Rain a whole lot of rain

Last night the tropical storm hit here.  Not too much wind but boy did it rain.  This morning the dinghy was full to the gunwales.  We were under a tornado warning this morning, luckily nothing materialized.  The radio announced that schools were let out early because of wide spread flooding.  This afternoon I had to bail the dinghy again.  I was stuck in the boat all day.  This evening I could not stay cooped up any longer so I rowed to shore and went to a pub on West st. and enjoyed a couple of Guinness and a nice dinner.  I then walked down to the inner harbor and it was flooded.  Store owners were sand bagging their shops to try to keep the bay out.  Tonight it is still raining.  The weather report said it will clear tomorrow.  Sorry no pictures.

Havre De Grace to Annapolis

I am on the move again!  I set sail this morning at 8:00 AM for Annapolis.  The wind was light this morning and just got lighter, the bay was windless by noon.  The day was overcast and hazy so I didn't get many good pictures.  I could just barely see the Baltimore skyline as I went by.  Baltimore is not directly on the bay, it is several miles up its own bay so even on a clear day it would be a distant shot.  I did get some good pictures of the Bay Bridge.  Some of you may remember I got a flat tire on the bridge last year.  Passing under was a bit of a thrill for me because I have crossed that bridge many times since 1965!  Actually back then there was only one bridge.  The best part of today was entering Annapolis, Candy's home town.  I did get a picture of the Naval Academy and the state capital dome in one shot.  I also got a picture of one of the Academy's YP boats.  The cruising guide warned that if they are out to give them a wide berth because the Midshipman use them to learn how to run a ship, "Student Drivers".  I am anchored in Spa creek at the foot of Southgate st.

Tomorrow is batten down the hatches day as the coastal storm passes through.

Havre De Grace to Havre De Grace

Well the weather has finally slowed me down, to a stop.  We are having high winds and lots of rain with some tornado warnings across the bay.  Needless to say I am staying put.  Yesterday I took the train to Baltimore to meet Colleen after work.  We then picked Liam up from day care and Luke from home, to go out to dinner.  We went to a place called Red Robin, a kid friendly place.  Your kid could scream his head off and no one would notice.  Liam was well behaved as usual.  They also had Guinness on tap!  I spent the night at their house, in a real bed!  I took the train back this morning.  Sorry no pictures today.

I am now listening to the torrential rains coming down on the cabin top.  I am hoping to move on to Annapolis tomorrow but mother nature will determen my progress. 

Summit to Havre De Grace MD

Being Sunday I took my time this morning.  I prepared my usual Sunday morning breakfast of bacon and eggs and fresh brewed coffee.  The marina had great showers so I took advantage.  I didn't get off until 11:30 AM.  As luck would have it, I had the current with me all the way to Turkey Point in Maryland.  My destination today was Havre De Grace.  I was able to get a slip in the city marina, very inexpensive, only a dollar per foot. The first pic is of my boat in the marina, the second is of the Concord point Light House, the oldest light house in continuous use in the United States built in 1827.  I ended my day at an Irish Pub for a few Guinness and a great Blue cheese burger.  I sat next an interesting gentleman that  is a retired Nuclear Engineer that still does consulting. A very nice evening.

Cape May to Summit DE

I didn't do a blog yesterday because I didn't go anywhere.  I needed to do my laundry, some food shopping and some maintenance.  Today I left Cape May at 6:30 AM to catch the tide up the Delaware Bay, very important!  It was a mix bag today.  It started very windy so I could not sail.  Then the wind lightened so I was able to roll out the jib.  There were times that I was doing over 7 knots!  Then the wind picked up and shifted to the North West,  Again in my face, so back to the motor.  However I made remarkable time.  I road the tide all the way up the bay, about 50 miles.  Totally, I sailed almost 60 miles, A record for this trip.  The first picture is the Cape May-Lewes ferry's at the beginning of the Cape May Canal.  The next is a curious looking light in the middle of the bay.  Then I sailed buy this Nuclear Power plant on the New Jersey side.  Then I took a picture of the St. Georges bridge over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  The last pic is the boat in the marina half way through the canal.

Not sure where I will end up tomorrow, we will see.

Little Egg Inlet to Cape May

Today I finally had a fair wind, North East.  Last night I was undecided as to my destination today.  This morning with the wind behind me I headed for Cape May.  I arrived at about 5:30 PM.  Again tonight I am anchored.  The anchorage is near the Coast Guard Station.  The sail was uneventful, thank goodness.

The first two pictures are from yesterdays trip on the ICW.  The next four are from today.  It started with sun rise on Little egg Inlet then the Jib up drawing!! then Atlantic City from the boat and ending with sun set over Cape May.

ICW New Jersey

Today it blew strong from the south west so I opted to take the inside route, the New Jersey ICW.  It was fun and different.  I passed under 7 bridges 5 of which were draw bridges.  All I had to do is give them a call on my VHF radio when I got close.  It is kind of cool to know my boat has priority over all the cars and trucks that had to stop just to let me pass through.  Tonight I am on the "hook" behind Fish Island, it is just a small salt marsh inside Little Egg Inlet.  I can see the lights of Atlantic City from here.  I think it is about 10 miles from here.  There is one other boat here with me.

Thank you all for the comments, I enjoy reading them.  Sean said I need to slow down.  I hate to admit, he is right!  I need to get on "Island Time"  It is hard to believe that I left Harwich Port one week ago and I am half way down the New Jersey coast.

Sorry I have no pictures from today.  I am in a week signal area so they would not load.

September 21

I left New York this morning and headed down the New Jersey coast.  A reoccurring theme is no mater what direction I am going the wind is coming from the same direction,  so it was another motoring day.  I took some good pictures leaving Manhattan, I will post a few.  The Jersey coast is just one long beach.  The wind came up strong in the afternoon plus the swells from Igor made for a rather rocky ride.  I stopped at Manasquan Inlet.  The marina is right next to the train bridge, so every now and then the bridge comes down for the commuter train.  You can see the bridge behind the my boat in the picture.  The wind is going blow again tomorrow so I think I am going to take the inside route.  It will be slow, lots of draw bridges but it is better than sitting in the marina.  I think it will be fun and scenic.

Monday September 20

It was a full day.  We timed the tide just right so our trip through Hell Gate went smoothly, well that is not the best adjective to use.  One could never find smooth water in the East River.  I should say we went through with out incident!  When we got to Roosevelt Island the police blocked the Manhattan side so we had to go on the east side of the island.  The problem is that there is a draw bridge.  I checked the Guide we are using and it said it had 40' clearance when it is down, I only need about 36' so I headed on luckily it started up because the sigh on the bridge said that the clearance was 34'6".  the current is impressive, at times we were going over 9 knots!  The trip around Manhattan was spectacular, I have included some pictures.  Peter headed back to work so I am on my own again.

Tomorrow I will be headed down the Hudson River to New Jersey.

Septmember 19

We didn't have any wind today so we motored all day.  We also had to fight the tide the whole day so it was slow go.  We are in Port Washington NY. on Manhasset Bay.  This is the last stop on Long Island Sound.  We are about 4 miles from Throngs Neck bridge.  Peter skippered all day which gave me a break, I even took a short nap.  We did see a lot of people boating today, however all the sail boats were just floating around.  I didn't take any good pictures today, it was kind of hazy.

Tomorrow is a big day, we will be going through Hells Gate.  We have to time the current just right.  I will let you know how it went tomorrow night.

September 18

Well I made it through the gale!  I left Newport at 10:00 AM Friday with light wind, however once I got out side into Block Island Sound the rollers were impressive.  They were like riding an elevator up and down.  I would guess they were 10 to 12 feet high, I would loose sight of boats around me when I was in a trough.  My goal for the day was to get to Essex Ct. As the day went I was sure I would have to stop at Watch Hill but once I entered Fisher Sound I caught the incoming tide and was doing over 7 knots.  I made it to Old Saybrook by 5:45 PM.  I had to wait for the train bridge to open to head up the Connecticut river to Essex.  It was dark by the time I got to the marina.  My Cousin Peter was waiting and guided me into my slip.  Then it was off to the Griswell Inn for a couple of Guinness and dinner.

Today Peter and I left Essex about 8:45 AM to head to Port Jefferson on Long Island.  It was great to have company.  We started by motor sailing, light wind, but as the wind picked up we turned the motor off.  We had two good hours of sailing.  I checked the GPS and realized that if we continued to sail we would not get to Port Jefferson until 10:30 at night.  We put the motor on and got in before 6:00 PM.  We had a nice dinner at an Irish Pub.  Tomorrow we head west.

September 16 2010

Well I finely got off yesterday Wednesday September 15.  The wind was out of the west, the direction I was headed.  It was quite blustery, I tried to sail with only the Jib but it was too much.  It was a slog!  I stopped at Vineyard Haven at 2:00 PM.  After some rest and lunch I pushed on to Tarpaulin Cove to spend the night.  I could not get on line to make an entry on my blog.

This morning I got off at 6:00 AM.  With the gale predicted for tonight I opted to sail, I actually got to sail, to Newport RI, to get a mooring.  I went ashore to shower and do some laundry and while I waited for the dryer I took in the Boat Show, the gate was open no charge! I hope to head off to Essex CT tomorrow, weather permitting.

Greg