional high winds forecasts had moderated to more reasonable winds and waves, so at 10:30am Saturday we decided to make a run up the Delaware Bay for the Cohansey River about half way up.

 

There was no WiFi signal here! Are we surprised, lovely spot though but we didn't stay but one night. Nice sunrise the next morning.

October 14th, onward and upward, next stop Chesapeake City but not before morning coffee and tea oh and cereal of course. The tide was with and at times we were doing 8.2 knots. Lots of cigar boats in the CD Canal? When we got into Chesapeake City we found out why - there was a party (poker run) going on and they were celebrating Fall Festival, we went to the Chesapeake Inn to join in the fun!

Well that's it we're up to date, tomorrow we head for the Chesapeake Bay docking in the Magothy River. Hopefully we'll have WiFi and will remain current!





What a difference a day makes

The day (5th October) broke with sun shining and warm, after the somewhat dismal trip down it was a welcome change.

We took a boat Taxi across the canal where we were docked to Liberty Island Park where we could get the ferry to Ellis and Liberty Island. It used to be the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal.

Just being here and looking across the Hudson to the site of the Twin Towers brings that awful day back. It was a day not unlike today that people in New York witnessed the horror - erie being here.

Those are the new towers - the structure is complete on the taller one and they are now finishing the exterior. They are not in the same position as the old ones those spots are now fountains.

Believe it or not Ellis Island is only recently restored most of it is closed to the public. The Hospital buildings are off limits so here is the main entrance and the hall on the second floor where new immigrants filed past officials and were either allowed to enter the USA or not. About 2% were sent back, usually because of medical issues, disease etc. We spent most of our time here, the exhibits were fascinating if depressing after a while. Lots of these people never got past living en mass in Tenement buildings in squalid conditions.

Then another ferry ride to Liberty Island. Because of 911 she was closed so we couldn't climb up inside her, we didn't even get off the boat, the best pictures we thought were from the ferry itself! What do you think?



Actually the view of downtown Manhattann is probably better from the ferry too. As you can see, even this late in the season tourists abound.

Ever southward

Pretty uneventful trip out of  New York Harbor, we were being buzzed by a pair of F16's and Statten Island Ferries. The wind was on our nose most of the way but as we steered into Great Kills the wind was on our beam so we upped sails and sailed in.

The Verrazano Narrows Bridge marks your exit from the Upper Bay to the Lower. And now we are in Great Kills Harbor. From here we do the New Jersey Coast run past Atlantic City to Cape May.



We Love New York!

A quick post to let those of you that are following along know that we made it to New York. The weather could have been better but we don't have any control over that. I will fill in the blanks with what pictures we have tonight - stay tuned.

PYC to ............?

We left off at Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, what a place. Before we left Mary and I tried to ride the bikes to the Vanderbilt Mansion. Didn't figure on the hills so we abandoned that idea although we could probably have got there getting back????????????
So we topped up on water, pumped out and gassed up before leaving for Peekskill because our plans to stop at West Point were scuppered. Did I mention the lousy weather?

Rain stopped play at approximately 15:10 - we couldn't see more than a 100 yards in front of us. We found a mooring field at Chelsea (41 32.9955N 73 58.5694W) and gabbed a ball!

Can you see the mooring ball behind us - we"re hooked up to one just like it! As the title of the Blog says, we're making it up as we go along.

The following morning was foggy (what a surprise) so we waited. 8:40 am and the fog had cleared enough to cast off. It was wet, rain, mist all day. As you can see my phone camera doesn't take good pictures in bad weather.

Interesting geography and finally West Point - like I said is was wet! It cleared a little as the day wore on and we stopped at Havestraw Marina for a spot of lunch then on to another mooring field on the north side of the Tappan Zee bridge. We kind of snuck in but the boating season is over so nobody came looking for fees!



Today's the Day!

Up at 7:00 am, put the kettle on - Ron doesn't function until he's had a cup of coffee! Misty again but nothing to be concerned about and so we're off to the big apple, finally. We could only see a couple of miles ahead which was a shame but in spite of everything we had a good run..

At the top the Tappan Zee bridge, Canadian company (what boat is that) the George Washington Bridge and yes New York. Just at the back of the ferry is the Empire State. We borrowed a 2008 Cruising Guide for the Hudson from the bar tender at PYC, in it it listed the Liberty Landing at $2 a foot and Liberty Harbour at $2.50. When we got here Liberty Landing was $4 and Liberty Harbour $3.12 + $3 a day for electricity so we"re docked at Liberty Harbour. Don't ask about WiFi.

Once docked we went walk about to (you guessed it) Liberty Park,this is where we'll get the ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island to see the Statue of (yes) Liberty. Then to the local diner for eats - yummmmm!

Empty Sky Memorial which points to where the Twin Towers were and on the left (out of site) is the new tower being built. Maybe we can get better pictures tomorrow if the weather improves as its supposed to. Brownstone Diner at the corner of Grand and Jersey and it was grand.

The new tower will be 1776 feet tall a figure symbolic of the United States Declaration of Independence ta-da! A work in progress you can see rising above the end of the pier.

Kingston to PYC

You should check out the Wikipeadia page on this town

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston,_New_York

Just like Kingston Ontario being the first capital of Canada this Kingston was the first capital of New York back in 1777. We visited the information centre to find out where the nearest bank was (up the hill) and the woman was a treasure trove of information. Good hike to the bank so we rewarded ourselves with the purchase of Ice Cream for desert tonight.

On returning from the bank we did the Marine Museum on the creek just before the bridge you see bottom right in the picture. Actually thats where we docked too. The bank was off picture to the right up the hill. A passing Bald Eagle took me up to get this picture - lol.

A lovely trip down to PYC the sun shining and the wind blowing even small sail boats sailing and here we are.

Just waiting on the Sunset to finish off today's story should be at 6:38pm will be back in half an hour. OK so it took a while before I could shoo Mary off the laptop andeat dinner. Here's the sunset.





Catchup Time Again

The WiFi thing is patchy, not exactly sure why, its an ongoing mystery. Right now we are at the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club not exactly the middle of nowhere but close and WiFi is good to go hence the update so why couldn't we get on at Kingston?

We left Waterford under overcast skies but no rain, well it was mist really. First stop was Troy Lock, not a lot to hold onto but we made it anyway.

We got a call from Bob on Easy Go wondering if we wanted to try the DIY crane at Castleton, my gut said no so we passed on the idea. Seeing a lot of Bald Eagles which is a good thing means the river must be in pretty good shape.



 This is the Light House at Athens there are a few more of these as we go further south, this really is a Light House right!

Arrived at Catskill Riverview Marine at 3:10pm and took the mast off the boat and put it on the dock so we could work on it. The picture below shows the set up - we were so busy we forgot to take pictures of ourselves. This guy (Michelle) was from Montreal. Its a popular place to get your mast stepped but was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Irene last year. Anyway we had everything prepared to go  tomorrow before we hit the hay.

Mast Up

Couldn't help myself, I was up showered and dressed by 7:00am then had to wait till gone 10:00 before the guys were ready to put the mast up. Oh well they did a fantastic job, best fitting of the collar since we got the boat. Ron and I did the rigging while Mary went to town for groceries. By the time we had started to put the sails on her the sky had turned nasty and wouldn't you know it it was thundering and lightening as we finished the job, but she's a boat again.



At 4:15pm we were on our way to Kingston (its a free dock) the weather cleared but bit was cooler and dark as we picked our way in the Rondout Creek to Kingston.

Before we got there though we did get pictures of both the Sun Set and a Moon Rise and what I think is a neat picture of Bob and Roger on Easy Go off in the distance just before the Kingston - Rhinecliffe Bridge.