Russ worked long and hard for this shine. Pretty good teamwork getting those boot stripes on straight.
After four weeks hauled out Twins and crew were ready to find a happy place on the water. NOAA and other weather sources indicated several days of benign traveling conditions. That clever Captain devised an aggressive schedule that would land us near the C&D Canal at the end of the third day. I mean is he crazy? Getting up at o’dark thirty?? This guy hates getting up before 7:30!! You’d think we were going to be flying out on a tropical vacation. But in all fairness, I am ALL for calm traveling conditions and since we were ready to go; let’s do it.
Each day brought rougher conditions than the previous, but with luck, skill and damn long days we covered 317nm (that’s 365 landlubber miles) in three days, anchoring in the upper Chesapeake’s Bohemia River Thursday, September 22 at 5:15. Whew.
Wow, what a way to start what I call PDQ Yr 2, but you can also call it Nomad Yr 7 (4 yrs s/v Ortolan, 1 yr m/h Anne Bonny and this will be Yr 2 with m/v Twin Sisters). Getting to be so many years I am losing track.
Kitchen Little (with blue awning)- place of birthday breakfast dining- as we pass by on Sept 20
We left Mystic very early so that we’d have time to pop up the CT River a few miles and fuel up at Old Lyme Fuel Dock, which saved 20cents/gal. Long Island Sound gave us no trouble plus a bonus of favorable current most of the way to our anchorage immediately before the Throgs Neck Bridge.
M/V The General– the first of what will be many interesting vessels we see along the way. Tree at stern?
Fish going crazy!
When Russ started looking at the things we always do, like; current, especially in New York’s East River (which isn’t technically a river) and Hell Gate; weather (wind, waves, rain) and offshore conditions, we got a surprise. The United Nations would be in session that week and on various days much of the East River by Roosevelt Island would be closed to pleasure craft. Between the short good weather window and the need to get past the UN before 9am, we needed to end Day 1 as close as possible and the moderate-sized anchorage next to the Throgs Neck Bridge was as close as you could get.
The night was very calm but boy the highway noise never let up.
Sunset as seen from Little Bay anchorage next to bridge
Just before 7am. Looking back at Throgs Neck Bridge. Three photos with our devices; Russ had the winner
Our Coast Guard small boat escort past the UN building. Keeps them from getting bored.
On the Roosevelt Island side, more enforcement vessels wait to enforce the 9am west channel closure
Our goal Day 2 was Atlantic City. The inlet is decent, not great, but boats have two places to anchor. One is subject to current so you will swing when it changes, and the other is tricky but you are more protected. We chose tricky and protected.
Waves and outgoing tide made for a slow, sloppy ride- but we sped up
We are heading for the narrow cut between the grass and the beach
As often happens, we are entering a very narrow entrance, trying to follow stakes that mark the way in and a tour boat is coming out on our left side. We move right, too much and almost run aground in mud. Russ quickly reverses and I firmly indicate we NEED to go toward where that boat had been. Leaving the next morning at low tide- oh I didn’t say that we’d come in one hour before low today- was really going to be “fun”.
A red-sky-sailors-delight sunset behind Harrahs
Departing the Atlantic City anchorage at 7am. Followed the stakes and the path out was obvious.
We moved along at 3000 rpm which means roughly 13kts, headed for the tip of Cape May, then rounding up into the Delaware River. With wind and waves behind us the ride was OK but rougher than yesterday. Rounding Cape May was quite unpleasant as the wind and waves were more broadside, and larger. Russ mentioned later that we often hit 19kts down a wave. Once further into the River we slowed down and by golly the forecast was accurate and by noon we’d reached very mild conditions. Ahhhh.
A bit of sun and all was pleasant on the often yucky Delaware. Sorry George. An incoming tide moved us along with an extra 2kt boost and we realized we could also have a favorable boost through the C&D Canal if we continued on, so we did.
Wowza! What a start. Three days from Mystic, CT to the Bohemia River on the upper Chesapeake Bay. We did it! The re-balanced props boosted our speed and we are finally in line with other PDQ 34s. Burned a bit of fuel as expected; price one pays for smokin’ at warp speed!
