Manhasset Bay

Now Nana and Nandad are members of Safe Harbor Marinas so NH stays at Safe Harbor Capri Marina in Port Washington. Manhasset Bay is really quite large with lots of sailboats, moorings, marinas and three yacht clubs. It was once called Cow Bay due to the rich pastures where the 17th century settlers’ bovine grazed! Here the extremely wealthy lived in Irish castles and Norman mansions so the homes are truly spectacular looking out over the hills on the bay. It is in this spot that F Scott Fitzgerald is said to have written his famous novel The Great Gatsby’s. The fictional town of West Egg in the novel is actually Great Neck ( where Fitzgerald Lived ) and East Egg was Sands Point at the tip of the Port Washington peninsula.

Just a few of the sailboats in this lovely harbor. The Port Washington Water Taxi will pick you up from your boat, marina or anchor and take you to town. There is also a service to City Island. On recommendation from our lovely launch driver Nana and Nandad went to Finn MacCools for a great dinner. 

NYC 5/22

This picture will give you the perfect layout of our trip yesterday.

And this one will give you a good idea of our cruising today. We did leave early to catch the tide at Manasquan Inlet which meant we were up at  Sandy Hook by 12 pm so we did have to fight a little tide coming into New York Harbor. Sandy Hook Point was jammed with small fishing vessels and a little chaotic!The seas today were much calmer that yesterday so NH did not use as much fuel and it was a very pleasant ride. 
The Verrazano - Narrows Bridge was the first bridge to go under with lots of big traffic and water taxi’s , sail and power boats around. New York Harbor is the third biggest in the nation and snakes around Staten Island and flows into New Jersey’s Newark Bay stretching some 20 miles. Once we reached The Statue of Liberty and passed Governors Island (170 acres and open to the public for biking, picnicking, with free concerts and events) NH entered the East River so technically finishes this section of the Great Loop. NH has cruised FL,GA,SC,NC,VA,MD,DC,NJ,NY, for a total of 2109 NM. Well done Nana and Nandad.

The Loopers continue on up the Hudson for 134 nautical miles from the Battery in NYC to the Troy Lock and entrance into the Erie Canal - our plan is to continue that part of the journey May 2022.

Our visibility was not great so the quality of the picture is poor and we were also a little too far! 

There is always something magical about being on the water on your boat passing Lady Liberty. Again worth the picture even if it is a little on the blurry side! This is another experience that simply has to be experienced in person and where words and descriptions will not do justice. According to the Embassy Cruising guide the East River is a 14-mile-long tidal strait that begins in New York Harbor and ends at Long Island Sound. Eight bridges cross it and 13 tunnels burrow beneath it! 

NH cruises past Wall Street, South Street Seaport and beneath several bridges - Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg passing Brooklyn to port and Queens to starboard. The Queensboro Bridge, Roosevelt Island Bridge, and Triborough Bridge preceded Hell Gate Bridge - at Wards Island. This area has a reputation for strong, reversing currents and large standing waves! Cruising past Brother Island, and Rikers Island takes NH under the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. Throngs Neck Bridge is next connecting the Bronx with Queens and leading into Long Island Sound. Now if this doesn’t make you dizzy Nana is not sure what would! Nandad did an amazing job at the helm while Nana was busy with her camera on the bow of the boat. An amazing accomplishment to all.
NH’s destination is Port Washington which is tucked into Manhasset Bay. By 3.40 NH is again secured at her dock at Safe Harbor Capri Marina in Port Washington. What a day.

Manasquan Capt Bills’ Landing

An early start today (6.30am) so that we hit a rising tide as we leave Utsch’s Marina and head out into the North Atlantic. Now in order to have a pleasant passage once again Nandad had to run NH at top speed. Nana took the helm for a few hour which really helps with keeping her equilibrium stable. She had to work real hard today for a few hours to remain intact ( this means absolutely no food and certainly not going down below to potty). The seas were about three feet with winds 10 to 15 so not really an unpleasant ocean by any means. NH made great headway so it was decided to continue to Manasquan Inlet. By 12 .30 NH was once again on the fuel dock - this time 160 gals ( our next boat will be electric ) and by 1.30 pm she was secured into her slip right beside the Shipwreck Grill. We were greeted by the most helpful staff so far and had a great chat with Captain Bill himself. Looking forward to having dinner tonite at the Grille.

Now the New Jersey coast all the way is really most picturesque with intermittent high rise buildings but mostly private homes once you pass Atlantic City. Nana was looking forward to taking lots of pictures as NH cruised about one mile off the coast however due to her challenge of trying to stay focused Nandad had to take the pictures. This picture is of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino from a distance. I believe it’s empty after years of underperformance and demolition is currently underway - but I stand to be corrected. 

Nana was so happy to have a wonderful walk to the perfect beach. NH is up the Manasquan River in a little town called Brielle. The Manasquan River marks the start of New Jersey’s Intercoastal Waterway. ( NH cruised outside due to the shoaling that takes place on the NJICW ). It was fun to watch the boats come into the Inlet later in the afternoon as the wind picked up the swells increased. There is no boardwalk along Manasquan Beach however a paved walkway separating the homes from the beach seems to go on forever where you can be up close and personal with some lovely homes. Lots of little creeks, rivers, and marshes in this area which is also full of fishing vessels. A very pretty spot that I bet is very busy in the summer months.  

Tomorrow Saturday we will head for NYc and ultimately  Port Washington. 

Just before we left to have dinner the River Queen pulled out with a private party. She look really pretty. Dinner at the Shipwreck was amazing - a little pricey but well worth it. Early the next morning Nandad watched as the fishing vessel Jamaica 11 took a very full load of tourists out on a fishing expedition.

Dockage at Utsch’s Marina Cape May NJ

Today NH cruised two canals , the C&D canal ( 12 miles ) and the Cape May canal (2.9 miles). Our efforts calculating the tides were very important today and well worth the time it took to calculate. Nice job for persisting Nandad. NH cruised along the C&D canal and came into the entrance of Delaware Bay as planned by 12.30pm. We had company along the way with a few fellow loopers. Just as we were entering Delaware Bay the Guardian Leader was entering the canal. She was the only big ship we encountered. That is her bow coming towards us and the cruiser at out bow is the DC Cruises boat.

We had a very choppy ride once we entered the Delaware Bay so NH cruised at about 16 knots as the skipper watched the fuel gauge drop very quickly! The price we pay for comfort. NH was docked by 4pm after taking on 130 gals of diesel, which was perfect timing to washdown, relax after a long ride and put dinner in the oven.

 Now five years ago Nana and Nandad were here with Ireland’s Eye. It is nice to see the marina continues to hand out their welcoming bag which includes a bottle of wine, biscotti, soap and lots of information. 

Just after dinner (8.30pm) Nandad noticed the depth gauge reading was 0.9 feet , which means we were very close to touching bottom!!! Now low tide is not until 9.15pm so once again the tide will dictate what time we leave in the morning.

An early start tomorrow morning to catch the tide once more and maybe make it to Barneget NJ. Nana is not a fan of getting out of bed before 7am but I guess will have to make an exception. 

NH anchors at Chesapeake City

 The chart shows NH cruising through the Kent Narrows up the Chester River  passing the Worton and Fairlee Creeks, Still Pond, Sassafras River, Bohemian River, Elk River into the C&D Canal. The tides and currents are really important in this area. The C&D Canal is the busiest in the nation and the third busiest in the world according to the Waterways Guide. NH anchors in the basin right adjacent to the Chesapeake Inn and has a wonderful afternoon and evening watching the local traffic come and go between small cruising boats, Jet skis, motor bikes, and local traffic enjoying all that the area provides.

Apologies for the quality of pictures however that’s what happens when you take a picture of a picture on you cellphone! At least it gives you an idea. 

Thursday May 20th we will leave for Cape May. After studying the tides we believe the best time to leave will be around 10.30 which should give us some nice tide for the 12 mile trip through the canal and then hopefully the tide will also be in our favor from Delaware to Cape May another 62 miles. We will see! 

Cannons at St Michael’s

Now Nana always likes to give accurate information so this morning on her short walk she noticed that there was a difference between St Mary’s Park and St Marys Square - who would have thought.

 Now St Mary’s Square is where the original cannon is placed. 

It all gets very confusing after a while! Not sure which stories are accurate but I guess they all have their tales to tell and we are so lucky to be present to share. A very unique place and well worth a visit by land or by sea.

Blue Heron’s

Cruising is always an adventure and while on the water taxi we came across this amazing picture on Long Haul Creek. This is a blue heron drying his insides out in full sunshine!

While cruising the Kent Narrows we also came across another blue heron perched on the piling! What a magnificent bird. This picture was taken while cruising under The Blue Star Memorial Highway Bridge where the current was very strong! NH’s home port was Piney Narrows Yacht Haven so it was a little nostalgic to be passing her home port.