Happy mast unstepping day! We are tied to a dock at Hideaway Marina in Kingston, NY on the Hudson River unstepping our mast. That's a long way away from Beaufort, NC where I last posted. From Beaufort, NC we motor sailed to Oriental, NC where we spent a week visiting with friends and family. Then 2 days of motor sailing on to Portsmouth, VA. There are two basins in Portsmouth where the Elizabeth River ferry comes in to pick up and drop off passengers. The basins have room for 4 or 5 boats to dock. The grocery store is only a couple mile walk and Portsmouth is a good place to depart for NY; only a few hours out the Chesapeake Bay onto the Atlantic. While in Portsmouth waiting for a favorable weather window we visited with other boaters, locals, and friends in the area. Realizing there was no good weather window for our sail from Portsmouth to NY we decided to leave for Cape May, NJ. Seems the winds were southerly to Cape May and then turn to the north. We left in the rain, sailed in the rain, encountered areas of dense fog....but we arrived in Cape May just before another front came through bringing more rain, cold, and high winds. We love our 75 pound Rocna anchor and 3/8" chain all the time but especially in times like this! We stayed below warm and dry and didn't worry about dragging or having to reanchor. Then when the winds stopped blowing from the north and northeast we sprang to action, hauled the anchor, and headed out the inlet. And enjoyed another uneventful passage sailing and motor sailing when the winds were light. In to New York Harbor, up the Hudson River, and anchored at Haverstraw Bay. We had a rain and wind squall that blew through before we reached our anchor spot for the night. A quiet peaceful night was splendid! And now, here we are in Kingston hanging out with our friend Vince at Hideaway Marina. The engine that we took out of a sailboat here at Hideaway had been repaired and delivered the day we arrived. We spent 2 days putting it back together, making sure it ran, and then installing it back on the boat. That was in addition to unstepping our mast, helping step a mast on another boat, and a variety of other projects going on. Now we're ready to continue motoring up the Hudson to Waterford and the beginning of the Erie Canal. Not far now!
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| A quiet night anchored on the ICW at Pungo Ferry just across the VA state line. |
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| Our friend Bob (the 80 some year old single hander) in the foreground - Persephone in the back. |
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| A sad farewell to Ron and Deb as they head back to Oriental, NC for a new engine. We had looked forward to traveling with them back to New York. |
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| Our view looking out at the river at Portsmouth. |
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| Our morning view of the Bear Mountain Bridge. |
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| Our view after the Bear Mountain Bridge when we could finally see more than 1/4 mile. |
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| Another view of the Hudson River on a calm day. |
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| A great day to take pictures of clouds! |
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| We love the Hudson River! |
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| Just thought I'd include this. I helped cousins Dick and Georgette with some projects. Georgette pulled out some napkins and matches for me to take home with me. 1962! |
