New York

NEW YORK

LEAVING CAPE MAY

We back carefully out of our funky dock space, careful not to rub against the bulkhead. Larry is going to have to back here straight out and try to back here into an aisle on our starboard side to turn her around to head on out. I’ve got bumpers hung horizontally on the port side incase we rub that yucky bulk head. I remove the lines and through them on the boat and jump on careful to shut the swing open side door so it doesn’t get ripped off by all the junk on the dock. One thing about those little funky posts that the lines were tied to, they were easy to get the lines on and off. Not sure how they would perform if we were in a more exposed area with wind but they worked fine for the unglamorous spot we were in. To the portside of our slip it was dark because we were right up to the bulk head. When the tide would go up we would see over into what was behind. It was dark and creepy and muddy and slimy. I just concentrated my view to the other side and out the back. The office and store were all around us so in the morning you had to be fully dressed and bright eyed because everyone could see in. At night it didn’t so much matter because the place was closed.

Larry backed her out nicely as I was on the stern watching the side and back. He had barely enough room to turn but did it smoothly and then it was the careful watch going out the small channel to the decorative lighthouse on the outer bulkhead. That is where we have to make our sharp turn to port and keep her off the marina bulkhead 20-30 feet. We made the turn easily and I began to get all the bumpers and lines in before we went out the inlet.

I got everything stowed by the time we got across the harbor over by the Coast Guard station. I then could help Larry watch the markers going out. Again, we have little power boats passing both directions. I asked Larry how the depth was going out. He said we had exactly 6” going out by the marina bulkhead. When we reached the first red marker the depths were decent. If we ever come back I think the less stressful place to get in and better newer docks would be at South New Jersey Marina. Probably not a lot of turn around space but they get the big boats in and you have a nice easy shot from the harbor. We liked the people at Utche’s but the stress factor getting in and out was a bit much.

We pass the entrance to the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway. The depths are too shallow for us. As we’re coming out the breakwater I can see two fishing boats heading in with their booms out. The water line marking the end of the breakwater to the ocean is disturbed. In fact the seas look rough. There are clouds of seagulls swarming over the inlet and diving in the turbulent waters between the shallow inlet and the deeper depths of the ocean.

The fishing boats are heading in the inlet so we continue our course straight out to sea instead of turning in front of them. We’ve got a northerly wind of about 15 knots and the seas are white capped running about 3-4 feet. It’s going to be a bumpy ride but the sun is out and we know she can handle it.

I’m amazed at the coastline which is lined with 3 and 4 story buildings all up the coast. The next town is Wildwood and it has a huge amusement park right on the seashore! It was an amazing looking rollercoaster. I wish we would have known. We could have gone to see it while we were in Cape May but the boating book didn’t say anything about it.

We’re just banging along now and watching for those darn crab pots. We’ve got constant sea spray over the bow and wind shield and we’re facing the sun so it a pain to watch for darn things. Ziggy is driving us crazy. If I say anything or point at something or look at something in the binoculars, he goes crazy crying and screaming. We try to have him in our lap to comfort him but he’s very hyper this time.

The crab pot guys are out here in these rough seas still doing their work. Amazing. We see a fast boat something like a cigarette boat go by. The waves he’s making are incredible. We hear some guy come on channel 16 and he says “The United States weather service can kiss my transom!” We both laugh as we are really banging away about now. This is a pretty hairy ride. Don’t think I’ll be making a nice lunch today.

We hear Loon A Sea on the radio talking to another boat Water Torture. They are inquiring about each others location and the sea conditions. They are also talking about how bad it is. Sea Torture who is a small boat and local says they might consider going in Egg Inlet to get out of it because Loon a Sea said they were trying to ride in the troughs to soften the ride for the “Admiral and crew”. Sea torture said they could go at Egg and continue up the Intracoastal to Atlantic City or just sit it out at Egg harbor. He said if they arrive at Atlantic City at noon, the tide will make for very uncomfortable conditions That about what time we will arrive so I’m wondering what we have in store for us. We can’t get in Great Egg Inlet or the Intracoastal. We can see Loon A Sea running diagonally back and forth instead of following their course.

We can see the tall buildings of Atlantic City for hours. It’s comforting in these rough seas because I know it’s ahead. We can hear some other boaters trying to get into Great Egg Inlet. They can’t see the markers because the waves are so high. Sea Torture calls Sea Tow and tries to get info on the markers. I check the chart but it looks like a lot of shallow unmarked areas, not for us. It’s only 10 or 11 more miles to Atlantic City so why bother? We think it’s more dangerous to try to enter to inlet than fight the seas out her.

Funny thing is by the time we have Great Egg Harbor on our portside the winds dropped down about 5 knots and the seas became bearable. It’s an amazing site to see Atlantic City from off shore. It’s a small grouping of tall hotels. We can see parts of the board walk and a Ferris wheel. The most fascinating is the Taj Mahal with its white onion and gold tops.

We head in the inlet and a sailboat seems to be doing it darndest to beat us there. Since he’s under sail we give him room and slow down. Once ahead of us they are messing around with lines and slow their pace to a crawl with the sail still up in the breakwater. We’re grumbling to ourselves that they should bring the sail down and get with the business of entering the harbor. On our port hind quarter is a 70 motor yacht hanging back also. I can tell he’s getting antsy too. Finally at the entrance by the old Coast Guard station he decides to cut us off and charge in to the marina ahead of us. We’re always surprised at the big hurry some of these power boats are.

TRUMP MARINA

The marina was very nice and finally floating docks with cleats. I love those. We didn’t have help getting the boat docked and I cleated the lines off easily as Larry maneuvered her into place. Ziggy and I walked the long dock and boy did Zig have to go. No wonder he was whining. It was too rough for him to go out on the Portuguese deck so he was holding a load in.

The marina is nice and clean and just steps away from the casino. Larry hosed the boat off and we went in the casino to find a coffee shop for lunch. Wow, the smoke that emanates from that place is unbelievable. We had a nice simple lunch and walked around a little but since gambling was not of interest we decided we’d take the local Jitney and see the town by the little bus. The fare is only $1.50 each way. We got off at Trump Casino on the boardwalk and came to the conclusion that all the casinos look the same inside. We walked the old boardwalk and saw the old concrete convention center which gave us a little semblance of the old days, but really the board walk is just one casino after another and the farther north you get near the Taj Mahal the seedier it gets.

Well, we did that, and let’s get back to the boat. We were pretty tired from banging around half the day and just wanted to get back and have dinner and go to bed getting ready for the next day, which could be another rough one.

The marina is beautiful and we had a nice spot overlooking the harbor and at night the lights are really something when you consider you’re on your boat. It was worth the stop. We were off season so the slip cost $120 which during the season would be over double that.

ATLANTIC CITY TO ?

After the rough ride yesterday we took a careful look at the weather conditions. The Seas are supposed to be the same, with the waves predicted a foot higher but the winds are coming from the south this time not on our bow. We can see a low coming in from the West that will hit us soon. We think it would be best to leave early trying to get ahead of it and take advantage of the winds behind us before the front get closed and changes to the north.

We’re the only ones leaving but I’m hoping that’s because we left at the crack of dawn. The seas are very rough come out of the jetty and I’m getting irritated with Larry thinking that he didn’t look at the direction we were going carefully. It looked to me like the winds were going to be on our beam and if the seas were high it would be uncomfortable and dangerous. The coast going north doesn’t go straight but NNE. So when the winds are coming from the south, they’re not direction on our stern.

I was going to check that when I got up but Larry was ready to go and I didn’t have time with taking Ziggy out. When I got back with Ziggy, the engines were running and I had to take the lines off and off we went.

The skies were dark and looked scary. Ever since our episode off the coast of Florida I’m always afraid of the East Coast’s dark skies and their powerful thunder storms that come with strong winds.

I was encouraged as a day fishing boat when by us in the jetty and road up and down the huge waves which we followed out the jetty. It was pretty rough until out to the entrance marker. Larry made a joke that it reminded him of coming out of the breakwater at Colon, Panama when we were headed to Bocas Del Toro. I coldly told him that I didn’t think that was funny at all.

Ziggy is whining and shivering and I’m nervous. We made our turn and as Larry said the wind was somewhat behind us, on our starboard hind and the ride was immediately easier but I still wasn’t satisfied. He said when we get up the coast a ways we’ll make another course change and should have all of this behind us (guess that’s where they got that saying). Ziggy ad I are still tense. Ziggy adds to the fear in me with his whining and shaking. I don’t remember him being this bad last year.

We get to the next waypoint and Larry makes the small change in course and we’re riding nicely just surfing these big waves. The boat rides up and rides down nice and slow. Guess Larry knew what he was doing after all but the clouds still looks scary. I also see another fast boat coming behind which makes me feel better. I always feel better when someone else has made the same decisions as we.

The other boats that are becoming familiar faces to us are two Nordic Tugs, a 42 Marine Trader and a 44 foot De Fever. The last two are the ones we heard on the radio yesterday as they struggled in the seas. They were all quietly sleeping at the docks as we left. The big motor yacht that raced and cut us off as we came in the marina was still at the dock. All those boats except for the motor yacht will be able to go on the inside today as their draft is such that they can skim over the shallow depths. Us on the other hand have the macho boat and have to go out and fight the seas. Sometimes I feel by having this boat there’s never an excuse for whimping out. This boat can handle most anything so you feel compelled to go.

I guess one day, I’ll get used to this. You’d think I’d be over it by now.

We hear Loon A Sea on the radio calling another boat. We eaves drop. A boat that just left Atlantic City is reporting back to them the conditions. He says coming out the jetty the seas are really rough 4-6 feet and didn’t think they could make it. He said he would call back and let them know what it’s like once outside. We heard him again and he said the seas were at least 4-6 and the winds were 20 knots. We kind of looked at each other and smiled as it wasn’t that at all. The winds were reading 15 knots and the seas were 4 feet at the most. He told them they better stay inside. He sounded like he was the macho guy going to fight these big seas. It was tempting to call them back and tell them once you make the turn it’s a very easy sailing.

\Speaking of sailing we pass a sailboat that we met at Cape May. It was a couple from Nova Scotia. We both waved as we went by and wondered if we’d meet up with them again.

We heard a couple boats on the radio hailing each other, fast sports fishing boats I think, called “Real Trouble” and “Fat Boy”, I guess that’s New Jersey for you.

All of a sudden our chart plotter went blank! Larry couldn’t get it to come back on. He put another chip in our spare plotter and finally got that going. I had not a clue as to where we were on the coast as I’ve been writing. I should have been following and marking on the paper charts. It was very stressful. Then right at the same moment a boat came on Channel 16 announcing all these stupid coordinates and warning boats not to come within a mile of it, as he was protecting a radio frequency line of New Haven, which is right where we were (I think as we got the spare chart plotter going). He rattled off for different way points and what fool could be prepared to suddenly have a pencil and paper and write all those stinking things down and then find them on a chart. He said to hail him on channel 16 and when we got things working again, we hailed him to concentrate on what his deal was and then he never answered. We didn’t know what the heck that was all about. I saw a funny orange round thing floating in the water ahead. It looked like a marker but not a typical crab pot marker, then I thought maybe it was some float marking this radio frequency line that the fool was talking about. We were all tensed up wondering what the heck, and when we passed it was some silly half deflated balloon that blew over here. Poor Larry, he’d probably be just fine if he didn’t have to deal with my imagination all the time.

Well, as the day goes on the skies lighten and we ride the surf like a young kid riding a waxed board over the crests of these slow white capped crests. They’re huge and long but today find themselves in our favor, so much so that we decide to keep going and make along day to New York City. We both can’t believe it! Yes, New York City on our boat. Wow!

NEW YORK CITY, HERE WE COME!!

So we watch the shore to the west of us. Long stretches of white beaches without houses and then miles and miles of beach houses, and tall buildings. We pass water tank after water tank, marking clusters of towns. We see and pass another amusement park with a large towering white Ferris wheel and roller coaster. That’s the third on this New Jersey coast that we’ve noticed.

All day long we here bridge tenders and other travelers on boats asking for bridge opening inside the New Jersey Intracoastal waterway. We’re about a mile and a quarter off the coast so we can see and hear what’s happening out there. Guess Larry made the right decision today and deciphered the weather conditions to our advantage. We should arrive in New York just before six.

It’s funny now as we hear people on the radio with strong New York accents. We pass a beautiful 70 0r 80 old white schooner. Why is it that the old buildings are so much more beautiful than any thing new? We pass wonderful wooden buildings with green roofs, spires and white siding. And beautiful old dark wooden churches. They are so detailed and multi-faceted in shape. We see a hill off to our port side. First hill we’ve seen since we’ve been cruising this area. Now we’ve got fish nets markers to watch out for. They are small sticks stuck in a round float with two small plastic flags. You have to watch out for the second one so you know where the net is stretched so you can go around it. They are annoying and I suppose we are annoying to the fishermen. We saw one sightseeing boat going zig zag in these big troughs trying to avoid one. We couldn’t figure out what the heck he was doing.

We see the skyline to NY, its Coney Island, kind of boring and one color . At first I thought it was the NY skyline and was really disappointed and surprised but then realized that the NY skyline was just behind it. We had to come up the inlet farther before we would be able to see it. We enter the wide channel of Ambrose Shipping Channel and can see the grey silhouette of ? Bridge. It’s very exciting to have come to this point in our travel. We see a large barge in the distance behind us but otherwise traffic is minimal. We hear foreign voices on the shipping channel as the captains from all over the world are calling in now as they bring their large vessels in.

Once past the so & so bridge, there it is in clear view. Manhattan. Wow!! We both couldn’t believe it. We had come such a long way and it really and truly is breathtaking coming into NY Harbor on your own boat. The statue of Liberty though at first is small in comparison to the city skyline stands out. The statue has a turquoise patina that is so much in contrast to everything else that it just stands out. The water is suddenly crazy with blue and white tour boats cruising the waters. We pulled up to the Statue of Liberty but had to get right in pass with the tour boats as they make a circle past this place and you have to keep moving. This is perhaps the most exciting thing we’ve seen from the boat except for Panama City and riding up to glaciers in Alaska! We are so excited and awe struck. I am just overwhelmed with the idea of being here. We pass Ellis Station and the building is so charming architecturally. To think that half of our immigrants have come through this harbor and building to come to America. It’s just too much.

We must get busy to get in the marina. It’s a big marina on the Jersey shore but it’s got a water taxi right at the docks that go back and forth to and from the city every 15 minutes. The docks are great and they have cleats. There’s a large open grass area for Ziggy and no bossy signs everywhere. I think this is going to be great. At the taxi dock is a red light ship that serves as the dock office and small restaurant and bar on a barge for the boaters. It looks like a great place and Zig is welcome on the taxi and the restaurant as the mascot to the place is a big black, brown and white dog. Other boaters on our dock are friendly and talkative. It’s good vibs right away.

We are exhausted though and I make a quick dinner and in bed by 8:00. It’s hard to not take pictures of the NY skyline from our boat every 5 minutes though because it changes as the sun goes down.

At midnight we were awakened to a fireworks show at the park next to us. Ziggy and I were so tired we didn’t budge to even see what was going on. The dock could’ve been on fire and we wouldn’t have cared. Larry got up briefly and said it was a huge fireworks show and people were on the docks. We’ll find out what the occasion was tomorrow.

Our biggest challenge here will be to see how we can explore NY with Ziggy as we can’t leave him in a crate all day. We’ll manage.

Good night!

NEW YORK CITY (part 1)

click on the camera for photos

We slept in late and took our time getting on the water taxi to head over to Manhattan. It’s an easy hop skip and jump across the Hudson River and it drops you off right in the Financial District. We were just a few blocks from Ground Zero so felt the need to go see it. It is overwhelming. I thought I really had the impact in my mind, but to see it in person, it is so much more than what you expect. There are crowds of people still walking the perimeter and gazing in silence at the site which is nothing more than a vacant construction sight now. Street vendors have not missed out on opportunities to sell to the gawking tourists. One item that struck us as being in particularly bad taste was a framed hologram of the skyline. As you walked by, the hologram showed the skyline with the Twin Towers and then without. It was ghostlike and eerie. Anything for a buck. It seemed to make light of the situation.

The massive site of Ground Zero first makes you very sad, then amazed, and then incredibly angry. I think it’s important to go see the vast vacancy it leaves. It can’t really be imagined or felt just watching it on TV or reading about it. We were also stunned as we walked Liberty Park this morning over on the New Jersey side and gazed over at the city. There are information plaques along the walking path and one that really caught our attention was one that showed the skyline before and after. My God those towers were huge in comparison to the rest of the city. It was horrible. Throughout the city and on the New Jersey side we saw many plaques and remembrances for those lost and lists of hundreds of names of people in that particular area that lost their lives. It was too much. We’d walk by fire stations and police stations with plaques out front, listing all the policemen or firemen who lost their lives in the tragedy. The lists were so long that it was almost unbelievable. Every part of this city and the surrounding areas were seriously affected.

An amazing site to me was St. Paul’s Chapel, across the street from Ground Zero. It had been at this site since 1760 and looks to same the day it was built. It was small in stature to the rest of the skyscrapers. It’s small city block full of colonial graves with trees and grass, and amazingly untouched like as if nothing had happened. Other surrounding buildings were damaged and some lost but this little patch of earth remained the same since its beginning. It is only a few yards away and it’s as if time had never changed or touched it. This chapel became a center for recovery squads; firefighters, police officers and medical personnel during 9/11. It was an ironic contrast to the whole image.

TRI BECA & SO HO

We spent the next couple days walking the streets of Tri Beca and So Ho and had a great time looking at and enjoying all the shops, cafes, and people. This is a dog friendly town too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people with dogs as this town has. There was no problem with Ziggy, he was welcome everywhere. We had a lovely brunch at a corner café and watched the interesting people walk by. It was a busy popular place and it was so much fun. Everyone seems so friendly and nice. They stop and ask if they can help if they see you looking at a map. They recommend things to see and places to eat. It was not what I expected. I thought New Yorkers were unfriendly. My mistake. I really like this place. Everything is so interesting, new, and cutting edge but personable at the same time.

We stopped in one of the many small corner grocery stores. They don’t look like much on the outside but once in, VOILA! I was amazed at the great selection of items, though not in quantity, BUT much in quality and good choices. I was happy with that. I’d prefer this kind of store to the mega supermarkets that have rows and rows of stuff that you don’t want or need, and much of it is just junk and just too darn much selection. Who wants to bother with it all? It’s more work to sift through all the crap. Here, everything was already sifted through, you had the best of the best and the prices were cheaper than in Santa Barbara. I don’t understand why we are paying more for good produce in CA than here in New York. How can that be?

It was a great visit!

We had visitors coming, so our next journey was going to be up the Hudson River and back. We still will visit NYC on the way back and stay at a marina up town. We have tickets for two plays and I’m looking forward to seeing Upper Manhattan.

Now on to the Hudson River