9.28.12 (1)

Stagnant

Friday September 28, 2012 

 

For the past two days we’ve just been sitting in Weems Creek on the boat getting a few necessary projects done.  There’s talk about going back in to town soon as there are land based things that have to get done as well but my leg has been giving me so much pain for the past few days that I’m afraid to use it extensively.  Yesterday I wasn’t even able to put all my weight on it.  So I’ve been doing sewing projects on board, the lee cloth is finally done!, and Matt installed the new bilge pump and worked on the solar panels.  Somehow I thought that two straight days on the boat would be relaxing but there hasn’t been a free moment.  Oh, but there has been time to spy on the Navy’s Crew team that practices by our boat every day.  They’re always a nice distraction.

9.26.12 (1)

Is There Ann-Ap-(olis) For That?

Wednesday September 26, 2012

Getting up today we knew we wanted to check out the town of Annapolis, plus Matt had found there was a West Marine on the outskirts as as always we needed to pick up a few things there.  Like a new switch for our bilge pump that stopped working and possibly a new life sling.  After taking a shower in the cockpit and feeling like I was bringing down the property value of all the multi-million dollar homes around us I put on jeans and a sweatshirt.  We found a very handy dinghy beach half way up the creek and started following our map into town.  As soon as we stepped on to the bridge crossing College Creek the scenery dramatically changed.  Everything became brick and the buildings had perfectly manicured lawns and colorful flower beds.  Making our way to Church Circle we admired the historic buildings and the business men and women enjoying their lunches in outdoor cafes in their suits and dresses.  This may be the sailing capital of the world but I have a feeling that it normally caters to those in their seersucker shorts, polo shirts and Sperry Topsiders versus cruisers like me in cut offs and flip flops.

Randomly picking a street to get down to the waterfront we walked down it a few minutes before spotting a couple exiting from an alley between a few buildings. Thinking that an alley shortcut sounded like fun we took the few steps and path down through the old brick buildings. We were let out on Main St with a mix of tourist souvenir shops and local specialties. We knew we didn’t have time to stop and browse through them today, we were on a West Marine mission after all, but we’d be in town for a few weeks and there would be plenty of time to come back to them. I did stop in my tracks though as I came face to face with Chick N Ruth’s. Again, we never do much researching before we get to a town of what’s located where, but this was on my list of places to hit (the only one really) as soon as I found out we were coming to Annapolis. I had seen an episode a few years back on Man vs Food and they had a 6 lb milkshake there. Six pounds of milkshake! Both of us are huge fans of ice cream and I was really disappointed when Matt told me it was very hard to get outside of the states unless you want to pay a lot of money for it. My logic had been that if we stopped here along the way and forced ourselves to eat six pounds of it (together) that we’d be so sick of ice cream that we’d never want to eat it again. Perfect solution.

 Ice cream too would have to wait for another day and we kept walking towards the West Marine. We passed over Spa Creek where the sailboat show will be held next weekend and stood to look at some of the big money boats already there. We almost anchored in this creek as it was in the heart of town with easy access to everything but we didn’t want to fight the constant crowds and noise of the area. Stopping at a gas station for some cold drinks (it ended up being much too hot for a sweatshirt) the man behind the counter handed us a paper map marked with the location of WM and told us we had about a mile and a half to go. After the mile and a half we had just walked to get to this point. It didn’t sound hard on paper after walking five times that each day in NYC, but something I did to my leg in the city was still giving me problems and it was already aching. When we passed a sign for a bus stop along the way I was pretty sure we’d be using it on the way back.

Finally at the West Marine Matt searched for bilge pump switches while I had an employee running around looking for men’s flip flops. Matt bought a pair back near Albany and two pairs and one return later they were still falling apart on him. When we cashed out an exchange was performed for a better brand and when being asked where the pair he was returning were he replied “On my feet”. They didn’t even blink an eye and that is one of the reasons I love West Marine. We did not pick up a Lifesling, thinking it was more than we wanted to add to the September budget, but we did scoop up a handy little crab trab. Supposedly they’re all over the Chesapeake and we figured that even one caught for dinner would pay for the trap. On our way out the door again my leg was giving me serious problems and I was ready for that bus. Heading back the direction we came from it was a good mile before there was a sign for a stop. The bus got there at quarter after the hour every hour and it was only half past. Even though I was almost in tears of pain at this point we knew there was another stop a half mile up and thought if we had all that time to kill we may as well make it up there. Trying to read the map posted we saw the gold line would take us closest to the creek but didn’t have any stops on this route so when the green line came up five minutes later we saw that it would take us close enough and got on. The driver asked us where we were going and we said that we didn’t really know. He then asked if we were going downtown. Sure, why not. “Then you want the red, you need to get off” “No, that’s fine, we’ll go wherever you take us” “No, you want the red line, you need to get off”. Kicked off the bus? What the heck? Ten minutes later the red line was the next bus to pass our way and we got on without saying a word. Taking it just past the downtown area we jumped off on a main road where we thought a few short cuts through other streets would quickly lead us back to the creek. They did not. I haven’t pulled out a map to check yet but I think we did more walking from where the bus let us off than where we had initially been.

Happy to finally be able to sit down we were dinghying back when we saw Rode Trip on a mooring ball. We swung by to say hello and after talking about our separate trips to Annapolis that Matt and I would quick drop our stuff off and come back with a bottle of wine in exchange for fishing tips. It seems that Rode Trip catches fish everywhere they go and we were eager to learn for ourselves the best way how. After scarfing a quick snack and grabbing a bottle of three buck chuck we were back on their boat catching up over the past few days. When the talk got to fishing they said their only luck was keeping a lure out at all times. If you’re always fishing you’re bound to catch something sometime. Wanting to put that theory to the test we showed them our fancy new crab trap and asked if we could throw it over. Snapping some weights to the doors to make sure they’d fall open and tying a piece of sausage in the center the trap went overboard as we talking about cruising more over he bottle of red wine. Going back to the trap every so often the guys would slowly lift it up after feeling a tugging weight at the bottom, but it was always empty by the time it got to the surface. Us girls were happy just to sit back with a drink in our hand and after the wine was gone we moved on a Brooklyn Brew. I don’t know if Stephanie was in the same (figurative) boat as me but I hadn’t had more than an orange and a pack of trail mix all day and I think the wine was going to our heads. As the guys fished we became more animated in our storytelling and she’d pull out her touchpad to show us photos of their trip, scrolling through with lightning speed before any of the photos could actually be seen. Matt could tell it was time to put me to bed and we gathered our empty crab trap and said goodbye for the night. After my day of limping through the heat I was sure I was going to add this to my ‘not so great days of cruising’, but I love how new friends and a bottle of wine can turn that all around.

Yacht Club at Spa Creek

We caught a jellyfish!

‘I’m totally not planning on stealing this Lifesling behind me!’

 

9.25.12 (4)

Knot Getting Far

Tuesday September 25, 2012

(Corny title, I know, but this post is mostly about speed.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

When we left our creek in Middle River today there was only about 20 miles left to travel before we got to Annapolis and I thought we’d be there in 3-4 hours.  For the past few days our average had been about 6 knots and I had no reason to think today would be different.  This held true as we left the river and pointed East to get past an island before we could go South.  We cruised by it at over six and a half knots and now I was sure we could make Annapolis in three hours.  I could just make out the outline of Bay Bridge in the distance and once I got the ok I pointed South towards it.  We knew winds were coming from this direction but once we put ourselves on course we were basically in irons.  Thinking it would be best to motor through it we turned on the engine.  Our speed had dropped by three knots and it felt like we were making no progress.  Letting this go on for thirty minutes we thought back to how fast we were going under sail on our beam reach and figured by rolling out the genoa once more we could tack back and forth and a 45 degree angle to the wind and still make more progress than we were just motoring straight into the 25 knot winds.  The sail was unfurled, the course was changed, and the engine was shut off.  Even after we gathered back our momentum after the original course change our speed had gone from 3.5 under motor to 2.6 under sail.  Trying to gain more speed we’d fall off the wind more and more, but that left us on a mostly East to West course and were not making much movement in the right direction.

We fooled ourselves for way too long that this plan of sailing and tacking might actually work before we gave up and turned the engine on again.  Pointing ourselves South again we were fighting the wind and waves once more and speed had decreased to 1.5 knots.  What happened to the 3.5 we had earlier?  Could we not win?  Sometimes we’d do ok and start to get our speed up again and a huge wave would crash into our bow almost bringing us to a standstill, then we’d have to start all over again.  For the next few hours we plugged along, trying to get closer to shore to block some of the wind.  This seemed to help a lot and we settled into a speed between 4 and 5.  Just as we were getting to the bridge I settled into the channel which allowed me to not have to keep a constant eye out for crap and oyster traps that cluttered the bay.

 While I was enjoying this break from keeping my eyes peeled on the water I looked up at the bridge to watch the large barges about to come under.  There was one very large one passing through and it took a minute after he got under that he’d probably want to share the channel with me.  I added a few degrees to the autopilot to allow space.  Matt looked over at me as if to say ‘Get out of his way!’ which I told him that I already added five degrees.  That should be plenty.  Just as we were sitting there arguing if there would be enough room for the both of us we heard five blasts from the behemoth.   Yes, he was definitely telling me to get the F out of his way.  Quickly adding twenty more degrees I got out of the way just as he passed us by.  I’m sure he was shaking his head thinking ‘Pshh, women drivers’.

All was going well as we passed under the bridge, the entrance to the Severn River and Annapolis were in sight when all of a sudden the engine cut out.  I moved the RPMs down and threw it in neutral.  We’d had this happen before when large waves would shake around the fuel and a near empty tank would think it had run dry.  Then when we’d calm down it would sputter back to life.  This time it didn’t happen.  It shut itself completely off and I had harsh winds trying to push us back into the pillars of the bridge we had just crossed under.  It wasn’t a dire situation yet, but it was on it’s way there.  Just as I was about to fully panic we turned the engine once again and it came to life.  Only to die again a quarter mile further.  Emptying a five gallon jerrycan into the tank we hoped this would not become an issue again since the sun was setting and there were still a few miles to go upriver.  It must have done the trick though because we made it back to Weems Creek without any more engine issues.  There was the slight issue though of the anchor taking three times to hold in the silty mud below us.  I’m sure the cat we were anchoring next to felt very confident in our skills as we’d throw it in reverse to dig the anchor down, only to fly backward closer and closer to them.  I’m sure they had the same thought as the barge, ‘Pshh, women drivers’.

Okay, so I may have been in his way a little bit.

Anyone for a game of Battleship?

9.24.12 (3)

Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted

Monday September 24, 2012

For the past two days we’ve been hanging out in this little place called Frog Mortar Creek in the Middle River on the Chesapeake. Lots of words to pinpoint one location, but that’s how things seem to be in this area. Look at the Chesapeake, find an area you want to spend the night, then locate a river in that area (it’t not hard, they’re everywhere), and inside the river find a creek deep enough for you to anchor in. It was my job this time to find a place to stay for the night. Normally we look to go 40 miles per day, but we need to be in Annapolis for the sail boat show the weekend of October 5th and Annapolis only happens to be 40 miles down the Chesapeake. We hear this area can get quite crazy near the boat show and it’s good to show up early to snag a mooring or anchorage, but two weeks was just a little earlier than we wanted to get there. So browsing through our Waterway Guide I checked out the rivers along the way and what they had o offer. Middle River happened to be, well in the Middle of the entrance to the Chesapeake and Annapolis so I thought we could stop there for a night and maybe head to Baltimore the next day. Reading further into the creeks there was one that boasted deep anchorages for large boats and was within walking distance of Walmart. Supplies did happen to be running a little low, but where you can find a Walmart you can usually find a McDonalds. And McDonalds has wifi. You can see where I’m going with this. I’m already staring to get emails from family members asking if we’ve abandoned the site since I’m so far behind on my blogging and I will take any chance I can get to update. The course was set and I was going to get my wifi.

 Making the short 15 mile jump from our anchorage to Middle River we started looking at the charts for the best spot to anchor that night. Apparently their deep anchorage for large boats was six feet deep. We have a five foot draft so would still be ok, but with tides we didn’t want to ground ourselves. Usually eleven feet is what we look for. But checking all the other creeks in that river and even the ones in neighboring rivers all had depths of only four feet. Looks like this one would have to work for the night. As we pulled into the creek I kept an eye on the charts and the depth and was fine to drop in the middle of the creek where the depth was six feet. Matt kept insisting that our depth reader is a couple feet off and we could get closer to shore. As I mentioned that I was not going to be the one to run us aground I handed the wheel to him as he kept inching in closer and closer. The depth went from reading 6.7 to 5.5 and then 5.1 when the boat ground to a halt. “Did you just run around?” I gawped? “Yes I did” he answered with a smile on his face, throwing it in reverse and moving us back to deeper water.

Once we were back in 7 ft of water the anchor was dropped and we were in the dinghy scanning for places to go to shore.  We looked to be surrounded by private homes and marinas.  Since it was Sunday we probably could have pulled up at one of the marinas and no one would have even been there to notice but as we passed one home it looked as if there was a boat launch next to it.  We couldn’t tell if it was public or private since the home next to it was fenced in with No Trespassing signs on it.  Did that mean the launch was public and the home’s property was private?  We decided that it did, or at least we’d play dumb and say that should someone ask, and locked the dinghy to some rotting dock post to the side.  As we grabbed our backpacks and walked up the dirt path it appeared as if the launch blended in to the yard with grass and trees and the driveway.  At this point we were 90% sure we probably shouldn’t be there but kept going anyway.  Even when the dog was let out in the yard and started barking at us and the yard and driveway were littered with sign stating Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted we kept moving forward with our eyes down.  Getting to the main road and finding a McDonald’s I was being glared at the whole time by Matt as he knew that every second we were away from the dinghy was counting against us.  I don’t think I even got in 20 minutes of internet time before I was shut down.

Rushing over to Walmart we stocked up on as much as we could from our grocery list.  Never being Walmart shoppers before we left home (I miss you Meijer!!!) we did not know that one had to be a Super Center for it to have a full grocery section.  Left without eggs and sliced cheese and a few other things we thought would be essentials we stuffed our backpacks and began walking back, wondering what was waiting for us at the other end.  I was pretty sure the owner had a gun and would not be afraid to use it on us should we try to run.  Our mind kept racing with things like, ‘What if the owner is outside when we get back…what do we say or do?’.  I quickly tried to think of ways I’d be able to distract them while Matt sneaked around back to untie the dinghy and get it ready, with still no idea of how I would get back to it as well.  As the moment of truth came we walked up to the house and no one was standing outside.  Keeping our eyes at our feet just as before we moved along the trees at the edge, trying to blend in.  I unlocked the dinghy and as we were loading it up I thought I saw the back door open, but no one came out.  Oh well, we were too far now.  Pushing it back into the water we started the engine and were back off to the boat with no shot gun wounds or prosecutions.  We celebrated our good luck at dinner with Matt finally drinking his Canadian Coke given to him from Between The Sheets (it contains real sugar) and I cracked open one of my last and cherished Leinenkugel Berry Weiss’.

Deciding to stay in the same spot for one more day, today was spent on boat projects.  I was ready to tackle that lee cloth to get it finished once and for all, and Matt needed to go up the mast to untangle our spinnaker halyard.  I thought I’d be lucky like I was earlier this year when he went up by himself using ascenders, but since there wasn’t a spare line he was going to need me to haul him up.  My muscles were not as strong as I hoped they would be and it was a slow but steady struggle to get him up.  With a couple of twists our halyard was free and we’d be able to use our headsail again.  It was a little embarrassing on our way down yesterday getting passed by every boat in the bay under full sail.  We’ll show all of you tomorrow on our way to Annapolis!

Taking a break from the lee cloth to do some writing.

We finally have our ‘view from atop the mast’ photo!

Panoramic view of our anchorage.

9.22.12 (3)

The Roughest Passage You’ll Ever Make

Saturday September 22, 2012

Today we took the Cape May Channel to Delaware Bay and up the whole length to the C&D Canal, which connects Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay. Yesterday morning Matt threw the Waterway Guide in my lap and told me to read up a little on the area. This was the first sentence of the chapter, “The waters of Delaware Bay are considered by many boaters to be rough, tedious and inhospitable…..notorious for building up short, choppy seas quickly…..the skills of the navigator are likely to be tested here”. After reading that calming description of the area I started searching for every little inlet possible for anchorage along the way should we need to pull off. Just as scared as us to make the trip were our new friends Brian and Stephanie on Rode Trip as we decided to buddy boat together. Before we could get out on the water though we all got up bright and early to make our way to the yard sale at Utch’s marina, something all of us had seen advertiesed the previous day. No one had any kind of idea what would actually be sold there but it sounded interesting enough to make the trip to shore. Tying up under the docks at the marina once again we walked out to see tables set up everywhere with everything you could think of. There were boat parts, fishing gear, and even a little pink acoustic guitar. It must be a pretty popular even every year because even a local radio station was there covering it. We didn’t have a ton of time to browse since we still wanted to up anchor by 9:30, but we all seemed to find something we wanted or needed. Matt and I picked up a couple of fishing lures, a gaff hook, and a flotation cushion since the storm in NYC had ripped our Lifesling right off the back of our boat. We didn’t even notice it was gone until we were on our way to Sandy Hook. Spending $125 to replace it didn’t sound too tempting at the moment, but a $3 cushion would at least keep us Coast Guard legal. Brian and Stephanie also did well at the sale, picking up lots of fishing supplies themselves and even an only used once 5 hp outboard for their dinghy.

 Dropping them back off at their boat we pulled up the anchor and got ready for what we thought would be the roughest passage we’d ever make. Getting out of the Cape May Channel and into Delaware Bay it was a sunny morning, winds were around 15 knots, and waves were 1-2 feet. It didn’t look bad, but I was waiting for something to come up on us any second. We both raised our mainsails while in the channel and once we were in the open bay Matt and I set a course for a straight shot up the bay while Rode Trip was quickly disappearing off to our port side. So much for buddy boats. While cruising by ourselves now we were tuned into channel 16 on the VHF when we heard our name called although I couldn’t make out the name of who was hailing us. Answering anyway I found out it was Scott that we had met the previous night and he was just calling to see how our trip was going so far and where we were staying for the night. He mentioned how they were planning on going all the way up the bay and through the canal to end at a river just on the other side. Our buddy boat plans for the night had consisted of anchoring at Reedy Island just before the canal, but after listening to Scott it sounded like winds would be shifting to where the island would no longer have a good holding for us overnight. Then finding out the C&D was only 12 miles long we told Scott that him and Kim could probably expect to see us next to them that night.

Going back to our awesome cruising (more on that in a minute) we heard Scott hailing Rode Trip, probably to relay the same message. There seemed to be some problems in communication though where Rode Trip could hear Scott but he could not hear them. Since we could hear both parties just fine I thought I’d hail Rode Trip (who was still barely in our sight) and just relay the message myself. Only problem was not only could I not remember his boat’s name but I couldn’t make it out each time he had repeated it on the radio. Matt cocked his head to the side and offered “I think it’s Angel Eyes” although both of us still didn’t think that sounded 100% right. So while talking to Rode Trip I’d say “I was just talking to Angeleyes” and smash it together really quick so no one would be able to tell I was saying it wrong, especially if Kim and Scott were still listening, “and they said they were going all the way through the canal tonight, so we were thinking of following Angeleyes, what do you think?”. They agreed as well and didn’t correct my mispronunciation.

Back to our awesome cruising. I know a lot of it has to do with the current and we’re not rock stars like this on our own, but we were once again sailing at 6.5 knots with only 10-15 knots of wind. The ride was smooth and easy. I was able to move around below and even give Matt a haircut in the cockpit (bad idea, could not contain the hair, it was everywhere). When we were 2/3rds of the way through the bay we began messing with the sheets and the course a little. The speed went up to 7, then 7.5, and then 8. For a good 45 minutes we were steadily cruising at 8.4 knots. With only 14 knots of wind off our back quarter. This was seriously the best day of sailing we’ve ever had. I felt like flipping the finger to my guide book and then dancing a little jig on it just to show it how wrong it was. To be fair though we have heard these waters can get very rough, but they’re usually only that way when making a southerly passage. One of the reasons I was also so happy with our new speed was that we were finally catching back up to Rode Trip. We found out on the VHF conversation that they had caught a good current and followed it into the marked channel in the center of the bay, going out and then cutting back in. We were going in a straight line and somehow they were beating us. In a 32 ft West Sail. It logistically shouldn’t be possible. So as we were getting closer to the end an they had to cut back in I would try to calculate the distance between us to see if we’d come out on top. We did not. Our buddy boat beat us to the C&D, but not by much.

Putting down our sails and throwing on the engines we continued to ride nice currents through the canal as the sun was setting. Off in the distance I could see dark stormy clouds and had heard on a weather report there would be a chance of rain that night. If there would be a storm or high winds we didn’t want to be in an exposed area and radioed Rode Trip about a little cove we found just passed the river that Anthyllide was planning to anchor in. They declined and said they still planned on going to the river. Getting out of the C&D it was now dark and we still followed behind Rode Trip, following the red and green buoys in the river to our chosen area on the chartplotter. With winds having picked up to 25 knots now they also realized the river may not be a good place to stay and radioed to say they’d be tucking into a cove just before the one we were planning on. Less than two miles before either of us could get to our destination the rain came, and it came in force. It went from not a single drop to pounding down, sting you in the eyes kind of rain within seconds. Even though it was dark you could see it coming across the water like a curtain. I didn’t mind traveling in it since the motor was on and with the river mostly keeping a straight course the rest of the way it was possible to keep the autopilot on and take shelter under the dodger. The only thing that did worry me was anchoring in this mess. It was hard enough for us to anchor in the dark and try to read Matt’s and signals from the bow, but this was blinding and deafening. And then I remembered the only thing good about these kinds of punishing storms is they’re usually gone as quick as they come. Just as we were pulling into our cove the rain had stopped and we set down the anchor with ease. Maybe I had spoken about this being our best day of sailing a little too quickly. Although if we want to get into technicalities, the sails were down when the storm came. Still the best day of sailing ever.

Found our boat buddy across the bay!

Storm coming in over the C&D.

Our back end looks like it has a little too much weight on it, and not just because Matt’s been eating half my meals.

(photo courtesy of Rode Trip)

9.21.12 (3)

Motel Sixteen

Friday September 21, 2012

Even while we were sleeping this morning we could hear anchors dropping next to us. I thought maybe one or two more boats had come in while we were napping, but after going out on deck there were five new mast surrounding us. Was this the same armada that came in just after us that we thought were going another direction? None of them seemed too close to make us nervous and there was even still a sense of privacy while we took our cockpit showers to get ready to go into town. We had originally debated if it was even worth visiting land here, but our guide book said it was the oldest resort town in America and the streets were lined with old Victorian houses. It was after noon by this point but we still jumped in the dinghy thinking we could spend a few hours walking around. There was one specific marina that allowed dinghies to tie up for the day and after getting barely audible instructions from an employee of where we were actually supposed to tie up we were on the main road trying to find our way to the painted houses.

There was supposed to be one specific road that had the best houses in the area, but taking a walk down a completely different street to get there we’d stop every few minutes and say ‘Ohhh, look at that one‘.  By the time we got to the supposed highlight of the area according to our guide book the houses there were not nearly as nice and the only charm they seemed to hold was that they may have been the oldest and run down in the area.  We did happen to dead end into the water though and it was as picturesque and pretty as I considered an east cost resort town would be. We walked along a paved path just outside the fence and sand surrounding the water. There were still people out on towels tanning and kids playing in the sand. As we got a little further there was a stand at one of the entrances to the beach and on the front of it was a sign with pricing. $5 for the day, $20 for the week, $100 for the season. Really? They’re charging people to go to the beach? Is this their way of keeping this part of the Jersey Shore from getting clogged up with over-tan, iron-pumping youths, or is it just another way to make money in a resort town? We hadn’t planned on going to the beach anyway so it didn’t bother us, but I can’t imagine that kind of pricing going over well on Lake Michigan.

 Our two hour morning nap didn’t seem to have done much for us and after just a few hours of wandering around we were hot and tired and ready to go back. Taking the dinghy back to the Serendip we could see that a few more boats had anchored in the area while we were gone. The area was getting to be a little crowded, but luckily no one looked like they were getting too close to us. Passing by a aluminum oragimi boat in the anchorage the young couple on board waved to us, and while we waved back they motioned for us to come over. They noticed the MC decal on our dinghy (for Michigan, I can’t remember who stole MI from us) and said they were from Michigan also. They had also seen us at the 79th St Basin, they left a day after we came in. We talked for just a few minutes and they invited us to come over that night for drinks with another couple our age in the anchorage, just to have a ‘young’ cruisers get together. They told us to come back over around sunset and we went back to Serendip to do a little work on her.

With being in NYC for five days and then traveling for two she had gotten a little messy and needed some cleaning up. The 16 bottles of wine we had bought at Trader Joe’s were still sitting in their bag on the floor. I found a handy ‘wine cellar’ for them under one of the settees while generally cleaning up. Then another big project for me was to get the cushions clean so they could be Scotch Guarded. It’s crazy what kind of wear and tear we’re starting to do to them after just a month. But they’re original to the boat and still in great shape so we’re trying really hard to keep them that way. As we worked more and more boats kept coming into the tiny area to anchor. And they kept getting bigger. What had been mostly sailboats between 30-40 feet were now turning into 50 foot monohulls or 45 foot cats. While eating dinner in the cockpit I counted sixteen masts in the area, plus three power boats. I have a feeling it may be a restless night of sleep while just waiting to be swung into by another boat.

When the afternoon projects were completed and the sun had just set we hopped in the dinghy to go next door to s/v Anthyllide. The owners were Kim and Scott who we had talked to for a few minutes earlier that day. They were in their mid to late 30’s and had already been out cruising for 7 years. We thought that we were passing them on their way back home, but they’re not even close to being finished cruising. The other couple they had been telling us about were Brian and Stephanie from s/v Rode Trip. This couple is exactly our age and just left cruising a few weeks before we did from Portsmouth, NH. We were all on our way south and all planning to go through Delaware Bay the next day. While enjoying wine and beer we shared cruising stories, us with not a lot to offer since we’d just left and spent more than half that time in rivers. Rode Trip had some better stories since they had been on the ocean the whole time and had even gone up to Maine for a few weeks before making their way south again. Anthyllide of course had the most and more interesting stories since they had been gone for so long and had seen so many places. So far they’ve done a circumnavigation of the Caribbean and even spent a year living in Venezuela. Their hopes this round (they don’t make concrete plans) are to head back south and then jump across the Atlantic to the Med.

It was a great group of people that we had so much in common with yet all of the stories were new and different. Most of the people we’d met so far had taken the same path as us so we’d talk about our experiences getting through there, but each couple here had stories to offer on places that none of the others had been. When we had moved down below because it was getting chilly, Kim gave a tour and they explained that since oragimi boats are all homemade that none of the interiors are the same. Theirs was nice and spacious with a large galley and salon, but they said it looked completely different when they had bought it. Those boats are so easy to change around (as far as boats go) with no supporting bulkheads that when they bought it they had different plans on how they wanted it to look so they gutted it and started from scratch. They even took welding courses so they could do all the welding of the aluminum on their own. How cool is that? While the boys went outside to talk, Stephanie and I got a ton of helpful hints from Kim on what it’s like to check into other countries and what’s needed. She also said that in many parts of the Caribbean they were in it was easier for her to go while leaving Scott at the boat because the men working the offices there wanted nothing to do with women (they should be at home baking after all) and would get them in and out as soon as possible. Good to know, because with Matt’s incapability for learning another language I was getting a little worried about sending him off on his own.

The night went by incredibly fast and before we knew it we had downed about a liter of wine between three people and gone through countless beers. It had been so long since we’d met up with other cruisers (almost a week!) that it felt so good to relax and laugh and share stories. It was 12:30 when Matt kept pointing at his watch that we needed to leave, but I’m sure if none of us had plans for an early departure we could have talked until the sun came up.

Stocking our wine cabinet.

9.20.12 (2)

Salted

Friday September 21, 2012

Yesterday morning we exited New York Harbor and finally made our way into the Atlantic Ocean. We are officially salted. Before we could even get out of the bay the waves were rolling in and I could only imagine how it would be on open water. Once we got out though we just seemed to crest over the top of the waves without the up and down chop I assumed it would be.  While getting out to the point where there was still a little bit of land to our left but open water to our right I was debating if we were technically in the ocean now or still in the bay.  Before I could come to a decision we pointed into the wind (and were now slamming up and down in those waves), put the sail up, and turned our nose south.  Now there was no denying it, we were in the Atlantic Ocean.  It was an exciting milestone to have come so far from Lake Michigan to now call ourselves ocean sailors, even if it was only for five minutes now,  and to finally be changing our course to south but the view and the feel still felt the same as spending an afternoon in the Great Lakes.

Trying to get the sails trimmed just right there were a few other sailboats and a few tankers further off shore also going in a southerly direction.  Even though we were going over 5 knots everyone seemed to be flying by us.  A little more trimming here and there and we found a comfortable speed around 6.5 but we had long been passed by now.  It’s a little bit strange getting used to the currents carrying under you and increasing your speed without you feeling like you’re flying and need to hold on for dear life.  Back in Michigan if you were going over 6 knots it’s because the winds were over 25 and you were heeling over at a good 15-20 degree angle while trying to stay put.  Now going the same speed it was a nice comfortable ride with only 15 knots of wind behind you.  What a different world.

There wasn’t much to do for the afternoon.  Because we didn’t have completely calm seas, waves were 5-6 feet, I kept myself in the cockpit all day just staring off into the horizon.  I did take a few dramamine in the morning but did not want to touch the scopolamine again.  Time passed by fairly quick and before we knew it the sun was going down.  Getting ourselves prepped for our first overnight passage in a month I went to bed at 9:00 where we could just start making out the electric lights of Atlantic City off in the distance.  When I was woken up three hours later we had just passed it and I was told I missed a lot of interesting signs.  About an hour into my shift I could see a very bright light coming up behind me although it took a long time to catch up.  The AIS was showing that he was right on top of me but the lights off my port still looked far enough away not to cause real concern.  I checked the data and found out it was a tug and once it was next to me it was close enough that I could see the water churning up behind it.  I had been waiting for him to call me the whole time on 16 and tell me to get out of his way but either our courses were fine or he maneuvered around me because there was radio silence.

Getting up for my second shift just after 6 am Matt told me we were only 9 miles from our destination and to wake him when we got close.  Since our speed had gone way down over the night and we were just managing 3 knots.  Even though he had mentioned to me that we were going in a channel and would be anchoring in front of a Coast Guard Station my sleepy mind kept thinking that we had to go all the way around the cape and would be dropping anchor somewhere random in the Delaware Bay.  It took a good two hours and passing the channel by a few miles while calculating the best way around the shoals in the cape that my mind got to thinking ‘That bay doesn’t look like it offers any good spots to anchor.  Why do all those other sailboats keep going into that channel behind me?‘ when I finally remembered what I was told before.  Oh right, we were supposed to go in there too.  Waking Matt up and telling him my boo boo we lowered the sails and turned the boat around.  Following the heavy current into the channel we hooked a left at the fork in the road and found a nice spot in front of the Coast Guard station to drop anchor.  There were only three other boats in the anchorage at the time but just as our anchor was set we saw a fleet of five other sailboats make their way up the channel.  Holding our breath we let it out as they took a right at the fork and were glad they wouldn’t be dropping right next to us in the area that looked like it could hold five boats total.  Exhausted and each going on six hours of sleep or less we passed out after our first ocean passage.

Anchored at Sandy Hook.

First sunrise on the ocean.

9.19.12 (6)

It’s All Downhill From Here

Wednesday September 19, 2012

 

Five weeks into the trip and I’d have to say that yesterday was the least productive day (for myself at least) for the whole trip. The storm that was forecast and the one that kept us in Manhattan for an extra few days came through. The early afternoon wasn’t too bad, the sky was overcast and the winds were higher than normal, but nothing we’d hadn’t been exposed to before. Since I knew we probably wouldn’t be making it off the boat I thought it would be a great chance to pull out my laptop and finally get some work done. Let’s just say that when you’re in a city like this, everything else gets neglected. So sitting on the sette I was trying to focus on my screen and type but the normally rolly mooring that we’re at happened to be extra rolly due to the winds from the incoming storm coming in and it was a constant rocking from side to side. My stomach didn’t handle it too well but I figured like just like when we’re traveling, if I could make it above deck for some fresh air I’d feel much better. Hooking the laptop on to an extension cord I sat in the cockpit finally able to focus on my screen without getting sick. Just when I felt like I was getting things done a heavy enough sprinkle came in and forced me below.

 Of course the laptop now had to be put away and I figured since I was useless below deck I might as well lie down in the v-berth and relax, maybe try to settle my stomach. Iron stomach Matt though thought that the day stuck on the boat would be the perfect time to finish getting the watermaker installed since we had just gotten the last necessary parts from hardware stores in the past week or so and now he had a whole day on his hands for projects below deck. Stuffed into the cramped aft cabin he was able to work without issue as the boat tossed to and fro. Although I knew he was working on this it must have drifted out of my consciousness while I was relaxing (napping) up front and after a few hours he came up to wake me. “Try this” he urged and put a mug of water in front of me. I took a few sips and sleepily questioned, “Is this something to make me feel better?”. “Nope”, he replied, “It’s Hudson River water”. Not that it tasted salty or in any way different than the water that came out of our faucet, but it was too late to do a spit take because that’s what I would have done had I found out that Hudson River water crossed my lips. Later finding out about it one of my friends said, “You know there’s condoms constantly floating down there, right?”. I had not known at the time (luckily we didn’t see them clogging up our dinghy ride) but I knew this was not ‘clean’ water. I only felt slightly better after Matt told me he had already drank two full glasses before my two sips.

 The storm progressively got worse as the day moved on and the worst of it came around 7:00 at night, just after it had gotten dark out. The winds were whipping up to 40 knots and there was blinding rain anywhere you looked. I’m pretty sure our mooring may have dragged a little bit because we were a lot closer to shore than either of us had remembered before. And finally when I had moved myself from the bouncy v-berth to the settee in the salon (when will I learn??!!) the storm was gone. The rains and wind vanished and we actually seemed calmer than normal. After an extra 20 minutes sprawled on the settee I was even able to move and make a salad for dinner. When we were sure it wasn’t coming back we moved back to the v-berth to watch a movie. From 8:00 on it was actually a pretty relaxing evening and just what we needed after running around for miles and miles the past few days.

 Getting up this morning we didn’t have any intention of leaving first thing since winds and waves weren’t forecasted to completely settle until the early afternoon, plus we only had a 12 mile journey over to Sandy Hook, NJ to spend the night before braving the ocean. The reason for stopping here is because once we get on the Atlantic we’re going straight for Cape May in one shot which is basically taking the whole state of Jersey, top to bottom, all in one sail. We know it’s going to be an overnight, probably 32 hours or so, and don’t want to get there in the middle of the night. Figuring that we normally go 4 knots for the 110 mile journey that should put us there around 4 pm, and if we happen to increase past that 4 knot speed we still have plenty of daylight to fall back on.

 With still a few hours left in Manhattan we didn’t have big plans or landmarks to see, just tying up a few loose ends before traveling again like stocking up on the last bit of groceries and getting to McDonalds one more time for wifi. Since my stomach had been so upset the day before and we were headed for bays that day where we didn’t know what the waves would be like I used a scopoalmine patch to make sure I didn’t get sick again. These are something I had gotten a ton of back when I had great insurance and had used once or twice without issue. Open the envelope, peel the patch off and stick it behind my ear, all set. I finished getting ready to go out and locked up the boat while Matt lowered the dinghy. Stepping into the sun I noticed my right eye seemed a little blurry but figured I had rubbed my eye and my contact had become misplaced. It happens from time to time but normally moves back into place in just a minute or two. Matt asked if I wanted to go back and check it but I said I was fine. Then while dinghying over he would point out things for me to look at (“That huge sailboat from Battery Park is here!” or “Check out that boat’s headsail, doesn’t like it did well in the storm” which was sad because this boat’s sail had been ripped to shreds by the wind and the poor owner had not come back to discover it yet.) and each time I’d try to look up into the light my eyes would water and I’d be forced to look at the floor of the dinghy again because it was too painful. Tying up at the dingy dock he wanted to get a closer look at Timoneer, the 120 ft sailboat we had seen at Battery Park, and we walked down the dock toward it. Every time he’d try to get me to focus on something it was just blindingly bright and I’d have to keep my eyes down on the dock.

 Going back to the office to pay for our last two nights and getting nausous just standing in the doorway I realized what all my wacky symptoms were coming from, the seasickness patch I had just put on. I had read reviews online that some people had adverse effects and by wearing the patch it actually brought out some of the symptoms you were trying to avoid. Some of the big ones listed were nausea and blurred vision. Right away I took the patch off and figured I’d be back to my old self within 30 minutes. Besides, I hadn’t even been feeling bad when I put it on. During the walk over to our home corner things weren’t getting better at all but I figured it was because we were outside in the sun and once I was inside again I’d feel much better. Getting into McDonalds I took a seat at a chair next to the electrical outlet and got to work. The lights weren’t bothering me as much but everything was still very blurred. Accidentally catching my reflection in a mirror next to me I noticed my pupils were completely enlarged. Probably as bad or worse than when you visit the optometrist and they put those drops in. No wonder my vision was so blurry and it was painful to be out in the sunlight. My eyes had no way to shut any of it out. I wasn’t too nervous because the patch had been off less than an hour and I figured it just needed time I finished my work there and we went next door to Trader Joe’s. That was a little amusing though because Matt would turn to me and ask “Have you seen where the eggs are?” and I’d have to reply, “I can’t see anything”. For any of you who do wear contacts, it was like if you were wandering around town without them on. Everything was fuzzy and only legible if it was six inches from my face.

 Back on the boat there was no time to be wasted before leaving and the engine was already on before I could put away the groceries. I had really been looking to see the whole skyline of New York from the water and was completely disappointed that this was the one day I could barely see anything. Determined not to miss it I dug through all our sunglasses and found a pair that looked at if they were a an infomercial one size fits all. I had no idea how they made it on to our boat but I threw them on. At first they were rose colored glasses (literally) but after a few minutes the colors faded back to their normal hue. We made our way down the rest of the Hudson and into New York Harbor and I was able to see it in perfection. It really does look a lot different from the water than while you’re walking down the streets. Somehow larger and smaller at the same time. The scale of the buildings looked huge from the river since we could see the tops of them now which we hadn’t been able to do from the street, yet at the same time we were passing it all by so quickly and with a little distance between you, it was almost possible to see from one end to the other. Walking through the streets, tunneling under the city in the subway, and now passing it by on the water it feels like we’ve had the full New York experience. Even if we travel all the way around the world I don’t think we’ll ever find a city quite like this one. Not only has it been the highlight of our trip but visiting here for these few days has been one of the best experiences of my life.

 Getting past the last part of the financial district we saw where the East River meets the Hudson (and a glance at the Brooklyn Bridge) with Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty coming up on our right. We hadn’t been interested at stopping at either location for a closer look but it was still fun and interesting to see them from where we were. Getting further into the bay the commercial traffic was crazy and the AIS on our chartplotter had lights flashing in every direction. What we noticed though while coming up on most barges heading the opposite direction as us is that they were all anchored. At 4:00 in the afternoon. We assumed it must have something to do with fighting current and were just happy that they were easier to navigate while not moving. Just after getting under the xx bridge it was time to start making the turn toward Sandy Hook. Because of lots of shoals in the area I made sure to follow the well marked channel into the anchorage. The area was large and many other boats were already hooked for the night. Dropping our anchor with still a little over an hour of daylight we took advantage of that and our calm little bay to fire up the grill again with pork tenderloin and roasted red potatoes. It’s funny how in one afternoon you can go from city life back to cruising life and not bat an eye. Besides yesterday we hadn’t eaten on the boat once while in the city and now we were back to fending for ourselves and the transition was completely normal.

 We’re looking at an 8 am departure tomorrow and will finally be able to call ourselves ocean sailors. Wish us luck!!

Rocking my blind man glasses.

Leaving the 79th St Boat Basin behind.

 

 

9.17.12

The Frying Pan

Monday September 17, 2012

With the extra time on our hands we were determined to get our 3 buck Chucks from Trader Joe’s before we left the city. Being smart enough to know our legs couldn’t handle the walk all the way down to 14th St and then back with bags full of wine we stopped by the subway station to purchase Metro passed and hopped on hoping we were going the right direction. We must have been on an express route, and after stopping at 42nd St the next stop along the way was 14th St and we got off. We still had no idea where on 14th the Trader Joe’s was, and this also happened to be the one day we left the phone on the boat. Walking a few blocks we figured it would be smarter to ask someone on the street. Stopping a guy while passing through a cross walk he told us to go a few blocks up to 18th and we’d find it there. Even though that logic didn’t make sense at all we trusted him and kept following that road up, and by the time we got to 20th we still had not seen a Trader Joe’s. Walking into a bar on that corner I asked the bartender and he goes, “Oh yeah, there’s one on 14th and Irving, that’s the only one around here”. We still don’t know if the first guy was clueless or just thought it was fun to point tourist in the completely wrong direction. Once we did find the store we saw there was one specifically for food and one for wine. Going to get what we came for we walked in the wine store and saw top to bottom shelves of wine encasing the entire place.

 Noticing there was a wide selection and not all just store brand items this time there we searched out the 3 buck Chuck and found it near the back of the store. There was a decent selection reds and whites plus one blush. Even though we had gone a far distance to get here I knew Matt wasn’t much of a wine drinker and thought we’d walk out with maybe 6 bottles, 8 at max. Loving wine myself (I’ll never turn down a glass if offered) I was estatic when he said, “I was thinking we’d mix and match for a total of 16 bottles”. Woohoo, I was going on a wine shopping spree!! From the whites we picked a few Pinto Grigios and a few Sauvignon Blancs. Always a fan of White Zinfandel I threw a few of those in the cart as well, and for the reds we mixed between Merlot and Shiraz. When checking out, the sixteen bottles with tax came to about $52. Macy’s move over, I think I’ve found my new favorite store.

 Taking the subway back was a little more complicated since we took the red line down and were now getting on at green. Trying to read the maps while speeding down the tracks (and still not trying to stand out as a tourist) I figured Times Square had to have a connecting line since the red stopped there before and we got off at that stop once we got to it. My little bit of street smarts paid off and we did find the red line taking us back to 72nd St. Not even sure where to store the wine once back on the boat we left it in it’s bags and got ready for drinks with our reader, Bill, who had emailed a few days ago. Since him and his wife Grace live in Manhattan I was going to let the experts pick the place and they landed on The Frying Pan, a Lightship with an an old railroad barge attached that acts as a seasonal Bar/Grill, located on the Hudson River at 23rd St (or Pier 66). We were meeting at 7:00 since they both had to work that day and because the two of us were determined to find one of those really cheap pizza deals along the way we left at 5:30 just to make sure we’d get to the Frying Pan on time.

 Getting all the way to Lincoln Center and finding nothing we hopped over to Columbus Ave and followed that south. Once we got to 53rd St we saw the sign we were looking for (or something close) ‘Grand Opening: 2 Slices & Soda or Water $2.75’. Jackpot! It was everything I hopped it would be, but too bad I didn’t realize until I had finished eating that I didn’t eat it the ‘New York’ way by folding the large slice in half before eating. With 45 minutes on the clock and 30 minutes to go we thought we could rush through on foot instead of taking the subway to get to drinks. Plus the subway gave us a greater chance of getting lost and really being late. Hoofing it as quick as we could we made it to the restaurant only 5 or so minutes late. Waiting for us in the back in an area sheltered from the wind was Bill, and he stood up to greet us as we came in. Just a few minutes later his wife Grace sat down with us after refilling their drinks from the bar and we all sat around getting to know each other. They were our age, have a Sabre two feet larger than ours, and are planning to go cruising as well in the next few years. The guys talked about boat things as they always do while Grace and I focused more on the cruising lifestyle and how each of us had gotten into sailing as well as our thoughts on cruising. They are a great couple that we have so much in common with and I’m so happy we had the chance to meet. Before we could even really get to know each other though it was 10:00 and the bar was shutting down. In New York City? The good news is these two are planning to be at the Annapolis Boat Show in a few weeks, which we’ll definitely be at, and Grace and I are already talking about discussing cruising more over a few Painkillers. Sounds like a plan to me.

 After walking up a few blocks from the river they tucked into a cab to go home while Matt and I tucked into McDonald’s for a late night snack. Nothing like a McChicken and a large coffee at 10:30 at night to satisfy you. Yes, coffee, finally!! And they’re only $1 in NY. Did I mention I love this city? Treating ourselves to a subway ride back we found the tunnels of the city are much more desolate at this time of night but we still didn’t see any crazies out and about. We got to our home corner and walked the familiar path back to the basin where the restaurant there was closed as well. So much for the city that never sleeps. Still love it though.

A bottle of wine that’s $2 cheaper than the chocolate?  Gotta love that!

xx

9.16.12 (2)

A Walk In The Park

Sunday September 16, 2012

Checking the weather today we learned that there are some bad storms coming in on Tuesday that will make traveling very hard, so we’ve extended our time in/near Manhattan. We’re still debating on if we should stay on the mooring for a rather cheap nightly fare or if we should travel the few miles to Sandy Hook, NJ just before we get into the Atlantic and hole up there for a few days. The city is sounding so much more interesting right now. The morning didn’t have a lot going for us today, knowing we might have a few more days in the city we weren’t as ambitious and gave ourselves most of the day to relax. One of the things that we did want to take care of though on this lazy day was a little bit of provisioning. Our friends on Water Music told us they visited Trader Joe’s on 14th St and were able to stock up on wine for $3 a bottle, or 3 buck Chuck as they called it. We had seen a Trader Joe’s at our home corner and made a mission to make it there. Before heading in to get groceries though I forced Matt in for a stop at McDonalds so I could do a few updates to the website (this wifi through our phone only is staring to drive me crazy) and while checking our Facebook account I saw I had a message from a guy Bill that lives in New York, also owns a Sabre, and wanted to get together while we were in town. I shot him a message back that we should be in town for a few more days and would love to meet up. I just felt bad that he had sent the message three days prior and this was the first time I had access to it. Did I mention I hate our internet situation right now?

 Walking next door into Trader Joe’s we didn’t know what to expect as we had never been in one before, they didn’t have them in West Michigan. Picking up a basket we browsed the aisles for the few necessary things and quickly found out that 80% of what’s inside Trader Joe’s is store brand. Prices seemed good though and we quickly filled the basket. Then looking through the beer section we kept an eye out for the wine but didn’t see anything. Figuring they kept the wine on a different floor we went back up the escalator to search for it there. No wine. So then we went back down. After walking the whole store three times we still couldn’t find it and eventually asked the store clerk who told us they didn’t carry it at that location, we’d have to go to the 14th St location. Good thing we were getting extra time on our hands with the unexpected delay in departure. Getting into the checkout line which reached all the way back to produce we were quickly ushered into one of 20 cashier stands and then back on the streets. The wine would have to wait another day.

 Depositing the groceries back on the boat we were back on the streets for another evening of walking. Deciding not to go to our home corner we turned north to see what kinds of things we would find as we remembered seeing lots of interesting restaurants on our lost stroll back the first night when we had overshot 79th St. Walking up Amsterdam there were indeed a lot of restaurants, but none of the same ones we remembered seeing before. Not discouraged since it wasn’t dinner time we kept wandering until the streets started looking a little worn down and cut over to WCP which we followed up to 96th Ave and realized there wasn’t much to see anymore, so we went in to the park. My goal was to check out the Upper East Side and see what the fuss was all about, so we took the most direct path we could find through the park. Having seen a little bit of 5th Ave running parallel to the park our first night out we passed through a few more streets headed east until we came to Park Ave. According to my NY geography, this is where all the big money was supposedly sitting. I think we had popped out of the park too far north and the buildings were still a little run down, but the further south we headed the nicer they became.

 Had I thought about this a little better before I left the boat I may have changed my attire a little bit, as this is the day I decided to go casual and was in cut off jeans and flip flops. Not quite Park Avenue material. The sweater may have saved me a little since every time we’d pass someone on the street they’d smile and nod, almost as if we belonged. Or Matt’s long hair and beard made him look like a celebrity incognito and they thought they were just passing by some rockstar and his hipster girlfriend. Getting back down to 72nd it was getting later and once again I was really ready for food, which we knew we wouldn’t find in our price range in this area. Passing by a few designer stores (the first Ralph Lauren Purple Label I’d ever seen a brick and mortar building for) we went back in the park so we could come out near Amsterdam again and get some food. Just a few minutes after entering the park I thought I spotted the boat house off to my right. Dragging Matt off to the side path we meandered to the area and walked passed a few times, in envy of everyone with food and drinks in their hands.

Having now taken ourselves completely off the main road we had been using to walk though the park we continued on the small path we were on until it opened up once again into Bethesda Fountain, a very popular area of central park often portrayed in movies and tv shows. The sun had just set and it was casting hues of orange and pink all over the area with hints of blue still in the sky. Even though the area was somewhat crowded it seemed still and serene at the same time. Taking a seat on one of the benches to the side we watched friends gather and gondolas pass through on the lake next to us. We sat there until it grew almost completely dark and then walked up the staircase back to a main road. I had known the whole time that we needed to continue right, but Matt began walking straight (thinking it was the correct way out) and I followed him since that craving for food didn’t seem as necessary anymore. While we walked we came up on the sound of music with a large crowd of people gathering around it. What we found was a bongo-type drum circle with a few others playing homemade type instruments. Inside the circle were all different kinds of people dancing to the music. One was a girl in an authentic Spanish or Latin American type dress, one was a guy in a ripped up tank top with pads on his knees, and best of all, an older man wearing a coconut bra and a tutu. His beard was dyed in neon shades of yellow and orange, and his little white dog was dressed to matched. This circle took all kinds. At different times people would exit and enter the circle and it was kind of a free for all for whoever wanted to join.

 Continuing down the park a little further there was another musical session going for whoever wanted to join. This one had music playing out of a boombox and different areas for different things. In the center was a spot for couples or singles to dance, off to one side was an area for anyone on rollerblades, and the other side was reserved for hulla hoopers who were using ones that lit up in the dark and flashed every color of the rainbow. Someone had really put some thought into this area and had skates, rollerblades and hula hoops for rent, plus copies of the CD playing for sale. When we first passed by the park at night on Friday it looked like a place you did not enter after the sun went down, but after tonight it seemed like the place to be after dark. After getting to the edge of the park and exiting on Central Park Ave instead of Central Park West like was the original intent (good thing Matt has me around to navigate) we found our way back to our home corner and then cut off on another street to find a restaurant. Wandering down a good 10-15 blocks we didn’t see anything appealing and went back to a semi-fine Italian restaurant we had already passed. Getting sat outside right next to the sidewalk we browsed the menu but nothing sounded even remotely appetizing, and on top of that, this was one of the restaurants where all the entrees started at over $20. Neither of us felt like shelling out a ton of money for something we weren’t even going to enjoy so while no one was looking (and before a waiter had even come) we slid out the crack onto the sidewalk and walked away. Is it still considered dining and ditching if you’ve only taken a few sips of the water the busser brought you?

 Realizing this street had nothing for us we took the next cross street we came to and decided to go back to Amsterdam where we knew there would be at least something halfway decent that we’d also be able to afford. Before we could even turn the corner onto Amsterdam there was a restaurant housed there called the Amsterdam Ale House. Sounded promising. Checking out the menu they actually had sandwiches under $15, and with a name like the Ale House you knew they had to have some good brews. For the second night in a row, just by dumb luck we had found a restaurant with some of the best food we had ever tasted. Matt had the pulled pork sandwich and I went with the portabello and goat cheese. Absolutely delicious and it came with one of my favorite sides ever, sweet potato fries. Definitely worth the wait and the extra few miles. Stuffed and tired we were dinghying back to the boat when we passed by our friends on Between the Sheets who had just got in that morning and were moored a few balls down from us. Since there looked to be life aboard we stopped by to say hi and also had the chance to meet John’s wife and daughter. Turns out they really do exist. Sitting and chatting for a few minutes I found out that a ‘small’ glass of wine to John meant completely topped off and in talking to his wife Cathy found out they were high school sweethearts just like Matt and I. Awwww. Since she had a long day of traveling we didn’t stay too long but it was nice to put a personality to the face. And with two more days in the city I’m sure I’ll be able to catch up with her again and get some more dirt I can use against John.

xx