Great Loop Overall Statistics to date:
Statute Miles: 1810.4
Average Miles/Day: 53.2
Total Hours Underway: 249.5
Average speed (mph): 7.6
States Transited: 9
Total Days: 82
Travel Days: 34
Locks: 7
Fuel Purchased: 472.9
Miles / Gallon: 3.4
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 18 45
Anchor: 13 3
City dock: 2 0
Free Wall: 1 0
Mooring: 0 0
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We went offshore from Cape May with the intent of going back in at Atlantic City. We didn't leave real early since this stop would only be 40 miles or so. We left open the option that, if the seas were kind, at the point we would turn into Atlantic City, we would consider continuing on to Manasquan before dark.
We had 2-3 foot seas at 7-8 second on beam with little to no wind to start. 2-3 foot seas felt a lot different in 40-50ft deep water than the same forecast felt in 15-20ft depths just offshore of GA or NC. The wave "period" (time between crests) was so long that we felt only gentle rolling swells. By noon, winds picked up to 10 out of NW with swells becoming more southerly on our stern quarter.
At Atlantic City Inlet, we decided that we could make Manasquan in relative comfort and so we kept going.
During the remainder of the day, we looked at our overnight options in Manasquan. There was no "good" anchorage in Manasquan except for an area where one has to open a semi-private bridge into a small housing area. We didn't want to try to raise the bridge operator, potentially after-hours, so we chose to come into one of the few slips at Captain Bill's Landing. This was a mistake, as the fast current and boat wakes in this area just inside the inlet were relentless. We were yanking hard on the dock lines all night long.
We left just before slack current the next morning to avoid any mishaps at the dock with the fast-moving current. We had very calm seas up to Sandy Hook where we rounded the point into the bay and made for Great Kills Yacht Club on the other side. As is our par-for-the-course, the winds picked up to 15-20 on the bow when we were about 2 hours away creating very steep, square, 3-foot waves to pound into.
We left Great Kills at around 0830 in order to take advantage the flood current up the Hudson River and to time a "photo session" at the Statue of Liberty during a predicted low wind period mid-morning. This worked out very well and we exchanged photos with our friends on mv Griffin as we came through New York City.
The remainder was a fast ride up the Hudson River, with the current, to Half Moon Bay marina at Croton-on-Hudson.
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
032: Manasquan NJ from Cape May NJ
033: Great Kills NY from Manasquan NJ
034: Croton-on-Hudson NY from Great Kills NY
Map of our Overall Great Loop travel:
GLTD032 Manasquan NJ (from Cape May NJ): We set our alarm clock for a mildly-early start to go offshore to Atlantic City. The sun rose as we motored east on Cape May Canal toward the Atlantic Ocean.
This bridge opening was a tight squeeze for the fishing trawler, Capt. Sig.
We anticipated a comfortable cruise with low wind and 2-3 foot seas with a long period (time between wave crests) of 8-10 seconds. Several other boats (the green icons below showing on our AIS) must have anticipated the same smooth sailing!
“We’ve got ourselves a convoy.” Ref: Smokey & the Bandit -- one of my favorite movies, as a kid.
As we left the inlet and entered the ocean, so far, so good. This video shows a fairly calm but slightly bouncy ride, with 2-3 foot waves (on the bow quarter) with a period of 8-10 seconds.
Let the record show: At 7:12 am, Ray jinxed us by saying "I hope we get this for 2 more days, because I can handle this."
We saw several floating mylar balloons. Below is just one. We also saw a basketball that appeared to be fully inflated!
We saw several amusement parks along the New Jersey shore.
By late morning, because the weather was so good and seas were expected to remain comfortable, we decided to continue past Atlantic City to our 2nd option to come back “inside” from the ocean -- Manasquan Inlet.
As we passed Atlantic City around noon, seas were beautifully glassy. I posted on Facebook at the time, “Mostly comfortable cruising on slow rolling swells past Atlantic City NJ casinos. We saved some time and just threw $20 in the ocean.“
We had comfortable cruising all day. By 4:00 pm, winds had increased, just a little, to 8 mph.
📞 Same-day marina planning: Ray called to arrange for a slip.
The glassy seas were about to change. (Remember when Ray jinxed us about 9 hours ago?)
By 6:00 pm, winds had shifted 180 degrees and increased significantly to 20-25 mph. They were now opposing the waves, creating a lot of choppy waves atop the 2-3 foot swells. We took some waves over the bow.
NOTE: Our weather station shows wind direction from the bow as an arrow at the bottom.
The 30-second video below shows our entry to Manasquan Inlet NJ. At this time, the tide has just turned to outgoing, so we were powering against the current. You can see SCOUT “surf” the 2-3 foot swells, “pushing” the boat a little to starboard (right) in the narrow inlet.
Finally, after traveling for nearly 13 hours, we docked at Captain Bill’s Landing. The assistant was very helpful, even returning to the dock, about an hour after closing, to help us get secured in the slip during high winds and strong current.
SCOUT was rocking and rolling! Even though Ray added lines, and then added shock absorbers to a couple of the lines, he did not get much sleep that night.
Travel Milestones:
• Highest travel leg mileage (100.2 statute miles, 1 day)
• Longest travel leg (12 hours, 23 minutes)
• Most floating mylar balloons spotted (1 is too many)
GLTD033 Great Kills NY (from Manasquan NJ): We were able to “sleep in” a bit today because we had to time our departure close to slack current at the inlet.
Even though we did not set an alarm clock, Ray was awake by 6:00 (if he ever really slept), and I was awake before 6:30. I guess we are rising and setting with the sun these days! 🌞
Current is swift in the Manasquan inlet and the location of the marina caused eddies that rocked us all night. When we woke, it still felt like we were on the ocean.
Winds were predicted to be from the west today, so we “hugged” the coast just off the beach up to Sandy Hook (to optimize the “wind shadow” of the land).
📞 Same-day marina planning: I called to arrange dockage for tonight in Great Kills NY, where our friends on mv Griffin landed, a few days earlier, to stage for the New York harbor passage.
📞 Future stay marina planning: I called to arrange dockage for our next stop – north of New York City -- in Croton-on-Hudson NY.
We had an uneventful cruise, and, within a few hours, we got our first glimpse of the New York city skyline – still about 5 miles away. Exciting!
There’s no mystery why this land near Sandy Hook NJ is named Highlands NJ.
Along that little “mountain” on the horizon is Twin Lights. Construction was started prior to the Civil War, and the current twin lights were completed in 1862 to resemble the insignia of the Army Corps of Engineers (designed by Joseph Lederle).
Just before we rounded Sandy Hook and entered the lower Hudson Bay, winds increased significantly.
As is becoming our norm, we had a choppy crossing of the lower Hudson Bay to our final destination. We took a little water over the bow.
All the prior planning for weather and conditions had served us well for our Cape May – to New York offshore leg.
🔷 Boater Tip: Cruising is “like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” (Forest Gump)
Sometimes, even with the most thorough research and planning, you still encounter less-than-ideal sea state.
It’s like my Mama always said about chocolates, “You have to poke it to see what you’re going to get.” She did not want to end up with Maple Cream. 😊
With a good “back out” plan, you can do as Ray says, “Poke your nose out [into the next route] and see what it’s like.”
In our case, on the lower Hudson Bay, we had just a short distance to our destination. The splashing waves lasted just a short time before we turned into the calm water of the Great Kills NY basin.
Our friends on mv Griffin met us on the dock to help us squeeze into our slip at Great Kills Yacht Club NY around lunch time. The yacht club neighbor in the slip left of SCOUT told us he knew we would fit because he docked another Great Harbour N37 in the same slip several years back.
Thanks, mv Insandity, for “stretching” the pilings for us. 😊 We barely had room for even a narrow fender along the finger pier!
We planned to stay in Great Kills just 1 night, so the ladies walked about a mile, with the “handy cart”, to get a few essential groceries from Frank and Sal Italian Market. We also grabbed some delicious hot “meals to go” and what I think is the best New York Cheesecake I’ve had!
By the time we got back, Ray had finished washing the salt spray off of SCOUT.
For happy hour, we walked across the parking lot to the yacht club bar.
There are a couple of restaurants a few blocks from the marina, but for dinner we opted for pizza to be delivered from Nonna's Pizza. There was a small communication problem, so instead of a couple of small pizzas and a couple of slices, we ended up with 4 large pizzas and a small gluten-free pizza.
Let’s just say our vacuum sealer got a workout, preparing all the leftovers for the freezers – and we’re set for pizza meals underway for a while! 😊
GLTD034 Croton-on-Hudson NY (from Great Kills NY): We coordinated our departure with mv Griffin since we would be “photo buddies” when passing by the Statue of Liberty. We wanted good sunlight for photos, and we wanted to time a favorable tidal current up the first part of the Hudson River.
🔷 Boater Tip: The Hudson River does run both ways.
“The Hudson estuary stretches 153 miles from Troy to New York Harbor […]. The estuary feels the ocean's tidal pulse all the way to Troy. […] The estuary usually has two high and two low tides in twenty-four hours. With this rise and fall come changes in the direction of flow. In general, a rising tide is accompanied by a flood current flowing north towards Troy, a falling tide by an ebb current flowing seaward.”
Before casting off lines to leave the dock, we saw a family of swans, as they swam past SCOUT and settled on the nearby shore.
After exiting Great Kills Harbor (Staten Island NY), we cruised north under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (c.1964) and past Fort Wadsworth (c.1779). This photo is a stark contrast of engineering.
Amusing Fact: When I finished my first engine room check, Ray admitted he watches for me to turn the engine room & stateroom lights off – this indicates everything is OK down below. Because, if I leave the lights on, it means I'm bringing him the ear muffs to have him go check something I saw, heard, or smelled. 😊
Thanks to our buddy boat, mv Griffin, we have a photo of SCOUT underway on the Upper Hudson Bay.
By mid-morning, we were passing by the Statue of Liberty.
This was certainly a memorable moment on the Great Loop!
Sweet land of liberty.
Immediately beyond the Statue of Liberty, we passed by the New York City skyline and Battery Park.
My sister captured the screenshot below from a New York webcam as mv Griffin and mv SCOUT passed by. (You can barely see our wakes on the right half of the screen -- close to shore.) New York City’s tallest building, One World Trade Center, is in the center. (I like the “Jenga” building to the left. 😊)
Pier A at Battery Park. This image resembles a Lego city.
We saw a helicopter land to pick up a passenger. The honeycomb-looking structure is The Vessel, an interactive sculpture comprising a network of stairs and landings that visitors can climb (or take an elevator) to the top. (Zoom in to see the people.)
This whimsical park called Little Island just opened in May 2021. (Zoom in again to see all the people.)
The Empire State Building in the background, to the right, was built in 1931 and is still New York City’s 4th tallest building.
Interesting Fact: The Empire State Building was modeled after the Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem North Carolina and Carew Tower in Cincinnati.
This is Chelsea Pier (red stripes). Notice, at the left, New York City’s 3rd tallest building, 30 Hudson Yards – the one with the triangular balcony pointing toward the Empire State Building.
The balcony ledge is called “The Edge”. Visitors can pay to see it, and they also offer morning yoga classes. There is even an area with glass flooring! You can see how big the ledge is by the size of the people out on it!
As we headed north, away from the city skyscrapers, Riverside Church stood out. “Construction began in 1927 with the first service held on October 5, 1930. […] The 20-floor tower, rising to a height of 392 feet, is the tallest church in the U.S. and the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere. […] The carillon’s 20-ton bourdon bell is one of the largest tuned bells in the world. […] ”
The George Washington Bridge is another impressive sight. The upper level opened to traffic in 1931; the lower level opened in 1962. The bridge is 119 feet wide, carrying 12 lanes of upper-level traffic and 10 lanes of lower-level traffic.
The “little” green boat in front of SCOUT is our buddy boat, mv Griffin.
Beyond the George Washington Bridge, the topography changed significantly, as the Hudson River was enveloped by soaring hills, and we entered the Hudson River “Valley”.
That is a wall of rock!
Originally built as “Carrollcliffe” between 1897 and 1910 “in a style reminiscent of Norman fortification in Wales, Scotland and Ireland”, this is the Castle Hotel and Spa. I hope to see more castles on the Erie Canal.
After an exciting, but tiring day, we docked at Half Moon Bay in Croton-on-Hudson NY just before 5:00 pm.
What’s next? Follow us as we explore Croton-on-Hudson and a few more old Hudson River towns.
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