Summer - Winter 2011/2012

It has been a long time since I updated this blog and quite a lot has happened since we pulled into Rockport, Ontario last June.  But before I talk about specifics, overall we have had a wonderful summer having folks down to visit and making some new friends in Huck's marina.  Compared to our last boat it is wonderful having the space and amenities to enjoy weekends her on the river.  Having travelled over 2000 miles to get here we have not felt the need to journey except to take visitors on afternoon cruises to show them the area.  Next year may be different.

The first thing I decided to do was have the boat buffed and polished above the gunwales.  A local company did the work and did a great job.  They also replaced all the lettering since their buffers took the old stuff off!

I polished all the stainless rails as well.  After sitting in Florida salt air for years they needed it badly.  I cleaned the hull to the water-line with some pretty powerful stuff to remove the brown Hudson River stains.

When I hauled the boat to get the props tuned to fix a vibration we have had since Florida we had a bit of a surprise.  It turns out we had hit a submerged dead head on the Hudson River which neatly bent the port propeller shaft and a few prop blades.  We remember feeling a few objects but none felt like damage had occurred.  To cut a long story short, I had the spare props tuned to Class S before hauling then, after hauling, installed the spares and had the other props tuned to the same standard as well as had a new shaft made.  This all, together with a new strut, lost us a couple of weekends but gave us a superbly efficient and smooth boat again.  I was blown away by the difference in performance with the Class S props. It was a very worthwhile expense.

One of our visitors was Jon.  I was looking forward to him seeing all the work Jo had done to clean up the inside.  It was a very different boat from the one Jon had helped me take to the Georgia border in April.  He believes he is a hex on the boat but when he arrived the battery charger, newly installed in Charleston in May, had failed and our 12 volt system was very low.  We could not overnight on the boat.  With no 12 volt systems we had no water, light or toilet flush.  The next day we found an identical new charger in Kingston and I installed it the same day.  As always on this boat, to remove and replace the charger required some contortions on my part. The old one has been replaced under warranty and I now have spare.  It taught me how important the 12 volt system was and I am happy to have a back-up now.

The summer here was quite hot this year.  We have enjoyed our air-conditioning and the swimming off our lovely dock. Our slip backs on to the open St Lawrence water and is a perfect location for lazy weekends.

Spooky has taken to the boat well.  If only she took to the journey getting there and back as well!!

So, that's it for now.  When Spring comes I will update again.  I have a couple of through-hull transducers to install before launch and then we can get on with more restoration!

That's it then!

Well, this is bitter-sweet.  It is certainly great to be home and to be picking up Spooky tomorrow but this journey has been the most enjoyable experience we have had.  We have met some wonderful people, stayed in some great places and seen such diversity, kindness and friendliness.  Sure, there have been some trying times like having the boat sitting up on a sand bar with Jon walking around it and watching sea spray coming over the top of the boat and navigating a channel, that we had never seen before, in thick fog  (and still haven't seen come to think of it) but we wouldn't trade it for the world and part of us wanted to keep on going.  I don't have the book with me to quote the author but a sailor wrote about his round the world trip and when he came to cross his wake he kept on going.  I think I can understand the drive that made him do it.

The other thing that we really enjoyed were the comments on this blog from friends and family.  Thanks for sharing it with us.

So, Phase 2 is complete.  We have bought the boat and now legally imported it to Canada.  Now we restore and repair it to what we need it to be to cruise full time.  Huck's Marine here in Rockport will be the perfect base to do that.  You can see our boat on their webcam.  

Martin will complete the journey for us by picking us up in my car tomorrow.  My car that I forgot needed a new plate sticker last month!

Home!!!

We made it safely to our marina:

Waiting for Canada Border Services.

Rounding Carleton Island, NY

We left Oswego at 0715 to cross Lake Ontario.  The lake was rather calm and we are now going north of Carleton Isalnd in the main channel.  We will refuel in Clayton and land in Rockport this afternoon.  Then we pay Canada Customs!

In Oswego, NY

Major progress today.  Left at daybreak to cross Lake Oneida and, rather than stop in Brewerton as planned, we continued to Oswego.  We will cross Lake Ontario tomorrow morning and be at Huck's in Rockport in the afternoon.

Not Quite Brewerton

Last night's stop was tranquil.  Really neat folks.  Everyone has a story, they will tell you theirs if you ask:

Today was a bit of a mix.  We had a plan to make Brewerton on the West end of Lake Oneida but, for various resaons, we ended up on the East end of the Lake.  First we got slowed down through the locks with tree removal by the lock keepers. Second we underestimated our pace through the system.  It was very (VERY) windy today and steerage was awkward.  Some of the locks were somewhat treacherous to transit.  The wind and current inside the locks made it impossible to hold on to the boat.  

Then we realised that Lake Oneida was shallow and susceptible to the wind.  When we arrived it was white-caps and spray so we stayed this side.  Tomorrow we will head out at 0600 and take advantage of overnight wind lull.  We have company.  A 60 foot Viking tried to cross the Lake today and turned back.  We will try tromorrow together.

St Johnsville, NY

We met some cool folks at last night's stop.  The pool there was very welcome and we all shared experiences.  One couple were bringing their newly acquired Sea Ray from Boston to Niagara on theLake.  Dream Weaver is needing a cleaning but it will have to wait until we get to Huck's.

The canal is getting busier as we head west.  But we are part of a gaggle of five boats locking together.

Tomorrow will be a bit of a haul because there really isn't a marina between here and the other side of Lake Oneida that has the 50 amp power that we need.  We will head to Brewerton and wait there for Martin and Jo to switch.  Jo really doesn't want to leave but she needs her job.  I have been getting a few hours of work in each day and the Brewerton stop will help as well.

Getting close!

Schenectady Yacht Club

We are into the Erie Canal and its lock system.  

Here's an idea of the process to approach enter and transit...

We transited seven locks today including the one and only Hudson Lock at Troy.  We are now in Schenectady Yacht Club.  It is a Cooperative type operation.  Nice pool, great folks.  Filled with Diesel after they were able to restock at 4.19 per gallon.  Cool spot.  Actually managed to do some work today.  Quiet, hot and good to read in air conditioned cabin on our boat.

Tomorrow we head to St Johnsville....

Troy, NY

We headed out from Kingston at 0745 this morning to make the most of the tide.  We made 10mph or a little less most of the way at 1200 rpm.  An efficient cruise.  We passed through Albany before Troy:

 We landed in Troy 45 minutes ago at 2:45pm.  It is a very warm day here!  

Tomorrow we pass through Troy Lock on the Hudson and then, four miles later, we enter the Erie Canal at Waterford.  Finally!!!

Kingston, NY

No movement today.  I filled up the oil in the starboard engine and emptied water from under the port.  It was not antifreeze so it was from some other, less critical,  source.  I will keep an eye on it. Tomorrow we head to Troy to begin the canal trek. We had breakfast and supper at Oasis on the Water here in Rondout Yacht Basin.  This young couple are running an amazing operation.  Breakfast was great but the Rib Eyes we had for supper were to die for.  Good luck to them both.

Where we are....

...now.  Forgot this yesterday:

Kingston, NY

If anyone is interested I took a video while we were on our way in fog to New York.

We had an issue this morning.  I checked the engine oil and found the starboard engine had burst an oil pressure transducer and was weeping oil into the bilge.  We had lost a few quarts.  It took a couple of hours to clean up and plug the transducer.  All instruments are reading fine so I am not sure what that transducer did. But I will definitely track it down.  We made Kingston ok and I phoned around and found 6 gallons of suitable oil.  I had two on board that I put in the starboard engine before we left this morning.  We will stay a day in Kingston for a reading day to do with my work and to do some groceries (Jo, while I read).  I figure this might put us better in time with folks rushing through the tomorrow open Canals.

The route to Kingston was very nice but the river was still full of winter debris.  The harbour here is perfect.

It is Memorial Day weekend here so everyone is decked out in their patriotic colours.

Marlboro, New York

I would have liked a second day at Lincoln Harbor but we press north whenever we can.  We passed some power stations.  Yonkers:

And from a later but still bygone era:

The Hudson is really quite picture skew picturesque in places:

Our marina for tonight is West Shore.  It is quite different from Lincoln  Harbor of last night but equally enjoyable.  Very nice outlook...

and a freight train track out back...

 

Tomorrow we head just 20 miles upstream to Kingston to refuel, do some work and figure out what to do next.  NY State Canals have just said they will open the Oswego Canal on Sunday.  This after just today saying a schedule would be out in 72 hours.  No matter.  Sooner is better than later!!  We will work north as quickly as we can.

Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club

We tied up half an hour ago.

The day started early.  We set out at 0615 to take advantage of lower winds as the forecast had them increasing steadily during the day.  It wasn't immediately apparent from the marina but when we left the harbour jetty it was thick fog.  Visibility was about 150 yards.  Using radar and GPS Chartplotter (laptop) we eased around the channels to the Barnegat Inlet and out into the Atlantic.  The fog did not relent.  We watched the radar continuously and followed the coast up to New York.  The fog was just beginning to lift as we went under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge:

  

Happily it had all but gone by the time we passed the Statue of Liberty as Jo had been longing to see it.

As we motored up to the Hudson River we passed my next boat.

Lincoln Harbor Marina is right across from Manhattan and this is where we tie up for night.

  

Tomorrow we head north up the Hudson River and closer to home.  I had left a message with someone at New York State Canals and he called me back while we were en route.  He had no idea when the remaining sections will open up.  So the plan remains.  We will head North provided we have a marina to slip into.

As my 60th Birthday draws to a close...

...I want to thank Jo for trying to organise two events.  One for my local friends and one for my family.  They both would have been wonderful. I want to thank Fred and Joy at Key Harbor Marina here in New Jersey for a wonderful spot to wait out the weather and the redirected laptop.  To Big Al for the limo service (at Taxi rates) for taking us to lunch and picking us up and taking us to the Liquor Store for wine provisions for the next 2 weeks. To the restaurant here for a superb dinner and excellent service - we will be back.  I wish Jo's day had started off much better than it did but it will all work out well for those who deserve it.  Thanks for the birthday wishes and here's to all my friends and family!  Cheers!  Life begins at 60!!

Pressing on

I made calls to Erie and Oswego Canal lockmasters this morning.  The Canals are open to Brewerton (Erie) but closed thereafter so we can not get to Lake Ontario.  

My laptop should be here this afternoon.  I really appreciate the effort my Company has made to assist me to work from here.   However, we have had to call once more on Martin who has, once more, come through.  He is going to drive one of our cars down to wherever we make it to late next week so Jo can drive back to go back to work.  Thank you, sincerely, Martin!

We plan to move up to New York tomorrow.  The Atlantic forecast looks reasonable.  I am trying to make a reservation in Hoboken.

Fingers Crossed

We spent today in Waretown and will be here tomorrow waiting for my work laptop to arrive and the canals to open.  The laptop is on its way and will arrive tomorrow morning so I can work from the boat.  New York State posted a confusing update to their notice to mariners that might imply they have opened the canals.  I will call tomorrow to see.  Today we did a major clean inside and out as it was a warm and sunny day for a change.

We also had a visitor that responded to my whistle like a dog.  The second picture is the swan rising up on its feet to take bread from Jo.

And, lastly, Jo on our intended retirement home...

Tomorrow we will see what the Canal situation is...

Same Place...

...weather is lousy.  We can't jump up to New York until we get better seas.  Those are not forecast until Thursday and that forecast is not great then but might be do-able.  Seems like tomorrow we can get the salt off the boat the thunderstorm missed this morning.  Grey days. 

Key Harbor Marina, Waretown, NJ

We headed out from Cape May this morning at 0630 for a fairly long trip to Waretown, NJ.  We started on the outside and spent about three hours that way but the forecast of 2 to 3 footers was very optimistic. After an hour of the occasional over-the-top-of-the-boat spray we headed for Great Egg Harbour inlet. We passed Atlantic City on the inland side through some very interesting New Jersey neighbourhoods.  

When we passed over Little Egg Harbour Inlet  I saw the depth sounder reading start shooting upwards where it should not have been according to the chart and throttled back to idle.  Here we go again I thought.  And so it was - on a sandbar again but this time very slowly, not hard aground at 20 knots.  But with the tide almost at it's peak and not able to reverse out I needed TowBoat US again and quickly.  They obliged and pulled me off slowly and no damage caused.  

Now for those who think I can't read a chart I am going to show you both charts from the groundings and you be the judge.  In my defence I would also point out that one hour earlier I took the right side of a red per the ICW convention and saw my depth plummet when the charted soudings indicated I should have gone left of it.  Grounding 1 was just south of Amelia Island and the Georgia Border:

I was travelling North from the ICW and crossing Nassau Sound doing 20 knots. What shows as 13 feet of water was in fact 2.5 at low tide (which it was, of course).  High tide adds 7 feet of water and I would have sailed right over the top without incident. That shoal just north west of the grounding point star had grown and not been dredged.  Now for today:

My route line shows on this screen cap.  You see where it shows 17 feet odd?  Well, even at hight tide it has shoaled to 2.5 feet.  From the chart I am at a loss to explain the depth readings.


Anyway, this time we were luckier and there was no damage and we are now safely tied up somewhat later than planned but safely!


Now we watch the weather and the canals.  We need good weather to get into the Hudson River as this has to be done on the Atlantic.

Cape May still

We are assessing and discussing with other boaters the best coarse to move north to Lake Ontario.  Where is everyone waiting out the canals?  We plan to move North only to guaranteed reservations in marinas that have what we need. So we will move to Waretown New Jersey tomorrow and leap frog Atlantic City.  It will be an offshore leg of about 80 miles. Later...

Cape May, New Jersey

An easy run and an exercise for me.  On our way to Cape May, about two thirds down Delaware Bay we saw storm activity which I was able to track on the radar to determine we were going to get wet.  When being wetted we had quite poor visibility but the radar, combined with GPS and AIS returns made navigation easy.  Very reassuring for those days when mist keeps folks from getting to Endymion Island mooring cans!

We are at Utsch's Marina at the end of the Cape May Canal.
 

We are back on the Intracoastal for it's last stretch up into New Jersey.  It ends before New York so there is a mandatory leg into the Atlantic. Utsch's is well equipped except for internet.  Thank God I bought an account with Verizon!  Looks like we have a grocery store in easy reach so we must stock up here as there is not much else en route we are told.

We have to figure out where to hole up until the canals open up.  I will make some calls tomorrow and see whether the Hudson River is an option or not.  All those waiting boats are waiting somewhere.


In the meantime, an early glass of wine is going down very nicely thank you!


Thanks to all for the supportive comments.  We read them all and very much enjoy the knowledge that folks are following our trials, tribulations and experiences.

Underway to Cape May

We got a call from the marina in Cape May this morning.  A lot of the boats holed up there during the windy weather left this morning so there is space for us.  We are currently making 9  knots on Delaware Bay with 1 foot waves.  We should be in Cape May by 4pm allowing for a change in tidal current midday.

Delaware City

Had supper at Crabby Dick's.  It was good.  

The lower half of Delaware Bay is rough today but should be fair tomorrow.  We will head for Cape May then and pray for dry weather in northern New York State so the canals can flow out.

Sleepless in Bohemia! - Update

The wind and waves turned this nice little spot into a noisy night with waves slapping against the boat.  Yesterday Jo continued working through the boat cleaning up blinds etc.  I used the time to remove some electronics that were not working and their associated wiring.  Things are looking much more tidy behind the helm console.  I also reset the radar and it is working perfectly.  We are going to try to move to Delaware Bay today if they have room.  This will be more protected as this wind is supposed to continue today and abate over the following days as the low pressure system moves out into the Atlantic.  Delaware Bay is also at the end of the Chesapeake - Delaware Canal so affords us some progress while we wait for the weather to improve.

Update:  We had a very efficient cruise to Delaware City and are now in their Marina.  Very quiet, no slapping on the hull.  Should sleep well tonight.  No news on Canals but we heard there has been still more rain!

Sitting tight for a day or so.

Winds and waves are bad on Delaware Bay for today and tomorrow.  That piece of water  is our next cruise day.  We will wait until the small craft warning is removed.  That shows Thursday right now. Not much we can do here since it has been raining pretty well non stop.

Last Stop in Virginia

We are at Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbor.  The last marina with Diesel before we go through the Chesapeake Delaware Canal.  

Today we had a slow cruise in virtually nil wind.  En route we heard the canal was closed due to fog but opened around noon.  Our leg tomorrow is from here to Cape May.  We have to do it in one leg as there is pretty well nothing in between.  I called a marina in Cape May to make a reservation and they were unable to accept because bad weather has kept folks in harbour and not vacating slips when they planned to.  We will have to see how the day unfolds tomorrow before we head out.

Annapolis, Maryland

The sailing centre of the USA they say.  Lots of activity as we approached.  We are tied up alongside some expensive company here. No news to report.  We picked up groceries via a taxi to a local drug store.  The grocery store closed at 4pm!  We head further north tomorrow up to the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal.  The next day we will traverse the Canal and head south briefly towards Cape May, New Jersey.  There is still no news as to when the Oswego Canal will open.  Parts opened on the 14th but the parts we need (Oswego Canal) are not open.  With the Champlain Canal in the same situation we have no Plan B (Jamie).  We watch daily for Notices to Mariners on the status of the canal.

Bordering Maryland

Being in Norfolk allowed me to see the benefits of the AIS VHF radio I bought.  I connected both the GPS and the AIS output from my VHF radio to a Bluetooth multiplexor which links to my laptop charting software. This picture shows a container ship being positioned by two tugs in to its berth in Norfolk:

This situation is shown on my laptop thus (click the image for a larger one):

The large green object is the container ship with the two small green triangles as the tugs positioning him.  We are the small yellow triangle proceeding north up the channel.  AIS returns that could conflict with us are shown in red, stationary objects are grey.  Cool system!

As we left Norfolk, one of the new San Antonio Class Ships left its berth for the Atlantic.  Shows up as "US GOVT SHIP" on the AIS.  She is LPD-21, USS New York, made, at least partly, from 9/11 steel.

We had a fairly good run up to our current location.  The seas were from our starboard rear.  Not easy to steer a good coarse but not hard to bear like the head seas we had wshen we tried offshore the other day.

We are now in Smith Point Marina tucked away very quietly:

This place is very sheltered and very quiet.  I said very quiet! Tomorrow we head for Annapolis.  We have a reservation in the City marina.  That will be much more active.

Portsmouth, VA

Yesterday we stayed in Coinjock.  The Blogster has been down all day so this is a catch-up posting.

Our last place in North Carolina.  Great restaurant.  We were tightly packed in as a cruise "ship" did not leave on schedule.  This is how tightly:

They had a great restaurant there so Jo was spared  galley detail. 

We set out at 0730 for Portsmouth in sequence with the other boats on the dock from the rear as no one wanted to leave unless stern or bow was clear. We made Portsmouth around 1545.  The approaches to Portsmouth are not as scenic as others:

The marina here is good though and one Aegis cruiser left the dockyard this morning for our viewing pleasure.  But there were a couple of problems to sort out.  What else is new?

Our starboard engine did not start immediately out of Coinjock.  Reminded me of the engine failure we had coming into Clewiston.  So I had a mechanic come in and install the spare relay I bought.  Then one head would not flush properly but that problem cleared itself.  Then I found out that our sump (there are two on board looking after grey water fore and aft) breaker was tripped.  That turned out to be a shorted sump pump.  I had noticed that this boat has a number of identical sump/bilge pumps so I had bought two spares.  Good move!  I fixed that as access was possible.
 
The real breakthrough is that they had an electrician who, between him tracing and measuring and me reading circuit diagrams and schematics, managed to correct the generator wiring so it can be started and stopped without going into the engine room.  This is a major advance!

Tomorrow we will head out for Patuxent River.