Mast Raising Finally and New York City and Beyond!

Sept 14 - Catskill, NY

We raised the mast in Hop-O-Nose.  The crew arrived at 8am and proceeded with the lift at 9am.  There were no issues with the mast raising though the hoist looks like it is 100 years old.

While Brian and Terry tensioned the rig and put the sails on, I cleaned the interior of the boat.

We were invited for cocktails and get together on SV Paprika.  We met a lot of new friends.

Sept 15 - Catskill, NY

Another working day.  Brian and Terry put up the wind generator and the radar post extension.  While Brian changed the primary and secondary fuel filters (1484 engine hours), I gave the boat a well-deserved scrub.  Brian took an amazing shot of the boat that evening.

Sept 16 - Catskill, NY to Marlboro NY

We left Hop-O-Nose at 8:30am and the current was in our favour until about noon so made good time (8.2 knots).

Brian called several yacht clubs looking for mooring and left messages.  At noon the tide changed so we started looking at anchor options.  We ended up anchoring against the east shore.  Once anchored we had lunch and began to settle in when we received a call from the Marlboro Yacht Club.  We pulled the anchor and proceeded an additional 10.2 nm to the club.  Excellent club, $25 mooring and $1 beer.  Spent the night there.

Sept 17 - Marlboro, NY to Croton on Hudson, NY

Left the Marlboro yacht club at 6:30am to take advantage of the tidal current.  On the way, we passed a castle and the West Point Army Acadamy.  Brian tested the radar and found out it was not working.

We anchored in Haverstraw Bay at 1pm.  While at anchor Terry and I hoisted Brian up the mass to mount our radar reflector.  Brian also corrected the radar issue (the connector was not fully in).  We all settled in for a quiet afternoon.

At about 4:30pm the sailing vessel "Jade" showed up on our AIS.  They saw us and anchored nearby.  We had originally met them in Catskill where we had our mast put up.  I was anxious for a female to talk to so we went over by dinghy to visit.  After supper, we picked them up for drinks on our boat.  We have been friends with Diane and Jacquelin ever since.

Sept 18 - Croton on Hudson, NY to New York City, NY

Weighed anchor at 6:30am and proceeded on our final leg to New York City.  We passed Sing Sing prison on the way.  While sailing, we got boarded by the Rockland County Sheriff.  They just wanted to make sure we had the proper documentation.  Couldn't have asked for nicer guys.

Once arrived, we anchored in the 79th Street Boat Basin.  We checked in at the office and paid for 3 days of dinghy dockage.

We toured Central Park for most of the afternoon and ate at TGI Friday's for supper.  When we returned we decided to tackle the laundry.  The facility had 1 washer and 1 dryer.  We did laundry until 12:30am.

Sept 19 - New York City, NY

We were woken by our neighbour boat which was leaving.  We reduced scope by 30 feet and the pulled up anchor.  When their anchor came up there was a large metal table attached to it and this also caused their anchor chain to wrap around the anchor.

We caught the Top View tour bus near Central Park and began our tour of New York north side (Harlem).  We then continued downtown, visited Time Square, and ended with the Liberty Cruise.

Sept 20 - New York City, NY

Once again we started with Top View Tour (took the subway downtown to catch it).  Stopped at the Empire State Building and took that tour.  While touring, the actor Robert Pattinson, who will play Batman in 2019 showed up in his Batman costume.  I had the pleasure to take a photo with him.

Beautiful and amazing views of the City from the top of the Empire State building.

We ended the day with the Museum of Natural History and Pizza at an outdoor restaurant.

Dumb Dumb Give Me Some Gum Gum

Sept 21 - New York City, NY to Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Finally, we moved again and were glad to leave our rocky anchorage.  We pulled up the anchor at 8am and headed east on the Hudson to Sandy Hook.  We stopped along the way for fuel and a pump-out.  We arrived in Atlantic Highlands and anchored in Sandy Hook.  We got our dinghy ready and went to shore.  We walked the town and went back to the boat to rest.

 

Sept 22 - Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Brian and I walked to West Marine in search for hooks while Terry visited his son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids.  West  Marine was a long walk and when we got there we found it very expensive for hooks.  We ended up buying hog clips, hat clips, and padlocks for the cockpit lockers.

Brian and I had mini burgers and fries at the Bagel Cafe.  Terry joined us for coffee shortly after our order came.  Back at the boat, Brian modified our topping lift and added a bungee.  We had a lovely evening.

Sept 23 - Atlantic Highlands, NJ

We went to shore in the morning to pick up groceries and beer.  Found some low price hooks at the local hardware store.  Back at the boat, Brian and Terry modified the Highfield dinghy cover with Sumbrella material and zippers to allow its use on the dinghy davits.

Andrea from S/V Paprika arrived in the afternoon and we went out for supper at the top deck restaurant.  We then returned to the boat to prepare for Tuesday departure for Atlantic City.

Sept 24 - Atlantic Highlands, NJ to Atlantic City, NJ

Left the boat basin with good winds (with about 40 other sailboats) and headed out to Atlantic ocean. On our way around Sandy Hook, we saw our first pod of dolphins.  Sadly, they were too far for photos, but I was thrilled to see them.

After rounding the hook we were able to sail at about 8 knots and sometimes went as high as 9.  We saw more dolphins in the distance and several whales.

We caught up to and passed most of the sailboats (including some catamarans).

Our arrival at Cape May would have been in the dark (10pm) so we decided to anchor in Atlantic City, NJ.  We were joined by 5 other sailboats (including S/V Jade).

S/V Jade - Diane and Jacquelin Lemieux

Sept 25 - Atlantic City, NJ to Cape May, NJ

Winds were very light form the north-west.   We weight the anchor at 6am and headed south.  We ended up sailing for 2 hours and then started the engine as winds continued to get lighter.  During the day the winds continued to move more south so we dropped the genoa and motored with just the main.

Picture credit to S/V Jade

We saw dolphins and whales but they were too far again to get good pictures.  We even had a Northern Parula join us for a while.

We entered the Cape May channel a little after 1 pm.  The entrance was tricky as there was a rising tide and the current was swirling at the channel entrance.  Anchoring was a challenge with the current and winds working in opposite directions.  We lifted the anchor and reset 3 times before we were comfortable.  Later that day we watched two sailboats gently touch as they swung towards each other. That boat eventually moved further down the channel.

We had an early evening and hit the sack by 8:30 pm.

As we get into areas where the internet is less available we'll be updating the BLOG less frequently.

28 Locks - OH MY

Sept 6 - Newark NY to Lock 25

Left at 9am with intentions of travelling to Clyde.  Completed 2 locks (28 A & B) and arrived at Clyde at about 12:15pm.  The dock was very shallow and we softly grounded about 2 feet from the dock.  We managed to pump out the guest head then decided to move on rather than sit on the keel.  Completed lock 27 and 26 and then tied up at lock 25 with very long lines west of the bridge. The lockmaster gave us a tour of the lock.

Sept 7 - Lock 25 to Lock 24 (Baldwinsville NY)

Left the dock at 7:30am and passed through by 8am.  Before we left we noticed no display on the solar charger.  Brian checked the electrical connections and everything was fine.  We continued to Baldwinsville and tied up to the free dock.  Paid $5 for electrical.  Brian replaced the solar charge controller with our spare.  Everything is now ok but will continue to monitor.

We ate out for dinner at the B'ville Diner.  It was excellent!  That evening, 2 additional sailboats appeared and tied up to the wall with us.  Both heading in the same direction as us.  While visiting the town, we found a couple of interesting signs.

US version of "Timmies-run" must be "the Dunkin run"

Sept 8 - Lock 24 (Baldwinsville) to Sylvan Beach

Called the lock keeper at 7am and completed the lock by 7:45am.  Light wind while crossing lake Oneida and from the stern so we had following seas.  Managed to cross the lake with no issues.  There are several small islands that are not on the charts...most likely from dredging operations.  Tied up at the Sylvan Beach wall with no utilities or washrooms.  The crew is starting to get smelly so we are looking for showers at the next stop.  We were all in bed by 9:30pm and evenings are getting colder.

Sept 9 - Sylvan Beach NY to Ilion NY

Crew ready by 7:30pm and off the wall shortly after.  We completed locks 22 and 21 before 9:30am.  Tried to dock in Utica but there was no one at the office to allow us dockage, however, the wall was too high for my comfort.

Completed locks 20 and 19 and ended up docking in Ilion for $1 afoot which is not to bad.

We are now buddy boating with another sailboat heading south.  Tim and his dog Jesse are from Michigan and are travelling on a Catalina 32 (boat name Evening Star) with a friend partway.

Tim and his friend David

Ilion is a nice stop and we took advantage and topped up our water tanks and had showers.

Sept 10 - Ilion NY to Canajoharie NY

Boat ready by 8am and headed off with Evening Star following close behind.  We went through locks 18 to 14.  Lock 17 was special with the 40.5-foot drop and the gate that rises up instead of sideways.  

Arrived at Canajoharie and tied up to the free dock, joined by Evening Star and 4 other travellers.  We were invited out to evening cocktails with the travellers.

Sept 11 - Canajoharie NY to Amsterdam NY  

This started out as a bad day.  Rain overnight and had everything wet and muddy.  As we were coming off the dock we ran aground.  Overnight the level of the canal had dropped by 12 inches.  We managed to free ourselves thanks to the efforts of the trawler captains we had met the night before.

Completed locks 13-11 and tied up in Amsterdam for the night.  After lunch, we walked into town for supplies.

Terry and I getting ready for a lock

Sept 12 - Amsterdam NY to Waterford NY

After a good night in Amsterdam, we left the dock at 7am and proceeded further east.  Today would be a day of many locks (9 in total with 5 of them ranging from 33' to 35') as we headed to Waterford. We completed lock 10 by 8am.  After lock E8 we once again ran aground softly.  While "locking" through, the lockmaster told us to proceed to the centre of the channel due to shallow water.  What he should have directed was to stay against the concrete dock until into the main channel.  We were able to get off easily.  The guard gate 2 was down and we called to have it opened.  After the guard gate 2 and 1, we proceeded through the flight of locks E6-E2.  There is no stopping between them.

We tied up at the Hurst Harbor Center in Waterford and went out for provisions.

Sept 13 - Waterford NY to Catskill NY

We left the dock by 8am and did our final lock (Troy Federal lock 1) by 9am.  We fueled up 17.2 gallons of fuel at the Albany Yacht Club. We calculated that we are burning about a half-gallon (US) an hour at 2200 rpm.  After a long day, we arrived at the Hop O Nose Marina were Brian and Terry started prepping the mast for putting the mast up in the morning.