Little Triangle Loop Week #2, 30Jun-6Jul 2018

       We got back late Monday to Point Pleasant, NJ where SummerTime was waiting for us to board after our road trip to Ohio. We chose to leave SummerTime at Canal Point Marina while we took our road trip as we thought the south end of the Point Pleasant Canal area would be more secure than the north end on the Manesquan River. We knew we needed to be at Manesquan as that is where you go into the Atlantic to get to New York harbor. Canal Point Marina was only ten minutes from the Manesquan River and turned out to be an excellent place to leave SummerTime. The place was very nice. Our dock was next to condominiums on canals that were inhabited by mostly boaters, one who volunteered to watch SummerTime for us. Also the staff at the Marina was very nice and knowledgeable. On Tuesday Barbara did laundry and I did some chores on the boat. Most importantly I bought an alternator belt, and put the one in stores on the engine. The new belt went into the spare parts stores. While in the bilge, I saw that the exhaust elbows off of the turbo were sooted. That could only mean that the joint between the dry ell on the turbo and the wet ell above it was leaking. I pulled the elbows apart, and the seal was distorted. I do not know if it was like that when the manicooler was put back on, or if I did it later when I took the exhaust and upper ell loose when the hot water heater hoses were thought to be leaking. I cleaned up the area and put my one new seal in place. On Wednesday, the 4th, I worked on routing the cable from the radar to its monitor at the lower helm. We did not go to any fireworks shows, but there were plenty of fireworks to be seen from the locals up and down the canal.
       Thursday we got up early and went to Walmart to get provisions for the boat. We were back on board by 8:15. I took the rental car back to Hertz, and a Canal Point Marina employee picked me up at Hertz and brought me back to SummerTime. We got underway at 9:50, and were out Manesquan Inlet and in the Atlantic before 10:30. The ocean was much smoother (2-3' seas) this time than when we carried SummerTime north to the Great Lakes just over 5 years ago (4-6' following seas). We ran at 90% until we were at New York Harbor, or 2-1/2 hours after clearing out of the inlet. We slowed to 11kt going under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. It was a lovely day, and we could see the bridge about 12 miles away on the ocean. We could see the City skyline from farther out than that, well before we got to Sandy Hook.

ENTERING NY HARBOR, STATUE OF LIBERTY IS JUST to LEFT of  CENTER

WAITING to GET IN

New York Harbor is a nightmare of sorts when you are skippering the boat. It has constantly moving traffic. Besides the ships and tugs, there are numerous ferry boats, water taxis, and tour boats running around. None but the Staten Island Ferries seem to have a set route. It requires your head to be on a constant swivel as you go through the harbor.

CONTRAST in SPEEDS

And I think the only thing slower than SummerTime are the kayakers and sailboats. It is most congested, as would be expected, around the Statue of Liberty. Once we clear the George Washington bridge, the traffic lessens, and the trip becomes a little less tense. We soon pass under the new Tappan Zee bridge.

NEW TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE, REMAINS of OLD BRIDGE in BACKGROUND

Parts of the old one are still standing, and there are some massive cranes on barges next to the old bridge. It is a good thing we come through this Thursday, as the US Coast Guard makes a radio announcement that the Tappan Zee bridge area will be closed to through traffic in the channel on Friday and Saturday. We get to Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton on the Hudson at 4:50, having covered nearly 87 miles. We had a rising tide and wind behind us to cover those miles in that time. We go into the village of Croton for dinner. It was more than the 3/8 miles that Steve at the marina told us, by a factor of 2. The Colonial Diner made it worth our while as we could not eat all that was served. We had our cake put in a carryout box so we could stop at the village creamery on the way back to the boat. The ice cream there was as good as we were told. They are also a bakery, and we were told the weekends that they make exceptional donuts. We will have to try that another time. It will be hard to beat the baked goods from "Glazed Donuts" in Hampton, VA though.

YACHT OLYMPUS ANCHORED OFF CROTON

      On Friday we try to get off early hoping to catch a little of the rising tide as we head up the Hudson. We are a little later than I had planned due to looking for some charts stowed away somewhere. We find the charts and get underway at 8:50. There are 2 other boats leaving the marina in front of us. We manage to stay in sight of the one, but the front one goes away from both of us. About 1-1/2 hours into the trip we are overtaken from the west by a bad thunderstorm. It is raining hard, and we both go down to the lower helm to navigate. The radar is not working as I had cut the cigarette lighter plug off this morning to wire it permanently. Then the chart searching got me distracted so I did not finish the permanent power supply to the radar. So we slow and motor on at about 6kt in reduced visibility. The boat in front has slowed also. About 11 the rain quits and we pick speed back up. We catch up to the other boat at West Point. They are slowed taking multiple photos of the Institute from their bow. It is an impressive site when seen from the water. The buildings appear to rise from the river to the heights of the hills surrounding them.

WEST POINT

We pass the other boat, and through radio  conversations find that they are loopers also. They are only going to Kingston, NY and we are headed to New Baltimore. We have one more light rain shower where I do not have to leave the upper helm to navigate. The front has passed, and the winds have shifted from our port stern quarter to our nose. Now we are now fighting the wind and the falling tide. We pass Hyde Park, another famous place on the Hudson River. We get to Donovan's Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore about 5:45, or 15min before closing.

SHADY HARBOR MARINA

We get a pump out before moving to our slip space. It is quitting time for the help, so we decide to fuel before we leave. When I check in my exhaust seal and gaskets I had ordered from TAD on Thursday are at the counter. There is another Mainship here, a "400", and they are loopers and come over to introduce themselves. So we meet the crew on "First Forty", the first looper boats we have had contact with since Hampton.