9/29/19

9/29/19

First apple pie!  We made our first apple pie upon reaching Waterford, NY at the end of the Erie Canal.  And we had good reason – our friend Lisa Church, who recently graduated with a degree in chemistry from the university here in nearby Albany, just started her first job about 10 miles from where we were docked..  Many reasons to celebrate!

Nice visit with Lisa - she drove to Wateford for dinner.  Enjoyable visit.  Apple pie too!

Of course, we made another pie when we reached Kingston on the Hudson to take down our mast.  We always make an apple pie for our buddy Vince at Hideaway Marina.  He sure takes good care of us!

Two more days on the Hudson to Atlantic Highlands, NJ where we visited with Marianne and her friend Richard before heading to sea.

Another picturesque day motor sailing the Hudson River.  Spectacular and warm!

I’m always intrigued to see what new structures have been built in New York City.

Hmmm….maybe we’ll see how this turns out upon our return in the spring.

We’re heading out to go under the Verrazanno Bridge as a “box boat”/freighter is coming in.  Looks close for clearance but he had plenty of room.

And the tomatoes you saw on the cabin top in the last group of pictures…Had to take care of the tomatoes before heading out to sea!

Our route in the past has been one hop from Atlantic Highlands to Norfolk.  Because of all the southerly winds this season we took a short hop from Atlantic Highlands, NJ to Barnegat, NJ – almost enough northerly winds before they built from the south as we neared Barnegat.  The exciting part of that leg – we were playing backgammon in the cockpit and keeping watch.  I happened to look towards shore and saw a 60’ whale jump straight up out of the water!  A number of times!  (But not enough times for me to get the camera in time.)  Also, lots of dolphin stopped to swim with Persephone for a few minutes before going about their business all along the coast.

From Barnegat we had a fantastic sail down to Norfolk!  The winds clocked around, as they do with an approaching cold front, from west to north, to east.  All about 12 knots give or take.  We finished the passage with a southeast wind coming into the Chesapeake Bay.  Ron and Deb on Scheherazade just behind.  Sure has been a warm trip thus far!