May, June, July 2018
Clark and I decided that we would like to take some trips north including visiting the Thousand Islands and Maine, for example. With all the repair and improvement items on our boat "to do" list, we have to weigh our desire to cruise against the need to work on the boat. More importantly, we enjoy time with our children and grandchildren. As we reconcile our priorities, we also have to take into account the upkeep of our "dirt" home.
As a result, we have been busy since the time we arrived home in Rumson juggling fun activities and not-so-fun repair work. Clark jumped right in to start tackling his boat list while I focused on the house. I somewhat succeeded in bringing the garden back under control and then completely abandoned it to redo one of our bedrooms including spackling, applying stain sealer, painting the ceiling, walls and trim, and replacing the carpet. I did all but the carpet myself including emptying the room of furniture and then filling it up again when the job was completed. Phew! It took me two weeks to complete but it was well worth the effort!
Early June became family time when my son brought his family for a visit from Idaho. While they were here, we got to see my nephews and their children as well as my younger son and his family. Over the course of ten days, I got to play with / cuddle an 8-year old, a 4-year old, twin 3-year olds, a 2.3-year old, an 18-month old, a 6-month old, and a 1-month old! The oldest and youngest are boys; the rest are girls. I got a good bit of exercise carrying around all but the 8-year old as I played various games of chase with the older children and had cuddle time with the two youngest ones.
Part of our fun family time this spring / summer included helping my younger son build a swing set for his children. On each of three separate trips to Connecticut, we helped build sections. The children played on the sections as they became available -- the very last piece being a built-in, child-sized picnic table.
Since we arrived home in May, and when not building play sets or enjoying little ones, Clark has hit his boat list hard. He certainly did the "Lion's Share" of the work, but I helped with a lot of it. I am sure I have not captured everything here, but the list includes
- Installing an AIS and associated antenna
- Varnishing exterior trim on the boat
- Replacing the saltwater wash-down pump (it cost the same as replacing a defective switch)
- Rewiring the light switches and dimmers in the salon and pilot house
- Rewiring the lighting in the engine room to allow a better, LED solution
- Changeing out our anchor for a reconditioned, heavier duty one (had it stripped and galvanized)
- Running tests to diagnose issues we have with our DirectTV unit (does not appear to be the wiring; need to send electronics out for further testing)
- Replacing window screens with fine-mesh material designed to keep out gnats
- Taking care of minor repairs with the full enclosure
- Replacing an annoying, stuck lift handle on the lazerette,
- Investigating a hard-to-turn steering wheel and
- Figuring out how to lower our mast and rigging a pulley system to facilitate the process
Last summer, in Rumson, we spent the entire time working on the boat. This summer we decided we want to use it for a trip to the Thousand Islands. With that in mind we focused on getting our "chores" done to allow for a mid-July departure.
Of course when we arrived home in May, we took a number of items off the boat as well as all food and most clothing. With a multi-week trip planned, I had to pack it all up again to bring back to the boat. I started making lists and staging items to be taken about two weeks prior to departure. A few days before, we took the boat to fill up with fuel and empty the holding tank. Two days before, I partially provisioned the boat with non-perishable food, clothes, and a long list of miscellaneous items we are sure to need along the way.
The night before we left, I packed up all the cold / frozen food to move it to the boat refrigerator. Clark did the majority of the bag carrying while I did the stocking. Once that was completed, as far as I was concerned, we were ready to depart. Clark filled the water tank as his last provisioning task.
I had suggested that we sleep on the boat the night before departure, so we could close up the house and leave first thing in the morning. The weather, however, had us rethink that plan. We waffled momentarily between the air-conditioned house and the hot, humid boat. Sleeping in the house rapidly won. Unfortunately, that meant I had to take some things back to the house that had already moved to the boat. Sigh!
We finished provisioning the boat around 11:00 and finally fell into bed around midnight. As we lay there talking, first me and then Clark remembered items that had not made it to the boat. After our last-minute "fire drills", we finally managed to get some sleep.
Tuesday July 17, 2018
Depart: Rumson, NJ 8:00
Arrive: Croton-on-Hudson Half Moon Bay Marina 2:15
Distance: 56 nm
Given the late night last night, I set the alarm for 7:00 a.m. but managed to wake up before it sounded. To get a quicker start on travel, we decided to leave all the food on the boat and eat breakfast after we left the dock. Between unpacking, eating breakfast, and serving Clark his food, I never even saw any of the Shrewsbury River. Before I knew it, we were running alongside Seastreak on our way across the bay to New York City!
It does not matter how many times I boat in New York harbor, I still find it fun and even exciting.
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| Approaching hazy NYC on a hot, humid day |
We saw the usual traffic in New York harbor but found a couple of novelties as well.
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| Floating green "box"?? |
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| Hidden Tug! |
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| Strange round thing in the water! |
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| Mooring "Ball" of sorts |
Many barges sat at anchor and others wove their way through the harbor. We found lots of boats passing Lady Liberty!
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| Barges and Statue of Liberty |
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| Tourist boat at Statue of Liberty |
Given that we had temperatures in the 80s with high humidity and thunderstorms predicted, we were surprised to see a tent village along the Hudson River.
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| Tents! |
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| Ellis Island |
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| Manhattan |
One of my favorite items on the Hudson River ...
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| Tucked over in the corner .. the Colgate Clock Jersey City, NJ |
We saw multiple Staten Island Ferries and a couple of Circle Line Cruise boats.
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| Circle Line Cruise Boat with Cranes on top of Several Skyscrapers Under Construction |
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| "Pointy-Architecture" Building |
We approached the George Washington Bridge around noon. I wanted lunch, but I wanted to see my other favorite thing on the Hudson River.
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| Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse at the George Washington Bridge |
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"Little Red Lighthouse" |
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| George Washington Bridge |
Next came the Palisades ...
With our trips to and from Connecticut, we have traveled on the Tappan Zee Bridge numerous times, but today was our first time going under the bridge while under construction.
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| Approaching Tappan Zee Bridge under construction |
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| Piece of the old Tappan Zee Bridge on a Barge! |
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| Old Bridge Section - Bridge to Nowhere! |
With severe thunderstorms predicted for some time in the afternoon, we knew we were racing against time to make distance on the river. One of the reasons we left the house when we did was to take advantage of current being with us on the Hudson River. As we passed by New York, we saw speeds over 10 knots at 1630 RPM. We would normally be traveling around 8.5 or so. The current gave us a nice push to help us on our way.
Clark kept an eye on the phone app "Rainy Days" and predicted from the radar that the storms would arrive around 2:00 p.m. Having melted all day in the heat and humidity and concerned about the severity of the storms, Clark decided to seek out a marina for the night. He opted for Half Moon Bay in Croton-on-Hudson. We reached there just at 2:00.
As we approached the marina, although we had a bright sky at the boat, I could see the darkest daytime sky I can remember just north of us. I knew that severe weather lurked up ahead. Fortunately, about that time, we arrived at our destination. Clark did not know if we would have a port or starboard tie. Usually, in that case, I set up the lines and fenders at the last minute.
With such bad weather literally on the horizon, I "decorated" both sides with lines and fenders to cover my bases. I did not want to be tying lines in a deluge! As we approached the designated dock, the winds picked up and the docks started bouncing around. I figured docking might be a tad interesting today!
At the last minute the dockmaster changed his mind about where we should dock. He decided we would do better with a side tie rather than a slip. He literally ran along the docks to meet us at the other spot. By the time we met there, the docks were going crazy in the wind. We took it one line at a time. Fighting the wind and using thrusters, we managed to get the boat secured.
As we worked the lines, Steve, the dock master, said to me, "Sorry docking is so nerve wracking!" I replied, "No, it's fine!" He smiled and said, "I like you guys!"
It started raining as we tied our lines. Just as we finished, the rain came down in buckets. Clark and I were able to duck under cover of the boat quickly. The poor dock master ran for shelter and got drenched.
After the excitement of tying the boat to a moving dock in 40 knot winds, with pouring rain, thunder sounding in the background, and lightning bolts on the horizon, we took a step back to take it all in.
(Video below)
As predicted and expected, the cold front that produced the thunderstorm brought lower humidity and cooler temperatures. Ahhhh!
We managed to get dinner and showers during a break in the weather. As I updated my blog, I heard the rain pounding once more this evening. We are looking for better weather and some sunshine for our photos tomorrow.
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| Tonight's "Sunset" Picture |
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| Croton-on-Hudson, Half Moon Bay Marina |
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