Current Distance Traveled since Baltimore: 260 miles

We left Deale, Maryland on Saturday, May 3, after spending the winter in Baltimore at our house there. Bluebird had spent the winter at our home port in Baltimore getting the evidence of our “learning experiences” repaired. The cat, “Mr. Pretty” was reluctant to leave home and Hervey did not get to the boat until 4:00 am on our day of departure. After a few hours of sleep, we headed up the Chesapeake Bay to Chesapeake City, Maryland.

It was a smooth run up the bay and we entered the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal around 2:00 pm after a 50 mile run past familiar territory. This was the beginning of new worlds for us. We found Chesapeake City Marina very hospitable and the food a Bayard House next door to be world class. During dinner, a huge auto carrier appeared in the canal and the size of it was frightening. There were storms that evening and the next day with dramatic cloud formations.

We stayed for two days, anticipating a challenging run down the Delaware Bay to Cape May. We departed in the dark around 5:30 am to hit the high tide at the top of the bay and had a rather bumpy ride down the 60 miles to South Jersey Marina at Cape May, New Jersey.

After another two day layover, we headed out into the North Atlantic Ocean for Barnegat Light, New Jersey, 60 miles up the coast. We were accompanied by Tom Bush and Walt Grady on Miss Mosey and set out into 3 foot waves with a 6 second period between the peaks. I had never deployed my paravane stabilizer system (aka “flopper stoppers” that use heavy planning “birds” in the water suspended from extending arms and supported by a main tower to reduce rolling.). The effort was an amazing success and the rolling motion was substantially mitigated.

It was a sunny day, with dolphins to Duke’s delight, and a sharp look out for whales which were migrating through the area (but never seen by us — or Duke!) We were about three miles offshore the entire way and, as the rolling got under control, we began to relax and enjoy the journey that we had dreaded for so long.

We arrived at Barnegat Light, New Jersey mid-afternoon had a lovely dinner with local scallops at Kubel’s, the town’s oldest tavern. The next morning, May 6, we departed in tandem for New York City. The video on our home page was taken that morning around 6:00 am and captures our vibe perfectly.

Always sensitive to tides and currents, we made our way another 50 miles up the coast, around Sandy Hook, NJ and into New York Harbor. After some jockeying in the currents and dodging ferryboats, we captured the iconic photos we wanted and docked at Liberty Landing Marina. It did feel like a milestone on our journey and we had a delightful evening on our aft deck with “docktails” with our new friends.

The next day, we left early on the rising tide for Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton-on-Hudson, NY. We had begun to hear rumors of delays in the Erie Canal and on May 9, the word came down that delays in opening were expected. We decided to stay for four days here and departed on Monday, May 12 for Kingston, NY.

We passed by the Vanderbilt mansion and West Point on our way here. There was a wonderful transition from the urban monuments to the accomplishments of men to the serenity and power of nature herself as we moved north on the river.

We have had a great time here in Kingston, New York for the past ten days. We have met a few people, both loopers and people from town, and have enjoyed their company and the beauty and history and food of the region. It is a beautiful town, about 60 miles to the first locks on the Erie Canal, and is the terminus of the now closed Hudson and Delaware canal that connected those two river systems between Honesdale, PA and Kingston, NY. This is one of many canals that criss-crossed the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana regions from north to south that are now abandoned.

Kingston is lovely, a town on the Hudson River, steeped in Naval and other sea-going lore. It has a marine museum, a wooden boat building operation, and an “obsolete fleet” where older models of boats are restored. And right alongside our dock in the marina there, we watched local high school crew teams practice their (very fast!) rowing. Still we were not willing to stay there for weeks on end. So… we got a one-way rental car, and drove ourselves and the pets back to Baltimore, where we greatly enjoyed spending time with family and friends for 10 days. Then back to Kingston on Monday, June2.  News on progress with the Erie Canal was optimistic but nonspecific. We decided to go further North toward the canal, and are staying in the Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore (!), New York. (Haven’t yet found out the town’s relationship to old Baltimore.)

We even attended a Memorial Day celebration on our docks, featuring a 100-year-old WWII veteran (with plaque).

Yesterday, we learned that the delay in the opening of the Erie Canal will last a few weeks. So we are returning to Baltimore for a few days and will return to enter the Erie Canal in early June.