Tour of the Big Apple!

Yesterday, Tuesday we stayed at one of our best anchorages of the trip and a milestone we have been looking forward to. The anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty in Liberty Park, it was awesome!

Today we had a wonderful day touring the City of Manhattan. We covered a lot of ground by ferry boat, buses and the famous New York Subway. They sure have a great public transportation system.

We started with the Empire State Building Observatory and the great sites of the city. If you look real hard you can see Northern Light across the Hudson River in the Lincoln Harbor Marina in this photo.

Next, we made a visit to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and said a few prayers of Thanksgiving.

We spent a lot of time at the World Trade Center Memorial & Museum; it was a very moving experience that we will not forget. The photos of all of those lost on 9/11/01 were overwhelming to us.

This photo is the plan for the future WTC, a single tower 110 stories high and memorial park. Building has started and is scheduled for completion sometime in 2012.

We ended the day taking the subway to China Town for a great Chinese dinner. A great day in the Big Apple!

Historical Annapolis!

Yesterday we spent a day on a wonderful walking tour of historic Annapolis, Maryland. These are just some of the highlights and photos of what we enjoyed:

The State House (Where George Washington resigned his commission in 1783 and is the location where the Treaty of Paris was ratified by Congress in 1784 ending the Revolutionary War). It is the oldest State capitol in continuous legislative use.

St. Mary’s Church (Built in 1860 and designed by architect Louis L. Long)

suThe Charles Carroll of Carrollton Home (Built in 1749). Charles held the distinction of being the only Roman Catholic and the longest living signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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The Hammond-Harwood House (Built in 1774 and designed by architect William Buckland)

United States Naval Academy (Established in 1845 is home to 4,000 midshipmen during their 4 years of training to become officers in the Navy or Marine Corps). The Chapel and Museum housing the best collection of ship models from 17^th century to modern times were awesome.

Saint John’s College (Chartered in 1784 and today is best known for its curriculum based on the Great Books program)

The Green House (Built in 1740, Jonas Green was public printer and Publisher of the Maryland Gazette)

We sure enjoyed the history of Annapolis!

Deliverance From The Great Dismal Swamp!

Thursday we departed Oriental, NC early for a long travel day. It turned out to be a 75 mile trip one of longest on the Loop. A beautiful day spent motor sailing most of the day across the Sound and rivers. We found a beautiful anchorage on the Alligator River off Tuckahoe Point.

Friday, we made it to the Great Dismal Swamp after a great morning motor sailing on the Alligator River and across the Albemarle Sound. We had to dodge a lot of crab pots (was like a mine field at times) but a beautiful sunny day on the water. Arrived at Elizabeth City and the Pasquotank River the entrance to the Dismal Swamp. We wanted to top off our diesel fuel and Lambs Marina was the only place we could find it. We should have known we were in trouble when Billy Bob had difficulty telling port from starboard. When we tried reaching them on the VHF radio we found out their radio was not working, but we went there anyway, down a very narrow channel with minimum depth. We tied up at the only dock deep enough for us and had to wait for the fuel truck to come to our dock. When we saw the fuel truck (an old 1970 Ford F600) that wouldn’t start (because it was out of fuel!) we started to really get worried. After Billy Bob spilled diesel fuel all over the hose and himself, we decided to use our diesel jugs to top off and depart ASAP. Interesting but not one of our best fuel stops just part of the adventure! We did find a great anchorage behind Goat Island; it was so quiet and peaceful.

Today we crossed through the Great Dismal Swamp Canal and into Virginia. It is the oldest operating man made waterway in the US, first used in 1805 to transport flat bottomed vessels with grain and farm animals the 22 mile length. Our trip started early in dark flat water the appeared as a mirror reflecting the trees from each bank. The canal in narrow, only 60 feet wide in some sections with over hanging branches made it interesting. We made 3 stops, 2 locks and a stop at the NC Visitors Center dock. After we left the 2^nd lock we had an engine problem. The engine was running hot due to not enough water coming through the intake. Had to stop and emergency anchor and Captain Brad had to go down into the dark water (zero visibility) with his pony SCUBA tank and clean the intake port under the boat. It was almost like the Great Dismal Swamp was saying “Not so fast Northern Light, I am not finished with you yet”. We did make it passed the Swamp and stayed at a dock at the Chesapeake Yacht Boat Yard near Norfolk, VA.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow when we will enter the Chesapeake Bay!

Camp LeJeune Lagoon

Friday, May 15th we left Wrightsville Beach and traveled 42 miles down the ICW to a lagoon inside the Camp Le Jeune Marine military base. The Marines allow boaters to stay in the lagoon but we are not allowed to leave the boat or go ashore. After observing their training maneuvers we decided to follow their rules. We got a front row seat to training exercises that included troops deploying from vertical takeoff fixed wing aircraft. When we arrived in the lagoon there was one other boat at anchor, two hours later there were 17. The site is about the only spot available to anchor on the waterway from Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort.

Saturday we motor sailed the 40 miles to Beaufort N.C... We had gone to Beaufort several years ago by car and enjoyed it very much, so we were anxious to see it again. We spent a couple days taking in the sights at this historic seaport. They do a great job of retaining and commemorating their history in the area. The town is full of beautifully restored homes, churches and store fronts. Susan and I spent an hour in one of the old church burying grounds with grave sites dating back to the early 1700’s.

Monday afternoon Susan and I rented a car and drove to the airport in Raleigh Durham. Susan flew home Tuesday morning to help care for her mother. Jan had heart bypass surgery last Saturday and her recovery has been slow. I’m sure Sue will provide invaluable support to her parents as they work through this difficult time. We’re all praying for you Jan. I’ll miss my first mate immensely; I hope we are together again soon.

Tuesday morning I returned to the boat and Linda, Jay and I left the Beaufort Docks around noon. After a wet breezy ride we arrived at the Oriental Harbor Marina in Oriental, NC late that afternoon. Wednesday we stayed at the dock waiting for the rain and high winds to pass. We plan to get an early start tomorrow morning and start to make up for some lost time.

Where the Boys (and Girls) Are!

We spent a wonderful week in Fort Lauderdale at historic Cooley’s landing and enjoyed all the fun things to do there. Even though we had a few days of rain we were able to take advantage of the down time to get some things done, boat projects, laundry and needed provisioning. We also took in a couple of movies, went to the famous Fort Lauderdale beach. Yes, the Elbow Room is still there and it looks the same as it did in the 1960’s when we spent time here from college spring break. We spent much time on the River walk and enjoyed the restaurants and scenic beauty.

St. Patty’s Day was celebrated with our Looper friends Hank & Ann from “Queen Ann’s Revenge”. It was a great time visiting with them. We met them back in January in Mobile and it was nice to see them again.

Departed Cooley’s early Monday morning and headed north along the Intercoastal Waterway and enjoyed viewing the opulent homes, fabulous landscaping and mega yachts along the way. We needed a lift from a lot of bascule bridges but the schedule matched our travel time well. There was only a short wait for a few of them and all the bridge tenders had their own unique personalities which made it interesting.

Found some great anchorages along the way. Monday night at Lake Boca Raton, Tuesday in Lake Worth next to Peanut Island where we explored a beautiful park. An interesting fact about this island is that it housed the presidential bunker for JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Waved at Donald Trump when we passed his home. Wednesday continued our journey north to North Palm Beach and found a special anchorage in the NE corner of Lake Worth.

We are all looking forward to having Andy Light come aboard this evening!

This is Heaven!

It is so good to be back aboard Northern Light again after a short absence. Linda and I arrived on Saturday at Burdines Marina in Marathon. Our dear friends Dan & Kathy May drove us to the Keys and will be returning our car to Michigan this spring. Thanks for your generosity. We all had a delightful dinner of steamed shrimp & honey buns at the Castaways.
We spent Sunday in Marathon (Vaca Key) exploring the area and preparing for our departure to the Atlantic Ocean.
On Monday we departed Burdines after breakfast and had a great breeze so we were able to sail along the Keys up to Lower Matecumbe Key. We arrived at Matecumbe Bight about 4:15pm after going under a 65 foot bridge (Linda’s first) she also saw her first dolphins and a huge sea turtle swimming alongside the boat.
Tuesday was another great sailing day in the keys and we arrived at our next anchorage at Rodriguez Key. We took a short dingy ride to check out our new surroundings. Brad and I put on our snorkeling gear and cleaned the bottom of the boat and swam around looking at all the pretty fish.
Wednesday was another perfect sailing day for us and we needed to get an early start since it was our longest day (about 53 miles) to our next anchorage at KeyBiscayne near Miami. We arrived at Bill Baggs State Park, a beautiful little anchorage called “No Name Harbor”. I renamed it “Brad’s Bay”. All enjoyed hiking in the park and taking a cool shower outside. Enjoyed cocktails after dinner while waiting for the shuttle launch that never happened.
These last 3 days have been beautiful. This is what I imagine heaven to be; sailing in aquamarine waters with a fresh breeze on a beautiful boat with good friends, nothing could be better. Thank you Brad & Susan for giving us this wonderful opportunity of a lifetime.
Tomorrow is a special day! Brad’s 60th Birthday and we plan to celebrate in style.

Gary' s Goodbye & Night Crossing

We motored South down the Inter Costal Waterway about 24 miles to Clearwater yesterday. There is a lot of activity here because of the Super Bowl being played close by in Tampa this Sunday. A lot of big yachts are starting to arrive here for the rich & famous. The largest we have seen so far is the "Big City" a new Trinity 140 foot motor vessel that charters for $195,000 a week. The delivery crew was working on it all day (cleaning & polishing) and we are anxious to see who the special guests will be tomorrow. Weather is warm (high 70's) and very pleasant. We enjoyed a morning walk on the beautiful white sand beach of Clearwater and a fun dingy ride to town to do some needed provisioning. We will be staying here for a few days while our wives (Susan & Linda) are traveling from the North country to join us. We miss them a lot and are looking forward to our reunion with them this Friday.

Today our dear friend and Poet Laureate sailor, Gary Gaudreau departed Northern Light and is heading back home to Michigan. We are sad to see him go. Before he left, he was inspired to write another great poem about our perfect night crossing of the Gulf of Mexico a few days ago. We would like to share it with you and hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Night Crossing

On a warm winter morn in St Joe Bay

Northern Light caught the tide running out for the day.

She fetched her marks on the rollers with ease,

Gently turning to course, softly kissing the seas.

We three that sailed her, she knew of our dream,

Of a swift sea voyage, fifteen knots on the beam.

So she served up a ride, the best I think now,

With dolphins and sea birds swiftly passing our bow.

Now light fading fast, we’ve sailed well all day,

Crossing the Gulf toward Anclote Island’s bay.

Northern Light knows our needs, she coaches us on

Thru a sea of stars, brilliant sunrise at dawn.

We’re tired and damp but our spirits renew

Over praise for the yacht and her love for the crew.

Sailing on to the docks, we’ve seen many great things.

Raising our Margaritas, three embrace Tarpon Springs.

Gary T. Gaudreau

1/27/2009 1500 Hours

Gulf of Mexico at Tarpon Springs, FL aboard Northern Light