Observer

Thursday 5/10      We had a bit of fog and some rolling seas.  The seas are with us which helps with the speed but requires hands on steering for today's run to Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island.  Four plus hours into our trip, we were greeted by harbor host John Calascibetta and 3 other club members who helped us get secure in our slip.  It's a great spot.  John is a Gold Looper and he goes way out of his way to help Loopers and make them feel welcome to his club.  We joined the crew of Serenity in the Club Bar for drinks and enjoyed a nice dinner at Coles Dock Side restaurant, just a short walk up the street Great Kills Yacht Club This glass of wine cost a whopping $2.50 Safe Home  Very cool paining on the side of a building we passed on our walk to dinner

Wednesday 5/09.   Millie chose not to sleep with us last night.  This is how she greeted us this morning! Waiting patiently for her breakfast! We are timing our departure so we get to our destination at slack tide; it's highly recommended.  We pushed off the dock in limited visibility with fog,  got out to the open ocean and had a bit of a discussion whether we wanted to bounce, rock & roll like this for 7 hours.  It wasn't terrible or unbearable so we stuck with it.  As the day got on, conditions improved.  We arrived at Hoffman Marina at 3:50 just about slack (no current tide).  The marina guy was very helpful in catching our lines and getting us secured for the night.  Today's passage was a bit of a bear. . . but glad we went for it and that we have it behind us.  We took a long walk into town with Millie to replenish our 'rum rashions' ;) and heated up some left overs for dinner Nice and calm in the basin

Monday 5/07    We've been told to run outside in Jersey; there are just too many areas where there is shoaling when running on the inside.  Forecast is not great but it gets worse tomorrow.  We decided to give it a try and left the dock at 8:45.  We experienced 10k wind out of the NE (on the nose) but real large swells from the East.  It was uncomfortable but doable so we pressed on and arrived in Atlantic City just before 2:00.   Tim did a bike ride down the 'board walk' and we hung out on board and did some planning for the next couple days. We are due for an oil change and because of weather we will not be traveling tomorrow.  I called a mechanic recommended by the marina and he said he can fit us in tomorrow - psyched! Dinner on board. Tuesday 5/08 The mechanic arrived at 7:00 as promised, took care of everything on our list within a couple hours - great to have that out of the way.  Our big adventure today was provisioning...

Sunday 5/06     Up early to check weather sites and route for today's run.  We left at 7:00; it's overcast and cool but the seas (for the most part) are supportive of traveling all the way down Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ. One of the cargo ships we passed  The Salem Nuclear Power Plant on the Delaware Bay Dreary day We are staying at the South Jersey Marina (nicest marina bathrooms on the Loop).  We hit a little fog in the Canal and inner harbor and then secured to the dock about 1:30 Foggy Marina Office Lovely ladies Room We had a nice long walk into the downtown area of Cape May; there are shops, stores and some beautiful Victorian homes.  It was a great way to spend a couple hours.  We grilled a pork loin on board and made it an early night. Brick pedestrian shopping area Deja vu.  We rounded a corner and realized we attended a friend's wedding here years ago This church ...

Saturday 5/05     We had a short run over to Delaware City Marina today.  We timed our arrival at low tide (no current . . . but it is low tide).  Tim, the marina owner, is very engaging and entertaining.   1)He said call when we get to the Reddy Point bridge  2) He gave us instructions to our next position and asked us to call him on ch. 09 VHF when we get to red bouy 6A. 3) at that point he indicated that we were coming in at dead low tide and we could either follow his instructions or wait for the ferry to return (1/2 hour) and follow them in through the low spots of the channel.  We opted to follow his instructions and 10 minutes later we were securely tied to the dock.   Tim (Clarke) got out on the C&D canal bike path (awesome) and rode back to Summit North Marina. Bike path The end of the bike path Post lunch we did a little walk around town with Millie (aka Grandma).   ...

Friday 5/04    We had a long day today under great traveling conditions.  Left St. Michaels at 7:21 and traveled to the top of Chesapeake Bay and about four miles into the C & D Canal.  It's the mid Atlantic version of the Cape Cod Canal.  We arrived at Summit North Marina at 4:20 (9 hour run today) and Millie was very happy to find some green grass.  Summit North Marina looks much nicer on their web site than in person.  But hey - it's calm, safe and people are nice.  We scrounged up dinner with some left overs and cranked the AC; it's hot. Marina to the left, C & D Canal to the right

Wednesday 5/02   We got a little later start today - leaving the dock @ 8:30.   Passing the Calvert Cliffs Fishing boat Loved this little boat Again we had light winds and calm seas, but we did run into a number of recreational fishing boats trawling across our bow.  It was a bit of an obstacle course keeping out of their way and being courteous.   We arrived at St. Michaels Marina around 2:30.   It's a beautiful town and really nice marina.     Tim did a paddle board tour of the inner harbor.   Then we grabbed Millie and walked around town.   There are great little shops and restaurants and very nice neighborhoods of modest well cared for homes.Cocktails on the flybridge and tacos of left overs for dinner and we called it a day.     Thursday 5/03.     It's a lay day for us in St. Michaels.   It's sunny and a bit on the w...