The next day we left for Rhode Island

And stayed at the biggest marina in the state. It was filled with out of state boats helmed by real Captains. All that NY and CT cash pouring in. The locals must love it! Great help on the docks here. A shot of the Captain in front of the hoist for size comparison. 

BOAT OF THE DAY:

We left the marina the next morning amidst a small craft warning. Why, you might ask? Because, mysteriously, we were apparently in some kind of tremendous hurry all month. More on that and getting what you pay for later (and by that I mean Ralphie Props getting what Captain Ralph paid for!). We got rocked by incoming tide, 25 knot winds and 5-6' swell, ALL three hitting us on the starboard side on our way to Rhode Island sound to get up into Cape Cod canal. Once again, the videos do this no justice. We had splash coming over the roof of the boat, but every time I pulled my camera out it subsided, naturally.

Video doesn't look like much, but this was the end result:

We made it nonetheless, up through Cape Cod canal to the Sandwich Marina:

Next stop: Gloucester!

 

NYC

We moored at Sandy Hook and got some groceries and some fuel. We bbq'd steaks and ate like kings! But the action was the following day on the way into NY Harbor. It was eerily calm as it was described to me. This harbor is usually a washing machine from container ship wake. Thanks to Covid-19, we were able to stop and take photos, fly the drone, poke around the harbor and travel up through Hells Gate with relative ease.

Pulling up to her lady:

AND NOW (DRUMROLL PLEASE): the drone footage of the statue of liberty! This is 1080 and 'medium" quality, but the drone films at a higher standard. I am limited by file size here. It won't even allow this. Pathetic! I will save the better versions. This is 720 and medium quality, sigh.

And here is a timewarp video taken on the GoPro as we passed through the city and into Long Island sound. I had to break it down due to file size. Now realizing I could do this for drone footage as well to maintain higher quality. Will continue from here, but ask if you want better footage and I will find a way to send it to you! Watch closely in the last two seconds of this first clip- a float plane took off next to us heading the same way off the port side:

These were taken from the drone after filming the statue:

These are GoPro images:

Some of these images may be repeats:

Another nice Nordhavn, this one was huge Z! Spotted on Long Island. 

The water taxi took me to the town dock for supplies when we stopped on Long Island.

The Jersey Shore

Leaving Cape May was exciting because we would finally be traveling out in the ocean. The SimRad plotted a course about a half-mile offshore all the way up the coast. However, Captain Ralph assured me that it was safer to follow the "3 mile line" and that the waves would be smaller out there due to shoals along the coastal route causing rougher waters closer to the beach. Unfortunately, you don't get to see as much when you are 3 miles offshore. I made the most of it anyway. Ironically, Captain Ralph has a weak tummy for the high seas, and eventually, I convinced him we should move inland along the 1/2 mile line where all of the other cruisers were traveling.

But first, an absolutely stunning Grand Banks at the marina in Cape May

And I forgot this clip from the Delaware. Nuclear power!

This was taken as we crossed the 1.5 mile line, on our way to the 3 mile line. It was less smooth than predicted and so I took the helm to log some hours and miles ;).

This day the driving was beyond effortless!

  

It did get boring after a while:

I wrote Captain Ralph a lullaby when I ran out of ways to entertain myself:

Passed by the actual "Jersey Shore"

Saw a city along the coast:

And then another to the north!

NJ: THE END

Cape May, NJ

We left the marina along the C&D canal and headed down the Delaware to Cape May the next morning. This was an easy stint with the tide running and the wind at our back, or so we thought. Betsy does not like a strong current and tailwind at all. She was getting pushed and shoved all morning. Luckily the waves were small at 2-3 feet and there was very little boat traffic. 

Photos along the Delaware:

A nuclear powerplant off in the distance

These are taken with GoPro Hero 7 Black

Beautiful skies all day long

Doing some testing with the GoPro app here

Sunshine heading out the C&D canal toward the Delaware

We passed by some big ships, but their wake was nothing for Betsy

Made another time lapse entering Cape May canal. Note about half way across we lost a buoy overboard and had to pause. A trailing boat picked it up and delivered. We then performed our signature move of entering the marina the wrong way. I am sure Captain Ralph just enjoys showing Betsy off. 

Forgot this- I spotted a dobie on board while at the C&D canal!

Also forgotten, drone footage from the C&D canal marina. This is painful to watch- it was my first flight with the drone and it is not so smooth! They get better in later clips, I promise. I had to downgrade the quality because upload file size is limited to under 150MB. Another strike against Blogger I guess. Unsure how to share full-sized drone footage at 1080+ at the moment sadly.

Now to backtrack to share the rest of the story and media

Mid-trip I burned out on blogging late at night. Loading and transferring videos etc is time consuming and connectivity became more of an issue as we moved north. Verizon MiFi is better than nothing, but will leave you wanting for bandwidth if videos are involved. I am home and putting everything together to post today. My SnapChat followers saw the story, and the story behind the story, in real time.

So, we will be going back to the Chesapeake and Delaware canal and then forward from there... down the Delaware to Cape May, out around NJ and through NYC and eventually, FINALLY, into New England, where you will find BY FAR THE BEST BOATING ON THE EAST COAST OF AMERICA. NYC is cool to see from the water and you can actually fly your drone from your boat (drones not permitted in the city), but otherwise, you are best off sticking to coastal Maine for the ultimate cruising.

THE C&D Canal:
This was the most happening party marina on the whole trip. Crowded getting in, with boats floating everywhere, but we got a great spot at the end of the dock and the service was great (food was mediocre and over priced). I took a time-lapse with the GoPro on the way in. Decent, but should have let it take photos every half-second vs every second. The tip of the Chesapeake on the way in was a mad house of boaters and jet-skiers but it was fun to watch. I saw a guy fly off his jet-ski and into a steel buoy. His friends circled in a boat as he limped back onto it to ride home in agony. I should have had the camera rolling!

Time lapse on the way in:

In keeping with our theme of burning diesel and stimulating the economy: (which, by the way, I hear is taking off now, particularly big oil- BURN BABY BURN!)

We got Betsy cleaned up a bit today

I am heading back to NH tomorrow. I took a moment to say goodbye to the ol' girl:

Looking shiny and fresh at her new temporary home at the Eastport dock for transients:

She views Head Harbor lighthouse from the stern!

Views from the deck at home:

There is still much to come for the blog. I swear I will have it all up in a day or two! It will be a lot easier to work at home at my desk with multiple displays. The drone footage is simply amazing. What a device! 

We made it. Eastport, Maine baby!

Lots of content to follow. A week behind. Stay tuned! You will laugh till you cry!

Extremely limited connectivity in Bucksport Harbor

All is well on our mooring ball. Cannot even upload a photo, unfortunately. We had quite a day- We  took the scenic route (foreshadowing)  ;).  I hope this posts so everyone knows we are safe.

NH

We are docked at a fancy marina in Portsmouth,  NH and headed up the Maine coast in the morning.

Leaving Gloucester:

Captain Ralph did the Trump on the bow (remember that dance in Georgia?) and consequently Betsy is leaning to the right (at least part of her anyway): 

Fixed with one swift kick. Boating repair is getting easier now that I get the hang of it!

SimRad binder of information:

Note the absence of a photo. It has gone missing. The Captain used it to figure out how to turn on the fog horn this morning. He thinks it bounced off the counter and out the door into the ocean today at some point. THANK YOU UNIVERSE. Now we can never look at it again! And if my stars align, he will have forgotten how to use that bloody fog horn forever as well. What a nuisance! As if I could hear an approaching vessel’s horn anyway what with the smashing of waves and the roaring of the Cummins engines oscillating through the chassis. The conspiracy theorists among you may think that Ralphie Props had something to do with this, but they would be wrong. I certainly do not recall turning hard starboard as a big roller hit while simultaneously cutting power to the starboard motor and going full throttle on the port to maximize the roll effect which dropped the port gunnel damn near into the water, thus facilitating the disposal of the SimRad binder off the counter next to and out of the port door and into the Atlantic to never be seen or heard from again in my lifetime or the next. 

In other words, SimRad sleeps with the fishes. Don’t cross Ralphie Props. 

Clever

Captain should have thought of this!