June 25-July 3, 2018
We departed early from Lewes, DE, ready to hit the Atlantic Ocean. There is an Intracoastal Waterway in New Jersey, but it is notoriously awful. Besides being shallow and poorly maintained, there are also several sections we could not do because of our mast height. We also had to choose a good weather window, as the usable inlets were few and far between. Picking what was forecasted to be a decent day to head out into the ocean, we rounded Cape May and quickly learned it was going to be a long lumpy ride to Atlantic City, NJ. As we approached the inlet, it was a relief to see the buzz of activity on the beach, the ferris wheel, and boardwalk. We spent a quiet night at a hole in the wall marina, across from the bright lights of the marina at the Golden Nugget casino where our friends on Wander stopped.
With another early start, we head north on the Atlantic, and spend a long day surfing down confused seas. Heading for the next good inlet at Manasquan, we begin to have motor problems just as we approach the narrow rock walls. Out comes the jib as we quickly turn away from the entrance to figure out what is going on. The motor is working well at low rpm, so we putter in to harbor with Chad at the helm, and me prepared to pull the jib out again at a moment’s notice. Boy, am I glad Chad made us sail into the channel at Holland! We are relieved to get to land, and meet up with our friends from Wander at a small fuel dock in Point Pleasant Beach. We enjoy a yummy fried seafood dinner and head back to the boat to diagnose today’s engine problems. Everything checks out ok.
Up and at ‘em early, we head north and hope for a smoother day. The beautiful sunrise is misleading, as we have another lumpy day ahead of us, once again surfing down confused seas. The plan is to anchor around Sandy Hook, to prepare for the following day’s journey through New York Harbor and onto the Hudson River. As we approach Sandy Hook, we are having engine problems again. We pull into a protected cove and join our friends on Wander. It seems we both have kicked up some junk from the fuel tank, and we all change the fuel filters. This seems to have done the trick for us. Checking the weather once more, we also see the forecast tomorrow has changed for the worse, and the harbor will be another day of lumpy travel. We bite the bullet and head to the super expensive Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, NJ. The views heading into New York City are awesome, as we cruise past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Arriving to the marina, we are just across the river from NYC. The skyline views do not disappoint.
Eager to head out the next morning, we are greeted with a foggy skyline view of downtown. As the sun rises, the fog quickly burns off. As we head up the Hudson River, we need to plan each day’s travel to take advantage of the tidal current. The river is tidal all the way up to the lock at Troy, NY. Leaving downtown behind us, the scenery changes dramatically and we are treated to beautiful hillsides. We stop at Croton-on-Hudson, to spend a few days to explore the rich history in the area. We spent a day exploring Sleepy Hollow, the inspiration for Washington Irving’s “The “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” We even toured the cemetery and while we did not see the Headless Horseman, we did see the gravesites of many familiar names such as Andrew Carnegie, Walter P. Chrysler, William Rockefeller, Elizabeth Arden, and Washington Irving himself. Chad toured the Kykuit, the Rockefeller mansion, while I waited with Rilee, since it was no dogs allowed. We had passed a vet in town, so I took Rilee in to get checked out. Since they book up months in advance, I’d been struggling to get her in to a specialist vet for a follow up, but luckily she had been doing well. Once again, we were in the right place at the right time, meeting the necessary people to help us on our journey. The Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital was able to arrange us an appointment the same day to with a specialist. It was a relief to find out the stones appeared to have dissolved.
The weather has turned extremely hot and humid, temperatures reaching into the high 90’s. It’s beautiful but stifling traveling on the river. We cruise past West Point, originally a fort overlooking the Hudson River, and now home to the US Military Academy. We watch commuter trains buzz past on the east side of the river, often appearing out of a tunnel dug into the hilly riverside. We make a quick stop in Marlboro for the night, nothing here except a freight train every 30 minutes! In the morning we’re off to Catskill, where we will have our mast taken down one final time. Today’s travel takes us through the beautiful Catskill Mountains. I can’t help but think about Dirty Dancing again…I really need to watch that movie now! After another suffocating day, we arrive to the marina. We wait until dusk to begin work preparing for our mast to come off in the morning. It will be 100 degrees today, and the crane is broken at the yard, so they have to hand crank the crane. We are fortunate enough to locate a pre-assembled stand to hold our mast on top of the boat. With a few modifications, Chad has it fit perfectly. We will carry our mast with us this time, instead of shipping it like we did down the rivers. This section of the journey will be much shorter and calmer. We just have 35 locks to go through, what could go wrong?
With our mast off, we are now a motor boat again. We transit the Troy Lock, and are now officially out of tides and salt water. As we hit a fork in the river, it is decision time. How will we get home? Will we go up the Champlain Canal to Lake Champlain and the St Lawrence River, or make a left to hit the Erie Canal?
