NYC and beyond!

 We are now on a mooring ball at Port Washington, NY on Long Island Sound.  We left Cape May, NJ as planned on a fair weather day, almost.  The 100 mile trek in the Atlantic started out flat calm, and stayed that way until we were off Atlantic City.  Unexpectedly, the waves kicked up to 4-5'  on the nose, and we took major spray the rest of the trip to Sandy Hook.  Had to lock down the galley as things started flying.  The admiral was not happy....   One looper who was travelling on the same day lost his solar panels in the rough water.  The only issue we had, besides the unhappy part, was discovering a few leaking portholes, due to the constant spray.  Nothing goop won't fix......

When we entered the protection of New York Harbor, it was near sundown, so we anchored behind Coney Island, and crashed.  The next morning we traversed New York City via the East River between Manhattan and Brookland.  The current rips through there and a portion is known as Hell's Gate.  I had to pour on the engines to combat a four knot current.  We made it to Port Washington, which has a city mooring field in a calm bay.  The mooring ball fee is only $30 a night, and they have a water taxi that will ferry you to town.  The average price for a marina here is between $6-$9 a foot a night (we are 60'), very expensive.  These mooring fields are the way to go!  Here are some pics:

The Admiral is happy on the water taxi to Port Washington.

Our taxi captain is a college student on summer break.  She is a finance major at Tampa University, and Port Washington is her home town.  A neat summer job! 

Louie's at Port Washington, and the Admiral samples the local concoction and is now very happy.  

Scenes from Port Washington. 

About a five foot tide range, and here the tide is out (or ebbing as they say here).  

Perfect Fit on the mooring.  

These are scenes from NYC.  I believe this is the UN building.  When in session, this part of the river is closed for security reasons.  

The Brooklyn Bridge. 

Ferry boat.  They are everywhere, and have the right of way (in their mind) so we had to dodge them.  

Sunset at Coney Island.  The bridge is over the "Narrows" the entrance to New York Harbor. 

Leaving Chesapeake Bay today.

Today we departed Annapolis and are headed north to the C&D Canal, which connects Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River.  Tomorrow we will take the Delaware to Cape May, NJ, and Sunday, if the weather holds, will travel 100 miles in the Atlantic to Sandy Hook, and enter the East River in NYC.  

The Chesapeake Bay area has been delightful.  There are myriad stops and one could spend the entire summer exploring the bay.  But, we have an agenda that includes Maine, so up we go!  Our favorite stops on the bay have been Cambridge (eastern shore) and Annapolis (western shore) this trip.  We will hit different stops on the way back and hope to have enough time before the cold weather returns to explore them all.  Here are some pics in no particular order.  

Cambridge has a park where flags were placed for local veterans on Memorial Day.  A neat idea.  

These pics are from Cambridge, a small but very nice town. 

Harriet Tubman of the Underground Railroad fame, was from Cambridge, and this statue is in front of the local courthouse.  The town has done a remarkable job of juxtaposing its past slavery roots, with the good deeds of Ms. Tubman by way of a museum and historical plaques explaining both issues.  

Annapolis describes itself as the sailing capital of the US.  This is for my sailboat friends.  

Ships waiting to get into Baltimore Harbor.  The harbor recently opened after the horrible bridge collapse there.  We immensely enjoyed our stop at Baltimore when we did the loop, and hopefully will be able to stop by on the way back.  

Annapolis harbor. 

Some of you may know I am an avid birder.  My childhood friend, Bill, and I started at a young age.  I think Bill was the first to spot an Orchard Oriole in Houma, which are rare there.  Orioles  are everywhere here (hence the Baltimore Orioles).  This one is for Bill! 

We took a guided walking tour of the Naval Academy.  My cousin Berwick went here in the 1930s.  It was a remarkable and interesting tour. 

I did not know Camp Lejeune was named after a fellow Louisianan! 

A 16" bomb.  These were shot from Battleships in WWII.  They could travel over ten miles, and were highly destructive.  May dad called fire from Battleships during WWII and had vivid memories of the sound these shells made flying over his head on the way to the target.  

The first naval airship. 

Plaque dedicated to James Lawrence, who lost his life during the War of 1812. 

The chapel. The current class of midshipmen is about 20% female.  Many of the female astronauts are graduates.  

The final resting place of John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy.  After his remarkable feats during the American Revolutionary War, he then served as a Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy.  He has an interesting history! 

The goat is their mascot.  They take their football rivalry with the Army quite seriously.  Evidently some Army cadets stole the goat once, so now it is under heavy guard!  As the goats pass on, they are buried besides this statue.  There is also a goat in waiting!

Annapolis is Maryland's capital.  The statehouse has a storied history. 

The church next to the statehouse boasts that it had three signers of the Declaration of Independence as members and this guy. 

If you have watched the series Franklin on Apple TV, you know about this guy.  

 

New and improved boat patch.  Starboard and lots of goop.  Papa would still be proud!  

Things that go bump in the night

 A 40' Tiara sportfishing boat, with a slightly disoriented captain, that's what goes bump in the night! You got that right, we were rammed whilst safely (a relative term) tied up at Crisfield's Somers Cove Marina.  Around 10:00 pm we heard yelling, and then a loud bang on the aft portside of the boat.  I hurried out to see the offending boat headed off in the darkness in this rather large marina.  I called the Coast Guard which happened to have a station in the marina, only to be informed that unless we were spilling fuel, that is not the sort of thing they handle anymore, but, somewhat, more helpfully, gave me a number for the Maryland Maritime Police.  They were much more helpful and sent two officers to the scene of the crime.  

By the time the officers arrived, the marina owner, witnesses on the dock, and the security guard from the marina had arrived in a true show of force.  Into that scene walked the slightly disoriented captain, who was genuinely chagrined.  Apparently, he has a permanent slip at the marina and while trying to access it, somehow managed to back into Perfect Fit.  His throttle cables went out-right...  Anyways, the police did their thing and the slightly disoriented captain gave me his insurance info, and all was well, except for the hole in my boat.  At this point it was midnight, and Alexis was on meds (to prevent her from attacking the slightly disoriented captain).  Alas, you may think Perfect Fit is my baby, but Alexis is its mother hen, who has decorated it, chosen the paint color and all round made it into our home on the water.  In her mind this was an a out right assault on her baby.  Lets just say if a taser was going to be used, it would not have been on the slightly disoriented captain.  So we went to bed after midnight in the hopes dawn would bring a fresher outlook.  It did, Papa lives...  Two words-duct tape..

This is Somers Cove Marina.  Prefect Fit is in the background, so as you can see, large fairways, and plenty of room to avoid hitting an unsuspecting boat. 

The new hole.  

 

Yep, we taped over the hole and set sail to Cambridge Maryland the next morning.  The tape held! We will put on a better patch, but not take the time to haul out, again, to have this fixed properly now.  Papa would be so proud! On our way back down this fall we will probably have our friends at Myrtle Beach fix it properly.