My brother pointed out on the phone today that we had not posted anything on the blog since 8/20. Wow that's a long time and we've been doing a lot of moving around in our push south so time for some catch up on where we've been and what we've been up to.
When we last posted we were still in Martha's Vineyard picking up Jake's last supply of medicine. That seems like ages ago. The day after we got the medicine we decided to say good by to the Vineyard and to start heading south. We had initially planned to go further north, at least to Province Town, but the weather wasn't that cooperative and we wanted to start making our way south.
We had thought about revising Block Island on our way out of New England but the wind and seas were favorable for a longer trip and so we went from the Vineyard to Montauk, Long Island, our longest trip so far in a day. Seventy-three miles in about 11.5 hours. The seas were some of the largest our small crew has seen but everyone was safe and it was a relatively easy trip.
Lake Montauk was one of the shallowest ports that we'd been in and it was a real trick to anchor there. At one point we were almost aground. We only spent the night and left the next day given that the weather was still not great and we had favorable east winds. We went from Montauk to Old Saybrook, Connecticut. We found a beautiful anchorage there and stayed for a couple of days. But while we were there we mostly took care of business instead of kicking back.
Jake needed to get his IV line out and we needed to re-provision and get some more boat supplies. The Middlesex Hospital in Connecticut did a very nice job with Jake's IV and Defender Industries and a couple of other stores did well for the restocking of the boat. We thought about staying a bit longer in CT but our next major stop would be on the Hudson River to see family and so we decided to move on.
From Old Saybrook we crossed the Long Island Sound to Oyster Bay, Long Island. We only had 1-3 miles of visibility. While it was calm and we motored a lot we were happy to have the radar on during the trip. There were a lot of fishing boats along the way and a ferry or two and it was nice to know where they were before we saw them up close and personal. For some pictures of our trip from the Vineyard and down the sound, click right here.
Oyster Bay was another very nice spot. Jake got to swim there for the first time in a month and so did we all. The water was a bit warmer than up north and we spent a couple two days there before moving on.
From Oyster Bay we went to City Island, NY to stage our approach to Hell Gate on the East River. The reputation of Hell Gate is about what you would expect for the name. It is relatively small pinch of water through which Long Island Sound funnels on its way to New York Harbor. You only go through from the north on a ebb tide and you watch out for the current and the HUGE commercial traffic.
We only spent the night at anchor off of City Island but it was pretty cool nonetheless. The kids got a dinghy ride under the Throgs Neck Bridge at dusk and got to see an old military fort. The skyline of New York was seen easily from the boat and everyone was pretty excited for our trip around Manhattan.
It was an amazing contrast to be able to show the kids the island of Manhattan after they'd visited the island of Cuttyhunk. The two places are certainly on the opposite ends of the island spectrum.
The trip around Manhattan was filled with fantastic sights as you would expect. The buildings, bridges, ferries, water taxis, sea planes, helicopters etc. provided a lot of excitement that was capped off by the Statue of Liberty. We tried for a group shot of the family with the statue in the background but the harbor was too rolly to get a good shot. We have plenty more pictures of that leg of the trip. Here are a few, just click here.
Our trip around Manhattan went smoothly and we were making good time so we pressed on up the Hudson River the same day and made it to Haverstraw, NY by the same evening. Anchoring off of Haverstraw was a blast back to the past for me because I grew up here and spent a lot of time on and near the river as a kid.
While in Haverstraw we got to take the kids to see their Uncle Steve who at ninety-three and a half is still going strong. He still drives his car around town, tends a nice garden at his house, visits with his grandkids, and still shovels his own snow in the winter. Hopefully we all have some of his genes. He has some great photos albums and he shared them with us during our visit. The kids even got to see a picture of him receiving the Bronze Star after fighting in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.
I also got to take the kids to the house where I grew up and to a few of the places I used to like to go as a kid including Hoyer's Ice Cream stand. Everyone approved of the trip to Hoyer's which has been serving up some mean soft serve since 1933.
After Haverstraw we made it up to Newburgh, NY where we visited with my brother and his family and my cousin Lidwin and her family. It was great to see everyone after a long while. We got to see my nephew Jack and my newest nephew Liam. The kids also got to visit with their cousins Jim and Matt, Lidwin and Jim's son's. For pictures of our trip from Haverstraw to Newburgh, click right here. (Special thanks to our old friend Sgt. F (first picture in this album) for his help when we got to Haverstraw).
Lidwin, Jim, Jim and Matt along with my brother Jeff all like to spend time on the water so we got to do some sailing together, some rafting up of boats, and even a little jet skiing. A GREAT time was had by all. (pictures soon).
We spent about a week on the Hudson and the portion from Haverstraw to Newburgh has to be some of the most scenic of the entire river. Passing West Point and Storm King Mountain is absolutely gorgeous. And the section around Bear Mountain, where we spent the night before heading out, was beautiful as well. We even took a trip into Bear Mountain State park for a walk with the kids around Hessian Lake which was just as nice as it was when I visited there at their age.
After leaving the Hudson we headed back down the river, through New York Harbor, and over to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. We left Sandy Hook before dawn the next day to make the trip to Atlantic City. (Atlantic City, one word, YUCK!!) The only reason for going to AC was to avoid an overnight sail down the New Jersey Coast. We left the next morning and stopped in Cape May, New Jersey. The day and two nights we spent in NJ were really nice. We might have stayed there longer but with Tropical Storm Gabrielle on the way up the coast we moved on up the Delaware Bay, across the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and into the Chesapeake.
We're now at anchor at Hopkins Cove on the Middle River which is on Maryland's western shore of the Chesapeake. Here's a Google Map that shows were we are and where we've been.
View Larger Map
There's more to tell but for now that's the most catch up I can do in a single library session. To be continued . . .
When we last posted we were still in Martha's Vineyard picking up Jake's last supply of medicine. That seems like ages ago. The day after we got the medicine we decided to say good by to the Vineyard and to start heading south. We had initially planned to go further north, at least to Province Town, but the weather wasn't that cooperative and we wanted to start making our way south.
We had thought about revising Block Island on our way out of New England but the wind and seas were favorable for a longer trip and so we went from the Vineyard to Montauk, Long Island, our longest trip so far in a day. Seventy-three miles in about 11.5 hours. The seas were some of the largest our small crew has seen but everyone was safe and it was a relatively easy trip.
Lake Montauk was one of the shallowest ports that we'd been in and it was a real trick to anchor there. At one point we were almost aground. We only spent the night and left the next day given that the weather was still not great and we had favorable east winds. We went from Montauk to Old Saybrook, Connecticut. We found a beautiful anchorage there and stayed for a couple of days. But while we were there we mostly took care of business instead of kicking back.
Jake needed to get his IV line out and we needed to re-provision and get some more boat supplies. The Middlesex Hospital in Connecticut did a very nice job with Jake's IV and Defender Industries and a couple of other stores did well for the restocking of the boat. We thought about staying a bit longer in CT but our next major stop would be on the Hudson River to see family and so we decided to move on.
From Old Saybrook we crossed the Long Island Sound to Oyster Bay, Long Island. We only had 1-3 miles of visibility. While it was calm and we motored a lot we were happy to have the radar on during the trip. There were a lot of fishing boats along the way and a ferry or two and it was nice to know where they were before we saw them up close and personal. For some pictures of our trip from the Vineyard and down the sound, click right here.
Oyster Bay was another very nice spot. Jake got to swim there for the first time in a month and so did we all. The water was a bit warmer than up north and we spent a couple two days there before moving on.
From Oyster Bay we went to City Island, NY to stage our approach to Hell Gate on the East River. The reputation of Hell Gate is about what you would expect for the name. It is relatively small pinch of water through which Long Island Sound funnels on its way to New York Harbor. You only go through from the north on a ebb tide and you watch out for the current and the HUGE commercial traffic.
We only spent the night at anchor off of City Island but it was pretty cool nonetheless. The kids got a dinghy ride under the Throgs Neck Bridge at dusk and got to see an old military fort. The skyline of New York was seen easily from the boat and everyone was pretty excited for our trip around Manhattan.
It was an amazing contrast to be able to show the kids the island of Manhattan after they'd visited the island of Cuttyhunk. The two places are certainly on the opposite ends of the island spectrum.
The trip around Manhattan was filled with fantastic sights as you would expect. The buildings, bridges, ferries, water taxis, sea planes, helicopters etc. provided a lot of excitement that was capped off by the Statue of Liberty. We tried for a group shot of the family with the statue in the background but the harbor was too rolly to get a good shot. We have plenty more pictures of that leg of the trip. Here are a few, just click here.
Our trip around Manhattan went smoothly and we were making good time so we pressed on up the Hudson River the same day and made it to Haverstraw, NY by the same evening. Anchoring off of Haverstraw was a blast back to the past for me because I grew up here and spent a lot of time on and near the river as a kid.
While in Haverstraw we got to take the kids to see their Uncle Steve who at ninety-three and a half is still going strong. He still drives his car around town, tends a nice garden at his house, visits with his grandkids, and still shovels his own snow in the winter. Hopefully we all have some of his genes. He has some great photos albums and he shared them with us during our visit. The kids even got to see a picture of him receiving the Bronze Star after fighting in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.
I also got to take the kids to the house where I grew up and to a few of the places I used to like to go as a kid including Hoyer's Ice Cream stand. Everyone approved of the trip to Hoyer's which has been serving up some mean soft serve since 1933.
After Haverstraw we made it up to Newburgh, NY where we visited with my brother and his family and my cousin Lidwin and her family. It was great to see everyone after a long while. We got to see my nephew Jack and my newest nephew Liam. The kids also got to visit with their cousins Jim and Matt, Lidwin and Jim's son's. For pictures of our trip from Haverstraw to Newburgh, click right here. (Special thanks to our old friend Sgt. F (first picture in this album) for his help when we got to Haverstraw).
Lidwin, Jim, Jim and Matt along with my brother Jeff all like to spend time on the water so we got to do some sailing together, some rafting up of boats, and even a little jet skiing. A GREAT time was had by all. (pictures soon).
We spent about a week on the Hudson and the portion from Haverstraw to Newburgh has to be some of the most scenic of the entire river. Passing West Point and Storm King Mountain is absolutely gorgeous. And the section around Bear Mountain, where we spent the night before heading out, was beautiful as well. We even took a trip into Bear Mountain State park for a walk with the kids around Hessian Lake which was just as nice as it was when I visited there at their age.
After leaving the Hudson we headed back down the river, through New York Harbor, and over to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. We left Sandy Hook before dawn the next day to make the trip to Atlantic City. (Atlantic City, one word, YUCK!!) The only reason for going to AC was to avoid an overnight sail down the New Jersey Coast. We left the next morning and stopped in Cape May, New Jersey. The day and two nights we spent in NJ were really nice. We might have stayed there longer but with Tropical Storm Gabrielle on the way up the coast we moved on up the Delaware Bay, across the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and into the Chesapeake.
We're now at anchor at Hopkins Cove on the Middle River which is on Maryland's western shore of the Chesapeake. Here's a Google Map that shows were we are and where we've been.
View Larger Map
There's more to tell but for now that's the most catch up I can do in a single library session. To be continued . . .
1 comment:
Glad to see and update and hear that things are going well. Looks like the trip to Haverstraw was a good one - did you get to go inside the old house?? Keep us posted on your where abouts - we'll need to be sending xmas cards soon...
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