New York City

What a place! Where do I start?

As I wrote previously, we took the train from Great Kills to the Staten Island ferry and rode the ferry to the Battery in Manhattan. Our fist view of the Statue of Liberty was amazing and right from the ferry! The commuters see this every day and its just part of the ride for them. We didn't attempt to disguise that we were tourists. It was obvious to the most casual observer. We took pictures of the statue, ourselves with the statue in the background, etc.etc.etc. Lots and lots of pictures. We haven't used our camera yet, not sure why we brought it along on the boat. The I phone and I pad take great pictures.

Upon arriving in Manhattan we went almost directly to the 911 Memorial, stopping at Trinity Church on the way. Mark, from Average Looper, a retired fire chief had made on line reservations for most of us. What a good idea that was as it avoided standing in a long line. Thank you Mark.

The memorial was recently opened and was very tastefully done. I was amazed at the mammoth size of the structural steel. Yes, I know how large the towers were but still the steel was immense. After about three hours we had enough sadness and had completed the majority of the museum. The chronological schedule of the terrorists wasn't of interest to us.

We enjoyed the experience of lunch in a New York delicatessen. Then we walked around and eventually took an open deck bus tour of the city. Our tour guide was an American whose parents immigrated from China. Although informative, her musical and comedic talents were marginal except in her mind.  Again, we saw and heard a lot more than we can remember. We got off the bus for a while in Times Square and saw the Naked Cowboy, who isn't totally naked and we weren't looking for him either. He told one gal to put the gratuity in his guitar because his underwear was full. If you have seen him in Times Square, it is the same guy. He has been there for 17 yrs.!

Wow, what a lot of people! I'm guessing there are many more tourists than locals in this place. The residents must either enjoy the amusing things tourists do or just go about their business and ignore the tourists.

As we returned to the Battery we moved down from the open upper deck on the bus tour because it started raining lightly. Exiting the bus we grabbed complimentary rain ponchos and I grabbed one too many. I gave the extra one to a man in a suit who immediately put it on and really appreciated it.

After returning to the ferry dock, we returned to Navigator by ferry and train and an enjoyable walk back to the marina since the rain had stopped. Great Kills is a very nice residential area. There were many nice, well maintained houses along our walk.

It was a full day! Tomorrow we will boat up the Hudson in our own boat. Exciting!!!

Staten Island Ferry with Manhattan in the background

From the ferry

What a magnificent sight! What a feeling seeing her and what she stands for.

We are so lucky to live in this country!

From the ferry on the return trip.

Don't drop it Jan.

One of the many parks in New York City

Freedom Tower

One of our first street scenes.

Trinity Church, where many people took refuge on 911. 

Wish that truck would have moved.

Bullish!

The exterior of the 911 Memorial, twin reflecting pools with all the names of the victims

Before 911.

This flag survived 911.

Imagine the heat.

Some of the original footings of the original towers.

I beams.

Project bike completed as a memorial to a fallen firefighter.

Explanation of the motorcycle above.

The Brooklyn Bridge

That building is made from shipping containers.

Times Square needs no further explanation.

Manasquan and Staten Island, NJ.

We made it safely from Atlantic City to Manasquan New Jersey, although uncomfortably, through the second part of the New Jersey intracoastal. It was uncomfortable because of the shallow depth of the channels. There were a lot of fishermen and boaters again this day.

Manasquan is the end of the intracoastal waterway and we must go "outside" in the Atlantic Ocean. Of course Jan was nervous about this because of her motion sickness issues. We were lucky and had a beautiful ride to Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. Jan says that getting out of the inlet was like a carnival ride but once we were outside it was alright. The ocean had about four foot swells with a ten second interval. That means the waves were four feet from the crest of one wave to the trough before the next wave and they were spaced ten seconds apart. It was like going up a hill and going down the other side before riding up again every ten seconds. That sounds quite frequently but it was actually quite smooth. There weren't any wind driven waves on the swells. We both enjoyed the ride.

We left Manasquan around 7:00 am to time the inlet at slack tide current which helped a lot. By leaving so early and driving on plane we could have arrived at Great Kills Yacht Club around 8:30 am. After we rounded Sandy Hook, NJ. we called John, our harbor host at Great Kills and he hadn't left home yet. We agreed to meet him around 9:30 am. We arrived at the yacht harbor before John and the rest of our boats and temporarily tied to an end face dock. When John arrived he helped us dock into our assigned slip and we helped the rest of our boats dock.

John Calascibetta, our harbor host, was simply amazing. I had reservations for five boats and five more tagged along. John arranged slips for everyone except one boat and let that boat use his personal mooring ball free of charge. After everyone was settled John provided a briefing to inform us how to efficiently use the public transportation to visit New York City. John also arranged for a group dinner at a local restaurant. We all joined John and his wife at the yacht club for cocktails before we went to the restaurant. The dinner was excellent and everyone enjoyed John and his wife.

The next morning John met us at the marina and transported everyone to the train station, four or five people per trip. Since we had tickets for the 911 museum we were in the first trip and I have no idea of how many trips he made. From the train station we went up one floor and boarded the Staten Island Ferry. Not only was the ferry free but we got our first view of the Statue of Liberty. What a deal.

After touring New York City all day, the city will be in the next post. We returned on the ferry and took an express train to Great Kills. Because it was an express train it went faster that the morning ride and at times we wondered if it was going to stay on the tracks. From the train we took an easy walk back to the marina and called it a day.

This is the same picture as the last post but the depth was similar.

Usually we are concerned when the depth is less than 5 feet. Here 5 feet was a relief!

Our slip in Manasquan was right by this bridge. It was left open unless a train was coming.

 It sounded a siren when it was about to close. Luckily there must not have been trains 

during the night and it didn't wake us up until early morning. Every train we saw was a commuter train.

The current flows quite swiftly both ways through this bridge and the current changes direction 

about every six hours. It's was important for us to time the inlet at slack water to minimize the wave height 

What can I say about 1200 hp on a center console besides FAST!

This is our first view of New York City from our boat as we rounded Sandy Hook, NJ.

This is John Calascibetta, our generous harbor host in Great Kills Harbor.

Atlantic City, NJ

Our trip on the New Jersey intracoastal waterway was not fun. As the picture below shows, it was SHALLOW!!! Luckily we were following other boats that need about the same draft that we do. Without Jan's motion issues we would have gone out into the Atlantic Ocean and bypassed the waterway. Several boats and those with deeper drafts did go "outside". One of the issues in the waterway is the fishermen right in the channel. Not being much of a fisherman, I am guessing the fish only bite inside the channel. Seriously, I know the fish prefer the deeper water and the channel is where the deeper water is.

After we arrived in Atlantic City the channel took us all the way around the city to the north end. We stayed at the Frank S Farley State Park Marina which is connected to the Golden Nugget Casino. We were impressed with the nice docks, friendly helpful dock attendants, etc. This is a really nice place. This location is somewhat remote from the boardwalk and we were told not to walk to the boardwalk after dark.

Our first night we joined several other looper boats at the casino buffet. It was Friday and a seafood buffet. I guess real seafood lovers were impressed. I, however, didn't find my favorite seafood, fish and chips!  The Fish House in Fort Myers Beach is hard to beat.

Bicycle riding is allowed on the boardwalk until 10:00 AM and we joined Mark and Jane from Average Looper to ride from one end to the other. It was a good easy flat ride. We understand why we were instructed not to walk to the boardwalk at night. The surrounding areas look quite tough.

Saturday night was a return to the buffet and a Jitney ride to see the boardwalk after dark with Mark and Jane. We walked through the Trump Casino the get from the road to the boardwalk. That casino was much more Las Vegas style than the Golden Nugget, which was surprisingly small. Neither one of us gambled at all. I had been playing some blackjack on the I pad and thought I might try $20.00. At least I thought I would get four hands before the money was gone. The minimum table was$10.00 and I gave Mark the $20.00 for a firefighters challenge he was involved in. That was much better use of the money.

Sunday was time to move north again. Some how we got to lead through the next section of the New Jersey intracoastal. It was another day of SHALLOW water and fishermen and the added local boaters traveling at high speeds and "waking" us a lot. Local knowledge is a wonderful thing. We all made if to Manasquan for the night. There isn't any intracoastal from Manasquan to New York and we were going to be in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. Just to avoid a cliff hanger here, it was a good trip to Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island.

The next post will be Manasquan and Staten Island. After that will be New York City. We are really getting there!

This was a typical depth for the days travel. YUK!!!

The Golden Nugget is the building on the right.

A nice marina to be in after a disappointing marina in Cape May.

Cute, cute water tower!

Yes, there really is a real beach here.

I believe this fountain was at the Trump Casino.

View looking south on the boardwalk.

It really is boards!

View looking north.

This is the south end of the boardwalk looking north.

Jan and I on our after dark boardwalk tour.

We weren't very impressed and didn't stay very long.

This is the nighttime view from the stern of Navigator.

Delaware Bay and Cape May, NJ

Being a larger body of water, Delaware Bay can cause many problems for boaters. Lucky for us our time on Delaware Bay was benign. In fact it was one of the more pleasant days we have had traveling on the water since we left Florida.

Because we didn't have any expectations of Cape May we were again surprised by the town. Our first impression wasn't very good at the marina. We are partially to blame because we again came in with four boats simultaneously. Some marinas are able to handle this situation better than this one was. After getting secured in our slip everything worked out all right.Things improved more after docktails with our friends. There were probably ten so more loopers at this marina, some we knew well and some we were meeting for the first time. With the rainy weather the boaters lounge accommodated all of us comfortably.

Jan and I took a long bicycle ride the next morning to the lighthouse and through downtown before the rain returned. We were really impressed with the condition of both the downtown buildings and many of the homes. After the ride we had lunch at the local seafood restaurant with some looper friends. The food was great and the price was a lot better than their dinner menu. On Ascension Thursday Jan and I were able to attend Mass at Our Lady Star of The Sea. It is a beautiful church right on the main street in downtown Cape May. We also took a trolley ride around town to view all the beautiful houses.

All in all we enjoyed Cape May but it again was time to continue north. We chose to take the New Jersey intracoastal rather than traveling out in the Atlantic ocean. The ICW is VERY shallow in New Jersey and it was an interesting trip to Atlantic City.

As you can see Delaware Bay was behaving for us today.

This huge freighter was probably heading to Philadelphia.

Another huge freighter.

These large ferries docks just inside the canal lead to Cape May.

We were warned to stay out of their way.

This is a real and modern lighthouse, not one of the old style ones.

We didn't choose to climb to the top. 

We still had to ride back to the boat and it was looking like rain, which it did before we returned.

The main street in downtown Cape May.

Another view of downtown.

Its always cool to see the horses and carriages.

One of many houses we saw, all in remarkably good condition. There are reportedly more Victorian homes in Cape May than any other U.S. city. We learned that Victorian homes were originally painted somber earth tones and the colorful paint we see now is a 1970's addition.

Again here are the spring flowers. We keep following the spring weather north.

This is an octagon house.

Some fishermen off loaded several of these tubs loaded with fish. He said they weighed 50 pounds each.

They didn't seem too proud of their catch. Apparently the species wasn't appealing. 

This is the beautiful Catholic Church, Our Lady Star of The Sea, founded in 1878.

We purchased a ticket for their drawing for a new Mercedes.

We hope to need to return to pick it up.