We left Shadows Marina in Poughkeepsie at 08:30 (give or take) on 5/27 with the goal to anchor out 2 nights before reaching Albany. The first anchorage was a perfect spot (“Middle Ground” anchorage), complete with great holding and easy dinghy access to town. Two towns, really. Athens and Hudson-on-the-Hudson. Our research found that Athens, …
After a fabulous week in New York with family, we ventured north on the Hudson River. (It was Thursday, 5/24.) Next stop: Haverstraw Bay. Pete found an anchorage near Half Moon Bay Marina. “Croton Point-North” had two boats anchored when we arrived; one was another Loop boat called “Barefoot Shoes.” We saw this boat at …
West Coast family joined us. What better time to travel from California to New York than when there’s free lodging, free food, and (some) free attractions? When Pete and I could sketch out our timeline we shared our tentative dates with west coast family members. (I know, boaters should NEVER have a schedule. We built …
We knew to leave Hoffman’s Marina at Brielle during slack tide to safely maneuver away from the dock and gracefully pass through the railroad bridge. The next challenge was the Manasquan Inlet. There are stories of sunken ships at this inlet, so we were vigilant. We followed a small fishing vessel out, watching his strategy. …
We left Atlantic City via the New Jersey Intercoastal Waterway (NJICW). We’ve read a great deal about this sometimes skinny, often shallow waterway. Our strategy was simple: go slow, stick to the chart plotter and watch the depth gauge, and when the helmsman felt anxious, we both watched and called out the depth. There were …
Another amazing day! With excellent wave and wind reports we departed Cape May and entered the Atlantic Ocean. Winds were calm and the waves were 3 to 4 feet, enough to feel “tippy” in our upper flybridge, so we chose to navigate from the lower helm. Still, we were on THE ATLANTIC OCEAN! There was …
Day 2. We were up (again) at 05:00. We made our coffee this morning using the camp stove. (This thoughtful gesture was to save the two neighboring sailboaters from the obnoxious noise of our generator.) Once out of the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal, we were expecting a bit of rough travel in the Delaware …
After so many dreams, lots of studying, some elbow grease, a few upgrades and a few setbacks, we are ON OUR WAY! We finally have our new Spade anchor. It was a quick change-out from the Fortress to the new one, and the back-up is conveniently stored for quick access if needed. The last few …
I spoke too soon on the last blog entry suggesting that we had uncovered “the last of our required/delayed maintenance.” On the morning of 5/1 (our original dream date for starting this adventure) our engine wouldn’t start. We determined that our brand new house batteries were dead. We further surmised that it was our battery …
Our original goal was to start our Great Loop Adventure on 1 May, 2018, also known as May Day. We now believe that this is not the best day to start. First, the nautical (or aeronautical) term [“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY!”] refers to a life and/or death situation. We’re not particularly superstitious, but this just seems like …