The next few days were focused on getting to New York City and into the Hudson River. While we knew that we were passing some other great places to visit in the Chesapeake, we have figured out that you just can't see them all and that we will probably return next year for another lap on the loop. This will give us a chance to stop by some of those places we bypassed this year.
One reason for expediting our schedule as there appeared to be a favorable weather window to make a run in the Atlantic Ocean from Cape May to NYC a few days from then. One thing that we have learned is that Mother Nature still rules and if the opportunity is there, you better take it. So on Monday, June 3rd, we departed the Annapolis harbor.
By mid-afternoon we had reached the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay. This convenient, wide, and deep canal...
... allows boaters to get directly into the Delaware River and Bay with only a few very high bridges to pass under.
We stayed at the very quiet Summit North Marina for one night only. That weather window was waiting and we were hoping it would hold.
The next day we left by 7:00 AM to take as much advantage as we could of the outbound tide. Upon leaving the canal we were heading south at that point to reach Cape May which is at the southern tip of New Jersey. It was an uneventful day as we passed a nuclear power plant...
and several freighters. It is amazing how fast those big guys can go.
That night we stayed at the South Jersey Marina in Cape May.
We are that tiny looking boat just in front of that huge fiberglass highrise behind us. One thing you learn about boats is that someone always has a bigger boat than you.
An updated check of the wind...
...and wave patterns...
... for the next day confirmed our efforts to get to this location.
We met up with fellow loopers, Larry and Sherry, aboard Lady KK and discussed our plans. They decided to "buddy boat" with us up the coast the next day understanding that if the weather changed, we could put in to the nearest port along the way. As Larry later described it... " no problem, we had 6 inch waves most of the way". Here is Lady KK underway out in the Atlantic Ocean.
So we were able to bypass places like Atlantic City...
and made our way up to New York harbor in one day. Our transit took just under 12 hours and covered 146 miles. While we were tired when it was all over, that disappeared for a while as we saw the sky scrapers of New York come into the visual horizon...
... and then there is the awesome experience of closely bypassing the Statue of Liberty with Ellis Island nearby.
Everyone we talked to that night on the dock at Liberty Landing Marina had a forefather that had passed through there in their family history.
Directly across from the marina which is on the New Jersey side of the river is the new World Financial Center that is nearing completion.
The next day we decided to do a few things in NYC. The yellow passenger ferry...
that takes you across the Hudson River to Battery Park area was just up the dock from us. How convenient is that! We landed near the base of the WFC which offers some great views when you walk around it.
We also visited St Paul's Church...
... near the former site of the World Trade Center. This church has quite a remarkable history having been on the edge of and surrounded by disaster several times. In the days of the Revolutionary War much of New York burned. The pastor of this church had his parishioners douse water on the roof of the church to save it. It worked! George Washington later attended church services here after his church had been destroyed in the fires.
After 9/11 when the World Trade Center buildings collapsed, the devastation boardered the edge of the church property. One tree was damaged. The church then became a sanctuary and center for the rescuers/workers to rest during the rescue effort and clean-up afterwards. The church pews are scarred by the workers coming there in full gear to sleep and reflect between their work shifts.
There is a bell there given to the City of New York by the City of London to commemorate the event.
From there we walked through a park near city hall...
...on our way to the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street.
This museum is in an old tenement building that was occupied from the mid-1800's through the early 1930's. It was then boarded up until it was re-opened in the early 1980's.
Being well preserved it clearly shows you what life was like for the early immigrants that lived in these three room 323 sq. ft. apartments. This building had 20 apartments with three outdoor "privies" to be shared by all who lived there. The water well was nearby. Life was not good there BUT still better than what they left behind!
The next day [June 7th] we left Liberty Landing Marina in a mild rain with reduced visibilty...
and lowered cloud ceiling...
as we made our way up to Croton-On-Hudson, NY and Half Moon Bay Marina. We were looking forward to meeting up with Bob's cousin Lisa and her fiance, David as well as our daughter, Nicole, and granddaughter, Miranda while at this marina.
Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]
Mess:
1. The dining compartment on a naval ship.
From Great Loop Jargon:
2. What is left in the dining compartment of a small boat after a great evening of "docktails" with your looper friends.
