NEW YORK.....NEW YORK

What a wonderful town....this was Jess's first time to see and experience the Big Apple. To get there, we cruised the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. We were very very lucky because cruising conditions were perfect. Mild winds and smooth flat water. We arrived in Staten Island on Friday June 27 and stayed at the Great Kills Yacht Club. Super nice folks and the island is very pretty. We toured the City on Saturday and Monday (Sunday was wash day plus rainstorms).

Pictures are Jess and I on the Staten Island Ferry, The "Lady", New Jersey across the Hudson River from Manhatten, new World Trade Center and cruising the Hudson River, West side of New York - heading north.

Cruising the Hudson River is beautiful. The scenery is incredible. Next pictures (in order) is Sing Sing Prison, West Point, several "Beacons - Lighthouses" on the river and the Kingston City Marina where we stayed last night. The docking is very narrow (as you can see) but Capt. Still is the best.

We will be in Troy, NY for July 4th then will start our journey through the Erie Canal to Oswego on Lake Ontario. It's so hard for us to realize sometimes that we have traveled this far.

The trip of a lifetime.......My Cin

CHESAPEAKE, VA

June 8th, arrived at the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, Va. After our incident with the anchor, we have ordered a new anchor/chain windless system. While we are here, we decided to have other work done on the boat. Everything is going well and we should be able to pull out of here by Thursday, June 19th. Chuck and Fabin (Whichaway) cruised to DC and we will hook up with them on Sunday in the Chesapeake Bay.

While cruising to Virginia, we experienced the North Carolina Fires. The smoke was very thick and we had ashes all over the boat. We stayed one night in Elizabeth City, NC (located at the mouth of the Dismal Swamp Canal). The canal is about 63 miles long. It is beautiful, swampy and hot! There are two locks on the canal system and when we went through the first one, I truly thought I was going to faint. It was so hot I could hardly stand up. But we made it and anchored in the Norfolk Harbor.

That weekend was the Norfolk Harbor Fest and Fireworks. We were on the 50 yard line for the fireworks....the best we have ever seen. Norfolk Naval Station, the largest naval installation in the world, is homeport for aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, nuclear submarines and admiral's barges.

Our next big destination will be New York. Due to delays in our trip, we may not be able to spend much time there. Just have to wait and see how it goes. You can click on each picture to enlarge it. Note the picture of the "sign" that was in one of the locks. It show "mileage" north and south.

Until our next entry.......Jess and Cindy

ANCHORS A-WAYYYYY

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC: June 1, 2008....ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY CRUISING

This is a story to really mark our one year anniversary. We arrived in Wrightsville Beach (which is right outside of Wilmington). It was a windy day and we decided we would stay in a marina. Chuck and Fabin on Whichaway planned on anchoring. As we approached the marina for docking, Capt. Still had to make a left turn into the marina then a tight right 90 degree turn at the dock. The wind and current slammed us into the pilings at the 90 degree turn. We had to back out into the channel and try again. A huge yacht was docked on the outside of the dock that we were trying to get to. As we backed out, we hit the swim platform of the huge yacht. I felt so sorry for Jess...he could not control the boat for the winds and currents. Of course marina was packed, open air restaurant packed and the whole place stopped and stared.

We backed out and left the area to go anchor by Whichaway. We called the marina to see if there was damage to the yacht and of course there was (very minor). Owners were not there so we left our name and number with the dockmaster.

We made it to the anchorage and after five attempts, finally hooked. Friends of ours that we met in the Bahamas live in Wrightsviile and came out to see us. They took us back to shore and we went out to dinner. Chuck and Fabin stayed on their boat and kept an eye on ours. A fast and furious storm blew through with winds clocking 50 mph. Chuck called us and said our boat was moving to shore and he couldn't get his dinghy down for high winds. Jess and our friends left the restaurant and headed back to the boat.

IT WAS A MIRACLE. My Cin was sitting at a huge pier right off the beach. Not one scratch on her and right behind our boat was a small ski boat. We just couldn't believe it....this was the "wake up call" that we have to change out our anchoring system. So we are in Chesapeake City, VA ordering our new system and will be here for 10 plus days.

Pictures show the small boat behind us, the pier where My Cin drifted to and a picture of us getting on our friends boat. In that picture you can see the beach and the pier in the background where she drifted to. The picture of the small boat sitting on a sandbar shows what can happen when you don't stay in the channel - run aground and then the tide goes out.

We will head north once we leave here and our goal is New York late June. Jess and I both said our prayers of many many "thank you's" after this incident and are very very blessed. We have wonderful angels taking care of us.

Very grateful......
Jess and Cindy

CRUISING SOUTH CAROLINA

Georgetown, South Carolina: We have been in Georgetown for two nights, leaving today and heading north. Beaufort was incredible. Very quaint and alot of "movie history". Movies that were filmed there were Big Chill, Prince of Tides and Forrest Gump. The picture of the church was in Forrest Gump. The house with the big trees in front was the house that Nick Nolte and Sally Field rented while they were there. The house on the water with the long pier was Big Chill. We were able to see the front of the house but it was hard to get a good picture because of the foliage. Other movies that filmed in Beaufort were Something To Talk About, G I Jane and Forces of Nature (Sandra Bullock).

Charleston was very nice. We took a carriage tour one day and spent the other days "working" on the boat. The picture of the "yachts" was coming in to Charleston and the other one was leaving Charleston.

While cruising to Georgetown, we went through a Wildlife Reserve. We saw about eight alligators swimming along the shore. (Picture of one, you have to zoom in).

We plan to be in Washington DC and New York area mid-June. Our "on the water one-year anniversary is June 1st". It has been an incredible journey and more to come.

Until then......My Cin

GEORGIA - SOUTH CAROLINA & HORSE FLYS

Hi there, we are having so much fun, it's hard to find the time to update...sorry.
Good news is we bought a new camera. Pictures are from Jacksonville Fl., Jekyll Island and Savannah, Ga. and Hilton Head Marina, SC.

We ended up staying two weeks in Jacksonville instead of one. Our new Port Hole Windows were not delivered when they were scheduled for and that delayed us. But we managed to get projects done on the boat including a "bottom job". We left Jacksonville on May 2nd and headed north.

We have anchored at various places along the way with the first stop after Jacksonville being Fernandina Beach (Florida/Georgia State line). The small town hosted a big Shrimp Festival and Firework Display that evening, which was a special treat for us.

Once we crossed into Georgia, the Intracoastal Waterway snakes thru alot of marshland and alot of horse flys. We would have at least thirty plus buzzing around in the flybridge. It did get on ones nerves.

Jekyll Island was incredible. Twenty miles of bike trails plus paths thru the woods. Right after we docked, a wedding took place right down the dock from us (pic. of the ceremony). Jekyll Island features old historic mansions, incredible huge Oak moss covered trees and white sandy beach on the Atlantic side. We arrived on a Saturday and there must have been at least six weddings setup at different locations on the island. I really enjoyed taking "Stella" (Segway) out for long rides.

Tides: We are experiencing tide swings of eight to ten feet. There is a picture of Jess taking "Stella" down the ramp at low tide. Another picture of Hilton Head marina at low tide. But, all the marinas on the east coast have floating docks.

Isle of Hope Marina right outside of Savannah was very nice. My Cin was docked right next to a 118ft yacht "Rebecca". The Capt. and crew were very nice and they gave Jess and I a special tour. HOLLYWOOD - RICH. Beautiful vessel. She left today for an 18 month cruising tour. The waterfront downtown area of Savannah reminded me of New Orleans.

Today, we are docked at the Downtown Marina...Beaufort, SC, located right in the historic district. We will be here for three nights then Jess and I will head to Charleston for ten plus days. I will update again with more pictures from Beaufort and Charleston.

Just a note to all our friends, June 1, 2008 will mark one year of our boating journey. Hard to believe.....until our next update

Love...Jess and Cindy

BACK IN THE U.S.

We are back in the states and have been traveling up the east coast. We made our crossing from the Bahamas to West Palm Beach on Friday, April 11th. All conditions appeared to be good for the crossing. We were about two - three hours out and conditions changed. We had swells coming at us from the north and winds coming at us from the south. Therefore, we rocked and rolled all the way back (eight hours).

Saturday, April 12th, we started our journey up the east coast. We have had several fronts and very high winds. So our traveling hasn't been that comfortable.

Things have settled down and we are currently anchored outside of St. Augustine. We plan to arrive tomorrow in Jacksonville and will stay there for about 10 days. We will have some work done on the boat (minor things) and take care of other projects and maintenance. While we are there, Jess and I will shop for a NEW CAMERA! Ours crashed and I haven't been able to take any pictures.

We had a wonderful time in the Bahamas and look forward to going back next December. We met alot of great folks and will be hooking up with them along the way. We are still loving this and are really looking forward to exploring the east coast.

Once we leave Jacksonville and I can start taking more pictures, the blog will be updated and much much better.

Until then.....alive and well.....Jess and Cindy

BAHAMA PICTURES

Here are pictures from various places we have visited in the Bahamas. We are having so much fun and each day is a new adventure. We are going to try to take a side trip to Nassau and Freeport before we leave. The other day, we had a huge Sting Ray swim right by our boat and this was sitting at the dock in our marina. More to come later.

My Cin