We head south from upper New York, slow enough to let the hurricane season run its course but fast enough to keep temps comfortable for cruising. We have a special guest join us along the Hudson and in NYC, set a personal record for most miles traveled in a day, see friends from our present and past, and get back to the Chesapeake Bay with time to spare before Dave’s Naval Academy Reunion.
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Having completed our ‘Triangle Loop’ in Waterford, NY meant our summer was officially over and time to make our way south while it was still Fall. I’ve said it many times: it’s all about the weather in the cruising life. We had been fortunate to have had such a beautiful September, with sunny days in the 70s and light winds — it was cruising at its finest. The only problem with having such extended nice weather is you get lulled into thinking it will stay like this. But of course, Mother Nature always gets the last laugh.
Albany NY
Sept 20-24, 2024
Departing Waterford, we were excited to be picking up our friend Colleen in Albany to join us on the trip down the Hudson. These would be familiar stops for us, but having Colleen along to introduce to the sights would make it all fresh and more fun.
Dave and I headed to Albany a few days early. We still had one final lock to get through and didn’t want to take any chances. Probably overthinking and overworrying, but having ‘been there, done that’ we were playing it safe. So we made our way through the Troy Federal Lock – our 244th lock – and a couple hours later the dockmaster at Albany Yacht Club was there to welcome us, and Vince in the boat next to us was inviting us to the club’s Friday dinner before we even had our power cord hooked up.
Since we’re now in ‘life after boat’ ruminations, we rented a car one day and drove out to Syracuse for an RV show. Turned out the show was a bust as they had limited inventory of what we were interested in. But the drive was nice and followed the Erie Canal, so now we were seeing the towns we had passed through from the land side with glimpses of the canal between buildings and trees. Interestingly, much of the original Erie Canal from 200 years ago had been filled and paved over when they did one of the canal expansions and is now incorporated into the very expressway we took to Syracuse.
If ever in Albany a visit to the Empire State Capitol is an absolute must, and we made sure to get there. The free tour is chock full of history, trivia, and lore while the building itself is stunning. The initial build was to take four years. Thirty-two years and $25 M later the building was dedicated in 1899, with our tour guide pointing out subtle evidence of unfinished work resulting from then-Gov Teddy Roosevelt deciding enough was enough and halting all work. It’s a mix of styles — Gothic Moorish, Classical, Romanesque, with touches of Victorian — with the wings/floors having slightly different appearances as a result of five different architects over the decades. It’s a beautiful study in stone and wood carvings, ornate gold-leaf walls, a ‘million dollar staircase’, and lavish tiles and decor. Beyond a list of 70 prominent and historical figures to carve into the walls, stone masons were given carte blanche with the only guidelines being that no two carvings could be alike. What could possibly go wrong when you turn dozens of young men loose with no supervision? One could spend hours inspecting all the random carvings of mythical creatures, animals, and faces of unnamed mothers, mistresses, relatives, and self-portraits.
I hired our boat neighbor Vince, an Uber driver, to take me to the small Albany airport to pick up Colleen. Hearing that this was Colleen’s first visit to the area, he proceeded to take us on an almost hour long private tour of Albany on the way back to the boat. Laced with personal stories of his lifetime in the city, he kept up a constant narration of history, restaurant recommendations, and local lore as he weaved through the central downtown areas. It was a great tour and he clearly was proud of his city.
South On the Hudson
Kingston Sept 25
Now that Colleen was here it was time to head down the Hudson! Mother Nature does indeed have a mean streak, and we woke to rain showers — first in weeks. But it was intermittent and no wind so we pressed on to Kingston. We passed more barges and commercial traffic than we had seen on our two previous trips on the Hudson. Once docked at the Maritime Museum, we donned raincoats and visited the museum to give the rain a chance to pass, which it didn’t, then Uber’d to Uptown Kingston. There we wandered the streets and introduced Colleen to a favorite bookstore in Four Corners, the only place in the country where the structures on all four corners date back to pre-Revolutionary days.
Hyde Park Sept 26
The next morning we made the short trip to Hyde Park in a drizzle and light fog. Colleen quickly got really good at spotting logs and other deadheads in the distance. We were settled by noonish and caught an Uber to the nearby FDR National Park and Library, where a steady rain soaked us as we walked the 1/4 mile from the visitor center to the start of our tour. We toured the modest Roosevelt home and marveled at how incredibly knowledgeable the National Park Service Rangers always are, then got soaked again as we walked back to the impressive library itself where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We are now of the age where instead of closing down bars with friends, we close down museums.
Haverstraw Sept 27
Day three on the river was overcast and gray but at least dry. Colleen and I sat out on the bow under the guise of keeping an eye out for deadheads as we passed Bannerman Castle, West Point, and historic Hudson River lighthouses. Our stop in Haverstraw was just that – a place to tie up for the night along the way to NYC. There was nothing around, and now that it was after peak season even the marina was operating at minimal staff with no dockhands, no one to man the fuel dock, and an incredible amount of goose poop on the docks. Of course, they were still charging us in-season rates though.
New York City
Sept 28 - 30
Early start the next morning to cruise into New York City! We were unfortunately back to overcast and misty, so those cinematic shots of Colleen and I fearlessly up on the bow, flowing tresses blown back by the wind, staring in awe at the sunny Manhattan skyline while smiling tourists wave at us from passing ferries just didn’t happen. We did, however, get some quick shots from the cockpit of things like Sing-Sing prison and the Little Red Lighthouse before the damp plastered our hair to our forehead and our phone camera lenses had to be dried off. Yet another Instagram v. Reality moment.
It was a little surprising to me how different the city looks when approaching from the north vs. the south. Coming down the Hudson, it’s a gradual increase in activity once the Tappan Zee Bridge is in view. Add a gray, misty day and the skyline looks a little flatter and less dramatic. Compare that to coming through the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge and suddenly New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty makes a grand appearance before you. But from either direction it’s always a thrill, and it was fun to point out all the landmarks to someone seeing it from the water for the first time.
We arrived at Liberty Landing Marina around noon – the premier marina for easy access to everything NYC and Statue of Liberty. We quickly hopped on the ferry and headed to Manhattan in search of migrating elephants. Yup, you read that correctly. I had learned of the Great Elephant Migration and dragged Dave and Colleen by boat, subway, and then foot in the intermittent light rain to go find them. A display of 100 life-sized elephants made from an invasive weed had been installed along several blocks in the Meatpacking District to promote awareness and support for India’s elephants. Not sure if the choice of the Meatpacking District for a free display honoring animals and promoting coexistence with humans was intentional or not, but did seem rather ironic.
After wandering among the pachyderms, we started to make our way back towards the ferry and stumbled across Little Island, an elevated park along the waterfront made from what looks from the river like giant cement golf tees but is a lush park with meandering paths and an amphitheater. I had wondered about it on all three of our trips along the Hudson and thoroughly enjoyed finally getting to see it up close. After that it was a drizzly dash to get back for the last ferry to the marina, arriving back at the boat to admire the view of the nighttime Manhattan skyline.
Next day was our Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island day! And…it rained. But we were undaunted, spending most of the morning in the Ellis Island Immigration. The Museum itself was phenomenal in telling the story of immigration to the US between 1892 – 1954, the years Ellis Island served as a gateway. When the renovation of the derelict structure was started in the late 1980s, the building had been left to time and the elements for over 30 years. Now ou can get a feel for what it must have been like to sit in the massive hall and go through the process, which could take hours or weeks depending on things like medical assessments or mental health screenings. It also talked about the political, cultural, and economic factors over the decades that dictated policy as well as what immigrants faced after arrival. It was eye opening, especially in the context of today’s immigration battles.
It was still raining off and on as we headed over the Statue of Liberty. We had tickets to climb up into the pedestal, but couldn’t get them for the crown which sells out months in advance. It really was just a climb up 215 steps with a look at the supporting infrastructure, a quick 360 walk around the outside for some great views of NY Harbor, and then 215 steps back down. We did a wet stroll around the perimeter of the small island – which had quite a history of its own before chosen as the site for the statue – for some nice views to admire Lady Liberty from all angles before catching the ferry back to Liberty Landing.
The next day dawned sunny and clear and warm, which of course was also the day Colleen was flying back to Minnesota; we were sad to say good-bye. Dave and I then hopped back over to Manhattan for a lovely visit with a friend from way back in my Boston days. She happened to be staying downtown temporarily while her husband is recovering from a bone marrow transplant, having been an EMT working search and rescue at the World Trade Center in 2001. Just another way the impact of 9/11 continues and an example of why we should Never Forget.
Jersey Coast and Delaware Bay
Great Kills NY Oct 1-3
Cape May NJ Oct 4
Chesapeake City DE Oct 5
Ever since we’d left Albany, we had been watching the weather patterns with an eye on making the trip down the Jersey Coast. We needed to go ‘on the outside’ or off the coast rather than down the shallow and tricky but protected Jersey ICW so needed a window of good conditions. While it was sunny and nice where we were, large storms in the distant Atlantic were causing high seas. We made the short trip out of NY Harbor to Great Kills in Staten Island to wait for an opportunity. It ended up being three days. But we were able to enjoy the hospitality of the Great Kills Yacht Club where we were staying, and explored what we could on foot of the area nearby with old and new boating friends.
One afternoon we were sitting on the boat enjoying some down time when I look up as a young man runs down the dock by our boat. I looked toward the bow and noticed a sailboat mast very close. I flapped my arms at Dave to get his attention since he had his noise and Karen-canceling headphones on, and we went outside to see a sailboat broadside on our bow, having broken off its mooring! The young man had been detailing a boat on another dock and saw it heading toward us, where it somehow completely missed us, and he was holding it by its railing along the finger pier while two guys got the yacht club skiff to tow it back out and attach to a new mooring. Testament to how cool this little yacht club is and how boaters work together.
We finally got a good couple days in a row and left at sunup, along with lots of other boats of like mind and destination. It was a beautiful day with long, gentle swells, and we saw our first dolphins in months as we rounded Sandy Hook. Others have reported seeing whales along the coast, but the closest thing we got was repeatedly hearing a Coast Guard safety broadcast about a dead humpback whale reported floating a couple miles off the coast. The conditions were so good that we were able to bypass the usual dreaded Atlantic City stop and do a record-for-us 120 mile run all the way down to Cape May! It was a little odd to see all the Jersey beaches near deserted and the amusement parks lifeless now that the summer season was over.
Another sunrise start to get up the Delaware Bay before afternoon winds kicked up. It was also flood tide up the bay, meaning we had a nice push from behind. Once again, lots of other boats joined us. We turned into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which connects the two Bays, and made our way to Chesapeake City. The entertainment for the afternoon there was watching the variety of boats – from small boats to large freighters – either flying past with the strong current or fighting it. But the highlight was getting to have dinner with my sister Iva, wo lives nearby.
Chesapeake Bay
Little Creek VA Oct 23
And then we were back in the Chesapeake Bay, breathing a small sigh of relief to be past the big water passages that required perfect weather. Not that we weren’t having a gloriously warm and dry fall ever since the Hudson. When Colleen was with us. Hmmmm…..
Havre de Grace MD Oct 6-8
We would slow our roll now that we were within striking distance of Annapolis, where we would be attending Dave’s USNA reunion. First stop was Havre de Grace at the northernmost tip of the Chesapeake. It had been a favorite stop two years ago, and we spent a relaxing three days there. The marina put us along the seawall, and it was great to have grass for Roxy right as you stepped off the boat. Much of the downtown was closed because it was Monday and Tuesday, but we walked through the eclectic downtown area. We especially enjoyed a new park surrounded on three sides by a collection of murals depicting scenes in the town’s extensive history.
Baltimore MD Oct 9-15
We had to dodge a surprising number of crab pots on the way to Baltimore for a very relaxing week. It was very strange to see what was left of the Key Bridge, rising up from both sides of the Patapsco River to just stop in mid-air, a mangled support standing as a somber reminder of the recent tragedy. We were happy to be back at the large Anchorage Marina, where we thoroughly enjoyed a month last summer with its incredible boating community. The local area of Canton is also a favorite, which has maintained its historical canning and manufacturing context while developing into a residential and retail center. We of course revisited our favorite Café de Leon to enjoy their fresh baked pastries, and the Fells Point Farmers Market on Saturday. Some friends who were also there turned us on to B’more Licks, a popular ice cream place.
Annapolis MD Oct 16-20
We cruised into Annapolis for Dave’s USNA 40th Reunion weekend (yes, 40 – holy moly!), chock full of gatherings, cocktail parties, a fun run/walk around the USNA grounds, and of course the Homecoming Game. Best was getting to spend lots of quality time with good friends Kurt and Anita from college days. The town of Annapolis is timeless, with a vibe and energy from the Naval Academy that makes it a place we could enjoy living if it weren’t for the fact that we have no family nearby. After all the festivities were over, we enjoyed dinner with Donna and Leo of Moon Dragon, Canadian Loopers with whom we have a special bond from the shared experience of spending six days marooned at the Big Chute on the Trent Severn. It was serendipitous that they were in town to officiate a sailboat regatta that week and great to see them in person.
Kilmarnock VA Oct 21-22
It was a long run on a beautiful flat, calm Bay to get to Kilmarnock, where our friends Dave and Sonia graciously opened up their dock and home to us once again (this was the third time we’ve stayed with them). It is a very peaceful spot and such a relaxing time. Dave was able to help the other Dave with some work on their boat Crew Lounge; he loves being able to do that kind of stuff. They invited some other Loopers, Terri and Aubrey who live nearby, for dinner and great conversation the second evening. Roxy loved being in their house – so much so we had a hard time getting her to go back to the boat.
We said good bye to Dave and Sonia for our final cruise to Norfolk. It was a lovely gentle cruise, with a dolphin welcoming committee as we crossed the Thimble Shoals Channel and some Navy fast boats doing exercises and running big circles around us, we knew we were back in our familiar haunt of Little Creek. This starts our usual November in Norfolk, our sort of home base, to take care of routine Human and Boat Upkeep. And there’s a trip to Australia in there for us while See Level gets the spa treatment!
Final Thoughts
One thing we’ve learned during our time on the boat is you work with and around the weather. Dave always builds extra ‘weather days’ into our itineraries, but we were very fortunate to have some glorious Fall cruising all the way back to our time on Lake Champlain. Even the three day wait in Great Kills for the ideal conditions to come down the Jersey Coast was sort of expected, and didn’t keep us from our ultimate goal of getting to Annapolis for Dave’s reunion. Without high winds, boats handle water from the sky as well as they do the water underneath them. Humans not quite as well, but we still were undeterred in getting out and about. It makes for a great excuse to tuck into a coffee shop for a treat while waiting out a shower.
Gotta address the elephant in the room here. The only rain we had for weeks started the day after Colleen arrived and lasted until the day she left. One might conclude from that data point of one that Colleen is a rainmaker. But add a second data point — the one about the storms while we were staying at her place in Wisconsin in August that spawned near-tornados – and it becomes clear that the issue is the metaphysical and meteorologic magnetism when the three of us are together in the same place. So we have decided that when we get off the boat we are going to hire out as a threesome to drought stricken areas in order to see the world and do good at the same time.
Something special about this last few weeks is all the friends and family we were able to spend time with as we headed south – from all the ‘eras’ of our lives – college, grad school, family, neighbors, Loopers and other cruisers, Navy. It has been a great reminder of how it always comes back to the people, and the value of maintaining relationships and rekindling those that may have taken a hiatus. The people, the memories, and the shared experiences stand as testimony to the rich and diverse life we have been able to live. For that, we are grateful.
Pops’ Stats Corner*
- No of Days: 34
- Travel Days: 13
- Miles Traveled: 487.6 (424 nm)
*Pops is the family’s affectionate name for Dave’s dad. He had a mind for sports statistics, earning him the nickname Numbers from the coaches of several Stillwater teams with whom he worked. This regular section of the blog is in his honor, because it’s the kind of thing he would love.
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Great blog post as always, interesting elephant theme and love the photos! Enjoy family in Australia and get back safe. See you guys in December
Loved all the pix, especially of you and the Scotts at your 40th! Brings back so many good memories. Miss seeing you in person.
I just had my 60th reunion from Goucher, last year, where I visited with Erin. I see Kurt, Anita and Stephen relatively often and talk to Kurt almost weekly.
Hugs to you both and enjoy your trip to see kids in Australia.
Karen, I love reading about your adventures and seeing the photos. You, Dave, and Roxy are living your best lives. Have a great time in Australia!