Happy Memorial Day - From New York!



MAIA anchored in Liberty State Park behind the Statue with
Dave waving from the fly bridge

Today (not for long) we are at a marina in Croton-on-Hudson NY in lovely Haverstraw Bay.  But, back to last Tuesday...

We stayed one more night in Cape May and the winds and seas finally calmed!  And, then, in rolled the FOG!

Dave and Captains Lee, Jim and Bill ponder the fog
 in Cape May NJ

Right before noon we decided to go for it.  Let's just say we got a lot of good experience navigating in the fog!  It was so dense we couldn't see more than about 300 yards, but the radar guided us thru.  It was clear by the time we arrived in Atlantic City NJ.

A tiny opening led to a large anchorage overlooking
Atlantic City NJ

On Thursday we headed from Atlantic City to Atlantic Highlands NJ. The day started out sunny and calm but the winds picked up from the east giving us a rolly ride and the FOG reappeared. More good experience! After a 9 1/2 hour ride (with some rain to boot) we safely anchored in the Atlantic Highlands breakwater.

MAIA at her anchorage in Atlantic Highlands where,
after the fog, we could finally see the highlands

We enjoyed the beautiful anchorage for two nights.  On Saturday we had a short ride to New York City (well, technically we were still in NJ).

The approach to New York was a treat!

The Statue, two Staten Island Ferries and the City

The George Washington Bridge, Hudson River.

Yesterday, Sunday, we rode up the Hudson River on a sunny, calm day.  It was the sunniest day we'd had since all the fog in Cape May and up the NJ coast (by the way, it was our first time venturing out on MAIA in the ocean and it was exhilarating except for the fog!  The water was so clear, tinted greenish-grey).

In a few minutes we'll have brunch and then head up the river to Newburgh NY.

More later, take care!



He Stilled the Storm with a Gentle Breeze, and Calmed the Billowing Seas…

MAIA in Annopolis MD at Spa Creek

Today we’re weathered in at Cape May NJ. We planned to stay one night here at Utsch’s marina but tonight will be our third. However, we’re enjoying Cape May and the company of others who also are waiting to continue their journeys.

It’s been a fantastic week, seems more like a month! We celebrated the weekend with friends, Mothers’ Day with family and left early Monday, May 14 for Solomons MD. Next day we sailed to Annapolis where we love the moorings in Spa Creek by the US Naval Academy.

Stained Glass in USNA Chapel
(Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord)

On Thursday we anchored in Baltimore, where the smells are awful and the water is filthy but it’s exciting nonetheless! Dinner at Mama’s on the Half Shell was yummy and the lights of the Inner Harbor were beautiful.

We’d planned to stay two nights in Baltimore but instead on Friday headed up the Chesapeake Bay and into the C&D canal for Chesapeake City MD. Chesapeake City has a neat little harbor/anchoring basin but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for peace and quiet - the folks at the Chesapeake Inn on the basin were already partying when we arrived early in the afternoon, and they really love their loud boats.  Check out the picture below of a sight at the basin...

In Chesapeake City MD we anchored next to this "boat".  Check it out: one step
ladder  to the porch and another for a swim ladder, two screened doors, and who
knows what's inside?

On Saturday we set out for Cape May NJ.  Delaware Bay can get nasty and that’s why we left Baltimore a day early, for a good weather day to Cape May. 

By the time we arrived at Cape May canal, the winds were HOWLING.  Dave managed to get us thru the shallow, narrow entrance to Utsch’s marina and into the fuel dock then to our assigned slip with his usual skill. 

Upper Delaware Bay

The winds have been blowing probably 15 to 30 knots most of the time since we arrived, but it looks like they're calming and we may be able to set out in the ocean for Atlantic City in the morning.

A choppy approach to the Cape May Canal

More later, take care and have a great week!









P.S. Yesterday I had an interesting excursion in Cape May. I was aiming for a 90 min. walk. I often take long walks in unfamiliar places and have never gotten lost (unlike my friends Evelyn and Josie – a couple of years ago they got lost in Hampton and had to be escorted back to the marina by a kind police officer). So when I thought I was on the way “home” and arrived at the end of a LONG road at a dead end, I asked someone for directions back to the marina (he told me the dead end I’d just left was in “Oprah territory”, hmmm). I next encountered four large groups from the nearby Coast Guard station, jogging and chanting things like “If I want to be a Coastie I need to be fit!” Inspiring! If I had been able I would have followed them because I KNEW the way from the Coast Guard station back to the marina. Instead I had to ask for directions a second time… I figured at this point Dave would have put out an APB for me. Anyways, I made it back to MAIA after walking over two hours (seemed like at least three!). Next time I’ll take my smart phone… I did find an interesting man’s silver ring at the memorial to fishermen, bearing (the memorial, not the ring) the beautiful saying naming this post.  To be honest, I'm not sure I got it right - trying to remember it may be part of the reason I got lost!

P.P.S. I’m sorry for not communicating timely this week, we’ve had only cellular internet service.

More

A Ship in the Harbor is Safe...

MAIA at her slip at Deltaville Yachting Center

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not why ships are built" (ahhh, the wisdom of a fortune cookie)!

Well... Dave and I have retired from our day jobs. We sold the house and sold the truck. Our family is helping us by giving us a place to stay when not on the boat, a place to store stuff, by maintaining our car and getting our mail. What would we do without family?

Our Great Loop adventure on MAIA, a Grand Banks 42 trawler, will begin next Monday, May 14. We'll leave our safe harbor in Deltaville VA and head up the Chesapeake Bay.

We will miss our family and friends, but look forward to keeping in touch thru this blog, phone, e-mail, Skype and WhatsApp (and even in person as guests on MAIA and during visits home)!

More soon, take care!