New Jersey, New York City and beyond!!!

 Hi folks!  Mark and I are still doing well as we continue our trek northward up the coast.  On Friday (June 2), we ventured off-shore for the day, passing all the fun NJ vacation beaches from Cape May north.  While the weather was not bad, we had a 15 knot following wind and 2-3 foot following swells (which I've learned is not a good combination for me).  It's hard to explain the motion that following seas create in a trawler, but for me it is not particularly pleasant.  And the wind from behind also continually pushes the engine exhaust onto the boat, which also is not ideal.  Fortunately, although I didn't feel great, I also did not actually get sick (very thankful for that!).

On Saturday, we got to visit with Marianne and Rob (who live in Red Bank, NJ) and were treated to an awesome dinner ashore.  As we had discovered a few things that we forgot to bring, we had them delivered to Red Bank to meet us there (gotta love Amazon, right?).   We splurged and stayed at a marina for the night (Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina) - the wind kept really blowing, so it was great to be tied securely somewhere!

From a hiking trail near the NJ marina

Another pic from hiking trail



Our journey north (past Sandy Hook up to the mouth of the Hudson River) continued on Sunday, and Marianne and Rob were able to travel on board with us for the day!  And it was definitely a day of interesting sights - the NY City skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and the George Washington Bridge.  Definitely different from our Florida travels!!!  And we learned there is quite the tidal current through the lower Hudson River (about 3 knots!).

Sweatshirts were a MUST!!!






The George Washington Bridge at night

Palisades Park along the Hudson



We anchored Sunday night just north of the GW Bridge; Mark took our guests ashore at a nearby park, where family was waiting to take them to the nearest train station to return home (thanks Brandt, Julia and Gary - you guys rock!!!).  After another windy night, Mark and I continued north up the Hudson, stopping to see the sights in lovely Peekskill, NY for the afternoon.  We were able to find a reasonably sheltered anchorage spot and took the dingy into town to check it out.  The book store I had scoped out to visit was unfortunately closed on Mondays (arghhh), but we were able to score some ice cream as a consolation.  Quaint little "artsy" town - it was nice to stretch our legs and do some exploring.






All Oceanus functions continue to be operational (I really hope I am not jinxing us by saying that repeatedly....).  One of our Amazon purchases was some Gorilla Tape to reinforce the canvas bimini - so glad we applied it to the chafed areas, as the wind was really testing it today (was blowing about 20 knots directly downriver). 

And some very exciting news!!! (not really exciting, but maybe just interesting???)  You should be able to track us anytime using the link below.  Please don't be alarmed if the reading shows a "negative altitude" - it does not (necessarily) mean we have submerged - just an occasional glitch.

Garmin Satellite GPS Link:  

https://share.garmin.com/markmerrick


We'll update again from farther up the Hudson River - we'll be deciding later this evening where to stop next (based on quality of prospective anchorages and possible sights to see).  Take care, everyone!!!


 : )  Mark and Sheryl






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oceanus Triangle Loop is soon to be underway!!!!

Image
Greetings to our family, friends and faithful followers!!! After a several year hiatus from major boating adventures, Mark and I are once again heading out for another journey on our beloved trawler, Oceanus!  This time, however, we will be heading North, instead of our usual treks southward down the Intracoastal Waterway.  We are planning to circumnavigate a course known as "The Triangle Loop", which will likely take us 2-4 months to complete.  Here is a map of the prospective journey: However, to get to the actual Triangle, we will need to venture north from Norfolk, VA up to the mouth of the Hudson River by New York City.  Most cautious boaters would likely choose to travel up the Chesapeake Bay (in relatively sheltered waters with many spots to hunker down if bad weather pops up); however, Mark is (of course) more confident, optimistic, knowledgeable and adventurous than the average boater.  Mark's preferred course is to head directly off-shore and cruise no...
Read more

Amsterdam and the Very Angry Esophagus

Image
  Well hello again, dear folks!   It has indeed been an interesting time since our last blog, but I'm glad to report things are returning back to "normal" finally.  Here's the lowdown on recent events: After leaving our peaceful and idyllic anchorage along the Mohawk River/Erie Canal on Saturday morning (June 10), we headed westward through a few more locks (getting pretty proficient at the locks, if I do say so myself) and stopped at the scenic Riverlink Park in Amsterdam, NY .   A view of the sea wall (see if you can spot Oceanus!) What a beautiful riverfront Beautiful art installations throughout Riverlink Park  The pictures don't do them justice - they were gorgeous! Mark realized after we had tied up that there was a leak in the cooling water pump for the starboard engine (nothing too major but clearly needed fixed).  Amazingly enough, Amazon again came through and had an entire replacement pump available for next day delivery; we ordered and prep...
Read more