Friday the 13th Day

Nope, not going to be superstitious on this trip!💀

And we are on the road once again, finally! Underway at 7 this AM and hoping for a 10ish hour ride to Atlantic City, NJ!  Low tide!
Beautiful sunrise! 🌅 
It is now 8:30 and we are cruising at 10 knots with NW winds 5-10 knots and seas are 2', roughly.  41º 
A recipe for a great day of travel!! A little bumpy, but perfect. 
I just made use of some bananas on the boat and made banana bread.  🍌🍌 Smells so good! Yes, we are allowed to have bananas on boat because we are NOT fishing YET!😝 
Just almond flour, a little butter, maple syrup, 1 egg and 1 banana YUM!  Turned out great, enough for 2 peeps. 

Lots of boats are out today: fishing tours, dredging ships, sightseeing boats, etc. Through AIS, Automatic Identification system
a boat can broadcast a signal identifying their nautical info, vessel specs.  Not all boats have it but we do and most the boats around us do too.  It's kind of like a plane's black box.✈It tells how fast they are going and in what direction.  Right now I can see over 25 boats all around us.  We are coming into high tide at 1:00.  At that point we can ride the tide 🌊towards our destination. 
Squirrel! We passed Asbury Park! Thought of Bruce Springsteen! 

It is 1:30 and all we have seen to our starboard side is NJ shoreline with white sand going on and on forever. I feel like we are on a treadmill, spinning our wheels, going, going, going and not getting 
anywhere.   25 more miles to Atlantic City. We can see it in the distance. 🏩🏨🏢💰

We are here in Atlantic City at 4:45. By the time we fueled up and docked it was DARK. 

Day Twelve

The only thing different about today is that it is Thursday, our fifth day here at Atlantic Highlands. The weather is the SAME, sunny, chilly, windy, rocky! Kenny is doing all the bilge chores, one being cleaning out the strainers.  Here is what he found in one of them, along with baby clams, seaweed and such. 🙈

So GROSS!  Part of it looks like a finger 👆

 Is it an eel, tape worm, any guesses?🙀

There are lots of working fishing tour boats and a set of commuter ferries called The SeaStreak. They get you to NYC in 55 minutes, among other places. 

Tomorrow is our big exodus! Hope to be out of here by 6 am. Yipppie!

We completed our laundry chores, enjoyed a couple unusual brews at a nearby pub and are now back on the boat at 5:30. Stella has become the perfect bar babe, attracting attention everywhere we go.🍻 

Day Eleven

Still docked here at Atlanta Highlands, NJ.  
Another blustery chilly day. So pretty much here ALL week.  Walked to laundry mat, DONE! Now back on boat as it rocks and rolls. Nothing to report until Friday as we head out, fingers crossed, to Atlantic City which is 100 miles away. 
Stay tuned 😎

Day 10

This is day 10 of our journey south and going on our third day in Sandy Hook, NJ!  Even though the sun is shining 🌞 and it's 44º, the wind is blowing 💨 🌊 and the waves are swelling, 5-8',
 4 seconds apart; a recipe for a very rough ride! 
So, it looks like another day staying put. Tomorrow too!
Wishing the weather would give us a break already, frustrating! 
It's nice to have boats around us, just nobody on board, lol. 
Rest assure, we have all the comforts of home: food, TV, computers, stationary bike, games, heat, ..........   we are very comfortable living on the boat. 🙏 Think Stella is too!?🐶
Stay Tuned
It is now 6:30 and we have walked every where around town. Went to the movies Bohemian Rhapsody.  Great, Really loved it! The guy who played Freddie Mercury was brilliant ! Sad story though 😟

Day Nine

We are still here in Sandy Hook/ Atlantis Highlands, NJ. Probably be here tomorrow too.  We've walked everywhere exploring this quaint harbor town. 
Waiting for that window of opportunity to leave and it doesn't look promising!  💦 💨💨 Blah blah blah

Day Eight

What a night here at Sandy Hook, NJ.  Unexpected by us all we had heavy rain (expected) with fierce rollers bulldozing us into the dock all night. The wind was howling and the water was slapping our hull forcing us back and forth, side to side even though we were tied up 7 ways to Sunday, hehehehehe.  And it is Sunday, we'll be staying here another night because the seas are NOT in our favor.  By the way, every syndicated weather forecast has been inaccurate. 😡
I can still see NYC across the way. Yesterday, as we traveled through the East River, we saw lots of tour boats, pleasure boats, fishing boats even passed an advertising small barge; check it out:

Might have to enlarge to read.   I happen to love the grinch movies!!

AnyWHO, we are staying put today.  Hope to leave Sandy Hook, NJ tomorrow, (which is literally a hook of land) weather permitting, and cruise down the Atlantic to the Manasquan Inlet which is still NJ.

The sun is shining, going to walk around the harbor, then putting  chicken in the mini crockpot and watch THE GAME 🏈 GO PATS!😛 It will be a cleaning day too!🙈

Day Seven

Late start this morning at 9:30.  We are headed south duh, on the East River in NY. from the Long Island Sound. The East River runs from L.I.S. to the Hudson. NYC skyline is very close now. 
Gloomy again but warm temps, in upper 50's!  It is kinda nice traveling Off Season, places are deserted and we can dock for FREE. Downside is a lot of Marinas are closed. We spend quite a bit of time researching and making calls.


Today our destination is Sandy Hook, NJ (know what you're thinking of😭); not too far and is a secure location. Still a full day of travel, not 10 hours though.  As long as the seas are calm we will try to make headway as long as possible. The rain is a comin, later.  


We love this boat; she handles well, keeps us safe and dry, comfortable, cozy with ample living space. Diesel engines purr all day long as well as the generator. All good in the hood! 😺

NY Penitentiary Barge!                

Guys playing bball in the cage!







            

Stella taking in the New York skyline 🌃🌇

Cement City view!

It is 2:15 and we are in port at Sandy Hook NJ. Very tricky harbor to navigate into but we did it. Security man came to greet us and tell us about the amenities here.  He is shuttling us to grocery store tomorrow and he informed us about all the restaurants within walking distance. This is the best Marina yet 😍
Depending on weather we might be here tomorrow too! Stay tuned

Sixth Day/Black Friday

WE had a great day eating Thanksgiving dinner, watching football, and playing cards; even Face-timed with the kiddos. It felt kinda normal! We were in bed by 7. 

Today, we were underway at 6:45am. The water is beautiful with a blanket of mist coming up all around us.  There are other boats out too! The sun is rising and shining,   calm following seas, 16º🌝
Our destination is Bridgeport Connecticut, which is 62 miles away, traveling at 10 knots. As long as the ocean is kind to us I'm down for the journey. When we brought Serenity back from Colchester Vt. we traveled 10 hour days, no problem. Had plenty of daylight in our favor; unlike now with short days. 

We just went from Block Island Sound and now in Long Island Sound. Went over Bartlett Reef which was 18 ft below us. We are still hugging the shoreline, a few miles out. Not following seas anymore and not too choppy🙏

SEASALT anyone? We are covered in it from topside down to the gunwales! Can hardly see out the windshield! Hope the next place has running water!!!

My handsome Captain 

Have you met Inspector Gadget?

It is now 5:30 pm, just got dark, and we have been traveling for 10 hours and 36 minutes. We just landed at a Marina on Manhasset Bay, Long Island NY.  The seas were calm and the sun was out so we kept going.  It was great, so easy to travel on water. Days are a little longer here! Warm and toasty in the cabin.  Not so much outside🌆But warmer than where we come from.

 Weird photo as we approached NYC skyline. Some bizarre elements in the photo?? I think that is salt magnified on boat railings. Looks Sistine Chapelish?  

Making stuffed shells for dinner to go with a bottle of wine🍷🍷

Then 💤

Fifth Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all, big and small!🍗🎃

It is sunny and bitter cold out in Mystic, Connecticut. We are docked at the very end of a very long dock, which means we have to walk a distance for Stella, LOL 🐶 Also, these docks no not have cleats to tie up to, only pilings.  WE are use to floating piers that rise and fall with the tide; these are fixed piers because there is not much of a tide flow.  🙆🙆 We were tied too tight and during the night, the boat listed inward; Kenny had to adjust.  Always learning. We will be here until  tomorrow.

Have a turkey breast to bake along with some sides like squash, sweet potatoes and string beans. No cranberry😡 Even have a pumpkin pie.  Our first holiday without our kids😥, Christmas too!!🎄🎅 
Please stay tuned!

We are the only ones around, it's like a ghost shipyard.. The three of us bundled up for the piercing cold and walked into the town of Mystic. Very quaint but everything but CVS was closed!  It was nice to get off boat and walk for a while.  

My last entry is now. It is 1:45 pm, turkey breast in oven, trying to get a football game on, through ROKU!  Frustrating Got it!😀
Sun is literally heating up the cabin. It's so bright 🌕 

Kenny and I are so very THANKFUL for this adventure and all our caring friends and family  💕😘

Fourth Day

After a great night sleep and waking up to the first bright and sunny morning we have decided to leave Point Judith. Thought we were going to stay until Friday because of weather concerns.

Goodbye Narragansett/ Point Judith
We do have gale warnings starting at 3 so we are hot tailing to our next marina, which is 50 knots away. Pilots Point in Connecticut! Hot tailing it is 10 knots for us so a 5 hour tour. WE left at 8am. Say a prayer🙏 Pretty choppy, with a rogue wave every now and then blanketing the bow and  slapping our windshield ! Rollercoaster again.  It's fun!

It is noon and we are docked in Mystic Conn.Shipyard! Thank God!
The last 3 hours have been HELL!  I got sick, Stella got sick and CK kept his cool.  We were bounced around like a toy boat, very scary!!! 7-10 foot swells!!  We bailed out earlier than planned and going to hunker down until Friday, here in Mystic!  Wonder how their pizza is? 🍕  
Can't seem to be able to change time zone.  The blog is posting in PST 😮

Third Day

Top of the morning, our third day!   It is misting but not cold with an outgoing tide. We left Onset Mass. at 7am and   now leaving the CCC entering Buzzards Bay(thinking of Jimmy Buffet) Just went passed the Cape, Martha's Vineyard on our port side.  Land on both sides of us. The forecast is rain with heavy seas this afternoon. We are trying to stay ahead of it 😐 Cruising fairly fast for Serenity, at 10 knots.  Getting ready to make bacon and eggs.☕🍳 I am trying to enter periodically throughout the day and post/publish it all in the evening.

WE have been underway for 2.5 hours and have not seen another boat, not even a working one! Seas are calm but not for long. We are trying to make Point Judith, RI. before the weather turns.☔ Visibility is one mile!🙀
Kenny explained to me that one nautical mile is 6067 ft where as a statute mile is 5280 ft. For this blog all references to speed and distance will be in statute miles. It is interesting how nautical miles and knots came to be.  Look it up!! LOL 
It's 9:45 and we just passed  the end of the Elizabeth Islands on our port and the seas have increased 2-3 feet; nothing protecting us from the Atlantic Ocean rollers!
By the way    you have to sign in to Google to leave a comment👏 
On our starboard side, off the coast of RI we are passing 2 outcroppings of rock, a few miles off shore. First one is labeled on chart as 'Hens and Chickens' , the second is called 'Old Cock and the Wild Cat'.  Go figure!  All I see is ocean and sky all around us. 
Amazing how rapidly the seas can change. 

We are in Rhode Island Sound at 10:10, making great time. 
Can anyone figure out why it's difficult to leave a comment??? thanks 

View from inside last night as we were coming to Port in the dark🙅

So, here we are several miles off coast of RI, and Ken shows me a notation on the chart as we are passing over it, stating 
" Unexploded Depth Charge Oct.31 1947" followed by another notation stating TORPEDO RANGE. Now what?   WOW
glad they didn't go off...LOL
The red line is our path→
OK so it is 11am and the rollers are rolling. It's like being in an airplane with lots of turbulence !!! ✈This time port to starboard  instead of bow to stern and it is raining!!!
Just noticed this blog is on Pacific time. Have to update NOW!

It is 1:00 and we are at our destination, Point Judith.  The weather is not great and we were somewhat beaten up so we are done for the day.. Hopefully this marina will have the amenities we need, water, pump out, laundry, groceries...
2:00 and we are docked Point Judith Marina. We were here last year when we came through from Colchester VT.  My phone remembered the WiFi!  It's still gloomy chilly weather but all is good.  There is even a couple of restaurants within walking distance.  I will be updating for a while..
Most housekeeping is done,  going to walk around town of Point Judith. 

Walked 2 miles to Matunuck Oyster Bar. It was excellent but the oysters did not hold a candle to J's Oyster Bar!!! They are put through a tumbler, very small. Sweet though. The walk back was dark but refreshing. We are back on boat safe and sound, researching our next window of opportunity to leave here.

Our second day at sea started 830 this AM Was not as cold so the ropes were easier to handle. We had to call bridge keeper to lift bridge, very cool. Very low bridge🌉

The water was calm at first but became 5-7 foot swells for a few hours. Stella was freaking out, wanting to be held..  Serenity handled the swells with class; up and down, up and down. And yes, I chewed on dramamine; I know that's what you were thinking.
Just a little queasy .  It passed 😀
Shorter bike ride, not feeling it today. Oh, and did I mention it has been raining alll day.  ⛈
WE began in Glouster harbor, went across Cape Cod Bay into the Cape Cod Canal.  Saw some weird ducks running/sliding on water then dropping into it.. very comical . They looked like they were competing! 

You will see that I sometimes  write in different tenses  and THAT'S because I write when I can, during present or past, DUH!💁

It"s 3:30 and we see the Sagamore Bridge, middle of the CCC. Kenny says if the bridge 'sags' any more it will be IN the canal. oy 😂
I hope some peeps will leave comments for me to read 😎Questions are welcome 

Looks like we will miss our 3:30ish at a dock before it gets dark promise.

Interesting articles to read about the history of  Cape Cod Canal. It has solid stone walls along both sides.  It connects Cape Cod Bay Buzzards Bay and is part of  the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. We are headed to the Buzzard Bay side to land for the night. Speaking of night, it is dark now at😡 4:30.   🌒 Yikes!  

 The 2 things I dislike about boating: pumping out  and being out at sea in the dark!!!!!!  
it is  pretty though, surreal almost, with the lights lit up across the way, but dark in the cabin, very dark 🌑 
Kenny just went topside to drive.  To SEE!  Its all by the charts, maps, GPS and other gizmos.  

WE are HERE!  Only ones too.  Pretty deserted but we are safely docked.  Just took Stella for a walk on the docks. 

 It's almost 6 and hunkered in for the night.  Dinner and a movie on the boat.  Another day under our belt! 

7am and FINALLY, we are underway and it’s  Captain Ken's birthday. Beautiful morning  but COLD ☃️ Fair winds and following seas make for a perfect ride.   
It’s now 2:30, I rode 20 miles on my stationary bike while traveling at about 9 knots with CK at the helm, most the time. Land has been in sight to our starboard side all day 🛥🌎 The cabin is toasty warm 
to navigate and steer from. Also, to nap, read and watch TV🙈 We passed Cape Neddick, Isle of Shoals, and now in Massachusetts waters. Our destination is Gloucester. Lots of lobster traps to avoid and always on the look out 👀for wild life. 🐬🐠🐋🦑🐙🦐🦀🦈🐿

This is our morning view, leaving Portland!

This is one of the enormous homes in Glouster

These are some of stationary house boats on Annisquam River
It was a tight squeeze to get here at low tide but we are here at Cape Ann Marina where Wicked Tuna boats are.  Kenny bought  Wicked Pissah, FV tuna boat t-shirts.  And for those who know the boat Blue Bandit, it is HERE 🙀 This is such a remote marina too!

Today is November 16th and it is snowing in Portland.  We are unprepared for winter weather as all our cold weather clothes are in storage 🙀 Luckily, we have our boat coats that are somewhat warm and weatherproof, somewhat?  Really thought we would be in warm weather by now. 😎

So, as of right now Sunday  the 18th(Kenny's bday) is our window of opportunity to LEAVE!  Stay tuned.

Still in Maine

We are still living aboard Serenity, docked in South Portland, Maine waiting for better weather to begin our journey south!  The generator is finally working, after an all summer until today repair 🙀 Yes, no one could figure it out; electrical problem.  All good now🙏