Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007
So tomorrow we will be leaving for the Delaware River and then on to the Chesapeake. The winds are favorable, so we should be off. We'll report more as we go along.
In the meanwhile, we were featured in a magazine article in a sailing mag called Carolina Currents. They interviewed us and took photos when we were in Oriental, NC and the article has just been published. You can see it on line, just highlight the following link, press ctrl-C, put the cursor in the browser address line and press ctrl-V to paste the address in, then press Enter - voila!:
www.carolinacurrents.com/detail.php?522
PS: So we had a good sail down to the Delaware River and anchored in a harbor of refuge at Cape Henlopen, just inside the mouth of the river. The winds were blowing from the right direction for a change and we just romped along, doing 7 knots most of the night. It got a little light in the morning and we finally turned on the motor. When we got to the anchorage we found John and Cheryl Mallon, a couple who also own a Sceptre 41 and so I got to go over and visit with them and talk boats. They are going the same way as we are, so we will doubtless meet up later on.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Can't leave NY, but still trying.....
Thursday, Sept. 29, 2007
Yup, we don't seem to be leaving yet. We get stuck in places where we have met a lot of people and made friends. As much as we want to see Cape Cod, it would just be scenery compared to the connections we have made here. We have fallen into comfortable routines here. We could do flamenco just about any night we wanted to, but actually take time off just to rest up. We've learned how to get around and it is easy (with the possible exception of the subways at 3AM - between rats and strange humans, it can be expeditionary).
The other day we took our bikes and did the Central Park Loop, a nice exercise and beautiful. Then the next day, we rode all the way down the waterfront bike path, around the Battery up to the Brooklyn Bridge. Then we headed into the city, through Chinatown, to Essex St. where we found the pickles that are considered the best in NYC. We brought a bunch of them home and they ARE good. However, Nathan's bottled pickles are so close that I won't ever feel the need for exertion when Nathan's can be had.
I'm cutting this short because we are off for lunch to our favorite local joint, Big Nick's. Don't be afraid to write or call.
Here is the view from our back porch, looking up the Hudson to the George Washington Bridge.
And here is the view from our front porch, looking down the Hudson toward downtown.
Here is an "artzy" shot of Steve Kahn and I in flamenco mode on the boat on a hot NY night.
I just couldn't resist the contrast between the modern and the traditional.
As we rode our bikes through Central Park, there were these carriages....
Yup, we don't seem to be leaving yet. We get stuck in places where we have met a lot of people and made friends. As much as we want to see Cape Cod, it would just be scenery compared to the connections we have made here. We have fallen into comfortable routines here. We could do flamenco just about any night we wanted to, but actually take time off just to rest up. We've learned how to get around and it is easy (with the possible exception of the subways at 3AM - between rats and strange humans, it can be expeditionary).
The other day we took our bikes and did the Central Park Loop, a nice exercise and beautiful. Then the next day, we rode all the way down the waterfront bike path, around the Battery up to the Brooklyn Bridge. Then we headed into the city, through Chinatown, to Essex St. where we found the pickles that are considered the best in NYC. We brought a bunch of them home and they ARE good. However, Nathan's bottled pickles are so close that I won't ever feel the need for exertion when Nathan's can be had.
I'm cutting this short because we are off for lunch to our favorite local joint, Big Nick's. Don't be afraid to write or call.
Here is the view from our back porch, looking up the Hudson to the George Washington Bridge.
And here is the view from our front porch, looking down the Hudson toward downtown.
Here is an "artzy" shot of Steve Kahn and I in flamenco mode on the boat on a hot NY night.
I just couldn't resist the contrast between the modern and the traditional.
As we rode our bikes through Central Park, there were these carriages....
Monday, September 17, 2007
NY is cool!
Monday, September 17, 2007
We have been having so much fun that we couldn't take time to write. We have been meeting the flamenco community in NY and there is some good talent here! We feel very warmly received. I've been singing every night so my voice is all warmed up and furry sounding, just like I always wanted it to be.
In spite of all the fun, we are wondering whether we should move along because it is starting to get cool. It is 11AM and I am wearing levis and a long-sleeved shirt! We have blankets on the bed now. The days are in the low 70's and the nights get down to the high 50's. We haven't been so cool in a very long time. This is the farthest North that we have ever had the boat so far. Actually the climate is perfect, but we are very used to hot and humid. We are either going to run up to Cape Cod for a few days or just head down to the Chesapeake and spend a month exploring it until the cold forces back to our winter home in North Carolina. Stay tuned for further decisions.
Otherwise, we have been learning the bus and subway system. It really works well. It is cheap and easy to get around, so we go all over town every night. It is $2 per ride, but that includes transfers as well so it really means door to door transportation. It's nice to be able to get around without a car. When we get to NC, we will have to beg/borrow/steal a car.
Andi is off taking a yoga class right now, so I guess I'll work on some boat projects - like changing the oil on the genset.
Don't forget to write.
There are Canada Geese here (and in Carolina). I don't know whether they are passing through or full-time residents.
Here is Central Park.
Here is this goofy dog we passed in front of an antique shop. He doesn't bother to reel in his tongue and it look like a dried-up piece of felt.
We have been having so much fun that we couldn't take time to write. We have been meeting the flamenco community in NY and there is some good talent here! We feel very warmly received. I've been singing every night so my voice is all warmed up and furry sounding, just like I always wanted it to be.
In spite of all the fun, we are wondering whether we should move along because it is starting to get cool. It is 11AM and I am wearing levis and a long-sleeved shirt! We have blankets on the bed now. The days are in the low 70's and the nights get down to the high 50's. We haven't been so cool in a very long time. This is the farthest North that we have ever had the boat so far. Actually the climate is perfect, but we are very used to hot and humid. We are either going to run up to Cape Cod for a few days or just head down to the Chesapeake and spend a month exploring it until the cold forces back to our winter home in North Carolina. Stay tuned for further decisions.
Otherwise, we have been learning the bus and subway system. It really works well. It is cheap and easy to get around, so we go all over town every night. It is $2 per ride, but that includes transfers as well so it really means door to door transportation. It's nice to be able to get around without a car. When we get to NC, we will have to beg/borrow/steal a car.
Andi is off taking a yoga class right now, so I guess I'll work on some boat projects - like changing the oil on the genset.
Don't forget to write.
There are Canada Geese here (and in Carolina). I don't know whether they are passing through or full-time residents.
Here is Central Park.
Here is this goofy dog we passed in front of an antique shop. He doesn't bother to reel in his tongue and it look like a dried-up piece of felt.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
NEW YORK!!!!!!!!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Wow, we are beginning to figure out that we sailed 8300 miles in order to be here! We have been too busy to write much because of too much fun. We took the subway over to Brooklyn to jam with Steve Kahn and then a day later bussed down to Greenwich Village for lunch and then a jam with Ian Banks that turned into a bit of fiesta. There aren't many singers here, so it's wide open.
But in addition to the flamenco scene (which is actually much smaller than I had imagined, but still great), we have been enjoying the little restaurants, the walking, Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum.
Folks here are pretty slim, partly because of all the walking. Cars are virtually impossible here - no parking space mostly. We haven't seen a "single-family-residence" yet - everything is multistory apartments. With 300+ residents on a block and parking spaces for 30 cars - well, you get the picture. Yet it is easy to get around. Busses and subways cost $2 per ride. You can get onto a subway and transfer all over the place. You buy a Metro card and just slide it through the scanner upon boarding. For $20, you can get unlimited riding on everything for a week.
One of the pleasant surprises was the grocery stores. There are no big chains; all the stores look like little local markets and they are very narrow on the street so they seem small, but the buildings can be half-a-block deep, so the store goes way back. The produce is excellent, fresh breads of all kinds, huge cheeses and varieties of every possible type - they even had our favorite exotic smoked paprika from Spain. For Santa Cruz folks, it was like twice Shopper's Corner.
So we will stay at least a week longer. We'll try to post some pix after we get them out of the camera. Don't forget to write....
Here's Andi in front of our boat moored in the Hudson River. Double-click to make it bigger. Can you find the boat?
Time Square is full of interesting characters including the "Naked Cowboy".
Even in daytime, Time Square is pretty vivid.
Here is a shot in "Big Nicks", a little local restaurant next to our market where food is yummy and inexpensive.
Wow, we are beginning to figure out that we sailed 8300 miles in order to be here! We have been too busy to write much because of too much fun. We took the subway over to Brooklyn to jam with Steve Kahn and then a day later bussed down to Greenwich Village for lunch and then a jam with Ian Banks that turned into a bit of fiesta. There aren't many singers here, so it's wide open.
But in addition to the flamenco scene (which is actually much smaller than I had imagined, but still great), we have been enjoying the little restaurants, the walking, Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum.
Folks here are pretty slim, partly because of all the walking. Cars are virtually impossible here - no parking space mostly. We haven't seen a "single-family-residence" yet - everything is multistory apartments. With 300+ residents on a block and parking spaces for 30 cars - well, you get the picture. Yet it is easy to get around. Busses and subways cost $2 per ride. You can get onto a subway and transfer all over the place. You buy a Metro card and just slide it through the scanner upon boarding. For $20, you can get unlimited riding on everything for a week.
One of the pleasant surprises was the grocery stores. There are no big chains; all the stores look like little local markets and they are very narrow on the street so they seem small, but the buildings can be half-a-block deep, so the store goes way back. The produce is excellent, fresh breads of all kinds, huge cheeses and varieties of every possible type - they even had our favorite exotic smoked paprika from Spain. For Santa Cruz folks, it was like twice Shopper's Corner.
So we will stay at least a week longer. We'll try to post some pix after we get them out of the camera. Don't forget to write....
Here's Andi in front of our boat moored in the Hudson River. Double-click to make it bigger. Can you find the boat?
Time Square is full of interesting characters including the "Naked Cowboy".
Even in daytime, Time Square is pretty vivid.
Here is a shot in "Big Nicks", a little local restaurant next to our market where food is yummy and inexpensive.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
We love New York!!!
September 3, 2007 Tuesday
We arrived in New York Harbor with a strong sense of excitement after a 48 hour passage from Little Harbor, VA to Sandy Hook, NJ. Our time at sea was very pleasant although we had to run the engine for about half the time. The other part was some fast sailing as the wind finally came in from the right direction. Our watches passed smoothly and Andi consistently cranked out gourmet food including a killer lasagna. Every time I came on watch, she had the sails trimmed to a fare-thee-well and I couldn't find anything to improve on. I'm going to stop taking her to places where sailors hang out because if they find out what she can do, I'll have no end of trouble.
Anyway, when we passed Sandy Hook at the entrance to NY Harbor, I called the marina and they said that they had a spare mooring waiting for us. Can you imagine staying in Upper West Side Manhattan for $180 a week??? We go ashore in our dinghy - about 3 minutes and there is a secure dock for the dinghy, free laundry machines, free ice. It's not fancy, but we are stoked. Buses and subways a few blocks away.
Our first night in town, we called our old friend, Steve Kahn, and he joined us for dinner and then came back to the boat for an evening of flamenco. We've missed that! Good clean fun. I'm looking forward to a lot more of that and we have contacted some other musicians as well. So at the end of our first day in NY, we finally got some well-earned sleep.
The city at night is beautiful. We've only seen our corner of NYC, but are very impressed. There are lots of nice little details - flowers in planter boxes around the street trees - I mean cared-for flowers! The public landscaping is generally very impressive. As much as we love San Francisco, NY makes it look a little shabby in the public works department. We'll go farther afield tomorrow.
Here is Andi doing her version of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes while playing Frank Sinatra singing about New York (about 5 times) - yes, we're excited...
And of course, you can't come into this town by water and not swing by to see the lady...
Here is a better picture of her. When my parents got here, they were each about 1 year old so probably didn't appreciate her very much.
Here is Andi checking out the city front where the Twin Towers used to be.
Here is a fancy marina for Megayachts where you can tie up your boat for a paltry $6.75/ft./night. That would be $276 for us and about $500 a night for a modest megayacht. Thanks, but I'd rather spend it on dinners.
We arrived in New York Harbor with a strong sense of excitement after a 48 hour passage from Little Harbor, VA to Sandy Hook, NJ. Our time at sea was very pleasant although we had to run the engine for about half the time. The other part was some fast sailing as the wind finally came in from the right direction. Our watches passed smoothly and Andi consistently cranked out gourmet food including a killer lasagna. Every time I came on watch, she had the sails trimmed to a fare-thee-well and I couldn't find anything to improve on. I'm going to stop taking her to places where sailors hang out because if they find out what she can do, I'll have no end of trouble.
Anyway, when we passed Sandy Hook at the entrance to NY Harbor, I called the marina and they said that they had a spare mooring waiting for us. Can you imagine staying in Upper West Side Manhattan for $180 a week??? We go ashore in our dinghy - about 3 minutes and there is a secure dock for the dinghy, free laundry machines, free ice. It's not fancy, but we are stoked. Buses and subways a few blocks away.
Our first night in town, we called our old friend, Steve Kahn, and he joined us for dinner and then came back to the boat for an evening of flamenco. We've missed that! Good clean fun. I'm looking forward to a lot more of that and we have contacted some other musicians as well. So at the end of our first day in NY, we finally got some well-earned sleep.
The city at night is beautiful. We've only seen our corner of NYC, but are very impressed. There are lots of nice little details - flowers in planter boxes around the street trees - I mean cared-for flowers! The public landscaping is generally very impressive. As much as we love San Francisco, NY makes it look a little shabby in the public works department. We'll go farther afield tomorrow.
Here is Andi doing her version of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes while playing Frank Sinatra singing about New York (about 5 times) - yes, we're excited...
And of course, you can't come into this town by water and not swing by to see the lady...
Here is a better picture of her. When my parents got here, they were each about 1 year old so probably didn't appreciate her very much.
Here is Andi checking out the city front where the Twin Towers used to be.
Here is a fancy marina for Megayachts where you can tie up your boat for a paltry $6.75/ft./night. That would be $276 for us and about $500 a night for a modest megayacht. Thanks, but I'd rather spend it on dinners.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Gotham ahoy!
Sept. 3, 2007 On passage to NY.
Sheesh, who writes these titles anyway? Well, in spite of the titling, we found the weather window we wanted and are on our way. It took us about 4 hours under power to get clear of the Chesapeake and its shoals. Then we got a nice breeze with some East in it and were able to sail directly towards NY. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but we've had Northeast winds for quite a while now and were not looking forward to sailing directly into the wind for 260 miles. For much of the afternoon and evening, we were doing only 4.5 knots - less than our target speed of 5 knots, but the conditions were so very pleasant that we just were enjoying the sailing. This is the first time the mainsail has been up since Paul and I sailed into Beaufort.
It is now 3AM and I have relieved Andi on the watch. It's pretty quiet out here. Every once and a while we see a ship or a smaller vessel, but they haven't come too close. About 2:30 the wind got light and we had to turn on the motor. Oh well, the batteries need charging anyway. Now we are going fast and making up for a little lost time. We want to come into the harbor in daylight. The plan is to anchor behind Sandy Hook - a peninsula at the tip of New Jersey. Then the next day we will enter New York Harbor - only 10 more miles. We have to time the tides right so that we have a flood tide coming through the Narrows, a tight spot on our way into the Hudson River. Then we will see if there is an empty mooring at the 79th St. Boat Basin. We'd like to spend some time in NYC if possible. Stay tuned. Write if you find work.
Sheesh, who writes these titles anyway? Well, in spite of the titling, we found the weather window we wanted and are on our way. It took us about 4 hours under power to get clear of the Chesapeake and its shoals. Then we got a nice breeze with some East in it and were able to sail directly towards NY. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but we've had Northeast winds for quite a while now and were not looking forward to sailing directly into the wind for 260 miles. For much of the afternoon and evening, we were doing only 4.5 knots - less than our target speed of 5 knots, but the conditions were so very pleasant that we just were enjoying the sailing. This is the first time the mainsail has been up since Paul and I sailed into Beaufort.
It is now 3AM and I have relieved Andi on the watch. It's pretty quiet out here. Every once and a while we see a ship or a smaller vessel, but they haven't come too close. About 2:30 the wind got light and we had to turn on the motor. Oh well, the batteries need charging anyway. Now we are going fast and making up for a little lost time. We want to come into the harbor in daylight. The plan is to anchor behind Sandy Hook - a peninsula at the tip of New Jersey. Then the next day we will enter New York Harbor - only 10 more miles. We have to time the tides right so that we have a flood tide coming through the Narrows, a tight spot on our way into the Hudson River. Then we will see if there is an empty mooring at the 79th St. Boat Basin. We'd like to spend some time in NYC if possible. Stay tuned. Write if you find work.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Norfolk news....
September 1, 2007 Saturday
We are now in Norfolk, VA waiting for a good weather window to go up to New York. Unlike the ICW, Norfolk is a BIG city with traffic, lots of Navy ships, jets taking off, and constant noise. Very different from what we have had for the last few months.
New York City is about 265 miles, which with decent winds will take us about 2 and a half days. Right now the wind is blowing directly from NYC, so we'll wait here until it shifts. The wind has been against us all the way up the ICW, but we didn't really care because most of the channels are so narrow that we wouldn't dare to put up the sails. One minutes distraction and we would be stuck in the mud.
The ICW is not exactly relaxing, even though it is well sheltered from storms, etc. There are times when the course is straight and the autopilot can follow it, but the human still needs to be watching the chart and the depth sounder to be sure that we are in the middle of the channel. Us West Coast sailors hardly ever use the depth sounder. I owned quite a few boats before I ever had one. The only time I cared about depth was when we were anchoring. The rest of the time - it was always deep enough. Wow, not here! We live by the depth sounder and it has an alarm that starts beeping when we are in only 9 feet. At 6 feet, we are hitting the bottom with the keel (which we have done a few times now). If we have 12 feet under us, we are quite content. The ICW is supposed to be 12 feet at mid-channel. Yeah, sure!
Anyway, we're in Norfolk and have taken on fuel, water and groceries. We greased the steering cables, one of Andi's favorite activities because she gets to do it, being the smaller of the two of us. So it looks like we will take off tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.
This is a small sample of the kind of pristine country we have been cruising through. Very little development except for rich peoples houses from time to time. We conclude that there are a lot of rich people.
After we got into Virgina, we tied up for the night at the "Great Bridge" in Chesapeake, VA and walked down the street for Mexican food. Here you see a big barge going through the bascule bridge. We had more and more bridges the closer we got to Norfolk.
In the old days of sailing, we used to spend a lot of time wondering where we were or doing calculations to figure our where we were. Now we have the charts right on the computer screen and drive the "little red boat" along the winding channel. You can't believe how much labor and stress this saves.
And here I am, steering from inside as usual. 8000 miles and never got a sunburn! But I like to stay close to the computer and the cruising guides.
Finally, the last two bridges before we got into Norfolk Harbor. Many of these bridges only open on the hour or half-hour and so it is critical to time one's arrival or you spend a lot of time going in circles.
We are now in Norfolk, VA waiting for a good weather window to go up to New York. Unlike the ICW, Norfolk is a BIG city with traffic, lots of Navy ships, jets taking off, and constant noise. Very different from what we have had for the last few months.
New York City is about 265 miles, which with decent winds will take us about 2 and a half days. Right now the wind is blowing directly from NYC, so we'll wait here until it shifts. The wind has been against us all the way up the ICW, but we didn't really care because most of the channels are so narrow that we wouldn't dare to put up the sails. One minutes distraction and we would be stuck in the mud.
The ICW is not exactly relaxing, even though it is well sheltered from storms, etc. There are times when the course is straight and the autopilot can follow it, but the human still needs to be watching the chart and the depth sounder to be sure that we are in the middle of the channel. Us West Coast sailors hardly ever use the depth sounder. I owned quite a few boats before I ever had one. The only time I cared about depth was when we were anchoring. The rest of the time - it was always deep enough. Wow, not here! We live by the depth sounder and it has an alarm that starts beeping when we are in only 9 feet. At 6 feet, we are hitting the bottom with the keel (which we have done a few times now). If we have 12 feet under us, we are quite content. The ICW is supposed to be 12 feet at mid-channel. Yeah, sure!
Anyway, we're in Norfolk and have taken on fuel, water and groceries. We greased the steering cables, one of Andi's favorite activities because she gets to do it, being the smaller of the two of us. So it looks like we will take off tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.
This is a small sample of the kind of pristine country we have been cruising through. Very little development except for rich peoples houses from time to time. We conclude that there are a lot of rich people.
After we got into Virgina, we tied up for the night at the "Great Bridge" in Chesapeake, VA and walked down the street for Mexican food. Here you see a big barge going through the bascule bridge. We had more and more bridges the closer we got to Norfolk.
In the old days of sailing, we used to spend a lot of time wondering where we were or doing calculations to figure our where we were. Now we have the charts right on the computer screen and drive the "little red boat" along the winding channel. You can't believe how much labor and stress this saves.
And here I am, steering from inside as usual. 8000 miles and never got a sunburn! But I like to stay close to the computer and the cruising guides.
Finally, the last two bridges before we got into Norfolk Harbor. Many of these bridges only open on the hour or half-hour and so it is critical to time one's arrival or you spend a lot of time going in circles.
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