Voyaging America's Great Loop Aboard Still Waters II

Tag: New Jersey

Friends, New and Old
Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

I would like to welcome Gideon A. aboard as our newest virtual crew member. As a dear friend, Big Dave S., used to say, “It is an SOS (scoot over some) kind of day.” It might be a little crowded on this 43 foot boat, but there is always room for more.

Summary of week:

The crew met an interesting host of people during the past week. These folks have definitely enriched the crews lives.

The first half of the week was spent making way from Cape May to New York City, with the following stops:
1. Anchored across from Atlantic City in Rum Point Basin
2. Anchored in cove by Tilton Point about 10 miles south of Manasquan
3. Lady Liberty Marina in NYC
The second half of the week was spent running up the Hudson River with the following stops:
1. Anchored in Haverstraw Cove just south of the town of Haverstraw
2. Stayed at Hyde Park Marina which is walking distance to the Culinary Institute of America where the crew will grab an evening meal
3. Shady Harbor Marina just north of New Baltimore because it was too hot to anchor
Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log. This includes weather report, sea conditions, captain’s log, a summary of the day’s experience, and a few pics of the route.

The voyage of discovery did answer the following questions this week:
1. Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?
2. Who made the above question famous?
3. Why isn’t General Grant buried at West Point or other military cemetery?
At the Box Office

This week’s video shows Still Waters II leave Cape May and run up the New Jersey coast to Atlantic City. She then runs inside on the NJ ICW where she encounters a train at Manasquan. She then runs back outside in the Big Pond to NYC, and begins her voyage up the Hudson River. In Poughkeepsie, she listens to Bridge Music. She ends her week watching fireworks off her bow over the Hudson River. Happy Birthday America! Enjoy!

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site. The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Sunday, June 24th

The skipper noticed another Viking Motor Yacht had arrived at the Marina in the early afternoon. He also noticed that the Viking was flying a White Looper Flag, signaling that they are ‘In Progress” on the loop. The name of the boat, Gettin’ Looped. The crew of Gettin’ Looped , Mike and Jonell, invited our crew onboard for a tour. Then later, Mike and Jonell came down and toured Still Waters II.

The boats are still very similar, even after 30 plus years of additions and modifications to each boat.

Mike and Jonell aboard Still Waters II

Mike and Jonell stopped by the Viking Manufacturing Facility just north of Atlantic City. They sent a message that the tour was fabulous. Our crew will put this on the ever growing ‘Next Time’ list.

Monday, June 25th

The ever changing weather has opened a window to cruise three straight days to New York City. So this morning the crew set off on the first leg of the journey up the Jersey coast by heading towards Atlantic City.

Leaving Cape May Harbor

The crew ran about three miles off shore for much of the cruise and did not have much of a view of anything but miles and miles of water.

Atlantic City in the distance

The skipper out getting video for this week’s film

When the crew arrived at the anchor spot they had a bit of trouble. On the first try the anchor did not set. While pulling the anchor back in the chain got stuck in the windlass and tripped the breaker. After resetting the breaker, the skipper un-lodged the stuck chain and dropped the anchor a second time.

Again the anchor did not hold. This time when the anchor came up it had a big ball of grass stuck on it. The skipper cleaned the anchor off, then dropped the anchor a third time. This time the anchor held, but it seems the brake may have broke on the windlass because the chain was just free wheeling into the water. Just another thing to troubleshoot and fix.

The crew did make arrangements to stay at Liberty Landing Marina in NYC on Wednesday. They plan to meet Geof, the Captain that originally trained the crew three years ago.

Geof (far left) and the crew on the last day of training, three years ago

Then they made reservations at Hyde Park further up the Hudson River so the Admiral could make reservations at the Culinary Institute for Friday. The Dance Card is filling fast this week.

Tuesday, June 26th

The crew completed the second leg of the journey to NYC. They decided to run on the inside route via the NJ ICW. To get past the worst spots of shoaling, they needed to leave about 2 hours ahead of high tide. This just happened to be 0600 today.

New Jersey ICW

The skipper got up and completed his morning routine and had the engines started at 0545. The Admiral got up when the engines started and made her morning coffee. She then went to the helm and helped get the anchor up from the helm while the skipper was out on the bow pulpit. The windlass seemed to work fine and the anchor came up clean.

They made their way out the basin and headed north on the ICW at mile 66. The first two hours had several spots of shoaling and the water low level alarm went off frequently. The good news was that the skipper never saw less than two feet of water under the props. Other than a few tense moments in low water, all was well with the cruise.

As the crew approached Tilton Point to drop anchor, the tide was ebbing and they found themselves once again in some shallow water. They managed to keep five feet of water under the boat though. When they rounded Tilton Point, they pulled into the cove and dropped the anchor. The windlass performed as designed and the anchor was set on the first try. Strange after all the problems from yesterday.

View across the ICW from the anchor spot

The crew is set to make New York City tomorrow. Always a fun trip to take your own boat into New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. Only issue is the weather, looks as though a storm may build in the early afternoon and carry some 20 plus mph winds. The skipper will evaluate the conditions in the morning.

Wednesday, June 27th

Got away at the crack of dawn this morning. The conditions in the morning were marginal, but the afternoon conditions would be a no go.

The crew uses the following matrix for deciding to travel or not:

Wind    Waves Go-No Go
0-10    <2 ft    Go
11-15    <2 ft    Go
15-20    >2 ft    No-Go

The winds were predicted to be 20 + in the afternoon with 3-5 foot swells only 4 seconds apart. That would not be much fun. However, the window to get around Sandy Hook looked good if the crew left early. When they reached the Atlantic Ocean, the wind was 11 mph with 2 foot swells at 6 second period. The wind slowly picked up energy as the crew headed north. Conditions were 13 mph winds with 2-3 foot swells as the crew rounded Sandy Hook and made way to the Verrazano Bridge.

Abandoned Lighthouse in Lower Hudson Bay

As the crew neared the Verrazano Bridge, conditions seemed to weaken and the waters calmed down. After passing under the bridge and thru ‘The Narrows’ into the Upper Hudson Bay, the skipper checked conditions out at Sandy Hook and the winds were up to 20 mph..

Looking towards Manhattan from below the Verrazano Bridge

The crew swung by the Statue of Liberty for a few pics, and were surprised to find they were the only boat there. As they pulled away from the Statue, a tour boat loaded with tourists arrived..

The crew made way over to Lady Liberty Landing and got docked. As the skipper was checking in at the dock office, a 32 foot sail boat arrived on the fuel dock to check into customs. The boat and 4 crew were landing after a four day cruise from Bermuda. The skipper asked how the sail went and the Captain of the sailboat launched into a story of 26 foot waves and a hail storm. The skipper assumed it was not that good of a trip.

After that story, the skipper checked the wind conditions out at Sandy Hook and found that the wind was well over 20 mph. Sure glad they left early and missed that mess.

The view of Manhattan from the boat

As mentioned earlier, the goal for today was to make NYC and meet up with Geof. It has been too long since the crew has seen Geof, and they are eager to learn what he is doing working in NYC. Geof had a business associate with him, Shawn, so they both arrived at the boat around 1730. After introductions and some good story telling the group set off to find some food to eat.

New and old friends aboard Still Waters II, Shawn, the skipper, Geof (left to right)

The food was ok, but the price included a charge for the view.

Thursday, June 28th

The skipper looked at the tide and current charts for the Hudson River and determined that the best time to leave was 0800, so that they would get a 1.5 mph push from the current.

Unfortunately, there was a steady downpour while the crew shoved off the dock. The crew donned their rain gear, unhooked the water and electric, then slipped the lines, and finally left the dock in the rain.

After motoring out into the Hudson River, the rain abruptly stopped. This would happen two or three times throughout the day. All at the most inconvenient of times.

Goodbye NYC

The crew caught site of Grant’s Tomb overlooking the Hudson River. This begged the question, Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?

Well, that is a trick question, or maybe even a riddle. How can that be you ask? Well, for starters, technically no one is buried in Grant’s Tomb. However, both General Grant and his wife, Julia, are ‘entombed’ there above ground in matching sarcophagi.

The skipper wondered why the General was not buried in West Point, or some other military installation. The answer turned out to be because the General’s only request upon death was to be laid to rest beside his wife. Back when he died, wives were not permitted to be buried in military cemeteries.

His wife choice New York because the site of the memorial was only blocks from where she lived and she could go visit her deceased husband. When Julia died in 1902, she was placed next to the General, granting Grant’s last wish.

Some give credit for the old question, Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb? to Groucho Marx. He hosted a quiz show, ‘You Bet Your Life,” in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Marx did not like participants to go home empty handed, so if a contestant had not won anything, he would ask this question which would lead to a winning answer. Maybe Marx is also the inventor of the modern day participation trophy.

The crew continued north on the Hudson River to the Haverstraw Marina where the skipper planned to top off the fuel tanks. The skipper noticed that fuel at the Haverstraw Marina was only $2.92/gal, fuel in the surrounding area was priced 3.50-4.00. Yes, just as they were docking the rain began again. And yes after they pulled away from the dock, the sun came back out. It has been one of those days.

After the fuel stop, the crew dropped anchor in the Haverstraw Cove. The cove is well protected from winds in any direction and is out of the river current. While in the cove, a couple of swans swam by. The skipper also spotted two deer feeding along the shore.

Views from the cove.

Friday, June 29th

Today the crew weighed anchor and headed towards Hyde Park where they have reservations to eat at the Culinary Institute of America.

Along the way, they passed some of the best sights on the Hudson River, which make this leg of the journey one of the better cruising days. The weather also decided to cooperate and bring out the sunshine.

Cruised by Bear Mountain. You can actually see NYC from the three story overlook on top of Bear Mountain, on a clear day.

The Bear Mountain Overlook, from the water

Bear Mountain Bridge

Cruised by West Point

Cruised by Bannerman’s Castle

Cruised under Poughkeepsie Bridge while listening to Bridge Music. Only other place in the world you can get this experience is in France at the Eiffel Tower. A local resident, Joseph Bertolozzi, recorded sounds made from hitting the bridge with different objects, and then composed a dozen songs from the recordings.

Click here for the New York Times Video story.

The skipper also had several radio conversations with the crew from Almost There. They are on the Loop headed to the Erie Canal, and then into Canada.

After landing at the dock at Hyde Park, the dock master informed the crew that the CIA would conduct a fireworks show after dark. He pointed to some rocks and said the barge will be just past those rocks so you will have a front row seat.

Fireworks barge getting setup for the show.

Watch the video above for a little bit of the fireworks show.

Saturday, June 30th

The best time to leave the dock to catch the current north was around 1100 this morning. The crew shoved off and had a good day of lighthouse viewing.

The Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, nicknamed ‘Maid of the Meadows’, was first lit in 1872.

The Roundout Lighthouse, first lit in 1917

The Saugerties Lighthouse, first lit in 1869

The Hudson City Lighthouse, first lit in 1874

Boat name of the week

Texas 2 Step, this boat was docked in front of Still Waters II at Shady Harbor Marina. The skipper talked with the Captain of the boat and learned that they are traveling with a couple of other Texas Looper boats.

Next Week –

The crew will arrive at Waterford on Sunday, and launch the beginning of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal is made up of the Eastern, Western, and Finger Lakes sections. The crew has cruised the Eastern Erie to the Oswego Canal, so they will travel thru this area as quickly as possible and hope to arrive at the endo of the Eastern Erie Canal by the end of the week.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red
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July 1, 2018
Whale Watching Adventure
Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

Eric here with the latest travels of Still Waters II.

Monastery high above the Hudson River across from Hyde Park

Summary of week:

The adventure continued nearly 250 miles south this week. From Hyde Park on the Hudson River all the way to Cape May, New Jersey.

First stop on Monday was at a marina 25 miles north of New York City to get some heat due to a forecasted cold night.

Then a night on the anchor next to the Statue of Liberty and a great view of Lower Manhattan.

Then another night on the hook near mile zero on the New Jersey ICW.

The crew spent a third night at anchor next to Atlantic City before landing in Cape May on Friday.

This week’s journey of discovery did answer the following questions:
1. Who are the only civilians buried at the West Point Cemetery?
2. What was the name of Henry Hudson’s last ship?
3. What ever happened to Henry Hudson?
Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log. This includes weather report of the day, sea conditions, log of the days travel, and a summary of the experience.

At the Box Office

This week’s video shows Still Waters II and crew taking a break to eat at the Culinary Institute of America, at anchor beside the Statue of Liberty, and some whale watching in the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy!

To Cape May from Still Waters II on Vimeo.

Link to this week’s video to Cape May.

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site. The library now contains 41 videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Prior to leaving the dock, the skipper noticed a strange contraption mounted to the side of the dock master office. The dock master came out and gave the skipper lessons on how to use the device. He was not sure if it still took coins, but did say it had a dial tone and you could dial 9-1-1.

The crew decided to do a dock-and-dine at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) for lunch today. The skipper worked out the logistics of stopping at the Hyde Park Marina, even though they were already closed for the season. While the Admiral made the reservations at an Italian Restaurant.

Upon arrival, the crew docked and then walked the mile to the CIA. The crew tried an assortment of three pastas and some quail. The skipper also ordered a side of fries, just in case the food portions were skimpy, as can happen at these high end joints. As expected, the food was excellent. The hike back to the marina helped walk off the chocolate pudding, bread pudding, peanut butter cookie, and chocolate chip cookie.

When the crew passed West Point, they saw these guys out rowing their skulls.

The skipper was pretty sure he heard the cadets singing the following ditty to help keep the cadence:

Row, Row, Row your boat

Gently out to sea

Sure wish I had joined

The Na Veee!

Remembering this early childhood nursery rhyme also got the skipper thinking of another popular children’s song and its connection to the only civilians buried in the West Point Cemetery.

The crew would be cutting it close to get down river to their anchor spot before dark. As they continued south, the weather unexpectedly changed. Instead of sunny skies, clouds moved in and the wind picked up out of the north. The crew could feel the temperature dropping.

The skipper checked the overnight weather forecast. The updated forecast called for 9 mph winds out of the north, with temperatures falling into the mid-thirties.

The crew decided to skip the anchor and continue a few miles further down river to take a marina at Half Moon Bay for the night. The crew arrived just after sunset, but before dark set in.

With the wind direction hitting the marina docks at a bad angle, it will be a bumpy night. On the bright side though, it will be warm with the heater on.

Half Moon Bay is named after Henry Hudson’s second and third ships. The following is a replica of the ship which can be seen at the Maritime Museum in Kingston.

This was Henry’s third and final ship. While searching for the elusive Northwest Passage in 1611, his crew mutinied and placed him, his son, and seven others in a small boat and set them a drift. The nine drifters were never seen again.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Our crew decided to drift further down stream and headed towards NYC this morning and left the beautiful Hudson River valley in the rear-view mirror. The last of the fall color for a while:

With the mountains behind them, they had this view of Manhattan from a few miles above the George Washington Bridge.

The crew decided to anchor directly behind the Statue of Liberty so they would have a good view of Lower Manhattan at night. The area is not well protected from the numerous NY Water taxi’s and Staten Island Ferry, so it was a little rocky until the ferries stopped running around 2200. However, the view was worth the wakes.

Ellis Island

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Who would have known, those New Yorkers get up early to get to work? The ferries started running at 0600 and the boat started rocking due to the wakes. The crew ‘suffered’ thru the wakes until 0930 when they weighed anchor so they could ride the current to Sandy Hook.

The Admiral spotted a whale while the crew was in the Lower Hudson Bay, but it was too far to get any good pictures.

After rounding Sandy Hook, the crew saw two more whales. The whales were less than a mile to shore which was a big surprise.

The skipper brought the boat to idle so they could better watch the whales. The whales remained several hundred yards away for most of the time. Then the whales disappeared for a while, so the skipper was about to resume travel when the whales surfaced very close to Still Waters II. Pretty exciting, yes it was.

The crew continued on to Manasquan and found the two Canadian boats that they had travelled with on the Champlain Canal anchored where the skipper had planned to drop anchor. Rather than crowd the Canadians, the skipper went a few miles further to his Plan B stop. The crew did wave at the Canadian’s as they passed by though.

Anchored in Applegate Cove.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

The crew weighed anchor and continued south today towards Atlantic City. They ran inside on the New Jersey ICW. The experience was much different from what they encountered on the way North when they travelled with every boater in New Jersey on a Saturday. Today, they were pretty much the only boat on the water for much of the journey.

They arrived near Atlantic City about an hour before low tide. There is some shallow skinny water that if they had been any later, they would have had to wait for the tide to come in to pass over.

For much of this last hour the low-level alarm was buzzing in the background. The alarm sounds when there is less than five feet of water below the keel. The boat needs 3 feet 9 inches to stay afloat and off the ground.

At one juncture the boat drifted over a 3.9-foot spot, which equates to 3 feet 11 inches under the keel. Sometimes every inch matters, and in this case, it was a difference in passing safely over the area or bumping the ground and having to wait several hours for more water.

The skipper was mentally tired from navigating all that skinny shallow water and was delighted when the anchor was down and the day was over.

Friday, October 20, 2017

The crew has run the inside ICW between Atlantic City and Cape May before and have first hand experience at bumping the bottom at least four times. Since the outside wind and weather would be favorable to an Atlantic Ocean run, they opted to run outside in the big pond.

The cruise started off rougher than expected, but things settled down fairly quickly. The swells were mostly 2-3 feet every 9 seconds moving south east to northwest. However, the wind was blowing out of the west and was causing 1-foot waves on top of the swells moving west to east. The skipper kept moving closer and closer to land until the wind-blown waves had no effect on the sea conditions and the crew enjoyed the ride to Cape May.

The view for much of the day:

The crew did overtake this one interesting little sailboat, notice she is even closer to shore than our crew.

While docking, the skipper noticed a White Burgee, Looper in Progress flag, flying on a boat. The boat was an Albin Gulf Harbor 45 named Rhapsody. Her crew is just getting started on their Great Loop Adventure. They have four days experience so far on the Loop and were extremely excited to meet their first Gold Loopers, the crew of Still Waters II.

Wishing Larry and Sue a great, Great Loop Adventure

Parked in the slip next to Still Waters II is a 42-foot Jefferson named Misty. The crew of the Jefferson came on board and talked about the Loop. They are on day two of their Loop adventure. Our crew got to share many ideas with Rob and Nancy. One recommendation was to buy a White Burgee and start flying the flag off the bow.

Rob and Nancy, Best of Luck on Your Loop!

It was fun to share experiences with them and reflect on how much our own crew’s skills have improved over the last few years. They have grown and learned much in the last few years. A Friday Flashback pic of our crew back when they were newbies and just getting started on the Loop.

Geof the Training Captain, Claudia, and Dave, third day on the Loop

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Rob and Nancy have spent many a day at Cape May. They recommended a bike ride out to the Cape May Lighthouse, so the crew took the suggestion and spent the afternoon exploring the area. The skipper said it was good to get ten miles in on the bike. Nancy also reported that they ordered their White Burgee.

Boat Name of the Week

Saw this boat at Norrie State Park:

Next Week –

Weather once again will become the overriding factor in the days ahead. Tuesday shows wind speeds in the mid-twenties with gust in the forties. This dictates that the crew get somewhere well protected and out of the wind. They have chosen a marina on the Sassafras River off the Chesapeake Bay.

It will take two travel days to get to the marina, so they will leave Cape May on Sunday and travel north on the Delaware Bay. The Bay has been a nemesis for them in the past, so they are hoping to catch a break and get a good day on this passage.

They plan to spend a week in the marina to regroup, rest, and re-provision before heading down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red
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October 22, 2017
Welcome to New York
Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

Eric here with the latest travels of Still Waters II.

Michelle, Emma, Chloe, and Athena in NY for a few days

Summary of week:

This was another short travel week for the crew. On Sunday, they left Atlantic City and cruised the inside route up to Brielle. On Monday, they cruised the outside and made their way to Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, directly across from lower Manhattan. On Tuesday, they took a cruise around Manhattan Island and returned to Liberty Landing.

Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log.

Still Waters II VIMEO site

There is no new video this week because the skipper somehow saved the video on the computer and now cannot find the video anywhere.

Click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site to see past videos.

Sunday, July 30 , 2017

Because of the high winds Friday night and all day and night on Saturday, the Atlantic Ocean waves were predicted to be greater than four feet all day. With that prognosis, the skipper decided that the crew would take the inside route up to the Manasquan Inlet.

The Admiral correctly remembered that the current could be bad at the marina and was not to keen on stopping there again. Her intuition would prove accurate later in the day.

The first surprise of the day turned out to be the scenery. Just shortly after leaving Gardiners Basin, the crew found themselves in a salt marsh. The area reminded them of the marshes in the Carolinas and Georgia.

A look back over the salt marsh at Atlantic City.

The second surprise of the day was the amount of boat traffic out on the water. Seems everyone with a boat was out enjoying the nice weather. The crew had been warned that there would be many boaters on the water in New Jersey on the weekend, but this was crazy.

The skipper got a bit off course at the Little Egg Inlet. Two red markers were extremely close to the shore and because they were in an inlet, the skipper assumed that the red markers were channel markers showing red right return. He slowed, pulled out his binoculars and looked for the yellow triangle signaling the red marker would also be an ICW marker. He saw no yellow triangle on the red marker so that reinforced the channel marker assumption. He also looked at his chart plotter and the sailing line showed to keep the red markers to starboard (right).

The skipper headed north with the red markers on starboard and found himself in five foot of water in just a few minutes. He slowed again and looked at Active Captain. There was a hazard note claiming that the sailing line was on the wrong side of the red markers and that many people go aground at this spot. The hazard note also mentioned that Sea Tow also patrols the area regularly because so many boats go aground in the area.

Coast Guard Station at Little Egg Inlet

The skipper put the engines in reverse and began to slowly back out of the shallow water. About the time the crew was clear of the hazard, a yellow Sea Tow boat appeared asking if the crew needed help. The crew waved Sea Tow off and got back on the right side of the red markers.

The last surprise of the day came when the crew approached the marina. The directions were to go to the fuel dock and do the paperwork to check-in. The marina would then provide docking instructions for the slip. When the crew arrived at a RR Bridge just before the fuel dock, the RR Bridge Tender sounded his horn signaling the bridge was about to close.

Barnegat Inlet Lighthouse

The skipper put the engines in idle to wait for the bridge to re-open. The current was pushing the boat towards the closed bridge so the skipper bumped the engines in reverse to back away from the bridge. The starboard engine died. The skipper quickly restarted the engine, but it died again when put into gear.

Using only the port engine, the skipper was able to rotate the boat away from the bridge. He noticed that the end of the T-dock was open at the marina so he maneuvered the boat over to the dock and got secured.

While securing the boat to the dock the crew discovered that a line had fallen into the water. Based on the starboard engine issue it appears the line must be wrapped around the shaft. With the office closed, there was nothing that could be done tonight so the skipper will have to deal with that first thing in the morning.

Monday, July 31, 2017

The skipper woke early and headed to the office to find a number to a diver to check out the situation under the boat. The office called a diver who was in Brooklyn and he agreed to drive down and check things out.

Diver in the water cutting the line loose

Cutting 40 feet of line off the starboard shaft

Mark the diver

After getting the line removed from the shaft, the skipper tested the engine and all seemed to be well. Time to shove off and head to New York City.

Looking out the inlet, the seas seemed to be calm which would make for a beautiful cruise to the Big Apple.

Looking down the coastline as the crew left Manasquan, the New Jersey shore was packed with folks out enjoying the beach.

With so many people on the beach, the crew understands why they see so many airplanes dragging advertisement signs up and down the beach. From Cape May all the way to Sandy Hook they could usually see two or three planes flying with advertisement.

The crew arrived at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which is the unofficial entrance to the Upper Hudson Bay, about the same time as a large container ship.

Still Waters II and the container ship needed to cross paths. The skipper hailed the container ship and let the captain know he was crossing in front of his ship. The captain said ok because he would be using tugs to turn him to port towards the container yard. He mentioned that we would be out of his way before he proceeded. Armed with that info, the skipper turned towards lower Manhattan and crossed in front of the large container ship.

The next chore was to cross over and dodge all the ferry traffic to get a good view of Lady Liberty.

Then it was just a few miles or so to the Liberty Landing Marina. The crew enjoyed the calm before the storm, so to speak, because four visitors arrive tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 1 , 2017

The guests arrived a little after the noon hour and got settled onto the boat. The Admiral fixed lunch for all, and then it was time for a four hour cruise around Manhattan.

The skipper guided them to the Statue of Liberty. There were many tour boats loaded with visitors so the skipper was kept busy trying to stay clear of the tour boats.Then it was time to cross over and go under the historic Brooklyn Bridge. It took 14 years to span the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn. When the 1,595 foot bridge opened in 1883, she became the first steel-wire suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge in the world.

The view of the Chrysler Building from the water.

An interesting looking lighthouse.

The new Yankee Stadium.

Last bridge headed back into the Hudson River.

Headed south on the Hudson River with George Washington Bridge in sight.

From there it was another six miles back to the marina.

Wednesday-Saturday, August 2-5, 2017

The guests should write a recap of their adventures in New York City so I will not go into any details at this time. However, while the ladies were exploring Macy’s the skipper learned some history of the building in the background, the Hotel McAlpin.

This is where Jackie Robinson was living when he got the call from the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Harry K. Thaw

But there is a lesser known tenant, that history has forgotten, that also lived in the hotel that had a large impact on the US court system, Harry K. Thaw. Mr. Thaw killed Stanford White in an apparent revenge killing because Mr. White allegedly sexually assaulted Mr. Thaw’s wife, so the story goes.

Mr. White was in the upper levels of New York society, was an architect by trade, and designed homes for the rich and famous of the day, the Astor’s and Vanderbilt’s.

Stanford White

The murder trial was dubbed the “Trial of the Century” by the reporters back in 1906. The first trial ended with a hung jury and the second trial found him not guilty by reasons of insanity. Most remarkable considering that he killed a man with hundreds of witnesses after months of premeditated threats.

The trials made law history because it was the first time that a judge sequestered a jury in the US.

Evelyn Nesbit, 16 year old mistress to White, chorus girl, and later wife of Thaw

Mr. Thaw was an heir to a multi-million dollar fortune and his mother used the family fortune to keep her little boy out of trouble several times over the years. She was the front runner for todays helicopter mom.

Look this cast of characters up for some very interesting reading. O.J. Simpson does not even hold a candle to the escapades of Mr. Thaw.

Lastly, it was very interesting walking around and seeing New York through the eyes of two young teenage girls. They relate everything back to some movie or current music video.

For example, when they walked through Grand Central Station they were excited because this is the room where they rounded up the animals from Madagascar. Forget about the beautiful building and paintings on the ceiling. When they saw the clock in the center of the station it was, “oh look there is the clock that …..”

In Central Park they went on and on about some dog in a movie from Alaska that has a statue in the park. They were so excited to have their picture taken with Balto.

Well, until they learned that Alice in Wonderland was in the Park also. Balto quickly became yesterdays news.

Yes, it was certainly an interesting week.

Name of the Week

We did not see any outstanding clever boat names this week.

Next Week –

The crew will leave Liberty Landing on Monday and head into the Long Island Sound. They should make a few stops on the New York side and then cross over into Connecticut.

Loop On –

The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red
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August 6, 2017
Sweetness, Four in One
Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

I would like to offer a hearty Welcome Aboard to Jen and Mike O. of Atlantic City, our newest virtual crew members.

John Wooden often said that you will be the same person five years from now except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read. This past week, the crew met many very interesting people who have enriched their lives.

Milton Hershey and kids

Now, the latest travel update of Still Waters II.

Summary of week:

Monday, the crew took a road trip thru the Amish territory around Lancaster on their way to explore Hershey, Pennsylvania. Wednesday, the crew sailed thru the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and enjoyed a night on the hook in the Salem River. Thursday, the crew made it down the Delaware Bay and pulled into Cape May, New Jersey. The fourth state they have visited this week. Friday saw the crew out in the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Atlantic City.

Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log.

Still Waters II VIMEO site

At the Box Office, this week is a three minute video showing Still Waters II negotiating 2-3 foot swells with a five second period. The crew got to enjoy this rock and roll motion for five hours, lucky them.

Click on the link to visit other videos at the Still Waters II Vimeo site.

Monday, July 24, 2017

The crew took a road trip today to Hershey, Pennsylvania to visit the birthplace of the mouthwatering milk chocolate Hershey Bar.

Milton Hersey’s story of failure and success was very interesting. He went bankrupt in his first adventures as a confectionary. He finally found success and developed a multimillion dollar caramel candy business. He sold the caramel business and then started experimenting with developing his idea of milk chocolate.

His family thought he was nuts for selling the caramel business and trying to start a new business with an untested milk chocolate bar. History stands on the side of Milton Hershey making a good decision though. What do you eat more of: caramel candies or milk chocolate?

The first Hershey bar dropped out of the mold in 1900. He continued to perfect his milk chocolate sweetness and added the Hershey Kiss in 1907. He introduced almonds to the mix in 1908 and really went nuts.

Mr. Hershey married but his wife fell ill several years after their marriage. They never had children, so in 1909 they put their fortune (60 Million) in a Trust Fund and started a school for orphaned boys, the Hershey Industrial School. His wife died in 1915 and he never remarried.

Street Light on Chocolate Avenue

However, they had a near miss back in 1912. They had purchased tickets for the maiden voyage of the Titanic. A last-minute business issue arose and the Hershey’s had to cancel the trip back home until the business issue was settled. It is sometimes the little things in our lives that end up making the biggest impact.

in 1918, Mr. Hershey transferred control of his company to the Hershey Industrial School Trust fund.

Stacks from the original Hershey Factory

The Admirals favorite candy, the Reese’s Big Cup, was also started in Hershey, PA by an employee of Hershey’s. Mr. Reese thought that if Hershey could make money selling candy, surely he could also. He continued his employment at the Hersey factory, but started making his peanut butter cups out of his garage. Eventually, Hershey bought out Reese’s in 1963.

The crew went to find Milton Hershey’s home, High Point. They went into a church parking lot that overlooks the mansion. While looking around, they found this home which was built CIRCA 1732. It is still located at its original building spot.

While driving back to the boat they passed several Amish folks out driving around the small towns.

The country side was beautiful green as far as the eye could see. This time of year back in Texas, the sun has killed most anything green and everything is a golden brown dead color.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The crew spent the day relaxing around the boat. Late in the day however, there was a little excitement. A 90-year-old man took his sailboat out of the marina and anchored in some shallow water. He was cleaning the hull.

Turns out he was prepping for the sailboat race on Wednesday night. His 92 year old wife begun to worry about him because it was taking so long. She got another fellow to walk out and keep an eye on him while he was in the water cleaning the hull.

After the cleaning job was complete he climbed back aboard the sailboat raised the anchor and managed to drop the anchor locker door on his foot. He went back below in the boat to treat his wound. He reappeared after 20 minutes or so and finally motored back into the marina just at dusk.

The whole episode reminded the skipper of his father who used to say “I am going to go full speed ahead in my life all the way to the end. Only problem is full speed is just not what it used to be.”

The 92 year old worried wife still teaches art at a local college. The Admiral was comforting the Art Teacher as she waited on her husband to return to the marina. As you can see, it was getting dark before he got back to his slip.

The crew will also give a shout out to Carrol and her two grand sons. She has been coming from Pennsylvania to spend her summers at the marina for 30 years. She stays on her boat The Big G.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The crew got back underway today. They were passing thru the C&D Canal when the skipper suggested that they pull into Chesapeake City for lunch. The place was packed last Sunday when the crew came and visited with Grace and Roger. The skipper wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. They entered the small harbor and tied up at the end of a T-dock at the Chesapeake Inn and had the local fish-n-chips.

After lunch, they shoved back off and completed cruising the canal.

When they arrived at the Delaware River, there were large ships coming from each direction. The skipper made it across the River and then turned up into the Salem River where the crew dropped the anchor for the day.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

The crew weighed anchor and began the trip to Cape May. The skipper timed the currents fairly accurately, so they got about a 2 knot push all the way down the bay. Unfortunately, the wind was out of the south which made for a lumpy boat ride. When the wind and the current are opposed, the wind causes the waves to stack up close together and make for rough seas.

They did see this Osprey eating breakfast as they left the Salem River.

Passing the Ship John Shoal Light about halfway to Cape May.

After about 60 miles of getting bounced around in the Delaware Bay, the crew finally pulled into the Cape May Canal and some smooth water.

Initially, the crew had planned to stay at Cape May for two nights. However, while checking in at the marina office the dock master asked the skipper if he had looked at the weather for Saturday. The skipper noted that he had reviewed the data early in the morning but not lately. The dock master informed the skipper that a large storm was now predicted for Saturday.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. The skipper paid for two nights and then went back to the boat to review the latest weather data.

Friday, July 28, 2017

When the skipper woke up, the first thing he did was check the weather again. The forecasted approaching storm was getting worse. The skipper and Admiral decided that it would be best to go ahead and leave for Atlantic City today so they began to make preps to shove off. Thank goodness the Cape May marina gave a refund for the second night.

These youth were out getting some sailing time in on their sunfish sailboats as the crew left the Cape May Harbor.

Looking back at Cape May from the inlet while headed out into the ocean.

The weather, wind, and wave conditions for an outside run to Atlantic City were not ideal, but were better than running the narrow shallow New Jersey ICW. The crew decided to take their chances out in the Atlantic Ocean. The seas were 2-3 foot swells with a period of about 5 seconds. These conditions made for a rolly ride to Atlantic City.

Seems as though every community along the beach in New Jersey has some kind of amusement or water park.

As the crew approached Atlantic City they noticed a helicopter about two miles off shore from the crew. Initially, it looked as though the copter was just sitting motionless above the water. As the crew got closer, they could make out a ship near the copter. They then noticed the copter haul someone up into the copter.

After this bit of excitement the crew turned their attention to finding the Atlantic City Absecon Inlet.

The crew maneuvered their way to the Gardiner Basin and got settled into a slip. The slip was in a great spot because it looks like the crew will be blocked effectively from the projected high winds and waves. The skipper took extra time and care in securing the boat. The winds are projected to reach 30 mph during the night, with gusts to 40.

About the time the skipper completed securing the boat, he heard a couple talking about Still Waters II. He poked his head out and asked if they were fellow Loopers. They responded that they were in the planning stages for the Loop.

The Admiral invited the ‘Planning” Loopers aboard. Our crew spent the evening discussing the Loop and answering questions. When the storm finally arrived and the rain began to fall Jen and Mike headed for home just around the corner.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

While Jen and Mike were leaving the boat last night they invited the crew to lunch. About noonish, Jen and Mike arrived and the four wore off for a fun afternoon.

First stop was lunch at the Wingcraft Restaurant. The conversation continued to revolve around the Loop and the boat that Jen and Mike have purchased. They have a love for old items in need of restoration. Their home back in Ohio is over one hundred years old and they have brought the property back to life. Such is their goal with their boat. They have bought a 1960’s Bertram Yacht in need of love.

Jen and Mike

After lunch, they went to the boat yard to look over their latest project. The boat definitely has character. They have a great vision for the restoration project and I am sure it will be better than new when they are complete. Good luck with your project boat and eagerly anticipate seeing her back in the water and cruising the Great Loop.

Boat Name of the Week

The skipper did not get a picture of the boat name this week, but the winner goes to Foster who is the Harbor Host for the upper Chesapeake Bay. Foster came by one night to visit the crew and answer any questions about the area. It was a wonderful visit. Thanks Foster!

His boat name you ask?

Quo Vadimus

Hailing port?

Nowhere, Oklahoma

Put it all together, and what do you get?

Quo Vadimus (Latin for – ‘Where are you going?”

Nowhere

OK

Did I mention that Foster has a great sense of humor?

Next Week –

The crew is on their way to New York City where they will meet their daughter, oldest granddaughter, and the guests BFF’s on Tuesday. The crew needs two good weather days to get to NYC from Atlantic City. Let’s hope these winds die down and they make it to New York by Tuesday.

Loop On –

The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red
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July 30, 2017
Whale of a Tail
Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

Eric here reporting on our crew’s journey from Cape May, New Jersey to 37 miles north of New York City at Croton on Hudson, New York.

But first another welcome aboard is in order for our newest virtual crew member, Russ Kunkel.

If you would like to be a virtual crew member for this adventure, go to the website https:/stillwaters2scuttlebutt.com and click on the ‘Follow’ button in the lower right hand corner.

Run Up New Jersey to New York City

The run to New York City was made in three jumps:
1. Cape May to Atlantic City via the ICW
2. Atlantic City to Brielle via the Atlantic Ocean
3. Brielle to New York City via the Atlantic Ocean
King Neptune guarding the marina

On the first jump, the crew decided to make the run up the Jersey ICW rather than make the run outside on the big pond. The wind conditions were predicted to cause 3-5 foot seas that the crew wanted to avoid.

However, the risk of running on the inside via the ICW is going aground. The Jersey ICW has a bad reputation for being shallow and narrow. Local knowledge suggests that a crew should start two hours after low tide to ensure the most water on the day run to Atlantic City.

Unfortunately for our crew, they needed to take on fuel before leaving the marina. This caused the crew to shove off at 0845, only 30 minutes before high tide. The first half of the day was uneventful, but as low tide approached at 1500, the skipper was constantly challenged to keep 4 feet of water under the boat. Between 1400 -1700, the crew found less than 4 feet of water at least three times. Each time the skipper was able to stop the boat and back up before going aground.

In this same time frame the crew actually saw one boat stuck aground. A second boat was heard hailing Boat US Tow Service because they had run aground.

All in all, it was a long nervous day for the crew as they navigated the shallow waters. I overheard the skipper tell the Admiral that he was adding this run to his ever growing list of things he is never going to do again.

Shore Excursions in Atlantic City
- Atlantic City Aquarium
Permit

The aquarium had a nice display of Mid-Atlantic Fish. The aquarium had Permit on display. You do not often see these fish at aquariums. The Permit holds a special place in the heart of the skipper because it was the namesake for the boat he served aboard during his Navy days, the USS Permit SSN-594.

This pic taken in 1984 San Francisco Bay while she was going out on sea trials. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. The skipper was standing watch as Engine Room Supervisor when this pic was taken.

Absecon Light House

The skipper and Admiral walked to the Lighthouse and then made the 228 steps to the top of the lighthouse to view the surrounding area. The Lighthouse was placed in operation in 1857. She is New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse at 171 feet tall. She is the third tallest masonry lighthouse in the US.

Webcam of skipper at the top of Absecon
- Atlantic City Boardwalk
Boardwalk near New Hampshire Ave

If you have ever played the game of Monopoly, you know that the most treasured piece of property is Boardwalk. The next most treasured property is Park Place, which turned out to be a small road leading to the Bally’s Casino off of Pacific Avenue.

Atlantic City at night

The crew had fun as they walked the iconic boardwalk from the north end starting at New Hampshire Avenue down to Iowa Avenue. They even stopped at Texas Avenue for a break. For a Monday afternoon there were already plenty of people out enjoying the day. Many of the businesses were still closed however, with their openings scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend.

On the second jump, Tuesday May 24, 2016, the crew decided to run outside to Manasquan Inlet. After leaving the Absecon Inlet, the crew turned north and headed up the Jersey coast running about three miles off shore. The swells were about four feet with a period of 8 seconds, which means there was a 4 foot swell about every 8 seconds. As the day wore on the swells lessoned to two feet which made for a nice cruise.

Whale off the bow

Around Little Egg Inlet, the skipper spotted his first whale. Before the day was out the crew had spotted five whales. One of them surfaced about 10 yards just off the port side of the boat.

On the third jump, to NYC, a boat most run on the outside because the ICW ends at the Manasquan Inlet. The ocean swells were 2-3 feet with a period of about 7 seconds. This made for rolling seas all the way to NYC.

Still Waters II approaching the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Entering the Upper Hudson Bay.

Upon arriving in the Sandy Hook big ship channel, the skipper noticed that the Cat Daddy had caught up with Still Waters II and was following in her wake. The two skippers agreed to continue on to Lady Liberty together and take pics at the statue.

Still Waters II at the Statue of Liberty

After the photo shoot, the vessels made their way behind Lady Liberty and anchored. Rafe Williams, Cat Daddy’s captain, made the dinghy ride over to Still Waters II, and an enjoyable evening was had by all swapping recent sea stories.

Cat Daddy joins the crew

About 0915 the crew was surprised by a 15 minute fireworks show on Liberty Island. Must be part of the Fleet Week activities going on throughout the city for Memorial Day Weekend.

Shore Excursions in New York City

The skipper awoke to almost completely discharged batteries the next morning. He started the generator and charged the batteries for two hours so he could start the engines. After the engines were started the crew made the one hour hop over to Lady Liberty Marina. Unfortunately, when the crew arrived they were informed that a transformer had failed nearby and taken all the power in the area down. Interesting, must be a day for electrical gremlins to run loose.
- 9/11 Memorial
The crew settled the boat and hooked up shore power with the hopes that the power would be restored while they were out exploring. They took a ferry over to Lower Manhattan and then walked to the 9/11 Memorial. Just so happened that their visit fell on the 15^th anniversary of completing the cleanup following the attacks. The construction workers, police, fire, and survivors were present for a remembrance celebration in the Museum.
- Ellis Island
Central RR Station where the ferries pick up today, but the immigrants caught trains to their new lives

The crew took the Statue Cruise Ferry to Ellis Island and spent about 4 hours exploring the museum. The restoration of the facility was well done and the museum does a good job of discussing immigration to the United States, pre and post Ellis Island.

Showing immigration routes on a globe

One interesting observation the skipper made was the change in the facial expressions in the exhibit. You could see the tension build as the new immigrants made their way to Ellis Island. Then the facial features were really strained as they waited and processed through the facility. However, once they made it, you could see the stress was gone and a big smile adorned their faces.

Another interesting story told was that the immigrants needed 25 dollars to enter the country. A running joke was that with the thousands of people who processed through the facility each day, that there was actually only 25 dollars on the island. The new immigrant would pass the money back to next family in line after proving that they had 25 dollars.

There are many first-hand accounts of actual immigrants explaining their story as they moved from their home country to the US. Makes for a very moving experience to walk back in time and share their hope for a better life.

One of skippers favorite stories
- Liberty Island
Selfie madness in the back ground as people take pics with Lady Liberty

The crew spent so much time on Ellis Island that they only had an hour to wander around Liberty Island. One new tidbit the skipper learned was that Gustave Eiffel, of Eifel Tower fame, designed the internal support framework of Lady Liberty.

Ferry ride back to marina

Symbolism abounds on the Statue:

Torch: The torch is the strongest symbol that Bartholdi incorporated into the Statue. In fact the Statue’s real name reflects its true meaning: “Liberty Enlightening the World”.

Crown: The statue wears a crown with seven spikes. This represents the 7 seas and 7 continents of the world, re-enforcing the universal concept of liberty.

Tablet: The Statue holds a tablet in her left hand. It is a book of law based on the founding principles of this nation, a nation based on law.

Writing on the Tablet: The Statue’s tablet contains writing on it. This was one of the last changes that Bartholdi made to the Statue. It was originally left blank. Bartholdi placed the date of America’s independence on the tablet (JULY IV MDCCLXXVI ). They are in roman numerals which are symbolic of law.

Shape of the Tablet: keystone – In architecture, a keystone is the stone which keeps the others together. Without it everything would fall apart. The keystone of this nation is the fact that it is based on law. Without law, freedom and democracy would not prevail.

Sandals: The Statue of Liberty actually wears sandals. She is also not standing still. Even though the Statue stands on a pedestal, she is actually walking ahead moving forward. This goddess is lighting the path to freedom through peace, not violence. Her footwear also suggests her stature as a free person.

Robe: The Statue of Liberty wears a free-flowing robe or stola, which powerfully refers to the Roman influence of the goddess “Libertas”, which was worshipped by freed slaves.

Chains: Located at the Statue’s feet symbolize the freedom that Lady Liberty has. It demonstrates that the Statue is free from slavery and bondage.

Shields: Richard Morris Hunt made some representations in his pedestal design as well. He placed shields on each side of the pedestal symbolizing the states in the Union.

Granite Brick: There are 13 layers of granite that comprise the body of the pedestal. The 13 colonies formed America in 1776.

Run up the Hudson River

View from the marina

You probably guessed it, but after being missing for 405 years, the skipper has found Henry Hudson. You might recall from your history lessons that mutineers placed Henry, his son, and 7 others in a small boat in 1611. The small crew was never seen again. But who better to narrate our voyage up the Hudson than Henry himself. I will catch back up with you when you get to Troy, NY. Eric the Red

I first cruised these waters back in 1609 looking for the rumored Northwest Passage. My crew spent ten days exploring this river that now carries my name. We made it as far as present day Albany.

George Washington Bridge

One thing has certainly changed since the last time I was here. These shores are now covered with buildings where thick forests once stood. And those huge bridges crossing the river were not here last time either.

Grant’s Tomb

Before the crew got out of the upper Hudson Bay and actually started up the river they passed an interesting scene. The NYPD and Coast Guard had created a boundary area around a plane that crashed in the river the day before. A rescue vessel was present with divers in the water who were attaching lifting devices to the plane.

Also, the crew managed to land in NYC for Fleet Week. Because of this, the marinas were booked for the weekend and our crew had no place to stay. They shoved off from the marina and travelled 37 miles north, where the crew stopped at one of the spots I anchored in back in September, 1609. The crew stopped at Half Moon Bay Marina. The marina is named after my ship that sailed these waters back in 1609.

Half Moon Bay

In the coming week, the crew will head further up the Hudson River Tuesday morning to Poughkeepsie where they have planned shore excursions to the FDR home at Hyde Park, Culinary Institute of America, and Vanderbilt Mansion.

Check back next week as we continue our epic journey around the Great Loop.

Henry Hudson
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May 29, 2016