JACKIE B III Going Loopy

  Another peaceful day on the water. These two swans caught our eye as we set out.   We continued to pass ships and barges as commerce on the river appears to be doing well. We made an impromptu stop in Troy, New York after hearing about an incredible farmers market from fellow loopers on “Liberty Call.” There were more than 150 vendors set up going down the streets from this architecturally interesting town square.  We’ll worth the stop! This was our first lock on the Erie Canal System. We really didn’t know what we were getting into and it turns out there was only one “hold” in this lock. I was exhausted afterwards.  I had a lot of “encouragement.” Waterford is the entry to the “real” Erie Canal, as in we would be leaving the Hudson River.  The Jackie B III is way in the back. Once we arrived at Waterford, Donna and I explored the first lock to get a sense of what we were getting into. First we came to the spillway. Then we looked down into the lock. There are...

  The cruise from Poughkeepsie to Shady Harbor in Baltimore, NY was enchanting.  We had beautiful views of the Adirondack Mountains. The Hudson River is still a major shipping lane.  We passed barges and ships that were heading downstream. The light houses were adorable. And the company was fantastic.  We all took the opportunity to ride on the bow as the weather was phenomenal. Shady Harbor is a fun little marina. Thought you might like to see the fuel prices we are enjoying. There were chickens running everywhere and Mike happened onto a cock fight on his morning run. Donna and I hiked up to a little water fall.   Check out the pollywogs (tadpoles with legs) It’s so pretty up here. Our Journey “There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, ….” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭104:25-26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So exciting to have our first guests on the Loop. Duke and Donna are longtime sailors we met in New Bern over the winter.  They were a great help as we navigated up the Hudson River and learned how to maneuver the locks ( next blog.) This is us at Trophy Point where Mike was our personal tour guide on campus. But first some photos from Day 1 with the new crew. We decided to leave Half Moon Bay Marina because we couldn’t get a rental car and we really wanted to show our friends West Point. Mike had gone on a field trip to this nuclear power plant while a cadet at West Point. It brought back memories. We saw this really cool retired fire boat at the fuel dock.  This was one of the many NYFD vessels to rescue passengers off the plane that went down in the Hudson. We were told they also we’re working the river on 9/11.  Even though it was a cloudy day, the trip upriver was beautiful. You can see why the Hudson River school of painting style developed. Brought back memories fo...

This was a red letter day for us as “Loopers” Passing in front of Lady Liberty is quite a thrill. We were fortunate to travel through the harbor with “looper” friends on Charley Girl that we met in Cape May.  This was not as simple as it sounds.  When we went to pull our anchor in the morning NOTHING (electronics)worked.  Mike was able to get things working again and Mike and Gina were kind enough to wait for us. It only took about an hour. Thanks for taking our pictures! New York Harbor is super busy and there was so much to see. Due to some forest fires in New Jersey it was super Hazy but we took in as much as we could anyway. Just a short way upstream on the Hudson River the scenery changes quickly and it is beautiful.   Our Journey Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  Today we headed up the Jersey shore. This is us passing Wildwood, NJ.  The seas were so calm that we decided to skip Atlantic City and head all the way up the coast to Sandy Hook. This ended up being a very long day but we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. This was our first night at anchor with the Jackie B III so we were just a tad nervous.  The windlass was working✅ the generator was working✅ Anchor light was working✅ and we had a new anchor bridle.  Would the anchor drag?  This is our movement through the night and we moved around the anchor but the anchor held fast. The best part of being “on the hook” was being able to go to shore in the morning for a walk on the beach. Our Journey “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”  Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  Our finals days in Cape May did not disappoint.  Having to remain in one spot for three weeks for a needed generator replacement could have been much worse. While we stayed in a motel in town, we were able to dine on the beach. This was our favorite rooftop bar with local music every night.  We even saw dolphins from the deck! We were on the beach for the beautiful Strawberry Moon rise. Staying in one place provided the opportunity to meet many more Loopers.  We had a mass gathering at the South Jersey Marina with Loopers from 3 marinas. We made many more friends and I was able to go touring in town as the “resident “expert with my new friends. I got to get up close to the lighthouse previously seen from a distance. We went to the farm stand. This was pretty upscale as far as farm stands go😁. One of my favorites: we went back to the winery for the frozen sangria! Last stop provisioning for the Loop with our bicycles and the new cooler backpack. This convenient loc...