New York

I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to post.  I have been a knitting fiend so that I can finish the last of the 3 baby blankets to take with me when I visit Glenn and Pat in Rochester.

Thursday, May 12
Forked River to New York City
Distance Traveled:  63.29nm
Miles Traveled to get Home:  1751.60
Total Distance Traveled:  4431.53

This morning we  listened to the weather forecast - Winds N 10-15 decreasing to 5 kts and clocking to SE in the afternoon with 3-5 feet waves.  So we will leave a little bit later than our normal and give me time to prepare for the passage.  I made sandwiches, heated water for the thermos and we raised anchor at 748am.  It was cloudy to the East but sunny with clear skies to the West.  Hope that sun comes our way.  Wind is 5 kts from the North - 6 degrees.  We entered the inlet to the ocean and it's much better than yesterday - the wave are half as tall.  Great!  There are a couple fishing boats ahead of us - which there weren't yesterday so that's encouraging also.  By 812am we have exited the inlet and changed course to 60 degrees - the winds are 7-8 kts at 73 degree to port wind angle.  We let the head sail out and are going GPS 5.4 - 5.6 kts and boat 6 kts.    The wind started clocking sooner than we expected to the NE so we roll in the head sail.  I take my watch at 10am and by 1015am we let out the head sail out the size of #4 sail as the winds are 4-6 kts but at 85 - 90 degree wind angle to starboard.  It's hard to keep the sail full as we are going over the 4-6' swells.  The water has coarse wind ripples.  By noon on Phil's watch the wind clocks further to 120 degrees to SB.  I took a nap.  When it's my watch again, the wind is building to 15-17 kts by 330pm and we are getting into the lower NY Harbor.  The Ship Stena Poseidon  is at anchor and we pass on her stern.  Since Phil's noon watch, we have had a positive current along the shore which has helped up to make good time.  By 4pm we have GPS speed 6to 9 kts on waves and boat 6.6 kts.  We jibe the head sail to SB tack and go under the I-278 bridge.  There are many ships at anchor in NY Harbor and it's not too long that we round the corner and see the Statue of Liberty.    We continue motoring to the Statue of Liberty as we are anchoring behind her in the Park.  By 602am the anchor is set and I start making supper of Stroganoff pasta mix with canned beef and gravy, green beans and dehydrated mushrooms added.  After supper, I continue knitting the baby blanket and Phil reads.  We're in bed by 930pm as it's been a long day.

Friday, May 13
NYC to Pollipe Island, Hudson River, NY
Distance Traveled:  62.03 nm
Miles traveled to get home:  1813.63
Total Distance Traveled:  4493.56


I have the alarm set at 5am and we raise anchor at 520am going out the Channel by the Statue of Liberty.  The winds is from 310 degrees at 4 kts.  NYC Harbor is flat.  We passed Ellis Island at 543am and are in the Hudson River by 6am.  By 640am we pass our favorite (note the sarcasm here) Marina the W79 St. Boat Basin.  They have 14 boats on the mooring balls, but they have about twice that number of mooring balls open.  Their mooring field is so long that it took us 10 min to traverse it.  While on my watch we pass the Tappan Zee Bridge and Yonkers, NY.  Spring is here also - with the dogwood blooming and the newer leaves on the trees.  That's what has been great coming back north - following spring up the coast.  We get to see the Azaleas and dogwoods and the new green leaves from South Carolina up the coast to New York.  We had hoped to time our leaving to catch the incoming tide current, but guessed wrong - at 10am the GPS speed was 4.6 vs Boat of 5.8.  At 215pm the boat speed was 3.9 kt and boat was about 5.5.   We passed the Bear Mountain Bridge at 130pm and finally by 152pm the wind increased to 10-11kts so I rolled out the head sail so give us a little boost.

The mountains along this section of the Hudson River are beautiful and the water is deep - saw up to 110ft under the keel.  We haven't seen many boats of the river this trip and just a few tugs with barges.  We drop anchor at 408pm with 3' under the keel and as it's low tide now, we should be ok thru the night.

We get on the computer and have learned that the Erie Canal is opening at Waterford, NY tomorrow May 14.  Phil calls Colin Mills and leaves a message hoping that he'll be able to come out earlier than expected to help bring Changes back to Ohio.  I'm going to have to leave the boat early to visit my brother Glenn and his family (he's the one with the triplet girls) and then get home for my Neice's wedding May 25.  It's back to work for me on June 1. 

Saturday, May 14
Pollepi Island to Esopus Creek, NY
Distance Traveled:  36.70 nm
Miles traveled to get Home:  1850.33 nm
Total Distance Traveled:  4530.26 nm

We have about 69 nm to go to get to Castleton on Hudson, NY and the Castleton Boat Club where we will take the mast off the boat.  What with the current from the tides, Phil thinks that if we leave about 30 min later, we will catch the current from the tide so we woke at 530am am to a gray day!  Winds are 8kts from the SE and we have 4 feet of water under our keel . We raise anchor at 607am.  The anchor was really set because the bow really went down under the strain of the windlass pulling the anchor out of the mud.  Once we are in the Hudson River, we have to be careful to watch the debris.  There are floating logs and sticks and we hit 2 objects at 743am.  There are a few more power boats on the river today and more fisherman.  I remember the limestone crusher that we passed on our way south and before too long we are passing through Poughkeepsie, NY.   Unfortunately, we don't get the positive current that we were looking for, bu we plug away and by 1220pm we come to the lighthouse at Esopus Creek.  Down the channel we go at high tide and past the only marina.  We have a hard time getting the anchor to set.  I lower the anchor - add more and more chain - bounce across the bottom the anchor goes.  We try again, with the same result.  We give it one more try and this time Phil doesn't try to go in  reverse to "set" the anchor and we call it good enough at 1258pm.  Phil checks his log book and  he finds that last time we were here, that the anchor dragged the first time too.  We have decided that even though Skipper Bob states this is the best protected anchorage on the Hudson (I'm sure that part is true), that next trip south we are not going to come here.  There really  isn't a lot of room and we don't like having to worry about the anchor.  It's also deep water here - between 15-20 ft so we have to have out almost all the chain for the scope - but not a lot of room to swing.  There isn't much wind so we'll be fine tonight.

We decided not to go to shore - so I work on the baby blanket as I want to have 3 done when I visit my brother.  I make supper of dehydrated corn and carrots, sliced potatoes and warm up the already cooked chicken breasts.

Since we have been motoring all day, I don't have to worry about electricity, so I watch the movie "Dave" with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver and then add the captions to the photos I have recently imported to my laptop.  I am really missing some of the friends I made in the Bahamas and am not fun to live with for Phil.  I'm sad, tired of the grind and want some social interaction.  I guess it's part of coming back home and the weather doesn't help.    What has been a life saver with these cold temps is using the propane camper lantern with the mantels.  We have been able to use it and be very comfortable inside the boat.  I'm so glad that Phil bought it!

Sunday, May 15
Esopus Creek to Castleton Boat Club
Distance Traveled:  33.99 nm
Miles traveled to get Home:  1884.32
Total Distance Traveled:  4564.25 nm

We start the engine at 610am and raise anchor at 614am with light rain falling.  By 626am we are out of the channel and in the Hudson River with winds 5.5 kts from 180 degrees and our course is 20 degrees magnetic.  GPS speed is 3.9 kts and boat is 5.75 kts.  We have not timed  our leaving correctly with the current, but we will plug away.  The clouds are really low and are covering the tops of the low mountains along the Hudson River.  By 8am our GPS speed is starting to increase so by 9am we make the GPS 5 kts mark.  We pass the Athens Lighthouse and Hudson City so by 1225pm we dock at Castleton Boat Club with drizzle falling.  On the computer radar - the rain was to have stopped but no one told the rain to stop coming down!  The Boat Club is having their annual Fish Derby - but we have warmed up spaghetti for lunch.  We will be staying here 2 nights waiting for Phil's friend Chet to come on Tuesday with the frame for our mast and assistance in stepping the mast.  I finish the last baby blanket and take advantage of the clubs free good wireless internet connection going to You Tube and watching how to knit the Continental Way.  I'll start a baby sweater and will use this new way to knit to practice.  I also check out the Knit Picks videos before I start.  How nice to be able to watch videos on the internet!  While I knit, Phil watches the videos on cars breaking the speed records at the Bonneville salt flats in Nevada (hope I have the right). 

It continues to rain/drizzle/ being gray for the rest of the day.  I make steak, baked sweet potatoes and carrots with peas for supper and having electricity, we are running our electric heater.  Isn't warmth wonderful??

Monday, May 15
Castleton Boat Club

Having no where to go, we sleep in until 745am this morning.  Now for most of you, that may not seems like sleeping in, but if you have been following my blog, then you know that it IS sleeping in compared with getting up at 5 to  530am every travel day.  I fix eggs and toast for breakfast.  I have finally made the perfect eggs over easy for Phil with yoke intact. 

Today is the day to get things ready for stepping the mast.  First we put the dinghy in the water at 945am.  Then the head sail is off the forestay at 952am and rolled up by 10am.  By 1003am the mail sail is uncovered and off the mast/boom by 10008am.  Rain has started at 1013am and we have the mail sail rolled up by 1013am.  We have become a well oiled team with the boat chores.

With that done, we stay inside the boat with the electric heater on and talk to Virginia about our plans for me coming home.  I am taking up her kind offer to stay with her until Phil gets back with Changes.  In between rain showers, I gather up the laundry and go to the Laundromat that is very close by.  Just across the high speed rail road tracks (the train comes by very regularly - at least twice a hour or more during rush hour)and right 20 feet.  I meet Judy on S/V Dream Weaver who is at the dock behind us. While I'm waiting for the clothes to wash and dry, I continue practicing Continental knitting.  I'm making good progress and if I can just get up some speed, I'll be faster than the "throw" method I've been using for years and years.  They are going to step their mast after S/V Obsession is done and then travel together to Waterford, NY today.  By 130pm the clothes are done and I'm back at Changes.  We have sandwiches for lunch.

Well I'm at the next step in the sweater and realize that I forgot to put in the 2nd buttonhole an inch ago in the sweater.  Darn - I have to rip out.  Well I'll try the method I watched on the video - not working so well but I am not giving up yet.   We move Changes about 530pm to the dock in front of the crane so that we're first in line to take care of our mast as instructed by the CBC attendant.  The current was pretty strong and BAM - the crane hits the top of the mast as we pull into the dock.  Nothing is broken and we tie up making sure the top of the mast is away from the crane.

We have cabbage, sliced potatoes and pork tenderloin tips for supper.  Also break out Beverly Love's applesauce that she gave us - delicious!  Thanks Beverly.

Once supper is done, I'm back to the ripping out and Phil is reading while the electric heater is once again running.  The rain is still coming down on and off.  I touch base with my sister-in-law Pat.  No she didn't know I was coming Thursday  but it's great.  The babies are doing well and keeping them busy.  I also touch base with Virginia and update here that it will be Saturday that I am back in Ohio.  Hard to believe that it's so soon!

Tuesday, May 16
Castleton Boat Club

Today is the big day to step the mast.  We woke at 615am without the alarm clock.  Today I'm cleaning inside the boat so that it's reasonable clean when Colin arrives on Friday.  The bath, sole and galley is cleaned well and I'm done by 930am.  While I was cleaning and before it started to rain, Phil goes to the local convenient store to get eggs, milk and bread.  Chet arrives at 940am - early but without Carol who is sick at home.  We hope that she feels better soon.  We get right to work and have the mast off and on the cradle tied down by 1137am.  Great time and we were lucky to not have it rain and no power boats passing by the upset things with their wake.  We walk to lunch as the rain starts coming down at the Village Inn and Bar.  A warm lunch is wonderful and conversation and visiting with Chet is just as great.  Talk of the Bahamas and the people that we met and are missing makes me a little teary.  We met such great people that we had a lot in common with.  Saying our good byes and thanks to Chet, back to the boat, we start the engine at 134pm and cast off from the dock at 138pm.  Phil takes the first watch and we have a 0.2kt positive current.  I heat up water for the thermos, Call Waterford Canal Center and they have room at the docks at this time (there are no reservations), then reserve a Enterprise rental car in Amsterday, NY.  Getting a hotel room at a reasonable price is more difficult.  I find out that 2 colleges are having graduation ceremonies this weekend.   Glenn's home is too crowded with baby things, so I finally get a hotel room close to the NY Thru Way in Henrietta, NY at Red Carpet Inn.  By 420pm we are coming up to Troy Lock.  Boy is there a lot of water coming over the dam.  Last fall there was barely any water coming over and there is plenty now.  We are through the lock at 445pm and coming into dock in Waterford at 523pm.  Joy oh Joy - S/V Messenger and Georgia E who we met in the Bahamas is there!!  We talked and decided to got to Ron & Pauls for dessert after separate suppers on the boat.  Then we went to visit s/V Dream Weaver whom we met at CBC.  We were invited aboard for cabbage, ham and potatoe soup.  - Yes we'd love some and Judy was glad that she didn't have to put it in the fridge.  They are leaving tomorrow for Amsterdam., NY.  There was lots of discussion amongst the boaters about whether to go our to wait it out in Waterford.  We have decided to continue with our plan of leaving tomorrow and now will have a couple other boats to travel with.

We had a great time having dessert with the Marr family from Messenger.  Phil and I had strawberry Rhubarb pie with ice cream.  It's so good to talk with them and we have committed to seeiing them again in the future as they live close to Port Dover in Canada.  They have even been to Grand River in the past so hope to be able to offer them guest dockage in the future.