Back in Rhody!

Greetings everyone!  Sorry to take so long to blog again!  Paul and I returned to Rhode Island late Friday - let me catch you up since the last post.

We cruised to Cape May, NJ on Memorial Day Monday - we left the Sassafras River early that morning - headed north up to the top of Chesapeake Bay - across the C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware) Canal - then down the Delaware Bay to Cape May.  It was a beautiful day and the conditions were great.  It tends to be a little "snotty" in the Delaware Bay - especially as you approach Cape May - but it was beautiful.  We docked in Cape May for two nights and enjoyed the area and gave the Captain a rest.  The photographer took a rest too because I realized I never took one photo!  Cape May is the very southern tip of NJ and it's a beautiful little place.  We walked around, did some grocery shopping, enjoyed some great meals, did laundry, and relaxed and enjoyed the area. 

Early Wednesday morning, we left Cape May and headed up the NJ Coast.  This is typically the part of our trip that can be a little dicey ...  You really need good weather to go up the coast because if it turns bad, there are very few places to hide.  There was a little swell and the weather wasn't great as it rained most of the day.  Later in the afternoon, though, it cleared up and the seas cooperated so overall, a good trek - about 110 miles, so a long day.  We arrived in Sandy Hook, NJ just before sunset and found a great place to drop the anchor and enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Right after we dropped the anchor, I snapped this photo of what turned out to be an incredible sunset.

We anchored right off the Sandy Hook Coast Guard station - there were fish flapping everywhere and some fisherman nearby on the shore.

Sun just about to set . . .

On Thursday morning, we woke up to a beautiful stellar day!  I had some work to do and we had to wait for the tides anyway - so we hung out on the anchor until about 1pm, then started heading towards NYC.  The last time I went through NYC on Master Plan was early November of 2010 and it took my breath away then - and this time did not disappoint either.  It really is a surreal experience to cruise through this remarkable city. 

Leaving the anchorage in Sandy Hook - looking North, you see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn with the Manhattan skyline to the right.

The skyline in all its splendor with the new Freedom Tower in progress.

Lady Liberty and the Staten Island Ferry - amazing!

There she is again - it was such a beautiful day - you can see loads of people around the base enjoying this great attraction.

We went just south of Governor's Island which just opened recently to the public; this great and historic area is in the forefront with the majestic skyline behind.

Heading up the East River with the several cool bridges ahead - first of course is the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge with a few cool skyscraper icons behind.

Lots of helicopter activity around the city.

After going under the Brooklyn Bridge with a look back at the Freedom Tower.

The Roosevelt Bridge - Roosevelt Island runs along the East River - it's about 2 miles long - running from 46th to 85th streets.  It is very narrow and there is a cable car that runs between Manhattan and the island which you can see right in the middle of this photo.

Passing under the bridge with another view of the river's edge and cable car.

The tides/currents were whipping through - the tides run very fast through the East River, so it's really important that you time the passage through this area WITH the tide - you can see how fast the water is moving around these buoys - amazing.

Master Plan's wake along with the tide.

Leaving Roosevelt Island area - the northern tip is marked by this cool lighthouse/statue.

Heading East toward Long Island Sound

Leaving Manhattan behind us; you can see the plane that just took off from LaGuardia.

After getting through NYC, we then made our short trek to Port Washington, NY - a beautiful community on Long Island very close to the city.  It is a beautiful harbor and they are very welcoming to boaters, offering free moorings and a charming downtown area filled with fun shops and cool restaurants.

Stepping Stones Lighthouse - we passed this right before we headed into Port Washington Harbor.

The First Mate on the water taxi leaving the town dock of Port Washington and heading back out to Master Plan after dinner.

Such a pretty spot!

The water taxi after dropping us off.

We enjoyed Port Washington so much and our original intent was to stay an extra day and go into NYC via train (there is a LIRR station within walking distance to the town dock), but we saw that bad weather was heading our way and didn't want to get stuck.  So early Friday morning (6am), we headed East on Long Island Sound making our way to Rhode Island and back to our dock in East Greenwich.  It was a pretty rough day and we headed into a pretty hefty sea most of the trip.  Unfortunately, it got much worse before it got better.  Once we reached Block Island Sound and then Rhode Island Sound, the seas were rough (6-8 feet) and - quite bluntly - we got our asses kicked as we went around Point Judith.  But - we made it safely past Beaver Tail Park (south of Jamestown) and once the island blocked the wind and tide, the seas calmed right down and our last hour was a smooth ride back to East Greenwich.  What a relief to be out of those seas. We finally arrived to our dock at 8pm on Friday night - 14 hours later - and we were both quite happy to be on terra firma.  Paul handled the boat with tremendous skill and great calm and thanks to him, we made it back safely with no harm done!  All good - for many reasons, I thank my lucky stars for my sweet captain!

We spent the weekend in Rhode Island - back home - and relaxed and ran errands, etc.  It has been so wonderful to have Paul here!  He flies back to New Orleans tomorrow for his next "hitch" and returns to RI on the 4th of July. 

We are so grateful to be able to enjoy these experiences with each other and share them with our friends and family - so blessed.  Thanks for your support and for following along!  Lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
"Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit."- Brooks Atkinson