“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There
are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
We spent a week at Kent Island to get our electrical panel
updated. One of the highlights of the trip has been seeing friends and meeting
new people. At Kent Island we were thrilled to get together with Stu and Nancy
Tripler who are originally from my hometown of Harveys Lake. Stu is the new
Camp Director of Camp Wright on Kent Island.
From Kent Island we headed up to the Bohemia River. The
weather was calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon. We calculated the time
of the storm’s arrival with our estimated time of arrival at the marina and we
felt we could make it. Little did we know how close we would call that!
Filling up with diesel for this trip was proving to be
difficult. The marina at Kent Island had a broken pump, as did another marina
along the way. We found diesel at a marina in Great Oak Landing. By the time we
arrived there the wind was picking up pretty strongly. We had a lot of trouble
getting into the fuel dock. But we learn fast and what we learned there will
come in handy when we arrive in Bohemia.
The dockhand checked the weather for us and the storm was now coming
later, good news. We should definitely make our stop in time.
Traveling up the Chesapeake was going well. A look behind us and we could see the storms were probably in Baltimore. I was a little worried that they might catch us but we were traveling into blue skies. Just before the entrance to the Bohemia River the Coast Guard sent an alert to take shelter quickly because the storm was moving quickly. I could only hope that the warning was given early enough to allow time to get to that shelter. The wind was picking up even more and we were worried about being able to dock the boat.
Arriving at the marina just before the storm, four dockhands
met us to get our lines. They knew it would be difficult. But, as I said we are
quick learners. Because of our experience with wind at the fuel dock I was
ready! I tossed the bowline to the first dockhand, quickly moved to the spring
line and tossed that, finally to the stern and barely got that line to the
dockhand. But, they now had us. We could tie up and set our lines for the storm
on its way. This was a big storm. Many at the marina were out with camera’s
taking photos of the approaching storm. We were just glad we were in on time.
Point scored!
The storm was just the beginning of a pattern of unsettled
weather that kept us at Bohemia for several days. We spent our first
anniversary there. I was able to ride the bike into Chesapeake city and
explore. We contacted Foster and Susan fellow loopers whom we met last summer
and gave us invaluable advice before we bought our boat. They were able to meet
us and we had a lovely dinner at Schaefer’s Canal House.
Finally a favorable weather window arrived and we were off
to Delaware City.
Delaware City Dock is an interesting place. They have a long
line of docks along the river and many transient boaters make this their stop
before heading down the Delaware to Cape May, NJ. They have docking down to a
science. They are able to turn
your boat around on the dock so you are facing in the right direction for
leaving the next day. Each evening they give a weather report on the
suitability to travel down the Delaware.
On their recommendation to leave at 9 am we took off. The recommendation was perfect. We
picked up a favorable tide into Cape May and had great seas.
At Cape May we stayed at Utsch’s Marina. We got our bikes
out and explored Cape May’s beaches. Cape May also has a nice downtown area
that is closed off to traffic. We stumbled on to their sidewalk sale day.
With trepidation we left Cape May to make our first Ocean
hop. Seas were 2 feet with 8 sec period.
For those who don’t know that means the seas were relatively calm and we
had a really nice time travelling to Atlantic City. It was fascinating to see
the shore from the ocean. We were
blessed to see a whale and 2 groups of 3 dolphins jumping in the water. It was
such a highlight to see that.
The next thing that worried us was getting into the inlet
but that too turned out to be no problem.
Atlantic City was a familiar place and it was good to go
someplace I knew. We enjoyed riding our bikes on the boardwalk. We had to leave
our boat there for 2 days while we went back to Pennsylvania for my son’s
graduation and my daughter’s bridal shower. It was so good to see family!
Weather strikes again and it doesn’t look like the Ocean is
a safe way to travel to Manasquan. We decide to take the Intracoastal Waterway
up. It is a chilly day and the Intracoastal is very calm. We take the advice to
leave Atlantic City 2 hours after low tide so we travel on the rising tide and
have no problems with water depth.
Thump! What was that? Thump again! We don’t know what that
sound meant, but the boat is going ok- until it doesn’t. Suddenly the boat
seems to be hesitating. We aren’t sure what is going on and check the charts to
see where we might be able to stop and get it looked at. Fortunately, after
taking a sharp turn the boat seems to be working again. We figure something
must have been stuck between the propellers and the rudders. Being ignorant we
continue on to Barnegat Light House NJ.
After doing research, we found out if a fishing line got
wrapped around the prop bad things could happen. We found a balloon with string
wrapped on the swim platform support and that worried us about what else might
be under the boat. We called a diver to come out and check the boat out. Good news! Yes we hit a piece of
wood. There is a small scratch but there is no damage and everything looks
great under the boat. Point scored!
Never having been to Barnegat Lighthouse before we took the
opportunity to tour it. We witnessed a
All the material we read warned about going through the
Barnegat Inlet. We watched many boats going in and out of it while we visited
the lighthouse. We struck up a conversation with a boater at the dock about the
inlet. He said it was no problem, just follow the buoys and go with the tide.
So we did. It was easy.
Seas out in the ocean were a bit bigger than our first hop.
It was a bit rough until we got away from the shoreline. The seas also got smoother as we got
closer to Manasquan.
At Manasquan we stayed at Clarks Landing Marina right near
the center of town and near the beaches. The weather had decidedly become very
summerlike. It was predicted to be in the 80’s the next day. That means – Beach Day! It was a
wonderful day at the beach. Relaxing. Sit was sunny and not too crowded.
Perfect!
Off we go to NY Harbor. What an exciting day to be traveling
up the ocean to the harbor. We were like little kids as we saw the NYC skyline
in front of us. Ships all around. In front of us was the Statue of Liberty and
after that Ellis Island. The new World Trade Center towered above the city.
Liberty Landing Marina was right in the center of it all. From our dock we
could see the back of the Statue of Liberty. The World Trade Center was just across
the river from us. The NY skyline lit up at night was a sight to behold.
My friends Dan and Linda, from high school, are back in the states from
their missionary work in Japan and it was a pleasure to have them visit us at
the marina. It was great to catch up and hear about their work and plans.
We have just completed what we consider a tough section of
the loop. We did it well. We successfully watched the weather and made wise
decisions. Took the advice of those who had gone before us and as a result had
a mostly uneventful safe travel. Point Scored!
Next up - The Hudson River
