Author: Bob

I’m embarrassed to say that I have not written a blog post since early September!  How could it be that that much time has passed!  I guess we were just busy having too much fun!

Following our trip to Boston, we made a one night stop in Onset Bay, just south of the Cape Cod Canal.  John decided at Onset that the water was warm enough to do some waterline cleaning!  The next day it was on to Osterville on Cape Code where we made the boat available for an in-depth boat review by the team of professionals at BoatTest.com.  A friend provided and drove the “chase boat” for the photographer which turned out to be a real hoot for our friend. This review and video will be coming soon to our website.

After 2 days in Osterville, we reversed our course and went slighty west to Falmouth where we docked for 3 days.  That turned out to be a great stop……grocery store, Walmart, and other retail within a 20 minute walk; and we met some very nice people there at the marina.  Then we made our way back to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard for one night before going on to another few days in Nantucket with our family. Our “few days” turned into more than a week, as winds from a southern tropical storm prohibited us – and many others – from leaving. (Note the high water at the dock!!)

However, what seemed like a negative turned into a positive, as we were able to meet and talk with several people who wanted to know more about the boat. Nothing like an opportunity to brag about and show off your product!

Winds settled and good-byes cast to our friends and family in Nantucket, we headed to Point Judith, Rhode Island for fuel, and then to Block Island for the night.  This particular visit to Block we decided to take the dogs to a little beach on Great Salt Pond.  From there we could cross the street and walk on the Atlantic Ocean beach on the north side of the island.  It was a gorgeous 75 degree day and it was great to get out and stretch our 2 and 4 legged legs!  The water at Block is so clear you can see the bottom which means sand and not muck, and that’s a huge plus when you’re pulling up the anchor!  It came up clean!  YAY!!

Our next stop was Shelter Island where we once again anchored.  We passed this Coast Guard beauty on the way in, the Barque Eagle.  She’s a 295 foot training cutter for future officers.  “She is one of only two active commissioned sailing vessels in the United States military today, along with the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor.” (Thank you, Mr. Wikipedia!)  We’d never been there, and had heard a lot about it.  It was a very nice spot with a good place to take the dogs; but honestly, after all the chatter about Shelter Island, we were a tad disappointed.  It was a nice spot, but nothing special.

The winds were to pick up again over the next few days so we set out for one of our favorite – and very protected – spots…..Mattituck on Long Island where we spent 3 nights.  Then we continued west along Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson for one night.  Mattituck and Port Jeff were also anchoring spots, so it was up and down with the dinghy as well as setting, raising and spraying down the anchor…….all in a day’s cruising!

We always love seeing our good friends each fall who live in Wilton Connecticut, so we met up with them at the Brewer Marina in Stamford.  This is a really nice marina with good accommodations; but not near anything walkable.  That was ok, actually, since our friends came to us……….and brought Chinese food, something we’d had a hankering for!  We had a wonderful time hanging out and catching up with them.

We also always love seeing our daughter!  So our next stop was Port Washington on Long Island where she and her boyfriend came out on the train from Manhattan where they live.  The 4 of us cruised down the East River, through New York Harbor and into Staten Island.  We dropped them off and continued down the Jersey coast.  Yes, we “did the Jersey coast” at night!  We determined that the seas and winds for the trek would be best at that time, so off we went.  The dogs slept most of the night, John and I traded off 3 hour watches.  We dropped the hook off the Coast Guard station there in Cape May, and when Utch’s Marina opened up we were able to get into our slip there. John hosed off the boat while I organized the inside, cleaned up dishes, etc.  Then we took a long nap!  In the afternoon we walked over to the Lobster Pot and got ourselves 4 quarts of delicious clam chowder to freeze and take home.

Rested up and glad to have that part of the trip behind us, we left the next morning for Chesapeake City on the C&D canal.  Unlike our trip on the canal last spring, this time our visibility was 100%!   It was a non-descript kind of night, but one step further in our journey to Maryland.  The next stop on the agenda was Baltimore where we stayed a week at Anchorage Marina.  It was nice to be in one place for awhile; and this is a great spot to do that.  A good grocery store was right across the street, West Marine about two blocks away, a Target and mini-shopping area a mile away, restaurants, hardware, and a great walk-way which lines the harbor for runners, bikers…. and dog walkers like us!  Some good friends from home spend the summer in Baltimore so we had a couple of get togethers with them which was really fun.  A restaurant we visited had this festive fall display outside their front door.  Living in Florida, I miss this kind of thing!

We wanted to see some other of our good friends who live aboard their boat during the summer in Pleasure Cove Marina which is between Baltimore and Annapolis, so upon departing Baltimore off we went.  We anchored just outside of their marina and had a fun dinner with them, again catching up on each other’s lives.

Continuing south through the Chesapeake Bay we made a planned stopped for a couple of days at the dock of some fellow boaters that we have cruised with from time to time.  They live on the Magothy River just north of Annapolis.  We’re always so appreciative of their hospitality and friendship in welcoming us.  We all always glean a lot of boating and cruising knowledge from each other.  After a couple of days at their dock, we took a mini-cruise together – they on their trawler, we on ours – to a nice anchorage south of town, uniting aboard Daystar for dinner.  It was a chilly night, tho, the coldest so far.  When we awoke the next morning it was 43 degrees.  And then we had to take the dogs ashore to the little beach at the anchorage.   With the water at balmy 65 degrees, it was warmer to keep my feet in the water than on the sand!!

After one last anchorage near St. Michaels, we headed to Oxford, our final destination where we will leave Daystar, and her companion Twinkle the dinghy, for the winter.

A humble thank you to all of you who have followed our trip to Maine this past summer.  All in all we traveled 2,025 nautical miles, spent 48 nights at anchor, 37 on a mooring, and 61 at a dock.  We ran the Genset 163 hours, bought 1300 gallons of diesel.  I did not count how many lighthouses we saw (my record keeping is not nearly as good as Johns – wink wink!) but it was a lot!

In the end it was a perfect combination of solitude (John’s preference) and low-key socialization (my preference).  We had a number of days where we hardly spoke to another human being for more than 5 minutes (well, other than each other, of course!!) and then days with meals and fun get-togethers with family and good friends.

The minute we get off the boat at Block Island, our dog M.E., makes a beeline for the cows. She absolutely loves them!  She practically drags me down the gravel road to the stone wall, behind which they abide. Then in her Jack Russell fashions, leaps up so she can say hello.

We enjoyed anchoring out there for one night, with a trip into the village for an after-dinner walk up to Lookout Hill for an incredible view of the harbor.

Thursday morning prior to Labor Day weekend, we took the one hour trip across Vineyard Sound to a wonderful anchorage, Lake Tashmoo, on Martha’s Vineyard.  It’s one of our favorite anchorages due to it’s excellent wind protection and good holding (with the right anchor).  Since we’ve been there many times, we knew we had to get there early, before all the weekend boaters arrived.  We were glad we did because, by Saturday morning the place was packed!  While it was a little cozy, we enjoyed getting acquainted with some of our neighbors, especially those with dogs.  There are always dog-boating tales to tell!

By the way, we were the best looking boat there.  When you decide to purchase your Krogen Express, be forewarned.  People stare.  They walk by on the dock and stare.  They stare from their boats.  They circle us in their dinghy.  On occasion  they even stop and engage us in conversation. “Wow, that’s a good lookin’ boat”, they’ll say.  Or, “what is that?”  Or “I just read about this boat in the September issue of PassageMaker magazine”. Sometimes we feel like we’re on display at the zoo! Going into the heavily populated mooring field at Great Salt Pond on Block Island, a couple were relaxing on their aft deck when suddenly they both sat up and stared as we passed by. Children not familiar with boats, especially, are fascinated that “there’s a boat on a boat!!”. They’re talking about the tender, of course.

We last left you in Cape May, and for us that seems like ages!  The main reason we don’t update more is the internet; and quite frankly, I just get lazy!! What a blessing and a curse the internet is! We love it and depend on it; yet while cruising we don’t often have it, or it’s variable and spotty.  And when we do have it, it’s often at a location where we’ve had a long day on the water, get settled in for the night (either anchoring, at a mooring, or a dock), eat dinner, watch a little tv or read, and go to bed!  So writing up an entry for the blog gets put on the back burner. But today I feel that we owe our readers an updated entry.  So here it goes………..

The Jersey coast proved to be a fine cruise.  The water was great….from a light chop to almost smooth.  Now that’s the kind of day I like to have while cruising in the Atlantic Ocean!  And was it ever a clear day!  We could see the skyline of New York City from the farthest distance we’d ever experienced…….over 10 miles south of Sandy Hook, New Jersey.  It was incredible!  Even though we have cruised through New York more than two dozen times, it is still an amazing experience.

We have arrived in Cape May, on the southern tip of New Jersey!  This will be our jumping off point for the commencement of our trip along the Jersey coast starting tomorrow.  The New Jersey ICW has continuous shoaling challenges with depths of only 3′ in some areas making it prohibitive for many boats to use it.  So a boat with any keel at all must cruise on “the outside”, that is, in the Atlantic Ocean.

When cruising in economy mode, this 120 +/- mile trip is one l-o-n-g (10-11 hours) day.  A few times we’ve done it at night.  But the last couple of years we’ve broken up into two days, stopping in Atlantic City.  It makes it so much more enjoyable, especially with two dogs on board.

Prior to reaching Cape May, we took a few days “off the water”, and had some work done on the boat at one of our favorite yards, Washburns in Solomons, Maryland.  Those of us who have been there numerous times don’t really give it much thought, but the site of the yard was the nation’s first naval amphibious training base, training some 68,000 sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen and soldiers between 1942 and 1945. Seventy years later the buildings remain and are still actively used by the yard personnel.

Heading north through the northern Chesapeake Bay we then entered the mouth of the C&D Canal, docking at Chesapeake City.  (See my entry dated September 12, 2012 for information about and history of the C&D Canal.)

No sooner were we were tied up at a dock positioned right on the Canal, a  RORO vessel rolled past!  A RORO (“roll on, roll off”) is designed to transport wheeled cargo, such as automobiles, trucks, and railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle.  If you have ever seen one of these ships in open water, you know how big they are.  But when one is in a narrow Canal and right in front of you, they are positively massive.

And then, we witnessed the pilot exchange!   I provided the pictures, but I give Wikipedia the credit for explaining how it works:

“Today’s canal is a modern sea-level, electronically controlled commercial waterway, carrying 40 percent of all ship traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore.

Navigating oceangoing vessels requires extensive maritime skills, with strong currents or bad weather conditions adding to the risks. A United States Coast Guard certified pilot is required for vessels engaged in foreign trade transiting the canal, the Delaware River and Bay, and Chesapeake Bay. Many shipping firms use pilots from the Delaware River and Bay or Maryland pilots’ associations.

Typically a Delaware River and Bay pilot boards a ship as it passes Lewes, Delaware, entering the Delaware Bay, and guides the vessel up the bay and into the canal to Chesapeake City. A Maryland pilot then takes over and continues the ship’s transit into the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore or Annapolis, Maryland. The procedure is reversed for eastbound ships. At Chesapeake City a “changing of the pilots” takes place, while the pilot launch maneuvers alongside a vessel as it continues its journey without stopping. The pilots use the ship’s gangway, Jacob’s ladder, or port entrance to climb aboard or leave the vessel.”

As we’ve progressed north, cooler temps and lower humidity have welcomed us.  What an awesome greeting! We are most appreciative!

As we’ve passed – and stayed the night in – these little North Carolina towns along the ICW, I’m reminded of one of the major benefits of cruising.  We see things that you just can’t see traveling in a car…. acres and acres of green sea grasses, miles of undeveloped forest and marshes.  There are also many small, sleepy towns and villages that depend upon boating visitors.  Last night we were in Belhaven, North Carolina.  Tonight it’s Coinjock.  In fact, the ship’s store at the marina has tshirts for sale that say “JustwherethehellisCoinjock?” !!

Have you ever heard of Belhaven or Coinjock?  In fact, I challenge you to find them on a map in less than 2 minutes!  But be sure you have a detailed map because they are tiny. However, cruisers are very familiar with them, and visit them often on their boat trips up and down the ICW.   In our years of boating, we have stayed in both of these spots numerous times.

Today John spent some time polishing stainless.  While this is not exactly his favorite task, we do strive to keep the boat in tip top shape.  But most of the time he is the eagle-eye captain at the helm, sometimes with a 4-legged crew member in his lap!

We also did some sit-ups on the bow. “How does that work?” you ask.  Well, we tied a line to each of the forward cleats to secure our ankles and put a towel under the line so we wouldn’t get rope burn. Looks and sounds wierd, but it works!  And on the boat, you have to get creative about exercise.  In fact, I recall once cruising along the East River through New York City and seeing a woman on a sailboat using a stationary bike!

Zoey and M.E. enjoy the sites from the side deck

Since the completion of boat show season, John and I have been busy hanging out with our Krogen Express family.  It’s one of our favorite things to do!  As you read in the previous posting, we had a wonderful Thai dinner in Vero Beach with Karen, Skip, Robert, and Jill.  Shortly thereafter, we returned to our home in Hilton Head, South Carolina only be blessed with the arrival our Dutch owners, Hans and Thea aboard “Scylla” (pronounced Silla).  They had with them their friends from Holland whom we have met many times before.  They are such a happy group, probably because they love being aboard such a beautiful boat!

They came to our house for dinner, but first
Thea requested a little computer help
from John!

Then we sat down for a lasagna dinner
followed by fruit pie (Hans’ favorite!)

Hans and Thea are in the center of the pic (dressed in gray…..although their dispositions are far from gray!!)

They departed the next morning in an effort to
reach Florida and warmer temps.  We were
just sorry that they couldn’t have stayed longer
in Hilton Head.

Only 4 days later we met up with David (“Electra”) whose boat had been stored over the summer at a marina in nearby Savannah, Georgia (about 45 minute drive from Hilton Head).  We went to a fabulous and famous restaurant there called “The Old Pink House”.  Wow!  What a meal.  Definitely a notch (or two or three) up from my lasagna!

While we were eating, a woman approached our table and said to John, “Excuse me, but you look so familiar, and when I overheard you talking about boats I realized I’d probably met you at a boat show.”  (John has become a celebrity!  Who knew!)  An engaging conversation ensued, and sure enough we’d met her and her husband at several shows most recently at Newport. (We call those folks “boat show junkies” which she readily claimed herself to be!) She will see us at Ft. Lauderdale TrawlerFest at the end of January.

David will be heading out to the Bahamas in a few days for some sun and fun.  Happy cruising!!

We have completed our fall 2012 boat show season, and are happy to report that it was a safe, harmonious, and productive one!  We were spared any nor’easters while aboard “JOY”, and made it through T/S Sandy during the Ft. Lauderdale show.

I left off on the blog at the end of September, having just completed the run from Cape May to Baltimore.  By the way, if your travels ever find you in that neighborhood, be sure to stop.  There are lots of great marinas in Baltimore Harbor, with most accessible to restaurants, grocery stores, and the waterfront scene.  There’s a wonderful walking/running path along the harbor which is nice way to stretch your legs and get some exercise.  (Always check www.activecaptain.com for more information about marinas.  We can’t say enough about that site.  It’s our cruising Bible!)

John and I got the boat set up in our slip for TrawlerFest and Bob arrived the next day.  The dogs and I drove to Hilton Head for a few days of land/home time.  I do love being on the boat, but home time is always appreciated!  Upon my return to Maryland, John and I took the boat to the dock of some dear friends, Cathie and Pete Trogden.  They own Weems and Plath, the nautical instruments company headquartered in Eastport.  (Thanks for having us!) Being with friends along the way  makes boating such fun.

Then it was on the Annapolis boat show. Like the Newport show, most of the docks are temporary, put into place as the boats come in.  But unlike the Newport show, the ABS requires that all boats depart on Sunday night following the show.  We’ve never understood that, making it mandatory for the boats to depart into the darkness of the Chesapeake; but we don’t have much choice.  It is what it is!  So Bob and John drove the boat to Solomons Maryland where she would stay temporarily.  I met them in the car.  In the morning we unloaded everything we would need for our next gig, Ft. Lauderdale, (and then some) into our van and headed out.

Fast forward 3 days (with a quick stop at home) and we were “on the road again” to Lauderdale.  As I mentioned earlier, T/S Sandy descended on us bringing huge winds and rain.  As a result the crowds at the show the first two days were down which was disappointing, but the storm moved on and the sun returned, as did the show attendees.

We are now in recovery mode, having completed 4 shows in 6 weeks covering nearly 3000 miles in both boat and car.  We have also completed the orientation for our newest owners whose boat, “EASY WATER” from Fairbanks, Alaska, was featured in the Ft. Lauderdale show.  Last night we had dinner with them along with other members of our Krogen Express family, Jill and Robert (you remember them, from our ads!!)

Our dogs love Robert and Jill (fortunately the feeling is mutual), so M.E. wasn’t shy about cosying up to Jill on our porch after dinner!

Here’s a picture of “EASY WATER” the next morning, passing by our place on the Indian River in Vero Beach.  (I just have one of those “sure shot” cameras (in this case it wasn’t such a sure shot) so I apologize for the blurry pics. But you get the idea!)  They were honking their horn and everyone was waving!  Great fun.  It gives us such pleasure to have these types of experiences!

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a 14 mile long, 450 foot wide and 40 foot deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay (the mouth of the Susquehanna River) and the Port of Baltimore. Construction began in the early 1820s with some 2,600 men digging and hauling dirt from the ditch. Laborers toiled with pick and shovel at the immense construction task, working for an average daily wage of 75 cents. The swampy marshlands along the canal’s planned route proved a great impediment to progress as workers continuously battled slides along the soft slopes of the “ditch” being cut. It was 1829 before the C&D Canal Company could, at last, announce the waterway “open for business”. The near-$2.5 million construction cost made it one of the most expensive canal projects of its time. 
In 1919 the canal was purchased by the federal government for $2.5 million and designated the “Intra-coastal Waterway Delaware River to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware and Maryland”. Included were six bridges plus a railroad span owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were replaced during the 1920s by four vertical lift spans and a new railroad bridge.
Responsibility for operating, maintaining and improving the waterway was assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District. By 1927 the eastern entrance at Delaware City had been relocated several miles south at Reedy Point, Delaware. All locks (except the one at Delaware City) were removed and the waterway was converted to a sea-level operation at 12 feet (3.7 m) deep and 90 feet (27 m) wide. These improvements cost $10 million. Two stone jetties at the new eastern entrance were completed in 1926.
The “new” canal opened in May 1927 with great celebration, yet plans already were underway for further expansion as the sizes of ships and amounts of cargo continued to increase. The Philadelphia District took over operation of the canal in 1933. Between 1935 and 1938 the channel was again improved — deepened to 27 feet (8.2 m) and widened to 250 feet (76 m) at a cost of nearly $13 million

We cast off our lines from Essex Island Marina at exactly 9 am to hit the current/tides just right.  Down the Connecticut River and out in to the (Long Island) Sound.  It was still breezy but out of the east, 5-10 with 1 footers, and chilly so we stayed in our cosy pilothouse.  The captain of this boat is amazing.  He knows exactly when and what, in order to make the ride the most comfortable for his crew!  And every captain knows how important it is to keep the crew happy!

Bound again for Port Washington on the north shore of Long Island, we picked up our mooring there around 5.  With the dinghy all cleaned up for the Newport show, and Baltimore TrawlerFest coming up, we didn’t want to mess it up again, so we called the launch to take first mate and pups ashore for a long walk. (But having provisioned in Essex, it killed me not to need to go to that fantastic grocery store there!)

The next morning A&R (that we met at the Newport boat show) flew down from Boston for a sea-trial.  It was a nice opportunity to get to know them better, and we appreciated the effort they made to meet up with us.  They were impressed with the boat and the ride, and why not?  What’s not to like?

Upon their departure a few hours later, we left Port Washington for a short ride to World’s Fair Marina.  I wrote something in our 2010 blog about this marina which is right next to Laguardia Airport.  We also stayed there last year during Hurricane Irene.  It’s a very protected spot, with floating docks, and high pilings.  Plus it’s easy to get into the City from there (#7 train takes 45 minutes).  The docks and power are not in the best shape, but the staff is amazing, and are even getting to know us (the dockhand commented that we had a different color boat this year!)  Joy came out from the City that afternoon, and we walked to a fabulous – and authentic! – Mexican restaurant for a late lunch.  John had seen it featured on Guy Fieri’s tv show, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”.

Joy left at 11 the next morning so that she could get back into the City for her 1:00 tennis practice.  She plays on a couple of teams and they practice at several different locations around the City and it’s boroughs.  That day she was to practice at some courts on the East River.  What a coincidence!  We would be going right by them during her practice time.  We made an arrangement with her to toot our horn as we passed.  She told us the courts were under the Williamsburg Bridge and that it could be noisy, but John reassured her that she would hear the horns!

As we left the marina, the planes were flying right over us.  And I mean, right over us!  Meantime, we were against the current as we headed down the East River, sometimes as much as 5 knots!!  So much for that nice push we had going up the River a few weeks ago.  These pictures below don’t really capture the turbulent water at Hell’s Gate, but I do believe you get the idea of the force of the current passing by these buoys which are just off the East River Drive.

The Coast Guard was broadcasting a “security zone” outside the United Nations as it prepares for the UN General Assembly (when 120 world leaders and their entourages gather) this week.Between them and the NYPD, they were all doing a good job of keeping pleasure craft away.

Approaching the Williamsburg Bridge we got our binoculars out and searched for tennis courts.  We were probably 100 feet offshore when we spotted them.  John tooted the horn a couple of times.  Suddenly we saw a couple of tennis racquets waving through the air!!  Another toot!!  Mission accomplished, thanks to the Kahlenberg airhorns!!  I have to say, it was pretty cool to be passing by on the boat and waving to her onshore.  And in her phone call to us later in the day, she said she and her friends thought it was pretty cool too!  (It’s always nice when your kids think stuff you do is “cool”!)

Leaving Manhattan (and the new Freedom Tower) behind us, we ended the day at a small yacht club marina in Great Kills on Staten Island.