New York (post Sandy)

We arrived at Sandy Hook on Tuesday July 2nd and set our anchor, then after the fog lifted we started to see the damage from Hurricane Sandy. Many of the houses along the water front had damage and only a few looked like they were inhabited any longer, a lot of sea wall and shore line was missing as well. It was just a short stop to rest as Sandy Hook is just that and although a National Park is there, there is little else, so we went to refuel before going to find a better anchorage.

Sandy Hook

It was looking on active captain that gave us our first clue, very few marinas had fuel here. We eventually found Twin Lights had fuel and headed for their dock. A small oversight was reading the current before leaving and boy was it ripping through at their dock. We managed to get tied off on the second attempt but a good lesson in looking at tide tables around here with large tidal changes.

Damage from Sandy

We then moved on to Atlantic Highlands were there is a nice breakwater we could anchor behind. The marina was under a lot of repair but getting close to complete with new floating docks, but the the damage was obviously extensive by how much was new or missing still. We walked around town and had lunch at the waterfront grill “On the Deck” which was really delightful. The next day we walked into town about a mile to get some groceries and stop at the farmers market on our return.

Atlantic Highlands

Atlantic Highlands 4th July

 

We talked with several locals about the damage and happily moved on to the upcoming 4th of July celebrations. Apparently Atlantic Highlands celebrates on the 5th so we had to stay for a big firework display right over our heads. We had a fantastic display with s/v Irish Ayes crew Cindy and Ernie joining us for a wonderful evening.

 

 

 

Our good friends Harry & Melinda had written to us about options for visiting New York City (NYC) and after mulling over options we decided to go to Great Kills on Staten Island, NY and take the train/bus into NYC. Arriving at Great Kills was a shock. The harbor was only 30% occupied due to so much damage from Hurricane Sandy. Most of the marinas appeared to have lost much of their docks and most had yet to be repaired. The mooring balls were also displaced and over 8 boats were sunk or partially sunk around the basin. When we took the dinghy over to RCYC to enquire about a dinghy dock for a day to visit NYC it was obvious most marinas really got hit hard. We arranged to get a space for the dingy and had a short walk around an obviously devastated club house and yacht club. We walked the beach at Great Kills that day and did discover the locals still enjoying the beach on this holiday weekend so it appears they are very resilient here.

RCYC rebuilding

Asking a RCYC member about the reconstruction

The following day we travelled to NYC, firstly by bus then a free ferry from Staten Island to the City and finally a bus to Harlem. Our first visit was the General Ulysses S Grant memorial as Devin was named after him (middle name). It is a spectacular tomb in a lovely setting by the Hudson river with a small visitor center to tell you the history of his life. You can see more at Video: Grant Memorial, he was the first 4 star general and a two time US president and widely credited with the abolition of slavery. After all the time to get here from Great Kills we decide lunch was in order. Now NYC had so many restaurant's it is really difficult to decide. We happened upon a Thai restaurant whilst investigating an Italian restaurant next door which was a little disappointing menu wise. But Liz really liked the Thai menu, well she was right, it was a fantastic lunch of excellently made Penang & Green curry which we shared. We didn’t know eating out in New York could be so reasonable, but lunch certainly was a bargain.

Ulysses S Grant Memorial

Our next visit was to the High Line park, this is a recovered raised railway track that wound through downtown NYC and was transformed by volunteers and donations to a spectacular garden and walkway with very interesting artifact's and rest/viewing areas along its course. It was a great find and a very nice experience in downtown. You can read about it here High Line Park

Artwork in the Park

Liz in the High line Park

 

Viewing Area in the Park

A cooling water path in the park (left)

Our next stop was the 9/11 memorial, unfortunately due to all the ongoing construction there is a booking system we didn’t know about so we couldn’t see the actual memorial but did see the new tower up close. It still looks like this area will be under construction for a long time, after over 10 years that really hits home on how much was damaged. Which brings us back to Sandy, several places we wanted to see in NYC were closed as a result of damage following Sandy. Devin particularly wanted to see the Space shuttle museum but it was still closed.

So our last stop was the American Indian Museum in the old Customs House at Bowling Green. The building itself is historic and well worth a visit but the exhibitions of Indian artifacts is very well done and covers North and South American Indian tribes which was a very nice surprise. You can see a lot of what we saw by visiting their site American Indian Museum

Well after all the walking and riding we were beat. So we took the ferry and train back to Great Kills, if your thinking of doing this like we did from Great Kills we would advise using the train across Staten island as it’s much faster than the bus and then use the subway in NYC as these save a lot of time in travel. So we were back on Moosetracks for a late dinner and very tired. So much so we spent the next day at anchor to recover, oh and to get the tides right for the East river.

We left on July 10th for a fantastic anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty in NYC. It was easy in and out and had great views over the city as you can see from the photos. We saw lots of traffic on the river but our AIS and keen attention was more than capable of dealing with it and it was less intimidating than we had imagined. The weather however didn’t co-operate that much and it was overcast the whole way and even the next morning.

 

Verrazno Bridge to enter NY harbor

First of many forts guarding NYC

 

Our anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty - Statue side

Our anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty - Verrazano bridge side

 As we researched the tides we found that 6:45 am was low tide at the Battery and when we should leave to get favorable current all the way through. Well when unfavorable is 4.7 knots against you and your cruising speed is 6 knots you really want to “go with the flow” so to speak. So we were up early and set off from the Statue of Liberty across the harbor traffic (never fun) and over to the Battery and up the East river, announcing our intentions on VHF radio for any concerned traffic. But it was again uneventful and an easy transit with beautiful skylines on both sides of us. It appears our research paid off and the Hell Gate tide was fierce giving us nearly 4 knots more speed at peak but all in our favor though still that very point in the middle has some wicked turbulence and you have to be weary. So our wedding anniversary started with a great cruise through NYC!

Statue of Liberty

NYC skyline

Pier 17 historic sailing ships

Governors Island fort

Empire State building

3-4 knots added speed due to current in East river

 

We arrived early in Port Washington and settled on to a free mooring ball for 2 nights. We watched two New Zealand boats that were at the Statue of Liberty come in behind us and decided to stop over to see them. The first was Balvenie (yes named after a Scottish Whisky) the Other was Bandit. Well what a surprise to learn both boats knew friends of ours having cruised with both Ventana and Innamorata II.

Stepping Stones Light on leaving the East river

 

Nice Houses on Manhasset Bay

As it was still our anniversary we decided on a meal out to celebrate and looked up the local restaurants on the www. We found an upscale Indian restaurant called “Diwan” that had a lunch time buffet and decided right then it was just for us. We walked to the grocery store and stopped on our way back, it was a very nice place and we decided to go in. It turned out the lunch was $10.95 and it was “all you can eat” so we were sold. It was truly fantastic Indian food and lived up to all the rave reviews we saw on Yelp and we think one of the best Indians we have ever had including in England. We both had a little too much so we walked around Main street to remove a few calories.

Sailors at Port Washington

 

We returned to Moosetracks to watch the sunset with a few iced libations and a loving made chocolate brownies to round off the perfect day!

Sunset at Port Washington

 We truely hope you too are having a wonderful summer.

 

Virginia Video's

While we traveled on the North River and Great Bridge to Ablemarle canal Liz took some video so you could see what it was like.

 

The last video was from the ferry trip returning to Portsmouth as it shows where Moosetracks was docked for a few days.

 

Virginia and New Jersey

Well we left Manteo for the North River and a overnight stop before entering the Virginia Cut and the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal. It was a lovely stop in that it was totally undeveloped and we were surrounded by marsh and low trees. We left the following morning for Great Bridge hoping our timing in the season found space for us at the free docks there. We had a slight set back when we ran around in the channel on the Coinjock Bay, it’s always odd when your moving at 5 knots to slowly stop, even heeled over with sails up. As we were motor sailing we raised more sail and turned Moosetracks to the wind and she came off nicely, I always love it when that happens especially in soft muddy bottoms. The channel here is rather wide and although we were in it we were closer to the green marks as there were no reds here, nearer the edge was less water and obviously from then on we tried to stay in the middle!

The typical canal scenary

Marker 1 on the canal

Lots of these Osprey's on the canal

Before we arrived at Great Bridge we called Walter and Gwen on Salt Shaker as they had emailed us to say they were still there. We found out there was space next to them so when we arrived they gave us a hand with lines and we tucked in nicely. There is a long dock on either side of the bridge, each with space for about 6-7 boats, later in the year we know it will be hard to get an opening on one of these with everyone heading back down this way to the Bahamas and going this way so hence taking one now as this is a long run and the stop at Great Bridge is very welcome. We found it was fantastic here, Walmart only a 3 mile bike ride away (although it rained on us coming back) and lots of familiar chain stores we like. Liz stocked up on some items we needed and we took the opportunity to use the laundry machines to wash our bigger items.  The highlight was a Dairy Queen ice cream store, we just had to stop for a Blizzard to share! We found a small Saturday market was here right next to the dock and us, the produce wonderful, we brought so much produce at great prices, 3 squash each over 18 inches for one dollar, the only most expensive was a basket of huge blackberries for $5 and Liz made a Quaker Oat Blackberry crumble to share with Walter & Gwen. Liz even found a packet of custard from her sister Fiona at the bottom of a locker and we all enjoyed it. The facilities were so good we stayed for 3 nights as there was never a lack of space. We walked around to the lock to see the process before we had to do it and it was very simple. We enjoyed the small parks and signs that explained the history of the Battle of Great Bridge in the war for independence where the British were unsuccessful in crossing the river here, a major turning point for the fledgling US forces here.

Saturday market

Salt Shaker & Moosetracks at Great Bridge docks

Biking at Great Bridge

On Monday 24th June we decided to move on to Portsmouth, VA. It started with going through our ONLY lock in Moosetacks and it was just as we saw – very straight forward and uneventful, but a great experience. The lock is unusual in that it doesn’t change height much at all, its purpose is to separate the salt water from the fresh water and maintain a ecological balance since the canal was dug. Then onward we went into the Elizabeth river. As we neared Portsmouth the ships got really large as did the bridges most clearing 125 ft now. When we arrived at the Naval shipyard the first sight was a sub being serviced with its vertical torpedo doors open – we think Liz missed that photo as subs are quite small compared to the other huge behemoths in the yard. However we did get lots of pictures of war ships.
We arrived before lunch at Portsmouth Town Dock a motor of just 10 miles up river. ( Yipee another free dock). Here we were right in the town center, right by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum. Unfortunately Monday all the museums etc are closed so instead we walked to the Railroad Museum, again closed ! and then onto shops, which were further than we expected. Amazingly as we are walking we notice Bill from s/v Providence sitting stationery in a van! Again another cruiser we keep bumping into, what a con-incidence his boat is in a slip in VA and had driven 30 miles to pick up bottom paint for his boat, so we visit Walmart and graciously Bill gives a ride back to Moosetracks. In the evening we complete a walking tour of the historic streets around us. On the wharf opposite us is the Hog Island lighthouse lens – it was the very first Fresnel lens made in France, and put into use in 1854. Today it is  valued at over $1 million and there it is for all to see as you walk by, on display not in a museum, like in other places. It is encased into pavilion 16 feet in diameter and about 25 ft high, there is a hurricane resistant curtain around it, which does not distract you from seeing all its beauty. Hog island is the northern most part of the barrier islands between Virginia's E shore and the Atlantic.  On Tuesday we took the 8am ferry across the river (10 min ride) to Norfolk to visit the MacArthur museum (MacArthur was a 5 star general in US , Very famous for his achievements during WWI, WWII & the Spanish American War). There is a huge memorial to him in Norfolk were he is buried. In the afternoon we visited the Shipyard Museum and also the Portsmouth Lightship. The lightship was commissioned in 1916 and taken off shore to protect what ever stretch of water was  necessary, 15 coast guards lived upon it, for 4 months at a time at anchor, then had 1 month off. The lightship was taken out of commission in 1964 and moved to the waterfront as a museum open to the public in 1967.  The next day we visited the 1945 Commodore Theatre an Art Deco Style Motion Picture theater, the first in the country. You are served dinner at your table, first you order by phone from your table direct to the kitchen, then you eat before the movie plays, it was a fun thing to do and an awesome experience. The theatre was closed for 12 yrs, but re- opened and is meticulously maintained today.

Larger bridges as we near Portsmouth

Navy warships at Portsmouth

Moosetracks at dock in Portsmouth

Wharf side Nautical store

Ferry to Norfolk

The MacArthuir Memorial

Lightship Portsmouth

Contemplating Kisses again!

Devin, Bill, Walter & Gwen at Portsmouth

 

The Commodore Theater

We have enjoyed the free docks, but it is time to get back to anchor, as it’s very hot so close to the city and noisy compared top being at anchor. You also get many folks who want to stare at you or ask for change! So we moved over to the mouth of the river to Hampton Roads. There is a nice anchorage by Old Point Comfort and Fort Monroe. So we had a peaceful nights sleep and caught the tide first thing in the morning to get a quick exit from Chesapeake Bay.
We sailed overnight up to Cape May, NJ this is a Major coast guard station, with lots of trainees, early they are out jogging and chatting as they go by, then we hear the Star Spangled Banner playing at 8am. We were fairly tired after our overnight as there were lots of thunderstorms around and we were kept very active with shifting winds, rain and lightening. We managed to avoid all the lightening thankfully but did end up motoring a lot to avoid storms. We didn’t go ashore here, just didn’t feel up to it and since there was no obvious dinghy dock we just rested aboard. On leaving Cape May via the inlet on an ebbing tide our motor quit! Well it was a symptom we had never had before, the fuel filter had clogged and occasionally we had a slight drop in RPM and had not put 2 and 2 together. Well we had anticipated this is in outfitting Moosetracks and had installed dual filters, so we simply switched the other one and we were on our way.
 So it was on to Sandy Hook, NY, which is just a stop over as you enter New York Harbor to get out of the FOG. We had a great sail up the New Jersey coast and managed to sail the whole trip which so far has been very rare. The trip wasn’t fast however as we averaged 5 knots over 120 nm. The wind was mostly from the stern at 130-180 degrees from the bow, not a great point of sail for Moosetracks without a whisker pole. But we altered course frequently with winds shifts and went a fair way out to sea to keep moving in 10-15 knot winds. Around 2am we gybed the boat and got a better angle on the swells which steadied the sails and helped too. So we arrived in Sandy Hook after 4 hours or so of staring at fog and wondering what was out there. Well with radar and AIS we have a better view than most.


CG station Sandy Hook

On July 3rd we decided to refuel and change that filter, so a busy morning with chores then a quick run to the dock for fuel. The dock was up the river and had quite the tide running, so we took 2 attempts to get safely tied up. We also took the opportunity to fill our water tanks and had nearly 200 gallons to get so it took a fair amount of time but the dock crew were very chatty and no one else was around so it went great.



Atlantic Highlands

Sunset on 4th July at Atlantic Highlands

Hurricane damage in NJ still evident

We spent the 4th of July at Atlantic Highlands in New Jersey. We went ashore to walk the town and it has a lovely main street with lots of small shops and restaurants. The area here took a hard hit from Hurricane Sandy last year and it was obvious from all the dock construction but thankfully the town itself looked pretty good. The harbor was mostly back in action but the docks for pleasure boats will not be completed until later this year. We had a lovely lunch at “On the Deck” with views of the harbor and NYC as a backdrop. That evening we had a lovely display of fireworks from all the towns along the shore and up to Staten Island. NYC had a huge display but it was just a bit too far away to fully appreciate, if anyone comes this far make sure to stop for the 4th of July because it did look amazing.


We hope your summer is in full swing too wherever you are.

North Carolina

We arrived in Wrightsville beach on May 30th and found our old cruising friends s/v Serenade were here. We dropped the hook and let them know we had arrived. We had chosen to detour to here because we needed some parts from West Marine, the most important being the Chart chip for our electronic navigation. We ordered everything and needed to wait 5 days for it to arrive, so we had time to burn. Thankfully Wrightsville is a lovely stop with a great beach and easy walking to stores and supermarkets, they even had a famers market on Mondays but not as nice as Georgetown. While we were waiting s/v Slow Flight and s/v Providence came into the anchorage and we had a great time at the local Mexican restaurant catching up.

Wrightsville Beach at play time - amazing stuff

And some real characters too..

 

Wrightsville Beach

Also a Tropical Storm named Andrea spooled up in the Gulf of Mexico and set it sights on us in Wrightsville. It’s a good enough anchorage and has plenty of room to wait out a good blow. So we re-anchored to the middle of the river to give ourselves a little more room from shore and other boats. The storm was pretty strong with up to 50 knot gusts but not for that long. It was over pretty quickly and by the end of the day it was just windy.

TS Andrea with white caps inside the river

Our West marine order didn’t all come at once so we had to wait out the storm anyway and the part arrived the day Andrea did and we collected when it dried up the next day. Such is life when you live in the outdoors.

Our next stop was Beaufort, NC. We decided on another outside route so we left Masonboro inlet and headed the 60-70 nm to Beaufort. It was light wind sailing all morning but picked up to 20-25 knots as we approached Beaufort inlet for a nice fast ride in. The inlet is wide and safe so no issues. We found a busy anchorage in Taylor Creek so we went quite a way in to get away from too many boats. Beaufort is a very nice town with a great waterfront for sailors starting with a free dinghy dock. We enjoyed the historic streets and graveyard as well as the maritime museum. The following day we walked the island trails on Carrot Island and saw more wild horses and lots of tiny fiddler crabs.

Beaufort Waterfront houses

Maritime museum Beaufort Waterfront

An odd request - typically British

Cemetery at Beaufort

 

Wild Horses

Beautiful wild flowers on Carrot Island

 

The next stop was going to be Oriental, NC. We left through a bascule bridge at Beaufort and headed up Adams Creek for the Neuse river. We had done this part of NC before when we bought Moosetracks in 2007 so it’s the only piece of this trip on the entire East Coast we have done before! Unfortunately when we got to Oriental the harbor was very small and the only anchoring was taken by 3 boats already there. So we had a back up plan and moved 10 miles north to Broad Creek. It was a great spot amongst lots of trees and much fewer homes. Wifi here was a challenge though but we got enough to see the radar images of the next pending low and frontal system. So we stayed here 2 nights and rode out the blow comfortably.

Adams Creek on a still day (motoring)

 

After Broad Creek we wanted to see Ocracoke so we headed on a long day sail across Pamlico Sound to the outer banks. It was a great sailing day with again 20-25 knot winds and Moosetracks started to show off her speed again. We arrived nice and early and found plenty of space to anchor in the harbor. Ocracoke was fabulous, good free dinghy docks and lots of free national park attractions. We spent time listening to Park Rangers talking of local history and visited the Preservation Society Museum which were all great. We walked around town afterwards and had quite a surprise. A man at the Ice Cream shop said “ you look like cruisers” and of course we had to admit we are. We got chatting as they were too were cruisers and we asked where they had been and where they were going. It was wonderful to find out Dena & Myron on s/v hold Fast had cruised with our really good friends Bruce and Gina on s/v Dreamcatcher and had heard us all through the Bahamas and just missed us, it was neat to finally catch each other.

Ocracoke Lighthouse from the Harbor

Oyster bed preservation and renourishment

Preservation Society Museum - Ocracoke

 

Forever a part of England

We also walked the paths to Teach's hole which is where Blackbeard (Edward Teach) kept his ship the Queen Anne's Revenge. It was a lovely walk and we watched the locals renourishing the oyster beds to try to get them growing again. Afterwards we walked onto see the lighthouse up close and talk to the park ranger.

 

The next stop was Shallowbag bay near Manteo, NC. Our good friends Harry & Melinda had given us this tip as well so we had to come see the place. They really love cruisers with a free dinghy dock and free 24hr pier to tie off too. It makes you feel very welcome. We decided to anchor out as we wanted to stay 3 nights but there was plenty of room for us. We walked the lovely waterfront with lots to see and do. There is a large replica sailing vessel the Elizabeth II from Sir Walter Raleigh's fleet that brought the Lost Colonists to Roanoke. We got our bikes out and cycled to Fort Raleigh and had a wonderful time at the visitor center and walking the trails. It is a great attraction and if the weather had held we would have seen the Elizabethan Gardens as well but sadly they are outside and it started raining earlier than we though it would. So we took our break in the rain to cycle back to Moosetracks and made it fairly dry with several stops for shelter.

Lots of Duck Hides on the Neuse river

Bodie Lighthouse on the Outer Banks

 

Roanoke Marsh Lighthouse at Manteo

They race these in Bristol Docks England too..

Roanoke / Manteo Sailing Academy

Biking the trail to Fort Raleigh

Fort Raleigh Theater

Wind Mill on the trail to Fort Raleigh

Replica ship Elizabeth II

Repoduction Chad boat from the Sailing Academy



Shallowbag Bay and Manteo Harbor

 

So that’s up to date for June 18th and we are now looking at leaving tomorrow to go up the Virginia Cut to Portsmouth over the next few days.

By the way we have now added a new page for Maps up in the top right corner, click on “Maps” and it will give you a list of the Google maps we have made of our journey so far. Also here are the links for April http://goo.gl/maps/Be6Z2 and May http://goo.gl/maps/V1F7J. A small statistic for eveyone, we crossed over 2,000 nautical miles so far this trip on June 1st!

Again we hope everything is wonderful in your world too.