Day 267 Manhattan Tour 6/6/10

Us on Broadway in Manhattan






Liz and Steve on Train to downtown Manhattan






Nan & Jack on the train






Our city tour bus







Construction at ground zero





Wall Street







Our group with the Bull on Wall Street










Rockerfeller Center







Carnival Cruise passing by our marina with Manhattan background





Just want to reiterate how happy we are to finally be off the ocean and into the Hudson River where we will not be so exposed & dependent on the weather, wind & ocean conditions. We will still have some tide and now it’s combined with the current but nothing like the salt water we’ve been dealing with. We will miss the dolphins but not washing the salt crust off the boat!

Our thanks to Liz Kemper for getting information and our tickets for a city tour of Manhattan aboard a double decker open air bus. On Sunday we walked nearby to the Path train station, after Tom found the correct language for purchasing a ticket (inside joke) we were off for Manhattan. For a Sunday, I was amazed to find the train packed to the brim. After a short ride we walked down Broadway and climbed aboard the tour bus “City Sites of NY”. The on and off boarding option, narrated tour, took us by 23 stops such as the Empire State Bldg, World Trade Center Site, Wall Street, Battery Park, United Nations, Times Square, Greenwich Village and etc. We walked at the World Trade Center Site and the St Paul’s Chapel which was instrumental in helping victims of the attack. The church has preserved all the mementos, pictures and stuffed animals from family and friends.

When we were on the tour bus our tour guides would make comments discouraging everyone from using taxicabs. I’m not sure why unless the taxicabs (all say NYC Taxi on the side of the vehicle) are city owned and they think drivers have a cushy job. The intranet says the 12,053 yellow taxicabs are the only vehicles allowed in New York City to pick up passengers hailing on the street or taxi stand.

What a fun day with Liz & Steve off “Shingebiss” and Jack & Nan off “Eschaton”.

Day 266 Atlantic City NJ, Hudson River -Manhattan NY

Casino lights in Atlantic City




Verrazano Bridge to New York Harbor








"The Lady of Liberty Island"







Manhattan Skyline







Friday we left Cape May with apprehension about the weather for traveling in the Atlantic. Our weather web site may tell us 2-4 feet waves but it ended up being 3-5. We were happy to get the 49 miles behind us as we entered the Absecon Inlet to Atlantic City. Inlets are the only way you can get off the ocean and into protected water. They also make a person anxious as the waters are very turbulent and shallow water caused from shoaling is a problem. We stayed at the city marina called Historic Gardner’s Basin for $1.50 foot and $5.00 electric. It is the first marina inside the inlet so you have an easy exit back to the Atlantic in the morning. The casinos on the horizon and the lights at night were awesome to see. Our pictures do not reflect all the changing colors. The area has a couple of casual restaurants, an aquarium, and a few specialty stores.
We were off at 5:30 am on Saturday thinking we were headed 86 miles to Great Kills area where there is a private yacht club that is not in guide books. They allow loopers to stay for $2.00 ft plus $10 for power. For anyone following who is interested call John at 917-887-9446. There is limited space for transients and I was told there is an express bus for transportation to Manhattan. We must be getting used to the 3-5’ seas because we decided to continue another 20 (?) miles to New York.
The Verrazano Narrow Bridge is one of the world’s largest suspension bridges which divides Upper Bay and Lower Bay. New York Harbor is every thing you expected and dreaded as you travel with freighters, sightseeing boats, ferries, and tugs. With all the traffic and water turbulence, it was a challenge to get our pictures of the 300 ‘serene Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. She seems dwarfed by all the skyscrapers surrounding her. As you pass by the northern tip of Staten Island, the whole panorama of New York City is spread before you. From our dock in Newport Marina, we look across the Hudson at Manhattan’s skyline which positively beautiful both in daylight and evening. Ahead and behind us we see the lights of Jersey City.
I’m in a hurry to take a city tour so please overlook any errors.

Day 265 Atlantic City NJ 6/4/10

Dinner at The Lobster House Cape May



Pete and Jane off "Somerset 2"





Dick & Char off "Ellen Leigh"







Our shining prop being installed






Being transported to launch the boat






Atlantic City Casinos on the horizon as we approach the Absecon inlet



Thursday we rode bikes around town and had lunch. When we got back to the boat Tom found out the material for the shaft had arrived and they were working on it. Wonderful news! I’m not sure how much more of Tom’s second guessing himself I can take.

We had dinner Thrusday at the popular Lobster House with Loopers Pete and Jane from “Somerset 2” and Dick & Char off” Ellen Leigh” . You can walk the short distance from Utsch’s marina to the restaurant. The fish doesn't get any fresher than this place since the restaurant sits at the dock where the catch of the day is brought in and specializes in all things seafood. There is a separate raw bar, and take out fish market available if you want to something to take back to the boat. A docked schooner; “the American” is a place where you can enjoy a beverage while you wait for your table and you usually do have to wait. We got lucky and immediately sat down to a table of six. I’m not sure how many the restaurant seats but they have 3 parking lots which are usually full.

After Utsch's Marine installed the new shaft, replaced the prop and had a test run on the water we finally departed Utsch’s Marina at 11:30 AM. It was a sunny day and the sea forcast was 2-4’ waves and 10-15 west winds. We encountered 3-5’ rolling waves and believe it or not you get used to them. Currently we are at The Historic Garden Basin (the city marina- $1.50’ $5 for power) Neither of us gamble and since we’re tired, we will eat on the boat and chill. We covered todays' 50 plus miles in 4.5 hours. Hopefully, weather permitting, we can make the run of 86 plus miles up to Sandy Hook (NY lower harbor)in about 9 hours. We are trying to make up some time we lost waiting for underhull repairs.

Day 261-263 Cape May

Another Safeharbor in Lewes, Delaware





Kings ice cream - You can tell we're happy to be there!





Ferry ride from Cape May, MD to Lewes, Delaware





Ferry headed into the Atlantic








Ferry terminal






A rainbow of colors.




Sunday I went to a live theatre to see “Class” by Charles Evered and staring Thaao Penghlis (Tony on Days of our Lives) and Heather Matarazzo. I had no idea who they were but I wanted something different for the afternoon and it was very enjoyable. The theatre used to be a church but they had remodeled and every seat was excellent. It was a very intimate theater where you felt like you were on stage with them.

Memorial Day we went to the beach – well we sat on the boardwalk and people watched. We were dressed for bike riding and there is a $5.00 fee per person per day for all beaches in NJ. Of course it is a little cheaper by the week, etc. If you count all the umbrellas on the beach, that is a good days income.

Tuesday morning we returned the rental car before I read about a car and passenger ferry between Cape May and Lewes, (pronounced Lewis) Delaware. Dah! We should have done the ferry yesterday or kept the car another day. This was our chance to actually set foot on land in the state of Delaware so we took a taxi to the port and hopped on board. They have 3 very large ferries that I’m guessing carrying 100+ cars each. You have to drive quite a distance in both directions to find a vehicle bridge so the ferries get quite busy. Little did we know the shuttle to downtown Lewes doesn’t start operating week days until June 14 so we were 2 miles away from anything. I’m not above begging so I managed to get us a ride to the historic district of town. After we walked around and had locally made Kings ice cream, Tom did the begging and got a ride back to the ferry for the 85 minute ride back to Cape May. Since we were on a roll, he also secured a ride back to the marina.

Our prop came back on Tuesday but no word on delivery of the shaft. Tom is second guessing himself; we should have had it repaired when we were back here or there but unfortunately, we didn’t. Since we’re hoping we are back in the water today or tomorrow at the latest, I caught up on laundry this morning so we’d be ready to depart.

Day 260 Cape May

Roller coaster at Wildwood boardwalk.





Cabana on the Atlantic Beach.






Every town has horse and carriage rides.





Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in New Jersey where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. During tourist season the population climbs from 4700 to over 40,000. We can tell by the backed up car traffic, the tourist season has started. Local signage is a little confusing! I’m glad we have the Garmin Nuvi GPS with us. Saturday we had an early dinner at Lucky Bones Backwater Grille close to the marina. This is a very large busy place with great food. Expect to wait for a table. My lobster and shrimp pizza was awesome. I thought of ribs when I saw the name but the name has nothing to do with BBQ ribs. It originated years ago when Cape May was a whaling village. Folklore said Lucky Bones keeps you safe and it refers to the hook-like claw found only in male horseshoe crabs. Sailors would keep anything that was rumored to help them return from the perils of the mighty sea.

Living on the hard gets pretty boring. You miss the camaraderie that you have when you are docked next to other boats. The weather looked decent so most of the other loopers departed around 6:00 this morning to head north to Atlantic City or Sandy Hook. It would be a little more convenient if this marina had a boaters lounge to hang out, watch TV or to work a puzzle. However it is a great marina and the staff has been extremely friendly. If we were in a slip we would have cable but on the hard we can only get over the air "NBC". At least that is something. You can find me on my Kindle most any hour of the day or night. I love what the Kindle offers me and a huge thank you to everyone for this thoughtful gift. I use it constantly.

2nd Blog Day 258, Pot Luck, Cape May

Brenda in her galley of "Tellico Lady"







Guests aboard "Tellico Lady"






Guests aboard "Tellico Lady"






I will follow up with a second blog for the day. Around 4:00 PM we called on the VHF radio to Dave & Pam aboard Adagio to ask their ETA here at Utsch’s Marina in Cape May. They shared with us that it was somewhat of an uncomfortable cruise down Delaware Bay today. While assisting them to their transient slip fellow loopers Brenda & Ken off the M/V Tellico Lady, a beautiful 50’ Marine Trader graciously invited all of the transient looper's to a “pot-luck” aboard their vessel. What a wonderful evening sharing food, beverage and conversation with eight couples all with the same agenda. We shared great experiences, learned from others and expanded on our friendships. We would like to extend or deepest appreciation to Brenda and Ken for assembling a great group aboard their beautiful vessel “Tellico Lady”. What a fantastic fun evening here at Utsch’s Marina, awaiting a break in the Atlantic Ocean weather for departure north.

Day 258 Cape May, NJ

Go figure! Tom found an ice cream store.







Historic Catholic Church in downtown Cape May





Diann on bicycle break on the boardwalk in Cape May





Looking over Cape May Beach from boardwalk





Historic Cape May Fire Truck





New Jersey "Wildwoods" Beach Boardwalk








Tom can not resist a "Photo Opp" of a restored hot rod or antique







Cape May Lighthouse and State Park






Since we are living aboard “On Land” while our under hull repairs are being addressed, I’m reading all the local information that I’ve picked up to find entertainment for the week-end. Although the population of Cape May is 4700, there is a lot more here than meets the eye when you pull into the harbor. Utsch’s Marina is a short walk to a few restaurants but a couple of miles from most everything else. Since it is Memorial week-end there are plenty of outdoor concerts as well live theatres and a Burning Man Festival. I counted 65 restaurants listed in their local magazine. Now there is too much to choose from. It’s either feast or famine!

Wednesday, we rode our bicycles to downtown Cape May. Cape May has a lot of interesting historical site as well as a very unique downtown district. Very nicely done. We enjoyed our sidewalk café lunch and then we walked the area. Fun afternoon.

Actually living aboard is going quite well while the boat is “On the Hard” Today (Friday 5/28) we rented a car, went out to the Cape May Lighthouse constructed in the mid 1800’s and still used today for navigational aid to mariners. This is a very interesting State Park and tour. Additionally we drove up to Jersey’s infamous Wildwood. This is South Jersey’s beach, amusement park and boardwalk area. All of the vendors were gearing up for an expected large crowd for the Memorial Day week-end. It wasn’t what we both expected, however it is interesting and we felt while here we really should see it.

There are quite a few Looper’s stacking up here in hopes that the Atlantic Ocean seas improve soon. There have been as many as (12) boats here waiting for the Atlantic to settle down. Our good friends on “Adagio” are due here this afternoon and we heard though the grapevine that the Marina is full, and cannot accept any additional transients. I think some boats may depart Monday or Tuesday opening up some space for others.

The Cape May harbor hosts, Richard and Carol Nick left a sheet of information and stopped to meet us, share local knowledge and offer assistance if needed. What a comforting, rewarding experience to meet such pleasant people extending warm hospitality. The “Harbor Host” program works and we want to extend our deep appreciation to all that offer their services and especially to Richard and Carol Nick.

Since the boat is sitting in the boatyard, Tom broke out a cleaning agent and washed the brown mustache, and bathtub ring off the bow of the boat. This stain is deposited on the boat due to the tannin in the rivers coming up the east coast.