Lady Liberty

 TRAVEL DAY 64 - Manasquan Inlet to Liberty Landing

June 25, 2023

5.96 Hours/47.4 Miles

    Today will be the first time we have had to run offshore since we left Crystal River and traveled to Tarpon Springs. This time it will be in the Atlantic. For this little slow boat, we wanted the best conditions we could get. The Camano Troll is a sturdy vessel and certainly can take a lot, the crew on the other hand can't take as much.

Statue of Liberty

    We timed our exit from Manasquan Inlet at low slack tide to eliminate as much of a beating out into the Atlantic. Another boat decided to leave earlier and suffered the consequences of a stiff tide by smacking their boat into the narrow railroad bridge opening. Luckily it was nothing some fiberglass repair couldn't fix but it reminded us that we need to plan for optimum conditions if at all possible.  The day was beautiful and winds were forecast to be out of the SW which would mean great sea conditions. We cleared the inlet, and even at a slack tide, other boats exiting at a high rate of speed increased the waves at the opening. I pushed the throttle up to bring the bow higher and we rolled through. We spilled a little coffee and a few items hit the floor, namely Cindy Looper, our house plant. She did manage to make a head first dive into the trashcan which meant most of the soil was contained. She did what she had to do and remained unscathed.

    Once out into the ocean, the seas were as predicted. We had the typical swells we expected but no breaking waves. We pushed on northward about a half mile from the New Jersey shore and enjoyed the sights along the beach.  At Sandy Hook we began to turn northwest and towards New York Harbor. As soon as we rounded the point, the sea settled even more and we could barely make out the New York skyline as there was still some smoke we assumed left over from the Canadian wildfires.

278 Bridge - Entrance to Upper New York Bay

    We went under the 278 bridge with yet another Looper falling in behind. We discussed plans to alternate taking pictures of each other in front of the Statue of Liberty. Upon entering the "Narrows" and Upper New York Bay, we could see ferries scurrying in every direction, large tugs and ships as well as helicopters flying in all directions. This is one busy harbor for sure. We were traveling the line between New Jersey to our port and New York to our starboard. In no time we could see Lady Liberty and Ellis Island along the Jersey City skyline. This was a very exciting portion of the trip and something we had looked forward to since the beginning. It was unfortunate that my main crew chief wasn't there but it was great to have the temporary crew on board.

Lower New York

    At the statue, we took turns snapping photos of each of the buddy boats to commemorate this over 2100 mile part of the journey. After the quick pictures, we moved up into the harbor and into the Hudson River and onto the canal to Liberty Landing Marina. At $230 for 1 night, we would be leaving in the morning. There are so few choices of places to stay in the area and we didn't want to anchor out and not be able to at lease explore some. 

Liberty Landing Park

    We backed into our slip and got everything tidied up so that we could explore Liberty Landing Park and some of Jersey City. This was an excellent place to observe the incredible lower New York skyline. We walked the riverwalk through the expansive Liberty Landing Park and Ubered to the other side of the waterway to grab a nice lunch. I was able to connect with a friend and veteran Looper that lives just across the waterway.

Old Train Station at Liberty Landing Park

Jersey City Beer Garden

           

Manasquan Inlet to New York

TRAVEL DAY 65 - Liberty Landing to Croton on the Hudson

June 26, 2023

5.35 Hours/37.2 Miles

    Today was an exciting day for a few reasons. 1: as much as I liked looking at the New York skyline, the cost to stay here was prohibitive and 2: once we got to our next location, my regular crew would join me. We cruised into the busy harbor to be greeted by the numerous water taxis, tugs and boat traffic. At one point passing the Chelsea area, a helicopter lifted off and zoomed some 60' off the Hudson right in front of us.

    

Half Moon Bay Marina

    Pau Hana passed Hoboken, Manhattan, Harlem, and all of the other areas of the New York and New Jersey waterfront. Once past the George Washington Bridge, the water flattened out from the lack of constant boat traffic and we pushed against a 1.5 mph current. We motored on at our reduced speed past Palisades and Yonkers. After going under the Tappan Zee Bridge, we passed Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Crane was nowhere in sight.

Hudson River

   The Hudson River with high stone cliffs was absolutely beautiful. Although it was an overcast day and the rain caught up with us, the mist made the mountains look cool and inviting. My temporary crew napped while I navigated the uneventful trip to Croton on the Bay and Half Moon Bay Marina and our 10th state on the journey.

George Washington Bridge

    At about 5 pm the main crew returned from their errands in South Carolina and Virginia brining one of our older daughters with her. Her mission was to take the youngest to the airport and then drive back home with the car. In the meantime we would use this staging area to get into New York City and explore.

Grand Central Station

    The next day the captain and crew boarded a Metro Train for the 1 hour ride into the city. From Grand Central Station we jumped on and off several subway trains and went to as many locations as we could. We visited Central Park, Little Island, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Financial District, 911 Memorial and numerous other sites.

One World Trade Center

    

911 Memorial

  

St. Patrick's Cathedral

    For dinner, we located some fantastic pizza, a NY specialty. A pricey meal but the perfect ending to the day and would hold us over on the trip back to Half Moon Bay.

Little Island

       

Central Park

Last Night Together

    Since we had access to a car we used the opportunity to reprovision for the up coming week and visited the Croton Dam. Built in 1892, the 14 year project at the time of completion was the tallest damn in the world and holds up to 19 billion gallons of water, as small fraction of the 580 billion gallons needed for the city of New York. The masonry structure is an absolutely incredible engineering marvel.

Croton Dam

  

Croton Dam Spillway

    Thursday came and we hugged goodbye to our daughters. One going to JFK Airport and the other, the drive back south. We spent the rest of the day preparing to carry on our journey up the Hudson River.

NYC to Half Moon Bay