South Carolina

We are moving south with not only the migrating birds, but the migrating boaters.  Each fall there is a mass movement of boats headed south to warmer waters in Florida and the Bahamas.  It is a pretty time of the year, and we are in no hurry, so we spent some quality time cruising through the Low Country of South Carolina on our way to one of our favorite ports, Charleston, SC.

It has been our observation that once you are below Cape Hatteras, the bird life and wild life begins to pick up.   We saw dolphins again in Beaufort, NC and Southport, NC on Cape Lookout.   Blue Herons, Ibis, Osprey, and even the occasional Bald Eagle populate the low country grass and trees along the Intercoastal Waterway.   Even the alligators are starting to show themselves early in the morning.

An Alligator on the Wacamaw River in South Carolina

This pair of Bald Eagles were keeping a sharp eye on the river

Those long skinny legs of the Blue Heron seem to be pretty stable on that small branch

The sunrises this time of year are spectacular.   We have had beautiful weather all in all. Much nicer than last spring on our northbound trip through the same area.  We stopped in Charleston for two weeks to enjoy that city's southern charm and wonderful food.

Sunrise just south of Georgetown, SC

The southern tip of Charleston and the Battery

Our daughter Shana flew in to join Shelley for 4 days of Mother/Daughter time in Charleston.   They walked miles every day, took historical home tours, and most of all sampled almost every restaurant in town.   This is clearly Shelley's favorite spot on the east coast.

Following that visit my sister, Gayle and her husband Mark joined us on Rock Chalk and cruised 4 days with us down to Savannah.  It is always fun to have family join us on our adventure.   We all have slowed down a bit from our hard drinking days of sailing in the BVI, but there certainly was plenty of time in Charleston and further south to "pass some pleasure".

Gayle and Shelley enjoying a snack and conversation on Rock Chalk

Rock Chalk is headed south for Stuart, Fl.   We should be there by mid-November, where we will keep her at Sunset Bay Marina for the holidays.   We are beginning the process of marketing the boat to sell.   Yes, I know, that is a heart breaker.   But it is time to end this chapter and move on.   We have loved this boat and she has taken good care of us for almost 15,000 sea miles.   This too,  like all good things, must come to an end.

Marc and Shelley

US Navy Yard-Norfolk, VA

It is the world's largest.  We have been by it 3 times before, but I get goose bumps every time we do a slow cruise out the Elizabeth River from Norfolk past the United States Naval Shipyard.  You have to see these big guys up close to appreciate these magnificent ships and our US Naval forces.

The yard seemed a bit less busy this time than two years ago, which tells me that we have more ships deployed across the oceans.  The first most impressive ship you see as you approach the yard is the #77, USS George HW Bush Aircraft Carrier.  It is huge, and I am sure these photos will not do it justice.   Use as your measuring stick for size,  the tiny men standing on her deck looking down at us as we cruised by.   Plus there were six Navy Fighter jets on the deck that we could only see from afar.   It is HUGE!!

The USS George HW Bush--this is just the front third of her in this photo

Those guys on top do not like us getting too close.  Also there is an electronic fence in front

The newest ship to the Navy fleet is the #24, USS Arlington.   She is a San Antonio class Amphibious Transport and Dock Ship or LPD.   She was just christened this last April, 2013.

USS Arlington

Notice the more Stealth look of the newer ships.   There were two more LPD's in dock.  The USS Mesa Verde and the USS Bataan.   These ships are designed to carry marines, and their amphibious assault equipment to a theater of war, along with their helicopter escorts.   They can put a bunch of marines anywhere in the world pretty quickly with these guys.

USS Mesa Verde LPD 19

  Finally, in her home berth in Norfolk is one of the Navy's hospital ships, the USNS Comfort.   Her primary mission is basically a seagoing Level III trauma hospital, supporting all branches of service with mobile surgical and acute medical care.

USNS Comfort in Norfolk, VA

She has 1000 beds and 12 Operating Rooms

There were dozens of other ships, destroyers, cruisers, and amphibious deployment ships.   It is the largest fleet in the world and they keep us safe.   It was a cool, fascinating experience to cruise by these ships and see them in person.  We all ought to be thankful for what they do, and how well they do it.

Marc

Baltimore and the Chesapeake

It has been a month since my last posting.  We had a beautiful trip down the New Jersey  coastline, up Delaware Bay, and into the Chesapeake to get Rock Chalk to Baltimore.   Our main purpose for going to Baltimore, other than its very nice Inner Harbor, was to have our boat in the Baltimore TrawlerFest in late September.  On arrival in Baltimore's outer harbor you have a great view of one of the most historic sites in our country, Ft. McHenry.  

Ft. McHenry with the Baltimore, MD skyline

   The fort has some impressive canons on the parapets surrounding it for 270 degrees, all with a commanding control of the harbor.   It was 1814 toward the end of the War of 1812, in which the British navy was pounding Ft. McHenry and Baltimore.   Francis Scott Key was captive on a British frigate watching the barrage all night as he penned our National Anthem.   Today we cruised by a red, white, and blue buoy marker in the harbor that marks the location of that British ship, and the view that Mr. Key had that fateful night.  Just another in a long list of history lessons we have been able to observe from Rock Chalk in our 3 year voyage.   

Too bad it was closed to all visitors due to the Obama Government Shutdown

TrawlerFest is a three day meeting of sorts for couples investigating the cruising life.  There are classes on all kinds of subjects, and over 40 different manufacture's of trawlers have boats there for the participants to crawl through.   It is an excellent way for those in the market to capture in one place,  many of the different types of cruising boats available in the market.   The owner of Endeavour Trawlercats knew we have been considering the sale of Rock Chalk, and asked if we would be willing to put our boat in the show.   It was a good opportunity for Endeavour to generate interest in new yachts, and for us to get a feel for the market.  

We had dozens of couples come through the boat, and many showed a real interest, but no offers.   We were relieved by that, as we still feel like we have some cruising to do on Rock Chalk this winter in Florida and next spring in the Bahamas before we really get serious to sell her.  

Once the show was over, Shelley and I headed south, with the next stop of any length, Charleston.  You may remember that our travels north through the North Carolina sounds and the Chesapeake last spring were pretty horrendous.   Very bad, wet windy weather was the signature of that trip.  Quite the opposite this fall.   It was beautiful.   Here are some photos of absolute dead calm on the Chesapeake and the Alligator River in North Carolina.

Point No Point Lighthouse off the mouth of the Potomac

Sunrise on the Alligator River--Red Sky in the Morning...TS Karin was on its way

How often can we see our wake on the smooth waters of the Chesapeake?

We had glorious fall weather all the way down the Chesapeake and into Abermarle Sound.  From there the winds remained quiet across the Alligator, Pungo, and Pamlico Sounds as we made our way south to Beaufort, NC.   We stopped for a couple of days to catch our breath, and then it hit.  We are still sitting after 4 days of Gale force winds, and sideways rain.  

Maybe tomorrow we can continue down the Intercoastal toward Charleston!! 

Long Island Sound to the Chesapeake

Remember Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"?   The Gold Coast described in the book is the north shore of Long Island east from New York City for 30 to 50 miles.  Manhasset Bay, Huntington, and Northport are just a few bays lined with mansions of the rich and famous.  It is impressive, and one of the best, most prolific, boating venues we have witnessed.   Big houses and big boats are the order of the day!!!

A "Summer Place" on Long Island

Each bay has hundreds of mooring balls

We bounced our way from bay to bay as we made our way east from NYC along the New York shoreline, then crossed the Sound to Connecticut.  There we visited small towns such as Branford, Essex, and Noank/Mystic.   It was impressive how much these folks love the water and their boats.  There is a massive amount of sailboats and powerboats in every harbor.   They utilize the mooring balls with with most bays having a mooring field of over a 100 boats.  The city or a marina will utilize a launch in each bay that takes a transient out on a mooring ball into shore.   That is a great service.  

The waters are beautiful, but this time of year you really have to watch the weather.  We spent one very uncomfortable afternoon banging into 3-4 foot waves on the nose.   That is not a fun way to spend your day.  It was also interesting to try to navigate in the thick fog.  We left Noank thinking the morning fog was lifting.   No, we found ourselves in thick dense IFR conditions.   I had the radar on, our AIS transponder, the chartplotter,  and Shelley looking out, but I still felt lost.  It is a very uncomfortable feeling, but I guess you would have to get use to it if you lived here.  We made it back safely to New York City and then on south around New Jersey.   Even though we had just come around New York last month, it is still an impressive journey.  

The United Nations building on the East River

The Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges on the south end of Manhattan with Lady Liberty in the distance

One last drive by as we head south in Rock Chalk

The weather gods smiled upon us as we had two very nice smooth days that allowed us to scoot right down the New Jersey coastline to Cape May.  Getting two consecutive days of low winds, low wave heights, and no strong currents is unusual but we took advantage of it.  First to Manasquan, NJ, then we made a long day of 85 miles to Cape May.  A third day of good weather followed that, so again, off we go.  Shelley and I seldom let any dust gather under our bottoms, thus today we had another long day up Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.   Guess what it does, ....yes it connects the two big bodies of water.   Miracle.    Actually built in 1806, the canal is 14 miles long, about 400 ft. wide, and deep enough for big ocean going ships to transit.  OK, 1806.   Not alot of machinery then.  They dug this thing by hand.  My back hurts thinking about it.  

We have made great progress over these last few weeks, and are early for our deadline in Baltimore on Sept 23.  (Is anyone surprised by that????)  We are  flying home in a few days to visit family and friends, so my next post will be after we get back at the end of September.   Rock Chalk

Marc

New York City--Round 2

It was late August, and we were just starting to see some colors in the trees.  There is mist in the Catskills to the west of the Hudson River valley as we made our way south toward New York City.  The weather was cooperating and we had a very nice trip down the river.  

I had been planning for days to take a different way around the island of Manhattan, as we are headed east out Long Island Sound.  There is a low railroad bridge over the mouth of the Harlem River right at the junction of the Hudson.  All the books tell you that the bridge opens on demand.  The Harlem River runs around the Northeast side of Manhattan and joins the East River at Hell's Gate.   Hell's Gate is known for its very strong currents, so all the advice we had was to hit Hell's Gate at slack tide or with a favorable current.   Knowing that it would take us an hour and a half from the Hudson to the East River, we had to time our departure from our marina 20 miles up the Hudson to hit everything at just the right hour.  And we did.

Just one problem.  As we got to the Harlem River bridge exactly on time, I called the bridge tender on Channel 13 of the VHF, who quickly informed us that they did not have sufficient personnel to open the bridge on demand.  The next opening would not be for 4 hours!!!!   So quickly on to Plan B.   We continued south down the Hudson to the Battery at the bottom of Manhattan, then turn left and go back northeast up the East River and through Hell's Gate.  So off we went.  Luckily the view is spectacular.

The George Washington Bridge looking south down the Hudson

The Freedom Tower is now topped out at 1776 ft.  

The United Nations Building from the East River

The end result was a nice trip around Manhattan and another chance to see this beautiful city from the water.   It took a bit longer, but we were still able to hit Hell's Gate at a favorable time to make our way through its strong currents.  It starts at Roosevelt Island in the middle of the East River, and then shoots you out into Long Island Sound at LaGuardia Airport.  I have flown into New York for years for business, but this was really a special way to see the city and its airports.    

Roosevelt Island splits the East River into two channels.  Texas proud in NYC

Hell's Gate's current shooting us out to Long Island Sound

The next leg of our trip is into Long Island Sound and explore a whole new cruising area.  We hope to spend a couple of weeks off Long Island NY, and the Connecticut shoreline before we need to get south.  I hate deadlines on a boat, but we have to be in Baltimore by Sept. 23.   So we will see how much of this next waterway we can explore.  The navigation will be challenging this time of year, as fog is common.  So we will have to be on our best "game" in navigating our way through the Sound.  Marc

Stepping Stones Lighthouse at the junction of the East River and Long Island Sound

Fog in Mystic, Connecticut.   About 100 yards visibility.   We're not going anywhere

West Point and the Hudson River

It is cooler and the trees are just starting to turn.  The Hudson River valley is the home of  this country's first Rich and Famous.   The Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and dozens more built some small, get out of the city, country homes in this valley.  Right.   So did our military.  West Point is spectacular and it occupies perhaps the prettiest stretch of the river as it cuts through Bear Mountain.  We could not see the cadets marching across the plaza today, but the place was buzzing with activity.          

The Main Campus

One of their sport venues

West Point

Here was a secluded place that the cadets sneak down to the river to swim.  Someone cut these steps into the rock a long time ago.

The Swim Hole at West Point

It is fall in New York.  I understand that it is still in the high 90's in Texas, so this feels good.

Fog in the Catskills

The Erie Canal (Encore)

The last time we took Rock Chalk through the Erie, it was a strange and costly trip.  It seems so long ago, but we hit so much debris in Lock 3,4, 8,9, and 10 that we did substantial damage to the boat's drive shafts and props.  In fact it took us 5 more months and thousands of miles of problems to finally figure out the total damage.   But that was then, and this week.....well lets say it was much nicer.  Serene in fact.

The Erie can be ferocious.  We saw the result all week.  Two years ago, Hurricane Irene dumped 15 inches of rain into the Mohawk River valley.   Then this last June, as we sat in the Hudson for 10 days, the Valley had another torrential rainstorm.   The result was really devastating.   The canal system was closed for six weeks.  We saw most of the park area around each lock totally wiped away.  Where there was once a serene park and wall to tie up to, now it was just rock.  Most of the locks were being worked on.   But we had a nice run through the locks.   Here are some of the sights.

Lock 14.  Gates on the far right were torn out.  What was once a small creek on the right side of the lock is now a  20 ft. ravine.  The water was 8 feet over the top of the lock wall.  

Lock 2 in Waterford.   This is the first lock as you head west from the Hudson River.

Probably one of the most impressive locks is Lock 17.   It is the largest lift of the system at 65 ft.  We were downbound, so we came into the lock when it was full.  It only takes a few minutes for the lock to empty, and then the far wall lifts up instead of doors that swing open.  The wall lifts up to 20 ft. over the water so the boat can motor out of the lock underneath it.  Pretty cool.

The Approach to Lock 17

Going Down!  Looking back to the way we came into the Lock

Open Up.  You get wet as you go under that door.  Watch out Shelley

You met the most interesting people on the Waterway.   This gal stayed overnight at Lock 16 in her tent.   She was just 4 days into her "Rowing" adventure across the entire length of the Erie from Albany to Buffalo.    We did not get her name, but she was from New York City.   She said she had put her apartment up for a sub-lease, and decided to take a new turn in her life....by rowing across the state!!  She thought it would take 3 weeks.   I asked her if she had rowed before.   She said no.   She started just 4 days ago when she started this little trip to Buffalo.   Crazy

Good Luck.   Notice the damage behind her as the water poured over this wall

It is well worth the trip.   This is some of the prettiest part of our country.   The Mohawk Valley basically runs east to west from Albany to Syracuse.   The Canal was completed in 1825 a made New York City the key port in the US, and the canal opened up trade to the interior of the US through the Great Lakes.   Then came the railroads, which still run at the canal's edge.  Now I-90 is on the other side of the canal from the rail line.  All in all, a perfect combination of the old and the new.  

The Canal as it winds through Upstate New York

The Interstate crosses the Canal

My favorite time of the day:   Dawn

Ahh, Cool Air

We are back on Rock Chalk in Brewerton, and it is cool here.   Cool as in mid 50's in temperature last night, and a high of 80 today.   Umm,  Nice.    After a month in Texas where we saw daytime high's every day over 100, this air feels good.

We enjoy our time at home because it gives us a break from the boat, but more importantly, a chance to catch up with all the family.   And we did.  Our daughter, Shana, organized a gathering of all the brothers and sisters and all their kids in Austin over a long weekend.   Including Shelley and I, that makes 15 in all.   Plus Shelley's sister, Sandy flew in from Denver and stayed with Shelley's folks.   Now we are at 18 strong.

Remember Max and Leo??   It is Football time in Texas

 Football practice started this week for Leo, and Max will start next week.

Daughter in Law, Cait and grandson Luke from California

There were so many of us in our small villa, with neighbors nearby, that we had to give them fair warning of 6 grandkids playing football (with a few adults) in the back yard.  It was a great time, and we really needed the time with all of our kids, and grandkids.   Even in 106 degree heat we managed to have a great time with all of them.

But now we are back on Rock Chalk and preparing to move south to Florida.  We have some "Honey-Do's" to complete here at Winter Harbor Marina first before we start down the Erie Canal, but we should be on our way shortly.  We plan to go slow as there is an 80' yacht on the hard here at Winter Harbor getting all new shafts and props.  It hit a submerged car in the Erie Canal last week!!!!   Yikes, that is scary.   I wonder what else is out there from all the floods waiting to wreck havoc with my boat??

I will have more pictures of the family weekend.  But for now, its back in the cool northern air.   Feels good.   Marc

End of the Rideau--What next?

It has been two weeks since my last blog update.  We finished the Rideau and spent one night in Kingston, Ontario.  It happened to be during the annual Busker's festival.   Shelley and I are from small towns in Kansas, but we never had the kind of street entertainers that the Busker's festival brings to Kingston.  It really is pretty impressive.  Throughout downtown Kingston, on every corner, for four days, street entertainers gather a crowd around them and they do their thing.  Some are magicians, many use fire and acrobatics to attract a crowd, and they are all pretty funny.   Max and Leo enjoyed the guy who lit a tennis racket (with no strings) on fire and then pushed his body through the racket.  Ouch!!

The next day we crossed Lake Ontario on a beautiful, calm day.  It was a nice trip.  We cleared into US Customs via a phone call in Oswego, NY, and then tied up to the wall between Locks 7 and 8 on the Oswego Canal.  We enjoyed a nice evening that gave us plenty of time to ride bikes around Oswego, and play football in the grass beside the lock wall.  Everyone on the boat felt the end of this wonderful summer trip approaching, so we were all a bit sad.  But Max and Leo were ready to get home, and Shelley and I were ready for a "boat break".  

The next day we navigated up the remaining 7 locks of the Oswego, and one lock on the Erie Canal to Brewerton, NY.  This is the home of Winter Harbor Marina.  We spent a week here two years ago fixing our prop and shaft issues from negotiating the Erie Canal the first time.  It is an excellent marina, and a good place to leave Rock Chalk for a month, while we fly back to Austin with the boys.

So this chapter of our journey with Rock Chalk ends.   I look back on it as a magical time.  We have enjoyed all of our adventures on the Great Loop two years ago, including the Trent Severn and Georgian Bay, the inland Rivers, the Keys, the Bahamas, and all the parts in between.   But this trip with our two grandsons through the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, the Chamblis, and the Rideau was truly special.   Memories for a lifetime were made.  I don't think Max and Leo will truly appreciate this adventure for years, but I am confident that when they reflect on their Rock Chalk cruise, they will smile, maybe laugh, and deep down say, "That was awesome"!

The Masters of their Universe.  One of my favorite shots of Max and Leo

Here are some last looks at one of the prettiest places you could ever take a cruise.  The Rideau Canal:

Care for a Dip?

Working on their diving form

Every Island has a cottage

The long cruise across Lake Ontario.   Back to the US