Traveling from Fairhaven, MA, Fort Lauderdale, FL
October/November 2012
(NOTE: Sorry for those of you who received this before the narrative was added. "Technical Difficulties"..... ;-) )
Well, I suppose it is official. We have joined the ranks of the "Snowbirds" -- those who flee New England in the Fall and early Winter for the warmer climes of Florida. Yes, we have been leaving New England in October for many years, heading back to Dallas, but now we are heading to Ft. Lauderdale. One of the official Snowbird destinations! I never imagined I would be one of "those" people...!
Our plan was to leave Fairhaven October 15, but the weather delayed us by a day. Since the forecast showed 7' seas right in our path, we made the decision to wait until the 16th (an easy decision!) The delay suited me just fine, since I had just arrived back from a trip to Dallas last Friday, the 12th. I can always use just one more day to close up one house for the winter and get everything on the boat ready to roll.
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October 16 we are off the dock early. Bye bye, sweet Fairhaven, and all our special friends there! We hope to see some of you this winter in Florida.
Seas were 3’ to 5’ on our way on Tuesday, but Jambo handled
the conditions with no problems.
The pups were a bit restless in the beginning since they had not been on board for about a month, but they settled in just fine. The weather was still rather cold, so we were tucked in the pilot house
out of the elements, and had a fine day cruising to our first stop, Montauk,
New York.
Our first couple of stops are just sort of touch-and-go. Arriving in the late afternoon and are off again the next morning. On the 17th from Montauk we headed to Port Jefferson on Western Long Island. Port Jefferson was originally named "Drowned Meadow". Since the name did not exactly draw people to the area, in 1836 the town fathers changed the town's name to honor the nation's third president. The sails for America, the yacht that changed the name of the Louis Vuitton Cup to the "America's Cup," were made here by R. H. Wilson and sons in 1856. in the mid-1800s, P.T. Barnum helped found a ferry service between Port Jeff and his circus' base of operations 14 miles across the Sound in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Barnum built a house in town and wanted to expand his property into a place to keep his circus animals for winter. Townsfolk weren't too excited about those plans, so no elephants sauntered across these wharves. No wild animals here! The ferry route Barnum started is still used today.
On the 18th, we headed to one of my favorite
areas to cruise through – New York City.
Our destination was Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, NJ. The day was clear and sunny, making the
passage very pleasant.
It is
always exciting when I first see the New York City skyline…and when we get into
the East River, cruising right next to the very busy streets. Feels like you could hand a water
bottle to the joggers along the waterfront! ("Do you have any Grey Poupon?")
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| Cruising in to New York City |
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| Funky little lighthouse on the way in to New York City. |
Today was not without drama, though. Around 12:30 the Coast Guard announced
that there would be a security zone around the Wall Street Heliport starting at
2:00 p.m., which happened to be about the time we would get there! As we approached, we asked for passage
through and were told "absolutely not".
We had to hold off traversing the area. Well, the current was about 6 knots and pushing us along at
quite a clip. Fred managed to slow
down and pull somewhat to the side out of the strong current while we waited
for the area to open. We were all
wondering what big muckity muck was coming in to town to cause them to close
the River. Talk on the VHF radio
finally revealed that they were waiting for “Marine One” to land…and that meant
President Obama was arriving. We
saw the helicopters come in, and about 10 minutes later were told the East
River was once again open for traffic.
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| NY City police patrol boat zipping past us after the River opened. |
Sure enough, when we passed the heliport, we saw the fleet of United
States of America helicopters on the helipad. What were the chances we would be in this area at the exact
time Obama was arriving?!!! Later
we saw on the news that Obama and Romney were in the City for a fundraiser.
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| So this is what all the fuss was about! |
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Liberty Landing Marina is in a great place. We had a nice view of New York City
from our boat, and there is an 1,100-acre Liberty Park right there. Lots of space to walk the dogs. Besides the City, you could see Ellis
Island and the Statue of Liberty.
The ferries run every 30 minutes to take you just across the canal to
Jersey City and then on to Battleship Cove in New York. You can also go to the Statue of
Liberty. Two great restaurants right
here, and we could stay for weeks!
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Our friends Lenny and Diane Statile, who live about 20
minutes away, came for cocktails and then we went to dinner. What a fun way to catch up with friends!
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| Ellis Island in the haze.... |
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Friday the rains came, so we stayed in Jersey City one more
night. Mark and Alison (our crew)
took off for the City – why waste a chance to get a New York fix?!!! Not wanting to deal with the City in the rain and muck, Fred and I stayed behind and enjoyed a
lovely, quiet day. Took the dogs
on a long walk after the rain stopped and then went across the canal to a cute
tapas reastaurant called Amelias.
Liberty Park is a great place to walk. The 1,100 acres has a mix of grass and wide brick walkways. Around the corner from the marina is a Memorial to those lost in the 9-11 attacks. It is really beautiful the way they have placed it facing New York City, and at the end of the structures away from the City is a piece of metal from the World Trade Center. The names of all those from New Jersey lost in the different attack places are engraved on the walls along the walkway.
The inscription on the Memorial:
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Empty Sky: New
Jersey
September 11th Memorial
On the morning of September 11, 2011, with the skies so
clear that the Twin Towers across the river appeared to be within reach, the very
essence of what our country stands for – freedom, tolerance, and the pursuit of
happiness – was attacked. This memorial
is dedicated to New Jersey’s innocent loved ones who were violently and
senselessly murdered that day at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville,
PA.
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| See ya next time, Lady Liberty! |
Saturday morning started with pea-soup fog! We were off the dock at 9:30 when the
fog started to lift. Since it is
Saturday, the harbor was teaming with all kinds of boats going out for the
day. We cruised past Lady Liberty
(still in the haze) while dodging the sail boats going this way and that.
Next we entered the channel and were greeted by what felt
like a flotilla of huge container ships coming and going!
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| This guy is certainly pushing a lot of water ahead of him! |
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| They are all over the place!!!! |
All went smoothly, so now we head to
Manasquan, New Jersey for the night.
This is the area where Fred used to work at Admiral Farragut’s Academy
back in his youth.
Manasquan was originally named "Manatahsquawhan" by the Lenni Lenape Indians. The meaning was 'Stream of the Island Wives" since this was where women passed the time while men fished. The name changed over time since the European-American tongues didn't do well with the original.
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| View of bascule bridge at Manasquan right from Jambo |
We are staying at Hoffman’s Marina just before the bascule
bridge. The new owner of the marina, Larry,
showed us a rendering of the construction he is doing here. Hoffman's will be a really nice place to hang
next year! The train goes across
several times a day heralded by a siren sounding off to warn boats of the
bridge closure. Kinda fun to watch
while sitting right here. What is
it about trains that is always so fascinating??!!!
On Sunday we finally took our new electric-assist bikes out
for a spin. Rode them over the
bridge (on a highway, no less!) to a boardwalk area at Point Pleasant
Beach. The boardwalk is filled with stuffed animals, amusement rides and the smell of cotton candy. On this Sunday it was teaming with people in Halloween costumes and hot pink. They had just had some kind of breast cancer awareness event. Really fun area and the beach is beautiful and huge!
After we came back across
the bridge we decided to bike to nearby Bierle for lunch. Found a rousing sports bar and had
burgers and beers – felt like we deserved it after our rides! Sore butts tomorrow, for sure!
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| Should have put an orange cover on my helmet! |
Back at the boat we waited for Peter and Angela Yianalos to
come visit. They are waiting
delivery of the next 70’ Outer Reef named Creative Edge. Theirs will have an enclosed flybridge
and only one steering station. The
area where we have a pilot house will be a country kitchen. It will be very interesting to see how
that configuration looks. Arrival
is hopefully in December. We shared lots of tips on the ins-and-outs of the start up and warranty issues for owning a new boat. They are in a strange holding pattern in the ordering of a new boat...they have made all the major decisions and now just have to wait...and wait...for the arrival to start with a whole new set of "to do" lists and decisions. Peter gave us one of the best compliments we could get -- he said he felt like he was sitting in someone's living room in their home. Yea! That's just the feeling we want guests go get when they are on JAMBO!
We begin to note on all our weather sources that there is a potential monster storm brewing in the Caribbean. Warnings are out in Jamaica, and the hurricane center says it could potentially be a threat to the Mid-Atlantic...
right...
where.....
we......
are.
On October 22 we are off to Atlantic City. A bit of trivia....Do you know who and where the game Monopoly was created? Charles Darrow, a salesman from Germantown, Pennsylvania, lost his job to the Great Depression. He passed the idle days and evenings waxing with his wife about better times, namely past years' vacations and their favorite destination, Atlantic City. Eventually, Darrow got to doodling, and he dre a game grid on his tablecloth. Still reminiscing, h filled each grid box with the name of a street or an avenue between Absecon Inlet and Park Place, surrounding the beloved Boardwalk. Most of the Darrows' friends were also jobless during those tough times, so they dropped by often. [See where I am going here?] One evening Darrow broke out his invention, and it caught on -- to say the least. Copies were made and sold in stores in Philadelphia and New York. After initially rejecting the game, Parker Brothers purchased the rights from Darrow in 1935. Monopoly became an instant success!
Back to the trip...we are staying off the main boardwalk at the Golden Nugget Casino, Hotel and Marina. Really fun to find ourselves nestled right next to the bright lights of the casino, looking across at the main part of Atlantic City.
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| Atlantic City |
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Still watching what is now called Hurricane Sandy......
October 23, 2012 -- Fred's birthday!
Now we are in Atlantic City and the sunrise is fantastic! What a way to start Fred's celebration!
We start the day with a lovely brunch by Alison which included some sprakling wine...
No birthday is complete without a series of greetings from friends and family...some can sing, most cannot ;-) but it is the thought that counts, right?!!!!
Captain Mark is a man of many talents, including being a massage therapist. Birthday Boy is getting a morning rub down...
So in the afternoon we decide we should at least take a walk through the Golden Nugget and see how it looks. I decided to put $20 in a penny slot machine (big spender that I am...) After about 10 minutes I am down almost $5 and decide to move on. As we are walking through, Fred's attention is drawn to another penny machine that features dolphins. Since he does really believe in throwing away money on gambling games, I offer him my $15 chit as a birthday present. He reluctantly agrees. Sits down for less than five minutes and it up $20! Takes his money and runs....birthday luck, I suppose!
After a happy hour cocktail at one of the many bars inside, I decide to go waste my remaining $15. When that is gone, I look for Fred and he is nowhere to be seen. I check the area of the dolphin slot and not there. Go back to the boat and he is not there. Not answering his cell phone, either. Where did he go? Oh well. I went back in to look around once more. Still not seeing Fred, I looked for that lucky dolphin machine and could not find it. But I did find one with lions. Ahh. Potential. Sit down with another $20, and quickly turned it in to $40. Took a lesson from Fred and cashed out. Up $5 and had some goofy entertainment for the afternoon. Fun!
Oh! Where was Fred? Later, when he returned to the boat, he told us he decided to try to learn to play craps. Started with $100 (whoa!), and walked away with $120. Happy Birthday to him!
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| The Chef at work... |
Alison had prepared a special birthday dinner for us. Smoked salmon appetizers, Caesar salad, lamb chops and veggies. Yum.
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| You don't have to eat it ALL, Fred! |
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| Fred, Alison and Captain Mark |
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And for dessert was Fred's favorite -- carrot cake!
The end of a lovely birthday celebration. Tomorrow, headed to Cape May, NJ.
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| Birds migrating south...for the winter |
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On the way to Cape May there are thousands of birds flying by headed south. Their formations are at one time very structured, and then diverge into an unorganized mess the next. (There are some in the photo above -- if you can spot them! My camera skills at that range are not great, but hopefully you get the idea!) Guess this is where the idea of a "snow bird" comes from, ya think?
Now we know that Hurricane Sandy is headed our direction. Our itinerary already has us headed to Baltimore, and it appears the timing might be just right. The harbor there is very protected and should be a good place to be should Sandy hit.
The New Jersey shore on our starboard side is an endless, beautiful beach. It just goes on and on and on. Amazing.
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| Marina area |
Cape May is a centuries-old seaside resort whose charm is preserved in part by its status as a National Historic Landmark. Fred docks Jambo at South Jersey Marina, which is situated in an interesting area surrounded by houses right on the water with their boats docked in their backyard.
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| Love this house -- with the car in garage and boat outside! |
Right across from us is the Lobster House Restaurant. The bar area is on a sail boat built right in!
We took the dogs on a long walk in to a part of town what has a pedestrian area near the beach. The shady streets are lined with what they call "Painted Ladies," gingerbread-trimmed Victorian houses painted in colors that range from festive to downright gaudy. It is lovely -- many have Halloween decorations along their walks and we shuffle through the fallen leaves.
This house was quite a site...I have never seen a truck painted to match the house! (Or was it vice versa?)
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| The dark red dahlias and pink daisies were beautiful! |
Now we know for sure that Sandy is headed our direction...the predictions look pretty dire and are centered in the Mid-Atlantic, right where we are. Yikes!
Our plan all along was to get to Baltimore in two more days, which will put us there one day ahead of the storm. So....off we go! Next stop: The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Going up the Delaware River on the way to the entrance to the canal can be unnerving. The waterway is very wide...but most of it is shallow. You absolutely must stay in the channel, and there are many, many freighters that travel this area, and they seem very close at times.....
We know the storm is coming...and today seems a perfect example of the "calm before the storm".
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| This lighthouse in the Delaware River is the Ship John Shoal Light. Very cool! |
This nuclear power plant is the Salem Nuclear Power Plant located on the Delaware River in New Jersey. Next to it is the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. Fingers crossed that all goes well for the impending Hurricane Sandy....
The Summit North Marina was one of our stops on our way north in June, and we are happy to go back to the restaurant overlooking the marina, Aqua Sol. Fred and I go for margaritas and order a trio of salsas and a cheese dip with lobster -- yes, lobster! Portions are thankfully small, but the taste is divine. The buzz is all about "Sandy". This marina would be a well-protected area to stay in, but our sites are on Baltimore.
Another in-and-out stop. The next morning, October 27, we are on our way to Baltimore to get ready for Hurricane Sandy...
Transiting the C&D canal is very peaceful and calm today. The fall foliage is brilliant -- unfortunately it is cloudy, so the colors don't show so well in photos. We are appreciating Mother Nature's pleasant show, because in the days to come we will witness some of her fury and all these beautiful leaves will probably be blown off.
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| Homes along the C&D Canal |
Finally! Baltimore Harbor. We have picked a marina in the inner harbor -- as far up as we can get.
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| View from our safe place at the dock. |
Everyone is making
ready for the storm. The Dockmaster puts us on a long dock between two
80' boats. He is skillfull and lines the boats up very close
together...
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| This is how far we are from the boat in front of us... |
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| And the stern is rather close to the boat behind... |
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| Here we are...third boat from the left. Very tight quarters! |
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| Our night view. Beautiful...and calm. |
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| Businesses and stores all along the waterfront are making preparations, too... |
Saturday, October
27, we are tied to the dock. Captain Mark stows all the outdoor
cushions, chairs and canvas covers -- anything that can blow around. We
are all set. Now we wait.....
Next up....Hurricane Sandy!
Halloween Day 2012, we are finally underway again. There was no wind in the harbor, so
leaving the dock so tightly squeezed between two other boats proved to be no
problem. It is cold (42 degrees)
so we are in the pilot house. Nice
and warm, but the sight angle is not as good as when we are on the
flybridge. Our ability to see is
important today because there is going to be a lot of “flotsam” in the water
because of the storms. We are
hardly out of the harbor before we start seeing some short logs that could
cause damage to the hull. 
The day went without incident and we pulled in to the marina
at Solomons. Just time to give the dogs a bit of exercise, have
dinner and then to bed. Very uneventful Halloween, but
that is okay! After the recent
days, “uneventful” is welcome! On
11/1 we finally have sun and the harbor is like glass. Still on the lookout for floatsum, but
the way is relatively clear. Once
out of the harbor, it is a straight shot to Deltaville, our next stop.
Once in the Norfolk area, the military boats are amazing to see. And then we had this Coast Guard Cutter taking on a pilot. A bit tricky trying to stay out of his way, since he was maneuvering right in the middle of the channel!
The waterway is absolutely calm and like a mirror. Unfortuantely, the sky is clouded over and it is still cold. A lot more fun to do this trip stearing from the pilot house and basking in 70-degree weather, but here we are. We see a lone eagle flying by. They are so beautiful – I never tire to observing this magnificent bird.
