Branford, CT

We headed out from Long Island for the Connecticut coast on Sunday August 23 at 8:30 after a beautiful sunrise.

The day started off clear but quickly became overcast.  But the sound was flat and the temperature was perfect.

The five hour cruise was very pleasant and we arrived at the Branford Yacht Club at 2:15. Our fellow MTOA member, Ted Graves, is a member there and we had asked him if we might dock at the club for a couple of days to get some needed boat repairs accomplished.  He is the friend who had kindly allowed us to use his mooring ball in the nearby Thimble Islands. We stayed there last year and plan to go there next. 

As we entered the bay where the yacht club is situated we passed many lovely shoreside homes. Some were very tastefully landscaped with beautiful meandering stone walls. 

When we settled in, Ted invited us to an outdoor food and music event at the yacht club.  There was a reggae band and food trucks selling lobster rolls and pizza. After showering and changing and donning our masks, we gladly joined in and stayed properly socially distant at the picnic tables. 

Our plan is to stay here and at the Thimble Islands for about 10 days altogether while we visit family and friends.  Jonny spent Monday fixing the line on the outboard motor and installing a new battery on Zendo while Lynn made dates with said friends and family.  That night, Jonny’s cousin Steven and his wife Ann came to visit and we were all going to go out to dinner.  They surprised us by announcing that his cousin Abby and her husband Rich and daughter Alana would also be joining us! Steven and Ann brought a bottle of Moët which we thoroughly enjoyed as well as produce from their garden. We had a great time catching up with everyone and pouring over old photos of Jonny’s family that they had collected for him after recently selling their mom’s home.  It was a fun and sweet walk down memory lane.  We FaceTimed with Andy and Jan who were particularly happy to see the Katzen “kids”!

From there we headed over to a very good Italian restaurant in Branford called Rossi Vino that was luckily open on a Monday night. We ate well and drank some more and finally headed back to Zendo quite repleted!

Northport, NY

When we woke up on Saturday, August 22 we were able to see where we ended up anchoring in the dark the night before.  We found ourselves in a quiet bay with some industrial buildings on shore and a number of hulking, half-submerged shipwrecks nearby.

We were concerned that the narrow channel we traversed the night before (and hit bottom) might pose a problem on our ability to exit safely.  So Jonny rigged up a depth gauge and took the paddle board over to measure the depths.  They were just fine. We had mistakenly veered off the channel during our nighttime excursion.  With that problem removed, we proceeded to lift anchor and took off towards New York City in order to catch the favorable current through Hell Gate. 

We cruised north towards Manhattan passing the Statue of Liberty on our left in New York Harbor. As we cruised up the East River we saw the beautiful NYC skyline and many of its iconic landmarks including the World Trade Center, the Chrysler Building, the United Nations and all those fascinating bridges!

We also marveled at the architecture of some of the newer (to us) buildings that make up that unique urban landscape.  

Hell Gate is a notoriously turbulent area at the confluence of the Harlem and East Rivers.  Currents run as fast as 5 knots and Zendo’s cruising speed is 7 knots.  So we have to time our passage with the current, not against it (which would clearly be a slog).  Our timing was perfect and we sped through the passage at the grand speed of 12 knots! 

We were now on Long Island Sound and our plan was to anchor in what was described as a quaint and charming town in Northport, NY on the north shore of Long Island.  We cruised up the Long Island coastline passing Oyster Bay, a beautiful spot that we enjoyed staying in during last year’s cruise.  But we wanted to visit someplace new so we proceeded onward.  We entered the lovely large bay where Northport is situated at 1:30 and found a great anchorage on the outskirts of its large mooring field where the shoreline was lined with beautiful homes. 

After relaxing for a couple of hours, we boarded the dinghy for a ride into town stopping to get gas for the outboard on the way.  As Jonny restarted the outboard for the short hop to the town dock, he pulled the cord right out of the engine block! Oh no! What do we do now, as he held the raggedy line in his hand?  The marina had no supplies for us to use to repair it so all we could do was return to Zendo.  Jonny’s first inclination was to row back but we were almost two miles from Zendo. Instead, he asked another boat at the fuel dock if they would be willing to tow us and they kindly agreed.

That ended our foray into Northport.  Jonny wouldn’t be able to properly repair the cord until we got to our next destination, the Branford Yacht Club in Connecticut.  We’ll just have to catch Northport on our return trip.

So we made the best of the rest of our evening with a delicious dinner of  sausage and peppers on the grill along with mashed cauliflower.  We had a quiet night reading and enjoying the beautiful setting with yet another gorgeous sunset.

Coney Island, New York

In order to catch the outgoing tide, we delayed leaving our Glimmer Glass anchorage until 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 20.  We alerted the bridge tender and were on our way for a five hour cruise to New York.

It was a beautiful day on the water. The seas were calm and there wasn’t a lot of boat traffic until we got close to New York (of course).

We decided to try a new area to anchor this time and found one called Gravesend Bay in Coney Island.  Neither of us had ever been to Coney Island and we didn’t even realize it was in Brooklyn!  By 3 p.m. we found what looked to be a great spot with really good reviews and a great view of the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge.  So we settled in comfortably and did our usual routine of family phone calls and dinner.

After it got dark, Jonny decided to go to bed early and it was then that the tide turned and began beating very uncomfortably against our aft cabin which is where we sleep.  Ever since we had dropped the hook he had been fretting over whether we should have gone further into the bay where it would be less choppy.  Well, now we had no choice as it would have been impossible to sleep under the present conditions. So Jonny put on his clothes and took out a flashlight, hoisted the anchor and onward we went through a very dark and skinny channel that got so shallow that we bumped the bottom! Fortunately we plowed through and entered a nice little calm bay where we dropped the hook once again.  Looming on the perimeter were some dark shapes but it looked like we were in a safe spot overall.  We were now able to go to bed and sleep peacefully.

Manasquan, NJ

It was a beautiful day on Thursday, August 20 as we prepared for an all day trip up the New Jersey coast. We left our Brigantine anchorage near Atlantic City at 8:10 and proceeded out to the Atlantic.

Although it didn’t seem particularly windy, the waters were pretty bouncy.  We hobby horsed for several hours and it was rough enough that Jonny graciously offered to go below to make our lunch.  It did settle down some as the day progressed and we managed to enjoy a full day’s cruise.  The musical soundtrack was a good one with the University of Pennsylvania’s station playing Beatles and Rolling Stones music all afternoon which we happily sang along with.

When we arrived at the Manasquan Inlet, it got very busy with dozens of small craft zipping all around us with no thought of minimizing their wakes. We expected to anchor at a place called Glimmer Glass which is one of our favorite anchorages.  We had to go through a lift bridge that usually opens on the half hour.  When we arrived we were informed that due to Covid, the bridge was only opening on the hour.  So we had to cruise around the harbor for another forty minutes. We spent that time checking out fuel prices at the various marinas but the prices were higher than we wanted to pay.

We finally arrived at Glimmer Glass at 5:15. This anchorage is surrounded by homes with scores of boats docked outside.  Despite the density of homes and vessels, it’s nice and quiet with only occasional paddle boarders enjoying the calm waters.

After settling in, we proceeded with our usual routine  of watching the PBS News Hour, talking to family on the phone and preparing dinner (leftovers this time).

That evening we watched the last night of the Democratic Convention cringing through Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ awkward comedy bits and reveling in Biden’s inspiring and flawless speech.

Brigantine, NJ

We left our Cape May anchorage on Wednesday, August 19 at 7:55. Our destination would either be Atlantic City or, if the seas were more favorable, go all the way to the Barnegat Inlet. The day started out nicely and we cruised north on the Atlantic along the New Jersey coast for a couple of pleasant hours.   But after that the weather quickly deteriorated and it started to pour.  We quickly closed all our Stratoglass as the thunder, lightening and intense rain enveloped us.  It came down in buckets for a couple of hours.  Thankfully, the seas were not too kicked up so we hunkered down, still on the fly bridge, and rode it out.  

Eventually the huge rain cell passed over us and the rain stopped.  Needless to say, we chose to end our cruise for the day in Atlantic City rather than go another four plus hours after the stress of cruising through that storm.  We decided to anchor in a beautiful spot outside of Atlantic City called Brigantine.

There was one other sailboat anchored there and another one with no one on it. We dropped anchor and settled in to take it easy for the afternoon. Just as Jonny was going down to take a nap, a couple in a dinghy motored up to us. They had been alerted to our presence by the couple who had the same boat as ours in the last anchorage.  This couple, Warren and Bobbie, were on a big 48 foot sailboat and were contemplating buying a trawler. We invited them on board to see Zendo, momentarily forgetting about Covid distancing and masking.  Because we are all pretty isolated on our boats in these lonely anchorages, we proceeded anyway keeping our distance as much as possible.

Afterwards, Jonny went for a paddle in this lovely setting.

Lynn prepared what turned out to be a delicious dinner of seared scallops (from the fish market in Cape May) with garlic and capers over angel hair pasta.  

It looked like we would have another rainstorm but fortunately the rain never made it all the way to us. In the evening we watched the third night of the Democratic Convention our our little IPAD.

Cape May, NJ

We left the town dock of charming Chesapeake City at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18 for a long day of cruising.

The weather was perfect, sunny, no wind, comfortable temperatures and very calm seas. Because of the optimal conditions we decided to go all the way to Cape May.

We always wonder why this old and defunct swing bridge hasn’t been removed!

As we approached Cape May, we passed some beautiful shoreline homes like this one.

After our eight and a half hour cruise we arrived at our anchorage only to find a twin Heritage East as the only other boat there! Our boat is not at all common so it’s always a little exciting to encounter one.

We immediately climbed aboard our dinghy to say a quick hello to the owner and commit to seeing him later.  We rushed off to the Lobster House that has a great seafood market. There we stocked up on fresh scallops, crab soup, shrimp salad, cole slaw and potato salad.

When we returned  to Zendo, Jonny called our Heritage East neighbor to touch base and compare notes. Their boat is a 2002 (ours is a 2000) but they are essentially the same. They were headed in the opposite direction from us so there was no opportunity this time to spend more time together.

We  saved the scallops for the following night and settled in for an easy dinner of the various salads. They were all delicious! After catching up with family on our daily phone calls, we proceeded to watch the second night of the Democratic Convention.  Highlights were the innovative cross country roll call and the very compelling and heartfelt speech by Jill Biden. 

Chesapeake City, MD

We took off from Baltimore on Monday, August 17, our 34th wedding anniversary! It was a stunningly beautiful day and we were bound for Chesapeake City.  It was a long day, but the temperatures were mild and the bay was calm. We took more turns at the helm than usual which provided Jonny with some valuable down time. 

After a 7 hour cruise we arrived at Chesapeake City and found a spot at the town dock.  The price was right with free docking and a modest charge for an electrical hookup.  We settled in with some celebratory cocktails and nibbles and toasted ourselves for a happy marriage and a good life together!

We reveled in congratulatory calls from Stephanie and Jonny’s family and enjoyed a dinner of leftovers on the aft deck.  Afterwards we took a walk through historic Chesapeake City. It’s called a city but it’s actually a village with only 673 residents!  The shops and homes are charming, colorful and old.

It was interesting to read the various historic markers  describing the town’s origins and prominent position on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.  The C&D Canal was built in the 1820’s to connect the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River thus saving hundreds of miles for shippers going between the northeastern states and the Chesapeake Bay.  

A huge bridge was constructed in 1949 to replace a drawbridge that had been damaged after being struck by a tanker.  The new bridge adds an odd counterpoint to the quaint village.

That night we settled into our dock space under that bridge to watch the first night of the democratic convention.  It was interesting to see how the traditional political convention format was transformed to a virtual event due to Covid 19.  Although it was a late night, the format more or less worked and many of the speeches, especially Michelle Obama’s, were very compelling.