Stories about our experiences traveling America’s Great Loop.
The Hudson River has quite a strong current, so it is important to time your trip so you are traveling with the current instead of against it. So we departed our slip at Liberty Landing at about 9am. Once again we were dodging ferries, but they were soon behind us as we traveled past the George Washington Bridge and up the State of New York. We were only going about 30 miles so we arrived at Half Moon Bay around…
Our trip into New York Harbor was exciting and a little stressful. We departed Manasquan Inlet while the air was a bit hazy, hoping the light fog would burn off as we got closer to the city. We went out of the inlet and into the Atlantic about 2 miles and then headed north along the coast. The water was very calm and the wind was light. This is good for a smooth ride but means that the haze wasn’t…
We started the day early. I was unsure weather to go the inside route or brave the outside. Several boats were leaving the same time and were planning the outside route. As we were starting to leave we met a Texas boater who had done the loop twice before. He had a larger boat and said he was going inside. So we followed him out of the marina and along the NJ ICW. It wasn’t more than a half hour…
Our trip this day was to take us along the New Jersey ICW. This route is known to be shallow in places so it is not the popular route. We left Cape May late in the morning to time our trip with the rising tide. This gave us the chance to eat a pancake breakfast at the local diner and take another walk through town before casting off at around 1pm. Leaving on a rising tide meant that if we…
This day was one that I had been dreading for a few weeks. I had read that the Delaware Bay can get rough and our little boat is not so comfortable in a moderate chop. I was encouraged looking at the weather report that said waves would be less than two feet and winds 5 to 10 knots. The other important aspect of the Delaware River is the current. If you catch it at the wrong time you might face…
We departed from Baltimore on Memorial Day. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with calm winds and tame water. There was a lot of boat traffic but it was fun to see all the activity on the water and all the people celebrating the holiday and honoring our veterans. Thank you veterans! Our trip took us to the top of the Chesapeake and into the C&D canal. This is the canal that connects the Chesapeake bay to…
We chose Baltimore as the location for our next storage location as we needed to leave the boat so I could go on a business trip. The reason we chose Baltimore was that it offered low cost dockage and good transportation. Also, we had never been to Baltimore, so it was fun discover the town. The marina we stayed at was Anchorage Marina. It is located near Fells Point. They gave us a monthly rate and a safe location. We were…
Wednesday we decided to take advantage of good weather and head for Annapolis. There was some early morning fog, so we waited until noon to get going. Since Zanheisers didn’t sell fuel we stopped at Solomon’s Marine to fill up with Diesel. The attendant there really liked Annapolis and told us places we should visit. So we headed off and enjoyed an afternoon with no waves and partly cloudy skies. We arrived in Annapolis just before 5pm. The marina we…
We departed from Deltaville on Tuesday Morning and had some safe but uncomfortable waves for the first hour or so. We have the option in our boat to travel at higher speeds when necessary. By necessary I mean any time Melissa says she is not enjoying herself. So I dropped the hammer and soon we were doing 15 knots across the Chesapeake. Eventually the water calmed, and by the time we turned into the Patuxent River the water was glassy…
We left the boat in Deltaville, VA for a couple of weeks so we could return home to Florida for our son’s wedding. After the wedding we flew to Texas for another son’s concert. It was a hectic 10 days of travel, but it turned out well. There is not much in Deltaville other than marinas, but it is an inexpensive place to leave the boat for a couple of weeks and that is what we did. Since we are…