Ocean Fishing We have witnessed with great interest the business of ocean fishing as we've travelled along the Atlantic. We know nothing of this business, but this is what we've seen: In Sandy Hook Bay we first saw the crab fishermen. One man, standing in each small boat, with an old nylon tarp fastened at either end of the boat to catch the wind. The fisherman drags and pulls with the assistance of the wind, a container along the sea floor. Certainly an odd sight to see all those fellows standing out there tugging away, but obviously it works. We also saw men on the pier there using traps baited with chicken and fish heads catching crab. We could barely get through the huge number of fishermen on private boats at the top of Sandy Hook, where it enters the ocean. (It was an early Friday morning with strong winds and temperatures in the 30's). All the way along the coast we've seen huge schools of fish. Yes, we can actually see them. They break the water with their flipping about and also we can see the change in the colour where they are in the water. We're told these are bunker fish and they are forced to the surface by larger fish (sea bass - stripers) chasing them from below. The harbours of the Manasquan River, Atlantic City and Cape May are full of commercial fishing vessels. We recognize the shrimp boats amongst them. We've seen a great many men fishing from the beach into the surf and every pier we've passed is loaded with lines in the water. We have dodged a constant profusion of buoys marking traps and nets set by commerical boats. We can't just say who's winning, the fish or the fishers, but we can say the chase is certainly on.

The Atlantic Ocean Atlantic City to Cape May It was 36 degrees when we awoke in Atlantic City on October 15th. We took our dingy across the harbour and spent the day exploring casinos - Trump, Bally's, Borgata, Sands, Showboat, Resorts, Taj Mahal, Harrah's and Ceasars. The late afternoon found us strolling the famous boardwalk in warm sunshine. As we walked through town we got a kick out of the street names, as the board game Monopoly is fashioned after Atlantic City. Today we spotted 2 dolphins, l fox, l jelly-fish and lots of high rollers. October 16th we motored in calm seas to Cape May and anchored out in front of the Coast Guard station, thus ending our sailing on the open ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean Sandy Hook (L 40 27'849, L 74 00'630) to Manasquan River and on to Atlantic City The overnight passage of a strong low front (winds 35-40 knots) saw us on anchor, sheltered off Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. (L 40 24'911, L 74 0l'2l5) Along with strong winds and rough seas the cold front brought with it temperatures in the 30's. We wove through the multitude of fishing boats in Sandy Hook Bay and out into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday October 13th, just as a small craft wind warning was ending. Along New Jersey's ll7 miles of ocean front sand beach that we intend to pass there are only 3 viable places to seek refuge. The Manasquan River was the first. After a lenghtly search in the small harbour, we found room to throw our hook. We left the next day at 0700 hours, in 44 degree temperatures along with a parade of fishing boats. The winds were out of the west at 15-20 knots. Unfortunately by the time we reached Little Egg Harbour the winds had picked up (20-25 knots, gusting to 30), and changed to the south (right on our nose). We had a cold, wet, rough and tiring last 8 miles before we arrived safely in Atlantic City just before dark.

New York Photos

New York Photos

New York Photos

New York Photos

New York - New York We spent from October 1st to October 11th on a mooring ball at the 79th St. boat basin (Hudson River) in New York City. The $30.00 per night fee to the New York parks commission included a secure place to dock our dingy, an excellent shower, a restaurant in the adjacent Riverside Park and an excellent location in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. (2 blocks to the subway and shopping) We were thrilled that our daughter Susan made the trip down to join us for 5 days. Thanks to her we explored some very culturally enriching attractions such as an exhibition of 5 paintings by Gustav Klimt. Susan also was successful in securing tickets for us to see Woody Allan and his jazz band perform at the Carlyle Club lounge in the Carlyle Hotel. The attractions we took in were: a night view of the City lights from the top of the Empire State building, a carriage ride through Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, a harbour cruise including the Statue of Liberty, and a tour of the NBC studios (and live from New York it's Saturday Night!!). We watched ice skaters at Rockerfeller Center, shopped at Macy's, Bloomingdales and in Greenwich Village and even saw the naked cowboy in Times Square. On board we watched "You've Got Mail" (Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks) and were easily able to identify the locations where it was shot, all within a few blocks from where we are moored and some of it actually right in the boat basin. October 11th sadly saw Susan heading home, all of us exhausted. We put our best effort forth to see the sights and capture the spirit of the Big Apple. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with Susan and that she was able to share our New York experience with us. At 1400 hours we let go of our mooring ball and made our way south past the skyline of Manhattan, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the upper bay, the narrows, Coney Island and the lower bay to anchor out in Sandy Hook Bay.

Hudson River Pollepel Island to 79th Street Boat Basin - New York City We awoke to heavy rain at our Pollepel Island anchorage, however it cleared by 1000 hrs and we were off to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountains along the Hudson River. We were awed as we passed the majestic location and buildings that encompass West Point. The barge traffic on the river has become quite busy and we find we're having to deal with considerable wake. We're attempting to time our movement to catch as much of the ebb tide as possible as the current has become stronger. In the evening, when we were securely on our mooring ball in the 79th St. Boat basin, we set off in our dingy and narrowly missed being swamped by 2 huge waves that washed in, caused by the traffic in the river. The current in the boat basin is so strong and variable, it feels like we're in a rapidly boiling cauldron. Even though we're all on mooring balls each boat is facing in a different direction caused by the erratic current flow.

Hudson River Catskill Creek to Pollepel Island On Saturday Sept. 30th we left Catskill Creek at 0745 hrs. SW winds were predicted with a 20% chance of rain. The beautiful morning mist that we slipped through in the harbour turned into full fog once we were about a mile out on the Hudson River. We inched from one buoy to the next steering by instruments and chart for an hour and a half before the fog cleared, with the ebbing tide giving us l.l knot advantage. After a cold day on the water we anchored in behind Pollepel Island L41 27'40 on the Hudson River and found our friends on Wingspread also there. Pollepel Island is a small island in the Hudson River which is just large enough to hold a delightful abandoned castle. We wished we had known it's history and will "google" it when we get a chance.

Hudson River Waterford to Catskill Creek Tides Tuesday, September 26 was spent on the public dock at the base of the first lock of the "Waterford Flight". Barry spent the day re-connecting our water-pump in readiness for the upcoming salt water. The visitor's centre at the public dock in Waterford offers an excellent opportunity for the social networking that is so important to boaters. Here, beside the internet access, which seems to be so much a required tool for information, is a pot of coffee, ready to be shared along with conversation. The answers to most boater's questions can be found by the sharing of personal experience between each other. The ever important social networking - another lesson we learned well at CPS. We had our first rafting off experience as we offered our side to Charlie, Christine and Dave on board Wingspread (37' Oday) out of Midland. After checking the tide tables on our GPS, it was decided that an 0800 start the next morning would allow us the best opportunity to motor when the tide was ebbing as we made our way to Catskill Creek, 40 miles south on the Hudson river. Our friends on Wingspread set off with us into the misty morning. Approximately 5 miles out of our destination our water-pump seized once again. Barry had to by-pass it to run directly out of the river, once again in order to get us underway. Once we reached our destination of Hop-o-Nose Marina, we were successfully able to order a new water-pump that will be shipped to us here in 2 days. Hopefully that will put an end to the water-pump problem that has plagued us since Parry Sound in Georgian Bay. This will give us an opportunity to work on our other problems, which at the moment are our fridge and inverter. We've pretty much figured out that if it isn't one thing it will be another. Best not to let it get you down.

Deadheads - Debris Field Flooding was so severe and extensive in the Mohawk Valley in June 2006, it caused immense damage to Lock 10 on the Erie Canal. The lock had to be re-constructed which closed the canal until August 19, 2006. The flooding caused the eastern section of the canal to be afloat with huge amounts of trees and debris. The dams could be seen piled high with timber that had been caught there in the current. Even though we kept a watchful eye we still caught a couple of deadheads, but fortunately we seem to have avoided any damage.

Lock 17 - Vertical Lift Gate Lock 17 is one of only 2 locks in North America that have an opening gate that lifts above your head as you enter or exit the lock. The other is in the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River. Lock 17 has the largest lift in the Erie Canal at 40'.

Lock Operators The lock operators were very pleasant fellows. They would inquire as to your destination plans for the day and call ahead to let the other operators know to expect you. The grounds at the locks were very well maintained, complete with beautiful flower gardens. We spent a few pleasant nights tied on the outside walls at the locks. We only had one problem and that was when the Grand Majestic cruise ship locked through at 7 a.m. The lock operator had to give us a call to move our boat as the cruise ship couldn't get out of the lock around us. The operator got quite a chuckle out of our rude awakening and could be heard chortling to himself as he locked us through and on our early start to the day.

Locks - Erie Canal In addition to the 15 lift bridges there are 35 locks in the Erie Canal, as it rises and falls from 565' above sea level in the Niagara River to sea level at Troy on the Hudson River. As well, over 200 highway and railroad bridges cross the canal with a controlled height of 15&1/2'. The lock dimensions are 300' long by 45' wide. They raise and lower from 6' to 40'. The 5 locks at Waterford, where the Erie canal joins the Hudson River, are known as the famed "Waterford flight". Here boats are lifted and lowered the greatest height in the shortest distance of any canal in the world. To protect our boat from the lock walls we used 3 fenders on each side. One at the front and 2 joined with a board on the side. We found we were able to control our vessel quite well with just the 2 of us on board - one on each end armed with a boat hook to control us against the wall. The walls were very slimy - complete with slugs and zebra muscles. Our worst problem came at Lock 9 where the current from the adjoining dam was very strong. We found it very difficult to control our drifting due to our slow approach speed to the lock.