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July 31^st, 2007  Didn't get this downloaded yesterday.  The marina WiFi was on the fritz.  Will try again today.  We took a little dinghy side trip yesterday.  It was a 15 minute trip across the harbor and down a little creek.  The creek opened to another small bay filled with boats on mooring balls.  We had read that the little town had a dock we could use and sure enough it did.  It is the small town of Seataukit.  A Puritan town started in the 1700's.  We walked two or three blocks to the main street and the first store we saw was a Ace Hardware and right across the street was a liquor store.  We replenished.  A nice little town and so much different than Port Jefferson its neighbor.  The channel to the creek is marked with private buoys and since the average depth is 5 feet the channel needs to be followed.

July 30^th, 2007  Well where to start.  We had a great extra day in Jamaica Bay, New York.  We spent the extra time with the folks at the Rockaway Point Yacht Club.  As Nancy says, they are the all time favorite folks so far on our trip.  They had an evening race and then dinner afterwards.  We were supplied with a bottle of wine and a wonderful ham dinner.  I distracted everyone in our little group during the second race by asking them questions.  At the end of the race nobody knew who won.  The next morning we departed on a carefully planned trip.  We had determined through answers supplied by the yacht club, tide tables, cruising guides,  when it would be best to transit the East River and get through Hell Gate.  Our plans where immediately destroyed because of fog at the entrance  to Lower New York Harbor.  We first reduced our speed to 3 knots and just went slow hoping the fog would burn off.  It didn't any time soon.  We finally started doing circles to keep steerage in case another boat came close to us.  The bay was filled with little fishing boats that didn't care much about other boats, although they were also going at a very slow speed.  We finally had enough visibility to enter the Narrows and the shipping channel into Upper New York Harbor.  The visibility was still down so we kept a slow speed waiting for the morning sun to burn the rest of the fog off.  As we went through the narrows visibility pick up and we resumed normal speed.  Upper New York Harbor was filled with ships, barges and ferries.  We went to Governor Island, past the Statue of Liberty , Ellis Island and up the East River.  From the East River we were in downtown Manhattan.  The sky scrapers were all around us.  It is a little imposing looking at them from sea level.  Nancy and I had been in New York one other time and that helped in picking out some familiar buildings.  The Empire State Building viewed from the back side, uncluttered by the other tall buildings, gives you a glimpse of what the city looked like years ago.  Then there were the eight bridges to pass under, starting with the Brooklyn Bridge.  What a thrill.  Next, we went around Roosevelt Island and the entrance to Hell Gate, well-known for its turbulence, high speed  currents and eddies.  I guess all of our planning paid off because it was a non event.   This is Hell Gate as we went through it.  Smoother than a small lake.  We  finally came out into Long Island Sound.  Some call the Sound, the best boating area in the world.  We anchored in Little Neck Bay for the evening.  We had spent about 6 hours going through New York and wanted an early rest.  The bay is large and has an average depth of 10 or so feet.  We had no idea where it would be best to anchor so we picked a spot on the western shore just passed the entrance.  In about 2 hours we had 3 other boats anchored with us.  They didn't know  where to anchor either, so just copied us.  The next morning we had a early start to Port Jefferson.  Light fog was in the sound and we motored.  We passed some of the nicest light houses.   Look how calm the water is.  We rode an ocean-going current down the sound and arrived at Port Jefferson at about 2:30 p.m..  I was happy with that as we got to select a good anchorage before the weekend crowd showed up.  The harbor is filled with mooring fields and we anchored outside of the field, again not know really where to go. 

Well shortly we had a boat join us.  It was about 26 feet long and from Norway.  It bothers me when they anchor in close.    A little bit later we had another boat anchored close by - a little larger than the other - close to 100 feet from the looks of it.   Don't know who it was but Nancy says the name Chantal Ma Vie means "Music My Life" or "Singing My Life" or something like that.   Anyway, that's how is goes.

THE BOAT  No major problems so far.  A few minor irritations. First was the E-80 Raymarine chart plotter.  It is hooked up to my computer and the computer froze up.  The E-80 would not display charts or chart symbols.  We had just passed Oyster Bay went this happened and I figured I would fix it in the evening at anchor.  After we anchored, Nancy prepared the "here's to another anchor" boat drink.  As we cooled down, it dawned on me.  We had run out of our electronic charts.  A quick check and sure enough, we needed the electronic chart for the Northeast US.  That is one chart that I didn't buy since we are only going to make one trip up here and I had the charts on two Garmin GPS plotters along with the paper copies.

Next problem was with the water maker.  We used it at Atlantic City and it worked fine for a while and then stopped.  I checked the sea water filter and it was filled with mud.  Cleaned and vacuumed it out and then checked the water maker pre-filter.  It was black as can be.  Put in a new one and every thing worked out fine.  Then it dawned on me, from our old Florida days.  Don't take in water on a outgoing current when on an intra-coastal waterway (all of gods garbage) and guess what, Atlantic City is an inlet for the intra-coastal waterway.  So make water during incoming current only.  We got to Jamaica Bay, New York and figured that since it was so close to the ocean, we could make water on the incoming current.  Filters plugged up, black stuff.  So no water making in New York.  We are now in Long Island sound making water anytime.  The water is so much cleaner that our sea water filters are shining on the inside.  The days of the dirty Chesapeake are being scrubbed away by the clean salt water.

The windlass is another story.  It is brand new and will be replaced when we get back to Maryland.

The barbeque required a little repair.  When at sea we noticed that it was taking a beating mounted on the stanchion and said that we had to take it in next time we venture out.  Forgot the next time but remembered the time after that.  When I took it off, it slid off very easily since the latch was missing.  Two bolts that hold it on the latch were missing, the latch was missing.  I looked at my feet and the latch was laying on the deck but not the bolts.  This was a minor miracle since the latch it out over the side of the boat with nothing but water below.  How they ended up on the deck is a mystery.  I found replacement bolts and just fixed it today.

We made our first trip to the grocery store for provisions.  We needed to get some lettuce and limes.  The lettuce just doesn't last that long on a voyage and we ran out of limes.  It must be 5:00 somewhere.

THE ANCHORAGE  Port Jefferson, New York.  A wonderful anchorage.  The hills of Long Island Sound surround us and continue into the harbor allowing us to anchor next to the shore line with good protection from the wind.  We are north of the mooring fields and this area is large to allow for several hundred boats to anchor.  Many weekend boats anchored further north of us along a point that helps protect the harbor because it also has a wonderful sand beach.  We have never felt that too many boats were here.  It was mainly the two boats that anchored next to us that made it feel that we had any company around us at all.  The town caters to weekend tourists.  Many different restaurants are available within a walking distance from the harbor.  We looked at many of the menus and found that this could be a culinary delight - if .  Prices are about half of what you'd pay in Maryland and Washington D.C. restaurants.    This is the lunch that I got for about the same price as a hamburger and a bag of chips at our swimming pool in Herrington Harbour.  A nicely stacked turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, bacon, avocado, and garlic mayonnaise.  The main street along the harbor is filled with ice cream stands, art galleries, restaurants, a wine shop, one small grocery and souvenir shops - but no liquor stores.  The West Marine and hardware store are located about 2 miles away and really not available unless you want a long hike. 

There is one dinghy dock available at the commercial marina and not one at the municipal marina.  Charge is $7.00 per docking or all day.  They do give a coupon for a 10% discount if you eat at their restaurant.  Launch service is available for moored or anchored vessels.  Don't know if there is a charge but a tip to the captain would be the minimum.  At Rockaway, we tipped our launch captain two dollars per trip or five dollars if something extra was done (mooring, garbage) and twenty dollars for staying 30 minutes overtime while we enjoyed dinner.

The cruising guide mentions the ferry service that comes in here but it is a lot more frequent that they mention.  The guide says 6 times a day, but it is a hourly service with a ferry coming in about 15 minutes after one departs.  The channel is narrow but wide enough for the ferry and barge to pass.  The wake from the ferry is noticeable but not bad.  Service ends right after sunset and begins at sunrise.

July 23^rd, 2007  We are in New York, but I must first tell you about this fictional city located in Queens, New York.  It is a little town of only 2800 homes.  The tallest building is 2 stories.  Not like the rest of the area around them where buildings reach over 100 stories.  There are 4 church's, three Catholic and one non-denominational; a volunteer fire department, and only a few roads that can be driven on.  There is a private beach that stretches for miles and no one but the town's people can be on it.  That is guaranteed because the only road entering the community has a guard station you have to go through as you drive in and nobody can get in unless they live there.  In the afternoons, families all go to the beach.  The family groups include Grandmothers and Grandfathers, Mothers and Fathers, children, grand children, brothers and sisters, girlfriends and boyfriends.  Everyone in the family gathers at the beach.  Everyone must enjoy the waves of the Atlantic since there are no bathrooms at the beach.  The families all interact with each other, young and old.  The old men will stand on the waters edge and talk with other old men.  No telling what business takes place during these conversations.  Nearly everyone has lived here all their lives.  To buy a home, the community co-op requires a 50% down-payment on the home before the application to live here goes before an assembly of elders for consideration.  A small bungalow costs close to 1/2 million dollars. Along with the payment and application, a recommendation from 3 other residents must be included.  Brothers and sisters end up living next to each other and only a few homes from where they grew up.  The homes have no driveways or garages, only a sidewalk separates you and your neighbor across from you.  You get to know everybody and their children and the front doors are never locked.  The cars are parked in large parking lots and you walk through the neighborhoods to your home.  The kids all go to the ball field on Sunday after church to play ball and to watch their fathers play ball.  What a wonderful place and it is really here in New York City.  We have had the pleasure of being here and meeting several of the residents.  Marty and his wife Nancy live here.  Marty was the Office Manager of the Charlotte, North Carolina office when my Nancy was in the Executive Program of the FAA and lived there and worked in the office as Marty mentored her.  Since then, Marty has moved on to bigger and better things and still working while my Nancy has retired.   This is a picture of them at a memorial for the over 30 residents of their community that were lost in the twin towers on 9/11.  Marty is also with the volunteer fire department and really involved in community activities.

This is the community beach.  Everyone seems to have a fat-wheeled wagon or cart to help get their chairs and umbrellas to the beach.     This is Nancy sitting with Nancy and the rest of her family.    The beautiful beach continues ahead of and behind me as this picture is taken.  You can see that everyone in town is out having fun.  At about 4:30 in the afternoon as the day starts to cool, families wander back to there homes or the little pub/ice-cream/hamburger/ French fry store that completely fills up at 5:00 pm.

Our boat is moored at the Rockaway Point Yacht Club.  We are here because of a reciprocal agreement with our yacht club (Cedar Mills Yacht Club) in Texas.  The club has about 30 moorings with 4 guest balls available.  There are no docks but a pier that comes out to deep water so that boats may discharge their passengers.  It is mostly used by the club's boat boys who pickup and return boat owners to their moorings.  When we got here one of the boat boys drove the club boat out to our mooring and helped us get a line on.  Later he came back and took us ashore. There is a 10 year waiting list for membership in this club. It is easy to understand why.

  This picture was taken from our mooring looking across to Coney Island and the buildings of Manhattan to the right side of the picture.

About the trip from Atlantic City.  Well we had wonderful weather  and what wind we had was straight on our nose.  The trip took over 13 hours and we anchored on the south side of New York harbor at Sandy Hook just as the sun was setting.   We are finding out that we need to add a hour to our estimated travel time just to get in and out of anchorages.   The next morning we traveled across New York harbor to the moorings we are at now.  New York harbor is not really fun to travel across.  It is shallow in many places and without local knowledge, channels must be followed.  That is the other thing.  There are so many channels in the harbor, without close attention, it could be easy to get off course a little.  Then all the ocean going vessels that are going up and down the harbor along with the fast ferries and the fishing boats and the private boats and the etc., anyway it gets to be fun staying out of everyone's way and staying on course.

We are using about all the equipment on board from our 3 chart plotters to our autopilot.  When at sea we are using the autopilot most of the time with one person  always on watch and the other sleeping or doing boat work.  We have found it invaluable to use both the electronic charts and the printed charts at the same time.  Some people say that the paper charts are just for backup in case the electronic charts fail.  We find that the electronic charts are fine for very short navigation routes but the paper ones are best for the long range planning (long range = anything over 3 miles).  This is caused by the chart layering that is built into the electronic navigation equipment.  As the electronic charts are zoomed out they automatically start to delete navigation information so the small screens are not cluttered.  The omitted information is critical to navigation (depths, buoys and marks) so only the printed charts retain that information.  We have always navigated with both types of charts (as backup) and now know that both are really needed for safe navigation.  We have also found errors in the electronic charts.  Part of the C & D canal is omitted, New Jersey coast information is fragmented on the electronic charts (lines that lead to nowhere).  So we are happy that we have both and have always used them.

July 18^th, 2007 Well what a week it has been.  Its hard to know where to start so I will start at the beginning.  Nancy had her last day at work and was met on the dock by some of our neighbors.    In this picture she is still wearing her high heel shoes.  When she got on our walkway, she took them off and threw them in the bay.    She then got on board and celebrated with some friends.

Departure day is now two days away and we busy ourselves with last minute things.  Friday was our last Doctor appointment.  So both of us go to the dermatologist Dr. "B".  Nancy had one removal of a old bothersome mole on her arm and I did nothing.  Dr. "B" was nice enough to help finish off our first aid kit with suture kits and we were on our way.  Friday evening the dock gave us a going away party.  Nicky did most of the work - with help from Carlie and Steve - and it was great.  We were boarded by pirates and taken ashore for trial (food).  It was fun seeing so many of our dock neighbors come.    Nicky had arranged for a hot dog stand with hamburgers and sausages to feed everybody along with potluck dishes that were brought by dock neighbors.  Lisa was in charge of the cake and it turned out wonderful.    That a picture of our boat in the frosting.  Nicky made a picture poster of our time at Herrington Harbour.  What memories.    After the party we went back to the boat and spent some more time with friends in the afterglow hours.

Saturday morning at 08:00 we leave dock to start our cruise.  Many neighbors got up early and helped us untie and depart.  Sam gave a long blast on his horn as we left the berth.  All we can think of is the nice friends.  From our slip to the end of the dock, boating friends were waving goodbye.  Just makes it hard to leave unless you remember that they are probably thinking "it is sure nice to see them gone".

We head up the Chesapeake Bay and go further the first day than we had planned.  We anchored at Still Pond 46.6 nm from our slip.  We shared the the anchorage with 45 other boats but it was so large we seemed to be with only a few boats.    The next morning we head to the C & D canal.  It connects the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware Bay.  The canal has several beginning points and a lot of history.    We break off to the starboard and follow the marks.  Bald Eagles now replace the Osprey in the nesting areas found on top of the marks.  Early in the morning about 10:00 we anchor at a small basin in Chesapeake City.  We are glad that we got there that time of day because the Sunday traffic quickly filled the basin and several boats had to leave.  It is said that about 12 boats could anchor there but we found that it is comfortable with 6 boats swinging on the hook.   Our boat is the one with the large blue stripe.  Here we met up with friends Bob and Pat who were old soaring buddies from days gone by.  We had just found out a few weeks earlier that they lived about a 30 minute drive from there.  We had a tour of the historical town and did a little shopping with them and then had dinner and of course the mandatory Ice Cream cone afterwards.  As we were having dinner my phone rang and it was Dr. "B".  His boat was at the end of the dock from were we where eating.  We met him and his family at the restaurant and made plans to meet them on their boat for after dinner drinks.  He has a beautiful big power boat and we enjoyed the conversation and visit before we had to catch the water taxi back to our boat at nine o'clock.

July 11^th, 2007

WORK:  Today is Nancy's last day of work.  So, today I drove to Edgewater MD and picked out a few cards for her and then got some champagne for a little toast this evening when she gets home.  Her actual last day of employment will be the end of October but she has so much vacation time built up she will leave her job today.  That gives us two days of working together before we leave port to start our cruise on Saturday (or whenever the weather lets us).  Our neighbor Nicky just stopped by and put some congratulation balloons on the bow of the boat along with one she had put at the beginning of the dock.  Good friends..  Sneak preview,    if you see this web page before Nancy get home from work today, you will see the balloons before she does.

 SOCIAL:  This Friday a few folks at the Marina are throwing a going away party for us and I hear there is going to be another party after we leave.

This picture is our walkway if a left turn was made at the end of our dock.  We always turn right to go to our cars.    The protected marsh area is on the left of the walkway.  The marina installed  indirect lighting in the trees that shines on the walkway at night.  Pretty little area.

July 2^nd 2007  SOCIAL  We had a fun weekend.  We went to the Rams Head (Pub) in Annapolis and listened to Suzy Bogguss  in concert ( http://suzybogguss.com ) .  Its like a dinner theater and we were 3 tables from the stage.  What a wonderful performer.  I fell in love with her when she won the Country Music Awards for Newcomer of the Year.  So that was a few years back.  The thing I remember most about her is that she was such a good friend to Minnie Pearl the last years of her life.  Steve and Carlie went with us for the show.  We had Mexican dinner before the show at another restaurant and after dinner refreshments during the show.

After we got back to the boat we grabbed our lawn chairs and watched the Marina Saturday Night Movie.  Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Great time again.  I had forgotten most of the movie.

BOAT  Phipps Boat Works finished the cabinets in the "V" berth.  Sure is a great job.     We then installed netting along the rest of the shelf to hold items that Nancy needs more often.     That's all her sewing things.  This weekend she will sew covers for all the propane tanks and jerry cans that we have on deck. 

Phipps also put a new door on the lower part of the refrigerator.  The old door was a little crude and this new one really seals it up.  The refrigerator temperature decreased 5 degrees without changing any settings.    I just have to do the varnish work to finish up the job.  In case you are interested-----  To the far top right of this picture is a hand pump fresh water faucet if needed, next to it is the  digital display and controller for the 12 volt refrigerator system, next to that a 120 volt outlet, next to that is the timer controller for the engine driven compressor for the freezer (we also have a 120 volt freezer compressor and the controller for that is just out of sight above the engine driven controller) and finally next to that are some of the spices that Nancy uses when cooking. 

The water maker came back from the factory today, so another job for me to install it.  Work never ends.

Nancy is now going through the boat and taking everything off that we will not use for cruising.  It looks like about 3 dock carts worth of junk (personnel treasures).

GETTING UNDERWAY  We are continuing our doctor appointments and Nancy had another one today.  She won't let me say who she went to, but,  she wasn't allowed to drive home.  So I did that job also.

So goes the Bay.