Deltaville, VA to New York

5/17/13
The last time I updated this journal we were spending some time with Ryan and Kari in Deltaville, VA.  Here's Kari and Karen with a loaf of freshly baked bread.

Kari & Karen with a loaf of French bread.

The next day we said our goodbyes and headed south.  Yes, south.  We're trying to make progress north so we headed south to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean.  Southerly winds were forecast for the next few days - perfect for heading to NY on the ocean.  If we had continued north up the Chesapeake Bay we still would have to sail south on the Delaware to arrive at the ocean.  The forecast held up and we had a leisurely motor/sail up the coast.  The sails always help move the boat along even in light wind.  A leisurely sail = fairly calm seas (we had a bit of a large, lazy sea swell that rolled us a bit).  We were able to play Scrabble, backgammon and have some aerobic workouts.  There's nothing like an ocean sunrise to start your day.

The sun is almost up.

Sunshine!

Another sunny day.

I turned on the television as we neared NY Harbor and watched the Good Morning America show from NYC featuring the new world trade center spire project.  We were arriving the day the spire was to be affixed to the top.  When we left last fall I had taken a picture of the building being constructed, not realizing what the building was going to be.

Photo taken 11/3/12

Photo taken 5/10/13

Spire construction.

NY Fire Boat

Sail NY Harbor in style!

Another view of the new trade center building & surroundings.

My new camera has a healthy zoom feature.

More views - this from the north.

Statue of Liberty on a cloudy day.

Our passage began at 5 am on Wednesday and continued nonstop to Friday evening when we anchored in the bay at Croton-On-The-Hudson.  63 hours but who's counting.  We enjoyed a quiet, early evening and well-deserved sleep before continuing up the Hudson River.

Scenes from the Hudson River.

A picturesque place to live on the Hudson River.

Clouds move in as we travel the Hudson River.

Our destination - Kingston, NY where we left just after Hurricane Sandy's devastating wake last fall.  Vince at Hideaway Marina welcomed us upon arrival - it felt like we were back home.  Jerry had the opportunity to put on his walking shoes and get back into his walking.  Kingston is either uphill or downhill - a good workout.  Abundant green makes it feel like spring.

A Hudson River view.

A view of the Hudson from the hills of Kingston.

From Kingston we made good time riding with the current and a strong southerly breeze.  What does a sailor do in a strong following breeze when his mast is on deck?  Improvise!  Jerry grabbed an old shower curtain that he uses as a protective sheet when working on projects and clamped it to the arch on the back of the boat.  He called it our stern spinnaker.  It actually helped out quite a bit and we were going 7.5 knots at times (Persephone usually motors around 5 knots).  The shower curtain is clear so our view behind was not obstructed.

Jerry's Stern Spinnaker

Ship traffic on the Hudson.

Hook Place is nice quiet place to stop for the night.  The following morning we were up at 5 am and underway.  Actually, I got up, started the motor and hauled the anchor.  Jerry woke up with a start when the motor started and popped out of bed.  The start of another beautiful day!  The current was in our favor for the morning and the winds were forecast to pipe up - the early bird gets the worm.  Or the early sailor gets the favorable current.

Sunrise as we leave Hook Place near Coeymans on the Hudson.

Today we are at the town dock in Waterford ready to start our travels on the Erie Canal.  If you have a chance before we leave, you may see us at the Waterford Visitor Center's camera at: http://208.125.161.182:7110/view/index.shtml.

Happy Friday!

5/2/13

From Beaufort, NC we headed to Oriental.  About 20 miles or so on the ICW to our friend's Don & D's dock in Oriental.  Stopping to visit with Don and D is always fun - games, dinners, boatyard tours, campfires.  There are so many people passing through at Don and D's and so many activities.  D was entertaining 8 cousins/relatives when we were there.  D is like the Energizer bunny - there's no limit to what she can do!  Don was busy working on their sailboat, "Southern Cross", on the hard at Sailcraft Marina.  A 5 minute bike ride from their house.  Speaking of bikes, Don & D have a collection of bikes that we used when we were there.  It is a pleasure to be able to hop on a bike and ride around the streets of Oriental.  To see more of what's going on in Oriental you can check out towndock.net.  I also took advantage of Don & D's backyard to do some sail repair.

Karen sews in Don & D's yard, Persephone's black mast to the left in the background.

The second day we were at the dock Donna & Jerry on Bluejacket sailed in.  We had not seen our lifesavers since the Bahamas.  What a joy to catch up on hugs and stories.  They stayed at another couple's dock - Tom and Joyce's (their boat is on the hard in Maine awaiting a summer of northern cruising).  Tom & Joyce not only hosted Donna & Jerry at the dock but invited everyone over for dinner a couple of nights at their house.  Thanks so much! 
We continued our reunion with Bluejacket by sailing together from Oriental to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks of NC.  There's nothing like having the time to sit around and talk, play board games, and dine onboard with Donna & Jerry.  The quiet setting and relaxed schedule (none) was perfect. 

Persephone & Bluejacket at Silver Lake, Ocracoke.

Donna & Jerry at the beach on Ocracoke

Jerry & Karen

Jerry on the dune looking out at the Atlantic Ocean

Our rental bikes for exploring the island.

An egret taken from the nature trail boardwalk looking west.

We said our "See you agains" to Donna & Jerry Saturday night and left Ocracoke on Sunday. 
15 hours of motor sailing up the Outer Banks, across the Albemarle, and arriving at a perfect spot after dark.  The next morning we were off again, another long day motor sailing the Currituck Sound and through Norfolk, trying to be in the right place at the right time.  The weather forecast "promised" se winds for Tuesday to sail up the Chesapeake.  That would be perfect! 
We woke up Tuesday morning from our anchorage at Old Point Comfort and started motor sailing into the wind, against the current, with almost half-mile visibility in the fog on the Chesapeake.  I guess weather forecasts are never promises.  We were rewarded with a short day, only 9 hours or so to arrive in Deltaville, VA.  We always stop to visit with Ryan and Kari here aboard Valkyrie.

Jerry returns from his walk.  Valkyrie at the dock.

It was only a few months ago that Ryan organized Jerry's return flight to NY to the hospital and Kari's flight to Nassau to join me on Persephone.  Another heartfelt reunion.

Kari's dock garden

Persephone off in the distance toward the left, a short dinghy ride to Valkyrie at the dock to the right.

So, here we are in Deltaville enjoying Ryan & Kari's company, walking the streets of Deltaville for exercise, waiting for the NE winds to come around to the south for our continued journey north.  I promise to take more pictures!  I caught up to my birthday present camera from Jerry that was shipped here to Ryan & Kari's.  I just have to learn how to use it!