September 4, 2012 – Chesapeake City, Maryland

Happy 26^th birthday to our twins, Leanne and Chris.



Toasting Leanne & Chris' birthday

 

Spent a long day on Delaware Bay. Followed a flood tide all the way in. We averaged almost 11 mph, woohoo!  We usually average 9 ½ mph.  We stayed 2 nights at the Chesapeake City free dock and paid $15.00 per night for electric power hook-up.  We met a young Montreal couple, Sebastien and Marie Claude on their Lagoon catamaran and had them over for a drink. They’re taking their boat to the Islands to start a charter business. We got some great tips on fishing and crabbing from them but most of all, we got clued in to the fact that as Canadians, we needed a “cruising permit” while in the U.S. This is the first we had heard of this and will follow up at customs in Baltimore.

Chesapeake City is a quaint little town with century old homes converted to shops and restaurants. Carole’s favourite was an old bank converted into a jewelry store….a must see.

Century Old Home

 

September 1, 2012 – Cape May, New Jersey

Stayed 3 days in the anchorage near the coast guard station.  Very rough because of the wakes left by cruise boats and sports fishermen boats. Would never stay there again for more than one night. Got a chance to have a couple of drinks, (well maybe more than a couple), on our boat with Dan and Sherri from the sailboat “Curieuse”, anchored nearby. They were a wealth of cruising information for us southbound newbies.

The next day we took a cab to Washington Square, the city’s shopping district...yeah!  Roly calls them junk stores.

August 30, 2012 - Atlantic City, NJ

US Coast Guard



Had a beautiful ocean passage today. We noticed numerous jellyfish in the calm waters. After our arrival in Atlantic City, we anchored in a small little lake off the main channel called "Briganteen Pond". We set the anchor, then dinghied into town for supper. While we were away, the winds picked up and the tide came in. We worried about this, so we headed back to the boat. On our way, we spotted a large coast guard boat towing another boat...OUR BOAT!!!  Our anchor had dragged in the soft mud and luckily the sailboat next to us had reported it to the coast guard. Thanks to Dan and Sherri on the sailboat "Curieuse" and the coasties, no damage was incurred to the boat or the wallet.

Dan & Sherri

The coast guard brought our boat to the Golden Nugget Casino and Marina. We stayed there for the night and enjoyed the beautiful night view of the casinos, as well as being entertained by the Bruce Springsteen band playing at the marina, lol.

View from the Golden Nugget Marina

The next day we went across the bay to Gardiner's Basin Marina and stayed the night. Friendly staff and a good place to stay. We hopped on a Jitney local bus to take us to the boardwalk. Took a long walk and stopped at the Taj Mahal where we left some money. We dined outside at Harry's Restaurant, nice spot while entertained by 2 musicians. Stopped in at some of the shops along the way (Carole's favourite pastime).

August 29, 2012 - Barnegat Bay, NJ

Jersey Shores

Rol & C's has finally reached the Atlantic Ocean. We were excited even though our first ocean passage was a little rough, but our boat handled the following seas quite well and so did the crew. We anchored for the night in Barnegat Bay, NJ. Nice little anchorage fairly protected but not much to do.

August 28, 2012 - Atlantic Highland, New Jersey

Anchored at Atlantic Highlands Marina, NJ

Farewell New York City!  After crossing a busy NY harbour in less than perfect conditions, we made our way around Sandy Hook Point to Atlantic Highland, New Jersey. We anchored near the city marina for 2 nights. Not a great anchorage because of the wakes from the non-stop ferry boats but we stayed due to the high winds. This gave us a chance to take our dinghy in and visit their little town. It was a welcome sight to see the ice cream parlour because it was so hot and humid. We also took the time to enjoy a stroll on the beach. We met an elderly women fishing and she gave us a few pointers on ocean fishing.

August 27, 2012 - Cruising through NYC

We left Croton on Hudson today and headed down the Hudson River through New York City. The weather cleared just as we passed by the Statue of Liberty.

The 2 tallest buildings to the left are the new World Trade Centre under construction.

August 26, 2012, Croton on Hudson, NY

Dad next to the only surviving tree left from the original World Trade Centre site.
 

Said goodbye to dad (Doug Grant) this morning. We took him to the nearby train station and saw him off. Dad was a big help with many things. It was fun to share some of our adventures with him, we will certainly miss him.