6/1/23 And so it begins  Williamsburg to Delaware City 270 Miles

Today is the day, the day my wife Carolyn, our Golden Doodle Shelby, and I start on America's Great Loop. For those that don't know what the Great Loop is, it is a 6,000 plus mile circumnavigation around the Eastern United States. Our goal this year is to make it up to Ottawa, Canada. (Keep in mind, our boat is small and we both like our space, so being confined for an extended period of time is going to be a challenge.)

 We started today from the dock in our back yard. From there we went down the James River to Hampton Roades Harbor. The first part of the trip was great - calm water. However, when we made the turn at the Monitor and Merrimac bridge tunnel, everything went south. So much wave water on the windshield we could hardly see. Carolyn got seasick and swore that this was the end of the trip. 😝 Fortunately, everything is now fine after a glass or two of wine.

We spent the night at the Salt Ponds Marina, nice, but showing it's age. Their restaurant was closed so we went to the Deadrise restaurant over by Fort Monroe, joined by my daughter, son in law, and grandson who drove down from Williamsburg.

6/2/23 What a Glorious Day

You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. A little bumpy in the morning, but things calmed down as the day went on. I was surprised at the number of large ships waiting to go into port. There must have been 100.

We are spending the night at Regatta Point Marina in Deltaville. Very nice.. 

6/3/23 As soon as we left Deltaville, the fog set in. One of the few times I've had to turn on the radar. It wasn't that long before the fog lifted and the sea was nice and calm. Nice trip to Solomon's Island. 

When we got to Solomon's Island Yachting Center, we met up with another looper that has the same boat as ours, Darin and Beth aboard Piglet. They had just spent eight days at Old Point Comfort Marina waiting for the weather to break. After "Docktails" we headed out to dinner at the Pier restaurant, which was within walking distance. Food was good.

6/4/23 We left Solomon's at about 10:30 headed to North Point Marina at Rock Hall, about 60 miles. Trip was uneventful , which is usually good, but when we arrived we were greeted with a sonic boom. After several "Docktails", Carolyn and I took a short walk to Harbor House restaurant. Great crab cakes.

6/5/23 We woke up to a beautiful morning. The tide was very high. Flooding was evident in the streets and parking lot. We were on a fixed pier so several of the lines on the larger boats were really tight. It was time for coffee when disaster struck. So bad that continuing the trip was in doubt. The Keurig coffee make stopped working. What made it worse was when Carolyn told me to get out the backup coffee press and I told her I removed it to lighten the load on the boat. 😡 I prepared myself for a long 60 mile trip to Delaware City at the end of the Chesapeake and Delaware canal. Fortunately, once we got under way the beauty of the day changed everything to good.

Shortly after we arrived at Delaware City, I got a text message that someone tried to use my new credit card on Amazon and they were voiding my card. Nothing like leaving on an extended trip with a voided credit card.

Each day at 4PM the owner of the marina holds a captains meeting to review the conditions for the next day to traverse down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, about 55 miles. Apparently, the Delaware Bay is not your friend. The current is strong and when the wind opposes it you can get large standing waves very quickly. Also, once you start you are pretty much committed to run the whole trip. There is only one bailout along the way should things get too rough. I was impressed by how much data and thought goes into each days forecast. They refer to windows of opportunity based on the different types of power boats. Ours is a fast trawler, so if we get a three hour window we can run at 20 plus mph and make it. However, if one's boat is a trawler going 7 mph and the trip takes 8.5 hours, after three hours you are not going to be happy rocking and rolling. As it turned out, we decided to stay another day for two reasons. First, we would have a better window of opportunity, and secondly, one of the sponsors of the American Great Loop association was sponsoring a party for the Loopers.

Still in desperate need of a coffee pot, I convinced Carolyn and Beth to take an Uber eight miles to Walmart and get one. The coffee pot only cost $50 but the Uber also cost $50. What a deal.

The party was great. About 10 looper boats were in attendance. The band played music from the forties - even before our time.

This marina's dock is different than most. Instead of having slips, it has one floating dock that stretches as far as the eye can see, and everyone ties up to it. The canal is only about 100 feet wide and the water flows at an unbelievable. speed.

6/7/23 Delaware City to Cape May, about 60 miles

The window of opportunity for the trawlers started at six AM, so that is when we had a mass exit. There is only one dock at Delaware City Marina. One of the boats was a 45 foot catamaran that was facing the wrong way in the canal. You have to go out the way you came in. The boat was about 100 feet from a low bridge. The current was running about 4 knots. In order for the boat to leave, the boat had to be spun around in the narrow canal. In doing so, the boat got caught in the current crosswise and one of the lines could not be release because of the tremendous tension. The only thing I could do to avoid a calamity was to cut the one inch line, which I did, and probably saved a multi million dollar vessel. 

We left Delaware City around 9 AM. We actually had about a five hour window of opportunity to traverse the bay in what was predicted to be almost ideal conditions. The 60 mile trip to Cape May was gnarly to say the least. 

At Cape May we stayed at Utsch's marina. It's an older marina but it has the cleanest nicest bath facilities.

6/8/23 Cape May to Atlantic City, about 50 miles

We took off this morning in a sea of smog. The forecast looked good so we decided to run the ocean side to Atlantic City. 

We stayed at the Golden Nugget Marina.

6/9/23 Atlantic City to NY Harbor, about 100 miles

The plan was to do the trip to NY harbor in two days. The first day was to get us to Manasquan Inlet, about half way. Then the second day would bring us to NY. According to Tow Boat, the Manasquan Inlet is a mess and difficult to navigate. They recommended making the run from Atlantic City all the way to NY. And, the only way you can do that is via the ocean. 

As it turned out, the ocean couldn't have been nicer. Traveling at 20 mph, the trip only took 5 hours. We booked two nights at the Great Kills Yacht Club. This is a private club, very nice, immaculate bath facilities, and, best of all, it has a great bar...😜 Spent two nights.

6/11/23 Off to the Statue of Liberty

Today we took off to the Statue of Liberty with our buddy boat Piglet. The NY harbor was busy and the ferries were everywhere. Arriving at the Statue of Liberty concludes the first major leg of our Loop trip. Williamsburg to NYC - 500 miles.

6/11/23 The East River

If you are doing the Loop, once you pass the Statue of Liberty, you continue north up the Hudson River. Instead of doing that, we turned right heading for the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River. The East River runs about 16 miles in an Easterly direction where it turns into Long Island Sound. That is where I grew up. So, it was important to me to go back to my old stomping grounds, and even provide some insight of what it was like back in the late fifties and early sixties. 

Long Island Sound at its widest point is about 22 miles across. The East River is about one mile across. When the tide is running, all the water in Long Island Sound has to squeeze down to go through the East River. This produces a 5 knot current. Displacement boats have a difficult time running against the current. As such, they always choose to run with the current. So, the current can be your friend.

When I was growing up in NYC, you couldn't get a drivers license until you were 18. So for me, boating was paramount. Fortunately, we always had a family boat. One of the outings I liked to do was to take our 21 foot inboard sea skiff out at night, load up with guys and girls, and head down the river to Hell Gate. It was there that I would shut off the engine and start flowing down the East River. The river at night was beautiful. All the lights reflecting off the river and especially, the UN Building, was impressive. Eventually, you arrive at NY Harbor. That is where you had to really pay attention. The ferries were merciless. It was time to crank up the engine, and fight the current home. To give a prospective of just how bad the current was, I remember one time seeing a large red nun buoy bent over, totally under water, wiping back and forth furiously.

Brooklyn Bridge

UN Building

Hell Gate Bridge

Let's Go For A Swim

The Throgs Neck Bridge is at the end of the East River. That is where it turns into the Long Island Sound. At that point, the distance across the East River is one mile. On the other side of the bridge, Long Island Sound widens dramatically. One day, when I was about 17, I was working on a job across the river from where I lived, close to the Throgs Neck Bridge. Our family had a plumbing and heating contracting business in Manhattan, and at the time I was working as a helper. At the end of the day, I told Larry, the guy I was working with, that I would not be going home by car. Instead, I jumped into the river and started to swim across. It wasn't long until I realized I hadn't taken into account the current that was now taking me down the river toward Hell Gate. I eventually made it across, but was several miles down river from where I started. On the positive side, had the current been flowing toward Long Island Sound, I would have really been in a mell of a hess. When I finally got out of the water, I only had my shorts on and no money. I walked into the first place I came to, which was a bar. I needed a ride home. As luck would have it, who do you think was sitting on a stool enjoying a beer, good old Larry. Go figure. When he told the patrons what I had done, they rewarded me with an applause and, a cold beer, even though I was under age. The down side to all this, is that Larry had called my parents, and told them they might not see me again and might want to call the Coast Guard. c'est la vie.

The Barge Ride

Jimmy Visone was a good friend. We did a lot of things together, mostly things we shouldn't have done. One day we were standing on some abandoned pilings and saw a tug towing a sand barge headed our way. Off the pilings we dove and swam out to wait for the barge to come by. When it did we grabbed onto the old tires hanging on the side, climbed up, and enjoyed the ride down the river while basking on our private sand pile. The plan was to catch another barge going in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, we didn't see any, and eventually, we had to abandon ship, swim to shore, and hike home.

The Throgs Neck Bridge

I watched the Throgs Neck Bridge being built. The night before it was to open, Jimmy Visone and I got up in the middle of the night and rode our bikes across, both ways.

Live to Fight Another Day

The Le Harve Yacht Club was an upscale Yacht club located in the shadow of the Throgs Neck Bridge. Today, all that remains are some dilapidated pilings.

Le Harve Yacht Club

One day while I was working at the Yacht Club a large beautiful Chris Craft came in to fuel up. In the center of the boat, was a large salon. In it was a large red round leather bed. On board the boat were several scantly clad women in bikinis. The name across the stern in large gold letters read "PLAYBOY".

So, I'm fueling the boat, and after awhile I asked the Captain, how much fuel will she take. His response was, 80 gallons. I immediately informed him that I had already pumped 157 gallons. Houston, we have a problem. Apparently, the hose from the tank to the deck fitting had separated, so the fuel never overflowed outside the boat indicating the tank was full. Instead it just overflowed into the bilge. When the Captain opened the access to the bilge, it was obvious things could go south. I immediately instructed all the, half naked, women to get off the boat. Unbeknown to me, the Captain proceeded to hook up an electric bilge pump to pump out the gas. The resulting explosion was like something you might see in the movies. Unbelievable. My friend, Floyd Layman, was just about to exit the boat after delivering ice. The explosion blew him out of the cockpit, over the gunnel into the water, burning his back and arms. The real tragedy was the Captain. Somehow he made it out of the bilge area, but he was very badly burned. The boat burned down to the waterline, taking much of the dock with it. The lawyers had a field day that went on for years. They even tried to prove I fueled the boat through the dinghy davit and had one of the women testify she saw me do it. Fortunately, in cross examination the women's testimony didn't hold up and the pictures they presented didn't match the boat. I lived to fight another day.

The Hole In the Wall

The Hole In The Wall\

The above picture is that of a storm drain. At low tide it is above the water. At high tide the water is close to the top of the opening. This hole in the wall is more than just a storm drain, it was my secret hideaway. At low tide, Jimmy Visone and I would venture back into the tunnel which extended back under the town. Every so often, the tunnel passed under a manhole which allowed some light to shine in. It was at one of these manholes that Jimmy and I set up our work station. After all, kids growing up in New York had to have some place to work on their arsenal of zip guns, pipe bombs, and cannons. 

At mid tide, I would back up my 8 foot pram way back into the tunnel. Then I would fire up my 2 1/2 HP Johnson and zoom out of the tunnel.

Let's Go Diving

For whatever reason, I was obsessed, at a young age, with the notion of diving under water. Scuba equipment was in its infancy, and I certainly didn't have the money to buy a tank and regulator. So, I did the next best thing, I made my own diving outfit. First, I found a five gallon bucket, and cleaned out as much tar as I could. Then I cut out semi circles on each side so that the bucket would rest somewhat comfortably on my shoulders. I then cut a hole in front so I could see out and bolted on a piece of plexiglass. I finished the helmet by installing tie straps that went under my arm pits which would keep the helmet from floating off my head. The only other piece of equipment I needed was a weight to keep me from being too buoyant. I accomplished this by tying a 75 pound steam shovel tooth, that I found, over my shoulder and under the helmet. That was my one big mistake. Visualize jumping off a dock and immediately being turned upside down by the pull of the weight tied to the upper portion of the body. Then, water immediately fills the helmet which is also tied on. A Harry Houdini escape to be sure. 

Tropicana Orange Juice

The Hole In The Wall was located in what was once Wheeler Shipyard. From what my mother told me, during the war, they built Mine Sweepers at the rate of one a week. In the mid fifties, the property was sold to Tropicana. The plan was to bring orange juice concentrate by boat from Florida, pump it to shore and process it for reginal distribution. For whatever reason, transporting by boat is no longer being done. The pilings shown in the following picture is all that is left. 

Tropicana Pilings

When the Tropicana was in port, I remember climbing up the mooring lines and diving off. But, the best fun was when the ship was leaving. When the prop started turning, a huge wave would form close to the stern. Jimmy and I would run our prams right up behind the prop, get caught up in the wave and ride it out.

 

6/11/23 to 6/18/23 Long Island Sound to the Erie Canal

As you enter Long Island Sound, City Island is located just past the Throgs Neck Bridge. We spent the night on a mooring ball at the City Island Yacht Club. They provided very quick tender service that went to 11PM. Ate dinner at a local seafood place that was pricy, but extremely good.

The next morning we headed back down the East River toward NYC, but just past Hell Gate we veered off onto the Harlem River. This avoided having to go back through NY Harbor and put us on the Hudson just above the George Washington Bridge. After another 20 miles we stopped for the night at Half Moon Bay.

Our next Port of Call was Rondout, NY, and what I would call a real marine industrial town. Probably half the bricks, stone and cement used to build NY City came down river from Rondout. The town is quant and loaded with restaurants. It also has a neat Mariner Museum specializing on the Hudson River. We took a side trip to their Rondout Lighthouse. They also boast of having the first totally electric commercial launch approved by the Coast Guard (no back up power). We spent three days at Rondout.

From Rondout we continued upstream to Shady Harbor. This was a very nice marina, and lots of Loopers stay here.

The next day we again headed upstream to Waterford, NY. This is the end of the Hudson and you have to decide whether to go north up through Lake Champlain and the canals that take you to the St. Lawrence River, or go west on the Erie Canal. We spent two days here and took a side trip to Cohol Falls. The Hudson is about 200 miles long. It is tidal all the way up to the end. At this point, we have traveled 680 miles.

6/19 to 6/25 The Erie Canal - Waterford to Oswego

The Erie Canal is really neat. There is virtually no commercial traffic. The majority of the canal is wilderness. The speed limit is slow or slower. We did about 200 miles of the canal, which took a week. At Oswego, you have to decide if you want to continue on the Erie for another 300 miles, or exit into Lake Ontario, which is what we did. And, if you do the Erie, you must be willing to put up with going through locks, lots of locks. On the section we traveled, we went through 29 locks. At New York Harbor we were at sea level. At the end of the Hudson River, some 200 miles long, we only raised 30 feet, and that was because we had to go through a lock. Midway through our section of the Erie, we added an additional 400 feet. Then we started going down 170 feet to Lake Ontario. And, don't under estimate the importance of having "marriage savers" - wireless voice activated head phones.

There are many nice marinas along the Erie that you can stop for the night. However, there are also many places, town docks and lock walls, that you can stop for the night and pay nothing. We did some of each.

The only open water stretch along the Erie is crossing Oneida Lake, about 30 miles. Depending on the wind, it can be very rough. The day we crossed, it was calm.

6/25 to 7/8 Oswego to 1000 Islands

Oswego is one of the the entrances to Lake Ontario. 

Oswego Lighthouse On A Calm Day

Oswego Lighthouse On A Rough Day

Our first stop after entering the Lake was Stoney Island. This is a good size island, several miles long. What makes this island so special is the my sister's husband's family owns the island along with Phillips Petroleum. On the one end of the island Phillip's has a resort. On the other end of the Island, my brother in  law and sister have an old log cabin. We ended up spending a week there with nothing to do but relax. 

From Stony, we continued on to Clayton, NY. Clayton is a another neat town that caters to boaters. We got here on July 3rd, so everything was booked. We had a reservation at a Marina, but found out at the last minute, that we had to go under an 8 foot high bridge. Fortunately, we found a marina that could put us up. It was great, and we got to watch a great fireworks display. 

From Clayton, we continued on to the 1000 Island Yacht Club. This was a good choice, because it gave us direct access to Bolt Castle, and Singer Castle. Both of these castles are a must see.

Bolt Castle

Bolt Castle Staircase

Singer Castle

When we left the 1000 Island club, we traveled about 30 miles to Kingston, Ontario. This brings our journey in the 1000 Islands to an end. Coincidentally, we have now logged 1,000 miles since leaving Williamsburg.

7/9/23 Kingston to Ottawa via the Rideau

Unfortunately, our departure to Ottawa has been delayed. Carolyn got sick and after three days I needed to get her some medical attention. I called the clinic in Kingston thinking that would be the best place to get her checked out. Their response was that it will cost $718 to have someone look at her, and all test procedures will be on top of that. The alternative was to go back to the US. The trip across Lake Ontario to Henderson Harbor, NY, where my sister keeps her boat, was only 35 miles. At 23 mph I was there in short order. Carolyn was diagnosed as having a viral disease and is recovering.

Ten days later, Carolyn is still not fully recovered. However, on 7/17/23 it is time to start our trek up the Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal was built in the early 1800's. The lock mechanisms used then are still in use today, and are hand operated. After talking to several boaters, we came to the realization that the lower portion of the Rideau was prettier and more remote than the upper portion. The Rideau has a lot of locks that you have to "lock through". The good part of having a lot of locks is that you can tie up at any of the locks and spend the night. Most offer shore power and bath facilities. Going up the Rideau to Westport, we locked through 14 locks, and then did the same 14 locks on our way back down to Kingston.

After almost three weeks, Carolyn hasn't fully recovered. To continue across Canada via the Trent Severn Canal and the Georgian Bay requires being away from the US for another six weeks, a risk I am not willing to take. So, tomorrow we head across Lake Ontario to Henderson Harbor. That will be the end of our first season on the Loop. Our grandson, Mitchell is bringing the truck and trailer from Williamsburg to meet us. We will load the boat and trailer it home. 

We have been on the loop for 53 days. To say that it has been a great adventure would be an understatement. I am emotionally distraught that our trip is coming to an end. We travelled 1,300 miles in 53 days and locked through 58 locks. We have met and traveled with many wonderful people who will be high on our list of good friends. 

Next year the plan is to put the boat back in where we took out and continue our journey. The Great Loop is 6,000 miles of which we did about 20%. God willing, the adventure will continue.