Oct. 11, 2005 from Whitehall, NY

After a flurry of chores both at home and onboard Antares, we finally departed the LCYC dock a little after 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 9th. Kristin and her husband Chris drove us down to the club with the last of our gear, gave us hugs and wished us well before heading back to Boston.  If we'd forgotten anything we'd have to do without or buy it on the way south.

With a northwest wind blowing about 20 knots we splashed our way around R "2" at Shelburne Point and began our journey south.  We had a bit of a rolly start with the waves on the stern quarter and I quickly gave up trying to straighten things up below, finding it difficult at best to hang on with one hand while attempting to carry and stow things with the other.

Once we past Quaker Smith Point we were able to turn more southerly, and the motion eased up.  With the following seas we made good time and were glad the wind wasn't on the nose.  Our first night destination was Cole Bay, one of our favorite anchorages a bit south of Barber Point. All we saw for fellow boaters were two reefed sailboats and a power boat and all of the anchorages empty, something we hadn't seen since our spring arrival, on an equally gray and dismal day.  I guess we should have expected this kind of weather after the fantastic week of beautiful, sunny, record breaking days we'd enjoyed which made all the chores easier to do.

There was another sailboat with it's mast down anchored off the Camp Dudley beach at Cole Bay.  We made our way behind Cole Island and dropped the hook just as the last of the daylight faded.  We finished setting the cabin in order before dinner and then fell into our bunk for a peaceful night's rest.

In the morning we got underway around 8, planning to stop at Whitehall for the night since we plan to have our new jib delivered to Catskill on Friday and don't need to hurry.  As we were flaking the jib prior to the mast step it tore along the protective strip on the leach about 2/3 rds of the up from the deck.  Closer inspection revealed the sail cloth was pretty rotten and seemed to want to tear if we even looked at it.  We'd inquired about replacement sail costs this summer when we stopped by the sail loft to pick up some strapping for the bimini knowing we'd have to replace the sails before long.  We hoped to get one last season on these.  Given the amount of sailing we do, and the time the boat has spent in the hot southern sun we shouldn't have been surprised.

On Tuesday we took the sail in for a patch and ordered a new cruising jib made with special laminated fabric that should give us a lighter weight sail with better performance and possibly a longer life span.  We anticipated taking delivery of the sail when we returned to the boat in the spring, hoping we could make do with a patch on the old one until then.  We were surprised and pleased to learn our sail would be squeezed in with all the Lightening boat class sails the loft was making for the nationals down in Annapolis.

Bill Fastiggi checked to make sure the material was available, the place that cuts the panels for them had time and asked his helper if it could be made as soon as the panels arrived.  He even went a step further and offered to deliver the sail to Annapolis along with the Lightening sails.  After checking both our schedules we decided he would drop the sail off at Catskill where the mast will be stepped as he heads down this Friday.  Things were looking up.  We'd have the old sail with a quick patch for backup if everything didn't fall into place.

On Columbus Day as I made phone calls to reserve dock space during our stay in Catskill, Mike, the yard owner indicated that no one was coming through now and I might want to check with the locks.  On Saturday when we got several inches of rain, the southern part of the state and the upper Hudson Valley got about 12 inches.  A call to the Lock 12 lock master informed me that the locks from Lock 3 by Mechanicville and south were closed with no firm date for reopening.  The heavy rains sent flood waters down the Hoosic River that joins the Hudson just above Lock 3, causing a log jam at the lock door and taking out many of the channel markers south along the river.

We slacked off on the engine RPMs since there was no longer any hurry. We had a bouncy ride up in Lock 12 and talked to the lock master again.  He gave us an undated 2 day pass, saying it could be dated when we clear Lock 11.  He did not anticipate the locks being operational before Wednesday.  We were tied up at the town dock around 3.  It's quite nice, free power and water and a chance to stretch our legs, which we did, hiking up to Skene Manor and then out to the hardware store on the southwest part of town.  As we returned to Antares, the boat that had been with us at Cole Bay was finishing tying up on the wall ahead of us.

This morning we got a call from Greg Eurich, a friend from LCYC who started south on Friday afternoon, to let us know about the situation in the locks.  He said the tug they need to use to clear the debris is on the lock wall at Lock 4 where all the boats that were in transit are stopped.  The tug need 17 feet of overhead clearance, and as of yesterday the water was still up with only 15 feet were available.  The canal folks had opened the dam at Lock 3 in hopes the debris which includes trees, would wash over the spill way.  Instead a jam formed at the lock door.

Sunshine is a scarce commodity this week, with none in the forecast. Heavy rains aren't forecast either, but showers are.  Before long the front that dumped all the snow in the Rockies will arrive with a greater chance of more heavy rain.

We are thinking about heading down as far as Fort Edward where there is another town dock available.  It's about 25 miles there, and would get us a bit closer to our destination.  It's one of those places we haven't stopped at yet, being an in between distance in the usual 2 day run of the canal.  The "Lois McClure", the canal boat replica that was built in Burlington, is currently there, due to head north tomorrow.

We checked with the Lock 4 lock master, and were told there was no space left for tying up, so that isn't a viable option.  With the number of boats in the system, we will likely encounter hang-ups getting the mast stepped at Catskill as well.  Good thing we are cruising and not in a hurry!

Oct. 21, 2005 from Baltimore, MD

The locks reopened Tuesday afternoon and we set out from Whitehall on Wednesday morning in hopes of reaching Mechanicville that evening. Having followed the web site for the canal schooner, Lois McClure, we knew we'd cross paths in the canal that day. I had just gotten the camera out as she came into view.  We exchanged waves with the crew and continued on our way. We were also treated to the sight of a black swan shortly after we passed the McClure.


The lock hours are now from 7 am to 5 pm everyday and unless we had delays at any of the locks it would be possible to clear Lock 3 before 5 pm and be able to use the public dock in town.  However after we had tied up inside of lock 4, the lock master walked over to tell us he had just talked with folks downstream and since more rain was in the forecast (still), there was concern that the river would go over the dock wall during the night as it had the previous week which would make for an experience we'd rather avoid. So we backed out of the lock and tied up on the wall just north of the lock, once again thankful for our 3 blade prop that allows us back in a predictable manner, unlike most sail boats.

The next morning we finished the remaining locks with more cloudy damp weather. We must be improving our locking skills with all our practice since we didn't have any problems this year.  Having very light winds always helps, since a wind gust at just the wrong time can throw a monkey wrench into the best planned approach.  Our only real delay was a wait for 2 power boats to join us in the Troy Lock.  The one that tied up behind us seemed to have a precarious hold on the lock wall since he continually used his engine and bow thruster during the descent, enveloping us in his exhaust fumes.

Having talked to Greg Eurich aboard Argonauta earlier that day we knew we probably wouldn't be getting the mast stepped on Friday.  He was still waiting as were a number of other boats, all in line ahead of us. Not being in a hurry we stopped at Athens, a town on the west bank of the Hudson north of Catskill that we've never visited for night.  So we were surprised when I called Riverview Friday morning and Mike asked how soon could we get there and told me to just pull right into the mast stepping slot, he'd do us as soon as we were ready.

We hustled down as fast as we could (still haven't seen Athens), quickly finished up all the pre step details and were ready to go by 11.  This was unbelievable.  All the boats that had been waiting, including Argonauta, had decided to go to Nyack, 70 miles down the Hudson, to have their masts stepped rather than wait any longer at Catskill.  The river flooding had not occurred in spite of 7 inches of rain.  I was told the creek regularly floods when they get 3 or 4 inches, and that at least one of the marinas had lost docks when they hadn't taken precautions to move the finger docks and placing everything to take the water head on.  Since the recently forecast rain hadn't materialized, Mike was ready to step masts.  Our new jib would arrive in the evening and we would be right on schedule to depart on Saturday.

Some things are just too good to be true.  The mast was hooked up to the crane and we were ready to turn back into a sail boat.  But when Mike began lifting the mast, the clutch on the crane slipped, dropping the mast back into the cradle.  I was below decks prepared to help ease the wiring for the mast head instruments and the mast into the step once it came through the deck, and wondered what the big thump was.  It was repeated as Mike tried lifting it again.  In one of our phone conversations Greg had mentioned Mike's concern about getting the crane wet during all the recent rain.  I guess he had good reason.

The yard guys brought an engine block over to see if they could get the clutch to hold when it was lifted rather than to get the mast part way up and have it drop on the deck.  When that attempt failed, the plan was to apply heat inside the crane to dry things out.  Leonard thought letting the clutch slip until it heated up would have the same effect, but since
it wasn't his toy, he didn't suggest this to anyone but me.  Another attempt to lift the engine block in the afternoon was still unsuccessful.  Mike apologized for the delay, would apply heat overnight and try again in the morning.

The good news of the day was the arrival of our new jib.  It was delivered, as promised, right to the boat.  Talk about service, all we needed now was a mast to run it up.

Around dinner time it began to rain, and it continued throughout the night.  Not a good sign.  Attempts at lifting the engine block in the morning failed yet again, so we walked over to Hop O Nose Marina, the other place that does masts in Catskill and got on their waiting list, but it would be sometime Sunday at the earliest.

We spent part of the morning at the local farmer's market which is located about a block from the marina, stocking up on fruits and vegetables.  In the afternoon we took a walk through town and noticed lots of cars parked by the park up on the hill overlooking the Hudson. There was an open house at the Beattie House, a lovely, simple old house with a beautiful view that I've admired on every trip.  Instead of a fancy huge mansion, this place looks like a home. The house and the land had been donated to the town as a park some years back and this was a potluck fund raiser to help restore the house.  A donation, since we hadn't brought food, got us a self tour of the house which was interesting.

We returned to the boat to learn the crane was working, but Mike was short a person to step the mast.  He promised to do us first thing in the morning.  The potential problem with this timing was the wind forecast of 20 to 30 MPH winds with much higher gusts which could cause a further delay.  The crane had a bit of a problem releasing in the morning (it had probably never been so dry before), but it did work, and we became a sailing vessel once again.  The winds didn't pick up until the mast was up.  We hoped to depart around 2, but were still busy attaching the boom, putting the solar panel back up and reconnecting the wiring for the masthead instruments.  With the wind steadily blowing getting the sails on was out of the question since we were in a slip sideways to the wind, so we decided to leave early in the morning.  It was a good choice since the wind died enough around sunset to allow us to get the main on before it came back up.  It was also calm enough shortly after sunrise to run up the new jib.

We had a chance to chat briefly with the folks on Helios, the boat that had been at Cole Bay and has been following us in the locks.  They are a young couple with 2 boys, 9 and 3, who plan to go to Miami before heading to the Bahamas.  We'll probably see more of them as we head south.

That evening Mike had his expert in to look at the crane and all the yard guys gathered around to check the crane out.  This is a friend who's job is working on the really big construction cranes, so this was like working on an erector set toy for him.  What was interesting was overhearing his comment about letting the clutch slip to dry things out.  It wouldn't hurt the clutch at all.

Our early morning departure from Catskill got us to Nyack just before dark having finally gotten a bit of favorable current.  We had our first day with measurable sunshine.  Once we got past the shoals and some river twists we were even made use of our new sail. It worked nicely.


The Hudson is a beautiful river and much of the scenery reminds me of the exhibit we saw years ago at the Smithsonian on light and the Hudson River School of painting.  One sad difference in the 19th century paintings and what you see today is the graffiti that has been added to some of the rock faces that appeared in the paintings.


With reasonable weather forecast, we headed toward NYC and the Atlantic early in the morning.  As usual, we were out of phase with the currents. It takes a long time to get from the Tappan Zee Bridge to the George Washington Bridge even when the knotmeter reads 6.5 knots.  The reason is obvious when you check the GPS and find you are only going over the ground at 3 or 4 knots, fighting a current.

The wind came up and once we were past the palisades we raised sail for a great sail past Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan waterfront, and under the Verazanno Bridge.  By this time we had the current pushing us and we broke our speed record under sail when the GPS hit 10.4 knots over the ground as we squirted through the Narrows.  The west wind also had more fetch past the narrows, and we hurriedly got into our foul weather gear after a couple of salty splashes.

Hoping the weather and wind would hold, we headed past Sandy Hook toward Cape May.  There were 6 other sail boats also heading south.  We decided to hug the shore where the the waves wouldn't be as big, the others were further out.  The wind held until around sunset when it died back for about half an hour before filling in again for the night.

This is why we love sailing.  Smooth water, good winds, a bit of a current boost, sunshine and a good vessel.  We charged south along the New Jersey coast doing a steady 6 to 7 knots - it's hard to ask for more.  We saw a beautiful schooner with graceful racing lines headed north. Shortly after sunset, the moon rose out of the ocean to light our way.  We could see the other boats headed south for most of the night. The wind held until 0230 when we resorted to motor sailing to maintain our speed to reach Cape May around 0800 giving us the option of stopping at Cape May or heading up the Delaware River depending on the weather.

I find it amazing how much energy is spent in lighting up Atlantic City. It is visible for hours both before and after you pass it at night. Leonard said he started seeing the lights of the buildings when we were  30 miles away. I suppose it is business with money as the bottom line as usual, but it seems like a great waste of resources that could be put to better use.

I got the dawn watch.  I enjoy watching the gradual change of night to dawn.  The lesser stars begin to disappear and the sky slowly changes colors.  This time I was visited by 2 weary little birds (I knew how they felt) just before the sunup.  The one on the starboard lifeline tucked its head under its wing immediately for a brief bird nap, while the one on the port side was busy looking around, checking things out. They hung around about 15 minutes before resuming their journey.  I got out my bird book, but I couldn't positively identify them other than little brown bird and slightly bigger brown bird with speckled breast. It didn't help that I was viewing them through the salty isinglass of the dodger, but I didn't want to disturb them and didn't get the camera so I wouldn't wake Leonard.

With a couple of hours to go before we reached Cape May, Leonard took the watch and I headed down for a bit more sleep.  When I woke, Leonard had rounded Cape May and we were headed up the Delaware River, already past he ferry breakwater.  I didn't hear him come get the camera!  Going through the canal was out of the question this trip due to a higher than normal spring tide - our antennas touch at normal high tide.

The wind was forecast to be SW and build during the day which would mean more good sailing.  We caught the tail end of a helpful current for a ways before the current switched. The day was sunny and warm.  The winds didn't materialize until we were well upstream.  Given the calm conditions I made up a batch of bread and was considering taking a shower when the wind came up.  I had just gotten the bread into the skillet when a gust hit, sliding the skillet off the flame diverter.  We were heeling more than the stove gimble allowed.  I jury rigged a way to keep things where they belonged and went on deck to help reef the main (which helps lessen the heeling).

We were headed for the anchorage at Reedy Island, about 6 miles south of the entrance to the C & D Canal.  By this time we had picked up a strong opposing current slowing our speed over the ground.  Like Atlantic City, you see the nuclear power plant at Artificial Island long before you finally get there.  The dike at Reedy Island which across the river from the power plant, was very visible due to the low tide and the sun had set before we saw the cut that takes you behind it to the anchorage.

With an opposing current running in the canal until about noon, we welcomed the chance to catch up on our sleep in the morning.  By the ships log we had gone 223 nautical miles versus 199 by the GPS, so the opposing currents had added 24 miles, and we don't have a way to figure in the push we got through the lower New York Harbor and part of the offshore run!

We started for the canal about noon to catch the best current push for the canal transit.  It was a fast trip.  We aren't sure which is more unpleasant, the sport fishing boats that cause you to rock wildly after they pass or the trawlers who seemed to set up a standing waves that leaves you bobbing for a long time after they passed.  Both cost us speed and we could do without them.

We entered the upper Chesapeake before 3 pm, and anchored in the Sassafras River east of Ordinary Point in 7 ft of water for the night. It was a quiet night with the forecast rain not starting until dawn. When I looked out the hatch this morning we were treated to the sight of 2 eagles in a tree behind the boat.  What I had taken for osprey nests as we approached the point yesterday must belong to the eagles.

This morning (Friday), as I write up the log, we are motor sailing in the rain (with the usual opposing current) toward Baltimore Harbor. Rain and cooler temperatures are in the forecast through the weekend. We hope to connect up with daughter Melaina and husband Mike who will be in the area visiting his brother this weekend.  We'll be able to do laundry and reprovision easily here too having found the store on our stop here 2 years ago.  We will then work our way south, hopefully toward sunshine and warmer temperatures on Sunday.

Oct. 25, 2005 from Annapolis, MD

We are hanging on an Annapolis City mooring just off the dinghy dock as I write this on Tuesday the 25th.  With our current wet and windy weather, it is a good day to work on an e mail update and our web site.

After calling various of marinas in Baltimore we found one with an reasonable rate in the Canton section of town.  Since our visit two years ago, we knew the Inner Harbor would be within walking distance through interesting neighborhoods or a water taxi ride.  The Anchorage Marina turned out to be one of the nicer places that we've stayed at over the years.  The docks were set up with single slips - a floating dock on either side - the first time we've seen this.   The shore side facilities pleasant and clean and best of all, a supermarket across the street, making it almost like being at home.

It was also obviously on the local cruiser's list of "in" places too, as a fairly large group were having a gathering over the weekend.  They used the captain's lounge for a pot luck dinner and brunch.

After getting all the chores done on Saturday morning, we walked to the Inner Harbor through the Fell's Point neighborhood, which like most of the waterfront areas has under gone renewal over the years.  For the most part the old buildings have been rehabbed into shops and condos, decidedly upscale, but visibly in keeping with the original architecture.  The only downside was the occasional showers and continual misting.  So far, this year has been the cloudiest and wettest of our trips.

We met Melaina, Mike, his brother and wife in the Inner Harbor for dinner.  It was a pleasant surprise when we realized our paths would cross here and it was nice to see Andy and Melissa again.

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear for a  welcome change.  After taking on fuel we took a short ride to the Inner Harbor.  Leonard had watched a Navy vessel docking before we left, so we checked it out.  We then headed back down the Patapsco River with plans to stop somewhere on the Magothy River for the night.  Small craft warnings had been issued for the Chesapeake, so we had plenty of wind for the short sail.  It looked like we would be able to sail in the somewhat narrow entrance of the river, but of course, the wind chose that moment to blow on our nose, so we cheated and used the engine to get us into deeper water.

We've not been in the Magothy before, and since it was a nice weekend day, we joined the local fleet sailing up river.  We decided that Broad Creek on the northern shore looked like an interesting anchorage.  There was a rather spectacular house, it looked like a Frank Lloyd Wright done in glass, that came into view as we turned up Broad Creek.  We found a nice spot to anchor in 12 ft of water that wasn't off anyone's dock.  We were surprised to see the little cove to the east that looked shallow and difficult to enter filled with all kinds of boats on docks.  A large trawler slowly worked its way in and anchored.  The chart showed a very narrow channel in, and not a lot of swinging room once there.


With hurricane Wilma heading north and various storm trajectories showing just offshore or further offshore paths, depending on when you checked the weather charts, we decided that a night or two on a mooring in Annapolis would be preferable to doing the two anchor and worry routine.  Most of our wind here has been associated with a cold front.  It was strong enough out of the NE yesterday for the wind generator to add amp hours to the batteries.  It switched to the N over night and mooring is not as bouncy today.  The forecast is for rain this morning, showers later and wind with gusts up into the 30's, so we are taking the lazy man's route and spending another night here.  We should have sunshine and N winds for sailing in the morning making for a more pleasant day.

We launched the dinghy yesterday for the first time this trip.  Since the predicted showers hadn't started, we went ashore to check out Annapolis.  I wanted to restock our wine cellar and remembered a nice reasonably priced wine we'd gotten here last year.  On our way back to the dinghy, we passed a marine electronics shop that was closing at the end of the month and stopped in to check it out.  We've been thinking of getting another Autohelm 4000 so we would have replacement parts for our auto pilot.  There was a demo model in the store, which after a little dickering, we got it for a much better price than we've seen.  Best of all, it is a model that has the same wheel mounts as ours, but newer electronics.  Leonard is currently checking out his new purchase.

Hopefully the rain will stop and we can go for another walk this afternoon.  We haven't decided where we'll head next.  I'd like to stop at St. Mary's City this year and we want to give some folks we met last summer who are located in the Chesapeake a call.  Part of the fun is exploring new places and knowing where the good reprovisioning stops are.

Late news:  The rain changed to a mist and we did go for a walk and some shopping in the afternoon.  Now (8 pm Tuesday night) it has started to sprinkle again with light rain forecast for most of tonight and tomorrow morning.  The weather maps are showing snow showers in the western part of the stateand it is time to head for warmer weather. Tomorrow's winds are forecast as northwest at 15 to 20 knots which should give us a good sailing as we head for Solomons.
 
Leonard and Lynnea Rosner