Category: Destinations

Atlantic highlands

by markperil@gmail.com on October 25, 2014 in Destinations, New Jersey • 0 Comments

Sandy Hook bay is beautiful. We were so happy to wake to blue skies for the first time in a week, and although we were bittersweet about our decision not to transit the NJ coastline today (building weather in the forecast meant we might have ended up in a small craft warning) we quickly adjusted to a day “off” filled with a beer-and-tacos lunch on the dock and a very fruitful provisioning stop in Atlantic Highlands. We are now proud owners of our very own granny grocery cart!

Back to the watch and wait for weather routine – now with a stocked galley.

If you look hard you may be able to see our dark blue sail cover on Tara, floating on a mooring ball behind me

NYC: Take two

by markperil@gmail.com on October 20, 2014 in Boat Projects, Boat Work, Destinations, New York State, OpTrop • 0 Comments

A few posts ago I alluded to an issue with our roller furling headstay in the mast re-step day post, but didn’t go into much detail because I’d jury rigged a solution that I thought would work. My solution was pretty crude and frankly it wasn’t sitting well with us, so we decided to get an expert opinion…

The expert opinion we got wasn’t positive…basically the top section of the roller furling extrusion (where the forestay from the front of the boat meets the top of the mast) had sheared off. This we knew. What we didn’t know, was that the forestay itself had been damaged in the process, which could put the entire rigging system (AKA what holds the mast up) at risk. Basically we were looking at a new forestay and replacing the top extrusion of the furler. Further complicating the process, this would require disassembling the entire system and then reassembling it with our new part, something that came in quoted at up to 20 hours of labour.

-yes I know these all sound like technical terms for the uninitiated…if I lost ya, just scroll through the photos –

We got a quote to do the work in the neighborhood of $3200 (WHICH SEEMED CRAZY!), so we asked the guy to let us do some of our own labour to get the hours down. He obliged, and we got right to disassembly with a blowtorch, awl, hammer, and vice grips as soon as the furler was down.

It all went really well except for ONE roll pin which took over 50% of total time spent to get it out.

Once disassembled, we sent the connection pieces off (to the guy assembling the new forestay) and are waiting anxiously to hear some good news about reassembly early this week. HOWEVER, since no one was working on the weekend…BACK TO NEW YORK CITY!!!

This time, however, we had the pleasure of meeting up with our good friends Tom and Mel!!

We covered a lot of ground in less than 36 hours in the city!!! Chelsea, East Village, Greenwich Village, Midtown, Brooklyn, and Wall St….our feet were sore and we were happy. We took a coupla photos where we got engaged last week in Central Park and scoped out the NY waterfront by the financial district…it looked like a rough day out there, so we’ll be targeting calmer conditions for our passage!

It’s been an amazing weekend and we’re ready to get back at ‘er tomorrow.

New Solenoid, New York, New News

by markperil@gmail.com on October 13, 2014 in Boat Projects, Destinations, New York State, OpTrop, Surprises • 3 Comments

We’re a little overdue for a post, so here goes!

Where did we leave off….Poughkeepsie @ Mariners on the Hudson (Wednesday last week)? Yeah that’s about right…What can I say? It was nice to have a place to tie the boat, but resulted in the worst nights sleep due to the current/waves/exposed nature of the place.

Also, it was quite literally the shittiest dock we’ve ever had the pleasure of stepping onto (tip of the cap to the seagulls & geese that call this dock home – nice work guys)

From there we went to Haverstraw Bay, and after navigating the tricky entrance, we had two of the nicest days at anchor. The weather was great, the anchor held well, and it was nice to have some solitude for a change. I managed to sneak ashore and grab a replacement zinc for the heat exchanger (thank god – see photo below comparing new & old), and we caught an amazing sunrise on the morning we departed.

We then headed over to Half Moon Bay Marina, where we kept the boat for the weekend while we dashed into the city!!! Although we were keen to get lots of photos in the big apple, we only got two at the train station on the way in. We got ZERO photos in the city itself…and frankly weren’t too bummed about that. We were pre-occupied with soaking up the awesomeness.

We had an amazing time even though it was just a couple of days blasting around Manhattan and Brooklyn. It’s always so fun going to NYC – there’s always something new to discover.

After the weekend, we came back to a boat that wouldn’t start. At all. We’d been having problems with our starter solenoid, and it seems like it had finally died for good. Steve (marina manager/nicest guy ever) ripped us across the river in his jetboat to buy a replacement from the marine store across the way, and $40 later I’d picked up a new/better version of the solenoid (see below – the new one is heavy duty/steel, the old one is plastic). After the installation, Tara turned over instantly, and put a big smile on my face.

Oh yeah one more thing…we got engaged this weekend! Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

Days of our lives

by markperil@gmail.com on October 9, 2014 in Destinations, New York State, OpTrop • 1 Comment

Approaching Haverstraw cove after a long day motoring down the Hudson River. We’d done lengthy research about how tricky the entrance is (only 5-6 feet deep at low water + a 2 foot deep submerged concrete hazard/island on the north side of the channel), and we were watching the depth sounder closely. We had read that the hazard may or may not be marked, and having never been here before were weary about what we may/may not find.

Caitie: “OK I’m going to the bow to post a lookout. Call out the depths to me”

Mark: “OK, hold on…just in case we do touch ground, hang on…you may jerk forward”

C: OK.

M: Um…4 feet on the depth sounder.

C: Really?!

M: 3.8 feet…?!

C:….

M: We’re not aground though! The boat is floating….we’re not aground yet. It should be 6 feet in one boat length…

C: Don’t get too close to these submerged pilings on the south side either…

M: Ok. 5 feet

M: Ok. 7 feet

M: 9 feet

C: (thumbs up)

C: OK, the submerged wall is definitely marked. See the two markers on the north side of the channel?

M: Yep! 11 feet

C: (thumbs up)

Mark and Caitie continue on, inching their way ahead on the south shore of the channel, eventually getting into 20 feet of water and dropping the anchor.

FAST FORWARD to 20 min later…Safely anchored, first beer cracked.

C: Hey looks like we might have a motor boat joining us

M: …

C: Um, is he going to avoid the submerged wall?

M: Doesn’t look like it. Should I say something? (does nothing)

C: Oh my god, he thinks the obstruction markers are channel markers…he’s going between them!

M: …

C: …

SLAM. The motor boat runs aground SO HARD he pops up and is stuck on the submerged wall.

C: oh my gosh did that just happen?

M: Yeah he is completely stuck. Jesus. (thinking should I pump up the dinghy and go help him??)

C: Is he going to try to to through again?

M: No way…he’s going to pop it in reverse and try to GTFO.

Boat reverses (medium throttle) and nothing happens. Boat owner starts leaning over the side and reverses (full throttle) and boat starts to come loose…he finally comes free and turns to leave the anchorage with his tail between his legs. Mark and Caitie sit and stare in awe.

When and If

by markperil@gmail.com on October 6, 2014 in Destinations, Erie Canal, Guest Boats, New York State, OpTrop • 2 Comments

So we rocked the locks. Awesome. Done and dusted.

The most amazing part was that the weather held out for us the WHOLE time as we went through the canal. Those photos of tank tops, sunscreen, and bandanas? Yeah they were real, but don’t worry we’re rocking the warm gear now…

When we were finally spit out into the Hudson, we decided that we’d earned a chill day. After a week of averaging over 50 miles a day, we were actually pretty tired…WATERFORD was the spot. There was rain in the forecast, so we cranked up the iPads for an afternoon of decompressing….ahhhhhh

The highlight of the stop (and the only thing I shot photos of) was the gorgeous 1939 John Alden designed 63-foot wooden schooner that was docked next to us. We instantly made friends with Doug, Ron, Bill, and Larry and were graciously hosted by (Captain) Ron for dinner aboard on Saturday night. This boat is amazing – has been completely restored from the ground up over the past two years. Check out their Facebook page or this story for photos and info on this massive project.

Much thanks to Ron, Doug, and the crew! I hope to see them (and the boat with the masts up) down south sometime soon

TOMORROW IS RE-STEP DAY for the mast. I’m not nervous. No really! I’m not.

(Alec) Baldwinsville

by markperil@gmail.com on October 2, 2014 in Destinations, Erie Canal, New York State • 5 Comments

The whole point of this post is to show this ridiculously good looking sunrise that I photographed while leaving Baldwinsville. Tagline, “Just coffee, no filter”.

Sure, there are other cool sights (check out this old aqueduct!), but basically it’s a lot of…canal…and more canal. They don’t call this “the ditch” for no reason.

Oh and here’s a shot of the janky set of pilings that we had to tie to in Rome, NY…we wouldn’t fit on the “nice” dock with our 55+ foot mast sticking off either end of the deck…

Good news is – we’ve basically crossed the halfway point! As of tonight we are tied up to Lock 16. Hopefully, if all goes well, We’ll be in the Hudson by this weekend!

Let’s hear it for New York, New York, NEWWWWWW YORRRRRRRRKKKK

Small towns of the Erie Canal – our aquatic road trip of Upstate New York

by Caitlin Lefroy on September 29, 2014 in Destinations, Erie Canal, New York State • 2 Comments

We have almost been en route for a week now, and since we’ve entered the Erie Canal, our days have been filled with the quiet waterways, beautiful greenery and quaint canalside towns of upstate New York. The leaves are just starting to change, and although the evenings and mornings are chilly, the days heat up to sunscreen weather by lunchtime.

These have been our views for 7-10 hours a day lately:

Occasionally we transit a lock (we have ~35 to do to get all the way down to the Hudson River, more on those to come…), but otherwise we mostly motor along, taking it all in. Although it looks easy enough, it’s a very narrow and shallow channel (7-12 ft deep, and maybe 100 ft wide) and it takes steady concentration to avoid the various logs, shallow spots and curves the canal throws at us.
Each night we end up at a small town and tie up to one of their free docks (sometimes with free water, pump out and power too!). So far we’ve been to Holley, Fairport and Clyde, NY. These towns often have a lot of historical significant with the original Erie Canal (you can read more about that here) and we’ve enjoyed exploring these stops after our long motoring days.

Mark and Tara at the Fairport dock\

Fall flowers in full bloom / bicycle wheels to edge the gardens

We also have loved seeing the old canal barges and tugs that worked for the New York State Canal System, as well as the local boats who make this place their summertime home.

Canal selfie. Canalfie.

Home sweet home!

First big day in the Canal

by markperil@gmail.com on September 27, 2014 in Destinations, Erie Canal, New York State, OpTrop • 4 Comments

(Yesterday) The 26th was our first real day in the canal, and it was filled with “oohs” and “ahhhs”. We wanted to take this route because we figured it would really take us through small town America, and so far it hasn’t disappointed! As we motor along, we pass tiny towns, corn fields, apple orchards and small houses dotting the shore. Every so often we need to call a bridge operator for a lift, but otherwise it’s all about keeping the boat in the middle of the waterway and enjoying the scenery.

We transited our first two locks in Lockport, and met the kind lock masters there. John took me up to the gas station up the way in his Subaru to get a 5 gallon can of diesel. Thanks John! All in all the locks were pretty easy, but word on the street is they get harder when the water level is rising vs. falling…

As we motored past Gasport (ironically named) we saw a tiny little “Yacht Club”-slash-marina and asked if they had diesel. Craig, the operator, responded, “Well, I can get ya some!”. Sure enough I popped in his truck, we zipped up to the gas station and got another 20 gallons (and a 30 rack of beer). This top up, plus the jerry can from Lockport and we were at a full tank. See how easy that is?? Man, people are so friendly!

Our day ended at Holley, New York – a small town of 1500 people with a little square, diner, grocery store, and pizza joint. We tied to really nice docks with free power, water, bathrooms, and showers, and had a nice relaxing night.

“No Diesel For You”

by markperil@gmail.com on September 27, 2014 in Destinations, Erie Canal, New York State • 0 Comments

soupnazi

Soooo after de-stepping (day 3) we encountered the infamous Denny Wardell at the entrance to the Erie Canal. He’s known for a number of things (read some reviews on Active Captain), but most specifically his hot button issue: Destepping masts. Basically, if you don’t destep with him, he won’t sell you diesel.

We were down to a 1/4 tank, entering the canal and he has a prime spot right there….his only competition across the way was “SOLD OUT FOR THE SEASON”. So what could we do?

I had a lovely exchange with him on the telephone which went basically like this “NO! I won’t sell you diesel. Why would I? I make $20 bucks off you, while the guys down the way at Rich Marine make $300? No thanks. Have fun in the Canal without any fuel. GOODBYE.”

Thanks Denny.

Fortunately our luck changed once we got in the canal. Aside from him, we’ve met some of the nicest people ever.

Day two: All the way to Buffalo, NY

by markperil@gmail.com on September 27, 2014 in Destinations, New York State, Passage • 0 Comments

We knew we had a long day ahead of us, so we were up early to make the ~75 nautical mile trek up to Buffalo from Erie. Damn that was a good cup of coffee.

Surprisingly we made it! We were working the engine pretty hard (and felt pretty guilty burning so much fuel), but we kept telling ourselves that it would be worth it to get there…

We made such good time we even decided to make our way up to Rich Marine where we were going to de-step the next day. This involved transiting a lift bridge, swing bridge, and a lock – NONE of which we’d ever done before (frankly). Thank god for the handheld VHF

Alles friedlich