The Adventures continue.....

Saturday, October 10-- We arrived at Haverstraw Marina well before noon. After fueling up, we moved into a slip, right next to Ishmael, the Whitby 42 and crew from Catskill! Nice to see friendly faces. Our package from Jamestown Distributors has not arrived (they had promised it would be there), but we were able to find a substitute at Samalot, the well stocked marine store at the marina. We had ordered a bronze toggle, and Samalot only carries Stainless steel, so we now have dis-similar metals together, but we need to move on. A very windy afternoon here, much like our experience last year. We were able to go online with 5 mile wifi for the first time, so it was great to get online to check email!

A note about 5 mile wifi: Until now, we had email capability on one of our phones, so we could check email daily. (The cost was $60 per month.) Actual internet connection for other purposes was very spotty last year. So after some research, and on the recommendation of Practical Sailor magazine (the Consumer Reports of sailing gear), we decided to drop the email service on the phone and purchase 5 mile wifi, in an attempt to lower our expenses. Supposedly we can pick up wifi connections up to 5 miles away, for free! The antenna is installed, and it worked at Haverstraw. Since then, we have had no luck getting online. We get a message that we are connected, but cannot pull up a webpage. Not sure if it is the weather or something else. Have emailed the folks at 5 mile wifi, and waiting for a response. Communication is very important on a trip like this, so we hope to get the problem resolved soon! Lots of people use an aircard with excellent results, but we are trying to avoid the $60 per month fee.

October 11--Traveled to the anchorage at Liberty State Park. We had anchored there in the spring and enjoyed it. Great view of the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, and the Verazzano Narrows Bridge. Brisk wind during the night, but holding is good here. Ishmael followed us in to the anchorage.

October 12-- On to Manasquan, NJ. Anchored again at "Dog Beach", where Colby and Kooper (Ishmael's resident pooch) had a great time. Decided to stay here an extra day as winds were forecast to pick up considerably in the late afternoon, and that could make the entrance into Atlantic City difficult at the end of a long day. (Remember last year's arrival at Atlantic City?)
As it turns out, this was a good choice, as we discovered that, ADVENTURE #5, our centerboard was in the down position. The square part of the centerboard pin had slipped, and we can no longer raise the board. It was actually acting as our anchor! We took a long rope and worked it back from the bow, managing to raise the board, and we tied it up. Then Dick started to work on the mechanism (the Tartan manual does explain that this does sometimes happen, and can be fixed from inside the boat, with one's head in the bilge and one's mouth held in just the right position!). Karen went out into the cockpit about a half hour later, and discovered that, ADVENTURE # 6, we had blown down the channel and were quickly approaching the railroad bridge!!!! Yikes!!!! Quickly stared the engine, powered back to the anchorage a few hundred feet away, and put the anchor down. Engine in reverse to check that the anchor was set, and ADVENTURE # 7, the engine quit again! Realized that the rope we had used to tie up the centerboard had slipped, and wrapped around the prop!! (As Karen said, "We didn't used to be bumbling idiots?!") We called George on Ishmael to warn them of our plight, and George mentioned that he had seen a Towboat US boat on the other side of the harbor. So we called them, and about 45 minutes later, Captain Tom and his son Thomas arrived. Tom dove under the boat, raised the board so we could tie it again, and removed the rope from the prop. Thank you!! A lot of adventure for one day. Heavy winds in the night, but the anchor held well. Not much sleep, however.

October 14--Underway before 6:30 AM, in the dark. A good day of motor sailing along the coast. We did hear a loud noise at one point, but engine ran well, temperature was fine. Arrived at Atlantic City, Gardiner's Basin, about 4:00 PM. Glad to be here. Ishmael arrived a few minutes ahead of us, and helped us tie up. On the end of a dock, but better location at least from last year. Out to dinner with George, Kathy and Ben at the Back Bay Ale House, a fun evening!
About 10:00, we were hearing a banging noise, and realized that the centerboard had somehow dropped again. That was the loud "Ka-bam" we had heard underway today. So out on deck with a rope again, pulling it back from the bow, and tied up the centerboard again! A calm night, great night's sleep for the first time in days.

October 15--Here it comes! The advertised storm, with winds gusting to 50 knots. The docks are sound, we have 6 lines holding us, and chafing gear on the dock lines. Lots of noise, boat moving around a bit, but we are OK. This is really a re-run of our experience here last fall!! Couldn't sleep comfortably in the v-berth that night, so we slept on the settees in the saloon. Colby likes the company! Around 10:00, we thought the centerboard might have come loose again, so we were out on deck with another rope, to be sure it was up. Limited sleep that night!

October 16-- A bit calmer for a while during the day, the lull between the two fronts. Then here comes storm #2! Winds gusting to 35 knots, expect to be here until at least Tuesday. Would have loved to get to Cape May for this series of storms, but this is OK. We have power, water, rest rooms during the day, a convenience store, and free access to the Aquarium with its DSL connection! Still need to get the centerboard pin back in place, but hard to work when the boat is bouncing around.

Maybe we'll have an Indian Summer?